EVERYTHING COLOURFUL SALAD

I declare that "Spring is finally here"; I say finally because at last something has bloomed in my garden - tulips. Big day for me since I have been eyeing all the opened tulips in the neighbourhood as I take our dog for his daily walk. "Do they fertilize, do they have better sun exposure or have I bungled up the hardiest of perennials" ? are thoughts that I wrestle with during every outing. So as I proudly took pictures of our first blooms of 2015, I tried not to dwell too much on the fact that my weeds are probably crying out for my attention too.
Pardon the digression, I must get back to my Everything Colourful Salad. What better time than spring to make a salad that is bursting with the colours and flavours of the season. I made this salad on Saturday and we had leftovers for breakfast today with a hard boiled egg. A perfect protein rich salad that is not just easy to make and healthy, it tastes good too. My recipe used the vegetables I had but feel free to substitute. I made a dressing with pomegranate molasses that my dear friend M brought back from Iran. I have also used "Magiun de prune" to make this dressing and it is just as delicious. Now "Magiun" for my non Romanian readers is a plum paste like jam made using a sweet plum variety that is cooked down for up to 10 hours without adding any sugar. The result is a thick, dark purple paste that is slightly sweet and sour. We bought a jar from the local Romanian deli and I must admit I got a real kick out of seeing a label with just one ingredient on it - Plums.
This is the ideal "cut up and pack for a couple of days" salad, add dressing when serving. I layered this is a deep dish and used it over the weekend and the leftovers this morning for breakfast. Put in individual containers to pack into lunch boxes with some dressing on the side. Play with colours, enjoy your salad : >


Skill Level: Easy 

Serves: 4 to 5 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup cooked quinoa 
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 2 medium sized carrots, thinly sliced 
• 1 red bell pepper chopped into small pieces 
• 2 stalks celery chopped into small pieces 
• 11/2 cup chopped red kale
• 2 tbsp crumbled feta (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:

• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 tbsp  honey
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3-4 tbsp warm water (the molasses and the honey make it quite thick)
• salt and pepper to taste 

METHOD: 

1. Wash and cook quinoa 1/2 cup cooked in 1 cup of water. (I usually cook 1 cup so extras can be added to other salads, soups or used as a side )
2. Put the cooked chickpeas in a food processor and pulse until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs (if using canned, drain liquid, rinse thoroughly and pat dry before pulsing in the food processor)
3. Wash and slice carrots, chop pepper and celery. Cut up the kale
4. To make the dressing add all the ingredients together and mix well until combined. Add water to thin out as needed. Check seasoning
5. If serving immediately add the quinoa to the vegetables and toss with the dressing. Crumble feta and add if using.

CARROT POMEGRANATE SALAD

And as promised here is the recipe for this very simple but delicious salad. Stay vibrant, eat colourfully :)

Skill : Easy
Serves : 2-3
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup carrot grated
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
• 2 Tbsp dessicated coconut
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• salt to taste

METHOD

1. Add carrots, coriander, coconut and lemon juice to a bowl and mix 
2. Toss with pomegranate seeds and season to taste

Cobb salad

Life sometimes interferes with the best of intentions and I find myself back at the blog after a fairly long interval. My deepest thanks to my blog partner (and her husband) who despite having had a baby last year, managed to keep on posting while raising their son and dealing with his food sensitivities. No excuses, I am back now. 
I spent the last several weeks in Portland, Oregon with my sister and her family. Several years ago my sister took me to a restaurant in downtown Portland where I had a Cobb salad that has since become my most favourite salad. Every time I visit Portland we have a Cobb salad date during the course of my trip and this year was no exception. 
Cobb salad is an American classic, said to date back to the 1930s when Robert Cobb owner of the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, put together leftovers to make the salad that bears his name. I've seen many variations of the Cobb Salad on menus over the years; I used corn in the one I made last night and have used roasted chicken breast when serving friends who do not eat bacon. Get creative and enjoy.
The picture above that is beautifully layered is from the restaurant, my more humble version is shown below.

