Spiralized Raw Veggie Salad

I recently acquired my new favorite kitchen tool… A Spiralizer! This slicer turns a zucchini, beet, potato or any other veggie into long, noodle-like spirals, giving you a new way to prepare and present food. There are other blades that came with the contraption, but I’ve yet to try them out. In this tasty raw recipe, all of the vegetables have been put through the basic spiral blade. If you want one of these for yourself, check out the Paderno Spiralizer, which is the model I purchased.

Raw Spiral Salad

By Caroline MacDonald

Serves 5-6 as a side dish

Ingredients:

Spiral Veggies-

2 large zucchini

2 large carrots, peeled

2 beets, scrubbed and peeled

Dressing-

1/2 c lemon juice

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

2 T balsamic vinegar

1/4 t cayenne pepper

lots of lemon pepper, to taste

Step 1: Chop the ends off of each veggie and run through the spiralizer. Combine all veggies in a large bowl and toss until evenly mixed. Don’t be alarmed if the veggies start to tangle; this is bound to happen and is helped by using tongs as serving tools.

            

Step 2: Whisk together all dressing ingredients and pour over veggies. Toss until evenly coated. For best flavor, let the veggies marinate for a couple hours.

Serve Chilled.

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Lemon Basil Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Veggies and Tofu Croutons

I've been wanting to work with wheat berries for a while because of their unique texture, appearance, and yummy flavor. I was feeling particularly ambitious one afternoon and decided to create a dish utilizing these guys along with summer veggies and one of my favorite flavor combos, lemon and basil.

Apparently I had some spare time as well, since I decided to add yet another component to the recipe. About a month and a half earlier, I had lunch at Marty's Market and discovered a new way of serving tofu... Tofutons! Tofu croutons are essentially small pieces of tofu baked for a long time until they become crispy on the outside. They were great on salad and worked really well on the recipe I ended up creating.

If you have an afternoon of nothing to do, give this recipe a shot! Timing is important, as each item is either cooked in the oven or on the stove for different amounts of time. If you're planning on serving this warm, plan ahead. If you're going the cold route, which is equally tasty, you can cook in whatever order your heart desires. I'm not going to plan for you, but I will give instructions for each individual recipe.

NOTE: Everything prepared in the oven uses the same temperature- 400 degrees F. Preheat your oven to 400 at the start and don't change it until you're done!


Lemon Basil Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Veggies and Tofutons
By Caroline Mac


Wheat Berries

Some sources will tell you to soak dry wheat berries before cooking them, but I also read that they cook about the same whether soaked or not. Since I didn't have prep time the night before, I decided to do the no-soak version and hope for the best (they turned out just fine!)

Ingredients:
1 c uncooked wheat berries
3 c water

Step 1: In a large pan, bring wheat berries and water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 30- 60 (or more) minutes. Start checking the wheat berries at 30 minutes, as cooking time varies. When done, they'll be chewy but not tough. My wheat berries took an absurdly long 75 minutes to cook... Maybe I should have soaked them...

Step 2: When wheat berries have cooked, drain them and set aside.

Roasted Eggplant

Ingredients: 
1 large eggplant
Olive oil
Italian seasoning

Step 1: Slice eggplant in half lengthwise. Score the eggplant flesh in a diamond pattern (intersecting diagonal lines) without completely cutting through the skin.

Step 2: Brush a light layer of olive oil all over eggplant halves and sprinkle flesh side with italian seasoning. Place eggplant face-down on a baking sheet. Roast for approximately 40 minutes at 400*, or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes.

Step 3: Once eggplant is cool enough to handle, separate the flesh from the skin. I gently sliced between the two and then scooped it out with a spoon.


Roasted Squash

Ingredients:
1 large yellow squash
Olive oil
Italian Seasoning

Step 1: Slice squash lengthwise and then into thin slices (they'll look like half circles)

Step 2: Place squash in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Toss until evenly coated. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake at 400* for 15-20 minutes, or until tender.

Roasted Garlic

Ingredients: 
1 head of garlic, intact
Olive oil
Aluminum foil

Step 1: Remove the outer layers of the head of garlic until you've reached the individual cloves. Slice off about 1/2 an inch from the top of head, or enough to expose the raw tips of the cloves.

Step 2: Coat garlic with a light layer of olive oil. Wrap in foil and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Using a small spoon, scoop roasted cloves from skin, leaving them as whole as possible.

Tofu Croutons

Ingredients:
1-14 oz block firm tofu, rinsed and lightly pressed to remove excess liquid
Approx 1 T olive oil
Salt, to taste
Italian seasoning, to taste

Step 1: Slice tofu in half to form two thinner rectangles. Slice those into 1/2 inch cubes. Spread cubes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings.

