This salad is meant to be made with grated, freshly roasted beets. I didn't have any fresh beets and didn't really have the energy to roast, peel, and grate them anyway. So, instead, I used tinned, sliced beets and just julienned them for the salad. I'm very pleased with how this worked out and would absolutely do it again.

Polish Cold Beet Salad

Slightly adapted from Everyday Healthy Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 (450g) can sliced beetroot, julienned
• 1 apple, peeled and grated
• 1 small red onion, minced¹
• 2 dill pickles, grated²
• 2-3 tsp. oil
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.
3. Adjust seasoning to taste.

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¹ I didn't have any red onion on hand, so I just used some dried onion flakes in my salad. ^Back
2 Since my beets were already pickled, I just used two small/baby dills in my salad. If you're using unpickled beets, then I'd recommend using 3-4 baby dills or 2 larger ones. ^Back

Here's another one out of my NZ backlog. It was pretty good, but it makes a lot. Possibly best when you have a bunch of other people to share it with.

Creamy Coleslaw with Green Apple and Parsley

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 900g cabbage, shredded
• 2-3 ribs celery, thinly sliced
• 1 Granny Smith apple, grated
• 1 onion, grated
• 2 small carrots, grated
• 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. minced flat-leaf parsley
• ~1 c. mayonnaise
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Combine the cabbage, celery, apple, onion, and carrots.
2. Drizzle with vinegar and toss to coat.
3. Stir in the parsley and mayonnaise.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add an extra few Tbsp. if needed to achieve desired consistency.
5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
6. Taste again and adjust seasonings as needed.

I picked up a copy of Pleyn Delit a couple of years ago. It's a great book full of medieval recipes. I've been wanting to try some out for ages, but I kept just not quite getting around to it. But, with our annual Labour Day get together this year, I finally found the motivation to give it a go!

I picked out a salad, a very interesting steamed chicken dish, and a poached pear recipe. And they were all excellent! This salad was so interesting. It's basically all greens. Lots and lots of herbs in addition to what I tend to think of as salad greens.

The original recipe called for parsely, sage, "green garlic", "chibolles" (which I would have assumed were chives, but the authors of Pleyn Delit indicate were actually green onions), onions, leeks, borage, mint, "porrettes" (small leeks), fennel, watercress, rue, rosemary, and purslane. These are washed, torn, and dressed with a simple combination of oil, vinegar, and salt.

The modern interpretation recommends making it with a combination of leaf lettuce, spinach, borage or radish leaves, watercress, parsley, sage, chives, fennel, mint, green onions, sweet onions and/or leeks, and savoury and/or tarragon. This made for a lovely mix! I loved all the herbs! It was very different, but absolutely delicious!

Original Recipe

Take persel, sawge, grene garlec, chibolles, oynouns, leek, borage, myntes, porrettes, fenel, and toun cressis, rew, rosemarye, purslrye; lave and waische hem clene. Pike hem. Pluk hem small wiþ þyn honde, and myng hem wel with rawe oile; lay on vyneger and salt, and serve it forth.

Photo goes here.

Salat

Slightly adapted from Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks by Constance B. Hieatt, Brenda Hosington, and Sharon Butler

Ingredients

• 2 handfuls of leaf lettuce
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 1 handful borage or radish leaves
• 1 handful of watercress¹
• 1 small bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
• 1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fennel fronds or dill
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives or garlic chives
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
• 1 tsp. fresh tarragon
• 1 tsp. fresh savoury (optional)
• 3-6 green onions, sliced
• 1 small Vidalia or red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 small leeks, very well washed and thinly sliced (optional)
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• ~1/4 c. vinegar (preferably red wine vinegar)
• ~1/2 Tbsp. salt
• freshly ground pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the lettuce, spinach, borage/radish leaves, watercress, fennel, parsley, fennel fronds/dill, chives/garlic chives, sage, mint, tarragon, savoury (if using), green onions, sweet onion, and leeks (if using).
2. Add the olive oil and toss to combine.
3. Have guests drizzle their portion of salad with a little of the vinegar and some of the salt and pepper (if using) at the table.
   

