Pile It High

There is something magical about the combination of ranch dressing and barbecue sauce.  Especially on a salad.  Also with croutons and coconut bacon.  

It's a lot easier to make salads for dinner when you keep crazy good salad toppings like these around.  I've eaten mixing bowl salads three times in the past week.  This one has locally grown baby spinach, chopped romaine, shredded yellow carrots, croutons, coconut bacon, locally made smoked blue cheese, baked tofu soaked in my bestie's homemade whiskey barbecue sauce, and ranch dressing. This is a filling salad.  Be sure you pile the spinach and lettuce high to balance all the rich toppings.

My buddy Jesse says I only like barbecue and ranch together because I'm from Texas, but I think everyone should try it.  I enjoyed this salad while watching an episode of King of the Hill.  Hank Hill thinks you should go prep some salad toppings now so that you're prepared.

His words of wisdom on tonight's episode: "Plan ahead.  Then when stuff happens, you'll be prepared."

A Salad without a Name

Sometimes the last thing I want to do when I get home is cook dinner.  Especially after a long day, on a night where I eat dinner by myself, it's really tempting to order pizza or pick up some takeout from Kim's Kitchen.  But I'm teaching a class about eating more vegetables this week and one of the benefits of my job is that I get inspired by the things I research and end up eating more healthfully as a result.

So I made this quick and very veggie-heavy salad for dinner last night.  It was kind of a weird mix of flavors, but I really liked it!

"I Don't Know What to Call It-Blood Orange, Peanut, Tahini, Cabbage and Kale Slaw"

2 cups very thinly sliced savoy cabbage
2 cups very thinly sliced lacinato kale, stem removed
1 blood orange, supremed (a.k.a. membranes & pith removed)
1/3 cup roasted, salted peanuts
Tahini Sauce (tahini, tamari, rice vinegar)

Mix it all up.  This would work well if it had time to marinate, but I ate mine all right away.  Yep.  I ate my 5-a-day in one meal.

*Green onions would also be nice in this salad, too, but raw onions don't agree with me.  Cilantro would also be good, but I didn't have any.  Or baked tofu.  Also, it's kind of a pain to cut the membranes off the orange, but it really pays off with the juiciness of the oranges.  Also, I have no idea the proportions of tahini, tamari and vinegar.  Just give it a taste and add more of what sounds good.

This is Why I'm Cold

Even though it's cold outside, I still like to eat summery foods in the winter sometimes.  For some reason I've craved both cold pasta salad and cold tempeh salad during the coldest days so far this season!

Perhaps it's because my tempeh salad is the best thing ever? (and I'm so modest, too)

I just take a package of tempeh (I prefer the Lightlife garden veggie variety for the colorful flecks of veggies and the celery seeds incorporated), roughly chop it, and steam it for a few minutes.  Maybe five?  Then set aside to cool and chop it more finely once it's cool enough to handle.

Finely mince a few tablespoons of sweet onion and a couple stalks of celery.  Drop those into a bowl with about 1/4 cup of Veganaise or Earth Balance mayo.  Add a hefty pinch of fresh or dried dill and a little splash of white wine vinegar.  Then toast up some sliced almonds.  Combine the mayo/veggie mixture, almonds and cooled tempeh in a bowl.  If you happen to have any pickled onions in the canning pantry, this is the time to bust them out.  Just a couple of minced, pickled pearl onions will really make this special.  I almost always round out the flavors with a splash of tamari- it helps this salad mimic the flavors of a chicken salad, but waaaay better.

I like to serve this with some organic Triscuit-style or Wheat Thin-style crackers from the co-op.  And if you have any leftovers, it gets even better the second day!

Chef Salad

I feel really lucky to have gotten one of the last salad mixes offered by Dehn's Garden Herbs at the Minneapolis Farmer's Market this season.  This is no ordinary salad mix.  It has herbs, flowers and the most beautiful baby greens I've ever seen.  And the best part?  It says fresh for well over a week!  I can eat a salad out of this container every day for a week and still not have any slimy lettuce bits to pick through. Bonnie Dehn says this is because the lettuce is so fresh- usually picked within hours of me buying it.  This impresses me. 

