Thursday, January 28, 2016

Let's Talk Salads!











Winter has truly arrived and along with it comes a craving for all things warm.  Our supper each night usually consists of something that comes right out of the oven hot and ready to warm us as we sit down at the dining room table.  Winter dishes - roasts, stews, roasted veggies - are one of my favorite things about this season.   Recently Justus asked me to start preparing him a salad to take to work each day for lunch though, and as I've assembled the salads each night, I've made more of a conscious effort to eat a salad for lunch the next day myself.  I've actually made this citrus salad two days in a row... it's just so, so good and the fresh produce tastes so refreshing.  I think it just makes me enjoy those hearty winter dishes even more in the evening.  

Salads are actually one of my favorite things to eat, but I think variety is the key.  If you eat the exact same salad ingredients every day, it doesn't take long for it to get old.  Speaking for myself here, a salad that consists of a huge bowl of lettuce with a sprinkling of shredded carrots and two cherry tomatoes on top just doesn't cut it for me.  

Here are some things that help me when putting together a salad:

  • Theme!  Before I start cutting up veggies, I think about what flavor I ultimately want the salad to have.  Feeling like something sweet?  How about a base of spinach with some fruit and nuts?   Feeling in a Southwestern mood?  Then I'm leaning more towards a base of romaine lettuce with tomatoes, corn, avocado, cilantro.  Think of different ingredients that can work together to add more flavor.  This also might depend on the main dish I'm making, if this is a side salad. 
  •  Use what you have!  Do you have any leftover chicken from the night before?  What about cooked veggies, say some roasted butternut squash (here's a delicious salad recipe that you could use butternut squash in, by the way). What about that avocado half that will go bad if it's not eaten?  A lot of times I'll build my salad around something that needs to be eaten, again making sure that the different ingredients will complement each other. 
  • Toppings!  I stock up on toppings when I go to the grocery store.  Nuts (like almonds, pecans and walnuts), seeds (sesame, poppy, sunflower, chia, hemp), cheeses (feta and blue cheese crumbles are a big hit with my husband), dried sweet fruit (raisins, cranberries), tortilla chips, you get the idea.  I think these can be the key to a salad... they add so much texture and flavor and leave you feeling satisfied.  
  • Variety!  I usually buy at least two varieties of greens, and mix it up the next time.  Our favorite salad greens are romaine (green and red), butter lettuce, spinach, and a spring mix.  I buy an assortment of veggies and fruits, a lot of time depending on what is in season.  (Tip to the mommies out there!  If your little ones have a hard time eating salad every meal/day because of the lettuce, chop up extra veggies for them and make a "salad" without the lettuce!  Today for lunch my girls had a mixture of chopped cucumber and bell peppers with a side of orange slices along with their main dish.)
  • Salad dressing!  I rarely ever buy salad dressings, simply because I'm very picky about ingredients.  I actually bought one last week for my husband for the first time in ages... he requested something very spicy!  (Speaking of, I found a delicious chipotle vinaigrette at Whole Foods.) On the rare occasion we have ranch dressing (usually when we have guests), I make it from scratch using this recipe. Anyway, I typically just make a vinaigrette and I have a formula I use that is so simple!  No matter how you change it up, it's delicious, easy, and healthy.                                                                                                                                                                                                                             This will make about 3/4 cup of dressing, so you can either store the leftover for later, or make half the recipe.  Thoroughly mix together 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup of either vinegar or a citrus juice, 2 tsp dijon mustard, 2 tsp maple syrup (honey would also work well), and sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  I always keep balsamic, apple cider, red wine and white wine vinegar in the pantry along with a few others.  There are so many delicious options!  Lemon, lime or orange juice are also delicious in place of the vinegar.  On occasion I'll omit the maple syrup if I don't want the vinaigrette to have any sweetness.  
Lastly, here is the salad recipe pictured above.  It's delicious and I hope you enjoy it.

Citrus Salad

Ingredients:
Baby spinach
Romaine lettuce 
Celery
Oranges (I used Cara Cara)
Pecans 
Raisins
Feta Cheese
Poppy Seeds
Vinaigrette (see above under salad dressing; I used 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup orange juice, 2 tsp dijon mustard, 2 tsp maple syrup, sea salt, and ground pepper)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place pecans on a baking sheet and toast for about 5-8 minutes.  Chop spinach, romaine, and celery and place in a bowl.  Peel orange(s), slice and place on lettuce.  Sprinkle toasted  pecans, raisins, and feta cheese over salad.  Add some poppy seeds to your vinaigrette and pour over entire salad. 

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Have you made any delicious salads recently?  Please share - I'm always looking for something new!  ;-)


16 comments:

  1. I love your enamel sink!! I grew up with one that got discarded when my dad remodeled the kitchen in the 80's. SO wish I had it now. And I use many of your recipes often, thank you.

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  2. I love the easy to remember salad dressing recipe. I need to get away from storebought. Maybe this will make it easier to make my own:)

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  3. I love salads, and I love salads of all kinds! I am definitely going to try your dressing recipe, I try to eat clean and want to get away from bottled dressings. I've got to start experimenting! Thanks for your wonderful post.

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  4. Wow this sounds yummy, and yes I agree it's all about comfort winter food this time of year but salad would make a changex

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  5. Your salad looks amazing! I recently just made a kale (chopped) salad with colorful bell peppers (chopped) and kalamata olives with a lemon vinegrette. So fresh and delicious!! Can't wait to try your salad next!

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  6. This looks so yummy! I am going to have to make this over the weekend. I make salads quite frequently, and one of my favorites is leaf lettuce or arugula with roasted sweet potato cubes, spicy candied pecans, blue cheese (or goat cheese), and an apple cider vinaigrette. So good.

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    1. That combination sounds amazing... I can't wait to try it!

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  7. So happy to see a post from you. Your salad looks delicious and I will try it this weekend. I love salad for lunch but sometimes it is not filling enough. One trick I like is to make a salad and then fold it into a wrap or tortilla, sometimes I even toast a flatbread and pile the salad on top. My favorite salad lately is so simple: some lettuce (or spinach), cherry tomato, sliced avocado, sunflower seeds, sprinkle of cheese, simple homemade dressing.

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    1. I love the idea of making into a wrap... definitely will have to pick up something next time I go to the grocery store and try this idea. Thanks!

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  8. What delicious ideas! Thank you.

    Honestly, I need this push. We all know salads are healthy. But for myself, I don't think beyond lettuce and onion... Not much of interest there! ,-)

    So thank you so much, for showing me how a salads can be super, rather than blahhhhh....

    Gentle hugs,
    Tessa
    Upper NE of the US

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  9. I can't make your IG link work.

    But I will look for it, myself, when I am on IG, on my galaxy. :-) I'm sure it will be a lovely addition, to the Instagrams I follow.

    Gentle hugs,
    Tessa

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    1. I think you can find me in Instagram under "keepingitcozy" ;-)

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  10. I love fruit in a salad and this one looks delicious!

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  11. Your food ideas inspire me! Actually, all your posts do. :) Thank you for sharing.

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