Grilled Broccoli & Cabbage Salad w/Smoked Salmon

Some days you just want to run through that drive thru on your way home from work. It was a long day, your tired and you just don't want to deal with it.  But you have to stop and think...How hard is it to throw together a salad, I mean really... 

Yesterday was one of those days. I was driving home and I decided I would stop at one of my favorite specialty food locations and pick up something to go with a salad so I didn't have to do too much to put together a nice  nutritious meal.  I'm not talking about a grocery store, I'm talking about seeking out places that make exceptional food and you can order it to go.  We have a great little BBQ place next door to work where this guy built his business by smoking high quality meats starting in his backyard.  His business grew through word of mouth and then his wife kicked him out of the backyard and told him to get serious about it.  I'm sure glad he did because he smokes the best BBQ I've ever tasted in Texas and everyone knows we are know for our BBQ.  

He smokes a salmon that is so succulent that it just melts in your mouth and I couldn't resist last night.  It was perfect.  I came home, fed the dogs, tossed some cabbage and broccoli with some sesame oil and fired up the grill.  While I changed clothes, I let the cabbage and broccoli cook on the grill.  Then I grabbed a nice glass of orange cinnamon iced tea and sat outside  until they were done cooking.

Then I chopped them up, thew together a vinaigrette and tossed it together.  The salmon was to die for and the salad was a nice crunchy side dish that pulled it all together.  Not to mention how good it was for me.  Much better than a drive thru and more satisfying.

Here is the vinaigrette I threw together:

Dijon Mustard

Lime Juice

Rice Wine Vinegar (unsweetened)

Sesame Oil

Honey 

Garlic Chili Paste

I tossed in some fresh cilantro and red onion.  Make sure to lightly coat the salad and not drown it in the vinaigrette.  It doesn't need much.

Tip of the week:  Seek out places that make handcrafted high quality ingredients and start putting them in our list to turn to when you want something good for your and tastes great without having to be sucked into the drive thru.

Stormy