Salad | Linda in the Kitchen

Tag: Salad

Winter Kale Salad

Posted at 11:10 pm by lindainthekitchen

Dec 30th

Kale salads – YUM! I’ve been eating quite a few lately. I bought fresh kale from the farmer’s market and have been using it in my morning protein shakes and in salads for lunch.

It’s so simple, yet so delicious. Easy, healthy and delicious…my kind of salad!

You will need:

Curly Kale
Fuji Apple
Shredded Carrot
Toasted Almonds, coarsely chopped
Feta
Meyer Lemon Juice
Olive Oil, Salt + Pepper

Squeeze the juice from one meyer lemon (or more if you are making many servings). I used fresh lemons from my parent’s Meyer Lemon tree (YUM!). Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Add as much as you prefer, depending on how big of a salad you’re making. Add salt and pepper to taste. If this dressing is too tart for your liking, feel free to add a little bit of honey to sweeten it up!

Break the kale into small pieces. Toss with the dressing and let sit about 15 minutes, letting the kale absorb the dressing and soften. Meanwhile, chop up the fuji apple, shred the carrot, lightly toast the almonds over low heat and crumble the feta.

Toss together and VOILA!

Feel free to add some protein to make it a more substantial meal. Grilled salmon is my favorite addition to kale salads…or to anything really! Grilled tofu or chicken would be delicious as well.

If you don’t have apple, another option is dried cranberries. You can also substitute the almonds with pecans or walnuts, or use goat cheese instead of feta. Endless possibilities!

Made with Love, Linda

Posted in Salad, Vegetarian | Tagged Feta, Kale, Lemon, Salad, vegetarian

Friendsgiving!

Posted at 4:31 pm by lindainthekitchen

Nov 22nd

My friends Katie and Mike have had quite a year. They had a beautiful wedding in November 2011 featured on Style Me Pretty and they purchased their first home in Napa – congrats! A housewarming was in order…I’m not sure whether she invited me, or if I came up with the idea on my own and invited myself, but nevertheless we decided on a “friendsgiving dinner”. We went grocery shopping and got slightly distracted by these silly animal masks at the checkout stand. Needless to say, we came home with them….We opened some bubbly and started on the Lemon Crinkle Cookies….yes, I know, I make these ALL THE TIME (they’re just too good!)

Meanwhile….Katie got to working on the animal masks!

Appetizers are a must while cooking. Katie loves Italian anything, so I made some bruschetta with fresh cherry tomatoes and basil. It’s super easy to make and even more delicious. Slice the baguette, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stick it in the broiler. You can also rub a clove of garlic on the bread for extra flavor. Keep an eye on the bread in the broiler – it will burn if you turn your head for a second too long! Slice the cherry tomatoes in halves/quarters, mix with chopped basil and finely chopped shallots (I’m not a big fan of raw garlic, but go for it if you’re a garlic fan!), and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Voila!

Bubbles, check. Cookies, check. Bruschetta, check. Now time for the entrees. Sticking with the Italian theme, Katie picked out a Giada De Laurentiis recipe for Orza with Artichoke Pesto and Grilled Corn. I substituted the garlic with shallots and added 50% more lemon zest (never too much lemon!). I also used much less parmesan cheese than the recipe calls for, but feel free to add as much or as little as you prefer.

I made a simple, easy green salad on the side. I used red leaf and butter lettuces, some halved cherry tomatoes, and made my favorite simple vinaigrette from Barefoot Contessa. To get some greens on the plate, we steamed some broccolini, one of my favorite sides. Katie decorated the table with festive fall pumpkins and we were ready to eat. Bon Appetit!