Step 2: Bake tofu at 400* for around 50 minutes, or until outside is golden and crispy. You want this tofu to be a little crispier than your typical baked tofu, since you're trying to create a crouton-like consistency.

Lemon Basil Dressing

Ingredients:
Juice of 1 lemon
1 c fresh basil
2 t olive oil
Lemon pepper, to taste

In a blender, puree all ingredients until smooth.



You're almost done! 

Once each component is complete, combine everything in a large bowl and stir until evenly mixed and coated with dressing. Top with tofu croutons and serve warm or cold.


Whew! It took a while, but is totally worth it.

Enjoy!


~Caroline~

Cucumber Melon Salad with Basil and Lime Mint Dressing

On the menu tonight was a mustard-barbecue baked tofu and spiced quinoa. I think that with anything warm or spicy it's great to have a refreshing salad to balance the meal. My new creation did just that. We bought a delicious melon at the supermarket this week as well as two sweet Armenian cucumbers at the farmer's market. Paired with the mint and basil from my mom's garden, these ingredients made for a tasty dish. 

Cucumber Melon Salad with Basil and a Lime- Mint Dressing
By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:

Salad:

1 Melon, of the honeydew variety (mine was a Galla), halved with seeds removed

2 Large cucumbers (mine were Armenian), peeled and thinly sliced
(Note: If you're using regular cucumbers, you may want to cut them lengthwise to create smaller pieces)

1/2 c lightly packed fresh basil, shredded


Dressing:

Leftover melon/ juice (explanation below)
1/4 c fresh mint
3 T Extra virgin olive oil
2 T lemon juice
Pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste


Step 1: Using a teaspoon or a melon baller, scoop out as much melon as possible in small spheres into a large bowl. Into another bowl, scrape out any remaining melon and juice. Add sliced cucumber and basil to melon balls.

Step 2: In a food processor, puree all dressing ingredients until smooth. Pour over melon-cucumber mixture and gently stir until everything is thoroughly coated.

Step 3: Cover and let chill in fridge for about 30 minutes. You can serve immediately, but the flavors are better after marination.

Serve Cold.

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Southwestern Zucchini Pasta Salad with Tomato-Cilantro-Avocado Sauce

I created this recipe when I needed a reason to try a new local pasta brand, and eventually turned it into a vegan salad with raw zucchini noodles! I also added the avocado the second time around and loved the creaminess it gave the sauce. It's a light, spicy salad that satisfies and refreshes on a hot summer day. I've posted the zucchini version, but know that you can use a box of your favorite pasta if you're so inclined.


SW Pasta Salad with Tomato- Cilantro- Avocado Sauce
By Caroline Mac

Serves 3-5 

Ingredients:
4 zucchini, sliced into thin strips (I used a vegetable peeler)
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 c carrot, shredded
1 container (3 cups) Pomi diced tomatoes, split in half
1 c fresh cilantro, plus 1/4 c to be added later

1 15 oz can low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 avocado, plus more for garnish
Juice of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic
1 t SW style seasoning
1 t smoked paprika
1/2 t cayenne pepper
3 pinches salt
Cholula hot sauce, to taste





Step 1: Combine 1.5 c tomatoes, 1 cup cilantro, avocado, lime juice, garlic, and all seasoning in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Set aside.

Step 2: Combine Zucchini noodles, cucumber, carrot, 1.5 c tomatoes, 1/4 c cilantro and beans in  a large bowl. Stir gently until thoroughly mixed, careful not to break the zucchini noodles.

Step 3: Pour sauce evenly over the vegetables and stir gently until all ingredients are thoroughly coated.  Serve cold or at room temperature with a few slices of avocado for garnish.

Enjoy!


~Caroline~

Raw Cucumber Beet Salad with Parsley

This salad was incredibly refreshing after a long day of dancing and is

packed with cleansing, delicious ingredients. It was very easy to make, apart from the shredding of the beet. My Zyliss julienne peeler did the job, but not without a fair amount of frustration on my part. The salad was worth the labor though!

Raw Cucumber Beet Salad with Parsley
By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:
1 large beet, peeled and shredded
1/2 large cucumber, diced
1/2 cup parsley, washed with stems removed

Dressing
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 t lemon juice
1/2 t balsamic vinegar
1/4 t tamari
1 clove garlic, minced
Lemon pepper to taste


Step 1: Combine all salad ingredients and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients together. Drizzle over salad and mix until thoroughly coated.

You can serve this dish immediately, but I thought that it actually tasted better after a night in the fridge. Even a few hours would allow the flavors to blend more and the beets and cucumber to marinate in the dressing.


Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Fennel and Clementine Salad With Lemon Garlic Dressing

Since it's getting warmer outside, I've been craving more and more raw, fresh food instead of hearty warm dishes. The result? Salads galore. I usually have pretty much the same salad during the week- a combo of dark greens, mixed veggies and cottage cheese for protein. Even though I love this salad, I decided it was time to switch it up and make something a little more gourmet. I decided that fennel was the way to go. 

