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Salads

Salad #34 – Fruity Winter Salad

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Fruity Winter Salad
I  am not winter’s biggest fan. I am fond of being warm and not inclined to ski. I also really miss the plentiful, seasonal fresh fruit of the summer. Winter is not a total loss though, pomegranates and citrus fruit are at their best in the cooler months. This salad would be lovely to bring to a pot luck, to serve as the first course for Christmas dinner or if you chop the greens it would make a lovely chopped salad side dish.

Fruity Winter Salad

(Adapted from Christmas Tree Salad)

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Salad #34 - Fruity Winter Salad
 
Ingredients
  • Ingredients
  • 1 bunch of greens (really anything will work. I used a pretentious mix of swiss chard, kale and spinach)
  • 1 pomegranate
  • 1 bunch grapes
  • 2 mandarin oranges, chopped
  • 2 small handfuls sliced almonds
  • Dressing Ingredients
  • 1 shallot
  • 2 tbsp vinegar (I used a pomegranate flavored balsamic, but a white wine or apple cider would be prettier)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. De-seed the pomegranate. Cut it in half along the equator. Score the skin along the membranes of the fruit. Break sections off and rub off the seeds. Some people find it easier to do this in a bowl of water. I generally find this to be wetter.
  2. Cut the grapes in half. Cut the ends of the oranges and then cut off the rest of the peel. Chop the orange fruit into squares.
  3. Mix the dressing ingredients in a food processor or magic bullet. Alternatively you have chop the shallot finely and whisk to combine. Or mix the shallot with the rest of the salad ingredients.
  4. Toss the greens, fruit and dressing together in a large bowl.

Fruity Winter Salad

Fruity Winter Salad

Did They Eat It?

Stephen: Good.

Gordie (4.5 years): thought the pomegranates were too sour.

Nicky (1.5 years): Loved the fruit from the salad

Dana: Lovely salad for the winter. Crunchy, sweet and fresh.

Fruity Winter Salad

 

Salad #33 – Mexican Street Corn Inspired Quinoa and Corn Salad

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Mexican Street Corn Inspired Quinoa and Corn Salad

I’ve been seeing recipes for Mexican street corn popping up on pinterest lately. I ended up with some extra roasted corn after making this salad so I decided to try to make a salad version. This recipe probably does not have much in common with the kind of corn you might actually get on the street, but it is super good nonetheless. Even my relatives who are not keen on spicy food liked this recipe although I did try to keep it pretty mild.

Mexican Street Corn Inspired Quinoa and Corn Salad Recipe

(inspired by this Mexican Street Corn recipe and this Mexican Corn and Quinoa salad recipe)

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Salad #33 - Mexican Street Corn Inspired Quinoa and Corn Salad
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups cooked red or white quinoa
  • 2  ears grilled corn cut from the cob (or you could just use frozen kernel corn or roast the corn in the oven)
  • squirt of sriracha sauce (or other hot sauce)
  • 1 lime, juiced (optional)
  • 1-2 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
  • chili powder to taste
  • 1 TBSP of mayo
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 handful cilantro, chopped (optional)
Instructions
  1. Mix up the mayo, olive oil, chili powder, salt and pepper (and lime if using).
  2. Mix the dressing with the quinoa, corn, a squirt of sriracha sauce (and the feta and cilantro if using).
  3. Adjust the heat as you like with the chili powder and sriracha sauce.
  4. Best served at room temperature, but generally just delicious.

Mexican Street Corn Inspired Quinoa and Corn Salad

Did They Eat It?

Stephen: Really good. Mint might be good in it too.

Richard – I liked that and I’m not into spicy foods. Enough to liven it up.

Deb – Nice side dish. Healthy and spicy.

Nicky (1.5 years) – liked the salad and didn’t mind the heat.

Gordie (4.5 years) – refused to try it. Was upset that the corn looked burnt so wouldn’t try that either.

Dana – This was even better than I had expected.

