One-Bowl Kale Salad

I love this new recipe that came from a friend in a quick discussion on what she was making for supper.  I often make this salad without measuring but for the sake of publishing it, I have found these amounts work well, but feel free to eye-ball it if you prefer.   I do find it is important to not make the dressing separate as is traditionally done with salads.  I personally think that the layering effect of the dressing helps create the balance of taste.  PLUS, that would require additional dishes to make it in a separate bowl.  I always prefer fewer dishes and it makes this salad recipe a little unique.

I first started making this salad in late winter/early spring when I could still get kale from my garden and oranges were in season.  As I harvested my new kale from the spring and summer, I had used fresh strawberries, apples, pears and I used those in place of the orange and loved that equally well.  So it is a salad for all seasons really....I am now buying my kale in the grocery store like most Canadians.

One-Bowl Kale Salad

4 cups Kale - finely chopped
1 orange - peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (or fruit of choice)
2 Tbsp chopped almonds - toasted
1/4 cup fresh cilantro - chopped
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste.



Wash the kale and chop into thinner strips or pieces.  Place in a medium-sized bowl.
Drizzle the olive oil over the kale and rub or massage the oil into the greens using your hands.  This may cause the kale to look more wilted which is totally ok.
Pour the freshly squeezed lemon juice over the kale and stir to spread the juice around.
Pour the maple syrup over the kale and stir to spread the sweetness =)
Season with salt and pepper and stir again to mix it all in.

If you want to present this salad on a plate, now is the best time to do that.  Pour the kale onto a plate/platter.  Evenly spread on the cilantro, the fruit of choice and finish with the nuts on top. This gives everyone equal access to all the yumminess in the salad.

If you prefer to mix it all in the bowl, add the remaining fruit, nuts, cilantro and stir everything together.
Enjoy!

Watermelon Kale Salad

I recently planted kale in my garden and have been enjoying it as salads with our meals. 

From various combinations created, this salad is one we all enjoy.  It is a colorful, healthy, and yummy version of a salad that is perfect for enjoying in summer outside. 

  The simple dressing was taken from a Michael Smith recipe I recently enjoyed with my gourmet group. This salad looks beautiful with the dark greens, pink melon and white cheese, and the dressing is strong in flavour to pair up with the kale. The toasted nuts create a lovely crunch and nutty flavour to the fresh produce. A great pairing of food in every way...and a big hit with all my friends who have tried it.

One of my pet-peeves of salads is when they are made in bowls and all the toppings are either on the top (so the first few to eat get them all) or they all fall to the bottom (and the last to eat it get them all). My solution to this problem...to create a salad on a plate. The bigger the salad, the bigger the plate and ALL toppings are equally distributed and enjoyed by all. Plus it looks so much more appetizing with all the toppings visible.  So here is to Plate salads!

Watermelon Kale Salad

Dressing:
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbsp Dijion mustard
1 - 2 Tbsp liquid honey (or applebutter, or maple syrup, or agave nectar)
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Black pepper

Using a shaker or bowl that allows for good whisking, add the vinegar, mustard and honey and whisk or shake until well mixed.  Add in the oil and whisk/shake until blended.  Season with sea salt and fresh black pepper.  You can make a large batch and store the remaining dressing for a week in the fridge.

Salad:
* please note all amounts for the salad are approximate. I never measure my ingredients for something like this so the amounts are approximate.
5 cups Kale* - cut into fine pieces ( or as much as you need for your salad)
1- 2 cups Watermelon - bite-size cube pieces
1 cup cucumber - diced into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup Almond pieces - lightly toasted
1/4 cup Feta Cheese - crumbled
1/2 cup Fresh cilantro - finely chopped

In a larger bowl, place the Kale and cilantro.  Toss with the desired amount of dressing.  As the kale has a stronger, thicker leaf, it will not wilt with the dressing on it like regular lettuce would but leftovers may be soggy leaves by the following day.

Using a large serving plate, place the kale over the plate.  Sprinkle the remaining ingredients over the the kale to create a beautiful artwork of food.  Enjoy.

Cook's Notes:
Kale - For those new to kale, it is a member of the cruciferous family (ie broccoli and cauliflower) and has great nutritional values - raw, steam, sauted, or cooked. It can be mixed in with other greens, added to soups and stews and is often used in smoothies. 

