Salads

Shrimp Salad

2 pounds medium raw shrimp

1 lemon thinly sliced to maintain the cross section

1 orange, thinly sliced to maintain the cross section

1 cup pitted black olives, well drained

1 medium red onion thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped pimento

----Marinade----

¼ cup canola oil

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon salt

½ cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 bay leaf, crumbled

Dash of cayenne pepper

¼ cup chopped parsley, loosely packed

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Shell and devein shrimp.  Bring 1 quart of water to a boil and add shrimp. Cook for 3 minutes, drain at once, rinse in cold water, drain again, and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine lemon slices, onion, black olives, and pimento and toss well. 

In a smaller bowl, combine the ingredients for the marinade, canola oil through mustard seeds.  After dressing ingredients are combined, add them to the bowl with the citrus slices.

Combine shrimp with the marinade and cover and chill for no more than 3 hours. 

Serve with toothpicks and arrange on a large platter atop a bed of fresh, clean, dry leaf lettuce.

Grapefruit and Avocado Salad

2 grapefruit, peeled, and sectioned carefully to maintain the juicy fruit

2 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced into ½ inch sections

A bed of lettuce…iceberg is perfect, watercress would be extra fancy.

Drizzled with homemade bleu cheese dressing

Bleu Cheese Dressing

2 parts crumbled bleu cheese

2 parts canola oil

1 part water

Combine dressing ingredients in a blender until blended and smooth.

HOMINY SALAD
Hominy is corn, gluten free and this salad goes great with Mexican food, grilled fish and chicken.  

Toss together:
1 small can of hominy, rinsed and drained
1 cup of frozen lima beans, peas, or edamame thawed.
1 cup of halved grape tomato
1 sweet pepper (red, yellow, orange) diced
1/4 cup finely chopped basil, parsley, mint, or cilantro-you pick!
2 TBSP minced shallot or red onion

Whisk together:
2 TBSP rice vinegar-or any white vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine dressing and hominy mixture and serve.

GREEK DRESSING

½ cup chicken broth or water

¼ cup red wine vinegar

2 teaspoon sugar or agave nectar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and whisk well.

Serve with grilled chicken, lettuce, sliced tomato, cucumber, kalamata olives, and a can of drained garbanzo beans for a dinner salad entrée.

*Adapted from Cooking Light

LIME VINAIGRETTE FOR TACO SALAD

¼ cup seeded, chopped tomato

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon grated lime rind

Juice of 1 juicy lime

1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped

¼ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of cumin

¼ teaspoon of red chile powder

Black pepper to taste

Place everything in a blender or food processor and whirl until smooth. Serve with grilled chicken, lettuce, black beans, tomato, and red onion over a bed of corn tortilla chips.

*Adapted from Cooking Light

 CAESAR DRESSING

This is easy, dairy and egg free and so, so good!  Special thanks to my sister and mother for sharing the recipe.  They learned about it from Darlene Lopez, my sister's mother-in-law.

1 lemon reamed, save the juice
1 small can of anchovies packed in olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup of olive oil (or more if you like)
salt and pepper to taste

Whirl together in a blender or mini-food processor.  Serve with romaine lettuce and croutons (see below for croutons).  Also delicious with steamed cauliflower.

CROUTONS

Do not bother to buy the croutons in the store because it is so easy to make them at home.  Use left over artisan bread, gluten free bread, or cornbread.  

Slice bread into 1" cubes and place on a sheet of foil that will fit in your toaster oven.  Toast in the toaster over for 3 minutes on toast setting, turn and toss croutons, place in toaster oven again for another 2-3 minutes on toast.  You can get fancy and toss with olive oil and "Garlic Gold", but if you are using these croutons with the Caesar dressing-the dressing will pack all of the punch you need!


TABBOULEH

*Brown rice, couscous, bulgur wheat, and barley can be substituted for quinoa.

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained with a fine sieve1 cup finely chopped tomatoes-or quartered cherry tomatoes2 green onions, chopped1 cucumber, finely chopped½ cup fresh mint, finely chopped½ cup fresh parsley, finely choppedBring 2 cups of water to a boil, add quinoa, reduce heat and cook for 20-25 minutes until water is absorbed.  Cool quinoa.   Combine chopped ingredients to cool quinoa and add dressing. 

Dressing:2 TBSP olive oilJuice of 1 lemon½ teas salt¼ teas black pepper

Wisk ingredients of dressing in a bowl and pour over the tabbouleh and mix well.

Carrot Ginger Dip

2 cups of shredded or finely chopped carrots

3 TBSP of diced shallots

¼ cup of chopped, fresh ginger

¼ cup of rice vinegar

2 TBSP of honey or agave

2 TBSP sesame oil

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup water

½ tsp. sea salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Place everything in a blender and keep it spinning until everything is smooth.  The dip goes well with vegetables, chips, or can be used as a salad dressing.   It also can be mixed with avocado for a different kind of guacamole.

Kale Salad

I was once afraid of kale.  I thought it was for really hard core vegetarians and health nuts.  I just figured that they forced it down because they would feel better about themselves after eating it.   I was so wrong!  Kale is a great! It is a leafy vegetable that comes curly or flat to peppery or mellow.  The following recipe works well for all types.

1 head of kale-washed, massaged*, and dried
1 cup of frozen green petite peas-steamed
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 orange, peeled with segments cut into bite size pieces.
1/4 cup of sunflower seeds

Dressing:  Wisk the following:

Juice of one lemon
3 TBSP of olive oil
1 teas of honey or agave nectar
1/2 teas of salt
1/2 teas of pepper

Add the dressing about 10 minutes before serving.

* Massage the kale?  Yes, give it a nice massage while you are washing it to tenderize the leaves. 

Other options:  Substitute edamame for the frozen peas, sesame oil for the olive oil, or delete the fruit.

Lemon-e Potato Salad
Since eggs are off the menu, here is a delicious potato salad that is free from common allergens.

2 pounds of yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar (sherry, apple cider, rice)
2 teaspoons stone ground mustard
1 teaspoon of grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups of greens optional (arugula, frisee, escrole)

Boil potatoes in a pot until they are tender, drain potatoes.  Combine shallots through black pepper, whisking well to combine.  Pour dressing over warm potatoes, add greens, and serve.