Spicy Tri Colour Salad with Roasted Pine Nuts
Just because food is fast doesn’t mean that it invariably has to be unhealthy. Over the weekend I wanted to make something that would satisfy my craving for a bit of junk food without actually buying junk food, and this rice salad with an accompaniment of satay sauce hit the spot. It’s very easy to put together, and even though we ate it with fresh spinach and tomatoes, it still curbed that greasy carb craving due to the nice balance of salty and sweet and the fats in the satay. My whole family loved it, and Ävälon gobbled it down like she hadn’t been fed for days!
It’s a lovely, satisfying and simple dish that can be eaten warm, or cold from the fridge the next day. I love this kind of food - the very unfussy sort that begs to be eaten without cutlery (even though you might actually need it here); the kind of food that tastes as good as it looks, and has the added bonus of being good for you at the same time. It’s exactly the kind of food I like.
What I don’t like, however, is the fast part. I realise this might sound a bit odd, but let me explain. Even though I love the fact that this meal is quick and easy to prepare, I feel disgruntled that we live in an age where practically all our meals are fast; fast to prepare and inhaled in seconds because no one has the time to appreciate food for what it can be - a nourishing act of sharing in each others lives for a moment in the day. A sit down meal, lovingly prepared, that has been passed down from generations before, or simply made-up on the spot, is a wonderful thing to hold on to. I don’t think it matters where you sit or who you are with, as long as you have food and company and take the time to share your thoughts and musings for the day.
We ate this spread about the house and yard, chatting and catching up. It was the most informal thing in the world, but immensely pleasurable. We used large cabbage leaves as plates so we could walk freely about the garden and not worry about dropping heavy plates on our toes (plus, no one wanted to do the washing up). Ävälon left her cabbage plate in the garden for the rabbits. I rolled mine up, dipped it in the satay and ate it. We milled about with not much to do but watch ant trails and wonder how far below the earth their nests reach. We talked about what we want to achieve in the coming year and pointed out shapes in the clouds while laying on the grass. Sure, we all had a million and one time sensitive things to do and ever more looming on the horizon, but for an afternoon we tried to focus on being present and enjoying the beautiful day. And we did!
In the end, I guess we enjoyed some fast food on a slow day. And what did I learn from this? That just because your food is fast doesn’t mean your life has to be. In fact, the faster the food, the more time you’ll have to enjoy it! Right?
Love and light!
Susanna xo