It does make me sad, though, that the lettuce comes in a big, plastic clamshell container [Update: I got word that these are bio-plastic containers that will compost away.  Hooray!  Now to get my compost bin hot enough to handle it...].  Maybe that's part of the magic of how it says fresh?  Here's how I make myself feel less guilty:

I've started using the containers for 1-2 days to pack a giant salad for my lunch.  This one is packed with grilled seitan, Honeycrisp apple chunks, roasted sunflower seeds and a lemony-olive oil vinaigrette. I looked forward to this salad ALL DAY!  It reminds me of those gross cafeteria chef salads that have tons of toppings and are whole meals in themselves.  Except way healthier.  And way tastier. 

Best Day Ever + Bok Choy Salad

Today was basically a perfect day.  I just started a 4-day weekend.  I woke up early with the itch to start gardening before breakfast.  Why not?  I can always take a nap later!  (And I did).

I spent about 6 hours in the yard: digging up weeds, planting new plants, spreading straw mulch and transplanting some stubborn columbine and ferns that keep sprouting up in our stone walkway.  I called and got estimates (all in one day!) from 2 tree services to remove the scrubby mugo pine that is dying in our front yard and a maple being destroyed by chestnut borer.  I took breaks to watch Jeopardy, take a nap and lounge on the deck.

Lunch was a crunchy, fresh bok choy-peanut salad and dinner was scrambled tofu on toast.   Even though it's technically work, I enjoyed reading a couple chapters of Diet for a Hot Planet by Anna Lappe while I ate.   What a fantastic day!  Sure, I did a lot of hard work.  But it was all relaxing and fun. I even got my new issue of Bon Appetit in the mail! The best part?  I have 3 more days like this coming right up.

Here's the recipe for this really easy bok choy salad.  We made this on Tuesday night and the kids loved it! I made it again today with a bit of leftover bok choy.

Bok Choy Peanut Salad
You could do a lot to fancy this dish up or give it more color.  But I love how easy it can be!  This makes enough for 4-6 people.

1 package thin rice noodles (I like the maifun brown rice variety by Annie Chun)
1/2 cup peanut butter
3-4 Tbsp. tamari or Bragg's aminos
1 cup hot water (reserved from cooking noodles)
1 head bok choy, thinly sliced
(if this is a giant head, use about 1/2)
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 carrot, grated
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

Cook rice noodles according to package instructions.  Usually this involves simply soaking the noodles in boiling hot water for about 2 minutes.  Reserve 1 cup of the hot water.  Rinse noodles in cold water.

In a pint jar, combine peanut butter, tamari and 1/2 cup of the hot water.  I like to use an itty bitty wire whisk for this task.  At first it'll look like it won't dissolve, but the hot water will melt the peanut butter and this will become a thin, salty, creamy sauce.  Add more hot water if needed. Don't worry if it seems too salty, you're mixing this with a lot of noodles and bok choy.

Combine cooled noodles, sauce, bok choy, onions, carrot and cilantro in a large salad bowl.  Use tongs to toss until everything is coated in the peanut sauce.  If you want to serve this later in the week, just refrigerate the salad and dressing separately and mix it up just before serving.

Mango Habanero Salsa

A few weeks ago my friend Joe brought over a really fantastic pineapple-habanero dish that we devoured with tortilla chips.  His mom is from Trinidad and he told us stories of eating this made with super fresh pineapples on the beach.  It tastes like pure sunshine.  Sweet, tart, hot and bright!  I decided to try to replicate this sweet-hot salsa/salad myself, but ended up changing it a bit out of necessity.  I planned on making this just as Joe did, but my pineapple wasn't ripe!  Luckily, I had a ripe mango and just threw that in instead.  Joe tells me that my adaptation stays true to the Trinidadian original.

PS- If you don't know how to cut a mango, you can see my buddies Joe and Nick teach you how!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj_JzLCYY2Y

Mango-Habanero Salsa/Salad 

It's a salsa/salad because it's good with chips, but you can eat it straight up, too.  (Like many of my favorite things)

2 ripe mangoes, cut in small cubes 

1/2 onion, minced

1 habanero chile, seeds removed, minced

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 big handful cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Salt

Mix everything together.  Eat.

Sweet Onion and Pear Salad

I was sitting at work today when I realized it was time for a salad.  I was eating squares of chocolate (free samples from a co-op vendor- They do know the way to our hearts...) and trying to get up the motivation to go to the gym after work.  And I was writing about vegetables.  Luckily I work somewhere that prompts me to eat both chocolate AND vegetables, huh?

Anyways, I was powerpointing some slides about fiber and flavonoids and figured I'm better dose up on the veggies before teaching a class on the subject the next day.  So I picked up some things that sounded good, not really knowing what I'd end up doing with them: arugula, sweet onion and concorde pear.