From the picture of my garden, you can see the frilly edge of the kale, and it is very easy to grow and harvest.  So far it is bug-free as well.  In contrast with my overgrown squash plant and the light green leaf lettuce, the kale has a bluegreen color which I like on my plate. 
For enjoying in my salad, I will either cut my kale with a knife into thinner slivers (a bit like you cut cabbage) or tear it into small bite-size pieces.  Some say to massage your kale before cutting and dressing it to decrease the bitter taste.  I have not been hard-core on this as my kale is young and more tender but it may be worth trying.

Leftover Salad for two!

The other night I needed supper, but had nothing planned as I was not supposed to be home for supper.  So I looked around my fridge and with the leftovers there, put together this wonderful salad!  So fresh, simple and a little Mexican!  Who does not love Mexican?!  I also really really like the dressing - creamy, sweet and a little spicy!  Great on many other salads as well.  Be sure to read the Cook's notes for other ideas on foods you could add in.

Mexican Fridge Salad

Dressing:

2 tbsp plain yogurt

1 tsp apple butter *

1/8 - 1/4  tsp cumin

juice of half lime (2 - 3 tsp)

Salad:
1 cooked cob of corn *
1 breast of Cooked/BBQ'd Chicken - cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 tomato - diced
1/2 avocado - peeled and diced
corn chips - preferable blue for best color contrast
Fresh Cilantro

In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, apple butter cumin and lime juice and set aside.
In another bowl, combine the corn, chicken, tomato, avocado and plate it as a salad.  Top with corn chips, cilantro and drizzle/spoon the dressing over. 

This serves 1 - 2 people depending on your appetite and whether lunch, supper or a late-night snack.  To make for a bigger family/group, just add more of the things you like and double, triple or quadruple the dressing.

Cook's Notes:
Apple Butter: I always have the Wellesley Apple Butter in my fridge but recognize not all of you will or may have access to buy it.  In place of Apple butter, you could also try pure maple syrup or naturally sweetened apricot jam. 
Cob Corn: I happen to save leftover, uneaten corn cobs because they work great for add-ins to meals like this.  You could always use frozen corn kernels as well but perhaps let it thaw so you don't have frozen bites in the salad.
Other add-ins: Here are some other ideas of things you can add in to increase the amount of salad you have - rice, beans of any sort, peppers, jalapenos, jicama (a sweet Mexican potato), cucumber...be creative and empty the fridge!

Sweet Potato Salad - My new favorite summer salad

So here is my rendition of a lovely salad I will definitely be making for all the potluck/BBQ's coming this summer. With a day as warm as today, I had to give it a test-drive and we were not disappointed.

I found this recipe out of a new cookbook I have been trying: The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno.  The picture alone was so appealing I had to try it.  I did "modify" just so slightly.  Seems I can hardly get myself to follow an actual recipe to a "T" any more.  Hope you will find it as inspiring and delicious tasting too!

Sweet Potato Salad

4 cups cubed sweet potato - peeled, cubed and precooked

1/2 cucumber (about 6 inches long) - deseeded

1 green onion - trimmed and chopped

1 - 2 stalks celery - diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (half of a lemon)

2 Tbsp white vinegar

1/2 cup plain yogurt

zest of the half lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Optional: 3 cups precooked quinoa*

Precook the cubed sweet potato in a pot of boiling water.  Cook them until just tender so they will not mush up in the salad.  How long?  Your guess is as good as mine and depends on how small you cut them as well.  Start with boiling for 5 minutes.  Once done, set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together the lemon juice and vinegar for the dressing. 

Remove the seeds from the cucumber (inner section of the cuc, even if seedless) so it is not so mushy for the salad.  This can be done with a knife or spoon or melon baller.  Cut the cucumber into bite-size pieces and add to the vinegar dressing.  Add the chopped celery, green onion and fresh cilantro.  Toss with the dressing.  Add the sweet potato and toss gently.

In a small bowl, mix the yogurt with the lemon zest.

To serve, plate the sweet potato salad, top with pumpkin seeds and yogurt.  If using the quinoa, first plate this, top with the sweet potato, seeds and dressing.  Season with salt and pepper and enjoy! 

*If you are new to quinoa, it is a high-protein grain that is kinda like couscous and rice.  I cook it up like rice (1:2 grain/water) and always make extra to use for salads like this, soups, or extra protein in our porridge.  For this salad, it adds a protein component, more texture and color which makes this salad all the more delicious!

What would I do different next time?

I think one thing I would change would be the pumpkin seeds.  I have a great recipe for seasoned seeds and I think that would add a delightful spark to the light salad.  That recipe will be coming as soon as I find it again.

Rating:

Definitely a 5-star rating in my opinion which basically means a definite make again.