If you like lentils as much as I do, this simple recipe is probably looking pretty good to you. I would not have thought of mixing a classic dijon vinaigrette with lentils, but it works oh-so-deliciously. These lentils are exactly the kind of thing I love to find in the refrigerator when I don’t know what I’m looking for. To make this recipe easier (pandemic style), feel free to skip the bay leaf, substitute 1/2 tsp. garlic powder for the garlic, and use some kind of halfway decent Italian dressing instead of the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and spices. Then if you can get yourself or someone else to peel and slice a carrot and onion, the whole recipe will come together. Good enough. Continue reading
Category Archives: Salads
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Joe Gardewin’s Spicy Cucumber Salad
I am proud to share a recipe from my friend and major YHIOYP fan Joe Gardewin, who loves food (especially when it’s Korean!) and has been actively contributing to the conversation here for a long, long time. This is such a great recipe, and I love the technique, the marinating, the kick, the bite, the sweetness, all of it. Thank you, Joe, for sharing your spicy cucumber salad with the readers of YHIOYP. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Parsley Salad(s)!
There is an incredibly warm and cozy spot in my heart where the parsley goes. Parsley doesn’t usually get you riled up the same way that basil, thyme, and oregano do, but, if you ask me, it is absolutely its own kind of wonderful. What’s different about these recipes is that the parsley here serves as the green, the herb, the main event, the everything. It’s not a decoration or an herbal sprinkle or a garnish, it’s just the parsley, and it’s definitely meant to be eaten this way. No competition, no second fiddle. Continue reading
A Call to Our Chefs — Could We Call a Salad Something Else?
When my friend’s husband said that he was sick and tired of eating “salad,” she was kind of surprised, because she had thought that, if anything, their dinners had recently had more variety than usual. That was true of the ingredients, she realized, but not of the dishes. Caesar salad, Waldorf salad, Chef Salad, Salad Nicoise, Cobb salad, and Caprese salad (fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil) had all been on the menu in the prior two weeks. It seemed to her that it wasn’t that he was actually tired of the food, but more that he was tired of the word “salad.” Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Judith’s Southwest Chopped Salad
It’s time for another recipe from Judith! This time I got her to share her Southwestern Chopped Salad recipe, which is going to make you so, so happy! You can throw this together and have it for dinner all by itself, or you can take it to a party, where it’s sure to get rave reviews and unlikely to leave leftovers. Use canned black beans, canned corn, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder instead of garlic cloves — keep it as easy as you want. This is also a great recipe to set out deconstructed for kids, with lettuce in a large bowl in the center, and add-ons in smaller bowls all around, so that they think they’re the ones deciding what to eat. If you make the salad this way, you can serve the dressing separately in a small pitcher. Wink-wink. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Chopped Salad
My parents moved into the house next door to us a year ago, so instead of getting to eat my father’s cooking only a few times a year, we are now lucky to count ourselves as regular beneficiaries of my father’s superb cooking. Not long ago, my father, also known as Chef Ira, cooked dinner while the rest of us put in a full day of work. The menu for that memorable meal included fresh cod; roasted potatoes, eggplant, squash, and Brussels sprouts with caramelized garlic and onions; and his famous chopped salad. My dad’s chopped salad, which appears at most if not all the meals he cooks, is “to die for!” and it is certainly worth learning how to make. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: White Beans with Roasted Tomatoes
This recipe makes a simple and lovely meal that could not be more delicious or satisfying! Like many recipes whose featured ingredient is one or more types of beans, it still tastes wonderful even if you fiddle with the ingredients a little. The name of the game is flexibility. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Summer’s Caramelized Corn Salad
This beautiful and elegant recipe, with its mix of so many different colors and flavors, will certainly make your tastebuds sing! The sweetness from the pepper, sour from the lime, heat from the Sriracha, brightness from the parsley, all come together to form an absolute culinary orchestra. And sauteing the corn in olive oil? Well that’s what gives it that little bit of sweetly caramelized late summer magic. Enjoy! Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Golden Gazpacho Soup
You can think of gazpacho as soup and salad, both, at the same time. It will make a great first course at a nice dinner, but you can also take it to work for lunch (maybe with Mary’s Gone Crackers or a slice of toasted whole-grain bread). It would also make a scrumptiously satisfying mid-afternoon snack. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Joe’s Sassiest Asian Slaw Ever
My buddy and longtime fan Joe Gardewin has come up with what he calls “the very best and sassiest Asian slaw ever.” He says it’s great on turkey tacos but you should also feel free to eat it plain, right out of the bowl, if you want! His list of veggies is somewhat flexible, but includes cabbage, daikon radish, and hot peppers at the very least, and he is proud to say that he is a legit food snob since he hand-cuts his slaw. Go, Joe! Continue reading