Fresh From the Garden Salad with Feta Cheese and a tangy dressing

My parents have an incredible garden in their backyard, this week my Mom gave me cucumbers, yellow and green beans, beets, and yellow cherry tomatoes.  Fresh vegetables are so incredible and packed with nutrients lost in travel.  So my salad is inspired by the freshness shared with me

Fresh From the Garden Salad with Feta Cheese
serves 4
Prep time 15 minutes

-1 cup fresh raw green and yellow beans, washed and sliced into bite size pieces
-1 small purple onion chopped
-1 cup of fresh cherry tomatoes (yellow, red etc) sliced in half
-1 cup fresh cucumber sliced
-2 tablespoons hemp seeds
-1/4 cup sun flower seeds
- Feta cheese crumbled

-Combine the veggies in a bowl, add the hemp seeds and sunflower seeds and top with feta cheese.  Serve with salad dressing.

Tangy Dressing

-2/3 cup avocado oil
-1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
-pepper
-juice of half a lemon
-1 teaspoon smoked mustard

Mix all together and taste.  Add some maple syrup if to tangy or honey.

Quinoa Salad

I am a full time Registered Nurse, a single Mother to my two daughters and a part time student in University   Today I was spending the day writing a paper and forgot to take out dinner, and I really do not have much in the house tonight.  So, what to do?  Create!

Quinoa Salad

-2 cups or water or broth
-2 cups dried quinoa
-salt

-1 large carrot chopped
-1 rib of celery chopped
-1 apple in chunks
-cucumber sliced
-1/2 an onion
-1/2 cup pan fried almonds
-1/4 cup of raw sesame seeds pan fried
-1/4 cup dried cranberries
-1 tablespoon tamari soya saue
-pepper
-the juice of 1 lemon
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-1/2 cup olive oil

Chop the ingredients, pan fry the almonds and sesame seeds, I have both the regular and black sesame seeds.  Place all the ingredients in a bowl waiting for the qunioa and almonds to cook.  Boil the 2 cups of water, then add the quinoa and boil on low for about 15 minutes, remove from heat and then poor into the bowl with all the ingredients, mix and add the almonds and sesame seeds.  Then taste, you may want to add more oil or balsamic vinegar.  Add some fresh pepper.

Sprout Salad with Peanut Lime sesame dressing

I was clearing out my fridge and made this salad so it was odds and ends.  However incredible taste and a diverse nutritious salad.

Sprout Salad with Peanut Lime Sesame Dressing

-1/2 a container sprouts
-1 avocado cubed
-pea shoots
-kale
-1 large tomato chopped and lightly coated in salad and pepper
-cucumber chopped
-1/2 red pepper chopped
-1/4 cup blanched almonds dry roasted
-sesame seeds roasted

In a frying pan at medium heat add the almonds and start to brown them after about 5 minutes add the sesame seeds, watch well so that they don't burn.  Once nicely brown set aside to cool.  Mix the salad together and add the almonds and sesame seeds.

Peanut Lime Sesame Dressing

-2 tablespoons sesame oil
-juice of 3 limes
-2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter
-1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
-soy sauce a few dashes
-pepper
-1 tablespoon maple syrup

mix all together.  It makes a thick dressing that is so tasty

Candied Roasted Almond, Sunflower, Sesame seed and Brown Rice Salad

I made this incredible salad today.  I was using up brown rice from last night and was wanting to make a salad.  Each bite was exciting and different and all flavours blended so well.  It may sound like a weird combination however it was exciting!  Also it sounds like a lot of work, it really wasn't...took about 15 minutes to make.

Candied roasted almond, sunflower, sesame seed and Rice Salad.

-1/2 cup blanched almonds

-1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
-1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
-1/4 cup black raw sesame seeds
-2 tablespoons brown sugar
-1/4 cup red or white wine


-2 cups cooked brown rice
-1/2 granny smith apple chopped
-1/2 onion chopped
-1/4 cup pine nuts
-1/4 cup craisins
-1/4 cucumber
-a handful of pea shoots
-salt and pepper
-olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste

-1 medium tomato chopped
-pinch of salt and pepper

On medium heat, add almonds and dry roast after a few minutes add the sunflower seeds and sesame seeds.  Continue to roast.  When they have become browned, add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of wine.  Stir and when all coated set aside to cool.

Mix together the rice, onion, granny smith apple, pine nuts, craisins, and cucumber together.  Leave the tomatoes aside as they make the salad soggy, top salad with the tomatoes.  When the seeds have cooled add them.  The pour olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste.  mix well.

Tomato salad

Last night I used up the rest of the heirloom tomatoes from the market. 


Tomato Salad

-2 large heirloom tomatoes chopped, salted and peppered
-small bunch of kale chopped
-1 small onion chopped
-half a cucumber chopped (from my mom's garden)
-small amount of Romaine lettuce chopped
-gouda cheese shaved
-3 tablespoons good quality olive oil
-1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Serves 4.  Mix all together and serve.  This is not a salad to make before hand.  I just pour the olive oil and balsamic right on the salad and mix.  So delicious with those shaved chunks of Gouda.