Here's the resulting salad- Simple, rich flavors and very quick to prepare.


Browned Sweet Onion and Pear Salad
You'll notice that arugula isn't in the title.  That's because I think there's more pear in the salad than anything else!  Also, I didn't take the time to truly caramelize the onions, I just browned them rather quickly.  I actually prefer this flavor to the mellowness of caramelized onions.  You should do what you like, though.

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp. fig vinegar (or other sweet, thick vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups arugula, washed and dried
1 concorde pear, sliced thinly
1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped


In a small skillet, heat oil.  Add onion slices and cook over medium high heat until onions are browned and fragrant.  Allow to cool for a couple of minutes.  Add the fig vinegar to the oil and onions along with a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper.  Stir to combine (this is your dressing).  Arrange arugula, pears and walnuts in a salad bowl.  Pour the warm onion dressing over the salad and toss to coat the greens and pears evenly.  Serve immediately before the greens can wilt.

Eat and then feel virtuous about getting both fruit and vegetable servings in one salad.

Vegetable Takeover

I like to think that I do pretty good with eating my vegetables, but taking the Eat Local Challenge always reminds me that I can eat more.  My world is revolving around vegetables right now.  The garden requires daily harvesting, every day at work there's some new vegetable or fruit arriving from the local farms (Zestar apples already!!!), and it's too hot too eat much besides vegetables.

Today I pulled in 5 1/2 pounds of tomatoes, 2 pounds of cucumbers, 2 pounds of green beans and 2 pounds of beets & greens.  The cucumber situation is getting a little out of control.  Just last week (not counting today) I harvested 16 pounds of them.  I was able to use about 10 pounds of overgrown pickling cucumbers in a giant salad for my friend Morgen's wedding.  Usually these cukes are not too good for eating and they're definitely too big for pickling.  But the salad was nearly gone by the time I got to the buffet line, so I'm fairly certain it was delicious.

Too Many Cucumbers Salad

5 parts overgrown pickling cucumbers, peeled
2 part tomatoes, seeded and cored
1 part sweet onions, thinly sliced
1 part kalamata olives, sliced
Lots of fresh basil, thinly sliced
Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Halve the cucumbers lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds.  Sure, it seems wasteful.  But you weren't going to use these overgrown cukes anyways, right?  And the seed slime makes salads too watery.

Cut the cukes in half lengthwise one more time and then slice cross-wise.  Chop the seeded tomatoes and add all remaining ingredients into a big salad bowl.

If preparing in advance, keep the dressing ingredients on the side until serving.  The cukes and tomatoes will give off a lot of juices that I like to drain off before serving the salad.  You could probably drink the juice and it would be awesome.

Tomorrow: Beets, greens and salsa

Cooling off

Ugh.  It's hot and and I swear it must be more than 100% humidity.  We're practically under water here in MN.  On days like this I need simple food that takes about zero effort and zero cooking.  Here's one of my favorite go-to salads.  It works good in a lunchbox, too!

Spicy Cucumber Peanut Salad

1 locally grown cucumber, diced
1 handful of roasted, salted peanuts
1 Tbsp. minced green onion
1 pinch red pepper flakes
~1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
~1 tsp. umeboshi plum vinegar

Combine everything in a bowl.  Find a cool place to sit and eat.

Kale-O-Rama

I'm not a big raw foods kind of gal.  I tend to go more towards cooked vegetables, soups and grains.  But every once in a while, particularly in the summer, I get massive cravings for super fresh raw veggies.  A kale salad is my favorite answer to that craving.

I've written about raw kale salads before, but this one turned out so delicious that I have to share it, too.
As I prepped this salad, I was inspired by both the super yummy dijon-marinated kale salad that my raw-for-two-and-a-half-months buddy Melissa had at Sacred Chow in NYC and the kale and golden beet salad that's been brightening up the Linden Hills Co-op deli lately.  This is kind of a hybrid of those, with a crazy amount of ginger.

Gingered Kale Salad
1 bunch raw kale, stems removed and chopped
1 golden yellow beet, peeled and grated
1-2 inches of ginger root, peeled and finely grated
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
2-3 Tbsp. umeboshi plum vinegar
1 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. flax oil

Massage kale until it turns bright green and softens.  Combine the kale with the grated beet in a seal-able container.  In a little bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients until smooth.  Pour dressing over the kale and beet salad and shake it all up in your sealed container.  I like to marinate this salad overnight or at least a few hours before serving.  I took this salad in my lunch box all week without it getting soggy or weird!  Kale is amazing!

