Archive | Salads

Eat Your Greens!

By Kristen Desmond on January 5, 2015 in Featured, Main Dishes, Salads, Side Dishes, Soups/Stews

This is the season for celebrating dark leafy greens. Packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals, they are some serious food. Kale, collards, chard, spinach, and mustard greens top my list. Before cooking with greens, fill a sink basin or large bowl with cold water and swish the greens around in it, then lift them from the water, leaving any sand and grit behind in the water. Repeat this process until the water is clear.

This week’s post is a collection of recipes designed to inspire you to add more dark leafy goodness into your diet. Get on with it!

Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Lentils and Dates

By Kristen Desmond on March 30, 2014 in Featured, Salads

This salad is delicious. At the very least you must try the roasted cauliflower. If you forget the rest of the recipe (but don’t, you really should try it), you will be very pleased with the roasted cauliflower alone as a side dish…

Cooking with Quinoa

By Kristen Desmond on February 2, 2014 in Featured, Main Dishes, Salads, Side Dishes

Since I published my recipe for Superfood Salad, I’ve gotten quite a few inquiries about quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). Quinoa is an ancient (gluten-free!) food, more closely related to spinach than rice. Widely available these days, quinoa is treated like a grain and is one of the few vegetarian sources for complete protein. When cooked, the grains “unravel,” triple in size, and become translucent.

This week’s post includes instructions for cooking one cup of quinoa and a collection of recipes showcasing its versatility. Enjoy!

805 Living: Superfood Salad

By Kristen Desmond on January 5, 2014 in Dressing, Featured, Press, Salads

We’re excited to have our Superfood Salad featured in the January/February issue of 805 Living Magazine (see page 72)!

Super foods offer nutritional benefits that help boost our immunity and prevent disease. This salad features broccoli, walnuts, apple, and spinach – all nutritional powerhouses. Quinoa is a gluten-free whole grain and one of the few complete vegetarian sources for protein. This is the type of delicious healthful food we plan on preparing for you once our space opens at the Santa Barbara Public Market this spring. Enjoy it in good health!

Thanksgiving Favorites

By Kristen Desmond on November 19, 2013 in Featured, Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads, Side Dishes, Soups/Stews, Sweets/Desserts

One of my all-time favorite meals to prepare, Thanksgiving dinner is a great time to mix the old with the new ~ recipes, that is. We all have our tried and true favorites when it comes to stuffing, potatoes and pie, but I like to shake things up every now and then. Here are some […]

The Taste of Summer: Tomatoes

By Kristen Desmond on July 28, 2013 in Breakfast, Dips/Sauces/Spreads, Featured, Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads, Side Dishes, Soups/Stews

A visit from my parents-in-law yielded pounds of Roma, Early Girl and Purple Prince tomatoes. Organic, fresh and home grown, they don’t get better than this. In celebration, I wanted to make a light and summery sauce for pasta, so I turned to Pim’s Super Quick and Fantastic Tomato Sauce. I used fresh basil, red pepper flakes and sherry vinegar to boost the flavor of the tomatoes. It is indeed fantastic!

Read more for links to other great recipes featuring fresh tomatoes that will deliver the taste of summer to your table. Enjoy!

Salad Obsession: Asian Chicken Salad with Snap Peas

By Kristen Desmond on July 7, 2013 in Dressing, Featured, Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads

My summer salad obsession continues. The best part about this recipe is the Mango Sesame Dressing. I’ve been making it for years. I use it on mixed greens, as a dipping sauce for chicken, or as glaze for on the grill. Udon, traditional Japanese noodles, can be found in the most grocery stores or at World Market. They cook in about 4 minutes and are delicious served hot or cold. If you can’t find udon noodles, use whole wheat spaghetti as a substitute. This is a great summer-time meal!

Zucchini Every Which Way

By Kristen Desmond on June 23, 2013 in Appetizers, Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads, Side Dishes

Summer is here and I find myself asking the same old question – what to do with all this zucchini?!

The answer is simple – almost anything! This week, I searched the FP Recipe Archives for ways to use zucchini and was reminded of this summer staple’s amazing versatility. Zucchini is great baked, roasted, sautéed, or grilled. It makes a great addition to soups, casseroles, and salads. It’s also comfortable playing a starring role.

Granny Jane used to make a world-famous (well, we thought so) Zucchini Relish. I am off to find that recipe now. Read more for links to the recipes!

Savor the Simplicity! Stone Fruit + Summer Salads

By Kristen Desmond on June 16, 2013 in Featured, Recipes, Salads, Sweets/Desserts

It’s June. Here in Santa Barbara, that means foggy mornings followed by gloriously sunny afternoons. It also means stone fruit! We wait all year for this. Nothing brightens a gray day like ripe juicy nectarines, peaches, plums, pluots, apricots, cherries – you get the picture. Stone fruit are delicious raw, grilled, roasted or tossed into salads, salsas and all sorts of baked goods. Attached are links to recipes for a delicious stone fruit salad, a savory pluot salad and seasonal fruit tartlets with crumble topping. This week’s recipe for NECTARINE & ARUGULA SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE AND APRICOT VINAIGRETTE goes to show that good cooking (or tossing!) starts (and in this case, ends) with high quality ingredients. It doesn’t take much to dress up summer’s delicious bounty. Savor the simplicity!

Singing the Blues ~ A New Summer Slaw

By Kristen Desmond on June 2, 2013 in Featured, Recipes, Salads

Blue cheese and seasonal blueberries elevate a summer standard into something special. Tossed with the simplest of red wine vinaigrettes, this coleslaw is crunchy, satisfying and packed with the benefits of cabbage and blueberries. Of course, you eat it with your eyes first – red, “white” and blue! If it’s not blueberry season, black seedless grapes (cut in half, depending on size) would make a great substitute. Be well!

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