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¹ I will admit that I omitted both the borage and the watercress for my rendition. It was still delicious. But I'd love to try it with an even wider variety of greens sometime. ^Back

I'm used to watermelon and mint salad just involving whole mint leaves tossed with watermelon, feta, and maybe a little oil and/or vinegar. I've never seen one that goes to the trouble of making a whole vinaigrette before. It was an interesting approach. And I appreciated how much mint it used up!

Watermelon and Feta Salad with Mint Vinaigrette

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. fresh mint, divided
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 fresh mild chile (optional)
• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 650g watermelon, cubed
• 185g feta, diced

Directions

1. Combine 1/2 c. of the mint with the sugar in a blender or food processor and chop.
2. Add the chile (if using), vinegar, and lime juice and purée.
3. With motor running, drizzle in the olive oil.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Add the watermelon and feta to a bowl and toss with dressing.
6. Top with remaining mint leaves and serve.

We had a bunch of leftover pumpkin tagine for dinner tonight, but not much in the way of protein. Luckily, we still had a chicken in the freezer, so I was able to roast that up and combine it with some bread and veggies to make this "salad". It is a salad without lettuce or leafy greens. But I guess the inclusion of a vinaigrette makes it a salad nonetheless? Either way, it was tasty and rounded out the meal nicely.

Roast Chicken and Bread Salad with Green Beans

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 chicken (~1kg), cut into pieces¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3 thick slices of bread, cubed
• 250g green beans, trimmed
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 shallot (or small red onion), minced
• 2 Tbsp. red wine or cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. grainy mustard
• 2 Tbsp. dried currants
• 250g strawberries², hulled and quartered

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Season chicken with most of the salt and pepper (reserving a little for the beans).
3. Roast at 200°C (400°F) until chicken is done (45-60 minutes).
4. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
5. Toss the bread cubes with 2 Tbsp. of the oil and spread out on the (now empty) baking sheet.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until lightly browned and crisp on the outside (~15 minutes), turning once or twice during cooking.
7. Meanwhile, blanch the beans in some water seasoned with some of the reserved salt and pepper. Cook until just barely tender (2-3 minutes).
8. Shock the beans in cold water, drain, and set aside.
9. Whisk the winegars with the mustard, currants, and red onion.
10. Drizzle in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil while whisking vigorously.
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I used a bit of the reserved salt and pepper from above.)
12. Add the beans and toss to combine.
13. Top with chicken, strawberries, and croutons and serve.

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¹ The original recipe called for the chicken skin to be left on, but I chose to skin my chicken and just baste it with a little of the rendered schmaltz instead. ^Back
2 I wasn't impressed by the strawberries this week, so I gave them a miss and just tossed some leftover peach salsa onto this salad instead. I think it worked quite well! ^Back

Symbol: I made this broccoli salad way back at the beginning of January. But I haven't been great at staying on top of the write-ups so far this year, so it had kind of fallen through the cracks. (Thank you, Reiver, for helping to make sure this recipe made it onto the blog!)

This was our salad for the picnic we had out at the Otorohanga Kiwi House. I ended up doing a tuna melt, PB&J, grilled cheese, pickle & cheese, and egg salad sandwiches on feather bread. And those sandwiches plus a few apples and this salad made for a lovely lunch spread!

Broccoli Salad

From Love and Lemons

Ingredients

• 450g broccoli
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. grainy mustard
• 1/2 Tbsp. maple syrup, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/3 c. dried cranberries
• 1/2 c. almonds
• 1/2 c. pepitas
• 1 Tbsp. tamari
• 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Chop the broccoli florets into ½-inch pieces and any remaining stems into ¼-inch dice. Peel any woody or coarse parts from the stem first.
3. In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mayo, apple cider vinegar, mustard, 1 tsp. of the maple syrup, garlic, and salt.
4. Add the broccoli, onions, and cranberries and toss to coat.
5. Place the almonds and pepitas on the baking sheet and toss with the tamari, remaining 1/2 tsp. maple syrup, and smoked paprika.
6. Spread into a thin layer on the baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
9. Toss the almonds and pepitas into the salad and serve.

