Fresh Bok Choy Salad with Apple Sesame Dressing

Hi! You may (or may not) have noticed we disappeared for a few weeks. My excuse is boring and kind of gross but it feels great to be back, I’ve missed you all.

Remember the Game of Thrones Season Finale? It seems like it was a long time ago now. We recorded it because we had people for dinner and then stayed up to watch it after they left. It was past our bedtime (any time after 9pm, these days) so between the two of us falling asleep and rewinding it to re-watch parts, it took us about three hours to watch.

During this time, our toilet was slowly but persistently overflowing. I noticed right before going to bed and thought I could just mop up the little bit of water that was around the back of the toilet until my husband came into the room and asked why the bedroom carpet and hallway hardwood was wet.

For anyone who lives in an apartment building, you know where I’m going with this. After Googling what to do (what did we do before Google? Call our parents? Probably…) we had restoration people over within the hour and I don’t want to bore you with more details but we now live in a fun little apartment downtown while ALL OF THE FLOORING IN OUR HOME is being replaced.

Some days it feels like we’re on vacation; finding new places to grocery shop and swing on the swings. Some days it feels like none of us will ever sleep again (because I guess babies don’t like sleeping in closets). Usually it’s both.

But as the restoration guy said to me (at 3am after he set up giant dehumidifiers, which heated up our already sweaty apartment and told us we’d likely have to move out for 6-8 weeks) at least it wasn’t a fire. And, yes, at least it wasn’t a fire. Or a great many other tragic things that seem to be happening in the world right now.

The only one really suffering (besides my baby who is apparently scared of the dark) (don’t worry, she doesn’t actually sleep in the closet, she reminds us of that several times a day and all night long), is this blog.

I think we are back for good now. I shot this salad before our toilet trouble, in our soggy-floored, bright, photo-friendly apartment. The salad itself was so green and fresh and watery. It tasted hydrating, like a shower for your insides.

Bok choy is something that I often put into soup, or even juice (so juicy!) but I often forget about it as a salad green. Why not, right? It is part of the cruciferous family (along with the radishes and the mustard) who’s main job is crushing cancer, and is a 2-in-1 style vegetable: green plus vegetable-y stem. There is literally nothing not to love about it.

We balance all of that good time green with some sweet apple. Apples, being sweet, tend to get a bad rap but when you eat them as a whole, including its skin and fiber, it absorbs into your system much slower (bad news for cancer cells, great news for you). Combined with some Asian-inspired ingredients that love some sweet balance, this is actually a delicious dressing. Besides bok choy, it is also bold enough to pair with any cruciferous vegetable and their bitter vibes (kale salad, radish salad, broccoli salad).

Feeling a little bit chilly this week (hello unheard of Vancouver snow-dusting in November)? Try this recipe with steamed bok choy instead of raw. Serve warm or room temp. It’s actually great both ways.