Mexican Street Corn Inspired Quinoa and Corn Salad

 

Salad #31 – Kale Salad with Grilled Corn

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I’ve always been a little intimidated to buy corn still in the husk. At the grocery store by my house, there is a huge garbage can by the corn for the discarded leaves that collect by people examining the corn. I had no idea what I should be looking for but it seemed pretty clear that I should be looking for something. I decided this summer to just bite the bullet and buy some corn. When I brought the corn home and started husking it became pretty obvious what I should have been looking for. To spare you from feeling like an idiot at the grocery store, here are some tips for picking corn at the grocery store.

How to Pick Corn at the Grocery Store

  1. Peel back the husk so you can see the kernels. You may end up losing a few leaves so you can do this which is fine. Some stores will even have a bin for you to discard them.
  2. Look at the kernels on the end. You want them to look plump and firm.
  3. Discard them if the kernels on the end are squashed and broken, or there is a lot of small undeveloped kernels. A few undeveloped kernels on the end is fine, but a lot of them means that the corn was picked before it was fully ripe. You’ll also want to look out for discoloration or mold indicating that the corn is past it’s prime.

Kale Salad with Grilled Corn

 

I decided to grill the corn for this salad. I’d never tried that before and wasn’t sure it was going to be worth the effort. It turned out to be amazing – I highly recommend giving it a try. Alternatively, you can roast it in the oven which will give similar results. Steaming, boiling or microwaving the corn will still make a great salad but it may lose a little of the awesomeness.

Kale Salad with Grilled Corn Recipe

(adapted from http://www.heatherchristo.com/)

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Salad #31 - Kale Salad with Grilled Corn
 
Ingredients
  • Salad Ingredients
  • 1 bunch kale, stems removed, cut into small strips
  • 2 ears grilled corn cut off the cob (I used these instructions or baked in tin foil)
  • Feta cheese crumbled (optional)
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • Dressing Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar
  • salt and black pepper
Instructions
  1. Mix vegetables a large bowl.
  2. Shake the dressing ingredients in a small container with a lid until well mixed. Or you can whisk them together in a medium sized bowl.
  3. Add the dressing to the vegetables a little at a time and mix until the salad is well covered.
  4. Serve and top with the feta cheese if desired.

Kale Salad with Grilled Corn

Did They Eat it?

Stephen: The salad was good. The corn’s what kills it. [In a good way]

Anne: This is good! My new favorite salad.

Nicky (17 months): loved the corn and tomatoes.

Gordie (4 years old): Loved the corn before it went into the salad.

Dana: This is one of my favorite salads so far. It’s really very simple but it makes a big impact. I will make this salad again for sure.

Kale Salad with Grilled Corn

 

Salad #32 – Roasted Yellow Beet Salad with Feta

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Roasted Yellow Beet Salad with Feta

We got a number of beets this year from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The yellow beets are my favorite. They taste pretty much the same as the more common purple beets, but they are way less messy.  This is a pretty classic salad – it’s simple, but surprisingly delicious. 

Roasted Yellow Beet Salad with Feta Recipe

(Adapted from The Curvy Carrot’s Roasted Balsamic Beet Salad)

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Salad #32 - Roasted Yellow Beet Salad with Feta
 
Ingredients
  • Salad Ingredients
  • yellow beets (red or purple will also work just fine)
  • romaine lettuce (or other greens)
  • feta cheese, crumbled
  • sliced almonds
  • Dressing Ingredients
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
  1. Roast (or you can grill instead) the beets until they are cooked through.
  2. Mix dressing ingredients together in a small bowl with a whisk or shake well in a container with a lid.
  3. Layer salad green, beets, feta and dressing on each plate.

Roasted Yellow Beet Salad with Feta

Did They Eat It?

Stephen: Traditional but good.

Richard: Very nice. I enjoyed it.

Deb: I don’t like roasted beets or goat cheese.

Gordie: Refused to try any of the salad or the beets.

Nicky: Refused to try it.

Dana: I really loved this salad. After the beets were cooked it was easy to throw together too.

