Mexican Salad

Many months ago, I went to Cafe 118 for yet another perfectly deletable meal. I ordered the taco salad, which was full of so many flavors and textures that my mouth went into overdrive. I took a bite. I moaned. I took another bite. And moaned.

Oh did I moan.

After proclaiming it to be the best salad ever, I vowed to make it at home.

And I didn't.

Dehydrated tortillas? Cashew sour cream? I'd love to. My wallet? Not so much.



So, after reading a post on Andie's blog, I decided I had to make a Mexican salad. A simple one, full of my aromatic frijoles, fresh, vibrant vegetables, guacamole as smooth as butter, and one of my favorite herbs, the misunderstood cilantro.



It's easy. So easy you've probably seen it before. So easy you probably don't think it's worthy of a blog post. But I do, and that's all that matters, isn't it?


Mexican salad
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine, chopped
- 2/3 cup black beans
- 1 large corn cob, grilled* and kernels removed
- 1 cup pico de gallo
- 1/2 cup guacamole**
- 2-4T plain Greek yogurt, or sour cream

* To grill corn, just coat with a little olive oil and place on direct heat, turning every few minutes, until lightly charred.

* My guacamole varies almost every time I make it. For this, I mashed one avocado and combined it with the juice of 1/2 a lime, 1/2t each cumin, onion powder & garlic powder, 1/4t cayenne, and some sea salt. I like mine super smooth.

Instructions
- Combine all ingredients and serve chilled.

Serves 2

Pico de gallo
Ingredients
- 1lb roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 small jalapeno, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Combine ingredients and chill for at least an hour.

Grilled Greek Salad with Shrimp

Sometimes, a situation arises that is so perfect that you just have to slow down, savoring every moment, trying to stop its inevitable end.



That happened to me when I made this salad, and sat in the backyard, dining al freso with a large glass of wine. The sun was shining on my shoulders, the birds and crickets were having secret conversations, and the air smelled faintly like fire smoke and fresh cut grass. To top everything off, the food was exactly what I wanted. Full of both raw vegetables and grilled, salty feta cheese, perfectly juicy grilled shrimp, all tossed in a simple vinaigrette.

I took a bite complete with succulent grilled zucchini, briny kalamata olive, and just the right amount of feta, alternated with small sips of wine, and just relaxed.

Go have a moment like that today. You deserve it.



And then, when my meal was done and my glass was empty, I sat cross-legged on the grass. And meditated. It was beautiful.


Grilled greek salad with shrimp
Ingredients
- 1/2lb shrimp (31-40 count), peeled and deveined
- 1 large zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1/2 red onion
- 2 small or 1 large cucumber, diced
- 8 mushrooms
- 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup feta crumbles

- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2T red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1t oregano
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients. Reserve half and set aside.
- Toss shrimp in half of the vinaigrette and marinate for about 20 minutes. Skewer and set in the fridge until ready to grill.
- Prepare zucchini, mushrooms and onion by brushing them lightly with olive oil. Grill them until slightly charred. Allow to cool slightly and cut into bite sized pieces.
- Grill shrimp skewers for about 2 minutes on both sides, or until pink and firm.
- Toss together grilled veggies with remaining ingredients, reserved vinaigrette, and feta cheese. Place shrimp skewers on top or toss them in the salad.

Serves 2

Shrimp

Sushi Restaurant Favorite: Seaweed Salad

I fell in love with seaweed salad this summer after trying it for the first time at a Thai restaurant. It was served in a martini glass and included flower shaped cucumbers, delicate carrot curls and neon green seaweed. Since then, I order it whenever I spot it on a restaurant menu. Months later, after justifying the $6 price tag of wakame, I figured it was about time that I recreated it at home.



Seaweed salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup wakame
- 2 small cucumbers, or 1 large
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds

- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- Kelp granules (optional), for garnish
- Sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions
- Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.
- Soak wakame in a large bowl with an ample amount of water for 5 minutes. It will more than double in size, so make sure to add enough liquid. Drain and squeeze the excess liquid. Toss in half the dressing and set aside.
- Peel cucumbers if desired (I peeled alternate strips for fun) and thinly slice. Add remaining dressing and toss to coat. Top with wakame and sprinkle with kelp and sesame seeds. Refrigerate until serving.

Serves 1-2




Don't make this expecting the vibrant green found in sushi bars. The reason those are so bright is because they're usually altered to look that way to be more aesthetically pleasing. I prefer the dark forest green of true wakame. It's deep, rich and beautifully natural.

Now, if only I could master sushi making.

Improvised Tabbouleh

This week's Wednesday night class dinner features a recipe that showcases what happens when you don't have an ingredient that is integral to dish itself.

