Salad Season

To pick up where I left off, I owe you a salad recipe, or two. As I mentioned in my last blog post, it has been 90+ degrees here day after day. One major difference between 90 degree days in NC versus 90 degree days in the Northeast is that it doesn't get cold at night, it stays hot and humid, yuck! Between the heat and the fact that it's officially bikini weather, I've declared it Salad Season. I meant to post about my first salad experiment last week, but time flies when you're having fun!

My first salad was a modified version of Jamie Oliver's Evolution Carrot Salad:

I made a few changes, but that's what Jamie's cookbook is all about. In his introduction to the Lovin' Salads section he invites you to experiment with his recipes and shows you how a "simple salad can evolve very easily into something a little sexier". Oh, how I love Jamie Oliver! Here's my version of the salad, the recipe is at the end of this blog post: 

The next salad plate actually stemmed from an over-eager morning at the Farmers' Market this past Saturday. Farm stands were bursting at the seams with delicious spring vegetables, and I found myself snatching up item after item. Once my market bag was full (and my wallet nearly empty), I realized that I had just done a very stupid thing. You see, I'm leaving town Wednesday to visit Cameron and spend the weekend with friends in Long Island. Only four days and all of this lovely produce, what's a girl to do?

Kitchen sink quinoa and a fresh salad topped with roasted golden beets, that's what! Top it off with a glass of sparkling water and you've got a very healthy, very delicious, very fresh dinner. So healthy, in fact, that you can even enjoy some dessert: 

Yum, strawberry season in NC. Those babies are so fresh (think red all the way through) they only need one teaspoon of sugar to a pint and they become juicy, sweet, and the perfect topping to some fat free yogurt.

Evolution Carrot Salad a la Meredith: 
4 or 5 Lg. Carrots (varying colors if available)
Fresh Mint
Fresh Chives
1 Lemon
1 Can Mandarin Oranges
1/4 C. Raisins
1/4 C. Fat Free Feta
1/4 C. Almonds
Salt/Pepper
Olive Oil

Peel carrots then grate them into a bowl (this can be challenging, check if you Cuisinart has a grate attachment). Pick the leaves off of a few sprigs of mint and finely chop them into the bowl. Chop a small handful of chives into the bowl as well. Add a good splash of olive oil (Jamie recommends 6 Tablespoons, but I think that's excessive) and squeeze half of a lemon into the bowl (Jamie recommends 2 Tablespoons). Season with salt and pepper and mix well. You can stop here, but I chose to let it evolve. Toss in one can of mandarin oranges and the raisins, mix well. Top with feta and almonds before serving. Jamie also recommends adding toasted mixed seeds and/or pappadams (apparently it's an indian crunchy chip type thing). Hopefully you get the idea, be creative as you like!

Kitchen Sink Quinoa:
Remember, that all of these veggies (yes, even the garlic!) are in season in NC right now. Skip the grocery market and hit up your local Farmers' Market - you'll thank me.
1 C. Quinoa
1 can of Swansons Low Sodium Chicken Broth (14.5oz)
1 Onion
1 Clove of Garlic
1 Summer Squash
1 Zucchini
2 small Tomatoes
Feta
Salt/Pepper
Olive Oil

Chop onion, mince garlic, and toss into a sauté pan over medium-high heat with a little olive oil until translucent, approximately 6-8 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent browning and turn down the heat if your garlic starts to brown. While the onion and garlic are sauteing, roughly chop squash and zucchini into bite size pieces. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and chop into slighly smaller bites than the squash and zucchini. Once onion and garlic are finished, pour in the chicken broth. Vegetable or mushroom broth can be substituted to make this a vegetarian dish. Turn heat to high and add quinoa. Bring to a rolling boil then cover and lower heat to simmer. Simmer over low heat for 15-18 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with fork, and let cool. Once cooled, add squash, zucchini and tomatoes. Before serving, top with feta, salt/pepper and a drizzle of good olive oil (I used Tuscan Herb and it was delicious). This makes about 4 servings and keeps very well in the fridge.