Cauliflower Salad

(Pic and recipe from FaceBook. Original Source Unknown)

I love potato salad... but all those carbs! So here's a low carb potato salad / with cauliflower instead .... It is SOOOO good!

INGREDIENTS
1 head of cauliflower steamed or boiled until tender in bite size pieces

6 boiled eggs (when done peel eggs, rinse and separate yokes into a bowl.
Then mash the yolk and cut the whites into small bite size pieces  and then blend together.

1/3 cup (appx) miracle whip or mayonnaise (don't use light, it has more carbs)

3 tbs of mustard

3 tbs of pickle relish

1/8 cup of chopped onion (uncooked) can use more if you prefer

salt/pepper to taste



METHOD
Mix all together and you can garnish with egg slices and parsley.

Chill over night.

(1 cup of cauliflower is only 3 carbs vs 1 cup of potato is 37 carbs)

Potato salad with Sour Cream & Chives

INGREDIENTS

1.5 kg potatoes
2 x 175g Sour Cream & Chives Dip & Top
5 ml whole grain mustard
5 ml Dijon mustard
1 shallot, finely chopped
30 ml Sour Cream
40 ml chives, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

METHOD

Place potatoes, with their skins on, in a large pot and cover with water. 
Bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes until just tender. 

Drain potatoes in a colander and place the colander on top of the hot pot, covering the potatoes with a clean dish cloth. Allow the potatoes to steam for 20 minutes. Leave to cool. 

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, rub off the skins and chop into small cubes. In a large mixing bowl add the Sour Cream & Chives Dip & Top, whole grain and Dijon mustard, chopped shallot, Sour Cream and salt and pepper. 

Mix until fully combined. 

Add the potatoes, gently mixing them in using a large spatula until they are well covered with the dressing. Spoon into a large serving dish and top with freshly chopped chives.

Avocado, Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

2 avocados, diced
1 English cucumber, sliced
3 tomatoes, diced
 ¼ cup red onion, sliced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper
¼ cup Feta cheese

Instructions

In a large bowl combine avocado, cucumber, tomatoes and red onion. Gently toss. In a small bowl whisk the olive oil, and lemon juice. Add to the veggies and toss. Serve with crumbled feta cheese.

 Without cheese and olive oil.

(Recipe by Alyssa Rivers - Serves: 4-6)

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Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad

3 Tomatoes, 
3 cucumbers, 
1 onion, 
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 
1 teaspoon of cracked pepper, 
2 table spoons of sugar,
2 teaspoons of salt (or to taste))
1 cup of water, 
1/4 cup of olive oil, 
mix well.

Let it chill for 1-2 hours and serve! 
 

Avo on greens with mustard vinaigrette

Basic green veggies with creamy avo and an interesting cheese makes a visually appealing salad. Drizzle with a tangy salad dressing to complement all these flavours for a beautiful summer side dish.

INGREDIENTS:

Mustard vinaigrette

• 30 ml (2 tbsp) Plain Avocado oil
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) Lemon-Flavoured Avocado Oil
• 10 ml (2 tsp) wholegrain mustard
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) white balsamic or apple cider vinegar
• 10 ml (2 tsp) honey
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) fresh thyme
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) coarsely chopped fresh mint

Greens

• 300 g broccoli, cut into florets
• 3 baby marrows, cut into ribbons (see tip)
• ½ cucumber, cut into ribbons (see tip)
• 2 handfuls baby lettuce leaves
• 2 avocados, quartered and cut into chunky wedges
• 100 g ricotta or feta, crumbled
• pepper to taste

.
METHOD

Vinaigrette: Mix all the ingredients together.

Greens:

Place broccoli and baby marrow in a shallow dish and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for a few minutes until just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Place veggies on a salad platter with cucumber ribbons, lettuce and avocado and crumble cheese over. 

Serve with a drizzle of the vinaigrette and a grind of black pepper.

