Salads
Salmon and Avocado Salad Over Baby Lettuces
Oct 20th
Want a healthy and light lunch? Try this Salmon and Avocado Salad over Baby Lettuces.
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients:
1 can of Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon, preferably packed in water
1 organic avocado (if you are using a regular avocado, you may only need to use 1/2 of the avocado since they are larger)
1 handful of each Baby Romaine, Arugula and Spinach
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1 rib of celery, diced
2 scallions, diced
1 tablespoon Vegannaise
1/2 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
salt & pepper, to taste
Directions:
Washing baby arugula, spinach and romaine lettuces and set aside.
Drain salmon and put salmon in medium bowl. Set juices aside for your kitty to enjoy later. No kitty? Well, then I guess you can toss the juice. Use fork to loosen salmon chunks. Add avocado to bowl and use fork to mash. Stir salmon and avocado together. Add vegannaise, herbs de provence, salt and pepper and mix well. Stir in celery, carrots and scallions.
To serve, divide lettuces equally and plate and top with a scoop of salmon avocado salad.
My hubby likes to add his favorite salad dressing but I just eat it like this.
Wedge Salad with Peach Gorgonzola Dressing
Oct 2nd
Wedge Salad with Peach Gorgonzola Dressing
Serves 2
Ingredients:
Dressing
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup peaches (fresh or frozen)
3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 cup coarsely crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
Salad
1 head butter lettuce, cut in 2 wedges (I used the small artisan lettuces)
1 slice uncured turkey bacon, cooked and chopped
6-8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup gorgonzola cheese, chopped
Instructions:
Dressing
In a blender, blend together the oil, peaches, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and zest, cheese, salt and pepper until smooth.
Salad
Place the lettuce wedges on 2 salad plates. Arrange tomatoes, turkey bacon, pine nuts and chees around the lettuce. Drizzle with the dressing and serve.
Garlic Yogurt Dipping Sauce
Sep 14th
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Greek plain yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves
3/4 oz mint leaves (1 big handful)
5 sprigs of Thyme
cilantro leaves, small handful
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts for garnish
Directions:
In small skillet, toast pine nuts for about 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Put all the ingredients except the pine nuts in a blender. Puree until smooth. Sprinkle toasted pine nuts on top and drizzle with olive oil.
Cantaloupe Cucumber and Feta Salad
Sep 4th
I wasn’t going to post this recipe because it is so similar to my Mediterranean Watermelon Salad. But since it’s the end of the summer, it’s kind of our last opportunity to get locally grown cantaloupe and cucumbers, I figured why not stretch out summer a little bit longer and make a Cantaloupe Cucumber and Feta Salad?
I wasn’t sure how this recipe would turn out, to be honest, but I’m glad I did. It’s so different and it makes a refreshing, light side dish for a heavier meal or it is perfect by itself as a light lunch or dinner (this is what I did).
Of course, it helps that I managed to pick out the perfect cantaloupe. Any recipe involving melon is only as good as the fruit you use! Last summer, a vendor at the Farmer’s Market taught me how to tell which melons were ripe and which ones weren’t and I’m getting good at it now. (The secret, in case you were wondering, is not thumping the side, but smelling the blossom-end. You might look like a crazy sniffing all the cantaloupes at the supermarket, but it works. Really!)
Ingredients:
Cantaloupe, seeded and cut into pieces
1 red onion, diced
1 seedless cucumber, peeled and diced
1 heirloom tomato, diced (I used a green/yellow heirloom tomato)
4 oz feta cheese
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Put cantaloupe, cucumber, and tomato into a bowl. Add in feta. Squeeze lime and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste.
This recipe was shared on Fit and Fabulous Fridays.
Mediterranean Watermelon Salad
Aug 27th
This salad combines the flavors of the Mediterranean with the perfect summer fruit, watermelon. This salad is perfect for a quick lunch, a side dish or a crowd pleaser at a summer picnic.
When I made this salad the first time as a side dish for dinner one evening, my husband immediately looked at it and said “I’m not that fond of cucumbers.” (He’s such a picky eater.) To that I replied, “just try it, if you don’t like it, pick the cucumbers out.” Well, lo and behold he liked it. His comment, “I would have never thought that watermelon and cucumber would go good together. I wouldn’t want to do it all the time, but it was good.” I’m not sure why he doesn’t like cucumber. Maybe his mom made him eat it when he was a kid. LOL!
Since then we’ve had it several times – for both lunch and dinner. It’s just a nice cool salad for hot summer days. I hope you enjoy it too, especially while watermelon is still in season.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 cups seedless watermelon, cubed
1/2 medium English cucumber, skin peeled and chopped
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced (I usually use red onion but the day I took this photo, I didn’t have any so I used white onion instead)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
dash cracked black pepper
dash of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
Directions:
In large bowl, mix watermelon, cucumber, onion and feta. Just before serving, toss salad mixture with oil. Garnish with salt and pepper.
