Soy-ginger vinaigrette: Week 1

Sweet potatoes and onions drizzled with olive oil
Chicken tenders in Japanese vinaigrette
ready for 375° oven

I love to hide out in the kitchen at dusk,  sipping wine, nibbling chocolate, and cooking something luscious. C always appreciates the outcome, and I love the whole process. But ...

I could be making art.

I've been thinking about time, choosing what's important, and eliminating hurry.  Gotta make space for art.

"Ha! good luck!" you say.

Planning ahead saves time, so I made a summer cooking schedule: three big salads a week, one soup, one roast chicken, one new recipe, and on Thursdays C cooks or takes us out to a restaurant. Why is this such a challenge?  Because I don't like plans. I like whims. I can make a schedule, but can't follow it. Nevertheless, the older I get the dearer my time becomes, so I'm trying once again, and I'm going to post the recipes of the previous week, so I can repeat them in a month. This is what institutions like schools and even restaurants do ... aha! I also hate institutions. This may be hopeless, but last week we had:

Japanese shrimp and noodle salad*
romaine with bacon, poached egg, and croutons
cucumber, tomato, mint, green onion, and feta
chickpea soup with spinach and garlic bread
chicken marinated in leftover dressing from the Japanese noodle salad, roast sweet potatoes and onions

*Here's the recipe for the noodle salad's vinaigrette. It is a new staple, both as dressing and as marinade.

Vinaigrette

Combine:
1/4 C. rice vinegar
1/4 C. canola oil
1/4 C. white miso paste (I couldn't find this, so I skipped it.)
3 T. soy sauce
2 T. brown sugar
2 tsp. peeled and grated fresh ginger (I cheated and used the kind in a tube, but fresh would be better.)
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp. wasabi paste, or to taste (It's spicy.)
Salt and pepper to taste

That's it.