Summer Picnic Salad

Tonight we will attend the annual 'Summer Pops in the Park' and I wanted to bring a light salad to nibble.

What other vegetables or herbs from the farmer's market or your garden would you include?



1/2 pound, farfalle pasta, bioled, drianed and cooled
2 vine variety tomaotes, chopped
1 yelloow zucchini, diced
1 scallion, chopped
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped or torn
1 handful fresh basil, chopped or torn
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all ingredients, toss with vinegar and oil. Season with salt & pepper to taste

Basil Vinaigrette

You may recall the basil pesto that I made recently but I had not shared with you what else I did with that pesto. Yes, you can freeze some and use some as a spread but you can also use it in a vinaigrette.

I grabbed a few teaspoons, placed then into a mini-processor, added a few tablespoons of red wine vinegar and pulsed it until it was well emulsified. Smart eh? You can then add more vinegar, oil and mustard until it is the consistency and flavor you desire.

What else could you use pesto to make?

Chopped Pasta Salad

If you recall, I hosted Rhode Island's Food Blogger Bake Sale back in April at The Pizza Place Restaurant. Not only are the people at the restaurant top notch but their Chopped Pasta Salad is a Legend in these parts.

In fact, the simple addition of Ditalini makes it a salad that my son is crazy about and he does not voluntarily eat mushroom and tomatoes. Now the recipe usually calls for Gorgonzola cheese but I use Feta. Scrumptious!

The photo was shot before I added the turkey bacon.

Organic Romaine Lettuce

Red Onion, sliced thinly

Tomato, chopped

Baby Bella Mushrooms, chopped

Feta, chopped

Chicken, cooked and diced

Bacon, crispy and chopped

Ditalini pasta, cooked

Prepare all ingredients, toss well with balsamic dressing of your choice.

Can you say 'Kumato' & A Caprese Salad

Have you heard of Kumato? I am honestly not sure if you pronounce it KumAto or Kumato but I can tell you they are fabulous. If you love tomatoes, imagine a brownish variation that is a bit sweeter (meaning more fructose).

When I first saw them, I thought 'Great, another genetically modified food' so before I bought them, I went to the website and it appears they were reading my mind: "Are Kumato® tomatoes genetically modified products? Not at all! Kumato® is the outstanding result of tireless efforts to apply traditional plant breeding techniques and natural cultivation methods." So, it appears they have been created with genetics involved but not in a lab.

What are your thoughts on the Kumato?



Kumato Caprese Salad
1 Kumato, sliced
A few slices of Low fat Mozzarella Cheese
Fresh Basil leaves
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar or Syrup

Prepare the kumato, mozzarella and basil. Layer them and then drizzle with evoo and balsamic vinegar/syrup.

Baby Arugula, Spinach & Brown Rice Salad

I came up with this recipe spontaneously as I was thinking about way to incorporate more brown rice into your diet. Give it and try. I promise that you will not notice the chewiness that would normally bother you. It adds some fiber and texture to the salad.


I promise to make this picture prettier once I am home with the right software

Ingredients:
A cup of Baby Arugula & Baby Spinach mix
1/2 cup brown rice
A few slices of Red Onion
1/2 English Cucumber, chunked
1/3 cup grape tomatoes
a handful of Cilantro, chopped
your favorite light Vinaigrette

Mix well and enjoy.

Toasted Isreali Couscous Salad

Have you tried Isreali Couscous yet? It is also known as Pearl Couscous. I enjoy toasting it as it brings out a bit more of a nutty flavor with little effort. This makes a lovely side dish or lunch on it's own.

Naturally, you do not need to use the exact amount of ingredients I use-find what suits your taste.

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons Olive Oil
1 1/3 cups Isreali Couscous

1 3/4 cups low sodium Chicken Broth or Water

2.5 ounces Reduced Fat Feta, crumbled
1/2 Red Pepper, chopped
1/3 cup sliced Almonds

3 tablespoons Scallions, minced
Orange Rind
2 teaspoons Red Wine Vinegar
2 teaspoons Orange Juice
2 teaspoons Olive Oil

Instructions:

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add couscous and cook, stirring frequently, for about 6 minutes.

