Tag Archives: kale

May 10, 2013

Massaged Kale and Veggie Salad with Toasted Ramen

This was originally supposed to be a soba noodle salad.

The other day at work, I got really fixated on making one. I just knew it would be perfect with the various leftover veggies lurking in my crisper. I wouldn’t even have to go to the store! Major success.

Then I got home and found we had no soba noodles. Major failure.

Massaged Kale Salad with Veggies and Toasted Ramen

So I went to the grocery store. AND THEY ALSO HAD NO SOBA NOODLES.

What. The. Hell.

So back home I went, dug wayyyy to the back of my (very deep) cabinet, and pulled out some ramen noodles. Cha-ching! Salads with ramen noodles are totally a thing. I know because my mom and grandma make one, and that makes them official. And also delicious. A few minutes later, I was digging into this!

Massaged Kale and Veggie Salad with Toasted Ramen

So now that I’ve taken you on the little journey of how this salad came to be, let me tell you about it! Ramen noodles, obviously. Toasted to crunchy perfection! And I officially massaged my kale for the second time ever, woo hoo! Getting to be a pro at this. Then some crunchy and colorful veggies to really make you feel like you got your nutrients for the day.

And the dressing I had actually made for the roasted carrot and chickpea salad last week, but didn’t end up using it. I regretted the soy sauce as soon as I added it – it wasn’t at all what I was going for with the carrots and chickpeas. But it was perfect with these veggies! And that, my friends, is how I came to post two salads with miso dressing on consecutive weeks.

Fascinating, I know.

Anyway, this salad was so crunchy, flavorful, and fun. I know you’ll love it!

Massaged Kale Salad with Veggies and Toasted Ramen

And finally, because I’m so happy it’s Friday, here’s what’s in store for the weekend: Tonight is a costume party (lifeguard/surfer themed – not sure what I’m wearing!), and tomorrow night is a wedding. I’m excited to kick off the 2013 wedding season (and thankful that this one involves no travel)! I’m also looking forward to the wedding because it’s my excuse to get my first pedicure since September, if you can believe that. I’ve been au naturale in the toe department all winter!

Anyway, in between parties and pedicures, I’m running a 5K race on Saturday morning. We’ll see how that goes! It’s my first race of the season and the first 5K road race I’ve run in a LONG time. (I did a 5K last summer, but it was a trail race – this should be easier!) I’ve been running 3 to 4 miles, 3 times a week, but no speed workouts or anything. If I can run the whole thing at about an 8:15 pace, I’ll be pretty happy. Wish me luck!

Massaged Kale and Veggie Salad with Toasted Ramen

5.0 from 2 reviews

Massaged Kale and Veggie Salad with Toasted Ramen

Hands-on time

15 mins

Cook time

3 mins

Total time

18 mins

Author: Erica

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

For the dressing:

2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp white miso paste
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup water

For the salad:

1 bunch curly kale, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup shredded red cabbage
3-4 green onions, sliced
1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
2 3-oz packets ramen noodles, flavoring packet discarded
1 avocado, sliced
sesame seeds

Instructions

Prepare the dressing by blending all ingredients together.
In a large salad bowl, pour half of the dressing over the kale. With your hands, toss the kale leaves and massage the dressing into them for about 30 seconds. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Break up the ramen noodles into chunks. Preheat a toaster oven or regular oven to 350. Spread crumbled ramen on a baking sheet and toast until golden, several minutes.
Toss veggies (pepper through edamame) with kale. Top with toasted ramen, avocado, and sesame seeds and serve alongside extra dressing. (You may have some dressing leftover.)
Enjoy!

Notes

Dressing adapted from Food52.

11 Comments

Filed under Salads, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as asian, avocado, bell pepper, dressing, edamame, ginger, green stuff, kale, pantry, salad, vegan, vegetarian

April 29, 2013

Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing

Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing Sometimes doing the same thing over and over again is a bad thing. It’s called getting stuck in a rut.

But sometimes doing the same thing over and over again is a good thing. You’re hitting your stride. Perfecting the art. Getting it down to a science.

What I just learned from writing those sentences is that sports, art and science all involve doing the same thing over and over again. And I often feel like cooking is all three of those things! Definitely art. Definitely science. If you’re skeptical about the sports bit, you should see the sweat I can work up trying to get three dishes ready at the same time. It probably counts as my workout for the day, right? I thought so.

Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been roasting a lot of vegetables lately. I’ve put them in tacos, I’ve had them on lentils, I’ve eaten them as sushi, I’ve called them poutine. April has kind of been The Month of the Roasted Vegetables around here. Stride = hit. Art = perfected. Science = …gotten down to? Sure. All of those things.

