Let's Hear it for the Sides!

Just like at Thanksgiving, most holiday feasts or celebrations involving food are celebrated more for their side dishes than the main one (in many households, a big hunk of meat). This 4th of July, it was no different.

But first, check out this beautiful bowl of fresh fruit! My first fruit salad of the season to feature blackberries and blueberries (although this is an older photo - probably taken a week ago). Isn't it funny how alone, these fruits are good, but combined they are a masterpiece (both visually and on the palate)?
However, nothing beats blackberries, fresh from the farmer's market, and still warm from the sun -yeah! These just melted in my mouth. I mean, seriously. I didn't even have to chew...








But back to the 4th...we made a hideously large amount of food - makes me feel awed, guilty and honored to live in this country and have all the pleasures of life that we often take for granted.

And, as usual, the BBQ seitan was relegated to the side, while the "sides" took front and center stage! We tried some new dishes this year including: Prospect Park Potato Salad from Veganomicon, which was decent, but needed some onion and more salt and pepper. Not as good as my family's recipe, which I have yet to veganize but I promise I will this summer! Two and half stars ** 1/2 for this one, though. Also, Cucumber Salad, from a recent Veg News email, which was spicy and fresh and all around yummy! With jalapeno, peanuts, and mint, it was easy and delicious! Three solid stars ***. As usual, we had to have my family's Three-Bean Salad, from god knows where, but the reduced fat version I started making several years ago is always a big hit. The coleslaw and BBQ seitan was a repeat of the recipe from Veganomicon that we made a week or so ago - still very, very good! We also had grilled corn with this great jerk rub from Cooking Light that I've used for almost a decade now! We also love the Cajun and North African spice rubs, too.

Well, that's it for the weekend's food. We'll be eating leftovers for several days now! Oh, I did make a raw bok choy paneer, from Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine, my newest acquisition, as recommended by a raw foodist friend. Mr. PLV ate it with some naan and I had it with some brown rice. It wasn't attractive enough for a photo, and was just too rich to eat alone, but it was very, very good! Three, maybe three and a half stars! ***