If you’ve been around these parts for any length of time then you’d know colourful salads are up there on my favourite food list, and this is no exception! Not only is it colourful, it’s also full of delicious flavours (and a bit of a spice kick!) from the tofu marinade, all supported by tasty, hearty soba noodles. What more could you want from a salad!?
Now that I’m back in the swing of things post Christmas holidays and moving house I’m back to making big salads on a Sunday afternoon to fuel me for a week of lunches at work. This one was a great way to start as it was quick and easy to prepare, full of flavour and also enough protein to stop me reaching for a mid-afternoon snack. I had been favouring Israeli couscous in recent times but decided it was time to pull the ol’ standard couscous out of the pantry, and I’m very glad I did – it worked a treat!
For as long as I can remember, whenever I would order a freshly squeezed juice at a cafe it was always a combination of apple, pineapple and orange juice. As I got older I’d sometimes add ginger, maybe a carrot, but those three key ingredients never changed. I still standby it as a great flavour combination, but over time I have expanded my horizons somewhat, and now my freshly squeezed juices are more guided by whatever fruit and veggies I have on hand (which unfortunately rarely includes pineapple!) as opposed to habit!
I love carrot cake – it has consistently been one of my favourite cakes for years now, possibly influenced by the fact I love carrots in anything! I particularly like it when the cake is heavy on the carrot and walnut, and the addition of some sultanas never goes astray. Topped with a lemony cream cheese icing and I’m a very happy camper. So when my housemates requested a carrot cake I was more than happy to oblige and happily set about making one that met all my criteria!
This recipe was inspired by the recipe Erica from Addicted to Handmade shared on her blog a little while back. I didn’t have the same ingredients that she did, but it was a great launching off point for a delicious soup! I’m loving finally owning a food processor as up until this point my soup making has been limited to chunky minestrone soups, and while I still will be making large batches of that over the winter as it’s always been a favourite, I can’t wait to try out all kinds of other flavour combinations as well!