Tomato Salad with Crushed Croutons

Hi, friends. It’s been awhile since we’ve talked.  I’ve missed you.  I don’t like to go so long between posts, but I’ve been off having adventures.  Ok, not really… I’ve been dealing with some medical junk and recovery has left me a bit lacking in motivation to write – or do just about anything else.  At least I left you with a nice recipe to look at for the last couple of weeks though, right?  I mean those French Dip Sandwiches rocked.  In fact, I kind of wish I had one right now, and it’s only 10:30 in the morning.

And I’m on the mend, which means good things are coming your way.  I haven’t been cooking much lately, but I’ve got a ridiculous backlog of recipes waiting to be shared.  I’d hoped to post today’s recipe while it was still warm outside, but life happens.  I know you get that.  And maybe it’s still warm where you live.  We’ve got that fantastic warm during the day and cold at night thing going on right now.  It’s my favorite weather of the year – the kind where you can wear short sleeves during the day and burrow under blankets and sleep with the windows open at night.

Since fall is clearly cruising into town, today’s recipe is likely going to be my final ode to summer.  I think it’s an appropriate choice, too, since nothing says summer as much as tomatoes, and in this recipe, tomatoes are the star.  Ripe, juicy, sweet, and tangy tomatoes.  Lightly dressed with a simple red wine vinaigrette.  Topped with crunchy, cheesy, garlicky, salty, homemade croutons.  This recipe is brilliant.  And I am certain I will be thinking about it until tomato season rolls around next year.  If you are lucky enough to live somewhere where tomatoes are still in season, get them while you can, and try them topped with some crunchy, crushed crouton goodness.

Shaved Summer Squash Salad

Last night I tried a new salad recipe.  It rocked my world.  It was so good I’m making it again tonight.  In fact, I might make it every night for the rest of the summer.  Ok, perhaps not every night, but definitely often.  Because this salad is summer in a bowl (or on a plate).  It combines some of my absolute favorite flavors and tosses them all together in one glorious heap.  It’s fast, fresh, and seasonal.  And man, oh man, it is so delicious.

This Shaved Summer Squash Salad combines thin ribbons of fresh, raw zucchini and yellow squash with a bright, lemony dressing.  Bitter arugula, sharp Pecorino cheese, and crunchy toasted almonds add flavor and texture.  The recipe makes four servings, but Stan and I polished off the entire bowl.  In fact, I had to fight him for seconds – he liked this salad so much he wanted three servings.  Considering he’s a serious meat and potatoes kind of guy, I think that’s just about the highest praise there is.

Healthy Recipes to Kick Off the New Year

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful New Year’s Eve with friends and family and have kicked off 2011 with a bang. We stayed in to ring in the New Year this year, and celebrated with friends, an enormous meal, and a whole lot of celebratory libations. After all of that revelry, Stan and I are feeling the need for some healthier meals and a little more exercise in our lives. While neither of us are big on New Year’s resolutions, eating better and moving more are certainly tops on many people’s lists for this time of year. So, in honor of those, like us, who need some holiday detox, or are trying to make good on healthy resolutions, today’s post features recipes that can help you cook your way to a healthier new year.

Soups and stews are always good in January, heating you up without filling you out. Here are some delicious, belly-warming options... (Just click on the recipe titles to link to the original posts!)

Coconut Curry Noodle Soup

Island Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

 Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup

Tortellini Soup

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Chickpea and Kale Stew

Chicken Posole

Spicy Squash Salad with Lentils and Goat Cheese

Me thinks it’s time for something a little bit healthier. Not that there’s anything wrong with cakes and cookies, but I figure we all need a few deliciously healthy recipes to balance out our seasonal indulgences. You know, so we can fit into something besides our seasonal sweatpants.

Today’s salad is the perfect way to lighten up your fall cooking. It’s an addictive combination of smoky, spiced butternut squash, hearty French green lentils, creamy goat cheese, peppery arugula, and crunchy pumpkin seeds. The flavors, colors, and textures balance each other beautifully and will leave you marveling over how just a few ingredients can come together to make something so incredibly tasty. Filling enough to be served as a vegetarian entrée, this salad would also be a fantastic first course at a dinner party – and maybe Thanksgiving, too.

