salads

Beetroot, Walnut and Feta Salad Recipe

SAMSUNG CSCI put a photo of this salad on Facebook and asked if anyone wanted the recipe – a couple of you waved your hands: So here you go!

Note, in the pics, I hadn’t added the dressing yet: I’ll do that right before I demolish it (I made this ahead of time for my work lunch tomorrow!). On that note: I have made this salad with a red wine vinaigrette and this orange one: This one is my favourite. There’s something special about the flavour combo of beetroot and orange 🙂

This is such a healthy salad that provides you with lots of nutrients. The walnuts are good antioxidants and promotes a healthy gut environment. The Beet Root is great at lowering blood pressure and even boosts the immune system! All of this, plus it’s really tasty!

(more…)

Thai Beef Salad Recipe

Thai Beef SaladI adore this dish and so do all the blokes I’ve ever cooked it for, it’s definitely a ‘man appropriate salad’ and, if I do say so myself, it’s every bit as good as the salads I scoffed back on holiday in Thailand last year.

Generally I’m a massive fan of clean fresh Asian flavours, if you hadn’t gathered that already (there’s a few Asian recipes on this blog). The weather warmed up here in the Hawke’s Bay recently: Warm enough to get outside and fire up the BBQ to cook the steak! (more…)

Roast Vegetable Salad Recipe

roast vegetable salad

This is the roast vegetable salad that I took to a pot luck dinner on Saturday. I shared the photo on my Facebook page and it got a fair few thumbs up, as well as requests for the recipe. No worries – here you go!

As I made this roast vegetable salad (it’s a recipe that’s in my head), I realised I’ve never never made this the same way twice…  That’s because I always make it with whatever vegetables I have on hand and this will vary from season to season.  Sometimes I fold baby spinach leaves or rocket through the cooked and cooled veges at the end. Sometimes I use blue cheese instead of feta,..  Sometimes I use pinenuts or even dukkah instead of cashew nuts as a garnish.  You get the idea! Go with the  flow and tailor the recipe to suit your taste buds. Nevertheless, below is the recipe as I made it, exactly, on Saturday!  

This is a great addition as a side salad to a number of main courses, like a roast joint of meet, or even as a side with chicken breasts. I’ve also been known to use leftover roast vegetable salad in a frittata or in an omelette the next day. Super versatile: My kind of food.

Enjoy 🙂 (more…)

Quinoa Salad with Chargrilled Veges and Garlic Yogurt Dressing

Quinoa Salad with Chargrilled Veges and Garlic Yogurt DressingI think this Quinoa Salad with Chargrilled Veges and Garlic Yogurt Dressing could be my best quinoa salad recipe yet. This is actually the third salad recipe on this blog featuring this yummy and healthy ‘wonder grain’ on this blog.  Seeing as the other two recipes have been super popular I thought “why not?”  Indeed, this dish is high in WOW factor. Get in quick and rustle this up before the price of capsicums and eggplants skyrocket Downunder as we scurry into autumn.

Low in fat and high flavour this salad ROCKS as a lunch dish on it’s own, or, it is the perfect accompaniment to a beautifully cooked piece of meat (we’ve had it with steak as well as roast chook) and there’s always lots left for lunches for the next few days (this recipe feeds 6-8 but we are a family of three!).
(more…)

Healthy Hummus (with a twist)

low fat hummus recipeThis hummus is heroic in in my eyes as it’s got half the amount of oil contained in usual hummus and no flavour has been sacrificed. Why is low fat important? So, well, time to fess up: My jeans shrunk in the wash over Christmas (yeah right), so I’m engaging some common sense and turning to nutritious snacks that cost next to nothing to make, that are low in fat and contain no sugar. What to whip up in such situations? I don’t reckon you can beat hummus which has been one of my favourite stand-by snacks since, well, ages. Unfortunately lots of store bought hummus can be quite high in fat. Not this stuff! (more…)

Best Brown Rice Salad Recipe

SAMSUNG CSCHands down, this is the best brown rice salad recipe. EVER.

I went to a Christmas BBQ at my friend Nicky’s place about five years ago. When lunch was dished up I tasted this and immediately downed my plate in search of the recipe. Nicky sheepishly fessed up that, actually, her Mother-in-law Lynn had actually made it (and she’d dropped it off for lunch!). Being the persevering lass I am I made Nicky get me the recipe, which she duly did. Thanks Nic! I’ve tweaked the recipe a little over the years (you know me, I can’t help myself) and the recipe below has been a favourite ever since and it regularly accompanies me to BBQs in the summer. It’s so quick to make, especially after I found this pressure cooker brown rice recipe. Not only that but, It keeps for a couple of days and I reckon it takes even better on day two. (more…)

Winter Quinoa Salad with Roast Pumpkin

This recipe is inspired by Taste Cornucopia in Hastings, an organic cafe which never ceases to wow me with their food. They always have an incredible array of salads, packed with stuff that’s only good for you – and my favourite is their quinoa salad. I’ve had this salad for lunch at least once a fortnight for the last three and a half years and I think I’ve finally figured out how to make it almost as good as theirs! This is a fantastic winter salad.

image

(more…)