Tag Archives: salad

Quinoa Green Apple Salad

by salad, ,

Quinoa Green Apple Salad

3 from 1 vote
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Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Granny Smith apples, washed, cored, and diced
  • 1 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, washed, and chopped
  • 6-8 leaves fresh mint, washed and chopped
  • 6-8 leaves fresh basil, washed and chopped
  • 1 cup arugula, washed, destemmed, androughly chopped
  • Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
  • ¼ cup organic extra virgin olive oil
  • sea salt to taste
  • Optional: garnish with halved fresh grapes

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl combine apples, arugula,and herbs, mixing well
  • Gently mix with quinoa
  • In a separate container mix together lemonjuice, olive oil, and salt until fully combined
  • Pour dressing over salad and toss gently
  • Serve immediately
summer salads

Summer Salads

by salad,

Summer is a great time for eating lots of fresh veggies. Summer salads are a fabulous way to enjoy those veggies, it’s one of the reasons I deeply appreciate this season. Let’s be clear though, salad, in this case, doesn’t mean iceberg lettuce with some tomato and cucumber.

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to have several different salads on hand. It helps to make mealtime quicker, and easier, and I know I’m getting a lot of veggies into my diet.

With multiple salads on hand you can have a quick meal ready at a moment’s notice. That’s because it’s super easy to make a composed plate with a protein and two to three different salads to round out a meal. It’s light, refreshing, and oh so delicious.

Below are a few of my favorite summer salads and you’ll notice not a single shred of lettuce in any of them. These particular salads are also pretty versatile.  Steamed, cooled, broccoli or cauliflower could be a great addition. Zucchini, jicama, salad turnips, just use your imagination and see what you can create and how many veggies you can add to your plate.

One of my favorite ways to eat this delicious root is in an Oriental Salad. The tops of the root, the fatter part, tends to be milder in flavor so I use that when making this salad. The bottom of the root is great for pickling or stir-frying. I make this using the julienne blade on my Cuisinart.

Daikon-Carrot Salad

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 C. julienned daikon root
  • 1 C. julienned carrot
  • 1 t. fresh grated ginger
  • 1 T. rice wine vinegar
  • 2 T. vegetable oil
  • 1 t. sesame oil
  • 1 t. tamari sauce
  • 1 T. sesame seeds, toasted
  • 2 t. ground nori (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Whisk together the vinegar, tamari sauce, sesame seeds, nori, and ginger.
  • Slowly whisk in the oils
  • In a separate bowl toss together daikon and carrot
  • Pour dressing over the vegetables and toss gently
  • Marinate 30-45 minutes
  • Can be served cold or at room temperature
    Enjoy!

Wanting to make something fresh and different I rummaged around in my pantry and put together this amazingly delicious rice salad.

One of the great things about this dish is that it makes use of fresh vegetables and fresh herbs.  I love salads like this, often preferring them the next day after the flavors have had a chance to meld and blend.

Mediterranean Rice Salad

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 red sweet bell pepper seeded and diced
  • 4 spring onions, diced
  • 3 ribs celery, diced
  • 1 cup assorted olives, diced
  • 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained and diced
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts
  • 1 bunch parsley, de-stemmed* and minced
  • 1tablespoon minced basil leaves
  • 4 cups cooked basmati rice
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Mix all ingredients together, toss well, let sit 2-3 hours for flavors to develop.
    Delicious!

Notes

*When I de-stem herbs like parsley or cilantro I've learned a little trick that makes it very easy:
  1. Leave the herbs bound together, wash well to clean and shake dry
  2. Holding the stems use a chef's knife and chop at the leaves in a short brisk fashion moving down the stems
  3. Rotate the stems and repeat on another side until all sides have been shaved
  4. Remove band holding the stems together
  5. Throw the stems in your compost bin
  6. Pile chopped leaves together and mince
It probably took longer to write that than it takes to do it.  Once you do this you'll wonder why you ever de-stemmed leafy herbs any other way.

