Not-So-Thai Salad

I love Thai food and so I was eager to try the Asparagus, Watercress, and Carrot Salad with Thai Flavors from cooksillustrated.com. The recipe sounded lovely -  marinated carrots and asparagus on a bed of arugula (I didn't have watercress on hand) topped with a sprinkling of peanuts. I was sorely disappointed.

YUCKY YUCK YUCK!

• First of all, the recipe calls for two TABLESPOONS of fish sauce in the dressing. It
  
  was waaaayyy too much. The Geek suggested that perhaps I had read the recipe wrong (teaspoons instead of tablespoons). I checked. I didn't.
• Second, the asparagus is quickly browned in oil and nothing else. It would have been better if it had been seasoned with some salt and a little garlic, as it did not pick up the dressing at all. 
• Finally, I didn't think the flavors came together very well and it definitely was not reminiscent of Thai food. Some of that may have been my fault - perhaps I didn't put the right proportions on the plate.

 I am definitely willing to try this salad again but next time I'll leave out the fish sauce completely and sprinkle on a more generous portion of peanuts along with a bit of cilantro and Thai basil.

On the plus side, this recipe gave me a chance to use some of my favorite kitchen gadgets.

• I prefer to use a reamer for the lime juice if the recipe calls for only a tablespoon or two of juice. I have both a press and an electric juicer but the reamer is convenient and quick enough for most things.
• I hate chopping nuts and they almost always turn out unevenly sized. My Progressive Heavy-Duty nut chopper has saved me from having to suffer through this chore and produces lovely and (mostly) same-sized chunks. LOVE IT!
• My newest find is the Titan Julienne Tool. I was very skeptical when I first looked at it in the store, but thought I'd give it a try. Wow, it works beautifully! The strips that it produces are really, really thin - more like a garnish - but they will work for most things that I cook.

Since I was having (what I thought was) Thai food for lunch, I decided to try something tropical for today's smoothie. I cheated and used canned pineapple along with the juice it was packed in and some light coconut milk.

Since I wanted the pineapple and coconut flavors to shine, I chose vegetables that were pale in color and whose flavors would disappear into the drink - cauliflower and cabbage.  But on first taste, I realized neither the milk nor juice were very sweet so I ended up adding a banana and apple juice. Yummy!