Tomato Salad

Tomato Salad

The farmer's market had some great looking tomatoes on Saturday, so I picked up some to take to the lake.  They disappeared!  David said they may have been his favorite food that he ate at the dinner!

I made a vinaigrette by whisking together olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, and fresh basil. I added a little sea salt and pepper.

 

I cut red, orange, and yellow tomatoes into 8 wedges in and tossed with the vinaigrette.

I let it chill until we were ready to eat.



 

Once we were ready to eat, I tossed the tomatoes again, drained off the excess vinaigrette, and added some more fresh basil and parsley.

 

Then I topped it off with feta cheese crumbles, and we served it with dinner.

 

(no need to drain the excess vinaigrette if not adding feta)

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Enjoy!

 

Lentil Salad

Lentil Salad

I found this recipe in the April/May 2013 Vegetarian Times.  I thought it sounded like a great dish to make ahead of time and take to the lake this weekend.  It was really great - I will make this again and again!

I started by cooking a bag of lentils in broth.  They only take about 15 minutes.  I drained them and scooped out 4 cups worth, keeping the rest for another use.

While the lentils were cooking I asked Brennan to make up the vinaigrette of Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar (you could also use red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar), olive oil, Kosher salt, and pepper.

This recipe calls for 2 cups of chopped vegetables like carrots, fennel, celery, or radishes.  I went with carrots and radishes, dicing them somewhat.

Add the lentils, vegetables, diced cucumber, fresh parsley, and season with Kosher salt and pepper.  Refrigerate for up to a day and top with more fresh parsley before serving at room temperature.

 

It was a great accompaniment for the brats, sweet corn, fruit salad, tomato salad, chips, and Gouda and apple appetizer that Brennan made for us! 

 

 

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Enjoy!

Delish Summer Salad

Delish Summer Salad

 

This salad comes from my friend, and chef and wellness coach Sandy Thomas.  She shared this recipe with us in a cooking class I took with her last year.  I took this salad to a party for the 4th of July, and made it again for the family last night. 

 

It's really delicious!

 

Cook frozen edamame according to package directions.  I used frozen sweet corn, so I cooked that as well.  Grilled fresh sweet corn would be great!

 

Then I rinsed a can of black beans and a can of cannelini beans and drained them well.  I tossed together the corn, edamame, black, and cannelini beans with grape tomatoes.

 

I mixed up the quick vinaigrette of olive oil, rice vinegar, sherry vinegar, and Dijon mustard.  Once it was emulsified, I tossed it with the vegetables.  Before serving I added ribbons of sliced fresh basil and seasoned with sea salt and pepper.

 

Of course, I made a tomato-less version for my no-tomato eaters. 

 David let them know that our version was not only prettier, but tastier.  They still declined the tomato version :)

 

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Enjoy!

Endive Avocado Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Endive Avocado Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

 

So first off I have to ask - what is a salad dressing that is made from herbs, citrus, & oil but contains no vinegar?  Is it still a Vinaigrette?  Let's go with that for now, OK?

 

I saw this delicious salad on Andie's blog Can You Stay for Dinner? 

 

And because I had most of the ingredients on hand, I decided to make it to go with pasta and basil marinara I was already planning last night.

 

It was so, so good, and fresh.

And a very simple recipe, perfect for the spring with all the great produce out.

 

Whisk up the Vinaigrette of fresh lemon juice, a minced garlic clove, olive oil, shredded Parmesan, salt, & pepper.  Then toss the lettuce with the dressing and plate it for each person.  I used endive because it's what I had and was tired of romaine.  Andie's original recipe calls for arugula.  Your pick!

 

Top with halved cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado and a sprinkling of Sea Salt and black pepper.

 

I had a big avocado so we all got generous portions of sliced avocado.  Win-win.

 

Brennan and David felt like it might be a little too lemon-y so you can play with the flavor as you're making up your dressing. 

 

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Enjoy!

 

Mediterranean Grain Salad

Mediterranean Grain Salad

I really love the versatility of a grain salad.  This version comes from Sandy who taught me the yumminess of this kind of dish.  It's great as a side dish, a main dish, to take to a pot luck, and keeps for a couple of days easily in the fridge.  This version was especially yummy!

 

You start with 6 cups of cooked grains - whatever you might have on hand.

I had made couscous (not actually a grain) and brown Basmati rice before and froze them to use later.  So I pulled out some of each and defrosted them.

 

But you could use any grain, or combination of grains including rice, quinoa, barley, couscous, etc.

 

Once I was ready to make this dish, I heated the rice and couscous in the microwave for a couple of minutes to take the chill off and combined them in my large mixing bowl. 

 

To my mixed grains I added a can of chickpeas (rinsed & drained), a jar of Kalamata olives (drained), chopped scallions, a chopped cucumber and fresh basil.  I mixed it all up together and seasoned with garlic powder, Kosher salt, and black pepper.

 

Because I wanted the boys to eat this dish as well, I didn't add tomatoes to the dish, but halved some cherry tomatoes for David and me to top ours with.  If you have tomato lovers at your house, you can incorporate the fresh or sun-dried tomatoes in your grains with the other ingredients.

 

Then I added bottled Balsamic vinaigrette, tossed the salad together, and served it alongside my other dishes for dinner.

 

The grain/vegetable/herbs/vinaigrette combinations are endless, but I liked this Mediterranean flair.

 

If you wanted to, you could also add any additional protein like other beans, meat, cheese, tofu, fish, or shrimp.

