Spring is Sprung

It's hard to believe that April is nearly over. The lovely warm showers are already beginning to give way to some early flowers. People have been out and about on bikes and skateboards, taking walks and picnicking in parks (and up mountains!). I've been so busy lately... well, I just haven't had time to cook. So that begs the question, as a new food blogger, what the heck do I write about?

Last week I made a post about my unabashed love of chocolate. I decided to counter balance that this week with my not-so-subtle enthusiasm for salads. Don't worry... this will be fun!

As a kid, I didn't eat many salads. I don't mean I didn't eat salads frequently. I did. My parents taught me that vegetables, in general, are a good thing and should be eaten from time to time. I ate salads a couple of times a week with my dinner, and I never disliked them. I just never got very excited about them either. When I say I didn't eat many salads, what I mean is that I seemed to eat the same salad over and over again.

It was a good salad; a basic salad. It generally started with iceberg lettuce, then I added broccoli florets, mushrooms, black olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, croutons, and ranch dressing. I'm relatively sure that this is what most people think of when they hear the word salad. There's nothing wrong with this salad, and as an adult I still enjoy it from time to time.

See?! It's pretty good!

But this is not the kind of thing that makes me leap to my feet with excitement. This isn't the kind of thing I crave all day long. This is what I eat, when I don't feel particularly creative.

Creativity can strike at any moment. Sometimes I will pass by a fancy restaurant and see something delicious out of the corner of my eye. I can overhear somebody mention something that they had, or read about a customary dish in a foreign country. Sometimes I will pick up a new ingredient I've never used before, and sometimes I'm trying to use up things that I already have on hand. In any case, I become absolutely obsessed with my new idea and cannot wait to go home and try it out. Most of the time, I am not disappointed and I'm even pleasantly surprised to discover new flavor profiles that I'd never tried before. The best thing is that when you experiment with salad, you are always doing yourself a favor. Salads are so good for you!

So here are just a handful of my favorite salads.

Fruity salads are very popular right now. There's something about the sweetness of  fresh fruits and the tartness of a good vinaigrette that just screams "spring is here!" I love to start with crunchy romaine lettuce and pile on whatever fruit I have in the fridge; in this case strawberries, mandarin oranges, and red grapes. You can get crazy with your vinaigrette, but this one is simply lemon juice and olive oil with a pinch of honey, salt and pepper. Then I sprinkled this with shredded coconut and toasted, slivered almonds. This is perfection!


Note: I know that most vegans would abstain from eating honey, and I respect anybody that does. I, however, do use honey. It is my one non-vegan item and some time I will write more about it; but not now. Just substitute agave, maple syrup or stevia for a completely vegan salad.

 I use a lot of fruit in my salads, but that does not mean they are not entirely unique. This one has a definite Asian flair and brings the beauty of probiotics and extra protein to an already healthy spinach salad.

I used to call this one Asian Orange Salad, but I dropped the moniker because I didn't want it to sound like I was feeding anyone a deadly herbicide with their greens. So maybe I'll just call this one delicious?! Spinach and red cabbage are mixed with shredded carrots, cranberries, mandarin oranges, edamame, and toasted sesame seeds with an orange miso dressing.


Orange Miso Dressing

1/2 c. orange juice
1/4 c. sweet white miso paste
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. liquid amino acids (or gluten free, low sodium soy sauce or tamari)
2 tsp. sweetener (honey, agave, brown rice syrup, or a little less stevia would work well)
1 clove raw garlic

1. Blend all ingredients really well in a blender.

2. Thin with a little water if necessary.

3. Keep this in the fridge for a week or 2.

Yeilds: 3 or 4 servings.


My inspiration for my Spring Salad came from my favorite springy vegetables. Mixed greens with shaved fennel, radishes, beets, shelled peas, and pea shoots with toasted sunflower seeds and honey mustard vinaigrette. It is a wonderful base recipe that can be made into a dozen other recipes. The honey mustard vinaigrette has 3 ingredients; about equal parts dijon mustard, honey and apple cider vinegar thinned with a little water to make it pourable.

Yet another simple salad, but perfectly balanced with a summery menu. All of the flavor comes from my roasted red pepper vinaigrette. I mix together some peppery greens, shredded carrots, cucumber, tomato, red pepper, black olives and toasted sunflower seeds. Then I blend together 1 roasted red pepper and some herbs into my honey mustard vinaigrette. It's that simple.


I call this one my Blushing Greens Salad because it is so pink and pretty. I use spinach, shredded red cabbage, shredded carrots, diced cucumber, diced avocado, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds and grapefruit segments with a grapefruit dijon vinaigrette. For the vinaigrette, just add a splash of grapefruit juice in place of vinegar to my recipe for honey mustard vinaigrette.


Now it's time to quickly touch on my personal favorite green leafy vegetable. Kale! Oh, how I love kale! It is so very delicious and so very healthy. I blend it into smoothies. I juice it. I turn it into chips. I cook it with lots of garlic for a side dish or put it into my pasta dishes and soups. But lets not forget the ever popular massaged kale salads. These have been gaining momentum in the last year or 2, thanks mostly to the "whole foods" movement. I was originally scared to try and averse to doing something so utterly trendy. But I eventually gave it a fair chance, and it turns out they are neither scary nor too trendy.

Kale, on it's own, is much to stiff and crunchy to eat raw in a salad. You'd be chewing all day long! But if you make a yummy dressing and "massage" it into the stiff leaves, it will soften and wilt for you. This will make a beautiful, tender salad green. Here are just a couple of my favorite kale salads.

This is just my favorite honey mustard vinaigrette massaged into a pile of kale leaves with roasted beets, roasted butternut squash, cranberries, shelled peas, pea shoots, and pumpkin seeds. It is an incredible salad for spring or fall and is considerably more hearty given the density of the massaged kale leaves and chewy texture of the squash.

I debated weather or not to share this salad. It is absolutely the craziest combination of ingredients I've ever assembled. I actually refer to this as my Kooky Krauty Kale Salad. It is kooky, but last fall I became obsessed with this salad and couldn't get enough of it. So here it is.




I blend a small amount of tahini into my honey mustard vinaigrette, then massage it into the kale. Toss in some fresh, raw sauerkraut. I will post my recipe for this some time in the future. Add chopped celery, mandarin oranges, purple and golden raisins, and toasted sunflower seeds. This salad is altogether light and hearty, sweet and sour, crunchy and creamy. It's awesome!

So there you are! That's a whole bunch of different and somewhat unusual salads to try this spring. None of them are particularly difficult to make and all of them will give you all of the energy you need to get outside and play in the sunshine. I'm looking forward to planting my vertical garden and I know that I will be enjoying some serious hiking, biking, and kayaking this summer. Who knows? There may even be a bit of mountain climbing, spelunking, and road trips coming up. But I'll keep you posted on that. I hope you have a fantastic May, try something new, and make my salads!

Peace!
 - Ali