Southwest Quinoa Salad

I have two recipes for southwest quinoa salad...no surprise, since it has many of my favorite foods. Yum. I went a little overboard with the herbs when I made this since I hate throwing away extra food, but, I'm going to tone it down a notch next time.

1 cup quinoa
1 3/4 cups water
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup mint, roughly chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (or a 15 ounce can of beans, drained and rinsed)
1 cup corn kernels (fresh or canned)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1-2 juicy limes
1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine the quinoa, water, cumin, salt and pepper in a medium sized sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and lower the heat to a simmer. Let cook until the quinoa is soft and water is absorbed, about 13-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep covered for 5 minutes. Uncover and let cool. The quinoa can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

Place the quinoa in a large serving bowl. Add the mint, cilantro, onions, red pepper, beans, corn and garlic. Squeeze the juice of one lime in and drizzle in the olive oil. Stir gently, taste for additional lime juice, salt and pepper and add more if needed. Serve at room temperature.

Original recipe here

Alternate Southwest Quinoa Salad recipe

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Love this time of the year, when you no longer have to cook everything you eat. This salad is really easy and delicious. I didn't follow the amounts exactly - but I had enough servings for 4 or 5 meals (obviously supplemented with other snacks).

½ cup dry wheat berries
1½ cups water
1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup olive oil
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

6 cups baby spinach leaves
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
¼ cup crumbled goat cheese (or more....)

In a small pot combine the wheat berries, water, herbs, olive oil, and salt. Bring to a boil and then cover with a lid and reduce to a simmer. Cook over low heat for 25-35 minutes or until all of the liquid has been absorbed and the wheat berries are tender. Remove the lid and allow the wheat berries to steam for 5 -10 minutes. Cool and set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, herbs and salt and pepper for the vinaigrette.

Toss together the cooled wheat berries, spinach, strawberries, and goat cheese. Serve with vinaigrette to taste.

Original recipe here

Whole Wheat Pasta Salad with Fried Kale, Tomatoes, Feta, and Pesto Vinaigrette

At the end of the summer I made a few great pasta salads - after I got the puppy and didn't have much time to cook. I had never actually cooked with kale before, and figured I should probably try it. I definitely don't LOVE kale like some people do, but don't hate it either. I mostly chose this recipe because I love pesto. Anything + pesto = deliciousness. This recipe makes a lot - good for a week of lunches!

8 oz. whole wheat pasta
6-8 oz. kale leaves, coarsely chopped
1 T olive oil (for stir-frying the kale)
1 cup cherry tomato halves
1/4 cup crumbled Feta (or more - as desired)

1 T lemon juice
2 T white wine vinegar
2-3 T pesto
2 T olive oil

Cook pasta according to directions on box. Drain pasta into a colander placed in the sink and let it drain well.

While the pasta cooks, chop up the kale leaves (cutting away the inner ribs if they're large), and wash in a salad spinner if needed. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add the kale all at once, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until the kale has wilted and is starting to get tender. (It should still be a little chewy but not raw tasting.) Turn off pan and let the kale cool.

Mix together the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and pesto, then whisk in the olive oil to make the dressing. (Start with 2 T pesto and then taste to see if you'd like to add the other tablespoon for more pesto flavor.)

When the pasta has drained well but is still warm, transfer it to a bowl and stir in about half the dressing. Let the pasta sit while you cut cherry tomatoes and crumble the feta.

Stir the cooled kale into the pasta in the bowl. Add the tomatoes and gently combine; then add more dressing as desired (depending on how moist you like your salads.) If you don't use all the dressing save it for drizzling over tomatoes or to perk up any leftover salad. Gently stir in the crumbled Feta, season salad to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper, and serve.

Original recipe here

Southwestern Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

I love sweet potatoes. And black beans. And cumin. This was one of my first "fall-ish" recipes - and there will be many more to come. 

