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Archive for the ‘Salad’ Category

Our “Go-To” Kale Salad

Posted in Avocado, lemon, Quick, Salad, Tomatoes, Vegan, Vegetables, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »

No official name here, not even a *real* recipe, just a framework for you.

We fell in love with kale salads a few years ago. And I was actually surprised that my husband went for it the first time I made one!

I almost always have a bag of Trader Joe’s curly kale in the frig – it lasts quite a while and is pre-prepped (torn and washed) so this salad is easily thrown together. I also always have a ripe avocado – they’re either ripening on the counter or there are ripe ones *on hold* in the frig. This salad frequently accompanies our other “go-to” meal item, our homemade frozen tamales, as the flavors are complementary.

"Go-To" Kale Salad

“Go-To” Kale Salad

Kale, washed and torn from stems

Olive oil

Salt

Garlic powder

Cherry tomatoes, halved

Avocado, diced

Lemon (or lime) juice, just a squeeze, to taste (a few drops of bottled works in a pinch too!)

Sriracha Sauce (aka Rooster Sauce), to taste, if desired

Roasted Sunflower Seeds

Place your kale in a bowl and drizzle with a bit of olive oil and a dash of salt. Massage kale with your hands until the leaves are coated. Sprinkle with garlic powder and let it rest while you make the other parts of your meal; the leaves will soften. Top kale with remaining ingredients and serve.

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Happy July 4th!

Posted in quinoa, Salad, tagged , , , , , , , on July 4, 2013| 3 Comments »

Well, we’re halfway through the summer semester and I still haven’t gotten back to blogging very much. I am cooking more. In fact, I am trying to select one recipe each week from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I have had this cookbook for a couple of years and haven’t really utilized it very often. So it is a goal of mine to pick this cookbook up more often.

I did recently remake a recipe that I came up with last summer and never blogged about, so finally, here it is. I am always looking for good things to take with me in my thermos to eat during my lunch break at work or the long day I have on campus this semester. And I remembered this recipe when I started seeing those beautiful red, seedless grapes on sale. I also tried this recipe out on my group of gluten free girlfriends (last summer though) and everyone enjoyed it. I hope you will too! (PS: It does contain meat as it was just for me and my lunches.)

Yes, you’re probably already celebrating, with your holiday picnics underway as I type, but this recipe would be a good one to take to a potluck or summer barbecue later this summer.

And with that, I had better get off the computer and go get ready for the July 4th Extravaganza over at my friend, Heidi’s, house. I hope you’re enjoying your holiday!

Poppyseed Quinoa Chicken Salad

Poppyseed Quinoa Chicken Salad

1/2 cup dry quinoa, cooked according to instructions

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup grape halves

4 oz chicken, cooked and diced

2-4 Tbsp poppyseed dressing (such as Briannas or Ken’s)

1/4 cup almonds, sliced or chopped

Cook quinoa according to directions. Allow to cool completely. Mix together cooled quinoa, celery, grapes and chicken in a large bowl. Stir in dressing, as desired. (If your quinoa is still warm you will need more dressing as it seems to soak up more when it is warm).  Mix in almonds before serving.

Size up the recipe for a crowd. As written, this makes about enough for me for 3-4 lunch-sized portions. I often throw it over some mixed greens for some extra umph.

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Crunchy Kale Salad

Posted in Salad, Vegan, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This recipe comes to us from one of my favorite blogs, Use Real Butter. Not only is she a fabulous cook but an amazing photographer too. (And she has a super sweet black Lab who often cameos, how could I not be smitten?) The first time I made this, like with most new recipes, I make it the way it is written. But hubby wasn’t too keen on it. I think it was the tahini flavor that got him. So the next few times I’ve made it with almond butter instead, which for us paired better with the maple, orange and sliced almonds. I also prefer a less oily dressing usually, so I reduced the oil.

I’ve also made this for a GF Gals night and one of our local support group potlucks. It has gone over well at both occasions.

Crunchy Kale Salad | Beyond Rice and Tofu

Crunchy Kale Salad

Adapted from Use Real Butter

4 cups kale, stems removed, torn
2 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced
2 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, sliced or chopped
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped if large

Dressing:

1/2 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp maple syrup
3 Tbsp almond butter
pinch of salt, if desired
3 Tbsp olive oil


Whisk together the orange juice, maple syrup, almond butter, and salt in a medium bowl until blended. Slowly add the olive oil while constantly whisking.

