Thankful hearts

This weekend marks the end of what has been a really great summer for us. No doubt- life still has moments of challenge, but it's been a great summer. The pace has been so different than last summer, with much more time (and and much less stress) to get out and enjoy the great weather and scenery on this island. We've had picnics at the beach, hikes through the forest, lots of time with friends, projects realized around our house and garden, and tons of laughter. For this, we can only be thankful.

And the Winner is...

I first had quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) a few years ago at a work potluck. I think it's become more mainstream since then, and we have slowly introduced it into our diet in rotation with our regular rice, couscous or barley side dishes. I love grain salads in summer, and the first time we made this Jeff and I both knew we had an absolute hit. I've made this for four batches of company this summer, and the rave reviews keep coming. It was, therefore, pretty easy to name this recipe our salad of Summer 2012.

adapted from Sweet Sugar Bean blog

serves 6-8 as a side dish

1 small** butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and cut into 1/2 chunks
~ 2 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 cup quinoa, rinsed very well
1 3/4 cups water or chicken broth
1 cup pecans or almonds, chopped and toasted
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 green onions chopped
handful of fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
juice and zest of 1 lemon (to make 2 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 *F. Peel and chop the sqaush, then toss it into a shallow casserole. Add olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper; mix well so each piece of squash is coated. Roast for 20 minutes; remove from oven and sprinkle with brown sugar. Return to oven for another 10 minutes or until squash is cooked through. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. **If the squash is large, I cube the whole thing and freeze half.

To cook quinoa, rinse it very well, drain it, and place it in a saucepan with water/chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine cooled cooked quinoa and roasted squash (along with syrup created by the brown sugar) along with the nuts, cranberries, and chopped green onions. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, basil and maple syrup. Pour over salad and mix well to combine. Season with salt and pepper, and serve at room temperature, or cold. This salad keeps very well in the fridge for a few days- if it's not gobbled up before then.

I hope you enjoyed our five favourite salads of Summer 2012 . Have a great long weekend!

It's all Greek to me

When I asked Jeff for his favourite new salad of the summer, he reminded me of one that I make every few weeks. I can't believe I forgot about ελληνική σαλάτα (pronounced ellinikí saláta, which means Greek Salad) as it consistently remains near the top of our list of favourites. It's very simple, fresh and easy and delicious- that makes it a total winner for me, and one we had to include in our countdown.

From the Greek Grandma of my friend Noula and Better Homes & Gardens, August 1997 issue
serves ~4 as a side salad

2-3 large tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 cup (or can) of Kalamata Olives
1 small block of feta cheese.
as much red onion as you like
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dried oregano (or 2 tsp. fresh)
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Chop the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and feta cheese into 1 inch cubes and combine in a serving bowl (I dice the onions smaller because I'm not a big fan of red onion). Add the salt, pepper and oregano; drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil and stir well to combine. I usually leave it sit at room temperature for an hour before serving, but you can serve immediately as well. 

New take on coleslaw

Coleslaw is not the first thing that comes to mind when I'm thinking about making a salad. Jeff and I both like traditional coleslaw... but we don't seem to go out of our way for it. Until now. This "new" coleslaw, with mango and another fantastic dressing, is becoming a regular repeat around here. While this comes in at #3 on our list of new favourite summer salads, I expect that we'll see it often through the winter as well.

photo courtesy of Sweet Sugar Bean

Adapted from Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi
serves 6 as a side salad

2 Tbsp. lime juice (~1 lime)
zest of 1 lime
4 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sriracha sauce or chili garlic sauce
3 Tbsp. vegetable, olive or grape seed oil
salt to taste
1/2 head red cabbage, finely shredded
7 leaves of Napa cabbage, finely shredded
1 mango, cut into thin strips
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/4 cup fresh mint, shredded
1/2 cups fresh cilantro, shredded
1/2 cups fresh basil, shredded
1  Tbsp.  diced jalapeno (optional)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

Combine the lime juice, lime zest, maple syrup, sesame oil, soy sauce, sriracha, vegetable oil and salt in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake it like the dickens. In a large bowl, combine the salad ingredients. Add the dressing and toss well. Adjust seasonings and garnish with roasted peanuts.

* I often use leftover dressing to make Summery Beef Fajitas

Peachy keen

We LOVE peaches, and there is no better time to eat them than in August when they are fresh off the tree. We're lucky here on the Island to get a great supply of super fresh Okanagan peaches, and this salad with it's out of this world dressing has become a new favourite.

Adapted from A Farm Girl's Dabbles blog
Dressing yield: 3/4 cup

Dressing: Puree the following ingredients in a blender. If it is too thick, thin out with a few tablespoons of milk. I usually make this dressing a few hours before serving and store the leftovers for up to two weeks in the fridge.

1 large ripe peach, peeled, pit removed, and diced
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2  Tbsp. honey

zest of one lime
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice (~ 1 lime)

1/4 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Salad: This dressing is excellent on a mixture of torn fresh salad greens, diced red onion, crumbled feta or goat cheese, toasted almonds and grilled (as in the photo above) or fresh peaches. 

Summer countdown

We have eaten a lot of salad over the past two months. Summer on Vancouver Island is typically short, in between spring and fall rains. This year, summer was a six week heat wave; while we greatly enjoyed the sun and 30+ degree temperatures, there were more than a few nights when a cold supper was our preference. I repeated a number of our favourite salads (like the  Grain, Bean & Mango Salad,  Asian Cabbage Salad  and Tomato Salad  already featured here), but also challenged myself to try a few new recipes. Some weren't so great, and some have already been repeated several times.

To celebrate this final week of summer, this week on the blog I'm going to count down our five favourite new salads from 2012.

adapted from Karen Barnaby

serves 4 as a side salad

1 Tbsp shredded coconut

1 Tbsp boiling water

1 English cucumber, finely chopped

juice and zest of 1 lime

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup peanuts, toasted and roughly chopped

In a small bowl, combine coconut and boiling water. Mix and set aside to cool (the coconut will absorb the water and takes ~30 minutes to cool). While this cools, chop cucumber and add lime juice and zest, pepper flakes, salt, sugar and olive oil. 

Just before serving, mix in the coconut and peanuts. Enjoy!

Praise to the Lord, The Almighty

After a summer of great weather and lots of time outside, this is a hymn that keeps coming to mind. The arrangement is by F. Melius Christiansen and the wonderful singers are the Luther College Nordic Choir. 

The Van Island Canoodle

Our local news guy made the international news yesterday and found 15 minutes of fame he probably would prefer to forget.