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.

Kale and Sprout Salad with roasted sweet chili sesame almonds

There are a view farmers markets that sell sprouts here in Toronto, I prefer Brick works and Leslieville markets on the weekends.  You can also but them at health food stores.  This salad was light and refreshing.  The almonds were incredible.  It sounds like some work however it was worth the flavour.         I was lucky to have fresh yellow beans and green beans from my mom's garden and tomatoes from her garden.

Sweet Chili Sesame Almonds

-1/4 cup almonds
-3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
-2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
-2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

In a frying pan on medium heat, add almonds and allow to warm up, drizzle with the sweet chili sauce and allow it to coat the almonds and to cook down until sticky and all the liquid is absorbed.  Then drizzle with the maple syrup and add the sesame seeds so that they stick to the almonds.  Place in a bowl and allow to cool.

Salad

-1 cup kale
-a handful of other lettuce (I used a spring mix)
-cucumber
-a handful of fresh yellow and green beans
-1 cup of fresh sprouts
-1 carrot chopped
-1/2 small onion

Mix together.  Top with the roasted almonds and mix in olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste.  May top with tomatoes too and add a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Spicy Summer veggies pan fried

This was incredible and contained local ingredients in season.

T's Spicy Summer Veggies

-1 small chopped onion
-1/2 red pepper sliced 
-2 handfuls green beans tips removed
-1 medium carrot chopped
-1 small zuchinni sliced like coins
-olive oil (1 tablespoon)
-1/2 tablespoon butter
-pinch salt
-pinch of pepper
-1/2 tablespoon Chilli Powder
-grated Danish Fontana Cheese (1/4 cup)

In a small frying pan combine oil and butter then add all veggies.  Stir fry for about ten minutes and stirring occasionally.  When the zucchinni start to brown add a pinch of salt and pepper and sprinkle with Chilli powder.  Continue to stir for a few more minutes.  Then add the grated Fontana cheese over top.  Once melted serve.

Green Bean and pomegranate salad

This is another dish I made while we were away in the great Canadian North.  We had no spices, no oil and this was made of whatever we had in the cabin


Green Bean and Pomegranate Salad


-1-2 cups green beans washed, boiled, trimmed and cut
-1/2 purple onion
-1/2 pomegranate
-juice of 1-2 limes
-butter
-salt and pepper

Wash, cut and trim green beans and then boil in pot for a few minutes.  Top with some butter and set aside to cool.  In a bowl combine green beans, onion, pomegranate and add the juice of the lime.  Salt and pepper to taste.  The lime and pomegranate adds such a freshness.  You can substitute olive oil for butter.