Basic Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

This is a simple salad dressing that pairs well with fresh spinach, berries & almonds in a salad. In the summer I'll even add chicken and a little tortellini to it for a full meal spinach salad. Beware of what type of vinegar you chose to use, you may not need it in equal portions. I have found rice vinegar is nice because it is not as strong as an apple cider vinegar.

1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Olive Oil
1/2 C Vinegar
2 T Poppy Seeds
1/2 t dried mustard powder

Blend together in blender.

Asian Quinoa Salad

Ok, so I know it looks like all I do is make desserts based on my recent track record of posts, but in reality, I generally am a pretty healthy eater. My roommate and I sign up for Bountiful Baskets each week, and by the end of the week, we are somehow out of all the fruits and vegetables we got at the beginning of the week. Anyway, a few weeks ago, someone gave us 4 cucumbers. Add that to the 3 we already had, and that felt like a lot of cucumbers. I don't really like cucumbers, so I was trying to find a recipe to use them, without making them the feature flavor. I ran across this recipe and decided to try it. It was perfect. The dressing hid the cucumbers well, and there were so many good vegetables in it. The flavors came together just right. This is definitely a keeper. Slightly adapted from twopeasandtheirpod.com.

1 1/2 cup quinoa
3 cups water
2 cup chopped red cabbage
1 cup shelled and cooked edamame
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup shredded carrots
1 cup diced cucumber

For the dressing:
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Combine water and quinoa  in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and place a lid on pan. Let cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until water has been absorbed. Turn off heat, remove lid, and fluff up quinoa with a fork.
Add quinoa to the remainder of the salad ingredients. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Pour over salad. May serve immediately or refrigerate. 

Lemon Herb Quinoa with Green Peas and Basil

Emily and I made this for the first time last August. We took it with us when we went up to the raspberry festival at Bear Lake. It was so good! We had been walking around all day, we were hot, tired and hungry. This filled us up quick, was so refreshing, and easy to eat. The original recipe comes from the Food 52 website.

1 c quinoa
2 c water
1 c green peas
1/4 basil, finely chopped
1/4 c hemp seeds
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS lemon juice
2 teas lemon juice
1 teas maple syrup
1/4 salt
Pepper to taste

Bring quinoa and water to a boil. Reduce and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed and quinoa is done. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
Combine quinoa, peas, basil and hemp seeds. In another bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over quinoa mixture, and stir to combine. Eat!

Curried Rice and Chickpea Salad

This has become a staple in my recipe library over the past year. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to throw together and the flavor is great. I've taken it to a few potlucks and it always disappears pretty quickly. I got the recipe out of Robin Robertson's "Quick-Fix Vegan: Healthy, Homestyle Meals in 30 Minutes or Less" Cookbook.

1 ripe mango, cut into bit sized chunks
3 cups cooked rice (I used a wild rice blend here, but I like brown basmati too)
1½ cups home-cooked chickpeas or 1 can, rinsed
1 red bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch dice
¼ cup minced scallions
⅓ cup golden raisins (I used dried currents)
⅓ cup toasted peanuts (I used almonds)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp mango juice
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine mango, rice, chickpeas, bell pepper, scallions, raisins, peanuts and parsley or cilantro in large bowl.   Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Pour dressing over salad and stir to combine.

Millet with Asparagus and Oranges

1 c millet
4 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 oranges, cut in supremes
5 tbs orange juice
2 c boiling water
3-4 tbs toaste walnuts, hazelnuts or pinenuts
1 c asparagus cut into 1 in pieces, steamed
2 tbs fresh basil, minced
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
salt to taste
2-3 tbs hemp seeds (optional)

   Place 1 tbs of oil in 2 qt sauce pan over medium high heat. Add millet and cook, stirring often for 3-5 minutes until seeds turn slightly darker and produce fragrant aroma. Stir in garlic and cook for another minute. Add 1 tbs of orange juice and the boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 25-30 minutes until water is absorbed and millet is tender. Transfer to large bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining oil and orange juice. Add balsamic vinegar, basil and salt. Add asparagus, nuts, oranges, and hemp seeds to the millet. Fold in dressing to combine and serve. Serves 6-8.

Barley and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients
6 c water
1 1/2 c uncooked pearl barley*
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
2 bell peppers, diced (any color)
1 avocado diced
4 c mixed greens
basil to taste
lemon or lime juice to taste

Bring water and barley to a boil on stove. Reduce heat and cook for 40 minutes. Add bell peppers and chickpeas and cook for 5 more minutes until softened and barley is completely cooked. Remove from heat. Combine the cooked mixture with the fresh basil, mixed greens and avocado. Add lemon or lime juice to taste.

* You could use any whole grain, but you would need to adjust the water accordingly.

Pear Quinoa Spinach Salad

 

1 cup dry quinoa 

2 cups water 

4 cups washed baby spinach leaves 

1 pomegranate, seeded

1 ripened avocado 

1 pear

Bring quinoa and water to a boil on the stove. Reduce heat, cover pan, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes until water is absorbed. (You can also cook the quinoa in a rice cooker. While quinoa is cooking, cut pear and avocado into bite sized pieces. In a large bowl toss warm quinoa and remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing if desired (recipe follows) 

Mustard vinaigrette dressing
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 TBS stone ground mustard (or whatever mustard you have)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Spinach-Orzo Ensalata

I pretty much don't like salad, but for some reason I really like this one. Apparently its one they make at Macaroni Grill, but I don't eat there enough to know. I used a wild rice mix instead of the orzo and it was really good. I still can't decide if I like the capers, but they are easy enough to leave out.

Salad
1 C uncooked orzo pasta or wild rice.
10 C spinach, chopped
1 pkg fresh basil, cut into ribbons
2 tomatoes, diced small
1 can olives, sliced
2 oz capers
1/2 C raw pine nuts
Optional: Parmesan to taste (I didn't add this)

Cook pasta or rice. Toss all ingredients. Add dressing to taste.

Dressing
1/4 C lemon juice
1/4 C orange juice
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs Soy sauce
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
2 TBS honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs dried dill weed

Blend and pour over salad.