This colorful salad highlights all California has to offer in autumn and winter, complete with honey-caramelized pecans.
Prepare salad dressing by combining all dressing ingredients but oil. Whisk dressing as you pour the oil in to incorporate it well. Let dressing it sit while you craft the salad.
Caramelize the nuts by melting butter in a pan, then add the nuts and drizzle the honey over the nuts. Stir well. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
Prepare the pomegranate over a bowl of water. Slice pomegranate, then thumb out the seeds. The membrane will float, the seeds will sink. Pour out membranes and water from the bowl, strain the remaining water out, leaving the seeds alone with virtually no mess for you to clean up! See pictures below.
Thinly slice the pear, apple, and avocado.
Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Allow each person to pour desired amount of dressing over their bowl of salad. (Keeping the dressing separate allows you to make the salad ahead of time without it getting soggy. You can prepare the salad a couple hours before serving, stored in the fridge.)
Utilizing some fresh, in-season produce, I created this summery salad dressing for those south-of-the-border flavor cravings. The dressing might be prettier prepared in a food processor (bigger chunks), but I used a blender for a smoother texture. Not only is this dressing tasty, it provides some serious immune support using raw garlic, apple cider vinegar, and cilantro. This is a very mild dressing, so for those who are sensitive to spice (my kids), this is the dressing for you.
Blend all ingredients in a blender for a smoother texture (as seen in the picture above) or mince in the food processor for a chunkier dressing. NOTE: The flavor matures if you let it sit for at least a half hour before serving.
TO ROAST POBLANO PEPPERS:
Over an open flame, char chilies until black (or broil for about 10 minutes). Seal in an air-proof container for 10 minutes, then peel off skin and de-seed. The end.
With ranch as our favorite salad dressing, it’s a wonder this recipe hasn’t shown up here until now. Not only does this dressing contain wince-free ingredients such as essential, nourishing fats to help your body absorb the valuable nutrients from the salad, it’s packed full of probiotics to help aid digestion, strengthen immunity, and give it that tongue-dancing tang. Let’s not forget to mention the many benefits of raw apple cider vinegar, Celtic sea salt, and immune-boosting fresh garlic.
Place all ingredients in a quart-sized mason jar, screw the lid on, and shake until combined.
This simple and bright-tasting pomegranate orange salad compliments a heavy meat-based dish well.
Remove the pomegranate seeds using the underwater method to keep the juice contained.
Peel the oranges and slice into 1/2 inch rounds. Feed the end pieces to the kids or consider them your bonus for making such a fine salad.
Arrange the orange slices in a single layer on a serving platter. Each slice represents a single salad serving.
Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over each orange slice.
Garnish the platter with sprigs of mint.
Mix the oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a small container. Drizzle it over the salad just before serving.
A great way to use cucumbers and radishes in your summer garden.
Divide the cucumbers and radishes evenly between two quart jars.
Add 1 tsp. of pickling spice to each jar.
Combine the water, vinegar, sea salt and sucanat in another jar and stir or shake until the salt and sugar are dissolved completely.
Pour the mixture over the cucumbers and radishes until they are just covered.
Cap the jars and let refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
This simple, yet surprisingly rich and delicious salad is a favorite request for birthdays and special occasions! In the summer, you can switch up the bell pepper for sliced tomatoes, if desired.
Tear the greens into a large, pretty serving bowl and top with peas and water chestnuts. Spread desired amount of mayonnaise over, covering the surface. Arrange slices of red pepper and eggs over the top, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Tastes even better if it can sit in the refrigerator for about 24 hours, so plan to make ahead if you can! It’s still delicious even done at the last minute, though. Dig in and enjoy!
If you like to consume your veggies raw, this is a great salad for you. The green beans were lightly steamed, but everything else is raw. Next time, because I have young children, I’ll lightly steam the carrots, too. Bursting with flavor, thanks to the lemon and sesame oil. I added the chia seeds for an extra dose of nutrition – chia seeds are high in Omega-3′s.
Trim ends off the green beans and cut in thirds. Julienne the carrots. Place in medium saucepan with 2″ boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. When done, drain hot water, and cover with cold water and some ice. Set aside.
In medium-sized bowl add the apples, celery, cucumber, and onion. Add the green beans and carrots and stir to mix.
In small bowl add the oil, seeds, and lemon juice. Drizzle juice mixture over green apple mixture and stir to coat evenly.
We serve this delicious cranberry fruit salad at every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Fresh cranberries are only in season a short time — so this is a real treat! It’s also delicious to make ahead, as the flavor gets better with time.
Dice apples. Peel and dice oranges.
Rinse cranberries, removing mushy ones. Rough chop cranberries.
In a large bowl, combine apples, oranges, and cranberries. Add orange juice and sweetener. The orange juice helps preserve the apples and kick-starts the self-juicing of the cranberries.
Can be served immediately, or may be eaten for several days. Tastes great after being chilled overnight. Eat plain or enjoy as a garnish to yogurt.
Like the ease of instant salad dressing packets, but wish you had something with more wholesome ingredients (and less cost??). This recipe is a family standby for a quick Italian salad dressing without all of the fillers and preservatives.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. 2 TB of mix equals one salad dressing packet.
Mix one “packet” of seasonings in a cruet or jar with oil, water, and vinegar.
OPTIONAL: For those who like a slightly sweeter dressing, add up to 1 TB of your favorite sweetener (honey, sucanat, etc.).
Slightly smoky, salty and sweet with a little kick. The side to replace the ewwy gooey marshmallow sweet potatoes. flavors take a few hours to marry, so this is best to make a day or two ahead. An excellent thanksgiving side dish.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees (convection works best). Peel and cut potatoes into 1” pieces. Toss to coat with 2 tablespoon of olive oil and arrange in a single layer on two baking sheets. Roast for 30 minutes. Mix 2 tablespoons oil, pepper puree, vinegar, salt and pepper to make a dressing. Combine cranberries, pecans, chives and cooked sweet potatoes in a medium bowl, drizzle with dressing, cover and refrigerate until chilled.
If you prefer not to use truffle salt experiment with other spices like cumin or add more herbs.
Slice the zucchini thinly with a sharp knife or in ribbons with a vegetable peeler.
Slice the fennel very thin with a sharp knife.
Chop up the fennel fronds for a total of 1-2 tablespoons.
Combine all ingredients until the vegetables are coated in oil (start with less oil and increase amount if needed to coat the vegetables).
Serve immediately for a crunchy salad or let marinate in the oil to soften (the time depends on how thin the vegetables were cut).
A slaw is any salad that consists of shredded cabbage as its primary ingredient. (It comes from a dutch term, “koolsla,” meaning cabbage salad- foodtimeline.org). When making a slaw I try to achieve a wide range of textures, colors, and taste. We’ve had an abundance of arugula in our garden this month and added that to my favorite slaw; full of herbs, farm fresh produce, and dressed with a fresh ginger vinaigrette
Combine dressing ingredients together in a glass jar or bowl. This may make more then your salad requires. Any extra can be stored in the fridge.
Combine salad ingredients in a bowl.
Toss well. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
Serve.