Tag Archives: vegan

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

May 3, 2013

Warm Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing

Hello, beautiful.

Warm Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing

You should know that I’ve been wanting to post about this salad for a looong time. Ever since I started this blog, in fact. It’s a copycat of my favorite salad at (probably) my favorite restaurant in Salt Lake, Caffe Niche. But every time I’ve made it, it hasn’t quite lived up to the restaurant version, and I had to get it juuust right. But I think I finally did!

Warm Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing Warm red quinoa, roasted tomatoes and onions, and lemon dressing served over a bed of arugula. It is just as good as it sounds – the nutty flavor of the quinoa, the sweetness of the roasted vegetables, and the bite of the lemon and arugula all combine to make my perfect salad.

The restaurant serves this in full or half portions. I always get the full salad, telling myself I’ll take the other half home. It hasn’t happened once! I’m a goner as soon as I take the first bite.

Warm Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing

This is the kind of salad that you order for lunch on a sunny restaurant patio on a warm spring day. Preferably with a glass of red wine! It’s satisfying but still light, and although I love the salad warm, the leftovers (if you manage to save any!) are excellent cold.

Can I cram any more pictures in here to convince you to make this salad ASAP? Well, maybe just a few.

Warm Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing In the restaurant version, the onions are caramelized, rather than roasted. But let’s get real – ain’t nobody got time for that! Man I hate caramelizing onions – it always feels like a project. So I just tossed ‘em in the oven with the tomatoes, which cut down on the cooking time (and dishes!), and still gives them a great sweet flavor.

Warm Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing

Also, I think I about quadrupled the amount of tomatoes from the restaurant version. I don’t want them hiding in there, you know? I love that my take on the salad is just bursting with juicy roasted tomatoes.

I highly recommend putting this on your summer menu!

Have a good weekend, and happy Cinco de Mayo! No Mexican recipes from me this Cinco de Mayo, unfortunately… maybe I’ll get my act together for that next week :)

Warm Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing

5.0 from 1 reviews

Warm Quinoa and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing

Hands-on time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Erica

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

For the salad:

1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp olive oil, divided
salt and pepper
2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup dry red quinoa
arugula

For the dressing:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2-3 lemons)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp prepared mustard
1 tsp honey
2 cloves garlic
sprinkle of black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425. Separate onions into individual strips after slicing. Toss onions and tomatoes with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and spread on a baking sheet. Roast until onions are beginning to get crispy and tomatoes have burst and are juicy, 15-20 minutes.
In the meantime, add quinoa to a pot with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender, about 12-15 minutes. Drain excess water.
While quinoa and vegetables are cooking, prepare the dressing by blending all ingredients together.
Once quinoa and vegetables are ready, stir them together with half of the dressing. Serve on a bed of arugula with extra dressing alongside. You may have leftover dressing.
Enjoy!

2 Comments

Filed under Grains, Salads, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as arugula, dressing, green stuff, lemon, quinoa, salad, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian, whole grain

May 1, 2013

Thai-Inspired Fruit Salad with Lime and Thai Basil

Happy May!

I think this fruit salad is the perfect way to start off such a glorious month.

Fruit salad just screams “summer barbecue” to me. It doesn’t make an appearance unless you have warm weather, a grill, and enough friends present to make a dent in a huge bowl of fruit. Yep, it doesn’t get much better the kind of occasion that features fruit salad.

But I’m not a fan of what I’ve come to think of as the typical fruit salad: pineapple, melon, and grapes. Maybe I’ve eaten too many continental breakfasts, but that just does not appeal to me. It always seems to sit out too long, the pineapple is all sour and hard, and does anyone actually like the melon in that salad? If so, the world – or at least hotel breakfast buffets – needs more people like you. And fewer people like me, who pick out all the grapes for themselves.

So instead, I created this Thai-inspired fruit salad featuring my favorite spring and summer flavors. No melon required.

Thai-Inspired Fruit Salad with Lime and Thai Basil

Just so we’re clear on the meaning of the phrase “Thai-inspired”: it translates to “white girl Thai.”

It means I started out with something Thai (papaya)… and then added in some stuff that’s not so Thai (strawberries). It means the flavors are Thai to me, but would almost certainly taste American to anyone from Thailand. Clearly we’re not going for authentic, here. But we are going for tasty! And summery, and colorful.

Thai-Inspired Fruit Salad with Lime and Thai Basil

This fruit salad was actually inspired by my first-ever papaya purchase. Step 1: Buy a papaya. Step 2: …??? I had no idea what to do with it, but the thing was massive! It was also perfectly ripe (which was all luck, since I have no clue how to choose a papaya), and I couldn’t get over how gorgeous it was! Soooo I had a little photo shoot with it.

Thai-Inspired Fruit Salad with Lime and Thai Basil

So pretty.

Then I chopped it up and made it get cozy with some mangoes and strawberries. Deeeelicious.

I ate this fruit salad for a snack on the day that I made it, and I’ve been enjoying it for breakfast alongside a scoop of Greek yogurt with honey for the past few days. It definitely looks prettiest right after it’s made, but I can vouch for it being quite edible after 48 hours in the fridge.

So you know I always like to provide some explanation of the ingredients, techniques, etc. in a recipe if there’s something that needs to be pointed out. And there’s definitely an ingredient in this one that might seem strange: Salt!

I guarantee that if you make this fruit salad without the salt, you’ll think “hmm, it’s pretty good… but it could use a little something extra.” That something is the salt! It does seem weird, but it really brings out the flavors of the fruit and lime in this salad. It won’t taste salty (if it does, you’ve gone too far!), but it will accentuate the other flavors. Plus, salt and lime just go together - why don’t you add some tequila in there, too, while you’re at it? Kidding. But it’s really the salt that completes this salad.

I think that’s all the explanation required! Go make this glorious summertime salad. I hope it’s warming up where you are!

Thai-Inspired Fruit Salad with Lime and Thai Basil

5.0 from 1 reviews

Thai-Inspired Fruit Salad with Lime and Thai Basil

Hands-on time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

Author: Erica

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

3 cups peeled and chopped papaya (1/2 of a huge papaya)
2 mangoes, peeled and chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
2-3 cups sliced strawberries
juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup packed Thai basil (or regular basil), sliced into thin ribbons
1/4 to 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

Combine all ingredients except for salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt and stir. Taste and add another 1/4 tsp salt if flavors are not yet pronounced.
Salad is best immediately, but will also keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.