Easy Summer Salad

Before you say anything, I know... a blog post about salad?

Easy, you say? What's easier than a bagged salad and ready made dressing?

I get it. Really I do. There are some days where I tear up lettuce, add thousand island dressing and proclaim it as my salad. And that's ok. If that's how you like your salad, it's wonderful, I like it that way too.

But, if you're feeling fancy, or you want a change, or you're hosting a dinner party and want to impress, I cannot stress to you how delicious and easy this salad is. It's crispy, crunchy, chewy, soft, sweet, tangy - it has it all!

 

Ingredients

Spinach

Romaine Lettuce

Raspberries

Craisins

Slivered Almonds

 

Dressing

Canola Oil

Apple Cider Vinegar

Honey

 

I started this salad, by soaking my spinach. Spinach tends to be gritty and that's not something I want to eat, so I let the spinach soak for a minute, rinse it, and soak again. Let it soak while you prepare the rest. Grab a small pan and add your almonds. No oil, no spices, no nothing. You'll want to pay close attention so the almonds don't burn. Toasting the almonds deepens their flavor and makes them taste nuttier. They are delicious. They also burn easily (this is so important, I mentioned it twice). Move them around pretty constantly. I trust my nose to tell when they're done. If you're not comfortable using that method, look for them to be lightly toasted (light brown in color) or about 7-8 minutes if toasting on medium low.

The next thing I did was make my dressing. This was a lot of trial and error for me, and this is the combination that I liked the most. You can adjust the quantities based on the flavors you like most. Want it sweeter? Add more honey. Want it more tangy? Add more apple cider vinegar. Back to the trial and error. The husband and I went to a dinner last year and we had a spinach, strawberry, feta salad with a sweet, creamy dressing that I was obsessed with trying to recreate. And I never did. I can't quite get it, but that's ok, because in trying to make that, I have this simple fix. Ready for it? Add 1 teaspoon of each: canola oil, apple cider vinegar, honey. Mix. Done. It's sweet and slightly tangy and fantastic with fresh summer fruit.

Next, drain spinach. Rinse the spinach and your romaine lettuce. Spin to dry. I love our salad spinner and recommend it highly. Last thing you do is assemble. I toss the spinach and romaine with dressing in the bowl. I use about half of the dressing. Then top with the raspberries, craisins, and almonds.

 

Done.

 

A few notes: I didn't add quantities, because you could add as much or as little as you want. Really like raspberries? Add a bunch. I will say that half of the dressing was more than enough for about 2 cups of spinach and romaine.

I love this salad because you can mix and match fruits and nuts based on your taste or what's in season. Some ideas:

Almonds with blueberries or cherries.

Pecans with apples or peaches.

Walnuts with apples or pears.

 

 

Let me know if you make it and what combo you used.

When your garden gives you basil, make pesto!

The most amazing and inspiring thing happened yesterday.

 

Two friends tried two separate recipes that I’ve shared and liked them.  What?  Amazing!  I was completely inspired to create and share more.  If you try anything, and whether you like it or not, I would love your feedback!

 

Now onto food!  On our menu yesterday was Pesto Pork and Butter/Garlic/Lemon Pasta**

**title subject to change

 

Since basil is something we grow, and grow a lot of, I’ve always wanted to make pesto, but never have.

It's a jungle out there.

 I’ve heard horror stories about using old pine nuts and how they wreak havoc on your taste buds.  Not to mention, they’re rather pricey at the market.  I scoured the internet and found a recipe using almonds.  And by scoured, I clicked the first link. 

 

http://littleferrarokitchen.com/2013/02/basil-almond-pesto/

 

It seemed easy enough, so I was determined to do it. I only had a couple of minor tweaks, but I think that mainly because I over mixed in the food processor.  Oops?

I started by toasting the almonds:

No oil, just almonds in a pan, to toast.

I only toasted them about 3-4 minutes.  Add to food processor.  Take two garlic cloves, or 1 giant clove like the one I got:

 

Listed in my recipe book as a GIANT clove of garlic.

Make sure you cut up your garlic before adding to the processor - this clove I cut into 4. Then pulse away.  In retrospect, I think I pulsed too much, so next time I would pulse until the size of large panko, not fine breadcrumbs.

 

 

 A little too much pulsing...

 

 Next, I measured* out the basil. 