This salad worked out particularly. Reiver's family gifted us some lovely butter lettuce and beets the other day. And then mushrooms went on sale for half price at the grocery store. And, at that point, all you really need to add to complete the dish is a light vinaigrette, so this recipe dovetailed quite nicely with our available ingredients this week.

I think cremini mushrooms (and/or a mix of oyster and shiitake) would be idea for this, but the sale was only on the white button mushrooms this week, so I just went with those. Use whatever tickles your fancy though. You can't really go wrong with mushrooms cooked in butter!

Spring Greens with Sautéed Mushrooms

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 250g mushrooms, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tsp. garlic paste¹ (optional)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. red wine or apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. minced shallot²
• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh chives
• 150-175g mixed greens

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid.
3. Add the garlic, season to taste with salt and pepper, and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated.
4. Meanwhile, combine the vinegars and whisk in the olive oil.
5. Mix in the shallot and chives (or green onion) and toss with the greens.
6. Top salad with the mushrooms and serve.

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¹ The recipe didn't call for any garlic and I didn't use any this time, but, in retrospect, I think some garlic with the mushrooms would have been nice. I would definitely add some if I were doing this again. ^Back
2 I didn't want to go out and get shallots and chives just for this recipe, so I used a minced green onion in place of both. I'm sure the shallot and chives would have been nice, but not so nice that it was worth getting two extra ingredients for and then trying to figure out how to use up the excess. The green onion got the job done just fine. ^Back

This is a nice vegetable side. It's fast, easy, and surprisingly tasty. I quite liked it!

Honey-Lemon Carrot Salad

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tbsp. honey
• 2 Tbsp. white wine or sherry vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 500g carrots, grated
• 1/3 c. sultanas or golden raisins
• 1/4 c. sliced almonds¹
• 1 Tbps. chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Combine the honey, vinegar, and lemon juice and mix well.
2. Whisk in the olive oil and salt.
3. Add the carrots, sultanas, almonds, and parsley and toss to combine.

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¹ I was all out of sliced almonds, so I used sliced hazelnuts for my salad instead. ^Back

We don't tend to eat a lot of beets. The Kidlet isn't really a fan and I find them kind of annoying to prepare. And with so many other veggies that we do all like, it just never really seems worth getting the beets. I do like them though. So I was keen to find a recipe to use them up when we got a few in our last produce basket by accident.

This recipe is specifically written for "baby" beets. And the ones in our produce basket were the perfect size. Unfortunately, there were also only a handful of them. So TF had to go out and get us a few more. And the grocery store didn't have any small beets. So we had to make due with much larger ones. Cutting them down into smaller pieces seemed to work well enough though.

Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Vinaigrette and Goat Cheese

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 450g baby beets (3-5cm diameter), any colour
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 orange, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1/4 c. walnuts, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1 bunch watercress, arugula, or spring mix
• 60g fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Cut the leaves off of the beets, leaving ~2cm of the stem in tact.
3. Rinse and scrub very well.
4. Place in a baking dish, toss with 1 Tbsp. of the oil, and season with salt and pepper.
5. Roast beets at 200°C (400°F) for ~25 minutes.
6. Add orange and chopped walnuts, drizzle with another Tbsp. of oil, and continue roasting until beets are very tender (~10 minutes longer).
7. Meanwhile, combine the red wine and orange juice and whisk in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
9. When the beets are done, allow them to cool and then remove the skins.
10. Pour the vinaigrette over them and toss to coat.
11. Place a handful of greens on each plate and top with some of the beet mixutre.
12. Sprinkle with goat cheese and serve.

