Quinoa Salad with Pears, Baby Spinach and Chick Peas in a Maple Vinaigrette

Quinoa salad with pears, chick peas and baby spinach.

If you're looking for a fresh idea to liven up your ho-hum salad plate, Babycakes, have I got a recipe for you. Light, vegan, and packed with protein, this is no ordinary bunny food. It's got teeth- er, I mean, quinoa. Studded with nutty, buttery chick peas and crunchy toasted pecans and succulent jewels of ripe, juicy pears. And did I mention, in a bowl licking maple vinaigrette?

In fact, this is a salad even salad haters would eat. You know, those stalwart gotta have my meat and potatoes aficionados who eschew anything leafy. Who snicker at fiber. And mock carrot sticks. The sort of individual who gets misty eyed for melted butter and bacon martinis. To said individuals, salad could never be anything but rabbit chow. But this lovely mélange of flavors just might pique their interest. The sheer luxurious deliciousness of these autumnal flavors might coax them into flirting with bunny food goodness. Just this once. Then- who knows what could happen? They might settle in, fork poised, all dubious and dreaming of rib eye. They might take a bite. And then another. And another. And before you can say blueberry pancakes on a stick- they might actually smack their lips and grin and hold out their empty plate for more.

And you.

You could smile back, sly and slow, as you reach for the serving spoon to comply with their new found desire.

And feed their craving.


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5 Gluten-Free Potato Salad Recipes

Gluten-Free Vegan Potato Salad - Simplicity

I am thinking of you. As I pack. Folding linens into squares (next to impossible with fitted sheets). Wrestling with rebellious hangers. Cradling white soup plates in sheets of recycled paper. Boxing and taping and labeling our material life once again. Our seven year journey westward now migrating east. Back to the Cape.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Where we first met.

Where we first touched, shaking hands goodbye at the end of a six week painting class (it would take you two and a half years to call me and invite me for coffee).

Where I raked up a post-hurricane marriage and as I sorted through tree limbs and debris saw the biggest rainbow curve high above the destruction.

Where I set up my freedom cottage as a single mother, living in 350 square feet by wits and faith.

Where I learned to trust my instincts. And snip free the soft lies agreed upon.

Where you finally did call.

Where we began our marriage. Our life as parents. Best friends. Lovers. Painters.

Where I most feel at home. By the New England sea.

Returning. With sand in my shoes that I never shook free.

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Quinoa Salad with Blueberries, Strawberries and Watermelon

A summer quinoa salad studded with fresh, ripe fruit.

I cook sparingly in the heat of summer. And only if I absolutely have to. It's one of the perks of being a grown up- and post empty nest. We cook if we feel like it. And if we don't? We grab some baby spinach and chard, frisee and herbs and make a salad. We like to keep things simple.

That's no surprise to you, I'm sure.

I don't exactly do elaborate. We don't go for complicated around here. And goddess knows, we don't do formal. If we can toss together a bowl of fresh salad greens and herbs, and add some quickly cooked protein to make a meal of it, we're content. We might add strips of organic free-range chicken grilled with lemon and black pepper. Or a piece of wild salmon broiled with a touch of agave and lime. Perhaps an organic boiled egg. Or two. If we're lucky, some leftover cooked quinoa.

Dinner in a flash.

Quintessential summer.

So today's post (and recipe) is a nod to the natural marriage of summer and simplicity. Get out of the house. Step away from the screen.

Disconnect.

Reconnect.


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Pea Salad

Remember how I love Pasta?

Remember how I love Bacon?

This salad has both. 

And peas for the health factor.

Ingredients

1 C. elbow macaroni, cooked

3 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

1/2 C. green onion, chopped

2 C. frozen peas, thawed

1 C. mayonnaise

1/2 C. shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

• In a bowl, combine macaroni, bacon, green onions, and peas. 
• Stir in mayonnaise; cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
•  Sprinkle with cheese just before serving. Serves 4 to 6.

Note: I used half mayo and half Miracle Whip. I like the tang. Also, I saved some bacon and sprinkled it on just before serving so it would be crispy on top.

This yummy recipe comes from Gooseberry Patch's 101 Farmhouse Favorites cookbook. 

It absolutely fits right into our kitchen. It is full of tasty farmhouse favorites like Fried Green Tomato Biscuits, Chocolate-Raspberry Brownies, Gooseberry Conserve, Farmhouse Pot Roast, and Quick Picnic Pickles to name a few.

