While Spring may technically be just around the corner, it’s been alive in my heart for weeks. How else is one to get through slushy cold sleet and days of cloud cover without going stir crazy? I have pounced on every opportunity to lay in the sunshine, wear bright colors, and eat ripe fruit. Oh, it’s coming, folks. We’ve all summoned it.

Seasonal change invites new “clothing,” whether it kickstarts your running habit or forces you to put away the cozy scarf. This week, I was simply in the mood to change the color palette on my plate, when this salad came to mind.

As much as I love warm, roasted tahini veggies (that, yes, I have eaten 10 times), I bought some blackberries that just begged to reclaim my tahini addiction in the form of a new dressing. A splash of good balsamic vinegar enriches the flavor, and perfectly compliments the berries.

I also make a point each week at the grocery store to purchase a fruit or vegetable that I haven’t used in a while, if ever. If I have no idea how to use it, even better. This week: radishes. I didn’t do anything fancy with these bright red pearls. I shaved them thin and put them atop baby kale, along with sliced strawberries, hemp seeds, and sunflower seeds. Next time I’ll also add avocado and peas.

Yet, as-is, this combo got my taste buds ready for Spring without too readily ditching the warmth we’ve all needed for the cold. This would also make a great mock-chicken or pasta salad dressing. I hope you enjoy!

To Spring,
Hannah Joy

Blackberry Balsamic Dressing
1 Cup Blackberries, the more ripe the better!
2 Dates, pitted
¼ Cup Water, plus a splash
¼ Cup Olive Oil
2 tbsp Tahini
1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
S & P, to taste

Combine all ingredients except oil in a food processor, or using an immersion blender, until well combined. Whisk in oil. Enjoy!

Comforting Kale Salad with Zesty Sesame Vinaigrette

1 Bunch Lacinato Kale, chopped thin
1 Cup Red Quinoa, cooked and warm
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1 Granny Smith Apple, diced
1 Recipe Zesty Sesame Vinaigrette (Below)
Fun Options: Dried Cranberry, Walnuts, Pumpkin Seeds

Zesty Sesame Vinaigrette
1/2 Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice, strained 
1/4 Cup Brown Rice Vinegar
1/8 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Tsp Maple Syrup
1/2+1/4 Tsp Sesame Oil
1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
Dash Salt & Pepper
Sesame Seeds, to garnish

Combine all ingredients except oils. Slowly whisk in oils.

To serve:
Before quinoa has cooled completely, stir in coconut shreds. Toss with kale and apple, adding the dressing last. Once everything is sufficiently dressed, finish with sesame seeds. Add additional options if you wish. 

Enjoy!

I don’t know about you, but when I hear the words “CHAOS” and “HOLIDAY PANDEMONIUM” on the radio, I pretty much sink into what one could call the antithesis of warm-festive-fuzzy feelings about the holidays.

Let’s be real. I and many of you work more than 40 hours per week. We love our jobs, we love our families, we love the food (!) but from time-to-time, “the holidays” sounds like one more thing we may or may not be able to love, get into, and get to well. Which totally, totally stinks.

Add to this that on so many levels food is your life! But the thought of preparing something magical to share with others in the spare hour you’ll have between work and that potluck is just overwhelming. I know. I’m telling my story, here.

At first, this totally bummed me out. I refuse to bring chips and salsa anywhere! Not when I know I could make the salsa, make the chips, goddammit. Yet in daydream land, yes, why yes I COULD make whatever I want! In this instance, though, reality calls for simplicity. And bringing my nightly meal of brown rice and kale may not exactly go over well.

For this reason, I have become the salad maven of many parties I go to. I love that making a good salad can be so easy, and yet can be so different every time. Yet for some reason people shy away from having fun with salads. They fail to realize that, with a few small rules, a salad is virtually impossible to eff up.

For salad success, I suggest you stick to these rules. Then your celebration will be ON without the headache!

1. Keep it Simple
The best salads only have 3-4 ingredients, and are topped with a stellar dressing.

2. Quality over Quantity
Splurge on good greens instead of just buying as many vegetables as possible. Then buy 2-3 additional veggies that you know you love on their own. That way, you can vary the salad, and in the worst case scenario you can use the veggies for something else. (I’m the queen of turning my leftover salad goodies into stir-fry!)

3. Supersize the Superfoods
With your delicious greens as a base, use nuts, seeds, and superfoods to amp up the nutritional value without affecting the flavor too much. In particular, I add frozen organic peas and hemp seeds to almost every salad. (Peas are SO GOOD FOR YOU.) Hemp seeds, chia, sesame,  pumpkin...these are all so great, too.

4. Oldies are Goodies
That quarter cup of roasted potatoes that you just couldn’t bring yourself to eat or trash last night? The 5 lb of grapes that you found at the market but can’t fathom eating all of? These are your gems! Simple leftovers and refrigerator overages are a salad’s best friend. Don’t be afraid to use them!

5. Feature One Favorite
It can be really tempting to put all of your favorites in one salad, but I’ve found that the best salads have only one “star.” That rule can apply to an ingredient, a “protein,” a texture, or the dressing, but generally speaking you only want one ingredient that’s prominent in flavor and pizazz. Aim for balance, and you’ll always win!

6. Dress for Success
If your dressing doesn’t wow you, your salad experience won’t either. I always make my own dressing based on this very simple guideline: equal parts each of my favorite oil, vinegar, and variable, a sprinkle of salt, lots of pepper! The “variable” is my favorite condiment, sweetener, or jam at the time. Think orange juice, tahini, balsamic reduction, preserves, maple syrup, mustard, sesame oil. If you start simple, over time you’ll learn how to bedazzle it to your own liking without any loss! If making the dressing scares the pants off of you, then yes, you can buy your favorite bottled variety! No one will judge you. Just watch out for added sugars that contain no benefit… “grape juice concentrate,” for example.

To Salad Success and Happy Celebrating!

Hannah

Comment below, and tell me what your favorite salad combinations are!