Simplest Kale Salad

Hi Everyone! You might have noticed I haven’t posted in a few months — I’ve been busy wrapping up my Peace Corps service and moved back to the U.S. just last week.

Luckily, I’ve found a job working at Riverbank Farm – an organic vegetable farm in my hometown. Hopefully in the next couple of months I will be able to post a lot of food made from our wonderful fresh produce.

So, to start us off kale, is in season! We are growing three types of kale at the farm: Red Russian, Lacinato, and Curly. For this simple kale salad, I like Red Russian the best. It is a very tender and a bit sweeter than the others.

serves 1-2 people as a side dish

Ingredients:

1 bunch Red Russian Kale (or other varieties of kale)

sea salt to taste

1 slice freshly lemon squeezed lemon

Strip the kale leaves off the meaty part of the stems and coarsely chop. Throw in a bowl with a small amount of sea salt. With clean hands, massage the sea salt into the kale. This seems strange, but massaging the kale with sea salt will break down the kale until it releases its juices and becomes very tender and tasty (see left: kale pre-massage, right: kale post-massage).

Note: be careful not to add too much salt too fast. It is easy to feel like the massaging isn’t working as fast as you expect and think you need to add a lot more salt. Maybe you do, but do this slowly otherwise you will end up with some very salty kale salad.

Finally, drizzle with a slice of lemon and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This salad makes a great side to many dishes. I have eaten it with saucy chickpeas and rice, black bean burgers, and even falafel. Below I made a fancy salad where I layered spinach, salad greens, and simple kale salad as the base. Next I added local tomatos, chips, hummus, and topped it off with vinaigrette.

 

 

Monster Salad

Another winner from Fran’s House of Ayurveda, I love this hot version of a summer salad!

Ingredients:

1 bagful of green beans, yellow beans or string beans, ends trimmed
2 red peppers, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced in crescents
10-15 new or baby potatoes, halved (or larger potato, cubed)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

3 cloves garlic, grated or minced
lemon juice
1/4 cup sunflower oil or any other cooking oil
1 tsp each ground cumin and ground coriander
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste

Steam the green beans then the potatoes until tender-crisp, so not quite cooked all the way. Then, in a large pan or wok, heat some oil and saute the raw onion slices (not pre-steamed) until soft. Add the garlic, cumin and coriander and stir a bit, then add the steamed veggies and chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper while sauteing for a few minutes. Serve hot sprinkled with cilantro and a big squeeze of lemon juice!

Click here for the cold version.

Recipe From: Fran’s House of Ayurveda

Sesame Bok Choy

This sweet grilled salad makes a great side dish and reminds me of my days in Taiwan.  I adapted it from the Microwave Gourmet, a cookbook my grandmother was excited about.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Oriental sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
ribs from 2 bunches of bok choy (preferably baby bok choy), chopped
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tsp sugar

Combine oil and seeds in sauce pan and heat until seeds brown.  Add bok choy.  Cover and simmer until bok choy is tender.  Add mirin and sugar and stir until all the bok choy is well covered.  Serve and enjoy:)

Broccoli Bean Salad

This recipe was inspired by the Broccoli Raab Salad in Veg. Times. It is a surprisingly filling meal.

Serves: 2-4 (depending on how much you each eat!)

Ingredients:
1 kabucha squash
nutmeg
garlic powder
onion powder
black pepper
salt
turmeric
2 heads of Broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
1 15 ounce can of great northern white beans
2 tomatoes, chopped or whole cherry tomatoes
2 ears of corn
1 tsp pepper flakes

Make squash sticks from kabucha squash.

Heat 2 Tbs. oil in wok over medium-high heat. Saute garlic until it sizzles then add broccoli and red pepper flakes. Season with salt, and saute 5-7 minutes or until broccoli seems cooked. Transfer to bowl.

Add remaining 1 Tbs. oil to wok. Add tomatoes, and cook for a few minutes. Add white beans and cook until warm.

Add white bean + tomato to broccoli and add the fresh corn. Toss and serve. Sprinkle kabucha strips on top, and enjoy:)

Cucumber Side Salad

Ingredients:
sliced cucumbers
red onion
white pepper
salt
agave nectar
apple cider vinegar

Combine cucumbers and onions in a bowl.

Mix apple cider vinegar, agave nectar, salt and pepper to taste. drizzle over cucumbers and onions. Toss and Serve.

recipe from: Stacey Bevans

White Bean Salad

Ingredients:
2 cans cannellini beans
1/2 cup basil, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
salt
pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced

In a large bowl combine beans, basil, and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil and garlic in skillet until fragrant (about 3 minutes). Pour oil over bean mixture. Let sit in fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

recipe from: Anne Griffin

Brown Rice and Hempseed Salad

This recipe comes from Delicious Living March 2008, and is supposed to be posted online here. It seems to be missing a few things, so I will repost it.

Serves 2. Hempseed delivers good fats, which reduce inflammation and fuel the brain. Raw parsley, carrots, onions, and lime juice add fiber and vitamins with live enzymes – plus a zingy taste. You’ll feel very clean after you’ve eaten this. follow with a hot cup of detox tea if you like.

time = 27 minutes

Ingredients:

1cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup shelled hempseed
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 cup grated carrots
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed between your fingers
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or dried Aleppo pepper
2/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ssea salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients; toss and serve.

Per Serving: 467 cal, 40% fat cal, 22g fat, 2gsat fat, 0mg chol, 15g protein, 57g carb, 6g fiber, 357mg sodium.

Maple Dressing

Ingredients:
2 parts olive oil
1 part balsamic vinegar
1/2 part maple syrup (real maple syrup, not pancake syrup)
salt
garlic powder
curry
black pepper

Put ingredients together in a bottle and shake vigorously. Serve with salad.

recipe from: Jack Kling

Green Bean and Asparagus Salad

Another wonderful hearty salad from Fran’s House of Ayurveda. When I made this I used thinly sliced almonds instead of pine nuts, since I don’t really like pine nuts (not suprising from a pitta/kapha).

Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing

2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 cup olive oil
1 small bunch cilantro
1 clove garlic
2 green onions
salt and pepper, to taste

mix together and serve with salad.

recipe from: Carynne Mclver