salad

KALE SALAD with LEMON VINAIGRETTE

July 31, 2019 by Sarah Baade 2 Comments

What is your go-to when you really don’t want to cook? Maybe I should back up a bit. What are the staples in your fridge or pantry? The items you know you can always make a meal out of in ten minutes or less? My staples include kale (don’t roll your eyes at me), chickpeas, tortillas and eggs. At my laziest, I will toss together a kale salad. The toppings vary as far as which cheese or seeds I might sprinkle on top but I always include chickpeas for protein. My other go-to quick meal option is a breakfast taco. I live in South Texas and down here, there is no room for not loving breakfast tacos.

I get it that there are plenty of people who don’t like kale. Heck, there are plenty to mock it and shout their hate for kale from the rooftops. However, I think those people either haven’t actually tried it OR it wasn’t prepared well for them. In raw form, it can be really tough and fibrous. If the stem isn’t removed, you’ll feel like you’re gnawing on a tree branch. HOWEVER, if prepared well, it is delicious and has lots of nutritional value. At the very least, it is worth trying. If you still don’t like it? Hey, more for me!

Tips

I created this recipe as a side salad. However, you can top it with chickpeas, a hard-boiled egg or even grilled chicken to turn it into a meal.
To make this recipe go even faster, you can use a store-bought vinaigrette instead of the one I created for this salad.

Kale Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

My go-to salad recipe – perfect as a side salad or turn it into your main dish.

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Course Salad

Ingredients

5 large handfuls kale, destemmed and torn into pieces
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons roasted & salted pepita seeds
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

For the Vinaigrette

juice of 1 lemon
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground black pepper

Instructions

Place kale, lemon zest and salt in a large pan with 1 tablespoon of water. Sauté 2-3 minutes or until kale is bright green and slightly tender. Remove from heat immediately and put kale in a medium bowl.
Toss kale with pepitas, parmesan and red pepper flakes until ingredients are evenly distributed.

For the vinaigrette

For the vinaigrette: whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle over salad as desired.

AUTUMN HARVEST SALAD

December 1, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

A colleague of mine brought a huge grocery bag full of persimmons and oranges to the office the other day. He and his wife had an abundance of fruit from their trees this year and didn’t want it to go to waste. I grabbed a couple of each fruit from the bag and went back to my desk. At the end of the day there were still quite a few left so I grabbed a couple more. I hate seeing fresh produce go to waste.

About nine years ago I went through some challenging times; I left a marriage that was toxic. Divorce alone can be a huge financial burden. Getting divorced when already strapped for cash can nearly put a person under. My monthly budget was planned down to the penny and with just $63 per month for my groceries, I cried any time I went over that budget. I am thankful that I worked in an office that often had lunch brought in at no expense to the employees. Still, breakfast and dinner were up to me. Did you do the math? That’s right, I had approximately $2.25 per day to cover those meals. I was determined to still eat a relatively balanced diet off of that budget and there were times when I got creative (this doesn’t necessarily mean creative in a delicious way). I ate a lot of eggs and a lot of pasta during this phase of my life. I also learned how to really scour the grocery ads for what was on sale. In terms of produce, I chose sale items rather than what I might have actually been craving. I didn’t eat fresh fruit and vegetables everyday but I did manage to get some on my plate each week. It probably would have been cheaper to buy boxed/processed foods but the reality was that I needed to take good care of myself. There is no question, I would have needed financial help if I had gotten really sick or injured. The best way to stay healthy was to eat well and get exercise. Because of this experience, I still see fresh produce as having a huge value. I will always be incredibly thankful when a colleague/friend brings in extra fruit fresh from his own trees.

This dish was created with the persimmons and oranges that were brought into the office as well as a beet I already had sitting in my fridge. I added a few “splurges” with the arugula and toppings but the oil and vinegar were already in my pantry. My budget has far more wiggle room than it did nine years ago but I think I will always have an appreciation for creating a dish out of what is inexpensively available.

