Related: The thrift store glass jar I found to store my pumpkin seeds!

© Copyright 2008 by Wardeh Harmon.

With the weather warming up, we sure feel like having lighter, cooler foods. This is a deliciously simple chicken salad. We like to eat it with Quinoa Dinner Cakes. Yesterday when we were out clearing brush and cleaning up our property, I brought out a bowl of this chicken salad and a bunch of the dinner cakes. Yummy lunch — or dinner!

Yummy Chicken Salad

• 1/4 to 1/2 onion, finely diced
• 2 to 3 cups cooked chicken, diced
• sea salt and pepper
• few pinches of dried basil
• generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• few splashes of balsamic vinegar
• finely grated goat cheddar cheese (optional)
• chopped olives (optional)

Toss all ingredients. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve atop greens, in a sandwich, or alongside Quinoa Dinner Cakes.

© Copyright 2008 by Wardeh Harmon.

The main thing you’ll want to make sure of is that you don’t overcook the green beans. They must be blanched only and still stay crisp. Also, you’ll want to make this salad several hours before you plan to serve it. This allows all the flavors to mingle together. It really does make a difference.

GREEN BEAN SALAD
taken from “The Healthy Kitchen” by Andrew Weil & Rosie Daley

• 1 pound green beans (preferably French) — can be frozen or fresh
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 bay leaf
• sea salt
• 1 lemon, washed

Add green beans to boiling water. Blanch for approximately 5 minutes. Do not overcook. They need to be bright green and still crunchy. Drain and cover with cold water. Drain again. Toss with oil, garlic, bay leaf and salt. Peel 4 strips of yellow zest from lemon. Add to beans. Toss. Let stand at room temperature for several hours. Discard bay leaf. Toss. Serve.

modified by Wardeh Harmon from “The Guilt-Free Gourmet”

• 2 cups filtered water
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 3 teaspoons onion powder
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Blend first 6 ingredients in blender until smooth. Add olive oil. Blend to incorporate. Transfer to glass jar. Mix in parsley, basil and poppy seeds. Refrigerate unused portion. Mix well before serving.

Tofu Dressing with Almond and Mustard 

• 1/2 package soft tofu
• 1 tablespoon almond butter
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons natural sweetener such as agave or xylitol
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (could increase to 1 teaspoon depending on your preference)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in blender container. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate unused portion. Mix well before serving.

© Copyright 2007 by Wardeh Harmon

Cold Quinoa Salad

 I hope the fact that this is a “to taste” recipe won’t discourage you from giving it a try. See what tastes good to you and give it a go!

• 4 cups cold cooked plain quinoa*
• 1 cup cooked and cold pinto beans (or other bean of your choice)
• 1/4 cup shredded goat cheddar cheese
• other add-ins of your choice — diced or shredded veggies or sliced olives
• oil of your choice — extra virgin olive oil, red palm oil**, or grapeseed oil
• dash of toasted sesame oil
• vinegar of your choice — balsamic, raw apple cider or rice
• sea salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, or to taste

Put quinoa in a big salad bowl. Use a wooden spoon to separate the grains. Add the beans, cheese and add-ins. Toss, taking care not to smash the beans. Add oils, vinegar, sea salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Adjust to taste.

*To cook quinoa: Rinse 2 cups uncooked quinoa in a sieve under cold running water for 2 minutes. Transfer to stainless steel medium size pot. Add 4 cups filtered water and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or other desired oil). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, undisturbed. Turn off the heat. Let cool. Chill.

**If using red palm oil: If red palm oil is solid at room temperature (depending on the season), mix it with the quinoa while the quinoa is still warm. Then chill the quinoa thoroughly before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.

© Copyright 2007 by Wardeh Harmon

Onion-Dill Croutons

• 1 loaf of whole grain bread, 1/2″ cubes
• 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 tablespoon dill weed
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine all ingredients and toss together thoroughly, so none of the seasonings are concentrated in one area. Taste; adjust seasonings.

Spread out on 9″ x 13″ baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.

© Copyright 2007 by Wardeh Harmon

When we first married, Jeff told me how much he loved salads and how he would love to eat salad every day. I’m sorry to admit that I didn’t take him at his word until about five years into our marriage. After repeated encouragements from him and a desire growing in me to provide healthier foods for our family, I started serving salads at every lunch and dinner. Now it has been another five years that we have eaten salad daily. There are perhaps a dozen days a year when we do not have salad. Those days we don’t have it, we miss it.

Our son, Mikah, is looking forward to his 6th birthday. When I asked him what he wanted to eat on his birthday, he said — pancakes for breakfast, grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, and cabbage salad for dinner. He frequently eats more than one helping of salad. But he is not the only one in our family who loves salad; we all do.

Read more about A Healthy Salad Habit…

Summer’s Bounty Cabbage Salad

• 1/2 head green cabbage — thinly sliced
• 2 bell peppers — cored and thinly sliced
• 2 patty pan squashes — quartered, then thinly sliced
• 2 ripe tomatoes — sliced in wedges
• 1/4 cup raisins
• juice of one lemon
• drizzle of agave syrup
• liberal amount of extra virgin olive oil
• few dashes of toasted sesame oil
• sprinkling of fresh or dried dill
• seasoning salt — to taste
• black pepper — to taste

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and toss to coat. Adjust seasonings. Serve.

© Copyright 2006 by Wardeh Harmon.