Cool Ranch Massaged Kale Salad

The ying and the yang, good v. evil, each action has a corresponding reaction, every rose has its thorn...we live in a world of opposites.

Remember my Hot Massaged Kale? Not to be outdone by Newton's third law, I developed a complimentary salad to answer to the spicy kick of the chipotle in the first recipe. Enter the Cool Ranch Massaged Kale Salad. Where the "Hot" was, well, hot, the "Cool Ranch" is not. The herbs in this salad give a feel of spring, despite the December air. I recommend making double the dressing so you have extra to dip crudités into!

Cool Ranch Massaged Kale Salad

Ingredients:

1 head kale, destemmed and torn into bite size pieces

1/2 tbs salt

2 tbs olive oil

1 avocado

1/2 tbs honey

2 tbs fresh parsley

2 tsp fresh dill weed

1/8 wedge from a small yellow onion

1 small clove garlic

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tbs lemon juice

1-2 tbs almond milk, as needed

6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/4 c carrots, thinly sliced

1 tbs sunflower seeds

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine kale, salt, and half the olive oil. Massage the kale until the leaves start to take on a shiny, wilted appearance.

In a blender, puree the rest of the oil with avocado, honey, herbs, onion, garlic, pepper, and lemon juice until smooth, using the almond milk to thin as necessary. Toss the remaining ingredients and the dressing with the kale to combine. Serves 2.

Hot Massaged Kale Salad

Here's another raw recipe--this one adapted from The Raw Chef's recipe. By the way, I highly recommend signing up for his e-zine. It's entertaining and has great recipes! I first heard of this individual from my friend, Amber (of Almost Vegan), who had Russell James as an instructor at raw culinary school. I likes his site, so I signed up. So far, it's been a great (free) investment!

Anyway, this salad is great for the cold weather that's hit all of a sudden. Despite being uncooked, it's extremely warming with the spicy chipotle doing what it does best. Chipotle peppers are obviously not raw, but raw Nazis (rawzis?) could sub in cayenne or a fresh serrano for the heat. Kale is typically a pretty rough leaf to tackle, but massaging it with salt and oil causes the fibers to break down a little; this gives the kale more of a blanched texture. Plus, who doesn't love salt and oil?

Just saying the name of this salad raises my temperature a little....imagine a room lit only by candlelight....a little Barry White wafting through the speakers....and then someone says to you, "Hey baby, wanna have some hot massaged kale?" Aw yeah....

Ahem. Or it's just a healthy, easy to prepare salad. After all, who wants a relationship with a bunch of leaves? Now excuse me as I casually walk away from the awkward silence.

Hot Massaged Kale Salad

Ingredients:

1 head kale, destemmed and torn into bite-sized pieces

1/2 tbs salt

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs grapefruit juice

1/4 tsp grapefruit zest

1 tbs tahini

1/2 chipotle pepper

1/2 tbs agave

1/2 grapefruit, segmented

1/4 c red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 c sunflower seeds

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine kale, salt, and half the olive oil. Massage into kale until the leaves start to take on a shiny, wilted appearance.

In a blender, combine the remaining oil with the juice, zest, tahini, pepper, and agave. Toss the remaining ingredients and the dressing with the kale to combine. Serves 2.

Raw Asian Noodles (and very rare steak)

I received my first box of raw goodies the other day....just some hemp seeds, seaweed, sun-dried olives, and liquid aminos. The offspring had their curiosity sparked by the kelp noodles and asked me to make something with them.

Hell, I thought....why not? Let's see what this raw-anti-chef-to-be can come up with!

I threw together some standard ingredients and ended up with this raw noodle salad....Asian-style. Because I had it in the fridge, I also did a quick pan-sear on a steak and served it with the noodles. The kids dug it, as did I. Not too shabby for a first try, I don't think!

Raw Asian Noodle Salad

Ingredients:

2 tbs liquid aminos or tamari

1 tbs sesame oil

1/2 tbs fresh ginger, grated

1/4 tsp black pepper

5 pearl onions, peeled and thinly sliced

4 oz lobster mushrooms, julienned

1 medium carrot, shredded

1 stalk green onion, thinly sliced

1 12oz package kelp noodles

Directions:

Whisk together aminos, oil, ginger, and pepper. Toss dressing with remaining ingredients and allow to sit a few minutes to allow the kelp noodles to soften. Serves 4.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Chocolate Balsamic Dressing

This is another creation inspired by my trip to the farmers market. There is a local shop--The Tasteful Olive--that sells infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and even better is they offer free samples of every single item they stock. I absolutely fell in love with the chocolate infused balsamic vinegar. Needless to say, my first thought was of strawberries. Coupled with the brand new spinach I had just purchased from a local farmer, this salad was born.

