Wednesday, October 5, 2011

VeganMoFo V: Southwestern Cobb Salad


Okay.  I wanted this to be bright and vibrant and all rainbowed out, but I had the biggest day of suck.  Last night while trying to finish a paper I ran out of ink.  Bought new ink.  It was the wrong kind of ink.  Managed to print the paper, only to realize my works cited had errors and my professor was forcing another edit.  Plus, the same professor was a complete jackhole to me in class. On this dreary day, not even my Buffy shirt made me smile.

era calls me E-mo for a reason.  haha

After the morning I had, the day was complete redeemed by a few things.  First of all, I'm rocking a hoodie.  It was a cold and windy day.  Then, I got an A on my geology test...the one with mineral identification!  Lastly, I made this bomb ass salad.

Southwestern cobb salad is something I first tried as a wee lass at Alamo City Cafe in my hometown.  At the time, I thought that place was THE joint when it came to Mexican food.  Oh, foolish child.  Alamo City Cafe is pretty much like eating Mexican food in a non-bordering state...it's got no sol soul.  But their cobb salad was the first salad I ever loved.  It reminded me of spending family time together.  We were all little kids but I remember feeling grown up chowing down on some greens.  This is my very loose interpretation.

sorry for the lighting.  already dark out.
Southwestern Cobb Salad

I eat this with chipotle ranch, but feel free to use whatever.  I suggest serving this individually, with toppings separated, unless it will be consumed in one sitting.  It's fine to use fresh frozen corn that's been thawed.

8 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
⅓ cup sliced black olives
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large Haas avocado, diced
1 small lime
kernels from 2 ears of sweet corn, about 1 cup
½ cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp cilantro, minced
½ tsp mild chile powder, like ancho
½ tsp cumin
⅓ cup tempeh bacon, fried and chopped
⅓ cup vegan cheddar, optional

In a small bowl, gently mix juice from ½ of the lime with the avocado.  In another bowl, mix the corn kernels, black beans, cilantro, chile powder, cumin, and the juice from the remaining ½ of the lime.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

For each serving, add 2 cups of romaine.  Layer the toppings evenly over each dish.  Eat immediately.

Tomorrow, I'm revisiting those gingerbread pop tarts from last year.  Super excited!  Plus, Friday, I'm showing love to my mother-in-law...hopefully in video format.  Happy Wednesday!

19 comments:

GiGi said...

I feel ya.I had some suckaroo stuff happen that I posted in yesterday's post too. But you redeemed your day, Woohoo an A and a hoody and a video for your mother - in- law and a vegan cobb salad to boot. I bet that jack hole prof isn't vegan!!!

KitteeBee said...

So glad you turned your day around, Mo! That picture of you is so cute.

xo
kittee

Anonymous said...

Rad shirt, Mo! Congrats on the A and the great salad!! <3

Dawn said...

Gorgeous salad, Mo! I don't know how it couldn't put a smile on anyone's face. Bomb ass, indeed.

T said...

That looks so amazing! I'm so jealous that you live in a place with great avocados. As a kid I always used to feel extremely sophisticated if I got a caesar salad... ahh the good old days.

Sorry you had a bad morning!

x said...

Aw, sad Mo :( I hope tomorrow is a much better day for you!

I've never heard of a cobb salad but it looks awesome (apart from the olives) and now I wanna make one just so I can cover it in chipotle ranch dressing, yummo!

vegan.in.brighton said...

That looks like a pretty damn good salad & I'm really excited to hear more about those gingerbread pop tarts.

Anonymous said...

That salad looks good. Might have to whip that up this week.

Sarah said...

Pouty Mo is extra super cute!! <3 I'm sorry you had such a bad day, but your salad is pretty :)

Anonymous said...

Hot damn that looks like one tasty salad! Where do you get chipotle ranch?

jessy said...

i'm glad the day redeemed itself, Mo - 'cause it was sound'n pretty shizzy for a while there. kick ass on the A and i do love me a hoodie. i'm excited to be rock'n them out again, fo 'sho!

why the hell i've yet to create a cobb salad for mahself is completely beyond me. ha! yours looks absolutely awesome and chipotle ranch is one tasty touch!

stay awesome, Mo!

Allysia said...

Okay, two things: I want that shirt. And, e-Mo? LOL!

Anonymous said...

That salad is really pretty, and delicious for sure!

Veg-In-Training said...

Sorry about your suck a roo day :(

But your salad is beautiful enough to brighten the cloudiest day! Love it.

Anonymous said...

boo to the poopy parts of the day! I love your tee, Mo, but I can totally understand why it wasn't enough to make up for all the crap. I hope the rest of the week goes swimmingly for you.

Anonymous said...

That salad looks amazing!

mollyjade said...

Sorry your day was so bad.

That salad looks perfect and really easy to make, too.

Richa said...

Hope your weekend is super! Tat salad can lift me up anywday.. superly delicious salad i;ve seen in days for sure!

Richa @ Hobby And More Food Blog

Anonymous said...

Looks amazing!