Springtime Meals

There aren't too many locally grown vegetables in Minnesota right now, and I can't help but enjoy a few springy treats, especially when they're looking so good!

I try not to be size-ist, but I must admit that I don't like fat asparagus.  I like asparagus that's tall and slender and uniform in size.  So when I saw this bunch at the co-op, I had no choice but to buy it.  Just look at how perfect they are all lined up on my griddle!  

Just a few minutes on the griddle and these were bright green and tender.

The asparagus was plenty flavorful, but I added lemongrass oil, fresh dill and oil cured olives.  Yum!

Fresh peas are far from being harvested here, but frozen peas are second best.  I used Jae Steele's recipe for pea soup and it felt so fresh and healthy!  I didn't have pumpkin seed butter, so I just used tahini instead.  The soup was creamy and simple and very bright spring green!

Cold grain salads aren't usually something I even consider eating until it's sunny outside and summer is in sight.  Wild rice salads are perfect for cool spring weather, though, because they're hearty and light at the same time.  I snipped some chives from the garden (basically the only thing usable so far!) and chopped some walnuts, green onions and crasins for this salad.  The dressing is just a bit of lemongrass oil and umeboshi plum vinegar- But any vinaigrette would be nice.

This one is great packed in a lunch because the flavors get better the next day.

These spring-y meals have been really delicious, but I really can't wait for the local produce to start coming into the co-op and for my garden to get going.  Next time I'll show you what's starting to grow out there.  Soon it'll be planting time!

Citrus Salad and Cherry Jam (not together)

Mom just asked if I quit blogging, so it must be a week since my last one. Oops!

I was pretty sure I wrote on Sunday: All about the new salt and sugar scrubs that I made and how I'm inspired to get really organized during my week vacation that's coming up.  And about the amazing salad I had for dinner on Thursday.  But I guess I imagined writing that or maybe just thought about it a lot, because it's not here!

Here's a cute kitten picture to say I'm sorry for not blogging, Mom.  Trouble loves getting inside my pickling crocks (when they're empty).

Let's start with the super good salad from last week- I don't usually buy magazines or follow recipes from them, but I picked up a copy of the January Vegetarian Times for old times' sake.  I remember when I discovered that magazine when I was probably 12 or 13- It was a new best friend who understood how I ate and why.  But over the years I've stopped subscribing because I never ended up using the recipes and felt guilty recycling all those magazines.

I'll admit that when I first saw that the #1 staff favorite recipe was the Citrus salad, I thought b-o-r-i-n-g.  Throwing some citrus in a green salad is so yesterday.  But one look at the ingredients changed my mind- This salad is filled with tons of citrus, arugula, chopped peanuts, red pepper flakes, mint and shallots.  It is anything but boring!  Since the Texas grapefruit is over the top sweet right now, I decided to make this salad with my dinner.

But this salad became my entire dinner because I ate the whole batch and even added more arugula to try to stretch it further.  You can find this recipe "adapted" and printed on Recipe Zaar, but you should just buy the magazine because then you get other good recipes, too.

I went on a little cleaning spree on Saturday and finally tidied up my cookbook shelf.  The shelf was starting to bow in the middle, so it was about time I got things a little more organized. I took a picture because I was so proud of myself!

If you could see a "before" picture, you'd be impressed!

On Sunday I had a blast jamming a bunch of frozen cherries with my friends Nick and Sarah.  They had dabbled a bit in canning before, but wanted a private lesson.  About 6 batches of Cherry Jam later, they were experts!  I happily received a few jars of jam and slathered it on top of toast with Earth Balance.

Yum!  This makes me want to make toast right now!

So there you have it: This is everything that I meant to write about this past weekend.  Next up: Vanilla Bean Soda!

Eat Local Challenge: Days 2-5

I meant to blog about this challenge more often, really. Here's a couple of things I've made in the past 4 days, in no particular order:

Marinated zucchini salad. Hell yeah. This is ridiculously good. I like zucchini, but I don't usually LOVE it. This salad has thinly sliced zucchini, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced red spring onion, and fresh basil. The dressing is really simple: white wine vinegar, olive oil, a smidge of agave nectar to cut some of the sourness, salt and pepper. The co-op's demo coordinator made this when the farmers from Featherstone came to hand our samples from a recipe from their cookbook and I fell in love with it. I've made it twice in the past 3 days!

