A couple of weeks ago Joe and I went to The Optimist. Joe ordered the kale salad with chorizo. It was so delicious that I’ve been dreaming of my own version ever since. If you’re going to have a meat and cheese plate, you might as well throw in some kale and call it healthy. Also leeks, come on! This thing is teeming with vegetables!
Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Smoky Orange Vinaigrette
Marston and I are learning to like beets this week, and probably next week too. Joe and Remy already like beets. If you’re in the Joe and Remy camp, you’ll love this roasted beet salad I’m sharing today. If you’re in the Mars and Talia camp, you’ll love this arugula, kumquat and goat cheese salad with a smoky orange vinaigrette. There are some pesky beets, but the antioxidants are so good for you! (This is what Mars and I keep telling ourselves.)
Warm Farro Salad with Butternut Squash and Pomegranate
Have you started searching new recipes in your quest for health this New Year ? I wrote yesterday about my 2016 goals, if you’re a ship in water trying to change direction it can be hard. So I’m here to help with the warm farro salad with butternut squash and pomegranate seeds I’m sharing today.
Farro is an heirloom grain of wheat chock full of nutrients. It is a great alternative to the monotony that is quinoa and brown rice. And it’s versatile, easily going well with sauces, added to soups or being tossed in to a salad like this one.
Winter Salad of Arugula, Pomegranates and Toasted Hazelnuts
Have pomegranates and pears started popping up in your farmer’s market yet? In Atlanta, the local ingredients have shifted and so my cooking has shifted as well. I love the change in seasonal ingredients. The persimmons and squashes all sit there begging me to eat them. So I’m all like fine, I’ll eat you. Get into my belly.
I dreamed up this tasty winter salad as I roamed the aisles of our market. Mostly it’s just all the things I love, and I hope you will love it too.
Fig and Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Figs are an underrated fruit. Not only delicious, they have an almost exotic feel to them. Figs are coming into season out this way and since they’re so much more accessible in California’s mediterranean climate, I’m enjoying all the different ways to eat them. The easiest way (aside from raw by themselves) is throwing them into salads. Here I share a Fig and Goat Cheese Salad.
Peach Caprese Salad — a Southern Twist on the Classic Salad
Mars and I have spent a lot more time outside too. We have a nice backyard to play in here and fruit trees he gets to pick from (which he loves). The peach tree is full of peaches and they are gloriously delicious peaches. I’ve been frantically trying to squeeze them into different recipes to use them up before they go bad. Last week I was going to make a caprese salad and thought including peaches might be a fun idea. It was. Here’s my southern twist on the famous salad from Capri — Peach Caprese Salad
Panzanella Salad — A Great Way to Use Stale Bread
I can’t tell you how many half loaves of bread have made it into the trash after a few days of getting stale on the counter. I always feel guilty throwing it away. With grandparents who went through the Great Depression and having spent time with the poorest of the poor around the world, I understand how valuable even a loaf of bread is. This panzanella salad (basically a bread salad) is the perfect solution for using up stale bread. You may be thinking, oh that sounds disgusting, but you would be wrong. This salad is all kinds of right.
The World’s Best Sour Cream Potato Salad
As a recent mayonnaise convert, for years I hated potato salad. A perfectly good potato slathered in mayonnaise did not sound appealing to me. And going to yet another backyard barbecue and only eating a hamburger got old after awhile. Since I knew I liked baked potatoes, I started substituting that for most of the mayonnaise and voila, it was delicious! I’ll eat traditional potato salad now, but this is still my favorite kind to bring to parties. It can be served warm or cold and is always tasty.
Eating Healthy and Light in the Summer — Grilled Salmon and Asparagus Salad
Towards the middle of June I tend to realize that if I keep eating hamburgers and pulled pork all summer I’m going to have to buy a new wardrobe by August. And even though I like spending money, Joe would rather save it for boring things like bills (boo hiss).
When that happens I turn to fish and salads (at least for a couple of days until I convince myself that I was never gaining any weight to begin with). Here I share a healthy meal that’s light enough for me, and filling enough for Joe – Grilled Salmon and Asparagus Salad.
Kale and Brussel Sprout Slaw with Sweet and Tangy Dressing
My sister is having a housewarming party tonight which means I get to eat hamburgers. I love hamburgers so much. When I was pregnant, I would eat them for breakfast. Although that’s not saying much cause even when I’m not pregnant I eat them for breakfast (never judge me). One day I’ll share my favorite hamburger recipe, but I’m still working on it. In lieu of a hamburger recipe I’m proud of, here’s a great side that goes with hamburgers – kale and brussel sprout coleslaw that I’m bringing with me tonight.
You don't need a culinary degree to make sophisticated food. I want to improve your food education. Sometimes I travel and wear new clothes, and I'll tell you about that, too.