I am particularly proud of this combination. The dressing is tangy with just a touch of sweet, and the chocolate flavor rests beautifully in the background of the palate. Extra acidity and sweetness come from the strawberries, and the contrast of the creamy goat cheese and crunchy walnuts makes this salad feel more like a dessert than rabbit food.

If you can't (or simply don't want to) find chocolate balsamic vinegar, you can approximate the flavor by combining 1 1/2 tbs of balsamic vinegar with 1/2 tbs dark chocolate liquor. It'll be a little sweeter, so I recommend using half the agave or honey.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

2 tbs chocolate infused balsamic vinegar

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp agave nectar or 2 tsp honey

1/8 tsp salt

4 c spinach

1 c strawberries, sliced

1/4 c goat cheese

1/4 c walnuts, coarsely chopped

fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

Whisk together vinegar, oil, nectar, and salt in a small bowl until well-combined. Set aside.

Combine spinach, strawberries, cheese, and walnuts in a salad bowl. Just before serving, toss with dressing and fresh cracked pepper. Serves 4.

Red Cabbage and Cashew Salad

The winter weather has me craving color, which was the only real inspiration for this salad. My goal was to create something pretty that--of course--tastes good.

In the recipe, I state to use light olive oil, but any oil of choice will do. When I made this, I actually used red chili oil to give it a bit of a kick (a little too much kick, according to the offspring....use at your own risk!). This works equally as well as a warm salad as it does chilled. Add some lentils or edamame, and it could even be a main dish.

Red Cabbage and Cashew Salad

Ingredients:

2 tbs light olive oil

1 shallot, thinly sliced

4 tbs honey

1 tbs lime juice

1/4 c fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp salt

pepper to taste

4 c red cabbage, shredded

3/4 c cashews

Directions:

In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Saute shallot until transparent. Add honey and stir until combined.

Remove from heat and whisk in lime juice, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Toss dressing with cabbage and cashews. Serves 4-6.

Edamame Salad with Roasted Cabbage, Red Pepper, and Noodles

This salad started as an "oh shit" moment when I realized I forgot to (1) buy green beans and (2) make the rice one night while cooking for myself and the offspring. I didn't catch on to this until the pork loin I was roasting was about 15 minutes from its egress from the oven. A mad flurry ensued as I combed the fridge and cabinets for something acceptable to fill the role of "vegetable" in our dinner. The red cabbage was something I needed to use, and I had a container full of edamame leftover from my last venture out to a sushi restaurant. Honestly, this salad came together because I thought the contrast of the light green and the dark purple was pretty. Sometimes I'm shallow like that.

Recipe Notes:

I like to vary the types of oil and vinegar I use. It adds an extra depth to the flavor, I think. If you don't happen to have multiple options, however, this dressing will taste quite good with one or the other type oil and/or vinegar.

The edamame can be prepared from fresh or frozen. Pick whichever tastes the best from your favorite grocer. The same goes for the roasted red pepper. You can roast your own from fresh if they are in season, or you can cheat (which I am a big fan of doing!) and use jarred peppers.

Soba noodles are also a good choice for this salad.

Edamame Salad with Roasted Cabbage and Red Pepper

Ingredients:

1 red cabbage, cored and chiopped into 1-2 inch pieces

1 tsp light olive oil

salt and pepper

16oz shelled edamame

1 roasted red bell pepper

4oz lo mein noodles

Dressing:

2 tbs olive oil (light or extra virgin)

1 tbs sesame oil

1 tbs stone ground mustard

2 tbs grated ginger

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tbs rice vinegar

juice of 1/4 lemon

pinch cayenne (more if you like it hot!)

salt and pepper

about a tbs each worth of fresh chopped thyme, parsley, and chives

2 tbs coarsely chopped toasted almonds

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread cabbage on baking sheet in a thin layer. Very lightly drizzle with 1 tsp light olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Stirring often, roast cabbage in oven about 15 minutes until dehydrated, but not brown.

Boil or steam edamame to desired doneness. Slice red pepper into thin strips.

Wisk together dressing ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare lo mein noodles according to package directions; leave noodles in the water until it is time to toss them with the rest of the ingrediants.

Toss cabbage, edamame, and red pepper with dressing, herbs, and almonds. Drain the noodles and immediately toss with the salad.

Serve warm or chilled.