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Salad #9 Fennel and Orange Salad

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Blood Orange Fennel Salad

 

 

Fennel has a licorice-like flavor which seems like an odd pairing with oranges, but it’s basically like tiger ice cream. Except in salad form, and without all the sugar and dairy. Okay, so very little like tiger ice cream. Regardless, it’s a great pairing and absolutely delicious.

Fennel and Orange Salad

(adapted from about.com’s Tuscan Orange and Fennel Country Salad)

Blood Orange Fennel Salad

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Salad #9 Fennel and Orange Salad
 
Ingredients
  • 6 oranges (way more if you are making with salad with mooching children) - we used a mixture of pink naval and blood oranges
  • 1 medium-sized fennel bulb
  • white wine vinegar
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Chop oranges into segments, slices or wedges are both fine.
  2. Cut off the top of the fennel and any the outer pieces if they look kind of rough. Chop or slice.
  3. Mix the vinegar and olive oil about 2:1.
  4. Add salt and pepper too (we left the pepper out).
  5. Mix everything together and serve.

Variations

  • Use balsamic vinegar instead of white wine vinegar
  • Add in some sliced red onion

Blood Orange Fennel Salad

 

Did they eat it?

Gordie (almost 4): Tried 2 pieces of fennel and 2 pieces of oranges. Ate tons and tons of oranges while we made the salad.

Nicky (12 months): loved the oranges (and also ate a ton while we were making it) but had trouble chewing the fennel

Stephen: Weird but tasty.

Anne: Interesting combination that goes together really well.

Bronwen: The fennel is really good. Thirst quenching.

Dana: This salad is easy to put together and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients. One of the things I really liked about it, is how fresh it is for a winter salad.

Blood Orange Fennel Salad

Salad #8 – Green Chopped Salad with Healthy Green Goddess Dressing

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Green Chopped Salad with Healthy Green Goddess Dressing

Green Chopped Salad with Healthy Green Goddess Dressing - St. Patrick's Day Salad

Although this salad would be great any time of year, it’s also perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. Pick all your families favorite green vegetables and chop them up to make the salad – lettuce and other leafy greens would also be great, as would broccoli or avocado. I found some fenugreek at  the grocery store which reminded me a little of clover so I sprinkled it on top for garnish.

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Salad #8 - Green Chopped Salad with Healthy Green Goddess Dressing
 
(adapted from Oh She Glow's Green Goddess Dressing)
Ingredients
  • Green Chopped Salad with Healthy Green Goddess Dressing
  • green pepper
  • cucumber
  • asparagus
  • celery
  • fenugreek (I used it only for decoration)
  • No oil, Non-dairy Green Goddess Dressing
  • ½ cup dill (packed)
  • ½ cup parsley (packed)
  • 1 cup hummus
  • 5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • salt
  • ¼ cup green onion
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • water if necessary
  • This dressing is pretty tart, so you may want to cut back on the lemon or vinegar.
Instructions
  1. Chop all veggies and mix together.
  2. Mix all dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until there are no more lumps.

 

Variations:

  • add or substitute any green vegetable 
  • add fresh herbs to the salad itself
  • substitute tahini or avocado for the hummus (if you do you may want to add garlic and additional lemon juice)
  • substitute other green herbs such as basil for the parsley or dill

 

Salad #7 Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

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I’m trying to make a different interesting, seasonal salad each week so I’m paying attention to ingredients that I normally wouldn’t. I saw the fenugreek by the herbs when I was picking up some parsley and bought it home to figure out how I could make a salad out of it. 

I thought it would replace parsley nicely in a Tabbouleh like Salad so this is what I came up with. But if you don’t have Fenugreek, just use the more traditional parsley.

Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Quinoa Tabouleh Salad

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Salad #7 Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup Quinoa
  • 2 small or 1 large tomato
  • 1 bunch of fenugreek leaves (or parsley)
  • half a cucumber (or two baby cucumbers)
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Cook Quinoa according to package instructions and let cool.
  2. Mix with chopped tomato, cucumber and fenugreek.
  3. Mix the remaining ingredients together either in a small bowl and whisk or in a small container with a lid and then shake until the dressing looks uniform and creamy.
  4. Add the dressing to the Quinoa mixture.

