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Salad #20 – Watermelon Salad with a Sesame Ginger Dressing

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Watermelon Salad with a Sesame Ginger Dressing

My husband has been suggesting that I make a watermelon salad for a couple months. I don’t recall ever having one before but I thought I would give it a try now that watermelons are in season.  It turned out even better than I expected. This would make a nice fresh salad for a BBQ. If you doubled the recipe, it would be great for a crowd too.

Watermelon Salad with a Sesame Ginger Dressing

Watermelon Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing

(Adapted from Hola Jalapeno’s Watermelon and Apricot Salad)

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Salad #20 - Watermelon Salad with a Sesame Ginger Dressing
 
Ingredients
  • Salad Ingredients
  • 2 lbs seedless watermelon cut into bite sized chunks (about ½ a small watermelon)
  • 10 or so large strawberries sliced
  • 2 medium sized red peppers chopped into chunks
  • leaves from a few sprigs of basil and cilantro, chopped
  • Dressing Ingredients
  • 2 TBSP honey
  • 3 TBSP white wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 6 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
  • 2-3 tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
Instructions
  1. Add together dressing ingredients and shake well in a small container with a lid or a whisk in a small bowl until well mixed. If you are worried about the sharpness of the ginger you can saute it in a bit of oil before adding it to the dressing.
  2. In a large bowl mix the salad ingredients together and toss with the dressing.

Variations

  • try mint instead of cilantro
  • swap the red pepper for cucumber or tomatoes
  • swap the strawberries for apricots or other juicy fruit.

Watermelon Salad with a Sesame Ginger Dressing

Watermelon Salad with a Sesame Ginger Dressing
Did They Eat It?

Gordie (4 years old): Tried a couple pieces with dressing and proclaimed it terrible. (But he did try it….)

 Nicky (15 months) : Thought it was great.

Anne: Delicious! Totally great.

Bronwen: I’d never put these ingredients together. What a perfect salad.

Stephen: Good. tasty.

Rob: Really good. Random things but it really works together. You don’t think of fruit and vegetables together.

Dana: This has been one of my favorite salads. I would absolutely make it again.


 Watermelon Salad with a Sesame Ginger Dressing

What’s your favorite salad that mixes fruits and vegetables?  

 

Salad #19 – Thai Inspired Tropical Fruit Salad with Red Beans

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Thai Inspired Fruit Salad with Red Beans

I’ve been generally trying to make delicious, but interesting salads each week, so I thought my Dad, who is living in Thailand, might have some ideas for salads that are different from what I would typically encounter or think of. He told me that for the most part, he has found their salads to be super spicy, so he suggested this fruit salad instead. Or something like this fruit salad.

Although the inspiration came direct from Thailand, I am not going to pretend that this salad is anything like authentic. He told me they use whatever fruit they have on hand, add red kidney beans and serve it over yogurt. And swore that he did not just make it up to mess with me. So I picked up whatever Thai fruit that I could find at the grocery store, added some kidney beans and served it with a honey lime dressing. It was really different but surprisingly good.

Thai Inspired Tropical Fruit Salad with Red Beans

Thai Inspired Tropical Fruit Salad with Red Beans Recipe

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Salad #19 - Thai Inspired Tropical Fruit Salad with Red Beans
 
Ingredients
  • Handful of kidney beans
  • small papaya
  • 2 mangos
  • 2 dragon fruit
  • 2 bananas
  • ½ pineapple
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • juice of 1 lime (adding the zest would be nice too)
Instructions
  1. Chop the fruit into bite sized pieces and put them in a large bowl.
  2. Drain and rinse your kidney beans and add them to the bowl.
  3. Mix the honey and lime juice together and pour over the bowl of fruit.
  4. Mix everything well. Serve over yogurt or eat it straight up.

Variations

  • Use whatever fruit you like – try strawberries, kiwi, grapes, cantaloup, watermellon
  • Swap the lime juice for lemon juice
  • Add some poppy seeds for a bit of crunch

Thai Inspired Tropical Fruit Salad with Red Beans

Did They Eat It?

Gordie: Thought the fruit would be better without the dressing, but tried a bit of it anyway. Decided he now likes pineapple and the kidney beans were great.

Nicky: Did not like the beans or dragon fruit but LOVED everything else.

Anne: The beans are a surprise but the salad’s good.

Stephen: Tasty. Really different fruit salad.

Dana: I wasn’t too sure about this salad, but I ended up liking it. I’m not a huge fan of dragon fruit or papaya, but mixed in with the rest of the fruit, I didn’t mind them at all. I liked the crunch of the dragon fruit seeds. If I was making it would them I would probably add poppy seeds to mimic it.

