Black beans, navel orange, mushrooms, cilantro, and lime citronette over a bed of mixed greens.
Posts Tagged ‘mushrooms’
Day Twenty One: “Weirdest. Salad. Ever.”
Posted in 100 Days of Salad, Beef, Button Mushrooms, Carrot, Casein Free, Gluten Free, Lime Citronette, Meal in Salad Form, Mixed Baby Greens, Potato, Tomato, Yellow Onion, tagged beef, beef stew, carrot, citronette, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lime, meal, mixed greens, mushrooms, potato, salad, tomato, zest on November 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Tonight I totally made an “oh shit, I never ate a salad” meal. I dressed a bed of greens and mushrooms with leftover lime citronette, then ladled a hearty serving of beef stew over the top. My dinner, or, as one of my kids said, with her nose wrinkled in disgust, “the weirdest salad ever.”
My salad meal in a bowl was actually pretty good, though a balsamic vinaigrette would have been a much better match for the tomato-based beef stew.
Day Eighteen: Grapefruit, Arugula, Garbanzo Beans
Posted in 100 Days of Salad, Arugula, Avocado, Button Mushrooms, Casein Free, Cucumber, Garbanzo Beans, Gluten Free, Grapefruit, Lemon Citronette, Meal in Salad Form, Pine Nuts, Vegan, tagged Arugula, avocado, cucumber, extra virgin olive oil, garbanzo beans, garlic, grapefruit, lemon, maple syrup, meal, mushrooms, pine nuts, salad, salt, zest on November 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Yummy…I started with a bed of arugula, piled it high with cucumber, garbanzo beans, mushrooms, avocado, and grapefruit, then zested a lemon over it all, tossed it with a lemon citronette, and finished it off with a handful of toasted pine nuts leftover from last night’s pasta dinner. Delicious.
Day Thirteen: Oregano & Lime Pinto Bean Lunch
Posted in 100 Days of Salad, Avocado, Button Mushrooms, Casein Free, Gluten Free, Lime Citronette, Meal in Salad Form, Navel Orange, Oregano, Pinto Beans, Romaine Lettuce, Scallion, Vegan, tagged avocado, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lime, lunch, maple syrup, meal, mushrooms, oregano, romaine, salad, scallions, zest on November 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Day Eleven: Navel Orange, Garbanzo Bean, Cilantro Lunch
Posted in 100 Days of Salad, Button Mushrooms, Casein Free, Cilantro, Garbanzo Beans, Garlic, Gluten Free, Lemon Citronette, Meal in Salad Form, Mixed Baby Greens, Navel Orange, Shallot, Vegan, tagged cilantro, extra virgin olive oil, garbanzo beans, garlic, greens, lemon juice, meal, mixed baby greens, mushrooms, orange, salad, shallots, zest on October 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Yummy. I used up some leftover lemon citronette from yesterday’s dinner. Lunch was simply a bed of mixed greens, lots of garbanzo beans, a very juicy navel orange, a big fistful of cilantro, some quartered mushrooms, the zest from the orange, and some sliced shallot. I’d forgotten how much I love orange in salad.
Day Seven: Baby Kale, Tofu, and Pineapple Lunch!
Posted in 100 Days of Salad, Avocado, Button Mushrooms, Casein Free, Gluten Free, Kale, Meal in Salad Form, Pineapple, Rice Wine Vinaigrette, Tofu, Vegan, tagged avocado, extra virgin olive oil, greens, kale, meal, mushrooms, pineapple, rice wine vinegar, salad on October 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »
This was an experiment. My dad showed up with a gorgeous, ripe pineapple. I had baby kale in the fridge. My miso soup eating son provided me with half a block of savory firm tofu. Add avocado, mushrooms, rice wine vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil, and I was set. Yum. A little weird, but I really enjoyed the pineapple and tofu, and they worked well with the earthy baby kale.
Day Four: Breakfast Salad
Posted in 100 Days of Salad, Avocado, Basil, Button Mushrooms, Carrot, Casein Free, Gluten Free, Meal in Salad Form, Romaine Lettuce, Scallion, Tomato, tagged avocado, basil, egg, extra virgin olive oil, meal, mushrooms, rice wine vinegar, romaine, salad, tomato on October 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Here’s a weird one. Romaine lettuce, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, avocado, scallion, basil, rice wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. With a fried egg on top. Delicious with my coffee!
Here I Go Again.
