Orange Cashew Salad & Creamy Orange Dressing

I have a recipe for you, it’s been awhile, hasn’t it?

But first,  I have to share, I cannot contain my excitement.  If you follow me on twitter, you may already know that yesterday, I bought a plane ticket to Washington D.C. (one of my favorite cities!) next month.  Joseph will be there for part of his training & I’m allowed to go visit.  So visit I will go (& kids will stay with grandma & grandpa).  Joseph will have work stuff during the day, but we’ll be able to spend the nights together and let’s be honest.  I don’t think I’m going to have any trouble entertaining myself in D.C.  It’s been 10 years since I went to that beautiful city, & I’ve been dying to go back ever since.  Smithsonians are on the top of my list.

Onto that salad.

Have you ever bought fruit from a guy selling it out of his truck on the side of the road?

It’s one of my favorite things to do.  On a recent warmish fall day, a late Saturday afternoon as I recall, I drove passed this fellow & knew I had to stop.  He didn’t speak any English.  Had I been a braver woman, I would have attempted some small talk in Spanish.

A bag of oranges for $10?  Sounds good to me.

After we talked about instinctive eating the other day, I realized I should probably show more of my day to day foods.

(I love things like this & this, but those are more rarities than not.)

When I really think about it, most days I really feel like with a huge bowl of salad for lunch or dinner.  Add some soup & good cornbread, I’m happy.

Raw purple cabbage is such a great addition to salads (& soups!).

It adds color & crunch (& has a mild, sweeter flavor than green cabbage.)   Purple cabbage is something I try to have on hand at all times.

This salad is filling enough to eat on it’s own.

Or pair it with a soup. ( I think this Asian inspired soup from Love & Lemons would be great.)

Oil-free dressings seem to be a bit of a mystery to many people new to the concept, but really, it’s much easier than you might think.  (For more on oil-free dressings, go here & here.)

If you have a good non-dairy, oil-free mayonnaise it gets even easier to make creamy dressings.

If you don’t like mayonnaise  or don’t have it, you can use raw cashews.  Which I know are not cheap, but are such a great addition to your pantry.

Recipe submitted to this week’s Wellness Weekend at Diet, Dessert, & Dogs.  Check it out for more allergy-friendly, vegan recipes!

♥♥♥

Have you ever bought fruit on the side of the road?

Have you ever been to D.C.?  Favorite places to visit, eat?