Simple tomato and hearts of palm salad

We went to a goodbye party for a friend last night.  Like many Burlington shindigs, it was a potluck.  I showed up with this salad, which made it one of three tomato-based salads on the table.  

Yes, it's tomato season here in Vermont.

And while we never got around to growing our own veggies this year, we're definitely benefitting from other people's abundance.  We have twice now been graced with overflowing baskets of beautifully colored tomatoes, and I am loving it. 

I'm happy to just cut them up and eat them with a little salt.  Or on a tomato sandwich (the only time you will see me slather mayonnaise onto a slice of bread).  But I really love them as the base for this salad.  

Simple tomato and hearts of palm salad

3-5 ripe tomatoes 
1/4 red onion
1 can hearts of palm, drained
2 tablespoons Newman's Own olive oil and vinegar salad dressing* (or oil and vinegar)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1.  Roughly chop tomatoes, onion, and hearts of palm and toss into a salad bowl.
2.  Whisk together the salad dressing, dijon mustard, honey, salt,  and pepper. 
3.  Pour the dressing over the salad and mix gently until all the vegetables are covered.
4.  Eat!

*I love oil and vinegar-based salad dressings, but I often struggle with getting just the right proportion of oil to vinegar.  While housesitting last month, I discovered this salad dressing in our friend's refrigerator.  I've been hooked ever since.  It has no sugar or other unnecessary ingredients, and it's a great base for my salad dressing concoctions. 


Katie


Interested in guest posting on ktmade? I'm especially looking for folks who would like to submit posts on creative topics, including food, craft, home decor, writing, and craft/life balance for the weeks of September 10-21. Email me at ktmadeblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

Taco Salad: Make Your Own Taco Bowl

When I go out for Mexican food (generally Tex-Mex, actually), my favorite things to order are nachos, burritos, and taco salads.  Nachos and burritos are pretty frequent at home too - they're easy to put together, and we try to keep the ingredients around. 

But a taco salad?

The best part of that is obviously the crispy taco bowl, and the ones you can buy in the store always taste a little stale.  So, for my money, they're not worth it.  And Navah wouldn't be able to eat them anyway since they have white flour and usually high fructose corn syrup or sugar, so that just seems cruel.  

What to do?  I noodled around on the interwebs a bit and found a tutorial here on how to make your own fried taco bowls.  I came across some baked ones as well, but I wasn't sure whether those would really get crispy.  And we love fried things.  

I'm sorry to report that I only have one somewhat sad photo of the process of creating the taco bowls because I started a bit of a grease fire in the process.  Everything is quite alright, and I don't have any great tips for how to not make that happen except that it's probably not a task you'd want to assign to your child.  

Vegetarian Taco Salad with Fried Taco Salad Bowls

Taco salad bowls 

Adapted from Creating Through Life

10 inch flour tortillas (we used whole wheat tortillas)

1 empty can (I used the one from the beans for the salad)

small pot (smaller in diameter than tortillas)

vegetable oil

The one sad process photo.  I had to use the tongs to flip that floppy bit out so it would form a bowl.

1.  I didn't remove mine, but you should probably remove the label off your can and wash and dry it.

2.  In your pot, heat the oil - about 2 inches deep - until it's 375 degrees.  You can, of course, test this with a thermometer, but you can also put the bottom off a wooden spoon in.  If it bubbles, it's ready.

3.  Optional step:  Dip the tortilla for just a second into a pan of water to soften it.  This may be why I started a grease fire, so beware.

4.  Place a tortilla on top of the oil.  Holding the can with the tongs, place it in the center of the tortilla and push the tortilla gently down into the oil.

5.  Hold the can there for about 5 seconds, or until the tortilla shape is set.  Then remove the can and move the tortilla around in the oil with the tongs until it's all as crispy as you'd like.  (Because we only have very tiny or very big pots, my tortilla wouldn't totally fit in the pot, so I did a lot of moving it around afterwards to get all the bits crispy.)