Tips:

Add the pepitas to the salad just before serving so they keep their crunch.
The creamy ricotta gives a nice mix of texture among in this salad but feel free to leave it out if you’re making it for a vegan crowd.

AUTUMN HARVEST SALAD

A vibrant salad that takes advantage of seasonal produce.

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Course Salad

Ingredients

2 cups Arugula
2 Large red beets cooked, sliced and quartered
4 Persimmons sliced
4 Small oranges peeled, halved and sliced - be sure to remove any seeds
2 Tablespoons Ricotta cheese
Salt to taste
Olive oil for drizzling
Apple cider vinegar for drizzling
1 Tablespoon Curly leaf parsley chopped
2 Tablespoons Roasted pepitas

Instructions

Spread arugula on a serving platter then top with beets, persimmons and oranges. Place pea-sized bits of ricotta throughout salad. Sprinkle salt and drizzle oil and vinegar over salad. Top with parsley, and pepitas.

Keyword Salad

Market Couscous Salad

April 28, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

The weather is finally getting warm again and I am looking forward to scouring my local farmers market for my favorite summer produce. In particular, I’m already craving fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. I feel fortunate to have access to most produce all year long at my local grocery store but there is something special about meeting your local farmers and buying their fresh from the farm products.

With warm weather also comes outdoor potlucks. The great thing about this dish is that it can be served warm or cold (I actually prefer it cold). With just ten ingredients, this dish is easy to put together and you can make it ahead of time.

Tips:

Don’t feel limited by the grape/sweet tomatoes I used here. Grab whatever is freshest at your local farmers market or grocery store. Even better would be homegrown tomatoes!
Make sure you add that 1 teaspoon to the water as you’re cooking the couscous – it helps to keep it from turning into one huge blob as it cools.

Market Couscous Salad

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon + 1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 cup uncooked pearl coucous (I used tri-color)

¼ cup red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fresh thyme

1 cup cucumber, chopped

1 cup tomatoes, chopped (I used a mix of sweet tomatoes)

¼ cup red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

In a medium pot, bring 1 ½ cups water and 1 teaspoon olive oil to a boil. Add couscous then reduce heat and simmer for 7-9 minutes or until water is absorbed and couscous is tender. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients to couscous and stir until ingredients are evenly dispersed. Salad can be served warm or cold.

Blueberry and Pesto Quinoa Bowl

January 18, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Alright, it’s confession time. I absolutely ate my way through the holidays. I mean, I went all out with sweets and wine and homemade Chex mix (because we all know the homemade stuff is at least a million times better than the stuff that comes in a bag). No treat went uneaten. I’m not even sure what got into me because moderation with food is typically not a challenge for me. But I did it, and I did it joyfully!

What’s done is done and now it is time to get back on the wagon of eating a balanced diet. I ate salads all last week for lunch because I actually do love vegetables but I was bored by Friday. I was eating the same mixture of ingredients that I always reach for when making a salad. I need some variety if I‘m going to stick with eating healthier. As usual, I also want to make this easy on myself so I looked through my fridge and pantry for ingredients I already had on hand. This quinoa bowl gave me a change of pace in terms of both texture and flavor but was also incredibly easy to make.

Tips:

To make this an even faster recipe, feel free to use a premade pesto from the store rather than making the one included in this recipe.
You can absolutely portion this out ahead of time for lunches. Just hold off on adding the pesto until you are ready to eat it.

Blueberry and Pesto Quinoa Bowl

Serves 2

Bowl Ingredients:

4 cups raw baby spinach

1 cup cooked quinoa, cold

2 Tablespoons pepitas

½ cup feta crumbles

¾ cup fresh blueberries

Pesto Ingredients:

1 ½ cups basil leaves

2 Tablespoons pine nuts

1 ½ teaspoons garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Place spinach in bottom of a large bowl. Top with quinoa then pepitas, feta and blueberries.

For the pesto, combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Drizzle pesto over quinoa bowl as desired.