I’m afraid I have bad news… 

Grains, people, are everywhere!

I’ve learned that the hard way on my very first day of being grain free!

How do you ask?

Well, you see, I was planning on making make a little bit of an “Asian” vinaigrette to go with this salad… So I went in the cupboards to get the ingredients that I needed.

First, I reached for the rice vinegar. I had it in my hand when it hit me. RICE vinegar. Argh, no good. It’s got to go back, can’t have that now. Oh well, let me use white wine vinegar instead.

Then, I go to grab soy sauce. For some reason, I decide to look at the list of ingredients, just to be sure, you know.

Well, lo and behold, there happens to be WHEAT in soy sauce!

DARN! So no soy sauce either.

Wow, going grain free isn’t going to be a piece of cake, it seems!

To make my life easier, I decided that I would completely empty my cupboards of everything that contains grains over the week-end. I’m curious to see just how empty the pantry will be after that little exercise. I’m guessing there won’t be much left in there…

Of course, I’ll take pictures and show you guys. And I’ll also make a list of all the grains that I can’t have and the non grain foods that I can replace them with. That way, I will run less risk of making a mistake…

So anyway, back to the salad that came THAT close to having grains in it…

I just recently discovered edamame (I know, I know, where have I been all my life…) and I am absolutely, completely, totally addicted to these cute little green things. I would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I could.

I’ll try and spare you though and not use them TOO often in my upcoming recipes. 😉

But seriously, if you’ve tried them before, I guess you know where I’m coming from. And if you haven’t tried them yet, well, by all means, you have to! These things are so good, they like pop in your mouth, and they have this subtle nutty yet super fresh flavor. They’re crunchy, yet creamy and soft at the same time.

Yummers. Better than potato chips, if you ask me!

You can pop them right into your mouth straight from the pod and they make for the coolest, bestest snack ever. 

Oh, but they happen to be extremely good in a salad too! This one here was an extremely worthy “Lent Kick-off” dish.

I am so very happy to have stumbled upon the recipe while researching edamame…

I think I could eat nothing but this for the next 46 45 days!

OK, maybe not…

But you can be sure I’ll have it a few more times! 

ARAME AND EDAMAME SALAD

(Adapted from Diet, Dessert and Dogs)

INGREDIENTS
(Serves 1)

Salad

  • about ½ cup dry arame (don’t pack it or you’ll end up with too much–it really expands while soaking)
  • 1 pound edamame, cooked and cooled
  • 1 green onion, sliced
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
  • 10 almonds, chopped

Dressing

  • 2 tsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ⅛ tsp Sambal Oelek

DIRECTIONS

  1. Place the dry arame in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water; allow to sit 5-15 minutes, until the arame is soft and about double in bulk (the longer it soaks, the less it retains a “fishy” taste). Drain and set aside
  2. In a small bowl, add all the ingredients for the dressing and mix until well combined.
  3. Shell the edamame and add them to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add arame, green onions, sesame seeds and chopped almonds. Stir in the dressing and mix until well incorporated.
  4. Allow to sit at least 15 minutes before serving (if you can wait that long!)
  5. Store covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.