Pickles! I had a ton of cucumbers from the garden and up them up in some brine in the crock to ferment for a couple of weeks. I followed a recipe from the Joy of Pickling (big surprise, huh?) for "Lower East Side Full-Sour Dills". It's only been 3 days and they smell amazing already!

These are some beans I picked up at Seedsaver's Exchange a few weeks ago. They're an heirloom bean called Hutterite Soup bean. I pressure cooked them with a ton of last year's sundried tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and a bit of maple syrup. Wow. These were rich!

This is what I've eaten for lunch every day this week: Beans with biscuits (Herbed Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits from Vegan Brunch) and some kind of salad.

This is just another picture of cucumbers that I like. I didn't take any pictures (darn!) of the tasty samosas I had this week filled with potatoes and locally grown peas. I made a soy yogurt raita for the side and filled it with hot chiles, cilantro and mint from the garden. Yum!

The challenge is going pretty smoothly so far. We'll see how I'm doing after trying to pack as much local food as possible for a 4-day camping trip!

Easy Peasy

Sometimes I just want comfort foods- Even when it's not the most convenient thing to make or the easiest. Pea Salad, though, couldn't be simpler.

The English Pea Salad that I remember from my youth was made with canned peas, mayonnaise, chunks of cheddar (or Velveeta). And it was good as hell. I might be too snobby now to make pea salad this way, but I won't pretend like it wasn't ridiculously delicious or that I don't get warm fuzzy feelings every time I see a can of peas.

My pea salad starts with a garden, a co-op, a farmer's market or a CSA share. You'll need fresh peas for this. And you'll also need a few minutes to sit down and shell those peas. It's not hard, it just takes a few minutes. Just make your kids do it. Or do like I did and plop down at the table and shell peas while chatting with your sweetie.

I used a little over a 1/2 pound of peas in the shell for a salad for myself. So you'll need a big bag of shell peas for a crowd. I know it's selfish, but I never make fresh peas for my whole family. I wait until I'm cooking just for me and then get out the peas. Sorry, kids.

Here's what I like in my pea salad:

1/2 pound of shelling peas or "English peas", shelled

1 Tbsp. Veganaise

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1-2 tsp. grated or minced red onion (sweet onion would be awesome)

A few drops of rice vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Steam the shelled peas for maybe a minute- really just enough to turn them bright green. Taste one and you'll know when they're ready. Just please, whatever you do...Don't overcook them! Rinse in cool water to stop the cooking process. Add to a little bowl with remaining ingredients and stir until peas are coated in the creamy dressing. That's it!

You can add other veggies to this, but I'm a purist when it comes to pea salad. I don't like much else in there but peas.

A Tasty Little Seasonal Snack

This little meal works equally well as an early lunch or as a midnight snack. I know, because I ate it for both of those meals yesterday.

I picked up some roasted garlic bread at the Farmer's Market on Sunday and it wasn't quite garlicky enough. So I rubbed it down with some raw garlic and then topped it with a thin slice of Teese mozzarella and then broiled it in the toaster oven until the Teese was melty and lightly browned.
Then I whipped up a tasty cucumber, tomato, green onion, parsley, and basil salad with some rice wine vinegar dressing. One thing led to another and the salad ended up on top of the cheezy toast and I was in heaven.

Yum!!

Dinner at Martha's!

There were 13 different fruits/vegetables in this meal!

Yams, turnips, collards, tomatoes, onions, garlic, avocado is in front (with chili powder and cumin)

Salad with red cabbage, beets, radishes, fennel, blood orange, and green beans in the back.

I'll Have the Vegetable Plate...

I had a really nice day today (so far).  

I went to a yoga class this morning and then went to work to teach a class about eating less meat and transitioning to vegetarianism.  It was a fun class with lots of samples- my favorite kind!

Then I picked up some fresh produce and headed home.  I was a little frustrated for a while because our house has been pretty messy lately.  But I sucked it up and just started cleaning.  I don't want to say how long it has been since I've mopped, so let's just say that it's a seasonal activity and winter was not the mopping season.  

As a reward for mopping (why not?), I made myself a super awesome vegetable-centric dinner right before I mopped the kitchen.  Then I took my food out on the deck when I was done and ate while watching the blue jays gather all the food the squirrels knocked out of the bird feeder.  The lilacs and the apple tree have buds on them!

Now I'm relaxing with some Late July Vanilla Bean and Green Tea sandwich cookies, some almond milk, and season 1 of House, MD from the library- I can't think of much that is more fun than that!