5-6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes, to make 8 cups
3 tablespoons melted olive oil
1 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained)
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion (about half a medium onion), or more to taste
1 1/2 to 2 cups grape tomatoes
1 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 - 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chili powder [original recipe says this is pertinent, but I used regular chili powder and it was still tasty]

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil. Sprinkle on the salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. Stir to coat. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet with an edge. Bake for 45-60 minutes, checking after 30 minutes as some ovens heat differently (no need to stir). Bake until the edges start to brown. (The goal is to slow roast them to caramelized perfection.) Cool.

Transfer the potatoes to a large serving bowl. Add the black beans, red onion, tomatoes, feta and cilantro.

In a small bowl combine the olive oil, lemon juice and chipotle pepper powder. Pour over the salad. Stir gently to combine all the ingredients.

Can be eaten right away, but it tastes best if it's had at least one hour to chill.

Original recipe here

Taco Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

My sister sent me a link to this recipe and a few others as part of a weekly dinner planning menu for 2 people/vegetarians. It has a bunch of good recipes, so I'd encourage you to check out the link below.

I am not one to cook every day after getting back from work (I probably cook only one weekday per week) so I just chose two of these to try. I also made the Risotto Primavera, which was interesting but didn't have much flavor. I had never made risotto before, and I'm glad I tried it, so now I know that it's a lot of effort! (Not difficult, but a lot of time standing over the stove.)

Anyway, this recipe was really easy and has a lot of my favorite foods. So, win-win!


2 flour tortillas
3 cups of romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup black beans
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
½ avocado, chopped

Vinaigrette Ingredients:
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
½ tsp salt
Pinch of pepper


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an oven safe, glass bowl, place bowl upside down on a baking sheet. Use hands to mold flour tortilla to bowl and bake for 10 minutes or until tortilla is golden brown. Repeat with second tortilla (or use two bowls).

While tortillas are baking, whisk together lime juice, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to form cilantro lime vinaigrette. Once tortillas are baked, fill shell with beans, corn, lettuce, tomatoes, pepper, cheese, avocado, and top with vinaigrette.


Original recipe here

Sugar Snap Pea & Cherry Tomato Pasta Salad

Unfortunately I didn't get a very good photo of this - I had to take this at work, on my desk! Sad face. Had to post this though, because it's totally delicious. I'll try to get a better photo next time. This is another pick from the Eating Well in Season cookbook.


1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk (or sour milk - add 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1/2 cup milk)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2.5 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or however much you like!)
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
8 oz whole-wheat bowtie pasta
8 oz fresh sugar snap peas, trimmed
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes (I used orange), halved
4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (I left these out)

I did all of these steps at about the same time, so start wherever!

Puree cottage cheese until smooth in a blender or mini food processor. Add buttermilk and oil; process until smooth. Stir in dill, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta in boiling water until just al dente, about 10 minutes. Add peas and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold running water.

Toss pasta and peas with tomatoes and scallions, and toss with dressing just before serving.

Superfood Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

This may be the prettiest salad I have ever seen. And perhaps the most delicious. It took a bit of time to make (longer than expected), but it was more than 100% worth it. I was put off by the amount of oil in the dressing - 6 tablespoons - but it is really quite tasty. I had never fully seeded a pomegranate before, but I used the water method (breaking it open under water and letting the seeds fall to the bottom) and it worked really well. Does take some time though. Anyway, JUST MAKE THIS! It will be well worth your time.
(Note: this recipe says that it serves 5, but I would say about 3 meal-sized servings. For me anyway.)

Salad:
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
1 orange, peeled and segments chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup pomegranate arils (about 1 pomegranate worth)
1 cup corn (thawed if frozen, can also use canned)
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
salt & pepper

Lemon Vinaigrette:
2 lemons, juiced (need 1/4 cup juice)
2 garlic cloves, microplaned or finely minced
dash of sweetener (agave nectar, stevia or white sugar)
salt & pepper
6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil


1. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Set aside to cool.

