Yummy, fresh, light, and super healthy! All reasons to love this salad! So easy too!! I love pesto, I would put it on anything so, I did : ) Surprisingly, cucumbers and pesto go really well together! A very nice summery alternative to pasta on a hot day! Enjoy!
Cucumber Pesto Salad
What you'll need:
1 English cucumber, sliced and halved
a handful of grape tomatoes, sliced
Pesto, you can use store bought or my yummy recipe
What you'll do:
Toss it all together : ) easy peasy! Serve chilled.
I was looking for a light nutritious summer salad for tonight and this was the result. Being a vegan, I love eating quinoa, with tons of protein, it is super good for you and delish!
Quinoa Summer Salad
Serves 4-6
What you’ll need:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water or veg. broth
a big pinch of salt
1/2 bell pepper (I used yellow today, but any color will work), diced small
a handful of grape tomatoes, sliced
a handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
a pinch of salt and pepper
arugula (optional)
What you’ll do:
In a pot, bring the water, quinoa and a pinch of salt to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate.
For the dressing, in a bowl, whisk together the shallots, vinegar, oil and salt and pepper.
Take the quinoa out of the frig and toss with the dressing and all the veggies. Serve alone or over a pile of baby arugula.
This salad is so light, summery and delicious! So nice on a warm summer day!
If you are one of those people who buys salad dressing, give making your own a try. It’s so easy, takes almost no time and is sooooo much better for you!! No preservatives, no mono hydro blah blah blah! Just good stuff : )
Raspberry Vinaigrette
What you’ll need:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. (a couple big squeezes) agave nectar
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard or whole grain mustard
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
What you’ll do:
Using a mini food processor or blender, blend everything but the raspberries. When blended, add the raspberries and blend again until smooth. Drizzle on your favorite salad. I like it on mixed greens with toasted almonds and some fresh raspberries.
Enjoy!
I love a mixed green salad with a light honey mustard vinaigrette! Simple, clean; tasty! I hope you enjoy!
PS this recipe makes enough for about two salads.
What you'll need:
2 Tbsp. chopped shallots
2 Tbsp. stone ground mustard (or whole grain, or dijon, whatever you like!)
2 tsp. white wine vinegar
3 tsp. honey (or agave nectar if you are vegan)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup olive oil (give or take)
What you'll do:
Whisk all the ingredients together except the oil. As you whisk, drizzle in the olive oil.
Taste (you may have to tweak to your liking a hair) Toss the greens in and enjoy!
If you are looking for something a little more than plain greens, add in some avocado and toasted almonds or tomatoes and cucumbers or whatever you fancy!
I love this salad!! So fresh, crunchy and yummy!! Give it a whirl tonight!
Chinese Chicken (less) Salad
This salad is so good and can be made with or without the chicken.
What you’ll need:
Leaf, iceberg and or butter lettuce
1 drained can mandarin oranges
Toasted slivered almonds
Avocado
Sesame seeds
Chives
Seared tofu (or grilled chicken)
Dressing:
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
What you’ll do:
Combine dressing ingredients and let sit to dissolve. Mix Salad ingredients Toss with dressing. That simple : )
"In Season" was the theme last night! I made pomegranate, pumpkin and butternut Squash. I made dinner for Sim's Brother Suveer (here from NY), his sister Sahiba and her boyfriend Keith. It was a "Throw Down Royale!"
Here was the menu:
Salad with avocado, tomatoes and pomegranate seeds
Marinated Grilled Chicken
A cage fight between:
Pumpkin Polenta and Butternut Squash Risotto
We had the chocolate chip pumpkin muffins for dessert with some hot apple cider Such a yummy fall meal! Here is how I did everything!:
The Salad: I used mache and arugula lettuces with hass avocados, cherry tomatoes and pomegranate seeds. I dressed it with a red wine vinaigrette. Click here for a trick to getting pomegranate seeds out of the fruit.
So after a vote, the butternut squash risotto won 3-1. Here is the recipe for the winner!
Here they are! Too bad risotto had to kick the polenta's butt in the taste challenge!! Let me know if there are ever any two recipes you'd like to compare and we'll continue the "cage fighting"! Here are Sahiba and Keith enjoying the muffins! 
Ok, salad dressing is simple! Say it with me, "simple!" Salad dressing from scratch is so easy, so fast and you don't get any of those yucky preservatives or hydroblahblahblahblah like in those bottles! And you are not limited to just oil and vinegar kinds; making creamy dressings are easy too! And here's the thing, you most likely have all ingredients in your pantry already! All the tools you need are a bowl and a whisk! Here are my simple "go to" recipes for really yummy dressings. Also, one of my favorites is my maple mustard vinaigrette that I posted on 8/24. (definitely give that one a try!)