Roasted Yellow Beet Salad with Feta

Salad #30 – Watermelon Salsa over Grilled Chicken and Greens

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When my husband asked me to make a watermelon salad, I made this watermelon salad with red peppers and strawberries. I loved it but apparently it was not the watermelon salad that my husband had in mind. It turns out what he wanted was a grilled chicken salad with watermelon salsa. The salsa turned out really well but the salad needed either a glaze on the chicken or extra dressing over the salad. Maybe a spicy thai dressing or even a balsamic vinegar dressing. Or you can always just put the salsa in a bowl and eat it with chips and call that your salad. Which I absolutely did with the leftovers.

Watermelon Salsa over Grilled Chicken and Greens

Watermelon Salsa

(adapted from the Pioneer Woman’s Watermelon Pico De Gallo Recipe)

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Salad #30 - Watermelon Salsa over Grilled Chicken and Greens
 
Ingredients
  • ⅛-1/4 pf a watermelon, diced
  • 3 peppers, diced (I used red, yellow and orange)
  • ¼ red onion diced
  • bunch of cilantro chopped
  • juice of two limes
  • squirt of sriracha sauce
  • salt
Instructions
  1. If you are a big cilantro fan, you can just mix the ingredients together in a big bowl.
  2. If you are less certain about cilantro, start by mixing the watermelon, peppers and red onion in a large bowl.
  3. In a food processor (I used a magic bullet) mix together the cilantro, limes, sriracha sauce and salt. Blend well. This will take some of the bite out of the cilantro.
  4. Pour over the salsa and mix well.
  5. Serve over your bed of greens with grilled chicken (and hopefully some kind of dressing).

Watermelon Salsa over Grilled Chicken and Greens

Did They Eat It?

Stephen: Really good.

Nicky (17 months): loved the peppers and watermelon

Gordie (4 years old): loved the watermelon as long as it wasn’t part of the salad.

Dana: I found it a little bit bland because I didn’t use any additional dressing and had grilled the chicken plain. I would make this again, but would definitely use some kind of dressing. The salsa itself was great.


 Watermelon Salsa over Grilled Chicken and Greens

Salad #29 – Grilled Vegetable Salad with Greens and Mustard Dressing

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Grilled Vegetable Salad with Greens and Mustard Dressing
Summer is nearly over, but there is probably a few weeks of great grilling weather left. This salad is a perfect if it’s too hot to cook inside but you have some vegetables that you’d like to roast. If the weather is a bit cooler and the thought of turning on your oven doesn’t make you want to cry, the vegetables can also be roasted in the oven instead. Below, I’ve written down the vegetables that I used for my salad, but you could use any grilled vegetables you have on hand including zucchini or asparagus.

Grilled Vegetable Salad with Greens and Mustard Dressing

(Adapted from Cook With What You Have)

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Salad #29 - Grilled Vegetable Salad with Greens and Mustard Dressing
 
Ingredients
  •  2 medium onions
  • 1 turnip
  • 4 carrots
  • 6 small beets red and yellow
  • 2 large roasted red peppers (from a jar)
  • lettuce
  • parsley
  • 2-3 tablespoons whole grain mustard
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
  1. Chop Vegetables into large pieces and coat with olive oil.
  2. Mix the oil, lemon juice, mustard and salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisk until well mixed.
  3. Heat your grill to about 400F. I found this to be about medium low on my grill.
  4. Place your vegetables on your grill and cook until cooked through. Turning occassionally. If you are using more tender vegetables this may only take a few minutes, larger root vegetables may take up to 20 minutes.
  5. Take the vegetables off the grill and chop into bite sized pieces. If you are using fresh peppers instead of jarred, place the pepper in a plastic bag for a few minutes to make it easier to take off the skin.
  6. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, roasted chopped vegetables and dressing.
  7. Serve and enjoy.

Grilled Vegetable Salad with Greens and Mustard Dressing

Grilled Vegetable Salad with Greens and Mustard Dressing

Did they Eat It?

