Confession: I didn’t exercise at all this week. I let work completely consume me, and as a result I was left feeling pretty shitty, both physically and mentally. (If you work out, you know the feeling.) When Saturday morning rolled around I was determined to make it up to myself with a long, hot shower, three miles of the Rocky soundtrack, and a bomb salad that would cancel out the burrito, the bagel, the pad see ew, the veal parmigiana, and the panelle special I inhaled over the course of five days. (Not that it wasn’t DELICIOUS.)

So it’s salad for dinner tonight.

These are the cremini mushrooms, the more sophisticated white button. They’re firmer and have more flavor.

Slice ‘em up.

2 white onion buddies.

Slice ‘em up.

Dance party USA.

Used up the last bit of olive oil…

Before the party moved to the pot…

There are a million ways to cook mushrooms and onions, but omg I love using marsala. When the juice from the mushrooms evaporates, pour 1/2 a cup of marsala in.

And when the marsala is all soaked up, pour a cup of chicken stock in.

This is pretty much what it looks like. It’s on medium heat, so just let it do its thing. In the meantime, prep the healthy stuff.

Such as: LETTUCE. Chop it up.

Such as: MR. GREEN PEPPER. Chop it up.

Such as: AVO the CADO.

Scoop it, cube it.

Little guy.

Bursting with red onionyness. A must-have in all my salads. Try not to cry.

Tofu! Only $1.79! Upside down!

Tofu might be the easiest thing on the planet to cook.

A) It slices sooooooo nicely.

B) All you need to do is heat a pan with some vegetable oil, and then plop ‘em down.

Secret: You will get the urge to check on them, touch them, flip them, talk to them, etc.

DON’T. Don’t disturb the magic that is cooking tofu.

Couple drops of soy never hurt nobody.

See, nice and crispy. Perfect for slicing into the bomb salad.

Here’s where the SWEET comes in. Red raspberries. I don’t just toss these into the salad whole, I crush ‘em between my fingers first.

I chop some almonds…

I squeeze some sour.

Caciotta tartuffo cheese. “A young, springy Sheep’s Milk toma, laced with flecks of Black Truffle. Heady yet refreshing.” (Just a couple of slices to place on top of the mushrooms…)

I mean, it’s no veal parmigiana… but it’s damn good.