Fast Summer Salad

I love veg shish kabobs!  They're perfect for summer grilling and easy to make.    Cut and skewer them ahead of time and store in fridge so they're easy to grab and throw on the grill.  For my kabob I used green, orange, and red bell peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, and mushroom.

Here's a great fast salad that you can throw together for summer, especially when that lazy summer slug is creeping into your daily routine and you really don't feel like putting much effort into cooking :P  This is a very yin dish so make sure you monitor how you feel after.  If you start to feel a little lightheaded have the salad with some warm miso soup to help balance it off.

Summer Salad

1. Veg shish kabob - Skewer summer squashes and peppers on a skewer, sprinkle with umeboshi vinegar  and place on grill.  Turning until both sides are slightly charred.
2. Mixed Greens - Try a mix of mixed greens for the salad but try to steer clear of spinach.  Top with shredded carrots, sliced beets, and half an avocado.  Squeeze fresh lemon.
3. Tofu - I just diced up fresh tofu but you can go ahead and grill your tofu or skewer it onto your kabob as well.  Replacing this with a tofu dipp is a great option.  Just mash up the tofu in a suribachi with some green onion, tahini, miso, shoyu, and a dash of brown rice vinegar.
4. Buckwheat salad - Cook 1/4 cup buckwheat and toss with shredded cabbage, cooked chickpeas, dash of cumin, sea salt, olive oil, and baby tomatoes.