We got a surprise cucumber in our produce basket last week. Normally I wouldn't worry about it because cucumbers and bell peppers were the Kidlets main school snacks for several years. But she seems to have gone off them lately. So the cucumber was going begging and I needed to find a use for it.

Enter this delightlfully low-effort cucumber salad. Just toss everything in a bowl and let it sit for half an hour. Boom! Done.

Thai Cucumber Salad

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/3 c. rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 small red onion (or 1/4 large), thinly sliced
• 1 English cucumber, sliced into 1cm thick discs
• 1 fresh chile¹, thinly sliced
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 c. roasted unsalted peanuts², chopped

Directions

1. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper in a small pot and bring to a boil.
2. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Add onion to vinegar mixture and allow to cool.
4. Pour vinegar mixture over cucumber slices.
5. Add chile and toss to combine.
6. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
7. Stir in cilantro and peanuts and serve.

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¹ The recipe calls for a jalapeño, but I thought that a Thai or finger chile would go better and I already had a bunch of those on hand, so that's what I went with. I think either a red or green Thai, cayenne, serrano, or finger chile would work here. (Or a jalapeño in a pinch, I guess.) Use whatever you've got. ^Back
2 The recipe only calls for 2 Tbsp. of peanuts and that's what we used when we made this. That said, I feel that it would have benefitted from more peanuts, so I've upped the quantity here. ^Back

This was an excellent salad! Like, really unreasonably good for how simple it was!

We'd already eaten all of the bell peppers that I'd cooked yesterday, so we needed a new side dish to go with the leftover pasta. I didn't feel up for putting much effort in, but this salad didn't take much, so that was convenient. And it punches way above its weight flavour-wise. I'm very pleased with this one.

Shaved Carrots with Olives and Almonds

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 450g carrots
• 1/4 c. green olives, minced
• 1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1-2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, toasted
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 c. almonds, toasted

Directions

1. Thinly slice the carrots on a mandoline or a box grater. (Alternatively, use a vegetable peeler to make long, thin ribbons.)
2. Combine the olives, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt, and pepper and mix well.
3. Add the carrots and toss to combine.
4. Coarsely grind or crush the almonds and sprinkle them over the salad.

It was TF's birthday today. She chose spaghetti a la carbonara as her birthday meal. And, as usual, she made it herself. But I wanted to do up some sides to go with it. Since, while carbonara is delicious, it's also not exactly health food. And I felt the need to try to put some greens on the plate.

I picked up a head of broccoli and roasted it with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper. But I figured that another vegetable side wouldn't go amiss, so I put together this salad as well.

The suggestion for topping it with toasted walnuts and orange segments came from a thread on Reddit. The same user also suggested adding either goat cheese or shaved Parmesan as well as a few olives. I chose to add the Parmesan, but omitted the olives.

For the dressing, I went with a slightly modified version of a lemon vinaigrette recipe found on Love & Lemons. I added a bit of red wine vinegar and half a shallot to mine, reduced the salt slightly, and omitted the thyme.

I'm really happy with how the salad worked out overall. And, as an added bonus, I drizzled a small amount of the dressing over the broccoli when it came out of the oven. I feel like the bright citrus flavours worked really well with the roasted broccoli. And the acidity helped balance the fat from the carbonara somewhat. All-in-all, a good combination!

Arugula Salad with Clementines and Walnuts

Adapted from Reddit and Love & Lemons

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. Roman mustard
• 1/2 tsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 c. olive oil

Salad

• ~100g arugula
• 2 clementines (or 1 orange), sectioned
• 3-4 Tbsp. walnuts, toasted and chopped
• shaved Parmesan

Directions

1. Combine the lemon juice, vinegar, shallot, gerlic, mustard, honey, salt, and pepper and mix well.
2. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking vigorously. Set aside.
3. Place the arugula in a salad bowl and top with clementines and walnuts.
4. Spoon some of the vinaigrette over. (You will not need it all.)
5. Top with Parmesan shavings and serve.