Variations

  • Use rice, barley or bulger instead of the Quinoa
  • Use parsley or a mixture of green herbs (dill, basil etc) instead of the fenugreek

 Did they eat it?

Nicole (12 months): liked it but had a hard time picking it up

Gordie (3.5 years): I bribed him to try two pieces of Quinoa. Said it was good but wouldn’t try any more.

Deb: Nice and fresh.

Stephen: Good. The fenugreek flavor isn’t too over powering.

Dana: This salad felt nice and light. It was a nice break from some heavier winter salads. The fenugreek has a bit of a bitter taste but you can counteract that with a bit of salt.

 

Salad #6 Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad with Asian Dressing

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Our Winter CSA has finished but I found myself in possession of two very large kohlrabies. Kohlrabi wasn’t something I was very familiar with before, it has a kind of mild turnip-like flavor. I had asked around about what to do with them and the most popular answers were, slice it up and serve it with a little salt or to add it to stir fries. I tried it sliced with a bit of salt and it was surprisingly good. I figured that there must be someway to make a salad out of it and found an awesome looking recipe for kolhrabi salad by the Wednesday Chef.

Their original recipe called for matchsticks of carrots and kohlrabi. Which I tried to do, but I’m lacking a) a mandolin  b) a kitchen tool that creates matchsticks or c) good knife skills. So I ended up making something a little bit more like… too large, irregularly shaped, rectangular vegetables. So I tried it again and shredded it instead and found it to be much improved.

Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad with Asian Dressing

Shredded Carrot and Kohlrabi Salad with Asian Dressing

(adapted from Kohlrabi Salad by the Wednesday Chef)

Shredded Carrot and Kohlrabi Salad

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Salad #6 Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad with Asian Dressing
 
Ingredients
  • about 4 cups of peeled and shredded kohlrabi (2 medium, half a large cabbage sized one)
  • 2-3 large carrots shredded
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seed or ½ teaspoon ground fennel
  • 2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • salt (I like to grind sea salt) and fresh ground pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
  • squirt of Sriacha sauce
Instructions
  1. If you are using whole fennel seeds, I really recommend toasting them for a few minutes and then smooshing them up a bit. Putting them in a pile and using the back of a spoon will be fine if you don't have a mortar and pestle. I've tried doing it without and it really does make a difference.
  2. Mix the shredded carrots and kohlrabi together in a large bowl.
  3. Mix the remaining ingredients together either in a small bowl and whisk  or in a small container with a lid and then shake until the dressing looks uniform and creamy.
  4. Add the dressing to the vegetables and mix well.

Variations:

  • Add some honey for a bit of sweetness
  • Add some grated apple
  • Add some powdered or minced garlic to the dressing

Did they eat it?

Stephen: Good. Subtly spicy. Could maybe use a bit of sweetness.
Deb: Really good. I like the Asian flavor.
Nicky (12 months): Loved chewing on the irregularly shaped vegetables and eating the shredded ones.
Gordie (almost 4): tried a tiny bit – it’s a little bit sour
Geoff (my special needs brother): really liked it
Dana: I thought this salad was great. It was quick and easy to put together and makes great use of the kohlrabi.

Salad #5 Deviled Egg Potato Salad

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Another thing I’ve ended up having an abundance of through Eagle Creek Farm’s CSA is potatoes. This week I had a lovely mix of 3 or 4 different kinds of waxy potatoes, the kind that are perfect for potato salad (but not good for mashed potatoes). I figured that 52 weeks of salads wouldn’t be complete without an awesome potato salad so I took inspiration from a potato salad my aunt used to make as well as my deviled egg recipe to come up with this one.

Devilled Egg Potato Salad

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Salad #5 Deviled Egg Potato Salad
Recipe type: Salad
 
Ingredients
  • small bag of potatoes cubed (1-1.5 lbs)
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 TBSP vinegar
  • 1 TBSP mustard
  • 4-6 hard boiled eggs, peeled
  • 2 stalks celery
  • squirt of Sriracha (or other kind of hot sauce)
  • paprika
  • green onions (I didn't have any so I skipped them)
Instructions
  1. Cook potatoes until easily pierced by a fork
  2. Add remaining ingredients and mix to coat. (You can leave out the paprika and sprinkle it on top for a better presentation).