2. Stir in broth and salt and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until water is absorbed about 11 to 12 minutes.

3. Place the couscous in a bowl to cool while you prepare the feta, pepper, almonds, scallions, and orange rind. Combine all ingredients and toss with vinegar, orange juice and olive oil.

Feta, Pecan & Apple Salad

I was looking forward to having some 'long lost' family over on New Year's Day and realized after all the meal prep, that I had very little that would fall into the 'Vegetable' category. I literally, threw this salad together in 3 minutes.

Anyone know how to get Blogger to stop turning my photos sideways?

Ingredients:

Mesclun Mix (organic)

1 Red Delicious Apple, thinly sliced

Package reduced fat crumbled Feta

a cup of whole Pecans

Toss and serve with your favorite dressings.

Quinoa Salad with Cranberries, Scallions & Orange Rind

Craving something sweet and good for you? This quinoa salad is the answer. I also made this in a pinch with some quinoa I had made the night before so the quantities are rough.

1/2 cup cooked quinoa

Handful of sweetened dried cranberries

1 scallion, chopped

1 tablespoon orange rind

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa

2. Place 1/2 cup into a bowl
3. Add remaining ingredients and mix

Super Thyme Savor - The Greek Salad Plus

You can not avoid it: The days when no matter what you do, you have no time or energy to cook anything. You open the fridge and pantry but nothing comes at you that requires under 5 minutes or dirtying pots & pans.

I have a solution: The Greek Salad Plus. What is the plus? Whatever vegetables you have left that you can toss on. It helps to utilize the vegetables in the fridge and gives you more nutrients. Here is what I did on Sunday night after arriving home from celebrating my Birthday (let's say 30th) in NYC.



Baby Romaine Salad Mix
Baby Spinach
Reduced fat Feta, chunked
Roasted red peppers, from a jar
Carrots, used to peeler to make strips
Red Onion, sliced
Radishes, sliced
Cucumber, diced
Tomatoes, chunked
Pepperoncini, from the jar
Light Balsamic Vinaigrette

Mix and enjoy

SHAMELESS PLUG: Please watch my Tastemaker Video and click the STARS underneath

Organic Grass Fed NY Strip Steak & Organic Chicken Breast Salad featuring POM Juice

I feel it is a great opportunity when you are making your meal, recipe, snack, baked good, etc. to try to up the nutritional value. With that said, we love drinking POM in its’ raw state right out the bottle (try to grab it away from my son) so when POM wrote me asking if I would try using it in some recipes, I thought, ‘man, why haven’t I thought of that?’

Also, while attending Blogher, I was approached by a blogger who asked me if I have ever tried Greensbury Market Organic Steaks & Chicken. I had not and was willing to accept some product to give them a try. I was not asked to do anything but enjoy them and enjoy them we did.

So, time to put on my kitchen thinking cap and get to work. For the chicken, I made a Pomegrante dressing and the salad below.

Pomegranate Dressing:
1/3 cup POM pomegranate juice
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Organic Grilled Chicken over Baby Spinach Salad
Organic Baby Spinach
Toasted Pine Nuts
Dried Sweetened Cranberries
Red Onion, slivers

Organic Chicken Breasts-marinated in dressing , grilled and sliced
Pomegranate dressing

I grilled the chicken when grilling the steak, prepared the salad (first 4 ingredients) and then topped with the chicken and dressing

Organic Grass Fed NY Strip Steak
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
½ shallot, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Mix the ingredients well and toss with steak.


pre-grilling

I marinated the steaks for about 30 minutes and then grilled them to medium. I let them rest about 10 minutes and then we devoured them. Now, we do not eat NY strip often so I can not say whether these we much better than conventional steaks, but I will say, these melted in our mouths and tasted clean. Does that make sense to you? Granted, we can not afford to eat organic grass fed meat or chicken at every meal however, the food we consume is very important to use and quality over quantity reigns when possible.


post-grilling

Check out my Whrrl story featuring POM and, foodies will recognize the dreaded photo in slide#9

EatingWell Wednesday - Fruit & Chicken Salad

I posted earlier about this fantastic broccoli and bacon salad I made for the Time for Lunch Campaign. However, I held out on you as the other lovely salad I made was EatingWell's Fruit & Chicken Salad.