I was not overly impressed with this salad/side. It sounded interesting, but it just didn't deliver. It wasn't awful, it just wasn't very appealing. It was one of those only-if-there's-nothing-else-to-eat sort of dishes. So, not one I'm likely to revisit. But at least now I know.

Celery Root Rémoulade

From Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 (~680g) celery root (celeriac)
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. Dijon or Roman mustard
• 3 Tbsp. boiling water
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 3-4 Tbsp. minced fresh chives

Directions

1. Trim the ends of the celery root, peel it, use a mandoline to cut into thin slices and then cut the slices into matchsticks (julienne).
2. Toss the celery root with the lemon juice and salt. Let stand for ~30 minutes.
3. Rinse the celery root, drain, and pat dry.
4. Use some hot water to warm a heatproof bowl, then empty it and dry it off.
5. Put the mustard in the warm bowl and slowly drizzle in the boiling water while whisking.
6. Whisking vigorously, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.
7. Whisk in the vinegar.
8. Add the celery root and toss to coat.
9. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours.
10. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

Bund Gobhi Kakadi nu Salade (Cabbage-Cucumber Salad)

I had initially been intending to do some baked cod for dinner last night, but, when dinner time rolled around... I just wasn't feeling it. So I flipped through the curry cookbook instead. I started at the back and worked my way forward until I got to this interesting salad recipe.

It's hot here right now, so the idea of a nice, cool salad for dinner was quite appealing. And it meant that I could finally use up the cabbage and cucumber out of the fridge! Granted it was napa cabbage rather than the green cabbage the recipe called for, but I had a hunch that I could get away with making that swap in this instance.

I made the recipe to spec initially and it was good. That said, I felt like it could stand to be a little punchier, so I added a couple tsp. of Maharashtrian garam masala. I think that helped, but I might be inclined to add a minced green chile next time as well. Still... it was a tasty refreshing salad for a hot day.

Bund Gobhi Kakadi nu Salade

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 small head cabbage, shredded
• 1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/2 c. shredded fresh coconut¹
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 fresh green Thai, finger, or serrano chile, minced (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. raw peanuts (without skins)
• 1-2 Tbsp. mustard oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp. ground asafetida
• juice of 1 lime
• 1-2 tsp. Maharashtrian garam masala (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the cabbage, cucumber, coconut, cilantro, chile (if using), sugar, and sea salt and mix well.
2. Toast the peanuts over medium-high heat until brown and spotty.
3. Transfer to a molcajete or large mortar and pestle and coarsely grind (to the texture of coarse breadcrumbs). If using a food processor, blender, or spice grinder wait until the peanuts have cooled completely before grinding or else they will become cakey.
4. Add the peanuts to the salad.
5. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
6. Add the mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they've stopped popping (30-60 seconds).
7. Remove from heat and stir in the asafetida.
8. Allow to cook in the residual heat for 5-10 seconds, then pour the oil mixture over the salad and stir to combine.
9. Add the lime juice and garam masala (if using) and mix well.
10. Serve cold or room temperature.

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¹ Alternatively, use 1/4 c. of dried, unsweetened shredded coconut. Pour over 1/4 c. of boiling water, let stand for 10-15 minutes, then drain and use as directed. ^Back

As written this wants ricotta salata, but as usual we didn't have that and we did have feta, so feta it is.

Roasted Beets with Arugula and Feta

Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p. 19)

Ingredients

• large beets totaling about 500g
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ¼ tsp mustard
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2 C (~60g) baby arugula
• 130-150g feta, crumbled

Directions

1. Trim roots and stems from beets.
2. Arrange beets on a baking tray and brush with 1½ tbsp oil.
3. Bake at 350° until fork-tender, turning every half hour, about 60-90 minutes depending on beet size.
4. Remove and let cool.
5. Meanwhile, whisk together remaining oil, juices, mustard, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
6. Peel beets and cut into thin wedges.
7. Add beets to dressing and turn gently until coated.
8. Add arugula and feta and toss to combine. Serve.