My scale is so well used, that the letters on the buttons have worn off.

The original recipe called for 2 cups, so I stuck to that, initially.  Added it to the food processor.  The recipe also calls for 3/4 cup olive oil.  So to start, I added 1/4 of it to the food processor and the rest I drizzled in as it mixed.  After completed combined, I added a pinch of salt and some fresh cracked black pepper, about 1/4 tsp.

 

Too much liquid, not enough chunk.

Then it was time to taste.  Two things were evident to me right away: first, I over mixed it, it was way too liquidy and not chunkish, like traditional pesto.  Second, it felt like it needed something.  My immediate go-to when something needs a little something, is acid, in the form of lemons.  Mainly because I have a giant lemon tree in my backyard, but also because it adds great flavor.  I squeezed half a lemon, which yields about 1 oz.

It was better, but still off.  A friend suggested adding more basil, so I added the rest in my bag, which was a little under a cup, but a cup would be fine here too. I manually pulsed three times, to leave a little bit of chunk in those added basil leaves and WHATDOYOUKNOW? Amazing. Delicious.  Still on the thin side, but so good, it didn't matter.

It's chunkier than it looks and the more it sat, the better it was.

I decided to use the pesto as a topping for pork.  I used center cut pork chops, about 1-1.5 inches thick.  I seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, knowing that the pesto was going to bring a punch of flavor.  I seared them in olive oil for about 6 minutes of each side.  After, I drained the oil, I put about half a tablespoon of pesto on each, covered the pan, and let sit for a few minutes.

 Big flavor in a small quantity.

Pesto Recipe

1/4 cup toasted almonds

1-2 cloves of garlic, based on your taste

3 cups basil (54 grams used in this recipe)

1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 oz lemon juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

This recipe made* 18 tbsp. and I made the serving* 1tbsp.

Macros per serving: 1g Carbs, 11g Fat, 1g Protein

I decided to pair the pork with a simple pasta.  Normally I douse my pasta with tons of cream and cheese, but being conscious about fat these days, figured packing more flavor in the way of garlic and lemon could distract from the lack of fat.

 This pasta was better than I had hoped.

 I used what I had on hand, hence the strange butter measurement, but the rest seems pretty standard.

 

Butter/Garlic/Lemon Spaghetti

39g unsalted butter (a little under 3 tbsp.)

1 tsp. crushed garlic

Zest of 1 lemon (approx. 2 tsps.)

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

Squeeze of half a lemon (1 oz.)

2/3 cup of cooking liquid

12 oz. Spaghetti

Salt to taste

 

Macros: 42g Carbs, 7g Fat, 9g Protein – per serving

 

Unfortunately, there are no pictures for the pasta process.  After you boil the pasta (according to package directions) in salted water, drain.  In the same pot, add the butter.  Turn the stove on low-med to melt the butter.  Add garlic and lemon zest.  Turn off stove once melted and mixed – you want everything warm but you’re not cooking anything, and then add the rest of the ingredients, minus spaghetti.  It’s important to taste your sauce before you add the pasta.  If it’s good on its own, it’ll be amazing with your pasta.

 

I didn’t measure* this recipe like I normally do, because 2 oz. of dry pasta = 5 oz of cooked pasta, and the package itself told me there were 6 servings, of 2 oz. dry pasta.

The finished product:

I eat carbs.  Lots of carbs.

 

I topped with a minimal amount of parmesan, because parmesan.

 

*A note about measurements, recipes, servings, yada, yada, yada:

Since I’m big into macros these days, I am very conscious of every ingredient. I keep a notebook next to me as I cook, so I remember to write down everything I add.

Here’s the anal retentive part of me: after I cook, I try and figure out what I’d like the serving size to be.  Like, how much of this would fill me up, and that would be one serving.  I then take my finished product and use my measuring cup, and scoop it into another container until there’s none left and I know exactly how many servings I have.  Example: cooking ¾ cup of rice gives me 10, 1/3 cup cooked rice servings.  Once I know that, I enter it all into a recipe on myfitnesspal and get every detail about the food I’ve made. 

Notice the cross outs, brand names, etc. - I like to be exact.

It sounds like a lot of work.  Totally, and it kind of is. 

BUT, once you do it once, especially to things you cook all the time, you only have to do it once, as long as you stick to your recipe.

 

Happy cooking!

p.s also makes a great gift!