Vegan Caesar Salad with Roasted Golden Beets

"Ooo we ooo, killer tofuuu!" 

(Get it? Get it. Dig way back to 1991.)

The dinner plate family is back! Let me tell you, this girl is stoked to share this with you. There is something incredibly satisfying about creating something in the kitchen that zings off the taste buds. One of those dishes that makes you want to keep eating far beyond when you probably should, for stomach's sake. Whether you used a recipe stemming from your own ingenuity, or someone else's brilliant thoughts, it really makes no difference - the food is bomb.

This caesar (the word and I have fought since day 1. Ceasar? seezer? Capitalize? All hail the romaine) salad dressing comes largely from The Post Punk Kitchen, a network ran by a spunky vegan. Her cookbook has been a staple in my kitchen not only during Vegan-O-Con, but year round. Her recipes are cohesive and don't require expensive and out-there ingredients. 

Another hot point for the dressing: it came out on the thicker side (think bleu cheese) which I wasn't expecting, but then I doubled it as a veggie dip and then tripled it for another surprise I'll be posting. Needless to say, the lazy girl in me is thrilled with all this efficiency!

*The two ingredients I bypassed were the capers and caper juice, out of my displeasure of running out to the store at the ungodly hour of 7:30pm.

Vegan Caesar Salad with Roasted Golden Beets

Makes 2 entree salads and about 4 side salads

Caesar Dressing

1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3/4 cup silken tofu
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 heaping tablespoon capers

4tablespoons caper brine

1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder (I used spicy brown, to try and make up for the lack of caper-kick)
Salt

1. Blend garlic, tofu and oil in food processor until creamy.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until all is blended.

3. Put in the container you want to serve the dressing in; add almonds and shake/whisk it all together.

4. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

Roasted Beets

This is a toughy, so pay close attention:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Peel beets.

3. Wraps beets in tinfoil.

4. Place beets in oven for about 30 minutes, or until tender - they will be hawwwt coming out of the oven, so be careful unwrapping the tinfoil and make sure to let them cool a few before you try and slice em.

5. Slice the beets up, and either place them upon your salad greens or next to, then ladle on that dressing.

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