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 4 

INGREDIENTS:

Salad

• 2 cups chopped iceberg lettuce 
• 1 ear of corn (shaved off the cob and sauteed with one tsp of olive oil, until slightly charred)
• 8 strips of bacon cooked and crumbled
• 1 avocado chopped
• 4 hard boiled eggs chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes chopped 
•  1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Salad Dressing

•  1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil

METHOD:

1. Put all the ingredients of the dressing in a bowl and set aside
2. Assemble the salad ingredients (layered in a bowl, laid out on a plate or stacked as in the picture)
3. Drizzle dressing as required on the salad.

Fennel, Beets and Apple Salad

I first tasted beets about 6 years ago. This may come as a little bit of surprise to you for someone who is a foodie. Well, I have seen and known beets for all my life but never touched this root vegetable. It is not welcomed at my parents' home. When I was young, I liked to accompany my mother to a morning market and asked why we never cooked the red-looking vegetable. The response that I always got from her was "You won't like it. It tastes earthy, like mud soil". Hmmphh...so there the story goes.

I then tasted beets when a friend of mine invited me for a dinner and she served beets as a side. Well, I did not want to be rude so I politely took the offer and man, I love this root vegetable! It's sweet, earthy (no, it does not taste like muddy soil) and wish that my mom cooked for us at the early age.Ever since my first experience with beets, I frequently cook beets in the fall and winter time. i like to serve as a side to roasted chicken. It is also good as a salad. So here is my recipe for fennel, beets and apple salad. This salad is perfectly balanced with sweetness from beets, licorice flavour from fennel and tartness from apple and the dressing. 


Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 fennel bulb
• 4 medium sized beets
• 1 apple (can be gala, Granny Smith)

For dressing: 

• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp whole grain or dijon mustard 
• 2 tbsp oilive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• black pepper to taste

METHOD: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree Fahrenheit
2. Place beets in an aluminum foil and wrap around to make a pouch. Bake for about 1 hour or until the beets are fork tender
3. Once beets are cooked, leave to cool. Once cool, rub with the palm of your hands to remove the skin
4. Cut the beets into desired sizes
5. Trim the fennel bulb, quarter, core and thinly slice the bulb crosswise
6. Quarter, core and thinly slice an apple crosswise
7. To make dressing, combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk 
8. Combine fennel, beets and apple in a bowl. Toss the salad together with the dressing 

Thai Mango Salad

Have you ever found yourself stressing about what to make for summer parties or potlucks? You want to make something exotic and memorable that keeps everyone talking about your dish long after the food has been consumed - something different from your regular garden salad, pasta salad or coleslaw. But then, thinking of the word "exotic" alone, you start to wonder if you can find the required ingredients in your local grocery store.

BBQ season doesn't officially begin until the long weekend of May. However, with the unusually warm weather that we have had, it is not surprising that my neighbourhood is filled with lingering and intoxicating smells of barbecue. My blog partner's sister, G, happened to visit Toronto last week and I decided to throw a Thai-themed dinner and made Thai Mango Salad as a starter and the verdict from my guests: absolutely must be featured on this blog! 

Traditionally, Thai Mango Salad is made with half-ripened mangoes for tanginess and crunch. Ingredients such as shallots, Thai hot peppers and lemongrass are pounded in a mortar with dashes of fish sauce. But because I had limited time to prepare this appetizer, I decided to take a short-cut! I flavoured the mango salad with Thai sauces I have on hand. I complimented my ripened mangoes with Granny Smith apples for a balance of sweet and sour. Let me assure you that this quick and easy recipe still has its authentic flavour.

All ingredients required in this recipe can be found easily in most grocery stores (Canadian Superstore, Loblaws, etc.) and Chinese groceries.

Skill Level: Easy 

Serves: 8 - 10

INGREDIENTS: 

• 6 mangoes
• 2 Granny Smith apples
• 1 red bell pepper
• 8 shallots or 1/2 red onions
• a handful of mint and cilantro, each
• 1 cup roasted cashew nuts, unsalted
• 3/4 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
• 5 tbsp fish sauce

 METHOD: 

1. Cut mangoes and apples into julienned strips
2. Similarly, cut red bell peppers into thin julienned strips
3. Slice thinly red onions or shallots
4. Finely chop mint and cilantro
5. In a big salad bowl, mix all ingredients and sauces together
6. Add in cashew nuts
7. Serve right away or fridge for an hour