Avocado Pear and Gorgonzola Salad

I know I've said this before, and I'm sure I will say it again about a different recipe, but this salad is absolutely amazing and I don't think I'm overstating my point. My go-to bag lunch is a salad, because it's easy to pull the ingredients together in my lunch bag, quickly chop toppings just before serving, and it helps me get in my veggie servings early in the day. And I could eat this salad every single day.

Red Quinoa Tabouleh

Whether you spell it tabouleh, tabbouleh, tabouli, or tabbouli, to me this simple dish is synonymous with summer. A tangy mix of fresh herbs, tomato, onion, and grains, tabouleh is rumored to have it's origins in an ancient culinary rivalry between Caesar and Cleopatra. (Hey, I really can't make this stuff up!)  My first experience with tabouleh was at a wonderful Lebanese restaurant in northeast Minneapolis and it is a staple on the menu of many Greek restaurants, although most sources consider it a traditional Arab dish. Traditional tabouleh is made with a grain such as bulgur or in American versions couscous, but for a healthier spin I wanted to use one of my new favorite ingredients, quinoa.

Mixed Greens Caesar

Salads are one of those diet foods that tend to get dieters into a lot of trouble rather quickly. Sure, it's vegetables, but once you start adding dressing, cheese, croutons, and other crispy toppings you can easily find yourself with a plate of vegetables that tops 1000 calories. They say true love lasts a lifetime, and I LOVE Caesar salad. So to ensure I can enjoy Caesar salad anytime I want for the rest of my life, I created a better Caesar salad.

Pasta Caprese

Arguably one of the best flavor combinations in the vast culinary universe are the flavors found in insalata caprese. Fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes slices in a light vinaigrette are always a delicious combination which is probably why we see these same ingredients together in everything from salads and sandwiches to pasta and pizza. This recipe is a simple pasta that can be made in just 20 minutes and is delicious served hot or cold making, it a perfect dish for the spring and summer months.

Blood Orange, Beet, and Fennel Salad

The older I get, the more I love the foods that I refused to even taste as a child. This salad includes several of those flavors - beets, fennel, and onion. Let me explain. I grew up in a tiny little town in rural Minnesota where you were either Lutheran or Catholic, Scandinavian or German, and lived on a farm or in town. At every family gathering we ate pickled beets, which to an 8 year old are decidedly gross. My disgust for pickled beets probably had very little to do with the beets and more to do with the fact that the beets were served alongside potato sausage, pickled herring, creamed peas, and lutefisk. Thank goodness for lefse, otherwise I wouldn't have eaten anything! It wasn't until this past summer when my mother-in-law planted beets in my garden that I first ate beets that weren't pickled, and it turns out they are very delicious and one of my new favorite foods!