Cucumber & Red Onion Salad

My mom used to make a yummy cucumber salad when I was little. I tried to recreate it here...It was good, but not like mom's.

The ingredients are simple: cucumbers, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, sugar. I think mine wasn't quite like mom's because I used balsamic vinegar instead of white wine or rice vinegar. I'll have to experiment with a different vinegar and see if it comes out better...or I guess I could just call mom.

refreshingly delicious

simple ingredients for a quick and easy salad

my favorite balsamic vinegar...next time I'll probably go with
white wine vinegar though

slice the cucumbers as thinly as you can

toss with a little lemon juice

add the thinly sliced onions

add the remaining ingredients:
vinegar, olive oil, salt, and a pinch of sugar

voila! ready to enjoy

Bye for now...

Chopped Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing

I went to an Eat Like a Yogi vegan cooking class about six months ago with Siri Bani Kaur of Kundalini Yoga Boston. Most of the dishes were also raw. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to like the food as much as I did but everything was great. The Kale Salad recipe was so delicious that I've adapted it, and the tahini dressing slightly, and made it several times since the class.

Chopped Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing, adapted from Siri Bani Kaur's recipe
Kale Salad
1 bunch of kale
3 medium carrots
1 avocado
1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
1 English cucumber
1 small red onion, finely diced
~ 2 c cooked quinoa, optional

Tahini Dressing
1/4 c Tahini
2 T Brewer's yeast
2 cloves garlic, pressed
juice from 2 lemons
3 T extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
1/2 t sea salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 T water, or as needed

This recipe makes a huge amount, so make it when you have guests (or decrease the ingredients). It will last for a few days, but because everything is raw, you'll want to enjoy it quickly.

Chop the ingredients for the kale salad into bite-sized pieces and place in large bowl (I use the largest bowl I have or a large cooking pot); add the quinoa. Gently mix together so you don't mash the avocado.

For the dressing, mix all ingredients except the water. Add the water a little at a time, until you get the consistency you like. Add the dressing to the vegetables and stir gently.

Enjoy!

the easiest way to cut up an avocado...slice top to bottom
and then across...

and then scoop out with a spoon

all of the chopped up veggies

kale is washed and ready to be chopped into bite-sized pieces

the quinoa cooks while I chop up the veggies

ready to mix everything together

the tahini sauce is ready too

pour the sauce over the vegetable-quinoa mix and stir gently

done...so healthy and delicious!

served with some french bread crostini

yum!!

Bye for now...