You see, I really love tabbouleh. That being said, I've only ever had it from the grocery store. Being that the ingredients are so simple, I knew I had to try making it at home. So, I bought the ingredients, including a bunch of parsley. Then I forgot to make it. When I pulled out the parsley today, it was less than stellar. So I improvised.


Moroccan mint tabbouleh
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked bulgar
- 2 Persian cucumbers, diced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup mint, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup almonds, toasted and roughly chopped

Dressing
- Juice of 2 small lemons (or 1 jumbo), zest of one
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- S&P, to taste
- Optional: 2 tsp honey

Instructions
- Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.
- To assemble salad, toss all ingredients together, drizzle dressing over top and toss until well combined. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Serves 2


If you'd like to, or you have the funds of Ina Garten, feel free to throw a pinch of saffron into the dressing as well to make it extra Moroccan. Even if you don't do that, I guarantee this one's a keeper.


I was worried the large amount of mint would taste...medicinal, but it was really refreshing. It was a perfectly light meal and it was fun to play around with traditional tabbouleh. Don't be afraid to take a dish and mess around with it, tousle its hair or turn it on its side. Throw in a different herb, new spices or dig into the depths of your pantry for some dried fruit - just have some fun.

Chill It with Millet

Due to being in a 3-hour class tonight (don't worry, it's just a weekly film class) I couldn't be home for dinner. Thankfully I have a huge gap between classes and was able to get an awesome arm/shoulder work out in and prepare dinner ahead of time. I wanted something light and refreshing since it's so warm today and also something that I could easily put together and bring to class. So, after some brainstorming I threw together some ingredients and created an easy, healthy chilled salad.


Chilled millet salad with edamame, hericot vert and hazelnuts
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup millet, dry toasted
- 1/2 cup water

- 1/2 cup shelled edamame
- 1/2 cup organic frozen corn
- 1 1/2 cups hericot vert (Trader Joe's frozen brand)
- 1 tbsp lightly toasted and chopped hazelnuts, for garnish

Dressing
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1/2-1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/4 tsp lemon herb seasoning blend (optional)
- Pinch o' red pepper flake
- S&P, to taste


Instructions
- In a medium pot, bring millet and water to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat frozen vegetables through either in the microwave or stove-top (whatever you prefer or the bag recommends). I just boiled mine in a pot for around 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Combine dressing ingredients and whisk until emulsified. Add millet and vegetables and toss to combine. Chill in the fridge at least 2 hours. Just before serving, garnish with chopped hazelnuts and a pinch of pink sea salt (I'm obsessed with its crunch!)

Serves 2




Despite the fact that some of the ingredients don't seem like they'd go together (Edamame and hazelnuts? What?) everything worked really well. Edamame is almost always added to Asian dishes, but the truth is that they are more versatile than that. Their creaminess and nuttiness was enhanced by the hazelnuts and the dressing was basic but perfect.


See how simple that is? It literally takes minutes to throw together; the most labor intensive part is waiting for the millet to cook. The best part is that it both sounds and looks "fancy" without including any fancy ingredients or long cooking time. This would also be great with quinoa or barley, but I love millet and wanted to switch it up. It was the perfect meal to eat while sitting in class on an unseasonably warm day.

Farmers Market Goodies

After a night full of a little too much partying, I just needed an easy day. So, today I slept until almost 11AM, mustered enough energy to go to the farmers market and came home with some of the tastiest produce I've had all summer. I debated going out to eat tonight because I didn't feel like cooking, but instead got a burst of inspiration from the rainbow of veggies in the fridge and threw together this "no recipe recipe".

The best part? Even in my zombie-like state it came together in minutes. The only time consuming part is cutting up the beautiful bounty of vegetables.


Farmers market chickpea salad
Ingredients
- 1 15oz can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
- 2 bell peppers, diced (I used one purple and one orange pepper)
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1 yellow tomato, diced
- 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
- Thyme vinaigrette
- S&P

Instructions
- Combine ingredients, add vinaigrette and stir. Chill until serving. That's it!

Thyme vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp dijon
- S&P

Instructions
- Combine ingredients and whisk!

I will say, though, that the one ingredient that MADE this dish was pink Himalayan sea salt. I picked up a tin at the farmers market (for $3.00!) and absolutely fell in love. Seriously, I dipped my finger to get all the grains after I finished eating. It's unlike any salt I've ever had - mild, coarse, addictive pink nuggets.




The salad is so simple that I almost didn't post it, but knew I had to because it's fantastic. Bright, colorful, crisp and has a perfect balance of flavors. I highly recommend making it with the vinaigrette because the fresh thyme really tied everything together and added a lovely depth of flavor.

