Winter Greens Salad ♥ with Oranges, Avocado, Olives, Feta & Orange-Cumin Vinaigrette

Whew, say THAT three times. Or don't, because by the time you have, today's fresh winter salad could be on the table, just bitter greens (curly endive is pictured) plus juicy oranges, s'more salad fixin's all tossed with a long-time favorite no-oil salad dressing, Orange & Cumin Vinaigrette. Low Carb. Weight Watchers Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free.

I swear, since Christmas, you could count on one hand how often I've cooked vegetables. But vegetable soups? and raw salads? #NoGettingEnough

My raw salads follow no recipe, per se, although there is a formula. Greens of some sort, often arugula. (Any other fans of Trader Joe's arugula?!!) Chopped vegetables, whatever's on hand. (It's winter so think carrot, cabbage, fennel, cauliflower, broccoli, bell pepper, Brussels sprouts, radish, small tomatoes, zucchini, that's just since Christmas.) Parsley or cilantro if they're handy. Green onion, always! Salt, pepper and a splash of good vinegar. Then a drizzle of good olive oil, not much. Some times? If there's time and inclination, a few feta crumbles, a few nuts (usually Maple-Glazed Pecans) or seeds (oh my! I do owe you an amazing recipe for barely-sweet pumpkin seeds). And that's it. I could – I do – assemble a salad like this at least once a day.

Here though, I get more calculated to showcase lovely tangelos from Boudrias Groves, we're so very lucky when a mid-winter gift box is dropped off at our door. (Thank you, Jan and Charlie!) These are the juiciest oranges ever! Mostly, we just gorge on sliced oranges but after that, I get a little more creative, it's orange heaven:

MORNING-FOOD ORANGES
Orange Julius Drinks (these are zero points with Freestyle SmartPoints, right? and so refreshing!)
Sunshine Orange Muffins

DAY-FOOD ORANGES
Savory Orange Slices
Citrus Slices with Orange Flower Water, Spices & Chocolate Shavings

And now, I'm adding a salad to the lineup. So good, this one! I've made it a half dozen times in a half dozen ways in the last while, all wonderful. This is what I settled on – bitter + sweet + creamy + salty = "perfect"!
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Detox Chopped Salad ♥ Recipe

Today's chopped salad recipe: An addictive combination of finely chopped broccoli, cauliflower (both or one or the other) and dried fruit, nuts and seeds, bound by a citrus dressing. Great for home as a "refrigerator salad" that keeps for a good week or more but also a great salad to take along to potlucks and parties, ensuring at least one plant-based, satisfying choice. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free.

"I bought a food processor," my sister announced back in November. "We really like this recipe I tried. It's great! But you really can't chop everything fine enough by hand."

So curious, I was, what could such a kitchen appliance-temptation salad be?! Turns out, it's just broccoli, cauliflower, dried fruit, some nuts and seeds, all chopped finely and tossed in a no-oil citrus dressing.

Since I already owned the all-important food processor, there was no waiting on an Amazon delivery. But as luck would have it, I did have everything else on hand – so made my sister's Detox Chopped Salad on the spot. And another batch the next week. And then a double batch for Thanksgiving. And another double batch for Christmas Eve! And ...

This is such a refreshing salad, so fresh tasting, with excellent crunch. And it's pretty! I happen to like the all-broccoli or all-cauliflower version better in the looks department but that's just me. It's a real crowd pleaser too, an easy one to make ahead to take along to a potluck or party to balance out all the heavy, high-calorie appetizers or snacks. (Hello, Superbowl parties!)

So here's the question, fellow vegetable lovers. Who else has bought a kitchen appliance for just one recipe? Would you? I knew a guy once who wanted to make a dessert from a St. Louis restaurant (the still much-missed Blue Sky Cafe's chocolate enchiladas, stuffed with fruit and whipped cream, drizzled with caramel sauce) for a dinner party and came home with a skillet (for the chocolate crepes), a heavy saucepan (for the caramel sauce) and, gracious, a Kitchen Aid mixer (for the whipped cream). What extremes will we go to when we really-really-really want to make something?! Who can imagine this?!

While you're thinking on this question, make the Detox Chopped Salad!
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Chilled Zucchini Noodle Salad with Pesto, Sweet Corn & Sun-Dried Tomato ♥

Zucchini Noodles? Thing is, they're achieving ritual status here in my kitchen. Yours too? Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free.

#TwoThings.

#1 Come summer, there must be some a magic moment when the zucchini and basil gods collude. How do I know? Because I made this supreme little summer chilled zucchini noodle salad for the first time on July 11, 2016 and for the second time, entirely by accident, on the same date exactly one year later. But the timing isn't really an accident, is it? That's because every year about the same time, the zucchini reach exactly the right size for spiralizing (not too small, not too big though definitely not baseball bats) and the basil is beginning to flower and needs cutting back to ensure the plants will continue to produce basil leaves well into fall, so naturally, hello pesto! (For the record, I'm totally in love with my extra basil-y, vegan pesto, Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto Without Cheese.)

#2 Do we even need a recipe for something called "Chilled Zucchini Noodle Salad with Pesto, Sweet Corn & Sun-Dried Tomato"? I definitely didn't use one the first time I made this. But we all loved it so much, I made a few notes to re-create later for pictures and well, you. Because with any luck, #1 is happening in your world too and a little nudge-nudge is all it'll take for you to drag out the spiralizer. If it's that easy? It's definitely Summer Easy.

This recipe is so quick and easy that I'm adding it to a growing collection of easy summer recipes published all summer long since 2009 at Kitchen Parade, my food column. With a free Kitchen Parade e-mail subscription, you'll never miss a one!