In a large bowl, combine the salad ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.

Note:

It’s best if the dressing is stirred in an hour or two before serving so that it has a chance to soften the raw kale leaves, especially if the recipients aren’t as big on raw kale as we are.  Or, if you love raw kale salads, you can make it and serve it right up.

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Lemon Chickpea Quinoa Salad

Posted in Beans, Chickpeas, quinoa, Salad, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 25, 2012| 7 Comments »

I am always on the look-out for a new way to make quinoa. I love it so much that I even have a separate category in my bookmarks for quinoa. I love how easy quinoa is to make, and how nutritious it is. So of course, when I saw this recipe from Cookin’ Canuck, inspiration struck again.

We have eaten this salad three times in the past three weeks. Once here at home, just for us, then once for a potluck at work, and then for our monthly celiac support group potluck meeting. It has gotten rave reviews from all!

Lemon Chickpea Quinoa Salad

Inspired by and adapted from Cookin’ Canuck

2 cups water

1 cup quinoa *

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1-1/2 cups tomato, chopped *

2 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1 avocado, diced *

Dressing:

5 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp honey

1-1/2 tsp dried oregano

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Cook quinoa in water according to directions. Cool. Combine with other salad ingredients, except the avocado. Whisk together dressing ingredients. Gently stir in dressing. Top with avocado.

Notes:

* I buy Bob’s Red Mill quinoa from Costco in the large bags. It says that it has been rinsed already. Some quinoa will need to be rinsed to remove the saponin from the surface of the grains, check the box or bag.

* At this time of year I can usually find tasty cherry tomatoes.

* It is best to not mix in the avocado unless you know you will be eating it all since the avocado turns brown after a bit.

* I think this salad tastes best at room temperature.

Do you love quinoa as much as I do? If so, be sure to check out my other quinoa recipes, especially one of my most-viewed and most commented-on recipes – Sweet Potato, Quinoa and  Black Bean Burgers.

This recipe is cross-posted over at Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. Check it out for more inspiration!

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Napa Cabbage Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

Posted in Asian, Beans, Quick, Salad, Vegan, Vegetables, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 19, 2011| 1 Comment »

With this week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap theme of light and easy for summer, I thought I would post this recipe. We have fallen in love with napa cabbage chopped salads and slaws. This one was inspired by a couple of the napa cabbage recipes over at Kalyn’s Kitchen where she blogs about South Beach Diet recipes. Many, if not most, of her recipes are naturally gluten free or easily modified with minimal substitutions. But that doesn’t mean that they are missing any flavor! We’ve just loved everything we’ve made from Kalyn’s blog. (This is starting to sound like an Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger post…hmmm.) Thanks for the inspiration Kalyn!

Napa Cabbage Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

Inspired by Kalyn’s Kitchen

This makes a lot so feel free to make only half but it is a great dish to take to a potluck or picnic.

8-10 cups napa cabbage, sliced or shredded

2 cups shredded carrots

2 cups red bell pepper, sliced, matchstick sized

1/2 cup green onions, sliced

2-1/2 cups edamame, shelled and cooked

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Dressing:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1-2 Tbsp agave nectar or honey

1-1/2 Tbsp ginger, grated on your Microplane

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil, light-tasting, I used a light and fresh Spanish olive oil

Toss together all of the salad ingredients, except the sesame seeds, in the largest bowl you have. In a mason jar with a lid, mix together all of the dressing ingredients and give it a good shake. Taste and add more salt if needed. Or ginger. Or sweetener. Or whatever.

Start small and stir some of the dressing into the salad. Add more if you would like. Adjust it to your preferences. Top with sesame seeds.

If you won’t be eating this all at one time, I would suggest keeping the edamame in a separate bowl and adding it when just before eating it. Same with the sesame seeds. We were able to eat this salad for an entire week because I kept the salad and dressing ingredients separate until we were ready to eat it.

Do you have a favorite napa cabbage recipe?

This recipe was submitted to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays over at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free. As well, this recipe was cross-posted over at Gluten Free Easily’s Virtual Support Group.

