This is a crowd pleaser. And you can do all the hard stuff ahead of time, so you’re not fussing when your guests are around, drinking and munching and socializing. You can drink, munch and socialize too! They’ll love it – as a friend of ours said the other night, “bread salad is an uncommon, but welcome offering.” It’s one of those simple yet delicious menu items that makes people happy – why wouldn’t you want to make it?

Tomato Bread Salad with Cannellini Beans and Feta (adapted from The Beekman Heirloom Cookbook)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the bread cubes on a large rimmed cookie sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and crisp, tossing the bread chunks after about 5 minutes of baking. Transfer to a large bowl to cool.

Add the tomatoes to the bread, sprinkle with the salt, and toss to combine. Let stand 20 minutes.

In a small, ungreased skillet, toast the pine nuts over low heat, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Add the beans, vinegar, basil, nuts and remaining 3 tablespoons of oil to the bowl with the bread and tomatoes and toss to combine. Add the cheese and toss again, gently.

Serves 4 generously.

© 2012, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

Happy Friday, everyone! Here’s a roundup of my most popular pins this week.

This Pina Colada fruit salad recipe would be a great addition to a summer brunch:

Source: tasteofhome.com via Sarah @ on Pinterest

Avocado & lime & cantaloupe salad? YES!

 

Source: theppk.com via Sarah @ on Pinterest

I have 5,000 lbs. of CSA tomatoes on my counter – this Southeast Asian tomato salad would be a tasty & creative way to showcase them:

 

Source: yumsugar.com via Sarah @ on Pinterest

 What about carrots? I have a ton of those, too, from my CSA. This duo of shredded carrot salads (one sweet, one savory) is a treat for the eyes, as well as for the palate!

 

Source: kblog.lunchboxbunch.com via Sarah @ on Pinterest

 The addition of corn is an interesting twist on the classic Caprese salad:

 

Source: simplyrecipes.com via Sarah @ on Pinterest

 I’d add a can of rinsed & drained pinto beans to this Mexicali raw corn salad with beans & lime to create a light, vegetarian lunchbox item:

 

Source: care2.com via Sarah @ on Pinterest

And my most popular workout pin? This rockin’ 5-superset Arms & Abs workout . . . summer’s not over yet, my friends!

 

Source: theleangreenbean.com via Sarah @ on Pinterest

Enjoy!

P.S. Not following me on Pinterest? That’s just wrong. Find me here!

© 2012, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

Again with the cabbage. I love the stuff! And napa cabbage is very mild tasting . . . so for those of you who shy away from those big, tough-looking heads of green or purple cabbage, try napa. It’s the kinder, gentler, softer cabbage (see also, savoy). But it’s still very low in calories and high in nutrients – in fact, it has the highest concentration of folate of all the cabbages. A lot of bang for the buck with this one, my friends!

This is a quick and easy slaw to throw together on a hot night. Pair it up with some pre-baked tofu (I like the Teriyaki flavored one from Trader Joe’s) and fill your belly while keeping your kitchen cool. Or, do your own baked tofu – slice a block of organic firm tofu into four slabs, press it, and then throw it in a 9×13 pan with a little sesame oil and a little soy sauce. Gently turn the tofu to coat and throw it in a 375° oven for 30-45 minutes, turning half-way through. It won’t be as dense as the pre-baked TJ’s stuff, but it’ll have a nice soft texture and great flavor. Now, on to the slaw!

Napa Cabbage Slaw (adapted from Food & Wine)

In a dry skillet, toast the almonds for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.

 In a bowl, mix the oil, vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Add the cabbage, scallions and cilantro and toss. Add the almonds and season with pepper. Toss again and serve.

Serves 2 as a dinner salad, with the tofu, otherwise, can serve 4 as a side salad.

© 2012 – 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

It’s summer. It can get HOT. You might be cranky. You definitely don’t want to turn on your oven, or even stand over your stovetop. But you want fresh food that’s good for you, right? Here’s a recipe that solves all the problems. It’s vegetarian, but has a lot of protein for those hung up on that stuff (I admit, I am). You could even veganize it if you wanted to (take out the cheese – the horror!). This is a 30 minute deal that’ll leave you cool, calm, collected & satisfied.

Feta, Lentil & Cilantro Salad

Cook the lentils according to package directions until tender, but still a bit firm to the bite, about 20 minutes.

Drain the lentils, place them in a large bowl, and dress with the olive oil, lemon juice and the garlic. Add the remaining ingredients, stir and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 2 generously as a main dish, 4 as a side dish. Can easily be doubled.

© 2012 – 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

You know it’s rare, but sometimes I make a recipe exactly as written. It’s true! Especially when I’m dealing with new methods or ingredients and I’m not sure how they work or taste. Friday night’s kale salad is an example. You know me – I eat kale. I have loved kale since before kale was kool. I have an Eat More Kale t-shirt for chrissake. But I’ve never had the guts to eat it raw. It always seemed so, well, curly and tough. The same reason I love it for cooking – it doesn’t break down easily and get slimy (I’m lookin’ at you, spinach) – is what made me think I’d dislike it raw.

I was wrong. Oh, so so so wrong.

Don’t get turned off by the fact that this is a Weight Watchers recipe, OK? You don’t have to tell anyone. You can just push a plate in front of them with this salad and watch them take a taste, their eyes light up, and hear them exclaim. DH did just that on Friday night when I made this. I was pretty sure he’d be a hater – instead he is a HUGE FAN.

Here’s the link. Buy good-quality cheese and use fresh lemon. Make it soon.

