The Most Interesting Salad In The World

I'm not gonna lie... this was the most TIME AND LABOR INTENSIVE salad in the world...
And it was worth every precious second of prep!

I was inspired by OhSheGlows and a rare, leisurely Tuesday afternoon. Because it literally took all Tuesday Afternoon.  I could have taken a few shortcuts here and there like not making home made salad dressing and hummus from scratch. Or using a can of tuna instead of making vegan almond "tuna" salad. But I didn't. And  here's what I got:

YEAH! I know, right!? It was as delicious as it was gorgeous.  It called for some celebration, so I took advantage of the lingering Tuesday afternoon sunlight to take some pictures of my creation and we ate it outside on the patio.  Eating dinner outside when it's still light out is a rare weekday treat that I believe should be taken advantage of whenever possible!

So here you go, Spatulettes. It's...

The Most Interesting Salad In The World

Here's what you'll need for the Salad:

• 2 to 3 cups Mixed Greens
• 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 sliced cucumber
• 2 green onions, chopped
• Half avocado, sliced 
• 1/2 tablespoon chia seeds 
• 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin seeds  

Assemble in a bowl in the prettiest way possible.

And the Dressing: 

• 1/2 cup water 
• 1/4 cup cashews, soaked for about 4 hours, then drain and rinse (I had leftover cashew sour cream that I used)
• Juice of 1 medium lemon
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 2 teaspoons of dill
• 1 garlic clove
• A pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 

Put it all in a food processor or blender (I used our Blendtec) and make it go!
 
And the Hummus:

• 1 garlic clove 
• 2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes 
• 1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons of Tahini
• Juice of 1 medium lemon
• 3 tablespoons water
• A smidge of olive oil
• A sprinkle of smoked paprika (or Trader Joe's South African Smoke!)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt  

Chop up the garlic in a food processor (or little cuisinart chopper).  Add the garbanzo beans, tahini, sundried tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Whiz until smooth. Add in the water a little at a time to thin your hummus to the desired consistency.  You can also add more lemon juice or olive oil if you're so inclined. 

Don't eat it all yet so there's some left for the salad.

And the "Tuna Salad": 

• 1 cup raw almonds, soaked for about 2 hours, rinsed, and drained 
• 2 stalks of finely chopped celery
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 3 tablespoons of mayo (I used leftover cashew sourcream, but you could also use extra cashew puree from your salad dressing)
• 2 teaspoons of dijon mustard (I used grey poupon because it's fun to say)
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of pepper

Put the soaked and rinsed almonds into the food processor and pulse until all of the almonds are chopped up and starting to look like tuna.  Add the rest of the ingredients to a bowl with the almonds as you would make regular tuna salad! This is seriously SO GOOD.

Assemble the Minions! I mean... Assemble the Salad!
Put all the ingredients in a bowl. Sit down and eat because you're going to be starving at this point. Unless you snacked on the hummus and tuna already while you waited for your dinner date to get home.  I think I enjoyed taking pictures of this salad as much as I enjoyed eating it, so i'll leave you with some eye candy.

Enjoy, Spatulettes!

Dining al fresco!

All dressed up and ready to eat!

Flash says, "i don't know what is salad but i will eat it, please."

Wooooooo!