We were really excited to see stinging nettles being sold at the farmers market last weekend, since the Millenium cookbook has a recipe for stinging nettle ravioli, and I love exotic-sounding ingredients. We got lazy/busy and didn't make the ravioli, instead we just cooked up the stinging nettles, being careful not to actually touch them while raw, only after they were cooked, because as the name suggests, they will sting you. They were hairy, and reminded me of a cat's tounge. It was like eating something with fur all over it. Pretty nasty, I was unable to finish my portion. I'm quite pleased that I didn't bother making ravioli, because that would have been a tragic waste of time.
Onto salad! I combined mexican oregano, chipotle chili powder, cumin, paprika and salt to make a coating for tofu. I coated the firm tofu in the mixture, and then fried them up with a minimum of oil and then cubed. I took regular salad greens, added cilantro, crushed up 'red hot & blue' or something like that blue corn chips, and topped it with date-lime-chipotle chili dressing. That was just lime juice, a date, rice vinegar (teeny qty), and chipotle chili powder. I loved that salad, and I can't wait to make it again.
