Root Vegetable Farro Salad

Root Vegetable Farro Salad

Daily Garnish

For the Salad

4 medium carrots, peeled and cubed

3 large golden beets, peeled and cubed (reserve greens)- I used red beets, because I couldn't find golden

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1.5 cups farro (or other grain)

3 cups waterbeet greens (reserved from beets)- my beets didn't come with green, so I used spinach

1 clove garlic, minced

kosher salt, to taste

For the Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

pinch of salt

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Add 1.5 cups of dry farro (or other grain of your choice, but I highly recommend farro!) to a saucepan or rice cooker, and combine with 3 cups water to cook.

While the farro cooks, peel and chop the carrots, beets, and sweet potatoes into bite sized pieces. I chose these three root vegetables because they are all earthy, but slightly sweet. I find golden beets to be a little bit sweeter and softer than red beets, but you can use red if that is your preference (just be prepared for your salad to turn purple!).

Rinse and reserve the beet greens, and tear the leaves into bite sited pieces (discard the stems).

Toss the veggies on a sheet pan with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, and roast for 40 minutes, stirring halfway. They should be soft and browning when ready.

In a small bowl, combine orange juice, olive oil, vinegar, and salt – whisk to combine into a dressing.

Once the farro is fluffy and the vegetables are cooked, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, then add the beet greens and cook for a few minutes until wilted.

When the greens have wilted, add the farro, vegetables, and dressing, and combine all components until well mixed.

Season to taste with any additional salt, if needed.

Mexican Inspired Dressing

I made this dressing for a taco-type salad the other day and fell in love. Its tangy with a kick and just perfect for a little Mexican flair to a meal. Didn’t get a picture, as it is not very photogenic. Also, in my opinion, the more lime you add to this the better. The salad I added this dressing to was a mix of red leaf lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, scallions and avocado. I also added some kidney beans (would’ve been better with black beans, but kidney was all I had) for some protein. Obviously chicken or steak would be great as well.

Juice of 1 lime
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
2 Tablespoons oil (I used olive oil)
½ teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro

Cilantro Lime Chickpea Salad

This is such a great salad. Very appropriate to bring to work for lunches! Which is, of course, what I am using it for! I also added some extra veggies liked chopped carrots, tomato and cucumber. The "dressing" can be made according to your preferences: more oil, less lemon juice, etc.

Cilantro Lime Chickpea Salad
Oh She Glows

• One 15-oz can chickpeas (2 cups cooked), drained and rinsed


• 2 cups spinach


• 1/4 cup sweet onion, chopped finely


• Juice from 1.5 limes


• 3/4 cup fresh Cilantro


• 1/2 tsp sugar (or to taste)


• 2 tsp Dijon mustard


• 1 garlic clove


• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil


• 1/2 tsp ground cumin


• 1/2 tsp kosher salt + ground pepper

1. In a food processor, add the spinach and pulse a few times until chopped very small. Add the processed spinach, drained chickpeas, and chopped onion into a large bowl.

2. In the food processor (no need to rinse the bowl!), add the lime juice, cilantro, mustard, sugar, garlic, cumin, and oil. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

3. Pour the dressing on top of the spinach chickpea mixture and stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let stand for about 10 minutes to let the flavours develop (optional- I didn’t!). Serve over a bed of grains, like brown rice. Serves 1-2.

Broccoli Slaw with Oranges and Crunchy Noodles

This is a great salad that I have made several times now and bring to work for lunch most days as well. You could really add anything you want including meat, any other kinds of beans, or veggies. I think I've added tomatoes and zucchini to this. The more veggies the better!



Broccoli Slaw with Oranges and Crunchy Noodles
Cooking Light November 2010

Slaw:
6 cups thinly sliced napa cabbage (I've used napa and purple and both work well)
1 cup diagonally sliced celery
1 cup finely chopped broccoli florets
1/2 cup grated carrot (I chopped the carrot and liked it that way too)
1 cup chopped spinach 
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seed kernels
1 5-ounce can whole water chestnuts, drained and chopped (I've substituted black beans and chickpeas)

Dressing:
1/4 cup lower-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 garlic clove
1/3 cup canola oil

Remaining Ingredients:
1 cup fresh orange slices
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 3-ounce package ramen noodles, crumbled and toasted (discard seasoning packet)

To prepare slaw, combine the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl, toss well to combine.

To prepare dressing, combine soy sauce and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add oil to soy sauce mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Drizzle dressing over slaw, tossing gently to coat. Top slaw with oranges, almonds and noodles.

Curried Butternut Squash and Potato Latkes with Apple Salsau

I don't know that I had ever had a latke before this endeavor. I am now a convert. What a fun snack! Minus having to shread and peal the potatoes and butternut squash, these are pretty easy and definitely yummy. The salsa that goes with it is very versatile as well. I think it would go well with fish or even as a salsa for chips!



