Monday, July 25, 2011

Raw Kale and Cranberry Salad


Whole Foods sells this salad at the deli, but with pine nuts. It's suprisingly delicious. Cheryl and I are obsessed.

1 bunch kale
drizzle of walnut oil (or olive oil)
grape tomatoes
sliced almonds
dried cranberries
Salt
Pepper

Tear the kale into bite size piecies. Massage (if you will) the oil into the kale. It will turn bright green and soften up a bit. Combine as much as you'd like of the remaining ingredients.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Wheat Berry Salad


My friend Angie made a really delicious cracked wheat salad this weekend. I tried to make something similar but with wheat berries. It's not quite as amazing as the original, but still great!

Ingrediants
2 cups wheat berries
1 Cucumber
2 Tomatoes
4 Scallion
1 cup Corn
Handful of Parsley
Basil
Mint



Dressing
Juice from 1-2 Lemons
1/8ish cup Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Cover wheat berries with 2 inches of water and simmer for 1 hour. Rinse and drain.

Chop of veggies, toss together with dressing. Done.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Blueberry Almond Quinoa with Lemon Basil Dressing


I wanted to make a quinoa salad using a mango, but since my mango wasn't ripe I went searching for something similar. I got the idea to add blueberries from this recipe, used her dressing, then added veggies that I had in the fridge.

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 cup or more of each:
blueberries
diced cucumbers
diced red pepper
sliced scallion
sliced almonds



Dressing:
3 T EVOO
4 T lemon juice
10 Basil leaves, chopped finely
Salt and pepper

Cook the quinoa as directed, whisk together dressing ingredients and combine everything.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Roasted Cauliflower and Wilted Spinach Pasta


This recipe comes from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook, which has become a new favorite.

This came together in no time with minimal chopping - an appreciated change to all the soups and roasted veggies I've been making. The flavors are delicious and similar to the Spinach Pasta Salad posted 4/5/10, but its served warm and sooo easy.

(Karin, maybe roasted broccoli or asparagus instead of cauliflower? Roasted anything I suppose).

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tbsp dried herbs (I used oregano and thyme, can also use basil, and marjoram)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Black pepper to taste
3 cups penne pasta (I used farfalle)
4 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips (I used regular tomatoes and it worked fine)
1 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette (or more)

STEPS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and put a pot of water on to boil.

2. Place the cauliflower in a baking pan in one layer. Add the olive oil, dried herbs, salt and pepper and toss with the cauliflower until coated. Roast for 20-30 minutes until just beginning to brown and fork-tender, but not mushy. Turn the oven to broil and broil for 1-3 minutes until nicely colored.

3. Cook the pasta then drain and rinse in cool water. Toss with a small amount of olive oil to prevent sticking if not using immediately.

4. Place the spinach in a large bowl. Dump the hot cauliflower on top of the spinach and gently toss. Set aside and let the heat from the cauliflower wilt the spinach. Add the pasta on top.

5. Add the tomatoes and vinegar and toss well. Add more olive oil if needed. Season to taste with more salt/pepper and vinegar until the flavors really pop.