Would you like a copy? 

I knew it.

Just use the Rafflecopter below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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15 Salad Recipes

May is National Salad Month. How fitting since it's Spring and everyone is wanting to slim down for bathing suit season as well as eating all the fresh food that is coming in season. 

I've rounded up 20 great salad recipes for you to help you eat healthy but also enjoy it!

{Click on the photos for the recipes}

Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad

Pulled Pork Enchilada Salad

Spicy Barbecue Chicken Salad

Copycat KFC Coleslaw

Blackberry Feta Salad

Chicken Fajita Southwest Salad

All-Spiced Up Raspberry and Mushroom Salad

Refreshing Colorful Salad

Chopped Tropical Chicken & Mango Salad

Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad

Cantaloupe and Cucumber Salad

Pizza Salad

Veggie Salad in Jars

The Perfect Salad

Mediterranean Greek Salad

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Lemon Infused Gluten-Free Pasta Salad with Grilled Asparagus and Herbs

A light, lemony vegan pasta salad. Gluten-free.

Lemon Pasta Salad for Summer

To speak about something as prosaic as pasta salad seems downright ho-hum. I mean. It's just a pasta salad. It's something I tossed together with stuff I had on hand. I hadn't planned on it. I didn't spend days contemplating the ins and outs and quirks of gluten-free brown rice penne. In fact, if I'm being unabashedly honest here I rarely think about food at all.

Until I'm hungry.


Until those familiar, nagging pangs begin gnawing their pesky little way into my consciousness, distracting me from my preferred, visual nomenclature- which rarely includes anything edible.

I daydream about paint, the plight of bees, and Clint Mansell's score for Moon. I notice the temperature of light and the curve of negative space against a jar of old spoons. I think about expectations and illusions and perceptions. I ponder where my soul is taking me, tugging at me to pay attention to my life, inviting me through dreams and the random snippets of music or ideas or theories that skitter and skate and ripple the mental stream I wade in day after day, to consider time itself- if I believe in it- sliding by in a cool constant flow of now.

I rarely eat breakfast. I often forget lunch. And dinner time always surprises me. As if each day takes figuring out all over again how to live (to paraphrase the Deadwood Zen master David Milch).

This doesn't mean I don't appreciate good food. Or that I hate to cook (well, some days I am less than enthusiastic). I loathe junk food and processed food. I can't take credit for this- it's simply the way I'm built, the way my body so pointedly rejects any easy, packaged fix.

Even before I discovered gluten intolerance and FODMAPs I knew on some instinctual level that in order to keep this body of mine healthy and strong for the here and now I have to pay it some attention. I know I have to eat. And eat consciously.

And so I find myself rummaging in the little white painted cupboard that is my pantry.

And I find a box of brown rice penne.

In the fridge I locate a fistful of spring asparagus.

One lemon.

A few sprigs of dill, marjoram, parsley and mint.

The rest is history.

Now in my belly.

Fuel for instigating thoughts of rebirth, fragility, and the particular pink that is ranunculus.


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Mandarin Orange Jello Salad

This salad is one of my family's favorites. It is a combo of Jello and pudding and has a delicious creamy texture to it. It isn't made with cottage cheese, even though the photos seem to make it look like it is. It's just the Jello that didn't get all the way mixed in since I let it set a little too long before mixing in the Cool Whip. 

If you make this, be sure to double it for more that 8 people because you will need it. It is always one of the first things to run out at potluck dinners. I first posted it here and have hated that photo ever since. Now I have a much prettier picture to share with you.

Printable Version

Ingredients

1 large package (6 oz) orange Jell-o 

3 C. water

1 large package (5.1 oz) Cook and Serve Vanilla pudding mix

2 small cans or 1 large can mandarin oranges, drained

1 pint whipping cream, whipped or 1 (8 oz.) Cool Whip

Directions

• Stir together in a saucepan the pudding mix and water. 
• Stir in the Jell-o and cook till slightly thickened. 
• Place in a large bowl and refrigerate until thickened, but not set. 
• Add whipped cream or Cool Whip. 
• Fold in mandarin oranges. 
• Refrigerate until set.

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Quinoa Salad with Baby Spinach and Grape Tomatoes

Quinoa salad with baby spinach and tomatoes.

