To Inspire: Salads in a Jar

Fresh. Healthy. Convenient.
Yep, salads in a jar.

Easy? Yes. Time-consuming? Yes. Worth it? Yes.

Here are the steps:

• Pre-step: you need a mason-type jar. I bought quart-size ones (roughly 1 litre). They don't need to be fancy.
• Step 1: put your vinaigrette/dressing.
• Step 2: veggies that you won't mind will soak up the vinaigrette. (e.x. carrots, peppers)
• Step 3: beans, grains, pasta
• Step 4: cheese
• Step 5: softer veggies or fruits
• Step 6: nuts, seeds
• Step 7: greens (lettuce, spinach) - make sure your greens are dry!

An important point: the salad should be packed quite tightly so the ingredients don't get sloshed around when you're carrying it.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa salad.
Ingredients: salsa, Greek yogourt, tomatoes, black beans, corn kernels,
avocado, cheese cubes, romaine.
Delicious!

What I like:

• it looks appealing and tasty.
• assembling (not cooking) fresh ingredients.
• keeps in the fridge for 5 days.
• none of that: "Oh no! I've been busy all morning.And now what do I have for lunch? Cheese and crackers? Soup in can?"
• bizarre satisfaction of making an assembly line of salads… I feel like I should be hosting a cooking show ;)

Strawberry Spinach and Quinoa Salad.
Ingredients: vinaigrette, quinoa, strawberries, feta cheese,
pumpkin seeds, spinach.

Serve in a HUGE bowl and mix well:

Thoughts:
-The quinoa soaked up most of the vinaigrette,
so I had a lot of spinach…
-Next time: add more strawberries.
-Vinaigrette made from scratch - too awhile and I don't know
if it was worth it. A nice store-bought raspberry vinaigrette would have
tasted as good.

Greek Salad.
Awesome!
Ingredients: Greek vinaigrette (store-bought), cucumbers, tomatoes,
olives, feta, romaine.
-I was very generous with the tomatoes and cucumbers.

It does take time to make; set aside 30 minutes. But it's worth the effort. It can also become a bit chaotic in your kitchen. Take control of your countertops. 

Imagine: a morning where you can just open your fridge, grab your jar, stuff it in your workbag (make sure you don't tip it!) and off you go! A nutritious meal awaits you at lunch.

I hope this inspires you to go and make salads for your week!

Simple Pleasure: Chou-fleur

Roasted cauliflower in olive oil:

So simple.
So delicious.
Eaten with fresh pita bread - nothing beats really fresh pita bread! (I grew up with pita bread which was only bought at specialty Middle Eastern bakeries, so I can tell the difference just by holding and sniffling the bag! ) -  scooping the flowerets and savouring all the amazing flavours.

A perfect afternoon snack!
(although Margot was content just eating the cauliflower with her fingers, without the bread)

Thoughts on a Thursday: Recipes

Sometimes recipes just don't work!

Is it worth spending ones time in the kitchen for an hour (or even more!), only to create a disappointed meal? Nope.

I started making a list of foolproof recipes.

This reminds me of the following quote from Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle:

Mom didn't like cooking much - "Why spend the afternoon cooking a meal that will be gone in an jour", she'd ask us, "when in the amount of time, I can do a painting that will last forever?"