Lunch time rolled around today and TF and I were both feeling ravenous. Unfortunately, we didn't really have any leftovers in the fridge. And no bread or other quick and easy lunch options. We were considering having some sort of ramen. But I decided to take a quick look through the egg book before resorting to instant noodles. Luckily I ran across this recipe and remembered that we still had some asparagus in the fridge that needed to be used up.

The original recipe called for basmati rice, but we swapped it out for long-grain brown rice. It takes a little longer to cook, but it's a bit healthier and more filling than white rice. We also swapped out the fresh ginger for ginger paste¹ and halved the oil called for. This worked quite well and made a tasty and relatively easy lunch option!

Brown Rice, Asparagus, and Egg Salad

Slightly adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 c. long-grain brown rice
• 1 c. water²
• peanut (or other neutral) oil
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea slat, ground
• 340g asparagus, trimmed
• 1-2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 c. sliced green onions
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted

Dressing

• 1/2 c. rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. ginger paste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3 Tbsp. neutral oil
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil

Directions

1. Cook the rice by your preferred method.
2. Meanwhile, heat a few mm of oil in a 6" frying pan over medium-high heat.
3. Beat the eggs with the ginger, garlic and salt.
4. Once the oil is hot, pour in the egg mixture and cook, without stirring, for 2 minutes.
5. Lift the edges of the egg and let the uncooked mixture flow underneath. Cook for 1 more minute.
6. Flip and cook for 1 minute longer.
7. Transfer to a strainer or paper towel to drain.
8. Cut or tear the omelette into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
9. Place a steamer basket over a few cm of boiling water and steam the asparagus for 3-4 minutes.
10. Rinse the asparagus under cold water, transfer to serving bowl, toss with sesame oil, and set aside.
11. Combine the vinegar, sugar, ginger, garlic, and sea salt for the dressing and mix well.
12. Whisking constantly, add the oil in a thin, steady stream.
13. Continue whisking and drizzle in the sesame oil. Set aside.
14. Once the rice is done, add it to the bowl with the asparagus along with the green onions and toss to combine.
15. Pour over the dressing, add the omelette pieces, and stir to mix.
16. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve.

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¹ I doubled the quantity of ginger paste since I find it doesn't tend to have quite as much presence as fresh ginger. If you are using grated fresh ginger, then halve the quantities called for here. ^Back
2 The amount of water needed to cook the rice will vary depending on the method used to cook it. The proportions shown here are appropriate for pressure cooking in an InstantPot. ^Back

I don't usually bother writing up Hello Fresh recipes anymore, since so many of them are variations on stuff we've already cooked, but this one was a huge hit, including with our New Zealish guest.

Blueberry Chicken Salad

Hello Fresh

Ingredients

• 56g sliced almonds
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp whole grain mustard
• 4 tbsp blueberry jam
• 2 tsp garlic salt
• 4 large chicken breasts
• 227g spring mix
• 2 gala apples, cut into 1cm cubes

Directions

1. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, jam, mustard, and 1 tbsp water. Add salt and pepper to taste and buffer.
2. Heat a large pan over medium-low heat. Add almonds, sugar, 1 tbsp water, and a pinch of salt.
3. Cook, stirring often, until almonds are lightly browned and coated with sugar, 3-4 minutes. Remove and buffer on a plate.
4. Increase heat to medium. Add 1 tbsp oil and chicken. Season with pepper and garlic salt.
5. Cook until golden brown on both sides and cooked through (165°F). Remove from heat.
6. Toss spring mix and apples with half the dressing.
7. Thinly slice chicken. Serve salad topped with chicken, almonds, and remaining dressing.

I wasn't sure what to think of this salad based on the recipe. I like squash. Roasting it in the oven sounded like a promising start. And I've had some lovely warm salads in the past. But this combination sounded a bit unusual and I didn't quite know what to expect. It was actually really great though! Sadly, the Kidlet didn't care for it. But TF and I both loved it!