2. For the Lemon Vinaigrette: combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid, and shake to combine. Or, add lemon juice, garlic, sweetener, salt and pepper into a small bowl and whisk in oil.

3. Combine cooled quinoa with red onion, orange segments, avocado, beans, pomegranate arils, corn, cilantro, salt and pepper. Pour Lemon Vinaigrette over the salad and stir to combine. Serve cold or at room temperature.


Original recipe here 

Beet and Yogurt Salad

This is a pretty simple and nice salad, but I am totally over cooking beets. I ended up with beet juice mostly everywhere. I roasted the beets according to Mark Bittman's technique (wrap in tin foil and peel them afterwards), but peeling the beets after they cook is always a disaster. I may try a different method of roasting (there are a few), but I'll probably be taking a rest from beets for a while - canned beets aren't SO bad.


4 medium size beets, roasted
1.5 tablespoons sherry vinegar, white wine vinegar, or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste)
1/2 cup thick Greek style yogurt or drained yogurt
2 tablespoons minced dill

1. Roast the beets, peel and cut in wedges or slice into half-moons. Stir together the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss with the warm beets and allow to marinate for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

2. Place the garlic in a mortar and pestle, add 1/8 teaspoon salt, and mash to a paste. Stir into the yogurt. Stir in half the dill. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain the beets and stir some of the marinade into the yogurt (to taste). Toss with the beets, or arrange the beets on a platter and drizzle the yogurt over the top. Sprinkle on the remaining dill, and serve.


Original recipe here 

Feta, Mint, and Strawberry Salad with Green Beans and Pistachios

Don't judge a book by it's cover - the above image isn't very pretty, but this salad is delicious! I generally don't enjoy strawberries on their own - but they are incredible in this salad. This was really easy to make and a great summer salad. The recipe is from the Organic Seasonal Cookbook, which I received from a college friend as a Secret Santa gift. She knows me well :)

Salad:
1 lb 2 oz/500 g fine green beans
1 lb 2 oz/500 g strawberries
2-3 tbsp pistachios
1 small bunch fresh mint leaves
1 lb 2 oz/500 g feta cheese

Dressing:
2 tbsp raspberry vinegar (or strawberry or red wine vinegar)
2 tsp superfine sugar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
pinch of salt
1/2 cup olive oil

1. To make the dressing, mix the vinegar, sugar, mustard, and salt together in a bowl until smooth. Slowly pour in the oil, whisking constantly until the mixture has emulsified. Cover and refrigerate until required.
2. Blanch the beans in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 1-2 minutes, so that they retain plenty of crunch. Drain and quickly toss in a large, cool bowl. Hull and half the strawberries, then add to the beans. Stir in the pistachios and mint leaves. Toss the salad with enough of the dressing to coat lightly.
3. Break the feta cheese into chunks and scatter over the salad. Add a good grinding of pepper and serve immediately.

Japanese Lunchbox

This is a delicious, healthy, easy-to-make salad. I generally don't enjoy rice - but it really makes this salad. I found this recipe in the Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health cookbook - which my mom gave to me a few years ago, but I have barely every used. I just opened it the other day and realized how great it is! There are a ton of great vegetarian recipes - and all are very healthy. (I'll be posting a fruit and nut truffle recipe soon...even the desserts are healthy!) I've made this salad twice in the past two weeks - it makes quite a lot of food, but is very light and has about 4 meal-sized servings.