 

 

 

 

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Enjoy!

Bulgur Salad with White Wine Vinaigrette

Bulgur Salad with White Wine Vinaigrette

A dish that I make often because it's so versatile and easy is a Grain Salad. 
I have lots and lots of recipes for these great dishes and they go by many names.

Grain Salads
Rice Bowls
Veggie Grain Mixes

It depends on the cookbook author or chef as to what they're called.
I learned more about these dishes when I took cooking lessons with Sandy this past spring.

I've come to trust my instincts on what would work well together, so I thought I'd share the latest salad I assembled.

These salads have 3 components:

A Grain
Chopped Vegetables and Herbs
A Vinaigrette

The possibilities really are endless!

I wanted to try a white wine vinaigrette that I jotted down when watching Food Network many months ago.  I don't remember who the chef was who prepared this - sorry!.  It's a simple vinaigrette that worked well with the bulgur (a.k.a. bulgar and bulghur) and vegetables that I chose.

You can use any grain in a Grain Salad.  I happened to have bulgur that I cooked up so I planned to use it.  You could also use cooked brown rice, barley, couscous, millet, quinoa...  I've made many varieties.

You can also use any vegetables.  I chopped up cucumber and carrot, and added chopped fresh parsley.

I tossed the bulgur, vegetables and herbs together, then made the vinaigrette in a container with a tight lid. 

 

The White Wine Vinaigrette was very easy - I included olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt & pepper, fresh parsley & basil, Dijon mustard, and garlic. 

 

Tip:  I would use garlic powder in place of chopped garlic next time.  It was a little bitter.

 

Toss and serve.

This is great at room temperature alongside a couple other dishes (I made tilapia and bread this night).  It's also great as leftovers.

 

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Enjoy!

 

Black Bean and Rice Salad

Black Bean and Rice Salad

 

Last week I had friends over and served some light southwestern-y style snacks.

I felt like I didn't have quite enough, so I decided to make a rice salad to go with it.

I used what I had on hand, then topped it with a vinaigrette and it was great!

 

I had leftover brown rice so started with that, heating it up just a bit in the microwave to take off the chill.

Then I rinsed & drained a can of black beans and a can of corn and combined with the rice.

I added a chopped scallion and chopped fresh cilantro.

 

I topped the salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette that Sandy shared with me.  I had not made it before, but it was really great - and a perfect complement to this rice/bean salad.  I have learned a lot from Sandy during her cooking classes - and I now firmly believe everything tastes better with fresh citrus and herbs!

 

The salad disappeared. 

Brennan even had 3 helpings.

 

 

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Buen Provecho!

 

French Vinaigrettes

French Vinaigrettes

I have seen several articles lately on mastering the art of French vinaigrettes.

I like to make a vinaigrette for dinner with a simple salad.

I often like to make only what we need for that night because when I add fresh herbs, the vinaigrette is better if they haven't wilted in the dressing for days in the fridge.

So I have 3 different simple vinaigrettes to share with you.

They're all delicious on romaine or a mixed vegetable salad.

Vinegar-Based Vinaigrette (left) and Citrus Vinaigrette (right)

Herb Vinaigrette

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Bon Apetit!

Rice Salad Primavera

Rice Salad Primavera

This great summer garden recipe comes from the August 2012 Vegetarian Times Farmers' Market Cookbook.

David and I really liked this dish and came up with several ways to modify her even more.

I personally think the secret is in the vinaigrette that holds the dish together at the end.

This is made by whisking together wine vinegar (I used White Wine Vinegar although the original recipe calls for Red Wine Vinegar), Dijon mustard, and olive oil.

Cook a cup of brown long-grain, short-grain, or brown Basmati rice so that you have 2 cups of cooked rice.  I had short-grain brown rice leftover in the fridge so I warmed up 2 cups for this dish.

Then slice your vegetables.

The original recipe calls for cherry tomatoes, green onions, orange bell pepper, a peeled cucumber, and yellow squash. 

I think the possibilities are endless!

Bake 1 package of tofu - I baked mine the same way I did for Sandy's Tofu Bites.  I cut my pieces smaller though so they would cook faster.

Toss the warmed rice, the diced baked tofu, and the vegetables together.

Combine with the vinaigrette and serve!

Mmmm.

And it was great warmed up the next day!

I think topping the dish with some chopped fresh herbs would be wonderful too.

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Enjoy!

Lemon Vinaigrette

Sandy's Lemon Vinaigrette

My family generally likes salads.  It's a great way to mix up different kinds of leafy greens and serve with dinner. 

So many of the salad dressings I like are not that good for me. 

And Brennan just eats his salad plain because he doesn't like vinegar-y tasting dressings.  They're too overpowering for him.  But really.  Who wants to eat a salad without a little something on it?

So I've been looking for ways to make up some dressing at home, something light without a lot of extra ingredients. 

I have a whole batch of delicious sounding vinaigrettes to try, but I started with Sandy's Lemon Vinaigrette.

Sandy, who is a health coach and natural foods chef, served this vinaigrette on a green salad when I took her cooking classes this spring.  If you're local, you should really check out her classes this fall!

I liked it because it was light, customizable with the herbs you can choose to add, and tasted great.

I mixed this one up before I started dinner one night, and let it chill in the fridge.

We used it for several meals.

I had fresh chives on hand, so I added them to this dressing.

You can use any fresh herbs you have though - and the fresh herbs are optional.

It really make a difference with a big plate of green salad.

Not much else was needed!

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Enjoy Your Veggies!