I cut back on the oil quite a bit. (The original called for half a cup!) And I had to use a yellow onion rather than red because that's all we had on hand. But, other than that, I stuck to the script and it worked out quite well!

Warm Squash Salad with Mint

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 butternut squash
• 1/4 c. olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. minced fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/4 c. fresh mint leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Peel the squash and cut crosswise into 2-3cm thick slices, scooping out any seeds.
3. Toss with 2 Tbsp. of the oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Spread the squash out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast at 200°C (400°F) until tender (~30 minutes), turning once or twice.
5. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil into the vinegar.
6. Add the onion, oregano, garlic, and pepper flakes and let stand while squash cooks.
7. Once squash is done, transfer to a serving dish and pour the dressing over.
8. Sprinkle with mint and serve.

I haven't been feeling up to much cooking lately, so I've been making a lot of simple soups and salads. I had a bunch of chicken left over from making a soup earlier and spinach left over from the green smoothie bowls, so I decided to combine that into this salad. There were even a few corn tortillas left over in the fridge that I was able to fry up into tostadas, so it worked out quite well all 'round!

The one thing that I did not have was cherry tomatoes, so I opted to mix in a few tinned diced tomatoes instead. I'm honestly pretty happy with how this worked out. Although I was a bit short of greens and I think it probably could've used a bit of cheese. I think a bit of cheddar would have been a really nice complement to all the other elements.

Chicken Tostada Salad

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 limes
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. peppercorns, ground
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 1 (470g) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 c. corn kernels
• 2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved (or 2 c. canned diced tomatoes)
• 1 jalapeño or poblano chile, minced
• 1 head romaine or leafe lettuce (or equivalent amount of spinach), torn into bite-sized pieces
• 300-350g cooked chicken, shredded
• 1 c. grated cheddar (optional)
• 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
• 1/4-1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 2-4 green onions, sliced (optional)
• 4 tostadas

Directions

1. Zest and juice the limes.
2. Combine the lime juice, zest, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking vigorously.
4. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, and chile and toss to combine. Let stand for 5-10 minutes.
5. Add the lettuce, chicken, and cheese.
6. Top with avocado, cilantro, green onions, and cheese (if using).
7. Serve with tostadas on the side.

This simple salad was alright. It wasn't great, but it used up the rest of the celery root I had sitting in the fridge and it was decent enough as a side dish. I probably won't make it again, but it was interesting to try.

Photo goes here.

Celery Root Rémoulade

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 680g celery root (celeriac)
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3 Tbsp. Roman mustard¹
• 1/4 c. boiling water
• 1/4 c. olive oil²
• 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar³
• 3-4 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

Directions

1. Peel the celery root and cut it into thin matchsticks.
2. Sprinkle with lemon juice and sea salt and toss to combine.
3. Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
4. After standing for 30 minutes, rinse the celery root, drain, and pat dry.
5. Warm a heatproof bowl and place the mustard in it.
6. Drizzle the boiling water into the mustard, whisking constantly.
7. Slowly drizzle in the oil, continuing to whisk while doing so.
8. Whisk in the vinegar.
9. Add the celery root and toss to combine.
10. Cover and cill for 3-24 hours.
11. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 1/4 c. of Dijon mustard. I reduced this to 3 Tbsp. since I generally find our homemade Roman mustard quite strong. You may want to bump it up slightly if you're using a milder mustard. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for 1/3-1/2 c. of olive oil, but only 3 Tbsp. of water and 2 Tbsp. of vinegar. I usually like my salad dressings to have a bit less oil and more vinegar, so I reduced the oil and increased the water and vinegar somewhat. ^Back
3 The original recipe calls for either white wine or champagne vinegar. I didn't want to go out and get a whole new bottle of vinegar just for this one recipe, so I just used the red wine vinegar that I already had on hand. ^Back