Simple Italian Dressing
½ cup olive oil
6 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp minced shallots
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
pinch of sugar
Whisk all the ingredients together and pour over salad. This dressing can be used on just about any salad you can think of. It's truly a "go to" dressing. You can easily replace the red wine vinegar for balsamic vinegar and you can omit the shallots if you like. PS shallots are delicious. If you don't know what they are they are kind of a cross between garlic and an onion. Here is what they look like and how you should chop them:
Asian Dressing
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
Whisk all the ingredients together and pour over salad. This one is so great on any kind of asian or summer salad. Apple cider vinegar has proven to be one of the healthiest stuff on earth for us. If you've never tried it, I highly recommend it!
Blue Cheese Dressing
1/2 cup blue cheese, room temp. and crumbled
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and use a fork to kind of mash up the cheese a little. You want some small chunks but to try to blend some together. Serve over any american salad or a iceberg wedge salad.
If you want to whip a dressing up on your own and not follow a recipe, all you have to know is this. Keep the percentages 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 oil. You can use just about any oil and any vinegar and any spices you'd like. It's so easy to be really creative with this! Just make sure when you are experimenting to make the dressing in a bowl separate from your salad, so you can whisk it together, taste and adjust if necessary.
So, a lot of questions are coming up about produce in season. Some of the foods in season right now are: Figs, Pears, Apples, Tomatoes, Eggplant and Squash. (so yummy!!) It's really important to eat what is in season. They are the items that are going to taste the freshest and the best! I've given you guys a couple recipes already that use these ingredients. I thought today I'll give you one of my favorite pear recipes! It's super easy, fresh and healthy! Here you go!
Roasted Pear and Arugula Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
What you’ll need:
2 firm pears
¼ cup honey
Arugula
¾ cup toasted or candied walnuts
¾ cup gorgonzola or blue cheese
Dressing:
½ cup olive oil
6 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp minced shallots
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
pinch of sugar
What you’ll do:
Bake pear halves brushed with honey for 15 minutes in a 375 oven until golden
Slice into slices and set aside
Whisk vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and shallots, slowly drizzle in the olive oil
Toss dressing with Arugula
Plate the Arugula, lay slice pear on top, sprinkle with cheese and nuts
Enjoy!
So most of you may not know this, but today is opening day for college football. This may or may not mean much to you, but if your husband is like mine it means he will be in front of the TV all evening. So, I decided to invite some girlfriends over and make a summer Italian feast! We started with an arugula salad with broiled figs and ricotta salata. (ricotta salata is ricotta cheese aged and dried) The main course was Farfalle (bow tie pasta) with broccoli tossed with lemon and garlic and we ended with some homemade dark chocolate gelato. : )
My friend, Fiona, brought up something interesting — she had never eaten a fig before! Are figs intimidating? I am predicting that figs are going to be the next big thing. They are sooooo yummy!! Look…figs are easy. Cut the top off and eat it! Slice it in a sandwich with some brie and honey, grill them, broil them and put them on some ice cream! Tonight, I broiled them and put them in a salad. Give them a try, you won't regret it!
So here are some recipes: )
Broiled Fig and Arugula Salad
1 package of Arugula, washed and dried
1 basket of Figs
1/4 lb.
Ricotta Salata
Balsamic Vinagar
Olive Oil
Pinch of Sugar
Salt and Pepper
Easy. Easy. Easy. Start with the figs. Cut the top off, cut in half lengthwise and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the figs. Drizzle with a very small amount of olive oil. Stick under the broiler for about 2 minutes. Grate the Ricotta Salata with a box grater. Toss the Arugula with some Balsamic and olive oil, add a pinch of sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Put a good helping of Arugula on a plate and top with figs and cheese. That's it!
Farfalle with Lemony Broccoli
What you'll need:
8 cups broccoli florets (about 4 heads)
1 pound farfalle (bow tie) pasta
3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil (plus some for tossing)
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lemon, zested
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (about half the lemon)
1/4 cup pignoli nuts (pine nuts), toasted
Freshly grated Parmesan
What you'll do:
Cook the broccoli for 3 minutes in a large pot of boiling salted water. Remove the broccoli from the water with a slotted spoon. Place in a large bowl and set aside.
In the same water, cook the pasta. Drain and add to the broccoli. By using the same water, the pasta will soak up some of that Broccoli flavor.
In a small saute pan, heat the butter and oil and cook the garlic and lemon zest over medium-low heat for about a minute. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, lemon juice and pour over the broccoli and pasta. Toss well. Sprinkle with the pignolis and cheese. Add a little more olive oil if needed. Enjoy this yummy dish!
So after making all this very heavy food, I feel like something fresh, light and summer feeling. This salad is perfect and so yummy!!! This is how I make it, but you can add in any of your favorites!
Salad:
1 head Endive, washed and sliced
A couple handfuls of Mache. (If you can't get mache, you can use watercress, spinach or whatever leafy green you like)
1 Apple, halved, cored and thinly sliced
1 handful of flat Parsley, chopped
1 handful of Gorgonzola cheese
Dressing:
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tsp. Pure Maple Sugar (the good stuff!)
1 1/2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste : )
To Assemble:
Just mix all the salad ingredients together in a bowl and whisk the dressing ingredients together. Toss the salad and Enjoy!