I love the taste of fennel. It's similar to black licorice, with a sweet flavor that is great raw or cooked. I thought that it would go especially well with tangy and sweet clementines topped with an acidic splash of lemon combined with savory garlic. 

Fennel and Clementine Salad with Lemon Garlic Dressing

By Caroline Mac

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

1/2 bulb of fennel, outer layer peeled and thinly sliced, some greens reserved for garnish

Approx. 1 cup salad greens of choice (I used Trader Joe's Power Greens)

1 clementine, peeled and broken into sections

1 t olive oil

1/2 t lemon juice

1/2 t apple cider vinegar

1/4 t minced garlic

1/8 t ground black pepper

1/8 t Penzey's Trinidad Lemon Garlic seasoning (You can use a combination of lemon pepper and garlic powder as well)

Step 1: Spread greens across the bottom of your dish to create a bed of lettuce.

Step 2: Place clementine sections around the edge of the greens. Create a tower of fennel in the center.

Step 3: Whisk oil, lemon, vinegar, garlic, and seasoning together until thoroughly blended. Drizzle over  the fennel. Garnish with fennel greens.

Enjoy! 

~Caroline~

Lentil Grapefruit salad with Mint and Black Pepper Dressing

Easily the most beautiful dish I've ever created, this healthy salad is packed with flavor, has an excellent source of protein, and has a unique combo of flavors, which keeps things interesting. I've been on a major grapefruit kick lately, so having it in this salad made it even better. This works as a light meal, appetizer, or could be multiplied and served family-style.

Lentil Grapefruit Salad with Mint and Black Pepper Dressing
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
Single Serving
1 1/2 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup lentils, cooked, and packed in a small cup
1/2 grapefruit, peeled and separated into small wedges
4 mint leaves, shredded, 2 whole for garnish

Dressing:
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 T lemon juice
1/4 t ground black pepper
pinch dried rosemary

Step 1: Whisk together all dressing ingredients until thoroughly blended. Set aside. You may want to whisk it up again before serving

Step 2: Spread spinach leaves at the bottom of a dish. Flip the cup of lentils onto the spinach base and slowly lift cup away, maintaining the shape of the lentils. Place grapefruit pieces evenly around the lentils.

Step 3: Sprinkle mint leaves over entire salad and drizzle with dressing. Top with two mint leaves for garnish.

Enjoy!

Lazy Friday Chipotle Black Bean Salad

It's Friday, it's the end of the week, and I got back from the gym and did not want to make the rather complicated Black bean soup I had originally planned on making. However, I still wanted to make something with black beans. Yay for improvisation!

Honestly, I didn't measure anything when creating this recipe. My suggestion is to start with the beans and add the seasoning to taste. One can of beans makes enough for two nights or so.

Chipotle Black Bean Salad
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 can black beans, drained
Chipotle hot sauce
1 yellow bell pepper
Sun dried tomatoes
Salsa verde
Southwest seasoning

Step 1: Add tomatoes, seasonings, pepper, and sauces to beans and mix thoroughly. Serve warm, cold, or room temperature. I had mine as a side with a mixed green salad.

Enjoy!

Fig and Apricot Quinoa Salad

What happens when Caroline plans on making a recipe and then loses the link? She completely improvises and creates her own version! This turned out to be one of my favorite recipes yet. This dish is great both warm and cold and tastes so refreshing!

Fig and Apricot Quinoa
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup chopped apricots
6 fresh figs, chopped in large pieces
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 T lemon juice
1t minced ginger

Step 1: Combine quinoa and vegetable broth in a sauce pan and heat until boiling. Lower heat and let simmer until all broth is absorbed by quinoa (about 15 min.). Remove rom heat and fluff quinoa with a fork.

Step 2: Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, and ginger until thoroughly blended.  Set aside.

Step 3: In a large bowl, combine quinoa, apricots, figs and parsley. Stir until evenly mixed. Drizzle with dressing and stir until dressing is evenly mixed in.


Enjoy warm or cold!

Balsamic Beet and Carrot Salad

Hi all! It's been FOREVER since I've posted a recipe, so I figured I'd stop being lazy and post something. I had a bunch of beets from Trader Joe's in the fridge, so I decided to use them up.


I don't think I used as many veggies as the original recipe called for, so there was a lot of excess dressing. Just know that you may have some tasty dressing left over to use on future salads.