A black rice with a rich delicious flavor, this is a whole grain and provides an antioxidant punch.

It provides a particular antioxidant called anthocyanin (which is also found in blueberries and blackberries) believed to help prevent inflammation, diabetes, and reduce or limit cancer-caused DNA damage.

Regardless of the health effects of the antioxidant properties there is no disputing the fact that this is a tasty way to add more whole grains to your diet.

Forbidden Rice Salad

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup black rice
  • 1 3/4 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts
  • 1 large carrot
  • 1 rib celery leaves included
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 3 spring onions
  • 1 cup edamame
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons walnut oil
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • sea salt and pepper

Instructions
 

  • Put rice, water and salt into a pot and bring to just under a boil on the stovetop
    Cover, reduce heat and cook until rice is done 20-25 minutes
  • While the rice is cooking, toast pine nuts in a dry pan until just starting to turn brown
    Remove from heat and let sit
  • Dice the vegetables except the edamame
    Note1 :  I use the large shred on my box shredded to get large slivers of carrot rather than a dicecombine the vegetables together in a bowl
    Note 2:  unfortunately I discovered I am out of edamame, the recipe really is better with them in there
  • In a separate container whisk together the oils, vinegar, water, mustard, salt and pepper
    Note:  I like to use walnut oil because it compliments the nutty taste of the rice and the flavor of the pine nuts
  • When the rice is done uncover it, remove from heat and let it sit 10-15 minutes to cool off and to stop steaming
    Combine all ingredients together, toss well and refrigerate for 2-4 hours before serving

Salads are so wonderful in the warmer months, keeping a couple on hand in the fridge means you always have something for lunch or dinner.  

If you don't happen to have fresh sprouts on hand you many grocery stores now carry them although they're certainly easy to make and I think it's better to get them fresh, it's certainly easy to do.

Curried Carrot Sprout Salad

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Ingredients
  

  • 6 large carrots, topped and shredded
  • 1 C. fresh *bean sprouts
  • 1/4 C. dried currants
  • 1/4 C. raw sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 C. chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 C. mayonnaise
  • 1 t. curry powder
  • salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Mix all ingredients together
  • Let sit in fridge for at least two hours to chill and for flavor to settle

Notes

Homemade Bean Sprouts
  • 1/2 C. assorted dried beans (I like adzuki, mung, lentil and black beans)
  • Sort through beans and rinse
  • Put in a metal pot, cover with water and set in the oven overnight (oven is off)
  • In the morning drain and rinse the beans well
  • Return to the oven
  • Repeat until beans have 1/2″ long tails
 
1. Rinse and eat
2. May be stored in the fridge but make sure they are fully dry before you do that to avoid spoilage
 
Note:  when making your sprouts it is helpful to put a note stating “sprouts” on the oven door so that people don't preheat the oven without looking and accidentally cook your sprouts.  Just saying…
 

summer salads

Salad With Tahini Dressing

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Ingredients
  

  • 2 Persian cucumbers, diced (about 1 cup)
  • 1 carrot, grated (about 1 cup)
  • 1/2 head radicchio, diced (about 1 cup)
  • 2 cups shredded green cabbage
  • 1/2 cup diced celery — tip I always simply cut through the entire bunch of celery. It’s faster and easier than dicing up the ribs
  • 1/4 cup minced green onion
  • 1/4 cup minced cilantro
  • 1/3 cup raw cashews, minced

Instructions
 

  • Toss with *tahini dressing and enjoy!

Notes

Tahini dressing
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Juice of one lemon, about 3 tablespoons
  • One clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Related: Should You Clean Your Organic Fruits And Veggies?

chicken cabbage salad

Chicken Cabbage Salad

by salad, seasonal,

As part of my season eating summertime strategy, I love having delicious salads on hand as a side dish.  Making a composed plate of three to four salads can be a wonderful way to have a nutrient dense veggie rich meal.

