Salad Tuesday April 10, 2018

RASPBERRY WALNUT SPINACH SALAD

Today we have a salad made with raspberry, and walnuts.

 

 

Ingredients

Raspberry Walnut Spinach Salad

• 4 cups of baby spinach
• 4 cups of romaine, torn into bite size pieces
• 1 cup of walnuts, roasted and chopped
• ½ red onion, sliced into thin rings
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Creamy Raspberry Dressing

• ½ cup white wine vinegar
• ½ cup honey, sugar or the equivalent of stevia
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tablespoons of grated onion
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon cracker black pepper
• 1 cup raspberries
• ¾ cup oil
• 2 Tablespoons mayonaise

 

Instructions

Raspberry Walnut Spinach Salad

1. Wash and drain the raspberries in a large colander. Allow them to dry on a clean towel.
2. Preheat oven to 350˚degrees. Arrange walnuts on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake 8-10 minutes, watching carefully.
3. While the walnuts are roasting, slice up the red onion, wash and spin the spinach and romaine, and crumble the feta cheese.

Creamy Raspberry Dressing

1. Combine the white wine vinegar, honey, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and berries in the jar of a blender. Process until smooth and then with the motor running add the oil in a steady stream. Add the mayonnaise and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

 

Recipe comes from: http://cheerykitchen.com/raspberry-walnut-spinach-salad/

Salad Tuesday March 13, 2018

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Here we have a nice spinach salad this week.

 

Candied Pecan Ingredient

1 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup pecan halves
pinch salt

Dressing Ingredients

2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup extra light tasting olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Salad Ingredients

10 ounces fresh baby spinach – rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1/4 small red onion sliced
1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 avocado, cut into bite sized pieces

 

Recipe is from: http://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2016/05/best-ever-strawberry-spinach-salad-recipe.html
1/2 (5 ounce) package blue cheese crumbles

Better Late Than Never: Our May Supper Club Recipes!

SOUP: Deceptively Simple Gazpacho

By Kendra PeloJoaquin at Food.com

Ingredients:

• 6 -8 tomatoes, chopped (Roma or plum are best Don’t lose the juice!)
• 1/2 large white onion, chopped finely (red is a nice alternative)
• 1/2 large white onion, chopped in 1/4 inch chunks
• 2 small cucumbers or 1 large cucumber, chopped
• salt (preferably sea salt)
• fresh ground black pepper
• virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, juice of
• chopped basil or cilantro (preferably fresh)
• 2 cloves garlic (or a tablespoon of diced garlic from a jar)

Directions:

1. Dump 1/3 cup olive oil and lemon juice into a blender or food processor.
2. Add the vegetables, then the seasonings.
3. I start with a little and add more after I’ve mixed it all up.
4. Use the “chop” or”grate” function until the gazpacho is soupy but still has some good sized chunks.
5. Taste and then add more salt, pepper, oil or basil to your preference.
6. I usually serve this*very* cold as a summer appetizer or meal w/ tabasco and parmesan cheese on the side, and some good crostini or bread.

 

---

SALAD: Avocado and Cucumber Salad

By Emma Braz at Taste.com

Ingredients:

• 175g baby salad leaves
• 2 medium avocados, chopped
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cucumbers, halved, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt

Directions:

1. Combine salad leaves, avocado, onion and cucumber in a bowl.
2. Place lemon juice and olive oil in a screw-top jar and shake. Season with salt to taste and drizzle on top of salad.

 

---

MAIN ATTRACTION: Stuffed Tomatoes

By Sunny Anderson at FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients:

• 2 vine-ripened tomatoes
• Salt
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Slice tomatoes in half horizontally and scoop out pulp and seeds.
3. Salt insides and rest upside down on a sheet pan lined with a wire rack to extract juices, about 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together bread crumbs, garlic, basil, pepper, 1/4 cup of the grated Parmesan and oil.
5. Stuff tomatoes with the filling, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan, and bake until tomatoes are cooked through and tops are golden brown, about 30 minutes.

 

---

DESSERT: Rhubarb crumble

By Felicity Rooney at Taste.com

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 10 stalks of rhubarb, rinsed and chopped
• 75g caster sugar

Crumble Topping:

• 125g cold unsalted butter, chopped
  175g plain flour
• 50g brown sugar
• 25g raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C degrees.
2. Place rhubarb and caster sugar in a saucepan over medium low heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Prepare the crumble topping by roughly rubbing the butter with the flour and brown sugar, then stir through the raisins. Pour the rhubarb mixture into a 4-cup capacity oven-proof dish or four 1-cup capacity oven proof ramekins.
4. Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top and bake for 15 minutes. Serve warm with custard.

