Whew! Last nights post exhausted me, I mean - exhausted me. So, tonight's will be much shorter.
Tonight is salad night, and I picked a new salad recipe from The Rodale Wholefood Cookbook and made a few changes. It's an amazing cookbook, given to me a few years ago when I asked for cookbooks for Christmas (warning, if you ask for cookbooks for Christmas, they will come - I think I got 12 cookbooks that year. All great cookbooks, but still - 12 cookbooks.) If you're looking for one cookbook to round out your whole kitchen, Rodale Wholefood Cookbook is for you.
Alright - here's the recipe:
6 baby carrots, cut into matchsticks (2 grown up carrots)
1 russet potato, cubed
2 sweet potatoes, cut into matchsticks
4 shallots, halved (1/4 yellow onion, sliced thinly & separated)
1 Tbs olive oil
3 cups arugula (mixed greens - no arugula at the store, sad)
Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette
Salt & Pepper
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese
Preheat the oven to 475F
In a large bowl, combine the carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and shallots. Drizzle with the oil and toss well to coat. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or until tender. Let cool to room temperature.
In a salad bowl, toss the arugula and root vegetables with the dressing. Seasons with salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with feta.
Ok - before you say "ok, that is totally not the same recipe - almost every major ingredient was substituted with something else" - let me say, You're right, it is. And here's my point - I substituted with what I had on hand, what was most accessible at my nearest market, and what was closest to the original recipe out of those options. Now, if I had used green beans and beets in this salad, it would absolutely not be the same (though I think roast beets would be a great addition...).
Tips for Cooking! Part of being a great cook is being comfortable substituting in your available/preferred ingredients in lieu of an ingredient listed in the original recipe. Cooking exactly to the recipe is a great way to spend lots of extra money making that one dish with those 6 random, absurdly expensive ingredients, or a lot of extra time hunting down arugula when you live in Tinyville. A happy cook, a financially stable cook, is a good cook (or at least a better one than their alternative).
Alright - back to the Salad Dressing, recipe based on Rodale.
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp coarse salt
6 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil (I think my olive oil is less virgin than some...but, I'm not judging)
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil.
And there you have it, there you go. From the nibbles I've had (waiting for the kids to go to bed so the hubby and I can have an "in date night" after he put in a 12 hour work 'weekend' this past weekend) this salad is amazing! We'll probably repeat it later this year with some other roasted yummies on top (beets and walnuts, anyone?)
Alright, off to post this so I can tuck in my babies and be with the hubs. Enjoy!
Tonight is salad night, and I picked a new salad recipe from The Rodale Wholefood Cookbook and made a few changes. It's an amazing cookbook, given to me a few years ago when I asked for cookbooks for Christmas (warning, if you ask for cookbooks for Christmas, they will come - I think I got 12 cookbooks that year. All great cookbooks, but still - 12 cookbooks.) If you're looking for one cookbook to round out your whole kitchen, Rodale Wholefood Cookbook is for you.
Alright - here's the recipe:
Roasted Root Vegetable Salad
6 baby carrots, cut into matchsticks (2 grown up carrots)
1 russet potato, cubed
2 sweet potatoes, cut into matchsticks
4 shallots, halved (1/4 yellow onion, sliced thinly & separated)
1 Tbs olive oil
3 cups arugula (mixed greens - no arugula at the store, sad)
Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette
Salt & Pepper
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese
Preheat the oven to 475F
In a large bowl, combine the carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and shallots. Drizzle with the oil and toss well to coat. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or until tender. Let cool to room temperature.
In a salad bowl, toss the arugula and root vegetables with the dressing. Seasons with salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with feta.
Ok - before you say "ok, that is totally not the same recipe - almost every major ingredient was substituted with something else" - let me say, You're right, it is. And here's my point - I substituted with what I had on hand, what was most accessible at my nearest market, and what was closest to the original recipe out of those options. Now, if I had used green beans and beets in this salad, it would absolutely not be the same (though I think roast beets would be a great addition...).
Tips for Cooking! Part of being a great cook is being comfortable substituting in your available/preferred ingredients in lieu of an ingredient listed in the original recipe. Cooking exactly to the recipe is a great way to spend lots of extra money making that one dish with those 6 random, absurdly expensive ingredients, or a lot of extra time hunting down arugula when you live in Tinyville. A happy cook, a financially stable cook, is a good cook (or at least a better one than their alternative).
Alright - back to the Salad Dressing, recipe based on Rodale.
Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette
Makes generous 1/4 cup
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp coarse salt
6 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil (I think my olive oil is less virgin than some...but, I'm not judging)
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil.
And there you have it, there you go. From the nibbles I've had (waiting for the kids to go to bed so the hubby and I can have an "in date night" after he put in a 12 hour work 'weekend' this past weekend) this salad is amazing! We'll probably repeat it later this year with some other roasted yummies on top (beets and walnuts, anyone?)
Alright, off to post this so I can tuck in my babies and be with the hubs. Enjoy!
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