Roasted beet and wild rice salad

You can't beat beets!

When I was a kid, I would gag and hurl my beets.  I hated beets.  Probably because my mom would try to hide thing in between cranberry slices.  I would be happily eating my cranberry and all of a sudden find the taste of a beet amongst them - yuck!  Although now days -- I might even create a cranberry beet recipe -- but that's for another time.

I am still in beet mode - roasting them in tin foil to preserve that earthy yet sweet taste.  Here is another awesome recipe for roasted beets using wild rice.

Into a bowl I tossed:

3 med sized roasted beets, diced
2 cups wild rice 
handful of dried cranberries
I had 2 tangerines so I peeled and separated them; Mandarin oranges would work; so would a navel orange - peeled and sliced
1 cup of shredded leaf lettuce
sesame seeds would be good (but on this cleanse, I left them out

Now - the dressing really kicks up the flavors and sends this salad into awesome category (just a notch down from orgasmic!)

Into a smaller bowl, I squeezed 2 oranges (using a mesh cup to catch the seeds)
2 T vinegar - I used my pomegranate balsamic, but red wine would work too - improvise!
1 T of toasted sesame oil (it must be the toasted kind, can't improvise here)
1 teaspoon hot sause
1 teaspoon finely minced ginger - in the produce section of my regular supermarket, I buy ginger in tubes (same for cilantro) just for these kinds of recipes.

Mix together and dress the salad.  I garnished mine with a lime slice and gave it a squeeze just as I was about to eat it.  With or without -- it's great!

Greek Lentil Salad

Greek Lentil Salad - a showcase for that little powerhouse of nutrition

This is a refreshing and yet filling summer salad.  I used the following ingredients:

1 cup lentils - green ones are nice, but red or brown will do
handful sweet onion in large chunks because you are removing it later
2 bay leaves
a large shallot bulb chopped
juice from one juicy lemon, about 2 to 3 T
1 diced cuke, if non-organic, please peel
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved
large handful of fresh mint
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Cook lentils, onion, bay leaves in 6 cups of water, bringing to a boil and then simmering for about 30 minutes or until lentils are tender.  I cover my pan.  Drain and remove onion and bay leaves.

Mix all of the above ingredients in a mixing bowl, add sea salt (and pepper if you like) and mix.  It gets better as it sits. 

Lentil tacos, jerk veggies, and red quinoa beet and sweet salad

Jerk is not always a bad word -- try this recipe for jerk beans and asparagus

I use these green stalks (beans and asparagus) not only as a side dish but as a snack between meals.  You can use either veggie, or both - maybe julienne of zucchini would be good too. 


In a large skillet, add:
1 teaspoon of olive oil
a thumb size of fresh minced ginger
1 or 2 minced cloves of garlic

and saute for about 30 seconds, then add

1/4 teaspoon or slightly more of red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
and a splash of water

Sizzle for a minute and add:

sea salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice
grate nutmeg - less than 1/4 teaspoon
and less than 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
plus
the veggies

Continue tossing to coat, add tiny splashes of water when mixture is too dry - saute for about 10 minutes or until veggies are tender.

I kicked mine up with a splash of lime when I served them and since I ate them as finger food, the lime was nice to rinse my fingers off when I was finished.  So Jerk away and enjoy.

Left over beets? A wonderful salad awaits.

The recipe below, with the baked beets and onions provided a cup of left overs so I created this salad.  If you did not make the baked beet/onion recipe and want to make this salad, first, bake the beets by wrapping them in foil and placing them in an oven for an hour at 350 degrees.  Let them cool about 30 minutes, then peel and slice.

To make this salad, I made a batch of quinoa - a wonderful grain, high in fiber, B vitamins, folate and magnesim.
Quinoa instructions:
Wash thoroughly in cold water, rinse, add a cup of quinoa to 1 1/4 cups of boiling water.  cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes, and fluff.

To make this sweet and savory salad:

To the quiona, I added
the sliced baked beets 
a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
the zest of a lemon
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 finely chopped scallions,
vinegar to mix -- I used a champagne pomegranate vinigar
and a sweet add in: I used dried cranberries - maybe diced apple would work, maybe mandarin orange?

Blend it up - it improves as it sits.  I brought some to work to share and it was so good, I am sorry to admit that I kept it for myself.  I'll make a larger batch next time.  ps.  If you like radishes, try adding that too -- I have yet to develop a taste for radishes so obviously, I left them out.

Eat healthy - savor the flavors that Mother Earth places before us, and never get bored.