Category Archives: salad

good and good for you

rustic heirloom tomato salad

By jacqueline | Published: August 14, 2010

these tomatoes don’t need much to taste good. sometimes i just eat them plain. but if you are new to heirlooms and need a simple idea for how to enjoy them, try this simple salad. it features an easy honey dressing which cuts the sharp taste of some of the more acidic tomatoes, and subtly compliments the sweeter ones perfectly. it’s lightly tossed with fresh heirloom tomatoes, basil, parsley and onion in a perfect summer concoction.

Posted in salad | Tagged basil, heirloom, parsley, tomato | 3 Comments

baby potato salad

By jacqueline | Published: April 4, 2010

every year growing up my family would dye hard boiled eggs a few days before easter, then on sunday my mom would crack open all the remaining ones to mash them up in a big bowl of colorful potato salad. nowadays i take my potato salad eggless and mayoless (unless it’s vegenaise), but that doesn’t means it can’t still be colorful and delicious!

these baby red potatoes were so cute at the market it couldn’t help but take them home. they are so much more tender and sweet when small like this, and cook up quick too! they went perfectly with a simple blend of lemon, cumin, coriander and fresh parsley leaves. my tasty homage to my mother’s easter potato salad.

Posted in salad | Tagged coriander, cumin, lemon, parsley, potatoes | 3 Comments

napa cabbage and snap pea winter salad with herb-roasted red onion

By jacqueline | Published: February 24, 2010

i recently visited my good friend rose in san francisco, who always inspires me when we share the kitchen. our first night in town, exhausted from traveling, she made us a delicious dinner which included something she called a winter salad. it involved wilted napa cabbage, warm apples and apple cider vinegar.

while this isn’t exactly rose’s recipe, she sure did inspire me to create a winter salad of my own. it still includes napa cabbage, along with crunchy bits of sugar snap peas and sweet morsels of red onion roasted with fresh rosemary and dill. the apple cider vinegar carries over as well, to help the flavors of the herbs pop.

great with a bowl of soup and a piece of toast on a gloomy winter day. enjoy!

Posted in salad | Tagged cabbage, dill, napa cabbage, onion, roasted, roasted onion, rosemary, winter salad | 1 Comment

cilantro lemon orzo with toasted almonds

By jacqueline | Published: February 17, 2010

this is one of those recipes that happened on accident, based on the limited contents of my fridge. thankfully, the lemon and cilantro’s bright flavors compliment the hardiness of the whole wheat and toasted almonds in all the right ways. at first i thought it might be a sort of pasta salad, served cold and perfect for a picnic or packed lunch. but as i couldn’t resist nibbling on it immediately, i realized it could also be served as a warm pasta dish with dinner.

Also posted in side | Tagged almonds, cilantro, lemon, orzo, pasta, toasted, whole wheat | 3 Comments

quinoa and persian cucumber salad with spicy mint sauce

By jacqueline | Published: September 28, 2009

this salad celebrates both the cool and the spicy – the juiciness of the cucumbers and the cool mint taste help to defuse the sharp bite of the jalepeno, creating a broad taste profile that is intriguing to the tastebuds.

and because quinoa is a fluffy high-protein gain while cucumbers are light and watery, this dish is both filling and light. the perfect snack or accompaniment to any meal.

Posted in salad | Tagged cucumbers, mint, persian cucumbers, quinoa | 5 Comments

baked eggplant bruschetta salad

By jacqueline | Published: July 7, 2009

i love bruschetta. it has tomato and basil – some of my favorite fresh summer flavors – and in this incarnation i even threw in some roasted eggplant. but what i don’t love is trying to balance all those delicious veggies on top of a little piece of toast before it finds its way to my mouth. i figured it would be much easier to just chop up the bread too and toss it all together as a salad.

Posted in salad | Tagged basil, bruschetta, eggplant, oregano, tomato | 7 Comments

roasted corn and purslane salad with a creamy dill dressing

By jacqueline | Published: June 1, 2009

the cool thing about purslane is it’s a succulent! while most lettuce greens you eat are delicate and thin, this one is thicker, crispy, lemony and slightly salty. they are a very different texture than other edible greens. and while it is considered a weed, purslane is the highest source of omega-3 fatty acids amongst leafy vegetables.

it can be sautéd, stewed or used as a substitution for spinach, but it makes an amazing salad because of it’s fresh taste and texture. i’ve mixed it here with roasted corn because it is one of my favorite summer foods, radish for a crisp bit of spiciness and dill because, besides being a flavor i always enjoy, it never fails lighten up any dish.

Also posted in sauce | Tagged corn, dill, dressing, purslane, radish | Leave a comment

raw seaweed salad

By jacqueline | Published: January 26, 2009

there’s not too much to wakame seaweed. it’s a little salty, has a subtly sweet flavor, and contains small amounts of fiber, iron and calcium. but what makes it special is the presence of a compound called fucoxanthin, which has been associated with helping to burn fatty tissue.

you can get a big bag of dried wakame super cheap in china town (i found mine for $2.19) and use it in salads, soups, or even just with rice. for this recipe i simply soaked some in water, put the seaweed in a mixing bowl with some other veggies, and tossed it all with a simple asian dressing. the result? a filling and tasty raw salad.

Posted in salad | Tagged cabbage, carrot, cucumber, raw, seaweed, wakame | 12 Comments

super simple spicy hummus dressing

By jacqueline | Published: January 7, 2009

i’ve been on quite the salad kick lately. it’s just so easy to toss together lettuce, tomatoes, maybe some cucumber or green apple, top with pumpkin or sunflower seeds and finish off with a simple homemade dressing.

this recipe has been a big favorite of mine lately – it takes on the flavor and creaminess of the hummus, gets a spice kick from my all-time favorite sauce – sriracha – and only has 4 ingredients so it literally does take a minute to make.

Also posted in sauce | Tagged dressing, hummus, spicy, super simple | Leave a comment

salt and pepper croutons

By jacqueline | Published: January 2, 2009

lately, whenever i go home, my sister will give me a ridiculous amount of bread from her work. my favorites are the rosemary or kalamata olive loaves, but there was so much this last time that i couldn’t eat it all before it went stale.

thankfully, that is the perfect time to make croutons – after the bread is too hard to eat but before it starts growing fur. it just requires a little oil, some of your favorite spices and a little oven time and you have got yourself a pan full of salad’s best friend. but as we found, when the salad runs out they are still the perfect little snack all on their own.

Also posted in snack | Tagged croutons, pepper | 1 Comment