6.  Remove the tortilla with the tongs and place upside down on paper towel to cool.

The Vegetarian Taco Salad Filling

1 can beans (we used kidney, but black beans, or white beans would also work)

1 onion

2 sweet potatoes

2 cups romaine lettuce

1 tomato

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

optional toppings (cheese, avocado, salsa, sour cream, olives, etc)

1.  Put a small pot of water on to boil.

2.  Chop the sweet potatoes into small cubes (about 1/4 thick).  Place in the pot of water and boil until just soft.

3.  While the sweet potatoes are boiling, chop up the onion and place in a frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil.  Cook on medium heat until the onions turn clear.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

4.  Drain the sweet potatoes and add to the onions, along with the can of beans and the chili powder, cumin, and paprika.  

5.  Cook over medium-low to medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

7.  While the bean and potato mixture is cooking, prepare your salad bowls with lettuce, chop up a tomato, and get out any toppings you would like.

8.  Remove the bean and potato mixture from the stove and place a generous spoonful on top of the lettuce in your salad bowl. 

9.  Top with tomatoes and whatever toppings you've chosen.

Enjoy!

Katie 

How to build the perfect meal salad

I'm a salad connoisseur. 

There was a salad on the table with every meal when I was growing up, and I developed a strong appreciation for salad bars very early in my life.  I loved to pile up a plate with a little of this and a little of that until you could hardly see the lettuce for all the "goodies." 

As I got older, I began ordering prepared salads at restaurants instead of perusing the salad bar, and I started to develop a sense of what really worked and what didn't.  When did the salads leave me feeling unsatisfied?  When were they boring?  And when did I stop mid-chew and say, "This salad is perfect"?  

And then finally, I decided that I didn't always want to have to go out for the salad.  Sometimes I wanted to stay in or whip something together for lunch.  A delicious restaurant salad can cost ten bucks (or more), but I can make an awesome meal salad at home that will last four meals with that amount.

So I've created a system of sorts for determining what elements a salad needs in order to be "perfect" and worthy of being the entree.

1.  Your salad base.  This doesn't always have to be lettuce, and certainly not iceberg (though sometimes you might want iceberg - for instance, in a cobb or steak salad).  Try mixing things up with mesclun, arugula, spinach, kale, or cabbage.  If you're afraid of the toughness of raw kale, you can let it marinate a bit in the dressing for an hour or so (or overnight).  Kale and cabbage are both particularly nice as a salad base if you know you're not going to eat it all in one sitting since they don't get soggy from dressing.

2.  Something crunchy.  That can be nuts or seeds, like walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews, sunflower seeds - really anything.  But it could also be tortilla chips or crackers broken into pieces, water chestnuts, chinese noodles, or whatever you enjoy crunching on.  The crunchy factor is, to me, one of the most important - I like the texture variety.

3.  Something sweet.  I'm a big fan of fruit in my salad, though I know some folks who aren't.  And sweet doesn't necessarily mean fruit - for instance, roasted or boiled beets are an excellent sweet addition to a salad, as is a good sweet corn.  But if you're going the simpler sweet route, you can hang out in the realm of apples and pears, mandarin oranges, grapefruit, mango, and dried fruits like raisins or craisins.  There's really no limit.

4.  Something soft.  You might immediately think of cheese, which is certainly a good one here.  But it's not your only option.  These are the things that make your salad a bit creamier and more substantial - good options are cheese, avocado, artichoke hearts, and hearts of palm.  Peas or edamame (soy beans) could be a good option here as well.  You might not generally think of them as creamy, but their soft texture works well.
5.  Some protein.  If you're just having a side salad, then protein doesn't matter all that much, but if your salad is your entree, you want it to have some staying power.  Of course, meat is one of the first things we think of when we think of protein, and that's definitely an option - cut up chicken, turkey, or steak on salads are ubiquitous in restaurant salads for a reason.  But if you're looking for other protein options, you could try beans - like black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans.  Lentils are also delicious, as is quinoa, which I tend to turn to when I want a lighter salad.  It's both a grain and a protein and never feels heavy to me.