Thai Inspired Tropical Fruit Salad with Red Beans

 

Have you ever had a fruit salad with beans? What did you think? 

Salad #18 – Raw Asparagus, Tomato and Basil Salad with a Grainy Mustard Dressing

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I made this salad for our BBQ on mother’s day, along with my Broccoli, Grape and Bacon Salad and my Southwestern Bean Salad. My mother-in-law was really taken with the raw asparagus that I had used in my Green Chopped Salad so I wanted to try another salad that used it that I could send home for her since we wasn’t able to make it to the BBQ. I haven’t heard what she thought yet, but it was a surprise favorite of my father-in-law.  It’s also a really pretty looking salad, and spring is a great time for asparagus and basil. The basil is pretty prominent in this salad, so you can dial it back or try a different herb if you aren’t a huge fan – cilantro would be an interesting alternative.

Raw Asparagus, Tomato and Basil Salad with a Grainy Mustard Dressing

Raw Asparagus, Tomato and Basil Salad with a Grainy Mustard Dressing Recipe

(adapted from myrecipes.com – Cherry Tomato and Asparagus Salad)

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Salad #18 - Raw Asparagus, Tomato and Basil Salad with a Grainy Mustard Dressing
 
Ingredients
  • Ingredients
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 1 pint of small tomatoes (two different sizes or colors are nice)
  • 1 bunch of basil
  • 1 yellow pepper chopped
  • Grainy Mustard Dressing Ingredient
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons grainy mustard
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Snap the woody end off the asparagus. Chop the asparagus and yellow pepper into bite sized pieces, and slice the tomatoes in half. Chop the basil into small pieces.
  2. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small container with a lid and shake well or in a small bowl and whisk.
  3. Add the dressing to the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Start with about half the dressing. You want the vegetables to be well covered but not sopping.

Variations

  • Add chopped avocado or a cheese like fresh mozzarella, feta or Gorgonzola.
  • Try dijon mustard instead of grainy mustard
  • Try white wine vinegar instead of lemon juice

Raw Asparagus, Tomato and Basil Salad with a Grainy Mustard Dressing

Did They Eat It?

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

Nicky (14 months old): loved it.

Stephen: Bold tasting salad. Maybe missing something – cheese maybe?

Deb: Way better when I knew it was basil instead of cilantro.

Richard: Really liked it.

Erik: I enjoyed it. I’m not used to eating raw asparagus and it is okay.

Dana: I found it almost got better the more I ate it. I’d make this one again for sure.
Raw Asparagus, Tomato and Basil Salad with a Grainy Mustard Dressing

 

 

Salad #15 Rice Salad with Roasted Red Pepper and Herbs

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Rice Salad With Herbs and Roasted Peppers

This would be another great salad to make for a big group or a pot luck. It makes quite a bit. The first time I made it I accidentally used 1 1/4 cups of cooked rice. Which does not make a whole bunch, and kind of confused me until I figured out where I went wrong. This salad tastes best at room temperature so try to let it warm up a bit if you are serving it out of the fridge.

Rice Salad with Roasted Red Pepper and Herbs Recipe

(adapted from Jaimie Oliver‘s Rice Salad from Jaime’s Food Revolution Cookbook)

 

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Salad #15 Rice Salad with Roasted Red Pepper and Herbs
 
Ingredients
  • Salad Ingredients
  • 1¼ cups uncooked rice (I used a mix of wild rice and brown basmati rice)
  • 2-3 springs of fresh basil, mint and italian parsley
  • 4-6 large roasted red, orange or yellow peppers or more if they are small
  • a few squirts of siriacha
  • sea salt and fresh ground pepper
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • Lemon Dressing Ingredients
  • 6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • juice of 1 lemon (stick it in the microwave for a few seconds to get more juice out of it
  • sea salt and black pepper
  • Directions
Instructions
  1. Cook the rice and let cool. It's okay for the rice to be a little bit chewy.
  2. Finely chop the herbs and peppers
  3. Add the herbs and peppers to the rice and mix well.
  4. Mix the dressing ingredients in a small container and shake until well mixed.
  5. Add about ¼ cup of the dressing to the rice salad and a squirt of siriacha sauce.
  6. Mix everything well, add more salt and pepper if needed and top with lemon zest.

Variations

  • swap the roasted red peppers for sun-dried tomatoes
  • try out some different herbs
  • instead of rice try barley, farro or quinoa


 Rice Salad With Herbs and Roasted Peppers

Did They Eat It?

