Salad | Eat Your Heart Out

Cobb Salad, Revisited

August 6, 2012 by Stephie 1 Comment

Did anyone out there have an “eat weekend”?

*Raises hand*

My cousin got married this weekend, which means I spent most of the weekend socializing with various family members and…well, eating.

After all of the food, drinks, and wedding cake…it might be time for a salad at least once this week. But let’s not just stick with our normal, boring go-to salad. Let’s take something traditional, and give it a little spin. You know…revisit it.

Let’s take a traditional Cobb salad, for example. Let’s keep the same basic components you would normally find, but give them a twist.

Let’s use kale instead of lettuce.

Let’s toss our kale in a creamy, Greek yogurt-based Dijon dressing.

Change out the blue cheese for feta.

And instead of a hard-boiled egg…you know we need to get a poached egg all up in there. The runny yolk? Well, that will just become absolute perfection once it is mixed with the cool, crisp kale and the creamy dressing. Runny yolks for days! Seriously, put a poached egg on just about anything and it’s going to dramatically improve your life.

And above all, keep it easy when you’re recovering from summer wedding season. You’ve already spent too much time contemplating what you wore to each event…no need to over-complicate things now.

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Monday marked the start of a new #shereadstruth plan! This month we are reading through the book of Proverbs, one chapter each day. Each day there will be a new blog post on the She Reads Truth website with thoughts and insights on that day’s chapter. To learn more about this new plan or to find out how you can get caught up with previous reading plans, click here. I hope you will consider joining us as we continue to delve into God’s word and gain wisdom and insight from fellowship with each other.

Cobb Salad, Revisited

Yield: 2 main dish servings or 4 side dish servings

Ingredients

For the dressing:

¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons water
Pinch of salt

For the salad:

1 bunch kale, cleaned and cut into bite-size pieces
1 avocado, diced
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
¼ cup feta cheese
2-4 poached (or fried) eggs (1 per person being served)

Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients, adding additional water 1 tablespoon at a time to reach your desired consistency.
Just before serving, toss the kale with the dressing. Top with the avocado, bacon, tomatoes and feta cheese. Place a poached or fried egg over each serving; serve immediately, preferably alongside some good, crusty bread.

Filed Under: Salads Tagged With: #shereadstruth, Gluten-free, Healthy, kale, Main dish, Quick and easy, Salad, Side dish, Summer, Vegetables

Potato Salad with Dijon and Green Beans

July 30, 2012 by Stephie 6 Comments

Can we just talk for a minute about how much I love the Olympics?

Now, I am in no way, shape, or form an athlete. I’m not even particularly coordinated. In fact, outside of the Olympics, I never watch sports. Of any kind. They’re just not my thing.

But during the Olympics? I will watch just about anything. Even the less exciting events, such as the marathon or the bike races, are great to have on in the background while you are doing something else.

And while I enjoy watching the big medal events and seeing athletes from my country succeed, what I really love about the Olympics are the underdogs. During the opening ceremony’s parade of nations, I absolutely love seeing nations who have just a handful of athletes, have never won a medal and honestly, probably have a snowball’s chance in hell at winning this time. And yet…just look at the faces of their athletes. They aren’t preoccupied with how many medals they are going to get, or whether they will be named the “best Olympian of all time” – they are just so happy to be there, and so proud to be representing their country. That is what I love. That is what I really think the Olympics should be about. Sure, winning is great, and it is a wonderful honor to bring home that medal for your country, but let’s not forget that it is an honor just to be there and to take part in an event that brings the world together in a way that no other event is yet to do.

Hmm. I’ll step off my soapbox now and talk about potato salad now.

This is a mayo-free potato salad. I made this for a couple of reasons: There are a lot of people in this world who are vehemently anti-mayo, and when it is hot as hell outside, you certainly don’t want to be taking a mayo-based potato salad to a picnic or outdoor get-together. That is just asking for something gross to happen. This is a potato salad that everyone can like that won’t try to kill you if you leave it out in the heat.

And the fact that the fresh green beans and sweet corn give it a nutritional boost lacking in a lot of potato salads? That’s just a bonus.

Potato Salad with Dijon and Green Beans

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds red or Yukon gold potatoes
1 pound fresh green beans
2 ears sweet corn, cooked
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper

Instructions

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 15-25 minutes, or until a paring knife can be easily inserted into the center of the potatoes. Drain and allow to cool. Cut cooked potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Set aside.
Trim the ends from the green beans and cut into 1-inch pieces. Bring a pot of water to a boil; add the green beans and blanch for 2-3 minutes. Remove from boiling water and immediately place in an ice bath to stop the cooking process.
Cut the cooked corn from the cob. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, Dijon, olive oil, salt and several grinds of black pepper. In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, green beans and corn with the dressing. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as needed. Chill for several hours or overnight. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Salad will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for 3 days.

Filed Under: Salads Tagged With: Allergy friendly, Gluten-free, Healthier, Salad, Side dish, Summer, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Creamy Mediterranean Pasta Salad

June 18, 2012 by Stephie 10 Comments

So, I sort of have this thing I do where if I put sun-dried tomatoes in a recipe (which, let’s be real, happens a lot around here), I am automatically 75 times more likely to use the word “Mediterranean” in the title of that recipe.