This particular salad is crunchy, refreshing, and perfect for the season.  I think it's even amazing as a meal all by itself. 

The tahini dressing is fabulous; it can easily be doubled or tripled and stored in the refrigerator to have on hand for any salad.

chicken cabbage salad

Chicken Cabbage Salad

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Ingredients
  

  • Tahini dressing:

    2 T cup tahini,stirred

    2 T water

    4 tsp fresh lemon juice

    1 small clove garlic, minced

    ½ teaspoon sea salt

  • Salad ingredients:

    2 cups diced cooked chicken – dark or white meat

    4 cups green cabbage, chopped

    1 red bell pepper, diced

    2 spring onions, diced

    sea salt to taste

    minced cilantro for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Mix together tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic, and sea salt until well blended
  • In a large bowl place cabbage, bell pepper, onions, and diced chicken
  • Toss dressing with the ingredients in the bowl
  • Salt according to your preference
  • Garnish with minced cilantro and serve
    Enjoy!

Strawberry Feta Salad

Strawberry Feta Salad With Balsamic Reduction

by recipes, salad, summer,

This summertime salad is the perfect blend of sweet and savory flavors. The fresh strawberries are drizzled with a rich balsamic glaze, while the peppery arugula and salty Feta cheese balance out the sweetness. The pecans add a satisfying crunch, making this salad an irresistible treat.


Whether you're serving it as a side dish or a light starter, this strawberry salad is sure to please. So go ahead and give it a try - you won't be disappointed!

Strawberry Feta Salad

Strawberry Feta Salad with Balsamic Reduction

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Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups Romaine lettuce, washed, dried and chopped
  • 2 cups arugula, washed, dried, and chopped
  • 1-pint fresh strawberries, rinsed, topped, trimmed and quartered
  • 3 ounces Feta cheese
  • ½ cup pecan halves, if desired these can be lightly toasted first in a dry pan on the stovetop
  • Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup balsamic vinegar

Instructions
 

  • Add sea salt and black pepper to taste
  • Season with salt and black pepper, to taste
  • Drizzle lightly with the olive oil
  • Toss gently to combine the ingredients, place into a salad bowl (or serve into individual bowls) and set aside
  • Add balsamic vinegar to a small pot with heat set to medium-high
  • Heat until just under a boil, reduce heat and simmer approximately 10 minutes until vinegar is reduced to 1/3 of a cup
  • Remove vinegar from heat and let cool slightly
  • Drizzle balsamic reduction over the salad and serve
  • Place romaine, arugula, strawberries, feta, and pecans to a large bowl

Three Bean Salad

by legumes, recipes, vegetarian, , ,

This is a guest post by my Aunt Haya who recently shared a very sweet story about food, connections and memories.  I love food stories.  I like hearing where food came from, how it's changed, and the associations we make with our food; those moments that join us together.  I agree with my Aunt that in this overstimulated fast-paced world it's nice to have these kinds of connections to make us stop a moment and reflect on the various ways that our food comes into our lives. I also love how so many recipes, when shared, keep the name of the person who gifted them to us.

This evening my congregation will be hosting a group of 32 members of a congregation in Maryland who are on a 10 day tour of Israel with their Rabbi. After many guided tours to historical sites they are looking forward to sitting and talking with folks who live here. I have been asked to contribute my three bean salad to the meal.   I am always glad to make and share it.  While assembling the ingredients I stopped to think about it's entry into our lives. 

Nowadays, three bean salad is well known all over the US and multiple variations are on the web. But while living in Houston (in the late 1960s), my husband and I made sure that each of us would have some private time each week, with each of our children.  On one such outing I went with our son Daniel to attend an outdoor performance of an abridged version of some Gilbert and Sullivan operetta out on a lawn of The University of Houston. I think that it was the Pirates of Penzance, but am not sure. 