Japanese Lunchbox Salad

Lemon Ginger Dressing:
2 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger root
1 garlic clove, minced

Salad:
4 cups loosely packed salad greens, baby spinach, or frisee
2 cups cooked brown rice
16 ounces seasoned tofu, sliced or cubed
1 cup carrot matchsticks
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 ripe hass avocado
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds or flaxseeds

1. In a blender, whirl all of the dressing ingredients until smooth.
2. On a large platter or on individual serving plates, spread out the greens and mount the rice in the center. Arrange the tofu, carrots, and tomatoes on the greens and rice.
3. Just before serving, slice around the avocado lengthwise, twist the halves apart, and remove the pit. Cut the flesh into thin slices right in the skin, scoop the slices out with a serving spoon, and place them on the salad. Drizzle the dressing on the salad. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

[NOTE: I just cut the avocado into chunks, and mixed everything together in a bowl, including the dressing. No need to get fancy! I also didn't use sesame seeds or flaxseeds, as I didn't have them on hand.]

For the tofu, the cookbook suggests a few ways to prepare it, or you can buy it prepared from a grocery store. I used the following recipe, which was really easy and delicious!

An Easy Baked Tofu

1 cake of extra-firm tofu
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup

Cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes and place in an unoiled baking dish large enough to hold a single layer. Stir together the sesame oil, soy sauce, and ketchup and drizzle over the tofu. With a rubber spatula, gently turn to coat thoroughly. In a 400 degree oven, bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the tofu is browned, firm, and chewy.

[NOTE: The first time I cooked the tofu, there was a lot of extra sauce on the pan, and it burned (not a huge deal, but it did burn the cookie sheet I was using). The second time, I combined the tofu and sauce in a bowl before putting it on the pan, and used aluminum foil over the cookie sheet. This worked much better - the sauce still burned a little bit, but didn't burn the pan!]

Soba Noodle Salad

I've made this salad many times this summer - it's very easy to make, is delicious, makes a large quantity, and keeps well. Highly recommended for someone who likes leftovers! The first time - I made this with both the jalapeno and the full amount of chili flakes - and it was SPICY. Not bad spicy, but a bit much for a summer day. Since then I have skipped the jalapeno (more out of laziness than anything) and have cut the chili flakes to 1 teaspoon - which is more manageable. The original recipe calls for 8 ounces of soba noodles - I don't even check the size - I just use a whole package.


Soba Noodle and Raw Veggie Salad

8 ounces soba noodles
1/2 cup reduced sodium tamari (or soy sauce)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bunch green onions, chopped (3 or 4)
3/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1/4 head of red cabbage, thinly sliced (I actually used about 1/2...so as not to waste the cabbage)
3 whole carrots, shredded with vegetable peeler
2 cups shelled edamame, steamed
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds

For even more flavor, try adding:
one lime, juiced
1 jalapeño, finely chopped
peanut butter

1. Cook soba noodles according to directions, and rinse in a colander.
2. Chop up all your vegetables, and toss into a bowl with the soba noodles.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the tamari, sesame oil, canola oil, rice wine vinegar and red pepper flakes.
4. Pour the dressing into the pasta and veggies and toss well to combine. Enjoy!

Original recipe here

Wheatberry Salad

I wanted to make wheatberries for a long time - and my first attempt was a Mark Bittman recipe that I didn't really enjoy. I found this recipe just by searching for a wheatberry salad recipe on Google - and I love it! It's really easy, and good to cook/have around in the summer. It has a lot of olive oil - and you probably don't need to add as much as is called for - but it's delicious if you do :)


1 cup hard winter wheatberries
Kosher salt
1 cup finely diced red onion (1 onion)
6 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 scallions, minced, white and green parts
1/2 red bell pepper, small diced (I just used a whole one...what to do with 1/2 a pepper?)
1 carrot, small diced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Place the wheatberries and 3 cups of boiling salted water in a saucepan and cook, uncovered, over low heat for approximately 45 minutes, or until they are soft. Drain. (The package on the wheatberries I bought said to cook for 25 minutes - which was enough. This may differ greatly depending on the kind of wheatberries you get - just test them and they're ready when they're nice and chewy!)

Saute the red onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat until translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the remaining 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.