Peppery Monterey Jack Pasta Salad

I don’t know what the weather’s like where you live, but down here in Nashville, it is beautiful outside. Gone are the days of 100 degree weather and extreme humidity. In their place are clear blue skies and lovely 80 degree days and 60 degree nights. Basically, the weather right now is perfect. And perfect weather demands spending lots of time outside. We’ve been hiking, playing tennis, and selecting restaurants based on their patios. (If you live in the area, the patio at Rosepepper Cantina in East Nashville is one of our warm weather favorites!)

Weather like this is also perfect for cookouts and picnics. Today’s recipe for Peppery Monterey Jack Pasta Salad would be a great addition to any outdoor meal. It’s colorful, flavorful, and easy to put together. You can use any small pasta shape you happen to have in your pantry. I used Israeli couscous because it’s what I had on hand. The little pearls were a fun change from the more commonly used salad pastas. Juicy fresh tomatoes, tangy banana peppers, creamy Monterey Jack cheese, and salty salami and capers round out the dish and make it a fun, different on traditional pasta salad.

Spinach and Black Plum Salad

Recently I have developed a new addiction. Actually, it’s not a new addiction, just a seasonal one. Every summer since I can remember, I develop compulsive fruit-eating behavior. I blame my parents; they always kept the kitchen stocked with every summer fruit you could ever want. Now, when good fruit is in season, I just can’t stop buying and eating it. Maybe it’s less about my parents and more about growing up in Ohio where there is such a short season for delicious summer fruit. It makes you appreciate it more. Regardless, when peaches, plums, cherries, grapes, figs, and so on are available, it’s pretty much a guarantee that I’m meeting my daily fruit requirement… and then some.

The recipe for today’s salad comes from Padma Lakshmi, the ridiculously gorgeous host of television’s Top Chef. When I first saw her on the show several years ago, I was skeptical of her food chops, assuming she got the job based on her looks rather than her culinary prowess. And while I’m sure her looks didn’t hurt, the girl knows her stuff when it comes to food, having developed her palette through years of world travel. Since I’m a fan of the show, I decided to check out her cookbook. This is the first recipe I’ve tried, but since I found it to be incredibly delicious, I will certainly be trying more.

Today’s salad features some unique flavor combinations and is incredibly easy to make. The base of the salad is tender, leafy spinach mixed with torn fresh mint leaves. At first I was unsure about using so much mint in the salad, afraid it would make the salad taste like dessert – or toothpaste. In reality, the mint adds pops of freshness to the salad without being overwhelming at all. Juicy plum slices add sweetness and nicely counter the slightly tart citrus-balsamic dressing. A sprinkle of sea salt just before serving adds a nice crunch and basically ties everything together. All in all, this simple salad is the perfect vehicle for enjoying fresh summer plums… you know, if we’re not talking about including buttery, sugary toppings.

Korean-Style Romaine

Thinking it looked interesting, I cut a Korean-inspired recipe out of the March 2009 issue of Gourmet magazine. And then I filed it away with all of my other interesting looking magazine recipes… where I promptly forgot about it. You see, the problem was, at the time, I had no idea that I liked Korean food. Probably because I’d never tried it. That all changed in the past year, however, thanks to my discovery of an excellent Korean restaurant here in town. And let me tell you, I am happy I found that restaurant and learned that I like Korean food. One, because it is delicious, and two, because it made me remember I had this salad recipe filed away waiting to be tried. And oh, I wish I hadn’t waited so long because this salad is awesome.

Crisp romaine lettuce is tossed with a warm, flavorful dressing that manages to be garlicky, salty, and a little spicy all at once. The heat of the dressing causes the romaine to soften, but it doesn’t wilt into mush the way other lettuces might. Crunchy toasted sesame seeds stick to the dressing, coating the leaves in little bursts of nutty flavor. The flavors in the dressing, combined with the mostly crunchy lettuce, remind me of the flavors and textures of the fresh kimchi I have enjoyed at my favorite Korean restaurant. (One day soon I hope to try making my own kimchi, too!) I served this salad alongside a tofu and vegetable stir fry. It would also be a great, unique dish to serve alongside some grilled chicken or steak, or of course, authentic Korean food.

Watermelon Salad with Feta

Watermelon and feta? Interesting, but weird. That about sums up my thoughts when I first saw a watermelon and feta salad several years ago at Au Bon Pain. I never tried it, but I also never quite forgot about it either. More recently, I have come across many recipes that pair watermelon with surprising savory ingredients. Which of course, made me more clearly remember that watermelon and feta salad from back in the day. And it got me thinking. Watermelon and feta equals sweet and salty. I like sweet and salty combos. I also love both watermelon and feta. Duh, what am I waiting for?

