|ode to edamame|

Sometimes, when I'm eating edamame, I pause and think, "How did I live before edamame was everywhere?" It's pretty much one of nature's perfect foods...low in calories and fat, very high in fiber and protein. You can squeeze it out of its little pods and it's more fun than a Pez dispenser. You can buy it already shelled and sprinkle it into almost anything.

This morning, I went to the local Farmers' Market and it was all abuzz...the first arts fair of the summer, too. Afterwards, I was craving "real food" without having to cook it so I stopped by one of the downtown grocery stores that has an amazing salad bar and prepared foods section. I made a tasty salad with fresh spinach, dried cranberries, Annie's Green Goddess dressing (which really deserves a whole post of its own), Gorgonzola, and marinated tofu. Then I picked up a little plastic container of their freshly prepared edamame salad. It is SO delicious. I brought the container home so I can look at the ingredients and try to recreate it. It says: edamame, wild rice, water, red peppers, scallions, chili paste, lemon juice, sesame oil, tamari, rice vinegar. Looks like I'll need to pick up some chili paste at the store later today.

Thank you, God, for creating edamame.