what i made for dinner :: tofu burgers + sesame brown rice salad with shredded chicken and peanuts

we've had a heat wave in our parts for the last week. luckily, i found a whole grain salad article in the june 2007 issue of cooking light that would help to combat the heat :: the sesame brown rice salad with shredded chicken and peanuts recipe sounded refreshing and filling. it also allowed me to use some of the left over stuff in the fridge. (kind of a sidenote, but i am trying harder not to waste food; i used to let ingredients for one dish go to waste because i didn't know how to use it for another dish. i'm finding that with more practice i can reuse the same ingredients in different ways in short spans of time without getting bored of the food. and, that is a very good thing.) i also added sliced red pepper to this for a pop of color and more crunch. you could probably even add some nappa cabbage to this as well.

you need to make a lot of dressing for this (twice as much as is called for), otherwise it's too bland. obviously, upping the oil content decreases the healthiness of the recipe so you'll have to choose :: flavor or low-cal. however, i have an idea i intend to try next time -- marinating the veggies in the dressing for awhile in the fridge. another piece of advice, don't pour the dressing over the rice if you don't intend to eat it right away. the rice absorbs the dressing quickly and you'll have to add more right before serving.

the main dish was tofu burger patties, a staple around here. it's not vegetarian; tofu is an additional filler to ground meat (i used ground chicken this time but i've used a ground beef + pork combo as well). this is another dish where i can sneak in more veggies than ian is usually willing to eat. tonight's version had shiitake mushrooms, onions, red peppers, carrots, and snap peas in it. additional ingredients :: egg (for binding), ginger, garlic, sesame oil, shoyu, sesame seeds, and ground pepper (i don't add salt because we use tonkatsu sauce on top).