Bronwen – Neat touch with the roasted greens

Anne – really liked it. Surprise to have roasted vegetables in a salad

Grandma Mary – I really liked the one with the beets. Those beets were so good.

Richard – very good. It seemed like there was something with a bit of kick in it too.

John – I filled up on the roasted vegetable salad. Very good. Never had it before.

Dana – This salad was delicious. I would absolutely make this again. One of my favorites so far.

Grilled Vegetable Salad with Greens and Mustard Dressing

 

Salad #28 – Orzo Salad

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My friend Erin recommended this salad to me, in her words she blogs about “recipes (that don’t kill my husband) and crocheting!” over at Mrs Brits. She raved about how good it was and after making it myself I would have to agree. I used frozen peas and frozen corn, but it would be great with garden peas, snow peas, snap peas or corn kernels cut from the cob.  The flavors are simple and will complement almost any meal. I love how it is so much lighter than your typical pasta salad.

Orzo Salad

Orzo Summer Vegetable Salad Recipe

(adapted from Healthy Alberta’s Orzo Summer Vegetable Recipe)

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Salad #28 - Orzo Salad
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups orzo
  • 1 red pepper chopped
  • ½ cucumber or two mini cucumbers
  • 2 cups frozen corn
  • 2 cups frozen peas
  • 1-2 tomatoes, chopped
  • ½ cup red or spanish onion (finely chopped)
  • 1 lemon (zest and juice)
  • handful of parsley chopped (or mint or cilantro - I used parsley with a bit of mint which was quite nice)
  • Olive oil
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Cook the orzo according to the package instructions.
  2. Drain, mix with a little olive oil and let cool in a large bowl. If you are using frozen corn and peas, it doesn't have to get right down to room temperature.
  3. Mix the remaining ingredients with the orzo.
  4. Serve cold or at room temperature. Keeps well for a couple days.

Orzo Salad

Did They Eat It?

Deb – nice and light compared to a lot of pasta salads

Grandma Mary – I liked it, but not as well as the one with the beets. [review to come]

Richard – very good.

Bronwen – Delicious. Perfect starch complement to the steak.

Nicky (17 months) – Liked the veggies from the salad but left the orzo alone.

Geoff (my special needs brother) – Loved it. Asked for more. Yay!

Anne – Really nice change for the starch.

Dana – This is a nice simple salad, but don’t underestimate it. It’s easy to put together and switch out the ingredients to whatever you have on hand. The orzo works really well – it didn’t get mushy even with a couple of days in the fridge. Perfect to make for a crowd.

Salad #27 – Potato Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

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I’m going to be honest. I am not a fan of cilantro. I don’t hate it as much as I used to, but I still generally substitute parsley or something whenever a recipe calls for cilantro. I had heard that when cilantro is all minced up, it is more palatable (for people who don’t already like it) so I thought I would give it a try. Surprisingly, the dressing was really good. I even had a couple other cilantro skeptics try it and they liked it too.

Potato Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Potato Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Ingredients

  • Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette (recipe below) 
  • Potatoes cut into bite sized cubes.

Directions

  1. Boil potatoes until cooked through.
  2. Drain the potato water and lay the cooked potatoes out on a tea towel to dry. If you rinse the potatoes or put the dressing on before the potatoes dry it makes it hard for the dressing to stick. It will be less of an issue if you are serving it immediately.
  3. Put the potatoes in a large bowl and pour the dressing over the potatoes. Mix well.

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

(adapted from Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette)

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Salad #27 - Potato Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
 
Ingredients
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 3 Tbsp. Fresh Chopped Cilantro
  • 2 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 1 garlic scape, or ½ Clove minced
  • Pinch of Sea Salt
Instructions
  1. All ingredients together in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

Potato Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Salad #26 – Kale Salad with a Bacon Vinaigrette

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I was looking for some ideas for out of the ordinary dressings and my friend Heather (who writes a funny parenting and design blog over at Home to Heather) suggested a warm bacon dressing. This sounded like it would be perfect for my kale, one of the few things that I actually managed to grow in my garden this year.  I’m not sure whether this is what she had in mind, but it was delicious nonetheless. I ate this entire salad almost all by myself. It was even really good the next day.