In a large bowl, combine the warm wheatberries, sauteed onions, scallions, red bell pepper, carrot, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Allow the salad to sit for at least 30 minutes for the wheatberries to absorb the sauce. Season, to taste, and serve at room temperature.

Original recipe here 

Dave's Cooking Debut

Last weekend I tried to buy food for too many recipes...since Dave and I are going to Acadia this weekend, I didn't need much (and I already had a bunch of food from the week before). So, last minute at the grocery store, I tried to eliminate items for one of my recipes I was planning to make. I mixed up two things - bought dill that I didn't need, and didn't buy jicama, which I did need. However, Dave came to the rescue! I was just going to make this recipe without the jicama, but Dave is very resourceful and helped me use up the extra food I had lying in my fridge. We added some leftover quinoa (that I had made when making Quinoa Pancakes, see below) and two plum tomatoes that I was planning to use for caprese salads (...and failed. I have too much basil and was trying to use it). This may not be the prettiest dish you've ever seen, but it's quite tasty. There's a lot of cumin, but you can barely taste it with all the lime juice flavor. Dave also chose to add some Kashi Country Cheddar crackers (you can see in the photo) - I chose to keep those separate.

Anyway - this is a super simple recipe, and very versatile as I now know :)


Cumin-Lime Black Bean, Jicama, and Corn Salad

1 can corn, drained
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup diced jicama
1 avocado, diced
Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
1 1/2 tsp cumin
Dash of salt and pepper
(OR in lieu of jicama: 2 tomatoes, 1-2 cups of quinoa, or whatever you have in your fridge.)

In a medium sized bowl combine corn, black beans, jicama, and avocado. In a separate bowl, whisk together lime juice and cumin. Pour juice over bean and corn mixture. Season with just a dash of salt and pepper. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour (or not...still delicious) before serving.

Original recipe here 

NOTE: This does not keep well. The lime juice causes the avocado to taste acidic after a day or so. Next time I make this, I'm going to keep the dressing separate until ready to eat.

Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing

I tried this recipe last week, and it's a pretty good summer salad recipe. Not too hard - unless you get bad mangoes! I bought 2 mangoes for this, and both were stringy and bitter. So, I had my Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad sans mango. I didn't take a photo of this one (I was probably too angry about the mango), but the photo on the Veggie Belly blog should serve the purpose. I just realized a minute ago that the name of the blog was Veggie Belly....I may have to look into that one further...


For the quinoa
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water

For the fruits and veggies
½ cup fresh blueberries
½ cup cubed ripe mangoes
½ cup cubed cucumbers
1/2 tablespoon dried cranberries

For the lemon basil dressing
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
10 Basil leaves, chopped finely
Salt and pepper

Place the quinoa and water in a medium skillet and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, and simmer covered for about 15 minutes or till the quinoa is cooked. Remove the lid, and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Let it cool to room temperature.

While the quinoa is cooking, combine the fruits in a bowl and refrigerate till you are ready to serve the salad.

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients, except the chopped basil. Refrigerate till you are ready to serve. Chop and add the basil to the dressing just before serving. If you add it earlier, it will go black.

Add half the dressing to the quinoa and mix gently.

Assemble the salad just before serving – toss the quinoa, fruits and cucumbers together. Serve other half of the dressing on the side. Serve immediately.

(I ate mine in a few batches, and mixed everything together except the basil until I was ready to eat.)


Original recipe here (and Veggie Belly blog!)

Quinoa Salad with Smoky Lime Dressing

 

Another quinoa recipe! I make quinoa pretty often because I like it a lot more than rice and it is packed with protein (which I am generally lacking since I am a vegetarian). This recipe is even easier than the one I posted previously with black beans and corn - and it only takes about 20 minutes to make!

1 cup quinoa
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium teriyaki sauce or soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped 

Place the quinoa and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil.
Lower heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in the green onions, black-eyed peas, and cilantro.

Puree the remaining ingredients together in a food processor; pour over quinoa and stir to coat with dressing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Original recipe here