Gosh, we all devoured both of those salads and I was thrilled to find that I still had everything I needed to make my own for a late night snack last night. Yum!


(photo pre-feta and dressing)

In case you were wondering what the kids thought, they were mad that I made the watermelon and cantaloupe into 'balls' so they marched off and stuck to the corn and grapes.

Black Bean & Cucumber Salad: A Vegetarian Visit

As many of you know, we have a sweet little garden producing some great herbs and vegetables and so do some sweet friends of ours. They have quite a large garden and so they stopped by one afternoon to give us some cucumbers.

Their visit is the kind I love: an unexpected drive-by. You know the ones: they pull in the drive-way, you chat, the kids are getting antsy. You convince them to get out and visit a bit. And before you know it, you realize it is dinner time. No fretting and preparing for days before company, cleaning the house head to toe and trying to be great hosts.

So then, what for dinner? We now have an abundance for kids, vegetarians guests and it is dinner time. I sprang into action and came up with this salad that we loved. We used cucumbers, a can of organic black beans, and lots of parsley from our garden.

1 can organic black beans, rinsed

1 cucumber, chopped

handful of Parsley, chopped

Olive Oil (say 2 Tbsp.)

Lemon Juice (say 2 Tbsp.)

Salt & Pepper

Red Wine Vinegar was added after my hubby said it needed more acid and flavor.

No, that is not all we had. We also made 'daddy fries' and scrambled eggs. We are fancy folk.

EatingWell Wednesday - Sugar Snap Pea Salad

I admit it, I am getting used to certain foods in their raw state as simple snacks on the go. Sugar snap peas are one of them. The kids love them crunchy out of the bag so the idea of a boil was not appealing however, I saw that EatingWell was only instructing a 2 minute boil and then a quick cool off so I was willing.

This also seemed like such a quick, easy and cheap side dish to make but would come out looking impressive so I made it in less than 5 minutes and we all like it....yes, all four of us. Therefore, the Sugar Snap Pea Salad is going to be filed under 'entertaining' as it looked tasted as good as it looked.



I know, you do not believe me: I simply told the five year old that it contained snap peas, red pepper and vinegar and she took a fork full as she likes each of those individually. The three year old, yes, more of a task. He ran from me. In response, I simply turned my back and walked away stating that I was glad he would not eat any because I could have it all to myself. He came running after me and sat at the table. He then proceeded to grab the fork, flip some off the plate while trying to stab some and then ate, smiled and told me he did not like it....and then ate the rest. Stinker.

Lunchbox Special: Orzo Salad

Spring. Spring leads to Summer which leads to picnics, work lunches outdoors, beaches, etc. which makes me think about portable salads, snacks, sandwiches etc. This leads to me sharing my orzo salad recipe with you. In my version, I use baby spinach instead of the more traditional basil as a way to add more nutrients and a more subtle flavor. I have also added some chick peas and a light vinaigrette to round things out. This would also be a great dish for entertaining: shower, brunch, cookout, potluck etc. Now grab your favorite outdoor blanket and get outside.

Ingredients:

Salad:

3 cups whole wheat orzo, already cooked per box instructions
1 cup english cucumber, diced
1/2 cup red onion, minced
1.5 cups baby spinach roughly chopped/torn
1.5 cups red pepper, chopped
1 15.5 oz can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, well rinsed
4 oz of reduced fat feta (1/2 standard 8 oz pkg)

Vinaigrette

3 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh if you have it.
½ cup red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup EVOO

Directions:

1. Cook the orzo per instructions and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, make vinaigrette by placing lemon juice, vinegar, and pepper into a food processor and slowly add oil.

2. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl, add 3 cups of orzo once cooled and combine well.

Finally, I wish to send out a sincere thank you to each one of my guest bloggers:
Judy at Food and Health
Janina of A place to learn and develop yourself
Kath of Kath Eats Real Food
and a big hug and thank you to my friend and foodie, Natasha of 5-Star Foodie Culinary Adventures for being my 'blog manager' while we were away.

Eating Well Wednesday - BLT Salad

Monday I was having a serious bacon craving so I made some turkey bacon and then wondered what I could do with it. Naturally, the standard BLT popped into my head but I wanted something different and remembered that I needed a recipe for Eating Well Wednesday. I typed BLT into their site and this fabulous salad appeared. Again, the only alteration I made was using turkey bacon instead of the center cut. Consider adding some leftover chicken.

Ingredients:

1 cup cubed whole-wheat country bread

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 medium tomatoes, divided

3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 tablespoons minced chives or scallion greens (I used scallions)

2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Freshly ground pepper to taste

5 cups chopped hearts of romaine lettuce

3 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used turkey bacon)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss bread with oil and spread on a baking sheet. Bake, turning once, until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Cut 1 tomato in half. Working over a large bowl, shred both halves using the large holes on a box grater. Discard the skin. Add mayonnaise, chives (or scallion greens), vinegar, garlic powder and pepper; whisk to combine.

3. Chop the remaining 3 tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, romaine and croutons to the bowl with the dressing; toss to coat. Sprinkle with bacon.

Fast & Frugal Friday: Meyer Lemon Dressing featuring Stonyfield & Round-up finale

Wow, has it been a whole week filled with meyer lemon madness? Yes, and I did not even share all of my recipes. Maybe I will toss one in here and there as spring decides to stick around. This meyer lemon recipe is special as it was my first foray into tasting and using Greek yogurt in a recipe. I have heard and read so many great things about Greek yogurt and was lucky enough to receive some coupons from my favorite yogurt company, Stonyfield. In addition, two local grocery stores just started carrying their Oikos Greek Yogurt.


My family enjoys and trusts Stonyfield so much that we now have a company deliver our milk and yogurt because they have 'YoKids' squeezers for my kids. They are organic, made from real fruit and have 25% less sugar. Haven't tried them? you must! I can not stand the ones most stores offer that contain artificial flavors and colors-yuk. At any rate, the Greek yogurt was amazing: the texture and creaminess were a joy. Why is it creamier that regular yogurt? because the whey has been removed (via straining). I find it amazing that it has 0% fat, less carbs. and twice the protein of regular yogurt. What an easy way to eat healthier. Plus, it is organic! Better for you (no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners) and the earth (no pesticides, chemical fertilizers, etc.). Try using it in many dishes, even as a substitute for sour cream or mayonnaise to lower the fat in your dish. By the way, it also comes in blueberry, honey and vanilla. Time to experiment with more flavors. Want some e-coupons for their products? Click here

5.3 oz. plain Oikos Greek yogurt
2 large garlic clove
3 tablespoons meyer lemon juice
2 tablespoons parsley

Place the garlic cloves, parsley and lemon juice into mini-chopper/processor. Pulse a few times to desired consistency, add in yogurt, pulse to mix. Serve.

Round-up finale:


A perfect example that simple is best from Slashfood. Linguine with meyer lemon. What, worried about the fat in creme fraiche? substitute Greek yogurt! hum, I think I will make this tonight.




The Recipe Girl needed a hostess gift for a dinner party and was inspired to create this wonderful meyer lemon loaf. I wish she was coming over tonight.






And finally, would this be complete without a little Martha? I could not finish up without making note of this Meyer Lemon Cake.

