Cucumber Tomato and Feta Salad with Balsalmic Vinaigrette

Cucumber Tomato and Feta Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Salads are my go to lazy girl side.  They require minimum effort and absolutely no cooking.  It doesn't get much better than that in my book, and salads are good for you.  Salads also go with practically everything.  My husband is a big fan of salads in general, he's one of those people who has to have a meal anchored by vegetables or he doesn't feel like he has gotten a complete meal.  I'm like that too.  When we traveled to Puerto Rico several years ago, we were both impressed with the food: steak, chicken, rice and beans, peppers, plantains. However, the food was always missing that anchor of vegetables, which we are both accustom to.  We always asked if there was a vegetable dish that we could order to round out our meal. We never found a vegetable dish, but they always had a basic salad.  

Prep time: 7-10 minutes

Cook time: none

Total time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 medium cucumber sliced thinly or cubed

1/2 cup of organic cherry tomatoes sliced in half

1/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese

Ingredients Balsamic vinaigrette:

Sea salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

4 tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar

1 small clove of garlic chopped finely

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions: Add the cucumber and tomatoes to a medium sized bowl, top with feta and set aside. In a small bowl whisk the ingredient for the vinaigrette, spoon over the cucumber salad and enjoy!

Grilled steak salad with Spicy Mustard Vinaigrette

Grilled Steak Salad with Spicy Mustard Vinaigrette 

Boy has it been hot here! For the past 2 weeks temperatures here have stayed above 100 degrees and that's in the shade. When it gets this hot, the last thing I want to do is move, let alone cook. The grill has definitely been a life saver for us these past few weeks. It allows me to push all the work of cooking onto my husband. He loves grilling--thank The Lord! Since he is so happy to cook on the grill, I thought I'd make a steak salad, which requires little effort from me other than cutting veggies, and marinating the steak in my FoodSaver. Oh and making a vinaigrette to go on the salad. All easy, peasy, lemon queasy;-)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5-7 minutes

Total time: 17 minutes

Ingredients:

1lb of flank or skirt steak

3 cloves of garlic pasted

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

5 cups of mixed organic salad greens

1/2 cup of  organic cucumber cubed

1/2 cup of organic orange bell pepper sliced

2 small organic  heirloom tomatoes sliced and quartered

1/4 cup of radish sliced thinly

Ingredients for  Spicy mustard vinaigrette

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

1 small clove of grated garlic

4 tablespoons of olive oil

1/8 teaspoon of Worcester sauce (optional)

1/2 teaspoon of maple sugar (can sub with maple syrup, agave, or honey)

Sea salt to taste

Directions: in a small bowl whisk all the ingredients for the vinaigrette together and set aside.  In a large bowl toss together the mixed greens, cucumbers, bell peppers, and tomatoes and set aside. In another bowl Mix together the pasted garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. Season the steak generously with sea salt and black pepper, then pour the lemon and garlic marinade over both sides of the steak. Grill the steak for 5-8 minutes on each side, let it rest for 5-7 minutes, then slice on a bias, and serve over the salad. Top with a few spoonfuls of mustard vinaigrette and enjoy.

Caesar Salad--The best recipe you'll ever find

I LOVE Caesar salad. Besides Greek salad, Caesar salad is my go to salad of choice. I love everything about Caesar salad, the romaine, the croutons, the tangy dressing, Caesar salad is just yummy! Although Caesar salad has a creamy dressing, it never feels heavy. I don't buy salad dressings, I always make my own. Although store bought is great in a time pinch, most store bought salad dressings have so many additives, that I tend to just skip buying them all together. I don't want to even imagine what most store bought Caesar salad dressings have in them!  I have made Caesar salad dressing at home with with a shortcut like Vegenaise, which is a vegan alternative to mayo. I've never been a fan of mayo, so if I need anything that calls for mayo, I just use the vegan alternative. This particular recipe uses 2 raw egg yolks, so your essentially making your own mayonnaise.  Since we are using raw egg yolks, make sure you use pasteurized egg yolks. I wouldn't want anyone to get sick. If you're not a bread person skip the croutons, but these are so good you should definitely try them. Use your favorite artisan bread. I picked up a fresh loaf of sourdough at a local bakery, but a ciabatta or any other fresh bread will work.

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Here's what you need:
1 garlic clove pasted
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

6 anchovy fillets, patted dry with paper towels, minced fine, and mashed to paste with fork ( or you can also use anchovy paste - 1 Tablespoon)

2 large egg yolks 

5 tablespoons grapeseed oil or canola oil

5 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated works best

Ground black pepper to taste

2 - 3 romaine hearts, roughly chopped ( rinsed and dried)

For croutons:

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic paste from 1 medium clove

5 cups of a fresh artisan bread of your choice

4 tablespoons of water

1/4 teaspoon table salt

2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

Directions for Croutons:
Combine 1 tablespoon of oil and  garlic paste in small bowl; set aside.

Place bread cubes in large bowl. Sprinkle with water and salt. Toss, squeezing gently so bread absorbs water. 

    
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• Place remaining 4 tablespoons oil and soaked bread cubes in 12-inch nonstick skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until browned and crisp, 7 to 10 minutes.Remove skillet from heat, push croutons to sides of skillet to clear center, add garlic/oil mixture to clearing and cook with residual heat of pan, 10 seconds:



Sprinkle with Parmesan; toss until garlic and Parmesan are evenly distributed. Transfer croutons to bowl; set aside:

1. FOR THE SALAD: Whisk garlic paste and 2 tablespoons lemon juice together in large bowl. Let stand 10 minutes, VERY IMPORTANT: DO NOT to skip this step, otherwise your salad dressing will be taste too garlicky.
   

   

   
   
2. Whisk Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, and egg yolks into garlic/lemon juice mixture. 
   

   

   
   
   

   

   
   
   While whisking constantly, drizzle canola oil and extra virgin olive oil into bowl in slow, steady stream until fully emulsified.
   

   

   
   Add 1/2 cup Parmesan and pepper to taste; whisk until incorporated:
   

   

   
   
   
3. Add romaine to dressing and toss to coat. Add croutons and mix gently until evenly distributed. Taste and season with up to additional 1 tablespoon lemon juice:
   

   

   
   

   You can add chicken to this if you like, and it will be just as delicious!

   
   

   What's your favorite salad?

   
   

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