Star Wars Day Recipe: Vegetarian Ewok salad

Every year on May the fourth, we celebrate Star Wars Day. It’s a very important holiday – right up there with Talk Like a Pirate Day and Christmas. We watch at least one of the movies and I make something special to eat. My favorite film is Return of the Jedi and I am partial to Ewoks. (Yes, I was born after The Ewok Line.) Naturally, this year’s feast revolved around those fuzzy creatures: Ewok salad.

I whipped up a recipe on the fly and set it down in front of the kids, declaring it “Ewok salad.” Lil’ Wheezy (6) immediately gave me a sideways glace before carefully asking, “Does this have Ewoks… in it?”

I assured him that it did not and in fact, was vegetarian. It was something that Ewoks themselves would eat. Relieved, he scooped up a bite.

(Note: Technically not true. On closer inspection, Ewoks are carnivores. They were going to eat Luke and Han. Don’t tell my son though.)

Lil’ Wheezy is often concerned about the well-being of his food, farm animals, and sometimes fictional animals.

When we visited Latte Da Dairy for Mother’s Day, Hubby declared that one day he would like to have goats. He got the same sideways glance from Lil’ Wheezy who immediately asked, “You want to eat goats?”

“No,” Hubby assured him. “I want to raise goats. On a farm. So that we can have goat cheese.”

Hubby and Lil’ Wheezy share a love of feta that could be called legendary. Or legend-DAIRY.

If you would like to celebrate Star Wars Day in an animal-friendly way, this Ewok salad recipe was a hit.

Ewok salad recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package of extra-firm tofu
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup uncooked wild rice
• 1/2 cup uncooked lentils (any color – I used green)
• olive oil
• 1 small onion, 1 medium carrot, and 1/2 a small zucchini diced small
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• salt and pepper
• a handful of fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, and oregano) chopped finely

Instructions:

Start by prepping the tofu. Take it out of the package and discard the liquid. Place it between two layers of paper towels and press it with something heavy. I used a sugar canister on top of a plate. Let it sit for about five minutes, then discard the paper towels. Repeat the process with fresh paper towels a few times until the tofu is mostly dry.

Slice the block into several smaller pieces. You will dice it later, but if you do that now it will fall apart in the marinade.

Marinate the tofu in the vegetable broth for at least an hour.

Meanwhile, bring the lentils to a boil in a pot of water. Simmer them about an hour or until they are soft. You may also want to start the wild rice at this time. Cook it according to the package directions. Mine took about an hour.

Once the tofu, lentils, and rice are ready, drain them all.

Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and add the diced vegetables until they are just soft, about ten minutes. Add the garlic powder and chili powder, plus salt and pepper to taste.

Dice the tofu into bite-sized pieces. Add it and the cooked rice and lentils to the skillet. Stir to combine and heat.

Add the chopped herbs.

 

Lil’ Wheezy gave his approval of the dish. In fact, he said that he would like to eat more “toe food.” When I asked Sniffles (9) what she thought of it, she gave her now-trademark reply: “This is ok. You know what would make it better? Bacon.”

No Ewoks, goats, pigs, or small children were harmed in the making of this blog post.

Vegetarian Ewok salad

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Ingredients

• 1/2 package of extra-firm tofu
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup uncooked wild rice
• 1/2 cup uncooked lentils
• olive oil
• 1 small onion
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 a small zucchini
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• salt and pepper
• a handful of fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, and oregano) chopped finely

Instructions

1. Start by prepping the tofu. Take it out of the package and discard the liquid. Place it between two layers of paper towels and press it with something heavy. I used a sugar canister on top of a plate. Let it sit for about five minutes, then discard the paper towels. Repeat the process with fresh paper towels a few times until the tofu is mostly dry.
2. Slice the block into several smaller pieces.
3. Marinate the tofu in the vegetable broth for at least an hour.
4. Bring the lentils to a boil in a pot of water. Simmer them about an hour or until they are soft.
5. Start the wild rice; cook according to the package directions.
6. Once the tofu, lentils, and rice are ready, drain them all.
7. Dice the vegetables. Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and add the diced vegetables until they are just soft, about ten minutes. Add the garlic powder and chili powder, plus salt and pepper to taste.
8. Dice the tofu into bite-sized pieces. Add it and the cooked rice and lentils to the skillet. Stir to combine and heat.
9. Add the chopped herbs.
10. Serve immediately.