Escarole Salad

It’s winter and the greens are so fantastic. I found this beautiful head of Escarole, and had to make this salad. Personally, I love this green. I prefer it in its natural state and I have been adding it to my daily salads. Yesterday I made this version to take to a party. I added roasted butternut squash and tossed it with an apple cider vinaigrette.
It is very easy to make. This is what I did.

First, using a vegetable peeler, peel the butternut squash.
Cut the squash into small square pieces. Place on a baking sheet. Toss in a little olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20- 30 minutes. Cook until the squash is tender. Let cool.

For the Escarole,
Wash it very carefully. Cut into small pieces. Toss with the squash and salad dressing.

Dressing
1 Tbsp. Dijon style mustard
1 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar or orange juice
3 Tbsp. Olive oil
Mix together the mustard and the vinegar.
Whisk in the olive oil slowly. You will come out with a nice thick salad dressing.

Mixed Green Salad

A very Alkaline salad for lunch today. 

Found lots of beautiful produce at the farmers market. This is a mixed green salad with sliced cucumber, carrots, sliced radishes, a few tomatoes, celery, 

A hard boiled egg, ½ of an avocado, and toasted pumpkin seeds on top. 

I served it with a basic vinaigrette using 1 tsp. French mustard, 1Tbsp apple cider vinegar and 3Tbsp. Olive oil. Mix together with a whisk until creamy. 

Escarole

Escarole and frisée both from the endive family, are plentiful in the farmers market. I also found a beautiful watermelon radish. It’s related to the Brassica family which includes, mustard, arugula, broccoli, cauliflower cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts and turnips.
All personal favorites of mine.
I love raw escarole so I chopped some up, added a few handfuls of curly frisée , a handful of parsley and cucumbers and topped it with a thinly sliced watermelon radish.
For the dressing, 1 Tbsp. of fresh orange juice and 3 tbsp. of olive oil. Mix together. Add salt and pepper to taste

Kale Salad

Kale Salad
This is a delightful fresh tasting salad. I made it today for lunch. A friend joined me and we ate the whole thing. It was just so yummy.

1 bunch of dinosaur kale
3 stalks of celery, sliced thin
1 carrot, grated
1 avocado
½ of a lemon
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons olive oil.

Take the kale off the stems. Chop it into small pieces. Place in a salad bowl and squeeze the ½ of lemon over it. Let it sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Slice the celery and grate the carrot. Add to the bowl. Dice up the avocado and add to the salad.
Mix the mustard with the apple cider vinegar. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. It will emulsify into a nice thick salad dressing. Pour over the salad, mix and serve.
You can add salt and pepper to your liking.
Note: You can make and dress this salad up to 3 hours before serving.

Little Gem Salad

Little Gem Salad

This salad is a fun way to present a salad for a party or large crowd. I bought some little Gem Lettuce at the farmers market. I chose this slettuce because it holds the vegetables well and it’s easy to just pop in your mouth in one bite. It’s a fun presentation and easy to make. You can use any salad vegetables you like.

2 radishes
2 small cherry tomatoes
1 small cucumber
2 carrots
1 red bell pepper

Dress with 3 Tbsp. of olive oil and 1 tsp. of either apple cider vinegar or l tsp. Of
fresh lemon juice.

Dinosaur Kale Salad

This is a crowd pleased salad. Also great for a Thanksgiving side dish.
2 bunches of Dinosaur Kale, thinly chopped
2 bulbs of fennel, thinly sliced
1 pound of raw Brussel sprouts, sliced thinly.
4 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup olive oil
Mix together and pour over the salad
Season to taste.
Note: Dress this salad a few hours before you serve it. It will help tenderize the vegetables.

This is another salad on a plate instead of a bowl. It’s a fun presentation.
I bought some beautiful greens at the farmers market. I added some chopped parsley, sliced cucumber, sliced red bell pepper, sliced radishes, and a cut up avocado. Dress with your favorite dressing.

A mostly alkaline salad. I was having company and decided to make version of the classic Salad Nicoise. I served it on a large platter so everyone could choose what they wanted. Since I was the only one eating 80/20 alkaline foods, I chose accordingly. I skipped eating the eggs

I felt like it was a Chopped (TV cooking show) challenge.
I had invited a friend over for dinner and just decided to use what I had in my fridge and pantry.
Fun to do. Try it some time.

Place a large pile of mixed greens on a platter. I mixed in some raw baby spinach.
I placed 1 can of tuna in the middle. A few boiled potatoes, some grated carrots and sliced radishes. 1 tomato 2 hard boiled eggs and 1 avocado.
Dressing was a mustard vinaigrette.
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1tsp. apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. Olive oil

Beets are such a fun treat. You do not always have to cook them. I love raw grated beets and I incorporated them into a fun colorful salad.

Fill your bowl with lettuce. I used a vegetable peeler to peel the carrot strips.
Peel the beet to remove the hard outside. Then grate the beet and place in the bowl.
Add 2 stalks of celery.
Dressing
1 tsp. Apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. Olive oil.

Summer Salad

1 bunch fresh spinach, chopped
1 bunch kale, chopped finely
1 cucumber, remove the seeds and slice thin
3 radishes, sliced
1 red bell pepper, remove seeds and core, then slice.
2 stalks of celery, sliced thin
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 carrot, grated
Dress with a lemon olive oil dressing. 1 tablespoon lemon juice to 3 tablespoons of good quality olive oil. Whisk together and add to your salad.