My dinner was inspired by some rockin' good food I tasted from the Mississippi Market deli today.  When you work at the same co-op for a long time, the deli food can get kind of boring sometimes.  But I ALWAYS look forward to the spicy cucumber and peanut salad. 

 And now I'm also in love with the Green Beans Pomodoro.  So I tried to replicate them at home.  Sure, I could probably ask our deli manager for the recipe...but that'd be cheating!  It's much more fun this way!

Green Beans Pomodoro

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 pound fresh green beans, tipped and tailed

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 cup drained canned tomatoes (I had fire roasted ones open)

sprinkle of salt and fresh ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. minced fresh basil

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat.  Add the olive oil and swirl around bottom of pan.  Add the green beans and cook, stirring a few times, until bright green with some browned sides.  Then turn off the flame and add  the garlic and tomatoes.  Let the residual heat from the pan lightly cook the green beans for a minute or two more.  Then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and top with the fresh basil.  Serve hot or cold.  

I didn't really write down measurements for the Spicy Cucumber Salad, but here are my approximations:

Spicy Cucumber Salad

1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 cup roasted and salted peanuts

1/2 jalapeno, with seeds!

3 Tbsp. cilantro, minced

2 green onions, minced

Sprinkling of seasoned rice vinegar

Salt to taste

Combine everything and refrigerate until ready to eat.  Tastes best after marinating a bit.

Another Quick Dinner

I've switched over to salad mode already.  It happens every Spring.  All of a sudden I start craving raw vegetables and cold salads instead of lasagna and casseroles.

Don't worry, though.  I don't stop eating my soup or hot tea or anything.  It's not that severe of a change.  I just find more ways to work raw veggies into my life.  

Tonight's meal is a perfect example.  I had a lot of free limes from the co-op, an avocado, a jalapeno, some cilantro and carrots.  They were practically screaming to become a spicy quinoa salad.

Here's what I threw together:

About 1 1/2 cups quinoa, cooked and cooled

2 carrots, shredded

1 jalapeno, deseeded and minced

1 handful cilantro, chopped

1 avocado, chopped

1 lime, zested and juiced

salt to taste

So good and so simple!!

Miscellaneous Dinners

I have to confess that I haven't been planning my meals very much lately.  I've just been grabbing whatever is easy and sounds good at the moment.  Like this meal:

This salad is composed of leftover coleslaw, leftover Soycurlz "chicken" salad, and lettuce.  The plate has WW crackers, Cheezely sharp cheddar, dried cherries, and dilly beans.  Yum!

Friday night I was making some roasted veggies but wanted something a little different.  So I gave them an Indian twist.  I coated the cauliflower, carrots, and onions in cumin, coriander, fresh ginger, mustard seeds and olive oil.  The tofu was baked plain and then tossed with a mixture of curry paste, flax oil, leftover salsa and peach chutney.  It all turned out surprisingly good.  I also had a bit of peach chutney and super spicy raita on the side.  
And lastly, here's Trouble's latest hide-out.  Whatever keeps her clean, right?

A little bit of Summer

I'm usually 100% on the bandwagon of eating as seasonally as possible.  I eat citrus in the winter and apples in the fall.  I eat berries in the summer and asparagus in the spring.  

The food is fresher, makes more sense for our bodies, and is usually a better price when you shop this way.  

But sometimes, after having a taste of above-freezing temperatures and then being plunged again into ice cold temps, a girl just needs a taste of summer.  In February.

Taste of Summer Salad

1 bunch of curly leaf parsley, thick stems removed

4 roma tomatoes, diced

1 cucumber, diced

1/4 cup black oil cured olives (or kalamata), chopped

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. umeboshi plum vinegar

sprinkle of salt

fresh black pepper

Coarsely chop the parsley.  Add parsley, tomatoes, cucumber, and olives to a salad bowl and combine.  In a little bowl or jar, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper.  Pour over the salad and toss to coat.  

We enjoyed this on the side of a hearty- seasonal- winter dish: Brown rice with chili.  The kids had not seconds, not thirds, but fourths of this salad.  Pretty amazing.  We all licked our plates to get the last of the dressing.  Yes, really.

*I know what you're thinking.  "Why the heck aren't there any onions or garlic in this recipe?  Liz must not have thought this one up herself".  Well, you're wrong.  And if you make it, you'll see that it doesn't even need any onions or garlic.  The flavor of the parsley and olives and lemon vinaigrette are amazing!