Category: Salads

Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads, Sides, Vegetables

Cumin-Scented Cabbage Salad

Sarah

Even though I rarely post any recipes for vegetables on this blog, I hope you don’t believe that I never eat them! That’s certainly not the case. I think this dip is just one indication of how much I love my veggies! But sadly, most of the ways I eat veggies are pretty plain. At dinner, we usually eat big green salads with our main course. Lettuce, carrots, peppers, cherry tomatoes… all good, but sometimes a bit boring. So I’ll mix it up with roasted broccoli, steamed green beans, or a fancy dilled carrot dish every once in awhile, but that’s about it. When a friend asked me to bring some salad over for dinner one night, I jumped at the chance to be creative. Instead of making my go-to green salad, I switched it up and made a fancy cole slaw. Now, don’t get turned off. It’s not creamy or drowning in dressing. It’s light and fresh and flavorful… simply delicious!

Cumin-Scented Cabbage Salad | The Pajama Chef

This cabbage salad [I much prefer that name to cole slaw, thankyouverymuch] has a few winter veggie staples: cabbage [duh], carrots, and radishes, plus some flavorful additions like green onions and cilantro. If you click over to Jessica’s original post you’ll see that she used watermelon radishes–which look delightful, but aren’t available in Indiana… so check them out if you have a chance. 🙂 But the best part of this salad isn’t the traditional veggies, rather it is the spicy and tangy vinaigrette dressing! This dressing is just awesome. I think it would make an excellent taco salad dressing, actually–it’s just your basic oil and vinegar dressing spiced up [literally] with cumin, paprika, pepper, and garlic. That’s it. Yumalicious! The spice in the dressing compliments the cilantro so well.

Cumin-Scented Cabbage Salad | The Pajama Chef

The flavors of this salad are awesome on day 1, but they also improve as the salad hangs out in the fridge for a few days. I love it when salad’s shelf life is longer than a day…makes me so happy! Be sure to try this salad when you have a chance–I think it would be great with burgers, tacos, soup, and whatever else you can imagine. Enjoy!

Cumin-Scented Cabbage Salad [from Good Cheap Eats]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1 head green cabbage, chopped [I used my food processor]
  • 2 large carrots, sliced
  • 5 green onions, green & white parts, diced
  • 6 small radishes, thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup cilantro,  chopped
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, toss together cabbage, carrots, green onions, radishes, and cilantro. In a small bowl or glass jar, combine olive oil and vinegar, then garlic, cumin, paprika, and pepper. Shake or stir together, then toss with vegetables.

Serve immediately or keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Time: 10 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings.

Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads

SRC: Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

Sarah

It’s Secret Recipe Club time again! If you’ve missed past SRC posts, the premise is this: you’re assigned a different member’s blog every month. You visit their blog, choose any recipe you want, then make it and share it on your blog. Everyone else posts about their secret blog the same day. It’s fabulously fun to try out new blogs. If you have a blog, definitely check it out and consider joining! I highly recommend it.

For the month of May, I was assigned to Katherine Martinelli, a food writer/blogger currently living in Be’er Sheva, Israel. I was really excited to be assigned her blog, since she made my Pumpkin Granola back for SRC November. I love the international flair of her blog–especially all the fun fresh produce and nuts available at her local market. So many of Katherine’s recipes sound amazing…. I could hardly decide what to make! I mean, Mango Chicken with Coconut Rice? Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies? Homemade Graham Crackers? Yes please times three! I had grand plans to make Homemade Graham Crackers… however, life got in the way. Last week was finals week, and I graduated from my dual master’s program (MA- African Studies, Master of Library Science) on Friday!