And so, just as the weather is getting warm enough here in Salt Lake that I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be wanting to turn my oven on, here is another roasted vegetable recipe. And it’s a really good one, too, this time over kale for Dole National Salad Day on Wednesday.

Carrots are one of my favorite vegetables to roast (and maybe I’ll even show you my favorite way to roast them soon!). In fact, they’re maybe one of my favorite vegetables period, which means I probably shouldn’t have laughed at my dad so much for eating about two pounds of them a week while we were growing up. In any case, I love carrots, especially roasted, and I think “scarfed” is the appropriate verb for the manner in which I consumed this salad about 0.8 seconds after taking these pictures.

Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing

Can I confide something in you? This “massaged kale” salad is the first time that I have EVER massaged my kale. The whole “massaged kale” thing always kind of weirded me out, to tell you the truth. I mean, massage it, really? Am I supposed to give it a pedicure afterwards, too? Some recipes instruct you to get in there with your hands for an oddly long amount of time. But I found that just 30 seconds of tossing the kale leaves with my hands and kind of, well, massaging them really did break them down and improve the texture considerably. So I guess I am sold! Kale masseuse numero uno right here.

All right, I think that is all I have to say on the subject of this salad. Happy Monday, get your week off to a good start!

Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing

5.0 from 1 reviews

Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing

Hands-on time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Erica

Serves: 2

Ingredients

For the roasted carrots and chickpeas:

2 cups chopped carrots (bite-sized)
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (1 14-oz can)
1 tsp olive oil
sprinkle of salt and pepper

For the dressing:

2 Tbsp white miso paste
juice of 1 lemon (3-4 Tbsp)
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey (optional, add if dressing is too sour for you)

For the salad:

1/2 bunch curly kale, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
handful of bean sprouts (optional)

Instructions

First, roast the vegetables. Preheat oven to 450. Toss carrots and chickpeas with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread on a lined baking sheet, taking care to spread the carrots in a single layer. Roast until carrots are beginning to brown and chickpeas are crispy, 20-25 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by blending ingredients (miso through olive oil) together, or mincing finely and whisking. Taste and add in the honey if the dressing is too sour for you.
Pour half of the dressing over the kale and massage into the leaves with your hands to soften them.
To serve, layer kale, optional bean sprouts, and roasted carrots and chickpeas. Top with remaining dressing.
Enjoy!

10 Comments

Filed under Salads, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as carrots, chickpeas, dressing, ginger, green stuff, kale, miso, vegan, vegetarian

April 15, 2013

Blueberry Almond Chia Smoothie

Spontaneity: not my thing.

Lists: totally my thing.

The way I get excited for things is by planning them. Vacations, parties, meals, you name it – planning is just my way of looking forward to something.

Come to think of it, that’s probably one of the reasons I like blogging so much.

This weekend, Nate and I have plans to go down to Moab, UT, one of my favorite places. Moab is home to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, as well as an adorable downtown and lots of mountain biking, climbing, and running. I’ve been there a few times, but only once with Nate, and that was for about 24 hours. I’m excited to go back with him and show him Arches and Canyonlands, both of which are suuuuper beautiful and make me so happy to live in this state.

I’m starting to get excited for the weekend as I plan out which hikes we’re going to do, where we’re going to eat, what I should pack, etc. I haven’t made any lists or strict schedules for us yet… but you know, there’s still time. :)

Blueberry Almond Chia Smoothie

Breakfasts are another thing I like to plan out, because I’m completely incapable of spontaneity (and because I am always thinking ahead to my next meal). At night I lie in bed thinking about the next morning’s smoothie. I run through what type of fruit we have in the freezer and whether I feel like peanut butter, sunbutter, or almond butter. I ask Nate what kind of smoothie he wants, and he says he wants whatever kind I’m making.

Correct answer, my friend.

I like this blueberry and almond butter combo, and I especially like the crunchy texture of the chia seeds. My favorite smoothies are thick enough to eat with a spoon, but if that’s not your thing, feel free to add more almond milk or water to get it to your desired consistency.

Friendly advice: Do not rush off to a job interview, important meeting, date, or other social event after drinking this smoothie without first checking your teeth. Chia seeds, blueberries, and kale? Yeah.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Blueberry Almond Chia Smoothie

Hands-on time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

Author: Erica

Serves: 1 large or 2 smaller smoothies

Ingredients

1 frozen banana, sliced
1 cup frozen blueberries
3-4 leaves kale, rinsed, stems removed, and torn
1 cup Greek yogurt (I use Fage 0%)
1/2 cup almond milk
2 Tbsp chia seeds
2 Tbsp almond butter
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
sprinkle of cinnamon
sliced almonds to top (optional)

Instructions

Add all ingredients (except for sliced almonds) to blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides or break up chunks of fruit as necessary.
Serve immediately, topped with sliced almonds. Enjoy!