My cooking club theme this month was nuts, and I made an almond, apricot, and avocado salad. I was inspired by a recipe I saw on the website ‘Vegan Chef’, but the link isn’t currently working so I posted the full recipe below, with my modifications. The salad turned out well, and definitely had the fresh citrus taste of summer. It is pictured below with the other dishes from our meal, including cashew chicken, rice, and carrots cooked with almonds. It was a fantastic meal, with an equally delicious and decadent dessert which I will get the recipe for soon.

1/2 c. apple juice
1/4 t ginger
10-12 dried apricots, diced, divided
3 T lime juice
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T maple syrup
1 avocado, diced
2 t lemon juice
1 carrot, shredded
10-12 dried apricots, diced, divided
3-4 scallions, sliced thinly
6-8 c. green leaf lettuce
1/4 c. toasted slivered almonds

To make dressing, simmer apple juice, ginger, and 2-3 T diced apricots in a small saucepan for 5 minutes. Cool briefly, then pour into food processor and add lime juice, cider vinegar, and maple syrup and blend until smooth.

Toss avocado and lemon juice in a small bowl to prevent browning. Add carrot, remaining diced apricots, and scallions. Set aside.

Tear lettuce and place in a large bowl. Add avocado mixture, almonds, and dressing and toss well.

-Recipe adapted from Vegan Chef

You know when you go to a hibachi-style restaurant, and you get a salad with that delicious orange colored dressing? This is that dressing! The unnatural looking orange color comes from the combination of ketchup and soy sauce. There are many variations of this recipe floating around, so I combined a few of those, and modified the overall ratio of oil to vinegar. So this version is perhaps a little thinner than the one I typically see in restaurants, but it still has that fresh ginger taste that I love.

1/2 small yellow onion, minced
1/3 c. canola oil
1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
2 T water
2 T minced fresh ginger
3 T ketchup
1 T soy sauce
2 t sugar
1 t lime juice
Salt and Pepper

Mix all ingredients in a food processor, or add to a cruet and shake.

I was looking for a recipe to use the leftovers from my first try at No Knead Bread, and remembered how much I liked the panzanella I made this summer. I found this recipe for a winter version of the salad, using butternut squash and brussels sprouts. But I don’t think so many steps are needed to make this dish well, and I also reduced the amount of oil used. In the end, I really enjoyed this salad when it was freshly made and warm, but it got even better on the second (and third) days when I ate it cold.

1 small butternut squash, peeled and diced to 1/2″ – 1″
12-15 brussels sprouts, quartered
3 T olive oil, divided
1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly
1/2 c. red wine vinegar, divided
Salt and Pepper
3-4 c. bread cubes
3 T shredded Parmesan
1 t thyme
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

Place butternut squash and brussels sprouts on a baking sheet, and drizzle with 2 T olive oil. Bake at 40o F for 20-25 minutes, until roasted. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix sliced onion and 1/4 c. red wine vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and set aside. Place bread cubes in a 13″x9″ dish, drizzle with 1 T olive oil, and sprinkle with thyme and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes, until browned. Mix vegetables, onion and vinegar mixture, and bread cubes in a large bowl. Add parsley, and enough of the remaining vinegar to dress the salad. (My bread cubes easily soaked up the remaining 1/4 cup.) Serve immediately warm, or store in the refrigerator.

This chicken salad is packed with veggies and makes a great portable meal. I used less dressing than the recipe suggests, but the dish still has a nice sesame flavor and the oranges make it naturally sweet. I don’t even usually like water chestnuts, but they blended right in. Next time I will try to make a homemade version of the dressing (and take a picture in a nicer dish) but otherwise I won’t change a thing!

Roll up your sleeves and wash your hands – yes, you really do need to massage the kale, but it’s worth it. Many food bloggers have posted about this recipe and there are several variations, but it started here. I never knew kale could be so good!

I bought a large bunch of kale (which was 50 cents) and tore the leaves only into small pieces. They overflowed my largest strainer, but I managed to rinse them all with cool water. I tossed the kale into a bowl with half of a ripe avocado, 2-3 T lemon juice, and some sea salt, and began the massage. For about 10 minutes, I rubbed the leaves between my fingers, working my way around the bowl. I added in some shredded carrot, and then let the salad set for a half hour. When dinner was ready, the leaves were soft and full of flavor. Give it a try!

This is a simple salad recipe, and you can modify it easily with what you have on hand. I used walnuts and cheddar cheese, which was a good combination. However, I do recommend you serve it as a salad, because when I tried to make a wrap for lunch, I had a soggy mess by noon time. (This did not prevent me from attacking it with a fork!)

This was such an easy salad to throw together, and most of the ingredients are standard pantry items except for the cucumber. I got the recipe from On a Lobster Placemat, although I omitted the capers and used thyme instead of oregano. Served over a bed of fresh spinach, it was a great lunch.

This is a fairly basic bean salad recipe but it had a great taste, with green beans and zucchini straight from the farm. I followed the recipe as written, although I left out the pepper and added shredded Parmesan on top just before serving. It was even better the second (and third) day with lunch!

I took a day off blogging on Friday, but I did spend some time at the produce market getting all the ingredients for this awesome summer salad. Although it required a lot of chopping, it was fairly easy to make. From start to finish it took about a half hour which seemed pretty quick, perhaps because I wasn’t the one standing in front of the hot grill! Here is one batch of the grilled items:

There’s nothing especially complicated about this recipe for potato salad, but it is much better when made a day ahead. My Mom recommends Yukon Gold potatoes, which are boiled whole. And you should definitely use your favorite Italian salad dressing, perhaps something like Kraft Good Seasons mix made with plenty of red wine vinegar. She will only use Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise, but be careful not to add too much since the flavor really comes from the salad dressing. I am biased of course, but this is my favorite potato salad.