Oh, today I also saw a giant tree at none other than "Big Tree Park" in Orlando. It's absolutely terrifying.


I have an easy evening ahead of me. Good night!

Mmm, Balsamic

Something beautiful happens when you reduce balsamic vinegar: it becomes a syrup so decadent and heavenly that the only thing you can do is lick it off of your fingers. I attempted to do so in a dainty, seductive fashion, but unfortunately it's difficult to do that when you're so entranced by how wonderful it tastes and how much you wish you were sitting in a bucket of it. Oh, it's super simple to make, too. Here's how:

- Bring 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small pot. Turn to a simmer and let it reduce for 15 minutes or until it has reduced to about 1/4 cup. Remove from the heat and set aside.

See? One ingredient and less than 20 minutes can give you moments of pure bliss. Anyway, I used said balsamic reduction to drizzle over my last minute dinner tonight.



Ratatouille salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup eggplant, cubed
- 1 medium summer squash, cubed
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, left whole
- 1 cup button mushrooms, halved if large and whole if small
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 small garlic cloves or 1 large, minced
- 4 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
- 1/2 tsp rosemary
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Toss vegetables in olive oil, rosemary and S&P. Cook for 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft and golden.
- Put vegetables in a bowl and toss with garlic and basil. Serve warm or at room temperature. Drizzle with balsamic reduction. Try not to lick the remaining balsamic from the spoon, I dare you.




I had mine over quinoa and Boston lettuce leaves. Feel free to use peppers and onions in the roasting mix as well, but I wasn't in the mood for them tonight. I originally used the lettuce leaves for presentation sake, but it was a lovely temperature and texture contrast and tasted lovely with the balsamic.


The tomatoes were fantastic. The flavor intensified and they simply burst inside my mouth. Eaten with a glass (or two) of Sauvignon Blanc makes this girl very, very happy.

Passport to Paris

No, not the awesome Olsen Twin movie. I wanted to keep things simple tonight. Simple flavors with simple, inexpensive ingredients. Due to my recent food kick, all I had on my mind was yet another type of salad.


Warm lentil salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup lentils
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 whole garlic clove + 1 clove, minced
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery hearts, finely chopped
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp tarragon
- 1/2 tbsp chives
- S&P
Vinaigrette
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp dijon
- S&P

Instructions
- Combine dressing ingredients and shake or whisk to emulsify. Set aside.
- Bring lentils, water and whole garlic clove to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until lentils are tender and most of the water has absorbed. Set aside.
- Saute aromatics in 1 tbsp olive oil. Once they begin to soften, add lentils and combine to heat through. Place lentil mixture in a large bowl, add herbs and seasoning as necessary and toss with vinaigrette. Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with green onions if desired and enjoy!


This was lovely. Full of protein and nutrients, lightly seasoned and simply dressed. While I was eating it I almost felt like I was sitting in a French bistro. While I've never been to France and I know that French cuisine isn't exactly vegan friendly, I like that food can almost take me there.

After last night's whole roasted garlic, I wanted to roast something whole. Unfortunately I didn't have a complete head of garlic, but I did have a bunch of yellow onions in need of some roastin'.



This is so easy. Just preheat your oven to 400, cut off the root of the onions and poke a hole in the side of each and place them in a foil covered baking dish, then bake for an hour. Take off the foil during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Allow to cool for a few minutes then slit them open and pour your desired sauce in the center.


I filled mine with a quick balsamic reduction. I would have preferred the reduction to be more...reduced...but my onions were ready to go and my stomach was growling before the sauce had a chance to fully thicken. Thankfully it still tasted out of this world good. I implore you to whole roast onions.

I'm off to do some yoga and watch Lucy Desi Comedy Hour until I drop. Au revoir!

Casserole?

I come bearing a delicious casserole recipe to share with you all! Just kidding, that's a salad. One serving's worth. In a casserole dish. Don't judge me; I make no apologies.



Lately I've had an intense craving for salads. Maybe it's the heat, maybe it's laziness (nah), or maybe because they're just so delectable. Tonight I took a cue from Angela and made a salad monster in a casserole dish. Why? Well, two reasons: 1) Most bowls here aren't big enough to contain all of the goods, and 2) It's more fun that way.


The casserole dish contained (big inhale): Romaine hearts, radicchio (which I got for $.46 because the cashier entered it as red cabbage), celery hearts, radishes, yellow pepper, cucumbers, fresh torn basil and baked tofu all tossed in a creamy tarragon chive vinaigrette.

The tofu was super thinly sliced and marinated for a couple hours in 2 tbsp each maple syrup and balsamic vinegar and S&P. Then I popped it in a 375 oven for 30 minutes. It was sweet and almost acted as a bacon-or-crouton-esque topping because it was sliced so thin. So, basically, it was delicious.



