Hippy food has long been a bastion of vegetarian eats for many reasons. Some political, some personal but in all honesty mostly because it is cheap and often utilizes every last morsel sharing some of the same philosophy as head to tail eating, ironic?, well, yes. Never mind the reasons though because that doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste great and utilizing every part means new tastes and textures from veggies you have long grown tired of.

There is nothing better than to take a bite of something and not only have it taste good but when it feels good, or nutritious, as you eat it it is all the better. Having said it time and time again there are certain dishes that hit that button and, man, there is no better eating. This salad hits that button.

So get out your tie dies and put on your birks, crank up the Dead and get in touch with your inner vegetarian, oh, and make extra because the nice thing about this salad is it is no worse for the wear the next day.

The soy ginger vinaigrette in this recipe was adapted from Jean-Georges Vongericthen’s Simple Cuisine. Learn this recipe you because will find yourself using it on everything. It is a genius recipe.

Makes 4 servings

For the vinaigrette:

2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon ginger, finely minced

1/3 cup canola or unflavored oil

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons water

Put all the ingredients into a pint mason jar and screw the lid on tightly. Shake the hell out of it. Set the dressing aside.

For the salad:

1 to  1 1/2 cups blanched broccoli stems, 1/4 inch dice

1/2 cup carrots, grated

3 cups cooked brown rice

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 1/2 tablespoon chives, minced

soy ginger vinaigrette

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Place all the ingredients, except the dressing in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add 1/3 of a cup of the dressing and combine everything. Taste, adjust the salt and pepper and add more dressing if you like.