Kale Salad is Addicting

I first had Kale Salad about two years ago in Los Angeles.  My oldest son had learned how to make it from a friend who worked in a restaurant.  He told me the secret was to let the lemon juice "cook" the Kale.  Since then we have made Kale Salads of many different iterations from Kale with grapes, feta and walnuts, to Kale with Avocado, red onion, blue cheese, pine nuts, etc.  You get it.  Last week I made a Kale Salad for lunch that my husband could not get enough of.  He said, "It's addicting."

Remove tough stem

To prepare the Kale, fold it in half and cut out the tough stem with your Chef's knife.  You can use any kind of Kale you like.  I love the dark dark green curly kind.

Place the Kale in a bowl and squeeze just enough lemon juice over it to lightly coat it and massage it in with your hands.  Don't use too much!!  It has to balance with the Olive Oil or Grape Seed Oil added later.

massage in lemon juice

Salad with ingredients on top before tossing

Then add your selected vegies on top.  This is a mixed salad.  I used nuts (sunflower seeds are also good), sweet onion, carrots, avocado, kidney beans, and feta.  

Drizzle with good quality oil:  Olive Oil, or Grape Seed Oil if you want a neutral oil, and toss.

Below is the finished product.

Yummy and Addicting

Rice Salad Primavera and Freud

In the middle of Civilization and Its Discontents Freud confesses that in none of his previous writings has he had such a strong feeling that what he is describing is common sense and that he is using up paper and ink to expound things that are self evident.

I felt that way when I found about a cup and a half of short grain rice in my refrigerator today and decided to make a rice salad.  Not worth writing about, I said to myself,  just leftovers.  But once I tasted it I was compelled to share how good it was.  No one ingredient should dominate so use your judgment when adding things and be creative!

Rice Salad Primavera

Cooked short grain brown rice
Chopped cucumber, green onion, avocado, celery, parsley
Chopped Radicchio, sliced black or kalamata olives, kidney beans
Asparagus and snow peas, blanched for about two minutes then chopped in 2 inch pieces

Dressing:  basic olive oil and vinegar with about a tablespoon of greek yogurt, salt and pepper

Barbecue Chicken Salad with Balsamic Vinegar

My hubby is the best at barbecuing chicken.  So when we had leftover chicken, I saw my opportunity for a chopped chicken salad with basil and balsamic vinegar.  It was delicious.

Barbecue Chicken Salad with Balsamic Vinegar
Mixed spring greens (not too much lettuce in this one!)
Red endive chopped
Carrots, yellow or orange bell pepper, persian cucumber, cherry tomatoes, avocado, onion all chopped
Basil chopped (generous amount)
Barbecued chicken in cubes

Dressing:
Olive Oil and best available Balsamic Vinegar--It makes a huge difference!
Two of the best Balsamic Vinegars I've tried are pictured here.  Raleys makes an excellent brand.  Copper Hill is made in  Woodland, California.  It should be thick.

 I don't measure when I make dressing.  It just takes too much time.  Learn to eyeball the amounts you will need.

Mediterranean Green Salad for Spring

Although it is more cost effective to buy and prepare lettuce, sometimes I want to make a quick salad from prepared ingredients without all the washing and drying.  I recently purchased the Herb Salad Mix from Trader Joe's (washed three times and ready to use).  I added some of T.J.'s chick pea mix called Balela (garbanzos, tomato, and black beans) along with a few other crisp spring ingredients.  The celery heart is from the bottom of the celery, the part you usually throw out, cleaned and sliced thin.

Mediterranean Salad with Chick Peas and Herbs
Herb salad mix
Balela mix (see above)
Belgian endive chopped
Persian cucumber in half and sliced thin
Red pepper, diced
Celery heart sliced thin
Avocado and Cherry tomatoes
Sunflower seeds

Celery Heart

Dressing
In a small bowl combine one or two tablespoons olive oil with about two teaspoons vinegar of your choice (I used white wine vinegar), salt and pepper.  Beat to emulsify and dress salad.

Endive

Persian Cucumber

The Avocado: Genetics or Environment?

Hawaiian Avocado

I recently returned from Hawaii where we purchased our favorite Hawaiian foods (Mango, Papaya, Persian cucumbers, sweet onions, HUGE avocados) at the Farmer's Markets held each day in different locations around each island.  The market in Kapa'a on Kauai was a mob scene.  I romanticized that the avocados tasted creamier and were larger there just because they originated in Paradise.  I found out the variety grown most widely there, the Sharwil (grown for production and export in Kona but also by many people in their yards) originated from a volunteer plant on a farm in Australia in 1951 and was brought to Hawaii in 1966.  It is larger with a looser pit and thin green skin that doesn't get dark when ripe and actually stays fairly hard and leathery.  You can purchase these avocados on the mainland at various times of the year.  US consumers prefer the smaller, firmer Hass variety because they can tell it is ripe by the black skin.  Don't get in the same rut!!  The great reward for branching out is the incredible subtle and creamy flavor of this larger avocado.  We ate off of it for a week in salads and it stayed beautiful just like this, loose pit and all.

isalad: Chef Salad Your Way

I was contemplating my waistline in light of a trip to Hawaii.  My diet recipe book advised me to have a Chef's Salad for lunch.  What is a Chef's Salad?  A salad made by a chef:  me––or you, using creative license.
isalad
Greens:
red leaf lettuce cut up
endive sliced
arugula cut up
basil chopped
Add:
red onion chopped
cherry tomatoes halved
mushrooms sliced
ham diced
Alpine Lace cheese chopped
green beans (leftover cooked) chopped
black olives sliced

Dressing:  Pour a couple of tablespoons of good quality olive oil in a bowl.  Add about one tablespoon red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and small amount minced shallot.  Beat with a wisk or fork until it is creamy and emulsified.  Remove your chef's hat and enjoy.

Brussel Sprouts, Grapes, and Endive Salad

Got Brussel Sprouts?  I was served a version of this salad at the Highland's Inn in Carmel last fall.  Yesterday, with fresh brussel sprouts on hand, I had a hankering for it.  My hubby loved it!!

Brussel Sprouts, Grapes, and Endive Salad with lemon parsley vinaigrette.

Cook a small serving for two of brussel sprouts in boiling water for five minutes, drain, slice in circles
Slice a handful of red grapes in half
Wash, separate and chop one endive
Add about 2 tablespoons of diced red onion
Sunflower seeds

Dressing:
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon lemon juice or slightly less
Parsley chopped fine
Shallot chopped fine

The combination of endive, red onion, and brussel sprout is complex and satisfying.  The restaurant version included diced pancetta and dry ricotta but the salad is delicious without these two items which you may not have on hand.