- From Avolicious Recipes

Asparagus Quinoa Salad with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves sliced
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil

For the Dressing:

• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Put the quinoa, the sliced garlic, chopped onion, olive oil, and two cups of water in a medium sized pot. Bring the quinoa to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 15 minutes until the quinoa is fluffy and the little ring around the quinoa has loosened.
3. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the asparagus. Rinse the asparagus and remove the tough ends. Place the asparagus on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and chop each stalk into three pieces. Drizzle the asparagus with a little bit of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt.
4. Bake the asparagus at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes, until bright green and crisp tender.
5. While the asparagus cooks, prepare the dressing: combine the lemon juice, olive oil, mustard, sugar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small jar with a lid. Shake will to mix thoroughly.
6. Place the quinoa and asparagus in a bowl and drizzle with the dressing. Toss to coat.
7. Serve immediately.

This vegan recipe and beautiful photos are courtesy of The Pretty Bee.

Pynappel Koolslaai

2/3 koppie mayonnaise
2/3 kop suurroom
1 teelepel gerasperde ui
1 eet suurlemoensap
1 teelepel suiker
Sout na smaak
1 blik stukke pynappel (gedrieneer)
1 koppie grof gerasperde wortels
2 koppies grof gekapte (gerasperde) kool

Meng alles goed en bewaar oornag in die yskas

Chickpea salad

Ingredients
1 small red onion, peeled and chopped
1-2 fresh red chillies, de-seeded and finely sliced
2 handfuls ripe red cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 lemon
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chickpeas prepared as per pack instructions
1 handful fresh mint, chopped
1 handful fresh green basil, chopped
100g feta cheese

Method
Mix the chopped onion, chillies and tomatoes.
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season to taste.
Heat the chickpeas in a pan, then add 90 per cent of them to the bowl.
Blend the remaining chickpeas and add these as well – they will give a nice creamy consistency. Allow to marinate for a while and serve at room temperature.
Just as you’re ready to serve, give the salad a final dress with the fresh mint and basil.
Place on a nice serving dish and crumble over the feta cheese.

::

Spinach, roasted tomato and tuna salad

Roast a handful of cherry tomatoes on a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and season to taste. Roast at 200°C until the tomatoes start to burst open.

Blanch a 200g packet of green beans in boiling water. Toss everything together with a big handful of baby spinach leaves.

Add a 170g can of tuna in brine, 100g packet of drained black olives and sprinkle seed mixor sprouts.

Drizzle with some balsamic vinegar and enjoy.

Aartappelslaai met Bloukaassous

8 porsies

8 groot aartappels
4 ekstragroot eiers, gekook en in
skywe gesny
6 grasuie, gekap
15 ml (1 eetlepel) vars pietersielie, gekap

SLAAISOUS

5 0 g (½ pakkie) bloukaas, gekrummel
175 ml (1 klein bakkie) gewone jogurt
125 ml (1½ k) mayonnaise
sout en peper na smaak

1 Kook aartappels in borrelende kookwater waarby 5 ml (1 teelepel) sout gevoeg is tot dit net met mespunt kan deursteek.
2 Dreineer, laat afkoel, trek skille af en sny in blokke.
3 Meng aartappels, eiers, grasuie en pietersielie liggies bymekaar.
4 Slaaisous : Meng bestanddele vir slaaisous en roer by aartappels tot net gemeng.
5 Sit teen kamertemperatuur of koud voor.

(Vanaf Vrouekeur)

Easy Strawberry Salad

Ingredients

Dressing

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried minced onion

• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar  

Salad ingredients

• fresh lettuce leaves - chopped, washed and dried 
• fresh strawberries, halved
• cheese of your choice, I used Greek 

 Method

1. Whisk together the sugar, sesame seeds, sesame oil, poppy seeds, dried onion, paprika, oil and vinegar. Refrigerate until chilled.
2. In a salad bowl, combine the lettuce, cheese and strawberries. Drizzle with dressing, toss lightly and serve.