Posted in Arugula, Button Mushrooms, Casein Free, Cilantro, Corn, Cucumber, Gluten Free, Rice Wine Vinaigrette, Shallot, Tomato, Vegan, tagged Arugula, cilantro, corn, extra virgin olive oil, maple syrup, mushrooms, rice wine vinegar, salad, salt, shallot, tomato on October 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »
My salad-a-day practice slowly died a couple years ago. For health and happiness reasons, I’m determined to get it going again. For now, I’m trying a new experiment. I’ll use this space to document my salads. Minimum of one meal per day that is a salad, craziness encouraged. That might mean I post just a picture, or just a brief description. In other words, my posts should be prolific but less detailed and polished. (Of course, I reserve the right to get detailed and fancy if I feel like it.) We shall see! Here’s yesterday’s salad, a day late. It included arugula, cucumber, corn, cherry tomatoes, shallots, cilantro, and a rice wine vinaigrette. I ate it with a small piece of veggie lasagna, so it maybe shouldn’t count. Still, I developed this plan while I was making it, so it gets to be included: 
Today’s lunch salad is coming soon.
Sour Cream Ranch Dressing with Deli Meat, Cucumber, Radishes, and Cherry Tomatoes
Posted in 21 Season Salute, Button Mushrooms, Carrot, Cracked Pepper, Cucumber, Garlic, Garlic Powder, Ham, Meal in Salad Form, Mixed Baby Greens, Radish, Red Onion, Rice Wine Vinaigrette, Savory, Scallion, Smoked Paprika, Sour Cream Dressing, Tarragon, Tomato, Turkey, tagged 21 Season Salute, baby, black pepper, carrot, cherry tomato, cracked, cucumber, extra virgin olive oil, food, garlic, garlic powder, ham, honey, lettuce, lunch, maple syrup, meal, mixed greens, mushroom, mushrooms, paprika, radish, rice wine vinegar, romaine, salad, salt, savory, scallion, scallions, side, side dish, smoked, sour cream, tarragon, turkey on February 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I love a good ranch salad dressing, and I don’t have go-to recipe for it like I do with vinaigrettes and citronettes. You’ve seen my experiment with buttermilk ranch vinaigrette. This time, some leftover homemade sour cream veggie dip* looked like the perfect addition to the pseudo-chef’s salad I was planning for lunch.
I bemoaned the absence of romaine or green leaf lettuce because I love their crunch with creamy dressings and deli meat. Instead, I made do with some mixed baby greens I had on hand. Then I grabbed the ham, turkey, cucumber, radishes, cherry tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and scallions — all ingredients that work really well for me with ranch dressing. I added tarragon and savory for extra flavor. And I got to chopping.
The ingredients, ready for action!
Ingredients:
(Serves one as a meal.)
4 cups of mixed baby greens.
1/4 cucumber, quartered and sliced.
2 large mushrooms, halved and sliced.
3 baby carrots, sliced.
3 radishes, quartered.
3 cherry tomatoes, left whole. If serving instantly, slice in half.
1 scallion, sliced.
3 thin slices of red onion, quartered.
2 slices of honey ham, sliced.
2 slices of turkey, crumbled.
2 sprigs of tarragon, chopped.
2 savory leaves, chopped.
Sour Cream Ranch Vinaigrette:
(Use only what you need. Refrigerate extra for a couple of days.)
2 T extra virgin olive oil.
2 T sour cream ranch veggie dip.*
1 T rice wine vinegar.
1/2 clove garlic, smashed and minced.
1/4 tsp maple syrup.
A pinch of salt, to taste.
I was making two salads for lunch, so I doubled all of the ingredients listed above, including the salad dressing. I mixed the ranch dressing in a small jar, tasting as I went to make sure I liked the flavors. It looked like a lot of dressing (I thought it would easily work for three salads), so I put some of my husband’s serving into my jar, which would be staying at home in our fridge. I thought we could enjoy it later.
With the sour cream ranch dressing mixed up, I started chopping veggies and adding them to the two beds of lush baby greens I’d built. The bowls filled up fast! I left the cherry tomatoes whole so that they would travel well. I nestled the dressing jar in the glass container for my husband before popping the red rubber lid on it. Mine just went into the fridge for lunch time.
Two salads, prepped and ready to eat. All they need is that delicious dressing drizzled over them...
The Verdict:
Yummy! This was the creamiest dressing I’ve ever made, and due to the inclusion of the sour cream dip, it had a really nice depth of flavor. I used every drop of the dressing I set aside for myself. (Remember, I thought I had enough for two salads? Wrong.) My poor husband texted me at lunch time to tell me that he loved it, and he’d never worked so hard to get every drop of dressing out of the jar before… Moral of the story? Really thick, creamy dressings don’t spread as well as light vinaigrettes. Or we just both adore lots of good, sour cream ranch deliciousness with our crunchy cucumber, radish, and carrot bites.