 

Devilled Egg Potato Salad

Did they eat it?

Stephen: Good.

Gordie (3 years old): Refused to try it but did think eggs would be a good idea for dinner. Different eggs.

Nicole (11 months): Loved it.

Dana: If you tend to like potato salad, you’ll like this one. I found it a bit bland without the dash of hot sauce, but I didn’t have any onions in the house so that would make a difference. But the extra eggs really make it feel gourmet. If you brought this to a BBQ you would not be turned away.

Salad #4 Brussels Sprouts Coleslaw with Candied Nuts

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I was browsing through my favorite food blog – Dinner with Julie for some salad inspiration when I came across her recipe for Brussels sprouts slaw.  I don’t have a bad relationship with Brussels sprouts. Both my parents hated them as kids, so the first time I had tried one was as an adult. I’m always trying to find ways to serve them that even Brussels Sprout skeptics will enjoy. Brussels Sprouts are readily available in the winter so it seemed like a perfect candidate for Salad #4.

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Salad #4 Brussels Sprouts Coleslaw with Candied Nuts
Recipe type: Salad
 
Ingredients
  • Coleslaw:
  • 1½ lbs of Brussels sprouts (it doesn't really matter how much - big bunch)

  • Dressing:
  • ¼ cup grainy mustard
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or plain white, or white wine)
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • ¼ cup olive oil

  • Candied Almonds:
  • ½ cup chopped nuts (I used sliced almonds)
  • ⅓ cup sugar
Instructions
  1. Boil the Brussels sprouts in salted water for 5 minutes. (I was a little skeptical that these would be good, but they are really more blanched than boiled. Honestly they were great straight out of the pot. Be careful not too over cook them.)
  2. Drain the water and run the Brussels sprouts under cold water to stop them from cooking.
  3. If you have a food processor, you can use that to slice them up or you can cut them thinly by hand like I did. If they have a stalky bottom you may want to trim that off first.
  4. Whisk or shake the dressing ingredients together and toss over the slaw to coat. You only need a light coating, but you can use as much as you like.

  6. Candied Almonds Instructions:
  7. Heat frying pan to medium heat.
  8. Add nuts and sugar and stir for 3-7 minutes. You want to keep constantly stirring so your nuts don't burn. When the sugar caramelizes and your nuts are toasted you are done.
  9. Pour them onto tin foil to cool.
Notes
(adapted from http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2009/11/15/brussels-sprout-slaw-maple-pecans/)

Candied Sliced Almonds

Alternatives:

This salad would also be good topped with maple pecans like Julie did or bits of bacon.

Did they eat it?

Stephen – Surprising taste from Brussels sprouts.

Anne – This is delicious. I like them even better like this than cooked.

Deb – Not bad… for Brussels sprouts.

Gordie (3.5 years) – refused to try it

Dana – I thought this was great. I had used a Dijon mustard which I had in my fridge and I didn’t really like that in the dressing. But I don’t ever like Dijon mustard so that was no surprise. (but I used it anyway because?? and bought it in the first place because??) The slaw itself though was really good. I couldn’t believe how good the Brussels Sprouts were when they were blanched. I would definitely make this again, but I’d try it with bits of bacon instead.

Brussels Sprout Coleslaw with Candied Nuts

Salad #3 Blood Orange, Yellow Beet and Pomegranate Salad

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I’m still trying to convince Gordie that salads are not something he should automatically reject. He loves fruit salad, so I thought maybe a salad that was heavy on the fruit might be a promising avenue.

Two of my favorite fruits that are great in the winter are oranges and pomegranates and went searching for salad ideas. I found one that even included beets (which I still have a lot of). I toned it down a little to try and make it more attractive to little people, so I took out things like the onions and added pepper only for people who wanted it. The original recipe called for pomegranate molasses, which I was planning on substituting for balsamic vinegar. I happened to have pomegranate balsamic vinegar (seriously!) so I used that but any fruit or regular balsamic vinegar would be fine.

Blood Orange, Yellow Beet and Pomegranate Salad

(adapted from Epicurious Pomegranate, Beet and Blood Orange Salad)

Blood Orange, Yellow Beet and Pomegranate Salad

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Salad #3 Blood Orange, Yellow Beet and Pomegranate Salad
Recipe type: Salad
 
Ingredients
  • Seeds from 1 pomegranate
  • 4 sweet oranges (blood oranges are nice)
  • 3-4 medium yellow or red beets (or a mix of both!)