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Quinoa Tabouli on Pita Bread

I found this lovely recipe for Quinoa Tabouli, a beautiful light summer lunch, on Vegan Easy's page on Facebook.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 4 tomatoes
- 2 bunches parsley
- 1 bunch Mint
- 4 lemons
- 2 spring onions
- Olive oil to taste
- Salt and pepper

Method:
Cook quinoa as per instructions on pack (1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water, bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes), I do this in my rice cooker. Allow to cool.

Chop tomatoes, parsley, mint and spring onions and mix through cooled quinoa. Juice lemons, pour over and mix through tabouli. Add olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Eat on and with everything in the house for as long as it lasts!

If you don't know what Quinoa is (I didn't), Wikipedia says:

"Quinoa (/ˈkiːnoʊ.ə/, from Quechua kinwa or kinuwa ) is a species of the goosefoot genus (Chenopodium quinoa), a grain crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal, similar in some respects to buckwheat, rather than a true cereal, as it is not a member of the true grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beetroots, spinach and tumbleweeds. As a member of the Amaranthaceae family, it is related to and resembles amaranth, which is also a pseudocereal. After harvest, the seeds must be processed to remove the coating containing the bitter-tasting saponins. The seeds are in general cooked the same way as rice and can be used in a wide range of dishes. The leaves are eaten as a leaf vegetable, much like amaranth, but commercial availability of quinoa greens is limited."

I don't know if it is available in South Africa, but I will definitely be looking for it!

::

Cucumber salad

With warmer days looming just around the corner here in South Africa, it's time to put all those lovely cucumbers you've planted to use! The benefits of cucumbers are legendary (you can read more here) and they are so easy to prepare. So here's a lovely quick and easy cucumber salad to spice up your life.

1 cucumber
10 black olives
2tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 spring onions
½ lemon
½ fresh red chilli
5 or 6 sprigs of fresh mint

Run a fork down the length of the cucumber all around it, then halve and quarter it lengthways and cut the quarters across into 1cm (½in) chunks. Put them into a mixing bowl and set aside.

Drain 10 black olives, squeeze out their stones, and tear them into another bowl. Pour over 2tbsp balsamic vinegar and push down on the olives, so the vinegar starts pulling out their saltiness. Trim and finely slice 3 spring onions, then add to the olives.

Drizzle 4tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and the juice of ½ a lemon into the olive mixture and stir really well.

De-seed and finely slice ½ a red chilli and add to the bowl of cucumber. Pick the leaves from the sprigs of mint, finely slice them and add to the cucumber. Pour over the dressing, toss quickly, drizzle over a little more extra virgin olive oil and take to the table and enjoy!

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Meal-size salad

If you are trying to 'lighten up' your evening meals without missing out, a substantial salad is the way to go. Packed with the right ingredients, it will be surprisingly filling and of course packed with all the right nutrients.

Start off with a classic salad (think Greek or green) and add a couple of ingredients you don't normally associate with a salad as a side, and voila, you have a main.

INGREDIENTS THAT BULK UP A SALAD

Beans, lentils and chickpeas : full of fibre, protein, B vitamins and all low-GI, so will keep you full. Soya beans are the only complete protein, i.e., provide all 9 essential amino acids needed for a million processes, including energy production and mood regulation.

Grains such as pasta, rice, couscous, barley wheat and quinoa: all provide important carbohydrates and quinoa is wheat and gluten free, low GI and a good source of iron and calcium.

Eggs: a poached egg is all the rage, but there is always space for a good 'ol soft-boiled egg. Fried egg does the trick too! Eggs contain naturally-occuring Vitamin D and their high sulpher is great for hair and nails.

Cheese: Feta comes to mind first, but blue cheese goes exceptionally well with cabbage, or try a slice of goat's cheese with beetroot, shaved Parmesan over iceberg lettuce, mozzarella - legendary with nectarines or tomatoes and basil pesto or Cheddar or Gouda sliced into small blocks and tossed in a salad with baby leeks and red onion.

.

The calcium is essential for healthy bones and teeth and the other essential minerals, such as zinc, for skin health and to support the immune system.

