Kale Caesar Salad

My sister Ashley is many things and one of those many things is an incredible gifted piano player... jazz piano to be exact, and her fantastic album can be found here. She is also somewhat of a free spirit, a constant world traveler, a "health nut", a yogi, a night owl and anyone who has crossed her path would agree she is an incredibly positive and kind hearted person.

At this very moment she is playing piano on a cruise ship which sails from Vancouver to Alaska every week. Most of the time she floats around Europe and so to have her on the west coast or "fresh coast" as she calls it is a real treat. Yesterday, she had a few hours off the boat and she jumped onto the sky train, with 2 broken toes after dropping a keyboard on her foot, and headed out to Burnaby to see me and her new nephew for a few blessed hours. Knowing that my sister has VERY strict food requirements...she's mostly a raw veganist but lately will eat some wild meat, I decided to make us an extremely healthy salad. I figured I couldn't go wrong with kale.

I've actually been making this salad fairly regularly now for a few months now and even the biggest kale haters will love it. My own mother could not believe she was actually eating raw kale when I told her as she was devouring a bowl of it. I like to make it when I feel the need to detox or just feel like eating something that will make me feel good.

Kale Caesar Salad
adapted slightly from here

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup lemon juice
8 whole anchovies
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 large bowl of shredded kale (about 8 cups)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese for the dressing
1/4 cup parmesan cheese for garnish
salt and pepper to taste

Optional: add any other chopped vegetables or protein to the finished salad. I added a few cherry tomatoes and cucumbers here. Sometimes I like to add good quality canned smoked salmon or smoked tofu.

Toss all ingredients into the blender, saving 1/4 cup parmesan for a garnish. Place kale in a large bowl and toss with dressing. Garnish with parmesan and serve.

Mushroom Salad

A few weeks ago my sister Melody came to stay with us for a few days from Victoria. Her extra set of hands around here were much appreciated with my 2 month old and almost 2 year old boys, hence the lack of blogging lately. To be honest it's mostly just been pasta and take out lately and I'm embarrassed to admit we've sort of become regulars at the local Mucho Burrito.  But hey, kids eat free and it's as healthy as semi-fast food can get so I don't let myself feel guilty about it.

As almost vegetarians, Melody and I have both been eying this beautiful cookbook for quite a while with its beautiful food photography and totally mouth watering looking vegetarian dishes. So before we both buy yet another cookbook, it we decided to give it a test run by borrowing it from the library first and trying out a few recipes. Here is one recipe we made and it was a success. Chef Yotam uses herbs and ingredients in ways I would never think would taste good together i.e. mushrooms and dill? but it works just right.

I'm going to test drive a few more recipes from this book but I will probably end of purchasing it. There's only so many times the library will allow me to renew books after all:)

Marinated Mushrooms with Walnut and Tahini Yoghurt
adapted slightly from PLENTY by Yotam Ottolenghi

Serves 4
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (the original recipe calls for white wine vinegar. I've since made it with apple cider vinegar and that works really well)
1 tbsp maple syrup
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
3 cups sliced beech muchroons
2 cups other mushrooms
3 cups chick peas (recipe calls for lava beans)
2/3 cups walnuts
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chopped dill
1 tbsp chopped oregano

Sauce

1/2 cup plain yoghurt (recipe recommends greek yoghurt)

21/2 tbsp tahini

1 garlic clove

juice of 1 lemon

Chickpea Salad

It's been a busy, busy week here...we just got back from Vancouver Island where my 60 year old pops and I participated in the Sri Chinmoy Triathlon in Victoria, B.C. That's right, my old man did his first ever triathlon at the ripe age of 60 and not only did he complete it, he won a bronze medal in his age category! How's that for inspiration.

I was nervous about completing it myself but I got through it with a smile on my face and shockingly even managed a third place finish in my age group as well! And before you judge me for being smug I will mention that it's been a heck of a lot of sweat and tears to get to this point. When I look back to this time last year I was hugely pregnant, almost 40 lbs heavier and could barely walk around a mall to get ice-cream let alone walk up a hill without gasping for breath and almost passing out from exhaustion. So what I'm trying to say is, welcome back old self. We made it.

So I haven't had much time to hang out in the kitchen this past week but last night we grilled some steaks and I whipped up this tasty salad that I found on Jamie Oliver.  Hearty and simple it make it's perfect for a light supper or a tasty side dish. Makes awesome leftovers for lunches as well.

Summer Chickpea Salad (serves 4)
adapted slightly from Jamie Oliver

1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced and chopped
1 jalapeno, deseeded and minced
handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced
1 can of chickpeas
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
handful of chopped mint
handful of chopped basil
2 lemons
handful of chopped feta cheese

Mix finely chopped onion with minced jalapeno and tomatoes and drizzle with lemon juice and enough olive oil to coat, about 2 tablespoons. While that is marinating drain and rinse can of chickpeas and warm on a pan for a few minutes. Add about 90% of warm chickpeas to salad and mash remaining 10% of chickpeas with a fork or potato masher. Add the chickpea mash to the salad which will add a nice creamy texture. Serve warm or cold.

Smiling because I can see the finish line. Wohoo, I made it!

Summer Salad Series: Carrot, Cilantro and Chile Slaw

Now that it is officially summer and warmer weather is FINALLY here to stay will be making an appearance from time to time in the lower mainland, I have the desire to eat lighter and fresher foods; those heavy stews and pastas can wait till the fall. And when I think of summer food, I think of sitting out on the patio with a cold drink, BBQ'd whatever with a side of fresh salad and good company. 

One of my very favourite summer salads is coleslaw; who doesn't love the tangy crunch of a fresh slaw served on the side of a juicy burger?. My only problem with it, and I admit I'm probably in the minority here is that I absolutely HATE mayonnaise with a passion to the point where I've been known to gag if I find it by surprise in a burger. Yes, I am that annoying person and I apologize to my husband for all the times that I've embarrassed you. Anyway, this aversion of mine rules out about 99% of all slaws and so when I see one that doesn't call for the offending condiment, I get excited. 

I stumbled upon this recipe in the latest issue of bon appetit and I couldn't resist it due to it's absence of mayonnaise and for the fact that it allowed me to pull out my beloved juli-peeler. The original recipe called for 2 deseeded jalapenos and when I added the first pepper it seemed plenty hot enough for me but feel free to added more jalapeno if you feel like it. We served our slaw on the side of chicken burgers and I ended up slapping a bunch of it into the burger which added a wonderful tangy crunch. 

I only had regular-joe orange carrots on hand but yellow carrots would really take the presentation of this salad to the next level if you happen to find some at a farmer's market or specialty store. 

Carrot, Cilantro and Chile Slaw (4-6 servings)

adapted slightly from bon appetit July 2011

4 cups carrots, peeled and julienned

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

11/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste

1 minced jalapeno, deseeded

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

3/4 tsp ground coriander

freshly ground black pepper

Toss carrots, oil, lime juice, sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt and jalapenos in a large bowl and let marinate for about 15 minutes, tossing occasionally. Add cilantro and coriander; toss to evenly incorporate. Season to taste with salt and pepper.