Some favorite salads
Posted: January 27, 2010 Filed under: Recipes | Tags: kid-approved!, salad, vegetarian Leave a comment »I thought I’d share a couple of a favorite salads at our house . . . both vegetarian, but both high protein. Both are even well received by the kids, and solicit the rare clap of delight when I tell them what I’ll be making.
The first is a favorite of mine from the deli at PCC, our local natural foods market: Perfect Protein Salad. It takes a bit of chopping, but makes a nice huge batch and is great for lunches–yes, even the kids’ lunches. It keeps pretty well for a couple days in the fridge, but after that veggies like the cucumber turn funky on you. The only modifications I make are to cut down on the onions–no red onions, and only a few very thinly sliced scallions. Even those are picked out by my pickiest eater. Otherwise its, well, perfect.
By the way, did you know that you can request the recipe for any of the deli foods you find at PCC? Many of the recipes, like the Perfect Protein Salad, can be found on their website: www.pccnaturalmarkets.com, or you can call the deli office and they’ll email you the recipe, too. When I originally requested the recipe, I quickly received it, but had to modify the servings down from 50 to a more manageable size!
The second protein packed salad that is devoured at our house is Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa Salad from Gourmet. I’ve been trying to cook more with Quinoa, as it’s a great alternative to rice as it cooks quickly and is high in protein and fiber. This salad is light and tangy . . . I love to serve it as a side to Mexican dishes like tacos, or a side to grilled chicken. Again, a little bit of chopping, but really most of it can be done during the time it takes to prepare the quinoa. You could certainly mix up the veggies adding what you have on hand–bell peppers, maybe even shredded carrots or zucchini? This recipe also seems to make enough for sides for our family of four plus extras for lunch. Delicious! The recipe, I’ve linked to here describes a very complicated procedure for cooking the quinoa. I’ve never had any problems preparing it as follows–2 cups water, 1 cup quinoa, plus a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, simmer, covered for about 15 minutes. Taste for tenderness and that is it!
Cabbage Babbage
Posted: November 13, 2009 Filed under: Recipes | Tags: salad Leave a comment »
I think like many people, cabbage is not my favorite vegetable. Yes, I know cabbage, in particular red cabbage, has many good qualities that include being vitamin packed and high in antioxidants, but I just haven’t convinced my palate that cabbage is where it is at. I’m not a “slaw” person, and rarely do I see a recipe with cabbage and think to myself, “Wow, that sounds good”. This time I surprised myself–a recipe did catch my eye when I was looking for a use for some Napa Cabbage. The addition of apples and dried fruit with a light lemony dressing made me think maybe, just maybe my kids might even give it a try, too. I was right–this was light and crisp, a great side dish. My kids who are not fans of nuts, picked those out, but otherwise enjoyed it too. I could even see adding some grilled chicken on top and turning it into a heartier entrée salad. This one is from Bon Appetit and my only substitution was to use the dried cranberries I had on hand. Some of the apples were died pink from being stored with the cabbage overnight, but it was delicious as part of my lunch today.
Red and Napa Cabbage Salad with Apples and Spiced Pecans
Barley Corn Salad
Posted: October 11, 2009 Filed under: Recipes | Tags: salad Leave a comment »We needed something light to eat after a big weekend of feasting at a family wedding. I was hankering for something with veggies that would use up some things from the fridge, including corn on the cob. I searched on Epicurious for corn salad and found this recipe that I tweaked a little to accommodate what I had on hand. I love the chewy, heartiness of barley and the combination of that with some veggies and the recipe’s vinaigrette sounded good.
My tweaks:
- I reduced the green beans to about 1/2 pound because that’s all I had, but added the red bell pepper thinking that would be nice sweetness and color.
- Also, I added a can of garbanzo beans to give it some protein. I was hoping I’d find a can of black beans in the pantry, again from a color point of view, but all I had was garbanzo beans. Blander in the color scheme with barley and corn, but that’s okay because my kids love garbanzo beans.
- I even had the goat cheese in the fridge but forgot about it at the end; still tasted fine without, though I think the tanginess of the goat cheese would be a nice contrast with the dressing’s sweetness.
Would definitely make again, maybe with black beans and the goat cheese. I think it’d make a nice summer potluck salad. Here’s my version of the recipe: Barleycornsalad