6.  Something with bite.  If I don't have this in a salad, I feel jipped.  Onions, garlic scapes, olives - anything that gives a little kick to your flavor profile.  You could also use peppery greens for this, like arugula.

7.  Some veggies.  Last, but not least, the element that we usually think of first thing - veggies.  My salads are not veggie heavy - not because I don't like veggies but because I like to have such a mix of things in there.  Anything you want goes - cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, whatever.

For last night's salad, I wanted something pretty light so I chose these:

A base of kale and mesclun, a cucumber for the veggie, an apple and raisins for the sweet (sometimes I like both a fresh fruit and a dried one), quinoa for the protein, a red onion for bite, walnuts for crunch, and hearts of palm for my soft texture.

Of course, the final step is topping it off with a delicious dressing.  I usually whip up a quick vinaigrette, like this one, with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard and some sweetener - maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar.  Add a dash of salt and pepper, and you have a delicious dressing in about three minutes. 

But you could also go with the always fabulous creamy dill tahini dressing that I love.  Or whatever your favorite dressing is in your cabinet.

My salad was delicious, but there are so many options:

Mexican salad
Base: romaine and iceberg
Crunch: broken up tortilla chips
Sweet: corn
Soft: pepper jack cheese
Protein: black beans
Bite: olives and red onion
Veggie: tomatoes

Powerhouse salad
Base: spinach and kale
Crunch: walnuts
Sweet: apples
Soft: goat cheese
Protein: chickpeas
Bite: red onion
Veggie: carrots and cucumbers

Cobb salad
Base: romaine and iceberg
Crunch: pecans
Sweet: pear
Soft: cheddar cheese
Protein: chicken and bacon crumbles
Bite: onion
Veggie: cucumbers

Summer salad
Base: mesclun and arugula
Crunch: sunflower seeds
Sweet: strawberries
Soft: avocado
Protein: white beans
Bite: red onion
Veggie: cucumbers

Really, the combinations are endless.  So go make a salad!

And tell me how it is.

Katie

Simple Summer Slaw with Honey Vinaigrette

I'm a sucker for an easy summer salad. I hate to turn the oven or the stove on once it gets warm outside, and I'm not really in the mood to eat anything hot anyway. Instead I crave simple, refreshing foods. So salads that can function as a whole meal - especially at lunch time - are one of my main summer staples.

Salads based on cabbage can't be beat on that front because you can put basically anything in them, and they stay fresh much longer than your average garden salad, which can get all sad and wilted in the span of a day.

And, like the creamy quinoa salad I made a couple weeks ago, you can mix in just about anything you have in your fridge, and it'll be delicious. Some of my favorites that didn't make it into this version - hearts of palm, avocado, artichoke hearts, craisins, slivered almonds, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, and apples. There really are no rules for this salad.
I like to make mine with purple cabbage when I have it because it's just so pretty. With a few other colorful veggies thrown in, it's like I'm eating a work of art. In a really good way.

Simple Summer Slaw with Honey Vinaigrette

1/2 head of cabbage
Frozen edamame, thawed
1/2 yellow pepper
1/4 medium red onion
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup raisins

Honey Vinaigrette
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Thinly slice the cabbage and chop up the rest of your veggies.
2.  Throw them all in a bowl together.
3.  Mix together all the ingredients for the honey vinaigrette and pour over the slaw.
4.  Thoroughly mix everything together.

That's it! So easy, eh?

And bonus - it's even better the second day.

Katie

Creamy Quinoa Salad

We've thrown open the windows to let in the warm air and the cool breezes. It feels good, like we're cleaning out the old - the solitude of winter - to make way for the new - communion with birds and flowers, neighbors and friends. 


It's not yet June, but it's summer. 


With the windows up in the living room, our front screened porch has extended our apartment, and we spend as much time in our plastic adirondack chairs as possible. 

I don't want to cook when I get home in the evenings. I want to whip up something refreshing and full of vegetables and eat it on the porch.  

