Category Archives: Salads

Roasted Green Beans and Mushrooms

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Green beans remind me of summers in Michigan and being a kid, picking them from my (maternal) grandparents’ garden. Somehow, I’d always seem to eat more than I actually brought into the house. So fresh and crisp right off the vine. I like them raw, but in the winter, roasting them seems more appropriate. I had some portobellos mushrooms on hand, so I added them to the mix. This recipe comes together very easily and is a nice side dish. The lemon zest adds a nice kick too.

  • 1lb green beans, washed, trimmed
  • 1 pkg of portobellos, sliced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 2 TB of Olive Oil
  • Juice and zest from one lemon
  • a few dashes of crushed red pepper
  • 2 tsp minced rosemary and oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and trim the beans, add sliced mushrooms and the remainder of ingredients in a bowl. Make sure the vegetables are well-coated with oil. Now, you can place them on a baking sheet, or in a baking dish. (I don’t have a baking sheet with a lip, so I used my regular ones and the oils dripped down to the bottom or my oven, which made for a nice burnt smell. Mmm.) Roast for 20-25 min, or until browned.

Easy Raw Kale Salad with Preserved Lemons

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Wow, seems I’ve not posted in a long time. I’ve still been baking and cooking, but apparently too lazy to write up posts for the blog. I need to write more! Anyway, ever since Xmas dinner–where my sister-in-law made this salad, I’ve been making it about once a week (my friends make fun of me for my kale consumption). It’s super simple and flavorful. You should be able to find a jar of preserved lemons a most gourmet food stores.Or, and I’m not sure why this never occurred to me until now: you could make your own! I’ve been wanting to make my own pickles (cue Portlandia’s skit, so I should also get some Meyer lemons and preserve them too. Now I have a project.

  • 1 package of cut kale
  • 2-3 TB of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 TB minced preserved lemons
  • dash of salt (optional)

Put kale in large mixing bowl (I use my glass Pyrex one) and massage oil into the leaves until they become tender. Add minced lemons and mix together. That’s it. I also tend to add a little (1 tsp.) of the liquid from the jar of lemons too.) If you’re like me, try to not consume the entire container of kale in one day. That’s not a bad thing, is it?

Orzo Chickpea Salad with Artichoke Hearts, Arugula, Lemon and Thyme

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It’s gloomy, windy and raining (is it October? really?)…so, I decided to have something a little “spring-y” for dinner. What’s more spring-like than lemon and thyme? Well, maybe many things…but, it tastes like spring and summer to me. Besides, I’m not in full-fledged roasted root vegetable mode yet. (I did, however make some roasted butternut squash risotto last week and it was super delicious).

This recipe just came together pretty quickly in my head. If you don’t have orzo I think it’d work well with farro too. If you want it more spring-like add some raw asparagus.

  • 1c orzo, cooked
  • 1 can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
  • 1/2 can of artichoke hearts, chopped (and 1/4 cup reserved liquid from artichoke hearts)
  • 3-4 handfulls of arugula, chopped
  • 1/4c oil-cured Moroccan olives, chopped
  • 3-4 sprigs of thyme leaves
  • zest and juice of 1 medium-sized lemon
  • 2-3 TB olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Cook orzo according to directions (until al dente). No need to cool orzo. In a medium-sized bowl, add to chickpeas and remainder of ingredients. You may want to add less oil and a little more of the reserved liquid from the quartered artichoke hearts, it’s up to you. Like I said, this recipe is pretty adaptable.

Quinoa-Bulghur, Black Bean Salad with Tomatoes, Avocado & Spinach

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As I was typing the headline for this post, I realized, “Damn, I’ve been eating a lot of black beans and tomatoes….” Sorry for the redundancy, but I’ve finally eaten my weight in summer tomatoes. (YAY!) I will surely miss them and think of them fondly when it’s December and I’m eating my fair share of roasted root vegetables and trying to not eat those gross, mealy, tasteless out-of-season tomatoes offered at my local grocery store.

ANYway…

This salad made a perfect meal and will pack up nicely when I take it to work for my lunches this week. It’s pretty adaptable. If you have limes and cilantro on hand, then by all means add some juice, zest and herbs. Yellow or red peppers or even jalapenos would add a nice crunch too. I used Pedon brand quick cooking (10 min) quinoa/bulghur, but if you have one or the other, that works just fine too.

  • 1 can of black beans, rinsed, drained
  • 1 package of quinoa & bulghur mix, cooked, drained
  • 2-3 tomatoes, diced
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • 2TB extra virgin olive oil
  • 2-3 TB white balsamic vinegar

Cook the grains according to package directions. Set aside to cool a bit. Mix the black beans, tomato, avocado, oil and vinegar and add some salt and pepper. Let that sit for a few minutes so the salt brings out the water from the tomatoes. Add the quinoa to the vegetables and toss. I also added crushed red pepper flakes and a dash of chili powder in lieu of jalapenos. Enjoy!

Black Bean, Corn, Tomato, Avocado Salad

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Maybe it’s just me, but I prefer colder foods in the summer. And because I cannot live on coconut or raspberry sorbet every day…
This dish works as a side salad or possibly a salsa accompaniment to roasted mushroom soft tacos (oooh, I just gave myself an idea). I used fresh corn on the cob rather than frozen because I had leftover corn. (I just sliced it off the cob in large pieces. If you use frozen corn, sauté it first in a pan and let cool). It’s a quick and easy and made a nice lunch for my lazy Sunday afternoon. Hey, where’s my sangria?

  • 1 can of black beans, rinsed, drained
  • 1 ear of cooked corn on the cob, sliced off cob
  • 1 medium/large tomato
  • 1 yellow bell pepper
  • 1/2 avocado, cubed
  • 1 small/medium zucchini, thinly sliced pieces
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 TB of olive oil
  • 2TB of white balsamic vinegar, or to taste
  • Salt, pepper, crushed red pepper to taste

Rinse and drain the black beans, add the diced tomatoes, pepper, corn, avocado, and zucchini. Add the juice of a lime (so the avocado doesn’t brown), olive oil and vinegar. You don’t have to add vinegar, but I did because it adds a different element of flavor and is a nice complement. Stir and then let the salad sit for 10 minutes, as the salt with draw out the water from the tomatoes and zucchini.