This salad was really filling. I didn’t mind the softness of the baby greens as much as I thought I might, though I still think romaine or green leaf lettuce or even a very fresh iceberg would be a better match for the creamy salad dressing. It was still tasty, and I ate every bite. In fact, I was so hungry and it was so good that I didn’t realized I’d failed to snap a picture of it fully dressed until after I’d devoured every last bit. Oops… I will have to continue experimenting with ranch so you get more pictures of creamy delectability.
Make it a Meal:
Done. For a veggie version, skip the deli meat and toss in your favorite beans or some cheddar cheese.
Pack it to Go:
Done.
*Ingredients for Sour Cream Veggie Dip
1 cup sour cream.
1 sprig of tarragon, finely chopped.
1 scallion, very finely chopped.
Dash of rice wine vinegar.
Pinch of garlic powder, to taste.
Pinch of smoked paprika, to taste.
Pinch of Trader Joe’s 21 Season Salute, to taste.
Pinch of salt, to taste.
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.
My husband whipped this up on the fly. Combine and sample and tinker with the ingredients until it pleases you. We went heavy on the garlic powder and light on the smoked paprika.
Lime Citronette with Leftover Chicken, Mandarins, Mint and Cilantro.
Posted in Avocado, Bell Pepper, Button Mushrooms, Casein Free, Chicken, Cilantro, Corn, Gluten Free, Lime, Lime Citronette, Mandarin, Meal in Salad Form, Mint, Romaine Lettuce, Scallion, Yellow Onion, tagged bell pepper, casein free, chicken, cilantro, dinner, extra virgin olive oil, food, gluten free, lettuce, lime, lunch, mandarins, maple syrup, meal, mint, mushroom, mushrooms, orange, romaine, salad, salt, scallion, scallions, side, side dish, vegan, zest on February 23, 2011| Leave a Comment »
When life gives you leftovers, make salad!
Leftover protein and vegetables are amazing in salads. It’s a quick, easy way to make a delicious, nutritious meal. It’s cost-effective, because the leftover ingredients go further in a salad than they would on their own, and it’s fun, because you’re not actually eating the same damn thing twice in a week.
So, I was short on time and creativity, and I had some excellent leftover chicken tenderloins and some cooked corn. I rooted around for lettuce, mandarins, fresh herbs, and other veggies, and I made the best of it.
The ingredients, ready to be transformed!
Ingredients:
(Serves two as a meal.)
2 hearts of romaine lettuce, chopped.
2 scallions, chopped.
3 mandarins, peeled, cut in half, and quartered.
4 button mushrooms, quartered.
1 avocado, quartered and sliced.
1 red bell pepper, sliced.
2 chicken tenderloins, leftover, cooked with onion, chopped.
1/2 cup of cooked corn.
1 fistful of mint, chopped.
1 fistful of cilantro, chopped.
Zest of one lime.
Lime Citronette:
(Use only what you need. Refrigerate extra for a day or two.)
1 T lime juice.
3 T extra virgin olive oil.
1/2 tsp maple syrup.
Pinch of salt, to taste.
I made a lovely bed of romaine lettuce and zested my lime over it. Then I whipped up my citronette in a small jar, and started chopping. I added the chicken, vegetables, and herbs first, saving the avocado and mandarin for last so that they would be bright and colorful. I don’t like brown avocado, and I prefer for citrus fruit to go into salads at the last minute so it doesn’t wilt the lettuce. Once all of my ingredients were properly sliced and diced, I drizzled the dressing over the top and tossed it before serving it up.
Rainbow deliciousness, ready to eat!
The Verdict:
Straightforward and delicious. The mint and cilantro brighten up the salad, and the juicy mandarins work well with the creamy avocado. The simplicity of the lime citronette works well with the leftover chicken and corn, and helps bring all of the flavors together. The crunchy red bell pepper and the crisp romaine lettuce keep the salad fresh and the textures diverse. This was a perfect example of how using leftovers meat and cooked veggies in salads is a great way to streamline cooking while keeping the food fun, tasty, and interesting.
Make it a Meal:
Done. For a vegan salad, swap out the chicken for garbanzo beans, cannellini beans, shelled edamame, or lightly seasoned tofu, and add a smashed and minced clove of garlic to the lime citronette for a little extra flavor.
Pack it to Go:
As usual, the avocado and citrus fruit go in the jar with the salad dressing (this keeps the avocado from browning and the mandarin juices from wilting the lettuce). Everything else goes in a large glass or stainless steel container with a lid. Combine when you’re ready to fork toss and enjoy!
Salad Play 