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Arugula Salad with Smoked Trout & Peach Preserve Dressing ♥

Today's salad supper, perfect for simple summer evenings: Peppery arugula tossed with a sweet fruity-mustard dressing, then topped with bites of smoked trout, fresh fruits and veggies. Totally adaptable, so simple but special. Destined for a go-to dinner!

~recipe updated, first published way back in 2007~
~more recently updated recipes~

WAY BACK IN 2007
Day One: Christine from My Plate or Yours raved about a smoked mullet dip. We bantered back and forth a bit on e-mail.

Day Two 7 am: Arggh. I was, um, hooked. I woke up wanting smoked fish dip NOW. (For breakfast, Alanna?)

Day Two 11am: A client's husband was off to fetch fish from Bob's Seafood, the best (and in my opinion, only) place to buy fresh fish in St. Louis, for their supper. When I asked if he'd mind buying smoked fish for me, he and my client answered, nearly simultaneously, "You need a smoker!" Now he's an accomplished foodie and Anne Cori is chef so I trust their judgments without question. An hour later, he'd picked up the fish from Bob's, he'd picked up a stovetop smoker from her store, the wonderful Kitchen Conservatory – and she gave me a lesson in hot-smoking shrimp, scallops and trout!

And this stuff is heaven! I'm looking forward to learning more about the stovetop smoker – including, with any luck, some vegetables. More on that, later. (Fast Forward Two More Days: My first foray with smoker at home turned out beautifully, just scallops and shrimp and OH SO EASY.)

In the mean time, the sauce the client recommended for the trout turned out to be a delicious oil-free dressing on arugula – snipped fresh from the client's home garden. Yes, indeed, this is a client with "fringe benefits"! Thank you, Anne, thank you, Tom! And Christine, thanks to you, too, for the inspiration that started this odyssey!

UPDATE Eight years passed between Salad One and Salad Two but it wasn't eight weeks before the next one. So simple. So good. So perfect for a sumptuous summer supper. Just look how pretty! I've become partial to smoked whitefish but trout remains wonderful, so does hot-smoked salmon. And scallops!

AN EXTRA PERSONAL NOTE Looking back, I'm wondering if it was this morning that set in motion events that led to being invited to a 4th of July party at the client's home where The Man With the Hands and I first met. Could it be? It just might!
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Bok Choy Salad with Homemade Creamy Vinaigrette ♥

Today's quick, flexible and dare-I-say addictive salad recipe: Raw bok choy stalks and greens tossed in a light creamy vinaigrette, topped with whatever you choose but really special with seasonal fruit, a little cheese and toasted nuts. Low Carb. Weight Watchers Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free. And of course, Totally Delicious!

~recipe updated, first published way back in 2008~
~more recently updated recipes~

Yum. Yuuuuum. Bok choy is the current salad obsession around here. It's got great crunch and a slight bite, a poor man's arugula. For a quick salad at lunch or a supper salad, I add whatever is on hand, some times veering toward more vegetables but more often to salad in the photograph with fruit (citrus is lovely, so are apples and pears), a crumbly cheese (a fresh cheese like goat cheese or a good blue or a creamy feta) and toasted walnuts. It's filling, it's satisfying. It makes for a great salad to share, even a supper salad.

For years and years, I've made really only one one favorite salad dressing recipe. Now there are two! This homemade creamy vinaigrette is it! Yes, it's made with cream. But for four side-salad servings, the dressing itself contributes only 18 calories. That's so do-able! And for one big serving, a substantial supper salad, the dressing only contributes 72 calories. Very do-able. This is definitely a good recipe to add to your arsenal of salad dressings, because you know, the goal is to Never Buy Salad Dressing Again!
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Best-Ever Lentil Salad ♥

By all rights, I should call this recipe One Turnip + One Onion & Six Cloves = The Best-Ever Lentil Salad. But that's kinda long so let's just go with Best-Ever Lentil Salad, the one I've been obsessing over for a couple of months now. Served either warm or cold, it's Vegan and Gluten Free and Weight Watchers Friendly and High Protein and (naturally!) OhSoGood.

So let's talk new-to-us cooking techniques. Who else keeps their eyes peeled for new cooking methods while perusing new cookbooks or diving into promising-looking recipes? You have to stay focused but upon discovery, at least with me, it's either:

Why didn't I think of that?! (followed by by a head thump) or
How'd someone ever come up with THAT? (with a sense of incredulity)

Definitely #2, the idea to add a turnip and a clove-studded onion to cook a big pot of lentils. Ina Garten credits a friend, me I credit sheer genius. Story goes, Ina was never keen on lentil salads until a friend mentioned cooking the lentils with a turnip. There's probably some chemistry explanation for what a turnip does to lentils but I'm going with NO.IDEA. Onion and clove are a different story, their addition is subtle, but that savory touch of allium, that teensy-weensy bit of clove is spot-on perfect. (Yes, observant readers, I'm still on an "Cooking for Jeffrey" kick, a la Roasted Applesauce with Raspberries and Celebration Salad.)

Best-Ever Lentil Salad has been a staple since Christmas. I mix another batch every time the jar scrapes empty, just like every few days I make bread (recipe coming soon!) and a big pot of creamy oatmeal.

Just-made and still warm, the salad is sensual and seductive, there's no getting enough, no keeping my spoon out of the bowl. Chilled, it goes great alongside morning eggs (I keep meaning to put a runny egg on top, ohhhhh my) or dropped into a cheese tortilla for lunch. It's easy to keep on hand, endlessly easy to use up.

I already have a few lentil salad recipes that are really good, you might too. If so, try the turnip and clove-studded onion technique on your own recipe. Otherwise? Make this your recipe, it's from me, thanks to Ina and her turnip-genius friend.
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