I suppose by the time I have come up with the idea for a recipe, and then put in the effort to execute it, I have used up all of my creativity brain cells and am left with very little brain power to come up with a good name for it.

So I don’t know if we can technically say that this pasta salad is “Mediterranean” or not, but it does have some pretty awesome flavors going on.

I mean, let’s look at our salad components here. Pasta (obviously), white beans, peas, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives. Pretty solid.

And our dressing? That’s what really brings the big game here. A creamy dressing – using a base of Greek Yogurt instead of mayonnaise – flavored with lemon and just a little bit of pesto. Nothing too heavy or overpowering, just flavorful enough to enhance and bring together the other players.

And this salad really only got better with time. Day one? It was good. After sitting overnight? The flavors had developed and it was even better. By day three it hit its own personal level of perfection and I was sad to finish the last of it.

Well, not sad enough to keep it around any longer. I was hungry, after all.

Creamy Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Yield: 4-6 servings

Dressing recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

Ingredients

For the dressing:

½ cup fat-free Greek Yogurt
Juice of two lemons
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon pesto (jarred is fine)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

8 ounces small, shaped pasta
1 can white (Cannellini) beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips
½ cup sliced black olives

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, rinse, and set aside.
While pasta is cooking, whisk together the dressing ingredients until smooth. Taste for seasoning.
Toss cooked pasta with beans, peas, tomatoes and olives. Stir in dressing until everything is fully coated. You may want to only use half of the dressing at first, adding more as necessary.
Chill for at least two hours before serving, although longer (overnight) is best to allow flavors to fully develop.

Filed Under: Pasta, Salads, Side dishes Tagged With: Healthier, Pasta, Quick and easy, Salad, Vegetarian

Lemony Tahini Quinoa Salad

June 11, 2012 by Stephie 5 Comments

Did you know that it is possible to not only have a case of the Mondays, but to also have a case of Monday Hair?

That is totally what I have going on right now.

I’m choosing to blame my Monday Hair on a couple of things:

1.) I am in desperate need of a haircut, but won’t be getting one for another couple of weeks when I am home for my best friend’s wedding. And no, in answer to your next (likely nonexistant) question, I can’t get one prior to that because I am needy and picky and refuse to grow up and find a new hairdresser in the town where I actually live, and instead make the 3-hour trek to my parents’ house every so often so that I can get my hair done by the woman who has been cutting and coloring it for over a decade. It’s a hair comfort zone. Also, I have trust issues. (Among others, clearly.)

2.) My lack of central air means that my apartment gets so hot this time of year that by the time I have straightened the top layer of my hair, the bottom layer has already started to curl and frizz back into little ringlets. It’s a really cute look, let me tell you.

Looks like I am going to be sporting either the curly look or a braid from now until it snows again.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I threw together this little quinoa salad last week when I needed a side to go with some baked falafel. I wanted something that would incorporate some of the flavors in the falafel without overpowering it. After doing some snooping, I found this dressing on 101 Cookbooks. I pretty much kept the dressing as it was and changed up the salad ingredients to things that better suited my whims at that moment.

Basically? It was easy as can be to throw together and perfect alongside the falafel. And straight out of the bowl at 10 pm. Yeah, my late-night snacking habits are weird, I know.

Also – I used a mixture of red and white quinoa to give the salad some pretty color, but you could certainly use any color that you have on hand!

Lemony Tahini Quinoa Salad

Yield: 4-6 servings

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup tahini paste
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 garlic clove
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons hot water
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

Instructions

Rinse quinoa. Add to a medium pot with the water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside.
Using a large knife, smash the garlic clove. Peel, roughly mince, then sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt. Use a fork to smash the salt and garlic together, creating a paste. If this seems difficult at first, allow the salt and garlic to hang out for a few minutes and try again. (It does not need to be a super smooth paste, you just want most of the large bits broken up.)
In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, zest, garlic and olive oil. The mixture will be very thick – add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes to a consistency somewhat like that of yogurt. Give it a taste to check for seasoning, adding more salt if needed.
In a large bowl, toss the cooked quinoa with the cucumber and tomatoes. Add in the dressing, stirring to coat. Cover and chill before serving to allow the flavors time to meld. Will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for 3 days.

Filed Under: Salads, Side dishes Tagged With: Gluten-free, Healthy, Quinoa, Salad, Side dish, Vegan, Vegetarian

Strawberry, Pear and Feta Salad

April 9, 2012 by Stephie 6 Comments

Raise your hand if you ate too much this weekend.

Yeah. Me, too.

Let’s lighten things up a bit for lunch this week, shall we?

It’s spring, so you know what that means: time to put strawberries on our salads! Mix them with some feta cheese and a little balsamic vinegar and I’m just about in springtime salad heaven.

To be honest, I feel kind of silly posting this “recipe”, but I have received requests for easy, healthy lunch suggestions, and this is one of my favorites. If you’re working, just throw it together the night before and grab it on your way out the door. Easy peasy.

Quick tip: If you are packing this to take with you to work, like I do, you will want to keep your pear slices from turning brown. To do this, I slice it up, throw it in a zip-top bag with just a few drops of lemon juice, and then shake it up to coat all of the slices in the juice. It’s a small enough amount of lemon juice that you won’t taste it, but just enough to keep your beautiful pears from browning overnight or during the day. (I also do this with apples.)