Gordie (4 years old) – refused to try it

Nicky (13 months) – thought it was interesting

Anne – really tasty!

Bronwen – it’s delicious!

Geoff: asked for more

Stephen: It’s good.

Dana: It was good and makes a lot for little effort

Rice Salad With Herbs and Roasted Peppers

Salad #12 Avocado, Grapefruit and Mango Spring Salad

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Avocado, Grapefruit and Mango Spring Salad

With the beginning of Spring I wanted to come up with a salad that matched that feeling of freshness and renewal. (Alright, so I can still see snow in some places and the grass is still solidly brown, but  I’m sure Spring will be here any day now.) This salad definitely fits the bill.

Avocado, Grapefruit and Mango Spring Salad with grapefruit balsamic dressing

Avocado, Grapefruit and Mango Spring Salad

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Salad #12 Avocado, Grapefruit and Mango Spring Salad
 
Ingredients
  • bag of spring mix lettuce
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 grapefruit
  • 1-2 alphonso mangoes (other varieties are fine, the small yellow alphonos are just my favorite and are in season right now)
  • sliced almonds
  • Dressing Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp grapefruit juice (or you can use extra vinegar)
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Put all the dressing ingredients in a small container with a lid and shake until blended. (or you can use a bowl and whisk).
  2. Put the lettuce in a large bowl (or multiple smaller bowls) and drizzle with a bit of dressing. You won't need a lot because the other salad ingredients are moist and flavorful.
  3. Cut the mangoes, grapefruit and avocado into chunks. If you haven't cut a mango before it is worth looking up how.
  4. Put the chunks of mangoes, grapefruit and avocado on top of the lettuce and sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Variation

  • swap the lettuce for spinach

Avocado, Grapefruit and Mango Spring Salad

 Did They Eat It?

Nicole (12 months): Loved the avocado and mangoes.

Gordie (4 years old): Ate the avocado and mango while we were making the salad but not as part of the salad. Found the grapefruit too sour.

Bronwen: Very springlike salad – nice mixture of flavors and texture

Stephen: Sweet and Tangy

Dana: This salad looks fancy but it simple to put together. It would be great for an Easter salad. Also, it’s delicious.

Avocado, Grapefruit and Mango Spring Salad

 

Salad #11 Southwestern Bean Salad

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Southwestern Bean Salad

I’ve been planning on doing a bean salad for a while. It’s hard to beat the healthiness of a bean salad, but some can make you really really notice that you are eating something healthy. This salad on the other hand is really fantastic. I’ve used parsley in place of cilantro, because I’m not a big fan of cilantro, but it would be great in this salad if you are.

Southwestern Bean Salad with a Slightly Spicy Dressing

(Adapted from Southwestern Bean Salad with Black Beans, Black-Eyed Peas, Peppers, and Cilantro by Kalyn’s Kitchen) 

Southwestern Bean Salad

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Salad #11 Southwestern Bean Salad
 
Ingredients
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 can white beans (navy beans or white kidney beans)
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped small
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped small
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • Dressing Ingredients
  • 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. ground chipotle chile powder
  • Juice of 1 lime (stick it in the microwave for a few seconds to get more juice of it)
  • 2 T white wine vinegar
  • 6 T extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Rinse and drain beans and pour into a large bowl. Add parsley and peppers and mix.
  2. Pour dressing ingredients into a small container with a lid and shake until well mixed.
  3. Add the dressing slowly to the salad - you probably won't need it all. (I did find adding a bit of extra dressing the next day to be helpful)

 

Variations

  • Use black eyed peas instead of the white beans
  • swap the chipotle chili powder for regular chili powder or ancho chili powder
  • swap the white wine vinegar for white or regular balsamic vinegar
  • Use cilantro instead of parsley for a more authentic flavor

Southwestern Bean Salad

Did They Eat it?

 Gordie (4 years): Refused to eat it.

Nicole (12 months): Thought it was good. But not as good as blueberries.

Anne: Tasty even for people who don’t like spicy foods. It was just the right amount of tang.

Stephen: Way better when Dana put the extra dressing on. A little bland before. (Stephen had it the next day). Made bean salad like something you want to eat, rather than something your Grandma is making you eat.

Richard: Liked it.

Erik: I didn’t like it. But I don’t like bean salads as a rule.

Deb: I love a bean and corn salad.

Grandma Mary: I liked it. But I like beans anyway.

Dana: I love this salad. The dressing really makes it. It’s flavorful but not overwhelming.

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.