Wild Rice Salad

This is another one of our salad’s, which we brought to work for lunch.  It was a Sunday night, and we didn’t have any leftovers- so this was a fast salad to put together.  The rice took the longest to cook, but if you have extra rice on hand- feel free to use that.  The additions to the salad can be changed around- originally the recipe calls for pine nuts, but since we didn’t have any- sunflower seeds it was.  It was a great texture change (crispy sunflowers vs. soft rice).  Cherries can be swapped for cranberries, onion for green onion, etc.  This is a great use of brown/wild rice, especially if when there are leftovers.

Wild Rice Salad
Adapted from: Vegetarian Times Magazine

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tbsp grated orange zest
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 cups brown rice, cooked
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
3 green onions, sliced

Whisk together oil, orange juice, orange zest and mustard in a bowl.  Then add the cooked rice, cranberries, mint and green onions.  Toss to coat the salad.  Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Artichoke, Mint and Cilantro Quinoa Salad

Another quinoa salad!  Obviously, I can’t get enough.  It’s just that they’re so easy, and perfect for lunch.  Walking through Trader Joe’s one day, I saw that they had a bag of frozen artichokes, and I’ve been wanting to use them- this salad was perfect for it.

Artichoke, Mint and Cilantro Quinoa Salad
Adapted from: Easy Everyday: Simple Recipes

1 cup cooked quinoa
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 marinated artichoke hearts*
3 green onions, chopped
1 15-oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup grape seed oil (can use olive oil)
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
juice of 1 lemon
salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped

Cook quinoa according to box directions.  Then put the quinoa in a bowl, add the tomatoes, artichoke hearts, green onions and chickpeas.

In a separate bowl make the dressing.  Mix the oil, vinegar and lemon juice and beat with a fork.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add the dressing to the quinoa mixture.  Then top with herbs, and toss.

* You can used the one’s from the can, drained and halved.

Squash Lentil Salad

This is a great salad for a quick and easy dinner.  Since it’s more savory when the squash is warm, and the greens don’t get soggy- this one is a make right before you eat.  It’s a good mix of a light salad, but filling with the squash and lentils.  Since there are plenty of squash to choose from, it should not be limited to butternut squash, feel free to try others. 

Squash-Lentil Salad
Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen Blog

3/4 cup lentils
2 medium size butternut squash; peeled, seeded, cubed (1 inch)
6 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cups spinach (or arugula)
1/2 cup goat cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, thinly shredded

Preheat over to 400 degrees.  Toss the squash with 4 tbsp of oil, cumin, paprika, salt and red pepper flakes.  Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes; flip squash and roast for another 15 minutes.  When squash is tender, take it out of the oven and let it cool.

While the squash roasts, cook lentils in boiling salted water until tender (20-30 minutes).  After they are cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. 

Combine the lentils, squash, goat cheese and greens in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl mix mint, vinegar and 2 tbsp oil.  Add the dressing to the salad, season with extra salt if desired. Divide between 3-4 bowls, and lightly sprinkle each of them with Parmesan.

Cabbage Thai Salad

As I have mentioned, I love salads.  Easy salads that take less than 30 minute to throw together and they can be a meal.  Growing up, my mom used to make a chinese cabbage salad, which included Ramen noodles as an extra crunch- and I loved it!  So when I saw this recipe from Mark Bittman’s The Food Matters Cookbook, I definitely wanted to try it to see this salad satisfied my love for the crunchy cabbage salad.  Simililar ingredients, but there are some fun additions.  I did change it just a bit, more of some stuff, less of others- but it is crunchy and refreshing.  My favorite was putting the sesame seeds on it!

Cabbage Thai Salad
Adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook

Juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 fresh hot red chile, minced
1 carrot, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 Chinese cabbage, chopped
2 handfuls of snow peas, chopped
5-7 radishes, chopped
1 handful of cashews
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of sesame seeds
8 leaves of fresh basil, chopped
6 leaves of fresh mint, chopped

Mix all of these ingredients in a large bowl.  Toss, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Although, this can get a big soggy, so it’s better to eat it right away.