  • Balsamic Dressing

  • 2 TBSP balsamic vinegar (fruit flavored or regular)
  • 1 TBSP honey (or rogers golden syrup)
  • touch of oil
  • sprinkle of freshly ground pepper
Instructions
  1. Roast beets using your favorite method. I like wrapping them in aluminum foil and then sticking them on a cookie sheet for 45-60 minutes, until a knife easily pierces the centre.
  2. Let them cool a bit and then take the skin off with a vegetable peeler.
  3. Cut the beets and oranges up into wedges.
  4. Add the beets, oranges and pomegranate seeds into a big bowl.
  5. Stir together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and then pour over the salad ingredients.

Did they eat it?

Gordie (3.5 years): Loved the pomegrante seeds and oranges while we were making the salad. Was actually willing to try the salad, but bit into a piece of beet, exclaimed “it’s a potato!” and would not try it again.

Nicole (10 months): I’m pretty sure she thinks this was the best thing she had ever eaten. If she saw other people eating it she would demand that they share. Huge hit.

Stephen: “Good. Kinda weird”

Dana: This salad was good but it is not the quickest to throw together. Roasting the beets takes a while as does de-seeding the pomegranate. Gordie really loved helping take the seeds out. So I like that even pretty little kids can be involved in making the salad. It was really good though. It would be a great salad to make for a special meal or if you had company over for dinner.

3 down 51 to go.

Salad #2 Shredded Yellow Beet, Carrot and Apple Salad with Orange Ginger Dressing

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For our second salad I went in search of something to use the yellow beets that I had gotten from Eagle Creek Farm’s Winter CSA. Winter is not the easiest time to create a seasonal salad, but there is still quite a bit you can work with, beets included.

I came across a couple recipes for shredded beet salads. Now I’m no stranger to beets. I grew up on pickled beets and grew and roasted beets when I had my very first garden. But I had absolutely no idea that you could shred beets and eat them raw. At first I had thought this would fall into the category of, you can but would you want to (sort of like raw chicken, yeah, you can eat it raw but…).

But in fact when they are shredded they are very similar to the carrots. And yes, you can also use purple beets.

Shredded Yellow Beet, Carrot and Apple Salad with Ginger Orange Dressing Recipe

(adapted from Simply Recipes Morrocan Beet Salad)

Shredded Yellow Beet, Carrot and Apple Salad with Ginger Orange Dressing

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Salad #2 Shredded Yellow Beet, Carrot and Apple Salad with Orange Ginger Dressing
Recipe type: Salad
 
Ingredients
  • 1 large beet
  • 2 large carrots
  • 1 apple (I like granny smith)

  • Orange Ginger Dressing

  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of cayenne
  • juice of 1 orange
  • 2 tbsp honey
Instructions
  1. Peel and shred the carrots, beets and apples (the apple will also need to be cored). The beet will shred better if you cut it into smaller pieces first, think steak fries. If you have some kind of kitchen gadget to shred things, that would be handy. Put everything you've shredded into a large bowl.
  2. Add the ingredients for your dressing into a small bowl and blend well.
  3. Pour the dressing over your salad ingredients and mix. You will end up with quite a bit of dressing. You can use it all, it doesn't hurt for the salad to marinate in the fridge a little, and it can keep it from drying out or you can just add what you need if you are using it right away.

Alternatives:

  • If you are keeping it for a while you may want to use raisins instead of the apple, it’ll still taste fine, but the color goes a bit off over time.
  • You could also make the dressing as simply recipes did with lemon juice instead of orange juice and cinnamon instead of ginger
  • If you have a baby under 12 months you may want to substitute the honey for corn syrup, rogers golden syrup or maple syrup (I forgot so didn’t give it to Nicky).

Did they eat it?

Gordie (3.5 years): Tried some of the shredded vegetables before I put the dressing on it and made it into a salad.

Stephen: “Good. Cool and refreshing.”

Dana: I liked this salad. It was a real surprise as I didn’t expect much. It was pretty heavy on the ginger, I might reduce it if I was going to make it again. 2 down 51 to go.

