Green Carrot Club

Fancy balsamic vinegars are everywhere now.  This one uses a fig balsamic.

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

• 2 bags of Power to the Greens, or any greens
• 1 package of cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup grated parmasan cheese

Dressing:

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Sorry, it’s a little out of focus.  It’s funny how many pictures taken on phones turn out fuzzy.  I’d say 67% do.  We got a system down, if we take 3 pictures 1 usually turns out.  My regular photographer was out of town so I only got 1 this time.

This salad was super easy, especially if you buy the pre-cut broccoli.

Ingredients

makes 3 servings

• 1/2 packages whole wheat pasta spirals
• 1 package broccoli cut in bite size pieces
• 1 package of Power to the Greens (Trader Joes), or other greens
• toasted sesame seeds

Dressing:

• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• juice from 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Boil pasta according to package.  30 seconds before pasta is done, put broccoli in the boiling water to blanch.  Drain pasta and broccoli and rinse with cold water.  Whisk together dressing ingredients.  Toss dressing with pasta, broccoli, and greens.  Sprinkle sesame on each serving of salad.

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I went way off course from this inspired recipe when I couldn’t find eggplant at the farmers market.  You’d think a blog focusing on “healthy”, “natural”, “vegetarian”, “organic” foods would pick produce that’s in season.  Anyway, I made most of this up based on finding cheap radishes and what was leftover in my fridge.  It may be a little heavy on the radishes, but thankfully they weren’t too spicy.

Look at these radishes.  For only $1 a bunch!

Very loosely adapted from Green Kitchen Stories.  I do want to make a more accurate version of this someday in the summer.

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

• 3/4 head green leaf lettuce, cut into thin strips
• 2 bunches of radishes, chopped
• 4-5 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 cucumbers, chopped
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup quinoa, uncooked

Dressing:

• juice from 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon sumac
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt

Rinse quinoa.  Bring 1 cup of water and quinoa to a boil.  Turn down to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes.  Whisk dressing ingredients together.  Toss dressing with all veggies, chickpeas and quinoa.

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Hey, this is our 100th salad post!  Woohoo!

To make the veggie ribbons, just use a vegetable peeler.  You can only peel so much, but instead of wasting the oddly shaped leftover pieces, just cut them up into small pieces and add to the salad.  Why not?

Adapted from Sprouted Kitchen.

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

• 1 bag of baby spinach
• 1 avocado, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 persian cucumbers, thinly sliced or shaved
• 1 carrot, shaved
• 1 package pea sprouts
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup tahini
• juice from one lemon
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 Tablespoons chives
• 1/3 cup water (adjust with more water if thinner dressing is desired)
• salt and fresh ground pepper

Whisk together dressing ingredients.  Add water to desired thickness.  Shave carrots and cucumbers, cut up remaining leftover pieces.  Toss spinach, carrots, cucumbers, pea sprouts and sunflower seeds with dressing.  Plate salad and then top with avocado slices.

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I’ll admit, I photoshopped this picture a bit beyond reality.  Come on, tomatoes in March still aren’t that great, but they still tasted ok nonetheless.  This salad in summer will be killer.  I really liked how we cut the cheese (haha, sorry) here.  Thin square slices, cute/different.

Adapted from All Recipes.

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

•  4 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 14 ounces monterey jack cheese, thin slices
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together dressing ingredients.  Toss dressing with salad ingredients and serve.

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Adapted from Oh She Glows.

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I ate this whole salad before I knew it had fennel in it.  Usually it has such a strong flavor, but I think marinating in the lemon juice helped cut the bite.

Adapted from Purple Foodie.

Ingredients

makes 5 servings

• 2 small fennel bulbs
• 4 apples, sliced apples
• salad greens
• 1 cup toasted walnuts
• salt & pepper
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• 8 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Cut the fennel bulb vertically, so that you’re cutting through the trimmed shoots.  Once halved, you can see the hard core at the base of the fennel. Scoop it out and discard.  Next, place the halved fennel on a cutting board, flat surface down. Slice it diagonally starting from the base, making sure to keep them as thin as possible. Or use a mandolin if you have one.

Next, halve and core the apples. Cut into thin slices.  Transfer the fennel and apple to a bowl, making sure to separate the ones that are stuck together.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and lemon zest.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon and olive oil. Add salt and pepper.  Pour the dressing over the apples and fennel. Toss to coat evenly.  These can marinate for a few hours.

Serve over greens.  Garnish with toasted walnuts.

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This one was from a few weeks ago.

Adapated from Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

• 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
• 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice (I skip this)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt
• One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

Dressing:

• 1 medium garlic clove, finely minced with a pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

In a large bowl, combine the butternut squash, garlic, allspice, olive oil, and a few pinches of salt. Toss the squash pieces until evenly coated. Roast them on a baking sheet for 25 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the oven and cool.

Meanwhile, make the tahini dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic and lemon juice. Add the tahini, and whisk to blend. Add the water and olive oil, whisk well, and taste for seasoning. The sauce should have plenty of nutty tahini flavor, but also a little kick of lemon. You will probably need to add more water to thin it out.

To assemble the salad, combine the squash, chickpeas, onion, and cilantro or parsley in a mixing bowl. Add the tahini dressing to taste. Serve over greens.

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First of all, don’t buy brown rice tortillas.  We thought we’d be all healthy and gluten free, by trying these, but they were horrible, and we ended up not even eating them.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Ingredients

makes 5 servings

• 1 large head of romaine, torn into bite sized pieces
• 1 can black beans
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 handful of cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup mexican cheese blend
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
• tortillas

Dressing:

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It’s pea season!  First time I’ve tried pea shoots.  They’re pretty good, taste like peas.  I’d recommend cutting them into bite size pieces as they are long a stringy and hard to eat.  I’m pretty proud of this salad.  Made it up myself.

Ingredients

makes 5 servings

• 1 package of arugula
• 1 package of pea shoots
• 1 container of extra firm tofu (sprouted tofu works well), cubed
• 1/2 cup of wild rice, uncooked
• 1 Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce

Dressing:

• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1-2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Rinse wild rice.  Add 4 cups of water to rice in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower to simmer for 45 minutes.  Drain rice.  While rice is cooking mix balsamic vinegar and soy sauce in a small bowl.  Marinate cubed tofu in this for ~10 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, remove tofu from marinade and saute in a pan until browned.  Set aside.

For dressing, whisk together all ingredients, and also add the leftover tofu marinade to this mixture.

Mix together arugula, pea shoots, rice, and tofu with dressing and serve.

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