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Greek Salad

Posted in Quick, Salad, Vegetables, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 26, 2011| 4 Comments »

I had a craving the other day. Yes, I know it’s January and I should be eating soup all the time. But no, we get cravings for fresh vegetables around here, and especially for a great big salad. Plus I had a couple of artichoke hearts hanging out in the refrigerator, leftover from making the Quinoa Salad. And apparently the same mix of flavors was calling out to me.

So, I whipped up one of my mom’s recipes that I have made my own over the years. It hit the spot.

Greek Salad

Recipe by Renee, inspired by her mom!

Dressing:

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp oregano

2 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Mix all ingredients, yes, including the feta, in a large measuring cup. Squish up the feta with a fork until it is all mixed well.

Salad:

Mixed salad greens (romaine, spinach, butter lettuce, etc.)

4 artichoke hearts, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 red onion, sliced

1/2 of a large English cucumber, seeds removed, chopped

12 Kalamata olives, chopped

fresh black pepper

Toss salad ingredients together. Pour dressing over and toss again.

Best if eaten the same day. Or keep the dressing and salad separate like I did for lunch today and mix together when ready to eat.

Also, add whatever other vegetables you have on hand. Or herbs, I like to add dill weed. To make it a main dish, add some chickpeas or white beans. Or gluten free croutons, if you so desire.

This post is linked to Real Food Weekly at The WHOLE Gang. Go check it out for more inspiring recipes!

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Quinoa Salad with Artichoke Hearts

Posted in quinoa, Salad, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 22, 2011| 8 Comments »

I love quinoa and I am always looking for new ways to make it. The other night I had some leftover quinoa and decided to make up a quick dinner for myself that included enough leftovers for my road trip to the hinterlands the next day. (In rural Arizona there aren’t many options for good gluten free food, as well, I knew I would be short on time.)

This is a sort of “un-recipe” in that I didn’t really measure ingredients out but just tossed it together until it felt right. Here’s an approximation, but do what feels right for you.

Quinoa Salad with Artichoke Hearts

Recipe by Renee

2-3 cups of cooked quinoa, cooled

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

4 artichoke hearts, from a can, chopped (preferably packed in water)

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 roasted red pepper, chopped (or fresh red bell pepper)

8 kalamata olives, chopped

a couple of tablespoons parsley, chopped

1-2 Tbsp red wine vinegar and/or lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

Throw it all in a bowl and mix it up.

Tastes great the next day too! You could add some crumbled feta if you want, but I didn’t because it wasn’t going to be refrigerated the next day on my travels, just packed with an ice pack in my lunch bag. You could also add some finely diced red onion and top with a balsamic vinaigrette.

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Meal Plan Monday, July 12, 2010

Posted in Meal Plan, Salad, tagged , , , , , , on July 12, 2010| 8 Comments »

This week’s theme is SALAD over at The Gluten Free Menu Swap. And our lovely host is Heather at Celiac Family. Thanks for hosting, Heather! Salads are great this time of year because you don’t have to heat much of anything up and you and your kitchen can stay cool! And it is going to be red-hot here in the Albuquerque area again this week, so salad is a great idea.

I had already been thinking about making a cold rice salad after seeing this one over at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice last week. And this past weekend we had Moroccan Chickpea Salad, which I love! It makes a lot and is great leftover too, in fact we had some tonight. Some other salad ideas for you: Quinoa and Black Bean Salad, Wild Rice Tabouli, Taco Salad, Lentil Salad Provencal.

In other meal planning thoughts, I know we still have Swiss chard growing strong and I need to use some more up. We are also headed out to dinner with some friends at a gluten-free friendly restaurant this weekend. It is one I have never been to before, Casa Vieja, but they list gluten free options on their menu so hopefully it goes well! I am sure it will, other celiacs I know have been there and they say it is very gluten-free friendly. Perhaps another Restaurant Review is in order?

So with that in mind, this is the plan for the week:

Italian Rice Salad with some added white beans

Black Eyed Peas with Swiss Chard perhaps with a side of rice or polenta

Mediterranean Salad with added salad greens

So, yes, only three meals planned for this week since we will be eating out one evening and the other three evenings are saved for leftovers. With only two people in the house, we have plenty of leftovers usually, and I enjoy not having to cook every night. If we need to we always have our emergency go-to foods, like plain-old spaghetti or a chickpea curry, or a Trader Joe’s something-or-other in the freezer, just in case.

