Mediterranean Millet Salad

Tender millet and chopped fresh & preserved vegetables tossed with a lemony herb vinaigrette, this gluten free whole grain salad is satisfyingly flexible.

Are you a millet eater? Millet curious? I developed this recipe because I was the latter, and now I am the former. After reviewing the Whole Grains Council's website with my healthy eating coach, she challenged me to pick a new-to-me grain and try it.
I picked millet, and here we are.

Throughout the winter I've made this salad with a rotating cast of leftover cooked vegetables, fresh vegetables, preserved vegetables, and herbs. My method pretty much goes like this--step 1, put millet and water in the Instant Pot and, step 2, while the Pot is coming up to pressure open the crisper and figure out what's going to be in the salad that day.
It’s hearty enough to keep me satisfied for a while, and I can load it up with plenty of fresh veggies to make it feel like Spring has truly sprung even though the muddy garden doesn’t quite agree. 

Because I've made this so often I've got some tips & tricks for you.

Winter Salad

A meatless main dish salad composed of roasted root vegetables like beets, carrots, and potatoes over tender bok choy, topped with a fried egg.

This vegetarian main dish salad is perfect for the season when your body wants Spring but the view outside the window hasn't quite caught up yet.

Follow me | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

About this time of year, as the days are getting noticeably longer and the time change means I've got more light available in the evenings, I start craving fresh food. I haven't used a winter Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share before, but my Strategic Winter Squash Reserve is proof that much of the Fall harvest can be enjoyed months later if properly stored.

I need more than just long-storing root vegetables, though. I crave leaves! When I am lucky to find a farmer growing winter greens I make good use of their produce. This Winter Salad is a tasty way to enjoy some mild cold weather greens like bok choy or spinach. I first got the idea for raw bok choy in a salad thanks to Alanna's lyrical descriptions of her Bok Choy Salad with Creamy Vinaigrette. Young tender small leaves are best for eating raw in salads. Use the more mature larger plants in Fish Tacos or Yakisoba.

Lemony Beet and Lentil Salad

A hearty salad of red lentils and beets in a lemon thyme vinaigrette. This vegan recipe is a healthy addition to a summer pot luck because it keeps well at room temperature.

Follow me | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

Salads are staples in our fridge in the summer. It doesn't seem to matter the base of the salad--lettuce, kale, potatoes, or grains--having a salad is a go to alongside grilled vegetables and proteins. Something that can be prepared ahead of time is a great way to round out a meal when you're busy working at the grill on the entree.

This blush colored salad is a colorful cool addition to a picnic. Since the dressing is made of lemon juice and olive oil, it can sit out at room temperature for quite a while safely. For leftovers, I like to mix in a bit of hummus for a quick version of my Layered Summer Appetizer. If you need to bring a salad to a pot luck, something that can hold at room temperature is a great idea for summertime. It provides a change of pace from mayonnaise-based potato salads, a gluten free option from macaroni salads, and a vegan option to bacon-topped tossed salads.

CSA Farm Share Chopped Salad

This salad is filled with a variety of colors, flavors, and textures. A mixture of raw and cooked vegetables with grains, proteins, and herbs, this hearty vegetarian salad can be eaten as a main dish or used as a side salad.

Follow me | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

Today I want to talk about maximizing time.

Do you bring reading material, knitting, or your laptop with you when you know you'll be sitting and waiting somewhere? I do--either my Kindle at the doctor's office, or my knitting in the car, or my laptop while waiting for my daughter's sewing class. I like to be prepared when I know I'll be stuck somewhere for a while.


It's amazing how much focused effort I can accomplish toward a task when I am free of the distractions of laundry, the dogs wanting out (and in and out and in and out and in), or the lure of social media.


This recipe came about precisely because I was stuck without preplanned waiting materials. We'd dropped the car off for routine maintenance first thing in the morning and decided to swing by the dealership eight hours later, en route home from an errand.


The car wasn't ready.

Grilled Greens Salad with Couscous

A concept recipe for using Spring farm share greens in a hearty main dish salad. Grill greens, a protein, and some other vegetables, then toss with a grain and some cheese for a simple salad supper.

 Follow me | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

This time of year I'm often out grilling in my driveway. My neighbor comes over to see what I'm grilling, and I check in to see what he's grilling. Since I started throwing the farm share on the grill, my grill plan starts with vegetables. There's nothing like the flavor of meat cooked over flame . . . but don't forget about the effect that fire has on vegetables!