This is a salad that I made recently. I did not have very much lettuce, so I used lots of fruit and vegetables.
This is what I did.

A small bunch of Frisée cut up and placed on a plate. Then I added sliced radishes, some cucumber, avocado, mango and fresh sweet apricots. Feel free to add any fruit that is in season. Toss with your favorite dressing and enjoy.

This is how my dinner started last night. A tossed green salad of mixed greens, arugula and baby spinach leaves. You can dress it with your favorite salad dressing. The rest of this easy quick to make dinner is on the next page.

This is a great afternoon snack. I opened the salad drawer of the refrigerator looking for something to eat. I try to have lots of alkaline foods around to grab when I get hungry for a snack. This day was a little challenging as it is the end of the week and I am going to the farmers market tomorrow. What I did have was a piece of celery, a small carrot, a red bell pepper and a beautiful avocado.
I cut them up and dressed them with 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar and 3 tsp. olive oil.
Personally I do not use salt or pepper on my greens. I prefer the natural state of them. But feel free to adjust the seasoning by adding salt and pepper to your taste. Remember, that you do not need lettuce to create a delicious little salad.

This is a great salad and easy to make.
I saw these beautiful watermelon radishes at the farmers market.
Just fill a bowl with your favorite greens mixture. I used baby spinach, kale, finely minced, a mix of salad greens, and parsley. On top, I placed cucumber, carrots, celery and the watermelon radish slices.
Dressing
1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
Mix together.
Season with salt and pepper.

This is a very easy to make summer salad when the zucchini is at its best.
Grate a few zucchini squash or you can easily substitute another variety. Dress it with lemon juice and olive oil. 1 Tbsp of lemon juice to 3 Tbsp of olive oil. Toss and season with salt and pepper. You can add a little fresh lemon zest and fresh parsley as well. Spread on a plate. Toss toasted almond slices on the top.

I love making a big salad early I the week. Cover it with a paper towel and plastic wrap and you have a go to salad for at least 3-4 days. This all depends on how fresh your lettuce is. Hopefully it has been purchased at your local farmers market.

This week I took advance of the fresh Frisée and Escarole. They originally came from the Mediterranean region.
Frisée Is sometimes referred to as chicory. Related to endive.
Escarole is from the same family of vegetables.
I especially like the different textures of both the Frisée and Escarole. Curly and crunchy, smooth and full of flavors. Simply said, just delicious.

Because they are not known as the sweetest of lettuces. I like to pair them with an assortment of sweeter options.

So I added
Grated carrots
Radishes
Celery
Parsley
Red bell pepper
Cucumber
A handful of garbanzo beans
And I topped it off with cubes of avocado

Dressing: basic vinaigrette is 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, or fresh lemon, or orange or grapefruit juice to 3 Tablespoons of olive oil.

Garden Salad

I was at the farmers market yesterday and could not resist all the beautiful greens.
I put this salad together to celebrate all the flavors in this bowl. I like making a large amount and keep it in my fridge. This will last a few days. Add avocado slices when you serve this salad.
Here is what I did.

A bunch of baby spinach
A handful of arugula
A handful of mixed lettuces
A handful of parsley, chopped
4 leaves of kale, finely chopped
1 watermelon radish ( you can substitute with red radishes)
1 Persian style cucumber, seeds removed
1 stalk of celery
1 carrot sliced with a vegetable peeler to form strips

Dressing is my usual go to, 1 tsp. of Dijon style mustard, 1 tsp. Apple cider vinegar 3 Tbsp olive oil.
Mix together with a whisk.

This is an adaption of a salad made by Giada De Laurentiis.
I served it the other night and everyone thought it was delicious.
Having a Food processor helps. But you can make it without.

1 bunch of kale. Chopped very fine.
2 bulbs of fennel. Sliced very thin.
10-12 brussel sprouts, sliced very thin
1 large cucumber , sliced thin

Mix all together.
Dress with ¼ cup olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon.
It’s best to dress this salad at least 3 hours before serving.

This is kale. It is so good for us. Kale is low on calories, it provides us with calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and a huge amount of vitamin K. It also contains the minerals of copper, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus. But most of us do not know what to do with it.

When using Kale in a salad, it is best to marinate it first. This will tenderize the kale and make it much easier to eat.
Cut the kale off the stem. Chop finely. Place in a bowl. Dress with a light coating of apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Cover, and let sit for a few hours. It can even sit overnight in the fridge.
When you make a green salad, add the kale, along with the other vegetables you use.
I usually start with parsley, cucumber, celery carrots and avocado. I sometimes also use radishes, red bell pepper, toasted pumpkin seeds and toasted sunflower seeds.

Having a salad is a great alkaline booster.

Summer is almost over and soon the peaches will disappear. I bought these white peaches that were so sweet and delicious I just wanted to put them In everything I was making. These beauties ended up on my salad.

1 head of butter lettuce
4 radishes, sliced
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 cucumber, seeded and sliced
2 sliced peaches

Basic vinegerette :
1 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons. Olive Oil
If you have any fresh peach juice, reduce the vinegar and add the juice.