I did not recognize anyone sitting near us in the audience but Daniel soon picked up a conversation with a boy near his age. I introduced myself to his mother and learned that they were in Houston for the summer while her husband, a school teacher, took summer classes at U of H, in order to eventually qualify to become a school principal in their home town somewhere I think in Arkansas or Alabama. He was often busy attending those summer program classes or working in the university library on his homework, so she and their son were exploring Houston on their own. 

I invited them to join our family picnic the next week in Herman Park on the 4th of July--speeches, fire works and all. They were glad to accept and she brought three bean salad that she'd made. We'd never tasted one before. We all enjoyed it so I asked for her recipe. She wrote out on a piece of paper which I copied on to a file card after I returned home. I added her name Eula Ross.  We got together only once or twice more during that summer, but three bean salad became a staple in our family's favorite summer recipes; particularly as a contribution to buffets and picnics.

Here in Israel the recipe has changed somewhat. I add diced fresh rosemary needles (that I pick fresh from the shrubs) to the chopped parsley in the original recipe and often use chickpeas for the third bean. 

Today I found that I needed to purchase more chickpeas so used red beans as I have no red onion and wanted to add color other than the chopped sweet red pepper to the salad.  I use less sugar in the dressing that Eula Ross recommended and the minimum quantity of oil.  But each time I prepare this dish, whether or not I check the details on the old file card or fly free with improvisations, I think a special thanks to Eula Ross where ever she is now. 

I am sharing this story with you because in this day and age of instant communication, information from people whom one never meets, an entire rainbow of recipes for any dish for which one could possible conceive of hankering, this older, slower, deeper time of meeting a stranger who became an acquaintance and shared her recipe and it's evolution to fit my current location and dietary preferences, pleases me a great deal.

Eula Ross' Three Bean Salad

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Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups each green string beans, yellow string beans, red beans or pinto beans
  • 2 stalks of celery cut into cubed shape pieces
  • 1/2 red union diced
  • 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Whisk the five dressing ingredients together and pour over the vegetables.
  • Mix together cover and chill in fridge.
  • Keeps for 10 days

Notes

Aunt Haya's changes: 
  • 1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary to the parsley
  • I used frozen cut yellow and green beans which I steam over boiling water just until they thaw, so that they are still a bit crisp
  • I sometimes substitute chick peas for the red or pinto beans – I soak which ever of the three that I use overnight, then cook them myself, drain them before adding to the salad. (I find commercial canned beans of all three types, over cooked (too soft) and too salty)
  • I use only 1 teaspoon of salt
  • About 1/3 cup of oil
  • Reduce the amount of sugar
  • I like to use apple cider vinegar

Roasted Corn Salad

by recipes, salad, vegetables,

I love summer and summer food.  For me, there is nothing better on a hot day than a quick simple barbecue with lots of tasty side salads.  My sister-in-law is a genius at the side salad thing, probably because she grew up in Texas where all my friends seem to be good at that.   Me?  Well, it's a learned thing, mostly started by her generous gift of two cookbooks loaded with salad recipes.

This is my latest creation.  It was late by the time we ate and I was too hungry to stop and get out the camera.  When I remembered to take this picture there was, I kid you not, only three spoonfuls of salad left.  That's how good it is.  The general family consensus is that it's a keeper.  Hope you think it is too.

Roasted Corn Salad

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Ingredients
  

  • 3 ears of corn
  • 1 red bell pepper diced
  • 3 spring onions, cleaned and diced
  • 1/2 cup celery diced
  • 1 clove garlic, pressed
  • 1 small bunch of cilantro minced
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small lime juiced
  • sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Shuck the corn and cook in a pot of water until just starting to boil
  • Remove from the water, pat dry and place on a medium high grill
  • Turn corn occasionally to prevent burning (although my guinea pigs family says the darker bits are tasty too)
  • When corn is slightly browned all over remove from grill
  • Using a sharp knife remove kernels from cob and place into a bowl
  • Add bell pepper, spring onions, celery, garlic, and cilantro
  • Mix well
  • In a separate container whisk together olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper
  • Pour dressing over corn salad and toss well to coat evenly