Salad #1 – Roasted Sweet Potato and Cranberry Salad Recipe – 52 Salads

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I’ve decided to embark on a challenge to make 52 different salads over the next 52 weeks. I was inspired by my friend Misty’s 52 cakes challenge and my friend Jenny’s 52 cookies challenge. They sounded like so much fun I decided to do one of my own. But 52 weeks of cookies and cakes was not going to help me with my fitness goals for this year, so I’m going to do 52 salads instead.

I love salads, but I often find myself too lazy and disorganized to actually make them. I’m going to use this challenge to help me get in the habit of making salads and getting my family to eat more vegetables.

Additionally, my three year old son Gordie turns his nose up at anything labeled a salad so I’m going to try to see if I can win him over and
get him to try some salads.

For this challenge I am going to try to:

  • Make really different salads rather than subtle variations
  • Use a variety of sources for inspiration
  • Use seasonally available ingredients
  • Focus on salads with lots of vegetables that would work as a snack or side dish and will keep a few days in the fridge.

At least for the time being I’ll also be choosing salads that are dairy free as Nicky is sensitive to dairy products.

I’m taking suggestions so if you have a favorite salad that I should try please let me know!

Now onto our first salad:

This salad was inspired by one that they make at Sunterra Market. They use green peppers which is quite pretty but the ones at the store when I went were all squishy. That’s one of the things that’s so great about making salads, a recipe is really only a guideline.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Cranberry Salad

Roasted Sweet Potato and Cranberry Salad

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Salad #1 – Roasted Sweet Potato and Cranberry Salad Recipe – 52 Salads
Recipe type: Salad
 
Ingredients
  • 1 large sweet potato cubed and roasted
  • 1-2 red or green peppers chopped
  • 1-2 green onion sliced
  • handful of dried cranberries
  • handful of pumpkin seeds
  • Maple Dijon Dressing
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp white wine vinegar (or red wine or just white vinegar)
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Mix the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk, blend of shake the dressing ingredients together until they are well mixed. Use your hands to cover the salad with the dressing. You will probably have a bit more than you really need.
  2. Note: When you are roasting the sweet potatoes test them often, you want them to be cooked but not mushy or they will just fall apart in the salad.

Did they eat it?

Gordie (3.5 years): Did not try it because it is a salad even though I presented him with just a piece of sweet potato

Nicky (10 months): Loved it, sweet potato and red peppers were a huge hit

Stephen: “Good. Doesn’t really seem like a salad though.”

Dana: I adore this salad. I would absolutely make it again. Aside from having to roast the sweet potatoes it’s super easy to throw together too.

So there you have it – 1 down 51 to go.

Surprisingly Easy Sponge Toffee Recipe–Dairy Free

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Surprisingly Easy Sponge Toffee Recipe

One day my husband suggested we try to make sponge toffee (think the inside of a crunchie bar. Neither of us had much experience making candy and we expected the process to be difficult.

Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s easy and quick to make and dairy free to boot. It’s also a pretty impressive looking science experiment to do with the kids. The candy is too hot for little kids to help with during the reaction, but older kids will love helping and younger kids will still be impressed.

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Surprisingly Easy Sponge Toffee Recipe–Dairy Free
 
Ingredients
  • 2.5 cups sugar
  • ⅔ cup corn syrup
  • ⅓ cup water
  • 4 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
  1. Grease and line a metal cake pan we used wax paper, but greased parchment paper is often recommended. (Do not be tempted to use a glass pan, you want something that has some bend to it).
  2. Get your baking soda and vanilla ready.
  3. Stir sugar, corn syrup and water in a 12 cup pot over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
  4. Put in a candy thermometer. Do not stir while you wait for it to come to a boil.
  5. When the temperature reaches 300F (hard crack stage) remove it from heat.
  6. Quickly whisk in the baking soda. This will cause the mixture to bubble up (you’ll want your kids who are not actively helping to stay back – it’s hot!)
  7. Whisk in the vanilla.
  8. Immediately pour into the prepared pan. Let it cool in the pan for about 2 hours. The mixture may be kind of uneven on top but resist the urge to smooth it out, that will pop the air bubbles.
  9. Break it into pieces and enjoy!