We picked up our first weekly produce box from St. Roch Forage!

Do you know that feeling when you wake up after a long night of drinking and your first thought is "I got this, I'm only consuming green juice this entire week, gonna do the gym thing, gonna be so fit and I'm totally fine definitely no problem here." And then fast-forward twelve hours later and you've had three green juices, thirty-five minutes on the treadmill (+ 30 minutes texting on the gym yoga mat), three accidental glasses of cabernet and a large serving of cheese fries and you feel like a garbage can? That's our reality every single day. It's like a constant rotating rolodex of temptations and false promises to ourselves interspersed with long gym sessions and cocktails and beet juice and things covered in multiple forms of dairy. Hey, balance or whatever.

Anyway, when the pendulum swings more towards the healthy side of things, we're real big fans of a huge lunchtime salad. Like, cover the greens in all the vegetables in the fridge and vinegar and olive oil and dig in. We've started receiving a weekly produce box from St. Roch Forage (a local produce situation operating out of St. Roch Market in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans) and to celebrate we threw together a salad made using pretty much only the ingredients found in the box. It's kind of like our version of Chopped except no one is yelling and we always win.

Ingredients in this week's box were: Brussels Sprouts + shiitake mushrooms + satsumas + grapefruits + kale + daikon. We shredded up the kale, made a shiitake sesame grapefruit vinaigrette, and threw on some vinegary daikon medallions, satsuma slices, and crispy Brussels Sprouts that we roasted within an inch of their lives to make 'em real crispy, kinda like croutons. From start to finish, this salad can be thrown together in just a bit over 30 minutes, with only having to dirty a couple of bowls. Alrighty, time to do the weekend thing with tequila and nachos - see ya Monday with a huge giveaway!

Vegan Market Salad || Sesame Shiitake Vinaigrette + Crispy Brussels Sprouts 'Croutons'

serves 2

1 bunch kale (ours was curly kale but any type of kale will do)
1 large daikon radish
2 satsumas (or tangerines or small oranges)
1/2 lb fresh Brussels Sprouts, halved
1/3 lb fresh shiitake mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/3 cup fresh grapefruit juice, from 1 large grapefruit
2 tablespoons liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil, separated
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons white sugar
Salt + Pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large salad bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, minced garlic, red pepper, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss in the Brussels Sprouts and coat evenly in the olive oil mix. Use a slotted or wooden spoon to transfer the Brussels Sprouts from the bowl to the prepared sheet, making sure to leave a little of the oil mix in the mixing bowl. Place the Brussels Sprouts into the oven and roast for 30 minutes, until super crispy (they should basically look burnt). Once done, remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature. While these are cooking, make the rest of the salad.
Add the mushrooms to the bowl with the left over olive oil and toss to coat them evenly. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Slice the daikon radish into 1/8" thick medallions (or as thin as you can get them, really) and add them to the brine. Set aside to soak.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms until slightly crispy, about ten minutes. Wipe out your salad bowl and set aside. While the mushrooms are cooking, whisk together the remaining dressing ingredients: grapefruit juice, liquid aminos, toasted sesame oil, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Once mushrooms are done, remove from heat and finely chop before adding to the dressing.
Now we can construct the salad! Chop the kale into desired size (we lined up the leaves and make long ribbons by slicing horizontally) and add to the salad bowl. Top the kale with satsuma sections and daikon medallions, drained from the brine. Toss on the crispy Brussels Sprouts and pour the dressing over the top. Serve immediately.