When it gets really hot and muggy, the desire to use a stove or oven to put together a meal doesn’t seem appealing. That’s when salads come to the rescue! The minimal use of the stove, plus the crisp vegetables make it a refreshing meal choice – especially for the summertime.
This tofu watercress salad recipe comes from the 50th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival Golden Anniversary Cookbook, which came out around 2003. While the book doesn’t have a lot of fanfare, there are pictures of previous court contestants and an abundance of recipes submitted by various people who’re connected to the festival.
The first Cherry Blossom Festival was held in 1953 by the Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce. In the inaugural year, 72 young women participated in the Queen Pageant and Violet Niimi was the 1st Cherry Blossom Festival Queen. A scholarship in her honor has been awarded since her passing in 2001.
There are so many different ways to put together a tofu salad and this recipe book shows that everyone has their own way to do it. There are about five recipes with the differences mainly in some of the vegetables used, but primarily the ingredients of the dressing.
This recipe stood out to me because it had the least amount of ingredients and uses things that are easily picked up from most grocery stores if they’re not something you have on hand already.
Foodie Friday is a segment in the Akamai Recap newsletter that's a place to talk story and connect over food. If you have a favorite recipe or food-centric memory you’d like to share, feel free to send them via email to pclay@hawaiipublicradio.org