Here's the recipe for the vinaigrette, so I can at least throw one recipe in here:

Creamy tarragon chive vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon, juice and zest (about 1/8 cup)
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp tarragon
- 1 tsp chives
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Pour ingredients into a sealable container and shake shake shake! Store in the fridge.

Herbaceous, creamy and light. I'm kind of a lightweight with salad dressings, but feel free to pour it on. You bet your bottom dollar I polished off the whole thing, with two little slices of amazing local bread smeared with tomato paste and basil. Now I'm off to a local wine bar for some treats and flights! Bon appetit.

Soba Noodle Salad, Take Two.

While scouring the aisles of a local Asian market, I came across black buckwheat noodles and I immediately knew what to do with them. I posted a noodle salad recipe months ago, but this one is even better. I wanted to make it with a peanut sauce, but I left the peanut butter in Daytona, so that idea was out. Luckily the pantry was stocked with all the necessary ingredients to improvise a recipe.


Soba noodle salad
Serves 4
Sauce
- 5 tsp sesame oil
- 5 tsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp thai chili sauce (or Sriracha)
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lime, juice and zest
- White of 1 green onion
- 1 tsp corn starch + 1 tbsp water

Salad ingredients
- 6 oz soba noodles
- 2 carrots, grated
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- 1/2 large cucumber or 2 small cucumbers, julienned
- 2 cups sugar snap peas
- 1 15oz can soy beans/edamame
- 2-3 green onions
- 1 tbsp cilantro
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Instructions
- Combine sauce ingredients (aside from cornstarch + water) in a sauce pan and heat gently. Once heated, combine cornstarch and water and stir until mixed thoroughly. Add corn starch mixture to sauce and stir vigorously until mixture begins to thicken. Take off heat and set aside.
- Combine all salad ingredients, aside from green onions, cilantro and sesame seeds. Add sauce and toss to coat.
- Top with green onions, cilantro and sesame seeds and toss lightly to combine. Chill for at least 2 hours - the longer it sits, the better it tastes! I like leaving mine in the fridge all afternoon. Enjoy!


The black buckwheat noodles had an interesting texture. They're thin and sticky and clung to the sauce nicely. I liked them!



This is perfect for summer - cold, light, refreshing and full of crisp vegetables. Plus, you can make it ahead of time and enjoy the rest of the beautiful day. I was able to get a great leg work out, go for a quick dip in the hot tub and relax while dinner chilled.



Have a good night everyone. :)

Give Your Veggies A Rub Down

Even though my back has an unbearable amount of knots and I've been whining about needing a massage for weeks, my kale took precedence over me. Sometimes, in order to make your veggies happy and delicious, you need to give 'em a little rub down. Kale is one of those vegetables. Some people think it's necessary to cook kale (and other greens) to death in order to make them palatable, but I don't think that's the case. I eat my kale raw most of the time, in smoothies and in salads such as this one.


Massaged kale salad with fennel and pear
Ingredients
- 5-6 cups kale (I didn't measure, so use whatever feels good)
- Juice of 2 lemons, zest of one
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- Sea salt

- Fennel, thinly sliced. Fronds reserved
- 1 large red bosc pear, thinly sliced

Instructions
- In a large bowl, add kale, lemon juice/zest, olive oil, garlic and salt. Gently massage for 5 minutes or until kale begins to break down and soften. It will reduce by about half. Set aside in the fridge.
- Before serving, layer slices of fennel and pear around a large serving dish. Add kale to the center and garnish with fennel fronds and a grind of coarse cracked pepper. Serve and enjoy!



To go with the now relaxed and rejuvenated kale, I made a refreshing, light gazpacho. But this isn't a usual gazpacho - I had to add a Krystina twist.


Yellow watermelon gazpacho
Ingredients
- 1/4 yellow watermelon (can sub pink if yellow is unavailable). Reserve half.
- 1 large cucumber, peeled
- 1 tomato
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 red onion
- 1/2 habenero pepper
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Small handful of cilantro (didn't measure, just ripped)
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Dump everything (except cilantro) into a blender and blend until it's smooth as silk. Unless you have a Vitamix or something similar, I suggest blending the mixture in batches to make it easier on both your blender and yourself.
- Pour into a serving bowl. Cut remaining watermelon into chunks and add chunks to gazpacho. Tear cilantro to finish and give it a quick stir. Chill until serving.


Despite the fact that this meal looks easy and wasn't very complex, it took over an hour to prepare and I still managed to use 7 bowls. I have no idea how that happened, but it did. At least my kale feels good. Now, if only I could say the same about my back.