Spicy Steak Salad
Aug 17th
Ingredients
Spicy Steak:
1/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons Organic Gluten Free Tamari low sodium
1 1/2 tablespoons chile paste (such as sambal oelek)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
12 ounces flank steak, sliced against the grain into thin strips
1/8 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
Salad:
You favorite salad mixture
Parmesan cheese
Salsa:
1 tomato, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 table spoon of cilantro
1 lime, juiced
Dressing:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper
Directions:
Spicy Steak:
Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow dish. Add steak to dish; cover. Marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour, turning after 30 minutes.
Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Remove steak from marinade, and discard marinade. Thread steak onto 8 (8-inch) skewers; sprinkle with salt. Place skewers on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
Salsa:
In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice.
Dressing:
Mix olive oil, juice and salt and pepper to taste.
To assemble salad, on a bed of lettuce place desired amount of steak, top with salsa. Use potato peeler to shave desired amount of parmesan. Top with dressing! Enjoy!
Zesty Lemony-Lime Avocado Corn Feta and Shrimp Salad
Aug 15th
Zesty lime juice and lemon-y thyme are the key ingredients to creating this light and refreshing salad – no heavy mayonnaise to weigh it down. Made with the freshest ingredients; jumbo shrimp, avocados, corn, feta, and thyme tossed with some freshly squeezed lime juice and a touch of olive oil.
This will be a huge hit at your summer bash! Serve this as is for an appetizer, or over lettuce for a lunch or light meal. If you plan on making this ahead of time, you can combine all the ingredients except for the avocado and cilantro and keep this refrigerated, then add them right before serving. This easily doubles for a large crowd.
You can easily adapt this to suit your taste by adding red onion, jalapeño etc.
Ingredients:
1 lb jumbo cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined, chopped
1 hass avocado, diced
1 ear of corn, cooked and taken off of cob
1/2 cup of feta
2 limes, juiced
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp thyme, fresh
salt and fresh pepper to taste
Directions:
In a small bowl combine lime juice, olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper. Let them marinate at least 5 minutes to mellow the flavor of the onion.
In a large bowl add chopped shrimp, avocado, and corn. Add lime juice mixture and combine all the ingredients together. Add thyme and gently toss. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Egg Salad Stuffed Avocado with Heirloom Tomatoes drizzled with White Truffle Oil
Jul 16th
What do you get when you stuff egg salad into avocados and top with heirloom tomatoes? This tasty Egg Salad Stuffed Avocado with Heirloom Tomatoes drizzled with White Truffle Oil. Perfect as a salad or appetizer.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 avocados
1 cup of egg salad (click here for my egg salad recipe)
1 medium heirloom tomato, diced
White Truffle Oil
salt and pepper
Directions:
Cut avocados in half and remove pit. Put 1/4 cup of egg salad on avocado. Top with diced heirloom tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with White Truffle Oil.
This recipe is featured on “Foodie Friends Friday” Linky Party
Egg Salad
Jul 16th
Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 carrot, finely chopped or thinly sliced
1/4 of medium red onion, finely diced
1/4 Veganaise
1/2 Herbs de Provence
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
Directions:
In medium saucepan, put in eggs and cover with water. Add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Once eggs, reach a boil, turn stove off, cover and remove from heat for 11 minutes. Drain and cool.
Peel eggs. Use fork or food chopper to mash. Add celery, carrot, onion, Herbs de Provence and red pepper flakes. Add Veganaise and mix thoroughly. Salt and pepper to taste.
Heirloom Tomato Caprese Bites
Jul 16th
One of my favorite summer salads is a Caprese salad. It’s such simple salad with only five ingredients – tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. But it seems to taste so much better when the ingredients are fresh and in season.
A lot of times instead of making the full salad, I will make Caprese Bites. These are great for a side dish to actually replace your salad as well as an appetizer.
Normally, all of the ingredients come from the grocery store. But it’s summer… and I picked up some heirloom cherry tomatoes at our local Farmer’s Market this past weekend. They were incredibly juicy and bursting with flavor. I’ve also started a small herb garden. And my basil is doing really well at the moment.
Ingredients:
10 heirloom cherry tomatoes
10 basil leaves
10 pieces of bocconcini mozzarella
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
10 toothpicks
Directions:
Wash and dry the tomatoes and basil.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
Lay mozzarella balls on paper towel and pat dry.
To assemble: Place one half of a tomato onto a toothpick and top with one basil leaf and one piece of mozzarella cheese, then tread basil leaf over mozzarella. Top with the other half of the tomato. Repeat until you have ten caprese bites.
In a small bowl whisk together balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Drizzle over caprese bites. You can also serve balsamic olive oil in a small dipping bowl.
Do you like caprese salad? How do you like to fix it? Please share your tricks in the comments below. I would love to hear your secrets.
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