And so I began to look more carefully through some of the watermelon salad recipes that had caught my eye. Today’s salad is the first one I came across. It intrigued me with its use of sweet watermelon, creamy feta, salty olives, crunchy onions, and a simple, mildly spicy dressing. All of those flavors and textures lent themselves well to a delicious and refreshing summer salad. The quick and easy preparation of the salad makes it a great weeknight option that would accompany many entrées nicely, particularly grilled meats. It is also very pretty to look at, so it would be great for entertaining, too.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette

Summer is definitely the season for salads, whether at home or at restaurants. And while I love a good salad, for some reason or another, I rarely order entrée salads when I go out to eat. I tend to veer more towards the hearty fare (hello, pasta) or something more exotic than your average restaurant salad. (Salads with fancy/funky ingredients are another story. They capture my interest big time – as do most things with fancy/funky ingredients.)

I think the main reason I tend to avoid entrée salads at restaurants is because I often feel they are something I could make at home. Problem is, I never actually make them. When planning my weekly menus, it almost never crosses my mind to include a main dish salad. While we do eat salad all the time, it’s never the star of the show.

The other day, however, I came across this recipe for Grilled Chicken Salad with Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette. It got me to thinking. First thought? This looks good! Second thought? I already have almost all of these ingredients. Third thought? It is ridiculously hot outside, and it would be nice to make a dinner that won’t get the house hot. All that thinking ended up with us having salad on the dinner menu this week.

What can I tell you? I may be a dinner salad convert. This salad was a winner. I tweaked the original recipe bit, and the result was refreshing, flavorful, and – important for a salad dinner – filling. Spicy grilled chicken, smoky grilled corn, creamy black beans, fresh cheese, and rich avocado dress up romaine lettuce and make it shine. This is one dinner salad I will be making all summer long.

Raw Kale Salad with Almonds and Cranberries

I’ve told you once or twice about my love of kale. It’s got great color and texture, it’s ridiculously good for you, and it doesn’t break down to nothing when you cook it. But did you know you don’t have to cook it? Until recently, I didn’t. I thought raw kale would be too chewy or fibrous to eat. Toss it with a little acid to soften up the leaves, however, and raw kale makes a deliciously different, nutrition-packed salad green.

For this salad, I combined raw kale with some toasted almonds for crunch and dried cranberries for sweetness. A simple dressing of olive oil and lemon juice gets a touch of sweetness from honey and a touch of heat from a little chili powder. With kale currently overflowing the bins at farmers markets and grocery stores, now is the perfect time to take a walk on the raw side.

Green Bean Salad

Different seasons evoke different feelings for different people. The seasons also tend to dictate the foods we crave. In the fall, I like nothing better than fresh, crisp apples or spicy pumpkin pie. In the winter, hearty soups and stews reign supreme in our kitchen. Spring means sweet strawberries. And summer, summer means salad.

This green bean salad is one of my absolute warm weather favorites. Crisp, crunchy green beans are tossed with juicy, red tomatoes and slivers of fresh red onion. The dressing is simply olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Since there is no mayonnaise or dairy in the salad, it is a perfect choice for picnics and summer barbecues. I can guarantee you we’ll be digging in to this salad all summer long.

Lentil and Bulgur Salad

Vegetables… vitamins… healthy food… please!!

No, this is not an early New Year’s resolution. This is merely what my stomach would be saying, could it actually speak to me. After a week in Ohio visiting the family, not only for Thanksgiving, but for two birthday celebrations, my poor stomach needs a break. I imagine many of you feel the same way. Not that family feasts aren’t fabulous – but there’s definitely a waist-pinching downside to the holiday season.

Enter the mighty salad. Now, don’t worry, this isn’t some little leafy thing, destined to cause your stomach to go into shock from its rapid culinary about-face. This is a hearty, healthy, filling meal on a plate (or bowl). It’s sort of a jazzed up tabouli.

For those of you unfamiliar with tabouli, it is a Middle Eastern salad composed of wheat bulgur, parsley, tomato, lemon juice, olive oil, and a host of other random ingredients. It is light and refreshing, but not particularly filling. This particular recipe includes the basic tabouli ingredients and kicks it up a notch with the addition of some extra veggies, salty feta cheese and olives, and high-protein lentils. You can serve it as an entrée with some pita chips or as a side dish with any number of dishes.