This creamy quinoa salad packs all the nutrients you need into one bowl, and the dill dressing from Oh She Glows is my newest obsession. 


Dill tastes like summer, and I want to eat it on everything. Dishes have become vessels for dill.


This one is less of a recipe and more of an invitation to open the door of your refrigerator and start chopping whatever you find. You can't really go wrong with this salad. 

Creamy Quinoa Salad


2 cups uncooked quinoa
One batch dill dressing from Oh She Glows
Vegetables (I used tomatoes, a yellow pepper, sugar snap peas, edamame, and some arugula as a garnish)
Anything else your heart desires (chickpeas, artichokes, hearts of palm, raisins, almond slivers, sunflower seeds - seriously, go crazy)


1.  Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
2.  Put the cooked quinoa in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes while you chop up the vegetables.
3.  Add the chopped veggies (or other additions) to the quinoa. 
4.  Prepare the dill dressing and mix it thoroughly into the quinoa and vegetables.
5.  Serve! I topped mine with some arugula and feta cheese. Yum!

Katie 

Winter Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

I hated beets growing up.  In fact, I didn't eat a beet of my own volition until I was 28 years old.  It was roasted and served with soft goat cheese.  Not surprisingly, I was hooked.  It's no wonder I didn't want to eat the electric pink pickled ones that my mom served from a can (love you, mom!).  Why would anyone violate a beet in that way?  


Since I discovered the deliciousness of roasted beets, I am completely devoted to them.  On pizza, roasted with other root vegetables, in latkes, and even plain.  But my favorite way to have them is in a salad.  If there's a beet salad on the menu, I'm getting it.


In the past we haven't eaten a lot of salads at our house because Navah's not a huge salad fan, but I'm bringing them back.  And this one's at the top of the list.  It's hearty enough to serve right alongside any winter meal, and it's substantial enough that you could have it on its own.  Drawing from the fruits and veggies that are great this time of year, it's the perfect salad for a winter weekend brunch.   We had ours alongside my vegan tofu scramble for dinner, and I liked it so much I had it again for lunch!


In fact, it was a winner all around.  The non-salad lover said - and I quote - "There's nothing about this salad that's not good."  The power of a double negative, my friends.  I think that says it all.


Winter Salad with Maple Vinaigrette


1 bag mesclun or spring mix
1 white grapefruit
4 small beets
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup toasted pecans (in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350)
crumbled goat cheese (optional - I had, but Navah didn't)


For the dressing:
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon dijon mustard


1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Rinse the beets and then place on top of a piece of foil large enough to fold over and make a sealed foil pack. Drizzle the beets with olive oil and then seal up.  I place my foil pack on a cookie sheet to avoid spills. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes to an hour (check in on them at 30 and see how soft they are. If they need more time, continue checking every 10 minutes or so. Different ovens will vary).
2. Once the beets are cool, the skins should just slip right off. I had to remove some of mine with a peeler.
3. Cut off the peel and pith of the grapefruit, and then slice each section so that you get just the fruit and none of the membrane in between.
4.  Mix the mesclun or spring mix, the quinoa, the beets, the grapefruit sections, and the toasted pecans in a bowl.  Add the crumbled goat cheese if you're using it.
5.  Wisk together (or shake in a mason jar, like I did) the maple syrup, olive oil, water, and dijon mustard.  
6.  Pour the dressing over the salad, toss, serve, and enjoy.


The MVP Award goes to...


This one was hard, and I'm going to have to get all kindergarten teacher up in here and say everyone was a winner.  Sorry for the competitive among you, but the team playing in this one can't be beat.  Each ingredient complements the others so thoroughly that it would be wrong to single out any one.  Everybody gets a trophy!


Have a wonderful weekend!  And let me know if you make the salad.  I love to hear about how these things turn out!

Katie 




This post is linked up at:
Pity Party at Thirty Handmade Days
EBTKS Link Party at A Little Knick Knack
Friday Link Party at Creation Corner
Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now