Baby Lettuces with Sprouts, Apple, Pecans & Cranberries

Continuing in my need to eat veggies like a bunny on a feeding fest I enjoyed this salad the other day and had the bonus of watching the kids eat alfalfa sprouts with balsamic vinegar. Now they are hooked. I recall how I used to love eating lots of these sprouts with french dressing at Grandma's house during the summer.

Ingredients:

3 oz organic baby lettuces

1/3 cup organic alfalfa sprouts

1/2 organic green apple, thinly sliced

1/4 cup pecans

1/4 cup dried cranberries

Wheat Berry Tabouleh

The term wheatberry or wheat berry refers to the entire wheat kernel (bran, germ, and endosperm) minus the hull. Wheatberries have a tan to reddish brown color and are available as either a hard or soft processed grain. As a whole grain, they also provide nutritional benefits since they are an excellent source of dietary fiber.

For my first foray, I picked up some hard wheat berries at a wonderful gourmet grocery store in town and drove home excited to try the new find. I cooked them, which is a maintenance free, but not particularly fast process. Once I ingested the first bite, I knew that my family would not be consuming them unless I found someway to liven things up. Therefore, I decided to make a tabouleh. As a friend, I will tell you that all four of us needed a few minutes to adjust to the chewy texture but once adjusted, were able to welcome this new berry into our family.

By the way, my smart hubby turned it into the main dish for dinner by adding leftover chicken.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked wheat berries

1 cup english cucumber, chopped

3/4 cup roma tomato, chopped (about 1-2 tomatoes)

3/4 cup red peppers, diced

1/2 cup sweet onion*

1/2-3/4 flat lead parsley, minced (I know that seems like so much but hey, this is tabouleh and makes the dish)

1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil**

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice**

salt & pepper

* I planned on using a red onion but forgot to buy one but I was quite pleased with the sweet onion.

** This is a guesstimate as I did not write it down but I seem to recall measurements that approximate this. Suit to taste.

Pepita & Cranberry Salad

UPDATE: I am submitting this for No Croutons Required at Lisa's Kitchen.
Dilemma: Shall I call this '3 Seed Salad' or 'Pepitas & Cranberry'? Well, let's go with the latter for now. I love toasted nuts and when I spotted my lonely container of pepitas (pumpkins seeds) in my pantry, I decided that I should set them up for a playdate with my sunflower seeds and then decided to toss some flax seeds on for fun. I may regret the flax seed later when I am trying to get them out of my teeth. By the way, we ate this the other night with some leftover rotisserie chicken tossed on top!


Ingredients:
1 head organic romaine lettuce, roughly chopped
2 cups organic baby spinach
1 vine ripe tomato, sectioned
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 oz. reduced fat feta
1/4 cup salted sunflower seeds
1/4-1/3 cup pepitas, toasted*
2 tablespoons flax seed

*lightly spritz non-stick pan with olive oil spray, and toss seeds around on medium heat until toasted/light brown. Istarted with 1/4 cup but once the cooled, I tossed a bunch into my mouth so I am guessing I used 1/4 cup in the salad. Could not help myself.

Martha's Red-Leaf Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes

This month's Everyday Food featured a recipe that immediately caught my eye when I went through their index (one of the first things I do). Man oh man, Red-Leaf Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes! I am always looking for ways to be creative with sweet potatoes. So, since the kids were playing so nicely with the train table, I made quick work of getting the items roasting and I was free to join them at play. Then, when only 5 minutes of roasting was left, I prepped the salad and then sat down with my daughter to sample (she only went for the lettece and 'mommy' fries-a future story). My instant first thought was 'where is the flavor?' and then a second later, oh, it is all there, it is simply a subtle dish, although I will say the garlic gives a punch to the dressing as does the onion when you get a few together. This salad is lovely and has a wonderful balance of texture. An definite keeper. Oh, resist the urge to separate the onion layer once you quarter it because you run the chance of overcooking some pieces, like I did. They will naturally fall apart anyway.

p.s. The photo above is my salad--looks just like hers eh?