Sarah and Ben at her master's graduation, 2012Such a happy day and a great weekend with family! But sadly the craziness of the past few weeks derailed my grand plans. So once again I browsed through the recipes on Katherine’s site and found the most delicious, gorgeous dressing that I have ever laid eyes on… Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette!

cilantro-lime vinaigrette via thepajamachef.com - an easy, healthy salad dressing. perfect for summer or anytime!I mean, is that not beautiful? Here’s a close up in case you’re not certain.

cilantro-lime vinaigrette via thepajamachef.com - an easy, healthy salad dressing. perfect for summer or anytime!And not only is this dressing pleasing to the eye with its specks of cilantro, Dijon mustard seeds, and creamy-light goodness… it also tastes fantastic… by the spoonful or on a salad, duh. The sharp flavor of the garlic is mellowed and sweetened by the citrusy tang of the fresh lime juice. It’s the perfect pairing for classic salad components like baby spinach, shaved carrots, chopped tomatoes, and crisp bell peppers. I think it would also be great tossed with pasta or as a marinade for grilled chicken.

cilantro-lime vinaigrette via thepajamachef.com - an easy, healthy salad dressing. perfect for summer or anytime!So even if you didn’t find this dressing because you were pressed for time like I was, this homemade Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette dressing is a great addition to any salad and to your homemade dressing repertoire. Enjoy!

Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

  • Servings: 1 cup
  • Print

from Katherine Martinelli

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 large cloves garlic [or 3 smaller cloves], minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
  • 1 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoons whole grain dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro, packed

Directions:

Place all items in food processor or blender. Pulse until garlic and cilantro are fully crushed, and everything is well combined. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Be sure to check out other posts from today’s reveal of the SRC. Have a great day!

Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads

Corn Cake Salad

Sarah

So, in addition to my Farmer’s Market finds that helped create this fantastic lunch, I also gathered some extra veggies to help create the salad of my summer. The one, the only, the colorful, the complex… Corn Cake Salad!

I mean serrrrriously, people. Can you just see why this is the salad of the summer? Let me just count the reasons.

  1. Tons of veggies… check.
  2. Juicy peaches for sweetness… check.
  3. Lime juice for kick… check.
  4. Fried, slightly spicy corn cake for a delicious awesome topping… check.
  5. Avocado and tomato relish for pizzazz… check.

What more can a girl ask for?

Maybe a dessert other than six year old candy from study abroad that she can’t bear to eat, throw away, or deal with in any other way except storing in the pantry in the same bag she received from the store that said candy was purchased at… in Cameroon… in 2005.

Umm, yes. I’m weird. And I ate some, in case you were wondering. So did Ben. Afterwards, it went right back into the pantry. Sugar doesn’t rot, does it? Fortunately, the making of this salad does not require prior discovery and/or consumption of six year old foreign candy. But it does require quickness as the end of the season of  summer sweet corn is rapidly approaching. So what are you waiting for? Pumpkin will still be here next week!

Corn Cake Salad [from Annie’s Eats]
printable version

Ingredients:

for corn cakes

  • 3 large ears of corn, shucked
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1/4 cup onion, finely diced
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons milk [or buttermilk]
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • canola oil

for relish

  • 1 large tomato, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
  • pinch garlic powder
  • juice of half a lime
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

for salad

  • mixed baby greens
  • 1 peach, pitted and sliced thin
  • 1 carrot, shaved
  • 2 roma tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 small green bell pepper, diced
  • juice of half a lime

Directions:

Place 2 cups of corn kernels in a food processor and pulse several times to render the corn chunky but still pureed. Transfer the corn to a bowl with the remaining kernels, then stir in flour, cornmeal, onion, basil, baking powder, and baking soda. Season with salt and pepper, then gently mix in eggs, milk, and butter.

Make the relish by mixing together all ingredients except avocado and salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, then fold in avocado. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, add a little oil [once around the pan] to a large skillet set over medium heat. Form cakes by dropping 1-2 tablespoons of batter in the skillet, and fry 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy. You can prepare 4-5 at a time depending on the size of your skillet. Remove to wire rack or a plate lined with paper towels.

Lastly, make salad. In a large bowl, toss together mixed baby greens, sliced peaches, shaved carrot, chopped tomatoes, and diced pepper. Squeeze lime juice over salad and toss again. Serve corn cake over salad, relish over corn cake, and enjoy!

Yield: 12 corn cakes, ~1.5 cups relish, and 1 large salad [for two].

Time: 30-45 minutes.