Vegetable of the Week: Spinach pt. 2

Health:
– Spinach is an excellent source of Vitamin A with 56% of daily values contained in 1 Cup
– Spinach is also a great source of Vitamin K with 181% of daily values contained in 1 Cup
– Spinach also contains significant amounts of Vitamin C, Manganese, Magnesium, Folate and Iron

 

 

 

 

 

Creamy Avocado and Spinach Pasta
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
– 10 oz. spaghetti or fettuccine
– 1 clove garlic
– 1 avocado
– 1 cup fresh spinach
– 1/2 cup pecans (optional)
– 1/4 cup basil
– 1 tablespoon lemon juice
– 3/4 to 1 cup pasta water
– Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.
2. While pasta is cooking, add the rest of the ingredients to your blender and blend until it turns into a smooth sauce. Start with ¾ cup of pasta water and add more as needed to get the consistency you want.
3. Toss the pasta with the sauce in a bowl and serve immediately. This sauce is best served the day it is made, as it uses avocados which will turn a brownish colour.

Note: Ingredients for today’s recipe can be found at the Good Food Market at GBC St. James (200 King Street East, main lobby every Thursday 11:45 am to 3:00 pm)! Spinach ($1.25), Garlic ($0.50), Avocado ($0.75), Lemon ($0.40 each or 3 for $1.00)

(Recipe taken from http://www.jocooks.com/healthy-eating/creamy-avocado-spinach-pasta/)

Vegetable of the Week: Spinach

– Spinach is an edible flowering plant native to ancient Persia
– Spinach is an annual plant, meaning that its life cycle lasts one year (versus a perennial plant that comes back again the next year)
– The spinach plant can grow up to 30 centimetres in height and is 3-4 millimetres in diameter
– In Ontario, locally grown spinach is available between the months of May and October.
– However, winters in Ontario are too harsh for spinach to be grown all year round, although this is a possibility in nations with more temperate winters.
– Between 2006 and 2011, spinach acreage within the Ontario Greenbelt increased by 30.6%
– But spinach crops still make up only a small percentage (1.3%) of dedicated vegetable crop acreage in the Greenbelt when compared with other crops like sweet corn (10.7%) or carrots (21.3%)
– China and the US are the two largest spinach producers in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sautéed Spinach, Mushrooms and Caramelised Onions
Makes 2-4 servings

Ingredients:
– 3 onions, sliced
– 3 cups spinach
– 10 mushrooms sliced
– 3 garlic cloves, minced
– 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
– 1 tablespoon preferred oil (original recipe calls for coconut oil, however, olive oil or other preferred oils can also be used)
– 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
– Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Heat the oil and butter over a high heat in a pan or skillet.
2) Add the sliced onions and garlic, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking the onions for 20 more minutes, still stirring frequently.
3. Add the balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan.
4. Add the sliced mushrooms and season to taste with salt and pepper; cook until the mushrooms are tender but not mushy.
5. Add the spinach. Stir on low heat just until the spinach wilts, and serve.

Note: Ingredients for today’s recipe can be found at the Good Food Market at GBC (200 King Street East, main lobby every Thursday from 11:45am – 3:00pm)! Onions ($0.75 per bag or $0.10 per onion), Spinach ($1.25), Mushrooms ($1.75 per package, $0.25 per brown mushroom or $1.00 per portobello mushroom) and Garlic ($0.50 per head).

(Recipe adapted from: http://paleoleap.com/sauteed-spinach-caramelized-onions/)

Fruit of the Week: Blackberry pt. 3

Selection and Storage:
– The blackberry tends to be red during its unripe (“green”) phase, leading to an old expression that “blackberries are red when they’re green”
– Blackberry season generally lasts from June to September
– Berries are either handpicked or harvested using machines in large-scale farms
– Choose berries that are bright, shiny, completely black, and plump
– Avoid unripe, overripe, bruised, damaged, and mushy berries
– Blackberries are highly perishable and sensitive to handling, use them as soon as possible
– To store, place them inside the refrigerator where they stay fresh for up to 4-5 days

Blackberry Spinach Salad

Blackberry Spinach Salad
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
3 cups baby spinach, rinsed and dried
1 pint blackberries
6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 green onion, sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup edible flowers (optional)

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, toss together baby spinach, blackberries, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, green onion, and walnuts.
2. Garnish with edible flowers.
3. Enjoy!