And you? Have you tried raw kale? What’d you think? Got recipes to share? Lay ‘em on me!

© 2012 – 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

Or maybe this is your new summer entertaining BFF? Look at all the luscious, colorful and crispy veggies that go into this – this salad is so beautiful and so giant and so easy to make, you’ll be looking for excuses to throw it together. It’s also forgiving - don’t like one ingredient? Sub another! LOVE another? Add more! Want to add a protein? Go crazy – baked seasoned tofu cut into cubes would be spectacular, as would shredded poached chicken breast or rotisserie chicken meat. Invite a gaggle of friends over and enjoy the crispy, chewy, sweet & tangy goodness al fresco. You can thank me later.

Asian Noodle Salad (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

For the salad:

For the dressing:

Combine the salad ingredients in a very large bowl (I used my giant All-Clad roasting pan). Wisk the dressing ingredients together and pour them over the salad. Toss (hands are best here – ask L. what I always say? “A good cook always uses her hands!”). Adjust seasonings and serve.

Serves 12.

© 2012, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

What? How could I not know this? March 26, 2012 is National Spinach Day?? Did you know that my Baby Spinach Salad, 7 Ways is one of the most popular posts of all-time here on Semi-Sweet? Check out scads of other delish spinach recipes right here, right now! Let’s party down, Sweeties.

Spinach is a superfood that’s ridiculously easy to incorporate into your repertoire – whether you like it cooked, raw or both. Baby or mature, it comes pre-washed and pre-bagged for EZ daily use. I “eat” about 4 cups of organic baby spinach every a.m. in my green smoothie . . . what’re your favorite ways to enjoy this lovely leafy?

Never miss a Morsel! Subscribe to Semi-Sweet by email.

© 2012, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

I’ve had so much on my mind here, been running around doing errands to prep for my surgery, working out like a fiend . . . and still, the CSA share just keeps.on.coming. It’s been loaded these last couple of weeks: cukes and zukes and tomatoes and the sweetest sweet corn EVAH. Squash – summer and pattypan. Fresh basil and dill and oh, just lovely, tasty stuff. But the abundance!? It can overwhelm even the most veg-lovin’ mama. So I’ve been throwing stuff together and seeing what works.

There hasn’t, interestingly, been a ton of lettuce. And maybe I’m a philistine, but when I think “salad,” I most often think “lettuce.” But somehow, I’ve gotta use up this stuff, so I’ve been chopping cucumber and zucchini and tomatoes and red onion and adding black or kidney beans and dressing it up and eating THAT as a lunchtime salad.

Tonight I combined chopped tomatoes, snipped dill, fava beans (conveniently pre-steamed from the fridge section at Whole Foods), feta cheese, a little EVOO and the juice of one lemon . . . a little black pepper and SHAZAM! a Greek-inspired salad that could benefit from cucumber, if your people like cucumber (my kid won’t touch them and my husband hates them). We had this on hot-cooked orzo, but you could throw it on top of baby spinach leaves.

Last Saturday night, D. fired up the grill and I cubed up some of the squash, tossed it with a little EVOO, Kosher salt and pepper and some Italian seasoning blend. Put it on the charcoal grill (we have this mesh basket thingy so that it makes this easy) and in about 10-15 minutes (toss is once in a while) it was delicious. I haven’t used my eggplant from last week yet, but I have a mind to have D. grill that this weekend – tossed with some fresh tomatoes and basil and some EVOO, it could be a great pasta topping.

Let’s not forget basic basil pesto with pine nuts and Parmesan, or the old standby salad with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil. And for the zucchini, I’ve been getting lots of good feedback on those zucchini fries I posted the other day – and if you haven’t tried the muffins, yet, why not make something special for breakfast this weekend?

I have beet greens this week – anyone have ideas for those?

© 2011 – 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

Don’t you just want to put your face in it?  THIS is what healthy food looks like, and it’s EZ.  Baby spinach + blueberries + raspberries + this DELICIOUS and relatively LOW-CAL creamy balsamic dressing.  Get crazy and scatter a few sliced almonds on top.  Pair it up with a couple of Wasa crackers slathered with Laughing Cow Lite/goat cheese/little nut butter and you have a lunch (or dinner) you can be proud of.  Eat up!

© 2011, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

We’re in!  We’ve moved, and are madly rushing about, trying to settle ourselves.  The first hurdle to tackle was unpacking and organizing the kitchen, of course – this family’s had too much takeout.  I’m pleased to announce that mama’s kitchen is open for business, and man, this new kitchen rocks, folks.  I’m a lucky, lucky woman.  I have great space, great tools and lots of inspiration.  Not sure how often I’ll be posting now that we’re here, but I can assure you, it’ll be more often than it has been this summer.  I’m so happy to be back!

Today’s recipe is vegetarian, quick, easy and just might help you use up some of that produce that your garden or CSA is dishing out.  The original recipe is meant to be served cold, and indeed, this is great leftover, but I made this as a warm salad.  Feel free to add more veggies as you please.  Any way you toss it, it’s got a great mix of flavors that’ll prevent a weeknight dinner slump.

Quinoa and Spinach Salad With Chickpeas and Smoked Paprika (adapted from Bon Appetit)

Pour the chicken broth into a medium saucepan and add the quinoa.  Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce heat and cover.  Simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the spinach, chickpeas, tomatoes, mint and feta in a big bowl.  Add the quinoa and toss gently to wilt the spinach and blend the ingredients.

Combine the vinegar, smoked paprika and olive oil in a glass jar with a lid, cover and shake until combined.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.  Taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper as needed. 

Serves 6.

© 2010, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!