Ok I will admit it. I love coffee culture. Sometime before the pandemic life and would visit that coffee shop every other Thursday, on payday and treat myself to lunch. I got a little TOO dependant. It began to hurt my pocket book. But the salad was SOOO good. I had to find a better way to get my fix.

Salad is easy enough to put together I began to take a strawberry spinach salad to my study group on the Thursday and I would pass by my coffee shop and look at it with sad longing. I mean my homemade salad was good but it was still lacking…it was missing something. The next Thursday I sat down in the booth and intentional treated myself to my salad. I took careful inventory of all the ingredients and wrote it down on a napkin. Berries, cheese, dressing CANDIED PECANS and Balsamic dressing- I felt like some spy on a secret mission.

Candied Pecans- they your new secret Salad weapon. This was the missing bullet in my own salads. The thing that kept me coming back for more. A quick trip to the market for pecan halves, quick mix with aqua faba and spices and less then 20 minutes later I had sweet crunchy pecans. Exactly like the ones that had in the shop. I remade my salad adding in the pecans – You know that moment when you bite into a food craving and you let out that sigh when food perfection has reached your taste buds…it happened! It totally happened! Success!

Berry Pecan Salad for 2- Inspired by Coffee Culture

• Handful of fresh Baby Spinach
• Handful of fresh spring greens mix
• 1/4 cup your favourite vegan cheese or firm tofu crumbles (or goat cheese for non vegans)
• 1/2 cup slice fresh strawberries and/or blueberries
• 1/4 cup candied pecans **
• Balsamic dressing**

**recipes below

Wash and clean all greens, top with cheese, Berries and pecan. Serve with dressing. Enjoy.

Candied Pecans:

• 3 TB Aquafaba – egg white if non vegan
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups pecans halves
• 1/2 white sugar (use your fav. Vegan brand)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp clove
• Pinch of sea salt

Mix Sugar and spices and blend in bowl set aside.

Whip aquafaba until lightly foamy, mix in vanilla well. Coat nuts well in foamy Aqaba faba then gently toss in sugar spice mixture. Spread on a parchment lined pan and bake 300 F degree for 20 minutes. Let cool store airtight at room temp for 1 month.

Balsamic Dressing:

• 1-2 tablespoons Maple syrup (or honey for non vegans)
• 1 tablespoon vegan dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper finely ground
• 1 large garlic clove minced
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients well with whisk – for a thicker creamier dressing use a blender to emulsify. Serve along side fresh salad.