In other exciting news, I bought myself an ice cream maker this weekend! I have been coveting them for a couple of months now, especially the recipes over at The Whole Kitchen and Simply Sugar and Gluten Free. And we just happened to stop in Bed Bath and Beyond, and oh, surprise, they had just the one I wanted! (They had previously been sold out.) And I had a 20% off coupon. Yeah! So, this week, ice cream is on the list too! And since it is my husband’s birthday week, he gets to choose the first batch. And he chose Peanut Butter Cup. I will be sure to let you know how it turns out!

Also, next week, I am hosting the Gluten Free Menu Swap and the theme is cucumbers! I have about five cucumbers ready to be picked and they are just going to keep on coming, so please, post (or send) cucumber recipes! Even if you don’t have a cucumber recipe, please join us, we’d love to have you! The ‘rules’ and all the info is over here at Gluten Free Goodness.

This post is also cross-posted over at Org Junkie where you will find hundreds, literally, hundreds of other meal plans for inspiration.

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Catching Up…

Posted in Asian, Avocado, General, Round-up, Salad, Stir Fry, Tofu, Vegetables, tagged , , , , , , , on July 11, 2010| 4 Comments »

This past month I haven’t been blogging so much about each of the individual meals I have been making, although most meals have been photographed. So I thought I would do a little round-up of photos of the meals and a brief yea or nay vote on some of them.

Spinach Avocado Grapefruit Salad from In My Box

I enjoyed this salad, although my husband, who is not a big fan of spinach, did not. The oil in the avocado and then the tang of the grapefruit is all the dressing this needs. The leftovers even held up and made it into my lunch the next day. Yea for me.

Gingered Skirt Steak with Snow Peas from goodLife{eats}

Instead of steak, we used tofu ‘steaks’. We also omitted the oyster sauce and added 1/2 Tbsp more of both the hoisin and soy sauces. We served this over rice vermicelli noodles which I had attempted to pan-fry. (They didn’t turn out so great.) The stir fry was delicious and next time I will serve it over rice instead of the noodles. The noodles didn’t have much flavor and actually detracted from the rest of the dish. Snow peas were fresh from our garden. Yea for us both.

Baked Salmon (me) and Baked Tofu (husband), Stir-Fried Snow Peas with Scallions and brown rice

I baked the tofu in Book of Yum’s Yummy Grilled Tofu marinade. And the snow peas and carrots were sautéed in sesame oil with green onions. I baked my salmon with a red pepper/five spice powder rub and a rice vinegar/honey marinade. It was very tasty. Yea for us both. And yea for using up the rest of the snow peas we had from our garden this year.

Sichuan Tofu with Garlic Sauce from Fat Free Vegan

We’ve made this dish before and really enjoy it. We used canned, sliced water chestnuts instead of fresh ones. On the side we had some brown rice and steamed broccoli. I follow Susan’s recipe for the most part except I have found that we like a little more sauce in the final dish and so I double the marinade. Yea for us both.

That’s it for now. More to come this week…

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Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

Posted in Avocado, Black Beans, quinoa, Salad, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 20, 2010| 5 Comments »

Over the years, I have made quinoa salad quite often, usually with the same standard ingredients of black beans, cilantro and tomatoes. Quinoa pairs well with these flavors but this time I wanted to change things up for a slightly different flavor. I liked the slight sweetness in this dressing from the agave nectar. So, try it, and let me know what you think.

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

Adapted from The Perfect Pantry

1-1/2 cup quinoa

3 cups water

1-15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

3 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 avocado, diced

Dressing

2 tsp olive oil

1-1/2 Tbsp lime juice

2 tsp rice vinegar

2 tsp agave nectar *

1/8 tsp chipotle chile powder

1/4 tsp salt

garlic powder

Cook quinoa in water according to directions. Let it cool.

Whisk dressing ingredients together in a bowl.

Combine all other ingredients except the avocado in a large bowl. Add cooled quinoa and pour dressing over the top. Mix well.  Gently fold in avocado and serve.

Notes:

* You can substitute the agave nectar with honey if you’d like.

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