Balsamic Beet and Carrot Salad
Adapted from Simple Spoon
Ingredients:
1 package Trader Joe's pre-cooked beets (or 3-4 cooked beets)
1-2 cups baby carrots
1/2 cup raw almonds
Crumbled Feta cheese for topping
1T agave syrup
Sea salt

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
15 basil leaves, shredded
2 cloves minced garlic

Step 1: Heat saute pan to medium. Add almonds and cook until fragrant, stirring regularly but not constantly. Once they've darkened slightly and are fragrant, turn off heat and add agave. Stir until almonds are evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt. Transfer to a clean plate. Syrup will solidify, creating candied almonds!

Step 2: Steam baby carrots until al dente.

Step 2: Add all dressing ingredients together and mix until homogenous. Drizzle beets and carrots with dressing and top with feta cheese and almonds.

Enjoy!

Garlic Green Beans with Lemon

I have a feeling this recipe is going to become one of my all time favorites. Tonight was my second time making these delicious green beans and I'm positive it won't be my last. This recipe requires quite a bit of prep, but it may seem like that simply because I tripled it today for a potluck. Thus, I had to zest and juice three lemons, peel and slice nine cloves of garlic, and chop the ends off of more green beans than I can count. I think it was worth it, though. This dish works great as a side or as a salad. You could also make only the dressing and use it on a regular basis for roasting veggies or as a salad dressing. This dish can be served hot, cold, or any temperature in between.

Garlic Green Beans with Lemon
Adapted from Vegalicious Recipes
Ingredients:
3 cups fresh green beans
1 lemon, zest and juice (separate some zest for garnish)
2 T olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sliced almonds, or to taste

Step 1: Cut the tips off of the green beans and steam until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Step 2: Heat the olive oil in a small sauce pan. Once heated, add the garlic and saute until golden.

Step 3: Add the lemon juice to the pan, followed by the zest, salt, and pepper. Stir until thouroughly mixed and heated.

Step 4: Transfer the green beans to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over them and mix until evenly coated. Add the almonds and mix well. Garnish with extra lemon zest.

Enjoy!

Simple Cold Quinoa Salad

In my opinion, lunch is the most easily monotonous meal. At lunchtime, I almost always seem to be in a hurry, out and about, or don't feel like making something super complicated and gourmet. I tend to find myself consistently eating veggies and hummus, some kind of whole grain, and some kind of fruit. Consistently, meaning it's what I had for lunch nearly every school day this past year. That's a lot of veggies with hummus. Don't get me wrong, I still love that combination and am not opposed to having it, but there must be more options to make lunch a little more interesting, right?

The answer is yes. Last night, I decided I no longer wanted to have the same-old same-old for lunch. I'm in the middle of a ballet intensive at my studio, which means packing a lunch every day or buying it from the food co-op near my studio. Even though I could easily get something new and exciting for lunch there each day of the week, I don't see the point in buying more food when there's plenty in my own kitchen to work with! So, I threw together a quick little cold quinoa salad for my lunch today. It was incredibly refreshing to have after class and was packed with protein to last me through a few hours of rehearsal.

I wasn't planning on posting this recipe at all, since it's so simple, but one of my friends tried a bite, liked it, and asked for the recipe. This one's for you, Lucas!

Cold Quinoa Salad
Ingredients: You can mess around with quantities until you find a balance you like. You can't really go wrong here!
1-1.5 cups cold, cooked quinoa
1-2 T sun dried tomatoes

1/4- 1/3 cup edamame (fresh or frozen and thawed)
Balsamic vinegar and olive oil to taste (About 1 T each)

Step 1 (the only step!): Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix until evenly coated with olive oil and vinegar.

Enjoy!

Simple Salads

Salads are my main go-to food when I don't want to make anything complicated but want something healthy and flavorful. A major complaint I hear about salads is that they are boring. My response to this is that you simply haven't found the right ingredients! The possibilities for salad are endless. I love throwing together fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts to make interesting flavor combinations. I don't have one standard salad recipe, though I plan to write up a few as time goes on. Until then, I've made a list of some of my favorite bases, toppings, and dressings so you can start to make your own!

Favorite Salad Bases
Spinach
Romaine Lettuce
Mixed baby greens
Kale

Favorite Fresh Fruit and Veggie Toppings
Tomatoes
Celery
Carrots
Edamame
Beets
Broccoli
Radishes
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Apple
Strawberries
Blueberries
Grapes
Mushrooms
Zucchini
Corn
Onion
Mango
Avocado

Favorite Dried Fruit and Nut Toppings
Cranberries
Raisins
Figs
Almonds
Walnuts
Pecans
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Sun dried tomato

Favorite Cheeses
Blue Cheese
Feta Cheese
Goat Cheese

Favorite Dressings (My favorite brand is Annies, but other brands make these flavors as well)
Lite honey mustard
Lite raspberry vinaigrette
Goddess
Green garlic
Balsamic vinaigrette
Red wine and olive oil
Blue Cheese

I hope this helps make your salad experience more enjoyable!