Quinoa + Spinach = Salad Days

Here is a wonderful year-round salad that is inviting, fresh and vibrant. The sort of salad a certain individual needs on a damp, late winter day when the sky is paper white and the clouds are thick with snow. On a day such as this it is tempting to head straight for comfort food. That leftover Kicked Up Baked Mac 'n Cheese in the fridge. That wedge of Roasted Vegetable Kugel. But what the body craves may- or may not be- what the body needs.

I'm just saying.

I'm no expert on cravings. But I do know that if I make a habit of indulging every gnawing whim and urge that wiggles its way into my sun deprived brain I'd munch Blueberry Crumb Cake for breakfast and eat Horseradish Spiked Red Potato Salad every noon hour from now till the Vernal Equinox (a serotonin-boosting strategy not recommended, by the way, for those of us past a certain age where you can pack on voluptuous pounds faster that you can say blueberry pancakes on a stick).

It also doesn't help that yours truly sports three honkin' titanium screws in the left hip joint, curtailing one's enthusiasm for certain popular aerobic routines. Maybe if I Zumbaed I'd still fit into my summer winter jeans. As of last week there's not a pair of jeans in the house I can riggle into. [And by the way, why do doctors insist on referring to hip screws as pins, embroidering knitting group safe visions of a petite and delicate procedure that in no way involved a couple of workbench sized clamps and a battery operated power drill?]

All I can say is thank goddess for black leggings. Paired with a tunic top they hide a multitude of muffins.

And cake.

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Kale Salad with Quinoa, Tangerines and Roasted Almonds

Kale salad with tangerines, quinoa, and almonds.

My Kale Crush

Something has frozen over. Or maybe pigs are flying. I actually, um, like kale. After all my mocking, my nose crinkling, my eye rolling. After tweeting disparagingly about the taste of this dark leafy green (I believe the word I used was swampy). Behold. I am converted. I have seen the light.

The turning point? Lacinato kale (also called Tuscan black kale, or dinosaur kale). The long, slender leaves are delightfully un-swamp like. And unlike many good-for-you greens, there is little bitterness to harsh your mellow. Lacinato (like its curly kale cousin) does benefit from massage- especially in silky extra virgin olive oil.

But then Darling- what doesn't?

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Warm Winter Salad with Roasted Banana Squash and New Potatoes

Roasted fingerlings, new potatoes and winter squash on baby salad greens.

After a long and restless night I am pondering potato salad and glitter. Sleep deprivation may be less than pleasant but it often breaks loose the inertia of stalled imagination (who among us has the power of will to maintain the status quo of the literal linear world after a scant teaspoon of sleep?). In my experience it is not prudent to ignore gifts of associative flight and whimsy. If one begins threading fingerling potatoes with the sequins of burlesque I say, go for it.

You never know when such a spinning, sparkling muse will visit again.

It all started with a documentary (on Showtime last night) about the seventies balladeer Paul Williams- a touching story of fame, hunger, redemption and purpose (titled Paul Williams Still Alive because the documentarian had assumed he was dead) that- almost by accident- reveals Paul's award-garnering talent for writing sweet and soulful songs was never balm enough for his childhood wounds. Like so many artists snagged in the media-fueled web of fame + addiction, Paul's appetite for approval trumped all (imagine the tune-smith who wrote Rainbow Connection in an absurdly surreal TV shoot out with sexy Police Woman, Angie Dickinson). Until he got sober.

And redefined success on his own terms.

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Cookies N' Fruit Pudding Salad

Remember this fruit dip?

Well this salad reminds me of it.

Only I used vanilla pudding in the salad, instead of White Chocolate pudding.

And this salad has cookies in it.

So they are not totally alike, but they are both totally amazing and totally addicting.

PrintableVersion

Ingredients

1 (5.1 oz) box Instant Vanilla Pudding

2 C. buttermilk

12 oz. Cool Whip

fruit of your choice (apples, grapes, bananas, etc.) cut up.

Shortbread Fudge Striped Cookies

Directions

• In a bowl, mix together the pudding mix and buttermilk till smooth and thickened. 
• Fold in the Cool Whip. 
• Add the fruit you are using; refrigerate until ready to serve.
•  Cut up the cookies and add them to the mix just before serving.

Note: I wait until right before serving to add the bananas and cookies so the bananas don't go brown and the cookies don't get soggy. If I am making this just for us at home, I don't add the cookies and bananas at all. I add it as we eat the salad so they don't sit in the fridge and get brown or soggy.

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