Super Simple Spring Salad


Hopefully the warm weather is on its way. We’ve had a few tantalizing tastes, and now it has at least warmed up enough for us to fit in some long neighbourhood walks in the morning. 

Spring produce is showing up also. Heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers (greenhouse grown), spinach and mushrooms are all I needed to put together this tasty plate. 

For the dressing, for two: in a blender jar, combine 1/4c or 60ml vinegar (I used homemade but wine or cider types are lovely), 2T or 15ml extra virgin olive oil, 2t or 10ml Dijon and 2oz or 60g of feta. Blend until smooth and enjoy.

Then maybe another walk to run a few errands…

Fast food!

  
Today’s lunch is on a limited time budget. Lots of client work to do, problems and puzzles to solve! So how to make good food fast? You can never go wrong with a salad.

It helps to have one or two serving batches of frozen cooked legumes on hand, as they are much healthier than canned. But even those are an excellent choice in a pinch.

I layered some prewashed spinach on plates, and then cucumber, celery, mushrooms, and the chickpeas. For the dressing, 1/3 c or 80ml cider vinegar, 1 T/15ml olive oil, and the same amount of Dijon – whisk together for 2 servings. 

You could also make one of those handy mason jar salads this way, and take it to the office.

That’s it! Now back to work.

Change of Plans

Sometimes in a busy household a change of plans can make the day’s meal plan impractical. Or fresh foods can spoil a little faster than anticipated. In our case, some spinach that ended up not being used on Sunday, became the basis for dinner on Monday.

It was one of our usual go-to meals: some vegetables and beans (or cheese) tossed together with a whole-grain pasta. In this case, some spelt penne was the pasta star. While it cooked we sauteed an onion, and added half a dozen mushrooms. A splash of red wine, a packet of baby tomatoes, and the spinach in question came next, followed by a couple of cups of cooked beans. This simmered over low heat until the pasta was done. Then we tossed everything together and covered it, on low heat, for 4-5 minutes just to let the flavours come together. Finally, a sprinkling of feta for a salty-sharp accent. A casual, comforting end to a long day.