.

TIP: You can also turn any salad into a main meal by wrapping it in tacos or tortillas, adding cheese and sour cream or mashed avo if you like.

Pilchards Salad with Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes and Cottage Cheese

Pilchards, in any form!, is my latest craving and I've been looking for new ideas of how to enjoy them. This is one of the variations I came up with :

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pilchards,
3/4 cup chopped cucumber,
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon cottage cheese

Method:
Break the fish with a fork, coarsely. Add the tomatoes, cucumber and cottage cheese. season to taste. Mix through evenly, but do not mince the fish. Season to taste. Serve as is or on freshly baked bread. Yummy!

Cauliflower Tabbouleh (raw, vegan, gluten-free)

Salad


1 medium Cauliflower – broken into florets

1 large handful (40g) Fresh Flat Leaf parsley, Chopped

1 small handful(20g) fresh Mint, Chopped

½ (200g) Cucumber diced

1 (190g) red onion, finely chopped

6 (600g) tomatoes diced

1 (200g)green pepper diced

Dressing


Juice of 2 Medium lemons (±150ml)

½ Cup (125ml) Olive oil

½ tsp (2g)ground garam masala

½ tsp (1g) freshly ground cumin

Vegetable salt and black pepper to taste

- In small batches, pulse the cauliflower florets until they are riced.

- Combine the dressing and toss through the cauliflower rice and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

- Add the rest of the salad ingredients and mix thoroughly.

- Garnish with shredded cucumber or romaine lettuce

Serves 6

70k Cal per 100g

Avocado-Cherry Tomato Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 4 firm-ripe avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and cut into chunks

• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved crosswise

• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

• 1/4 cup Lime Vinaigrette (See recipe below.)

• Coarse salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine avocados, tomatoes, pine nuts and vinaigrette. Toss gently, taking care not to smash the pieces of avocado—you are not making guacamole!
2. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Serve chilled. Makes 4 cups.

Lime Vinaigrette
A sweet tangy blend of lime, honey and cilantro, this versatile Lime Vinaigrette lends pizzazz to a salad, or makes a great basic marinade for fish or chicken.

Ingredients:

• Juice of 2 to 3 limes, (about 1/4 cup)

• 1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1 teaspoon coarse salt

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 2/3 cup canola oil

• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions:
 
1. In a blender, combine lime juice, honey, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Blend on medium speed for a few seconds, and then reduce the speed to low.

2. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until emulsified. Pour into a container or jar and mix in cilantro.

3. Keep any left-over vinaigrette covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes 1 cup.

Spring Flower salad

Serves:	4
Allergens:	Gluten free
Dietary considerations:	Low carb / Fat conscious / Health conscious / Dairy free / Vegan
Category:	Easy
Prep time:	10 minutes
Cooking time:	5 minutes
Ingredients: 1 x 180 g pillow pack mixed lettuce leaves 10-15 spears fresh asparagus, blanched and cut into bite-sized pieces ½ cup walnuts, toasted Edible flower petals (such as nasturtium, hibiscus, calendula, rose, pansy and dianthus) Cape gooseberry balsamic vinegar reduction
Cooking instructions: Scatter the lettuce leaves and rocket onto a serving platter. Toss the asparagus and walnuts on top and decorate with the flowers. Drizzle with the dressing and serve.

Antipasto Platter

Quick and easy Antipasto Platter                                                             

Serves : n/a
Preparation Time : 20 minutes
Cooking Time : n/a Oven Temperature : n/a

Ingredients:
Cocktail Onions
Dill Cucumbers
Green Stuffed Olives
Black Pitted Olives
Jalapeno Chillies
Pickled Onions
Calamata Olives
Artichokes
Pimento
Mini Corn Spears
Asparagus
Few slices Provolone cheese or cheese of your choice
Few slices salami Freshly sliced tomatoes.

Method:
Arrange all the ingredients attractively on a serving platter.

Cook's Tip : Garnish with fresh basil and serve with Olive oil and vinegar