Curried Butternut Squash and Potato Latkes with Apple Salsa
Cooking Light, December 2010

1 1/2 cups finely chopped Gala apples
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
1 finely chopped seeded serrano chile
5 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided
5/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
3 cups shredded, peeled butternut squash (about 3/4 pound)
3 cups shredded peeled baking potato (3/4 pound)
1 cup grated onion
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1/4 cup olive oil, divided



Combine apple and lime in a bowl; toss. Add onion, chile, 1 tablespoon cilantro, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; toss. Cover and chill.

Combine squash, potato and onion in a colander; drain 30 minutes, pressing occasionally with the back of a spoon until barely moist. Combine potato mixture, remaining 4 tablespoons cilantro, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, flour and next 5 ingredients (through egg) in a large bowl; toss well.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Spoon 1/4 cup potato mixture loosely into a dry measuring cup. Pour mixture into pan; flatten slightly. Repeat procedure 4 times to form 5 latkes. Saute 3 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden brown and thoroughly cooked. Remove latkes from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure twice with remaining oil and potato mixture to yield 14 latkes total. Serve with salsa.

Black Bean and Corn Salad

This was an easy and delicious salad. I just love when basic, but delicious foods and flavors come to together! I added the jalapeno at the final second and was so glad I did because it added a little kick to it! I served this as a side to fish, but I used the leftovers as a salad add-in for my lunches the rest of the week, which worked out just perfectly!

Black Bean and Corn Salad

1 can black beans, drained
2 cups corn kernels (fresh if possible)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 jalapano, seeded and diced
1 tablespoons chopped, fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine the beans, corn, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, jalapano and cilantro in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the lime juice and olive oil. Spread dressing over vegetables and toss to coat.

Greek Tortellini Salad

This pasta salad and I are now BFFs (best friends forever). We just got along swimmingly! I loved everything about it! The dressing just perfectly complemented all the ingredients and there was such a wonderful tang when you bit into a tortellini! I used three cheese tortellini, but I'm sure any will do. It would no doubt be extra fun to make your own tortellini for this too! I made this as a side dish for 3 people and we had more than enough left over for my lunch the next day. I'm making plans as we speak to make and devour more of this salad, thats how good it is!

Greek Tortellini Salad
Adapted from All Recipes

1 9-oz package tortellini
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh parsely
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup slivered red onion

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add tortellini, and cook for 7 minutes or until al dente; drain.

In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, parsley, oregano, and salt. Place the cooked tortellini in the bowl, and toss to coat. Cover, and chill at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Place eggs in a saucepan with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and allow eggs to sit in the hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, cool, peel, and quarter.

Gently mix the spinach, feta cheese, and onion into the bowl with the pasta. Arrange the quartered eggs around the salad to serve.

Tuna Salad

I have a pretty pathetic confession to make about this tuna salad. Between us, Spice and I have literally gone through almost 6 batches of this in a week. How is this possible, you may ask? This tuna salad is THAT good! Even if you're not a huge fan of tuna, even if you don't like salad, even if you don't want to go to the grocery store, GET OVER IT AND MAKE THIS TUNA SALAD!

I started off eating this on toast, graduated to eating it with crackers and now I sheepishly eat it off a spoon, directly from the Tupperware container. Any of the above ways you choose to eat this stuff, I promise you it will be delicious.

Tuna Salad
Eating, Etc.

1 6-oz can tuna in olive oil, undrained
1/3 cup small curd cottage cheese
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup purple onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 tablespoon capers, drained (I can't find capers at my grocery store, so I've been leaving it out)
Juice of half a lemon
pinch or two of dill weed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Mix the first 10 ingredients together. It's that easy.

Avocado, Asparagus and Tomato Salad

For some odd reason, I have been craving avocado like woah. So I made a salad with some. This was delicious and just the thing on a hot day. Not too heavy and very different texturally.

Avocado, Asparagus and Tomato Salad

1 Avocado, sliced
1 large tomato, chopped into large pieces
large bunch of asparagus, blanched and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
Balsamic vinegar to taste
Juice and zest from 1 lemon

Combine everything in a bowl, toss and enjoy!

Shortest post ever.

Obsessed with Salad

How much do I LOVE salads? Oh my goodness, I couldn't even tell you! Probably about as much as I love sugar =)

I usually have a salad a day at least. Here in New York, a lot of places have make your own salads and it is just so easy to get lots of delicious vegetables, that I can't say no! It's pretty awesome.

If I am ever home for dinner, most often I will make some version of this salad. I throw in some nuts if I need some protein or different vegetables that are on sale at the store. This is what I made last night. Enjoy!

Allison's Salad

Lettuce (whatever kind floats your boat, I prefer a mix of spinach and mixed greens but also enjoy kale)
Tomatoes
Asparagus
1 small sweet potato
1 large carrot
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 cucumber
Handful of sliced mushrooms
Handful of almonds

Wash all your vegetables and lettuce. I like to microwave both my sweet potato and asparagus so they are cooked a bit, but you certainly don't have to. They would also be delicious if stuck on a grill, if you have one! Cut your veggies as you prefer. Toss everything together in a bowl.

The following is my favorite go-to dressing that I got from Eating, etc.

Orange Dressing
1 cup orange juice concentrate (thawed)
2/3 cup lime juice
4 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Whisk together all of the ingredients. Add desired amount to salad and toss.