Tri Not?

This tri-color salad is ridiculously easy—as well as delicious.

Endive
Radicchio
Arugula

That's it. Dress lightly with some vinagrete, salt and pepper.

Add chicken or some other protein to serve as a main course, especially for lunch.

Just another quinoa salad

Quinoa Salad with Apples, Walnuts and a whole bunch of other yummy stuff

from Finecooking.com

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups quinoa, preferably red 
Sea salt 
5 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil; more as needed 
1 large red onion, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise 
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar 
4 oz. arugula, trimmed and thinly sliced (about 3 cups) 
4 oz. aged Gouda, finely diced (about 1 cup) 
3 medium celery stalks, thinly sliced 
1 large, crisp apple, such as Fuji or Pink Lady, cut into 1/2-inch dice 
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped 
1 cup finely diced fennel 
3/4 cup dried cranberries 
3 Tbs. sherry vinegar 
Freshly ground black pepper 


Directions:

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In a bowl, rinse the quinoa with water, rubbing it between your fingers for about 10 seconds. Drain and transfer it to a 3-quart pot. Add 2-1/2 cups water and 1/2 tsp. sea salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, covered, until the quinoa is tender but still delicately crunchy, about 15 minutes.

Drain the quinoa and return it to the pot. Cover and let the quinoa rest for 5 minutes; then fluff it with a fork. Let cool to room temperature.

While the quinoa cooks, heat 2 Tbs. of the olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt; cook, stirring frequently, until tender and brown around the edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and toss with the onions until the vinegar cooks away, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, mix the quinoa, onions, arugula, cheese, celery, apple, walnuts, fennel, and cranberries.

In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 3 Tbs. olive oil with the sherry vinegar, 1/2 tsp. sea salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Add the dressing to the salad and gently mix it in. Let rest a moment; then season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more olive oil if the salad seems dry.

Ad-meyer this salad

Meyer Lemon Radicchio Salad
from Whole Living magazine


Ingredients:
1 Meyer lemon

• 1 cup chopped Vidalia onion
• 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 15-oz. can rinsed and drained chickpeas
• 2 cups sliced radicchio
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta
• 2 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Chop lemon into 1/2-inch pieces and remove seeds. In a medium bowl toss with onion, parsley, chickpeas, radicchio, feta, lemon juice, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Beet this Salad

This is one amazing salad. The balance of sweet, pungent and salty flavors are perfect. I am not even a lover of blue cheese but I love it here. (You could substitute goat or feta if you can't take the blue). There really isn't a recipe for this one, just a list of ingredients. It's up to you how much of each you'd like to use. This salad is from Whole Living magazine.

-cooked lentils
-chopped celery
-blue cheese, crumbled (use a good one)
-toasted walnuts
-roasted beets, sliced (use two different colors if possible)

Ex-cilantro!

Cilantro Lime Dressing
from Eating Well Magazine

I wanted something a little different to put on my black bean quinoa recipe for a light dinner this hot summer night. I pulled a few ingredients out of the fridge to see what I had to work with and this recipe fit the bill. It punched up the taste of the salad perfectly and would also be great as a marinade or sauce on chicken or steak.

1 cup packed cilantro
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Pinch of minced garlic

Puree cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, orange juice, salt, pepper and garlic in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Bring on the Beans!

Trying to think of something different for lunch, my husband decided that I should make a black bean salad. I had Mexican on the mind, so it has a bit of Latino flair. I made a huge batch and we have been happily bringing it in our tupers all week long. This would be a great dish for bbqs or pot lucks as well. Make sure you take it out of the fridge to let it come to room temp before enjoying! This would also be great with some addition of avocado, jicama, and/or mango!

Black Bean Fiesta Salad

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 red or green pepper, diced
1/2-3/4 cup frozen corn
1 diced tomato (or handful of cherry/grape tomatoes)
1/2 of jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, diced very fine
2 scallions, green and white parts sliced thin
1 handful cilantro, chopped

Dressing:
juice of 1 lime
zest of that lime (just from 1 half or so)
2 tsp cumin
dash cumin whole seeds
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

1. Add beans, all veggies and herbs to large bowl. Mix gently to combine.

2. In small dish, make dressing. Add lime juice, zest and then spices. Whisk in olive oil until thick and combined. Season to taste.

3. Pour desired amount on bean salad. I actually had some of this dressing to save in the fridge because I didn't want it too wet.

Lunch-Box

Couscous Garbanzo Salad
From Cooking Light Magazine June 2007

I made this a few times a month and play around with the ingredients. Kalamata olives, feta cheese, or a variety of fresh herbs can be added to change up the taste. I leave out the red pepper flakes. It packs well and keeps all week for a healthy lunch.

Ingredients

1 cup organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
1 cup uncooked couscous
2 cups chopped seeded tomato (about 2 medium)
1 cup diced cucumber (about 1)
1 cup thinly sliced green onions (about 6)
1/2 cup grated carrot (1 medium)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Preparation

Bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan, and gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Place couscous in a large bowl, and cool completely. Fluff with a fork. Stir in tomato, cucumber, and next 4 ingredients (through chickpeas); toss well. Combine oil and the remaining ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add vinegar mixture to couscous mixture just before serving; toss gently.

10 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup)

How do you say Quinoa (kean-wah)

Nutty Quinoa Salad

4-6 Servings

Quinoa is an ancient grain with a high protein content. It does not have much taste on its own, but soaks up other favors quickly. It will look like a tiny translucent pearl with a brown hull when cooked. I can only find it in the grain section at the organic store but those with larger groceries stores should be able to find it there as well. I soak the quinoa for a couple of hours, cut the water to a 1/1 ratio and then it cooks in no time. If you do not have time to soak it, make sure to rinse it a few times before cooking.

1 C. quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 c golden raisins
1/4 c. sesame oil
3 scallions, slice white bulbs and 3 in. green
1/2 c. unsalted roasted peanuts
1/2 c. canned mandarin orange sections, drained
2 Tbl. chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tsp. grated orange zest

1. Combine quinoa and water in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add raisins and
continue cooking until all liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
If you have soaked grains, add raisins right away. Remove from heat and spread
mixture out on baking sheet. Let cook completely.

2. In a large bowl, combine the quinoa and raisins with remaining ingredients.
Toss gently and serve.

Use as main course salad or as an accompaniment to meat- good with pork tenderloin or chicken.

First entry--Asian Chicken Salad

Last night was salad night at the French-Glick household and I decided to change it up from the usual chop salad. The ingredients came to me during the walk home from the gym--and the combination turned out to be delicious.

Asian Chicken Salad French's Way

Dressing (use more or less of these ingredients as desired-I didn't really measure it out--just tasted as I went along)

Dash lite soy sauce
2 dashes rice wine vinegar
1 dash Trader Joe's Chili Mango vinegar (optional)
1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
4 dashes olive oil
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
2 tbsp hot water

-Put PB in bottom of dish, add hot water, whisk to thin.
-Add soy, rice wine/mango vinegar to taste
-Whisk in olive oil

Salad

1 chicken breast, broiled (and marinated if desired) and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 red cabbage, thinly chopped
1 head green leaf lettuce (or other greens), chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped and seeds removed
1/2 cucumber, skins removed and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 small can mandarin oranges
1 or 2 tbsps chopped nuts (I used almonds)
cilantro (optional)
Handful of Chinese noodles (you know, those really crunchy naughty ones)

Toss all ingredients including chicken in large bowl, add dressing.
Enjoy!