Kale Salad with a Bacon Vinaigrette

 Kale Salad with a Bacon Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe

(adapted from Just a Taste’s Raw Kale Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette Dressing)

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Salad #26 - Kale Salad with a Bacon Vinaigrette
 
Ingredients
  •  1 bunch kale
  • ⅓ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
  • 6 slices bacon (3 TBSP bacon fat reserved)
  • 2 garlic scapes (or 1 clove garlic)
  • ½ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon grainy mustard
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Chop bacon into small pieces and cook in a frying pan. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pan and dispose of any remainder. Add a little olive oil if you are short on bacon fat. Let the bacon dry and cool.
  2. Saute the garlic in the bacon fat for 1 minute over medium heat. Whisk in the vinegar, mustard and brown sugar and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Toast pumpkin seeds in a dry pan until fragrant and just starting to brown. Stir constantly.
  4. Wash, dry and stem kale. Then slice thinly.
  5. Toss the kale with the dressing and add the seeds and bacon to the salad.

Kale Salad with a Bacon Vinaigrette

Kale Salad with a Bacon Vinaigrette
Did They Eat It?

Deb – lovely. one of the nicest ones I’ve had.

Nicky (17 months) – Loved munching on the kale leaves from the salad

Gordie (4.5 years) – Thought the bacon from the salad was okay but would be better without the dressing.

Dana – I thought this salad was great. I’m wasn’t sure if it would hold up the next day when I had pre-dressed it but it was still great though less crunchy.

Kale Salad with a Bacon Vinaigrette

Salad #25 – Chopped Garden Salad with Herb Dressing

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This year we’re getting a Summer CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) from Eagle Creek Farms. In a CSA local producers sell shares of their produce with their community at the beginning of the season. This makes it easier for small farmers to continue to farm because the risk of bad crops is shared. Alberta can be a difficult climate to grow crops in so it’s particularly helpful where we live. In our first delivery, we received spinach, pea shoots, arugula, garlic scapes, radishes and a potted herb.

I’m also trying my hand at my own vegetable garden again this year. My results so far are a bit mixed but the herbs are growing really well so I decided to use them in a dressing. You could also put some of the herbs straight into the salad itself if you wanted to.

Garden Salad with Lemon Herb Dressing

Chopped Garden Salad with Herb Dressing

(adapted from Katie’s Cucina’s Lemon Herb Dressing)

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Salad #25 - Chopped Garden Salad with Herb Dressing
 
Ingredients
  • Salad Ingredients
  • 6 cups fresh greens (I used pea shoots and spinach)
  • 2-3 radishes
  • Herb Dressing Ingredients
  • Juice of 1 lemon (if you put it in the microwave for a few seconds it will release more juice)
  • lemon zest from 1 lemon
  • 2 tsp honey
  • squirt of hot sauce like sriracha
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 6 TBSP chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley, basil, oregano and thyme)
  • 1-2 garlic scapes chopped (or 1 garlic clove or 1-2 green onions)
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Wash and dry your greens and radishes. Chop all the greens and the radishes into small pieces. Mix together well.
  2. Blend the dressing ingredients together in a food processor or blender. Alternatively you can chop everything finely and shake or whisk until blended.
  3. Drizzle dressing over the vegetables and mix well. The dressing is bold so you probably won't need a ton - add a little at a time.

 

Garden Salad with Lemon Herb Dressing

Did They Eat It?

Gordie (4 years old): Refused to try it.

Stephen: It was good.

Anne: Strong taste but in a good way. The salad really had bite.

Deb: Tastes like spring.

Bronwen: Liked it.

Dana: This would make a great side for dinner but I really enjoyed it as a snack.


Garden Salad with Lemon Herb Dressing