Today's recipe is another concept recipe for using whatever cooking greens appear in your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. I've used Napa cabbage, Bok choy, and pak choi in this type of recipe, but I am sure that Romaine and radicchio would also work. I know that grilling radicchio won't fly with my kids so I'll save that for another salad.

Inside the house, make a pot of couscous or another quick cooking grain (Trader Joes has some terrific 10 minute farro and barley bags, or if you've got more time how about wild rice, or jasmine rice, or bulgur wheat--there are endless possibilities). Once the grain is about done, head out to the grill.

You're simply going to take your greens, slice them in half, brush with cooking oil, and give them a few minutes on a medium grill. Easy.  While you're at it, grab some additional vegetables (peppers, onions, radishes, peas, and/or green beans) and give them the same treatment. Add a protein. I raided my freezer and grabbed a package of smoked sausage which added additional flavor.

Once all of the vegetables and protein are finished on the grill, chop them into small pieces and toss everything together with your grain. I do this in a large bowl. I drizzle a bit of olive oil over top, and toss again. Add a little drizzle of acid (half a lemon squeezed over the bowl, or a splash of balsamic vinegar) and toss again. A bit of cheese, another toss. Finally some salt and pepper--and the big bowl is ready to dig in.

It's a relaxed meal because there are no hard and fast rules of what needs to go into it, and you taste as you go. My kids like the chunks of meat, my spouse likes the filling-ness of the grain, and I like that leftovers can be served cold or at room temperature.

Cherimoya Ambrosia Fruit Salad

An exotic variation on the traditional Ambrosia or Five Cup Salad--using Cherimoya in place of pineapple makes this fruit salad extra special for your holiday table.

Disclosure--I received the cherimoya used in this salad from Melissa's Produce.

 Follow me | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

The fruit salad known as Ambrosia (in my childhood) or Five Cup Salad (in the deli down the street) is a staple in a side dish spread. While we seem to eat it year round, it often appears on our holiday table. Sometimes we dress it up with maraschino cherries, sometimes we add pecan halves for crunch.

When I got a box of FreakyFruits from Melissa's Produce last year [yes, I am still sharing recipes from this. I am slow--in the kitchen and on the computer] I consulted my Melissa's Great Book of Produce: Everything You Need to Know about Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Amazon Affiliate link) for advice with all of the unfamiliar-to-me fruits. The book describes cherimoya like "lizard-green pine cones", with "a leathery skin embossed with scalelike scallops". Yep, that's a freaky fruit.

When I read, "an alluring sweet blend of pineapple, papaya, vanilla and banana flavors" I decided to give the cherimoya a try in our ambrosia recipe, in place of pineapple. Because cherimoya discolors quickly after cutting, I use my favorite trick for keeping fruit looking fresh, pineapple juice (instructions in my Cream Cheese Toffee Dip for Apples).

Potluck Asian Chicken Cabbage Salad

Chicken, cabbage and salad greens tossed with an easy Asian dressing. Almonds, radishes, and ramen provide a crunchy contrast to this pot luck salad.

I had cabbage and radishes aplenty when informed of the impending opportunity to use up farm share veggies pot luck. Following my tip to stick with the familiar, from my post Five Tips to Feed Your Family From the Farm Share, I decided to make a chicken & cabbage salad with an Asian dressing. The guests did not include vegetarians or folks with nut allergies, so I felt comfortable making my usual recipe which comes from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook (Amazon affiliate link).

I've tweaked this recipe in a few ways, shown below. First off, I added salad greens since I'm serving a crowd. Second, I added radishes since I had some, I thought they'd look pretty, and the extra crunch would go well. Third, I used seasoned rice vinegar (the kind I use for my sushi rice) and, since that is sweetened, I omit the sugar. I double the dressing since it's so good--and so easy to make. Method-wise, I change the recipe by tossing the chicken-cabbage mixture with the dressing and let it hang out for a few hours. Then I toss the whole lot together with a bit more dressing and it's ready to serve.

If I were planning to take this to work for a lunchtime pot luck, I'd cook the chicken, toast the ramen & almonds, make the dressing and chop all the vegetables the night before. In the morning I'd combine the chicken, cabbage & some of the dressing in one container, the salad greens, radishes, and green onions in another, and the ramen and almonds in a third container. At serving time I'd [carefully] toss everything together with more dressing in a large bowl or serving tray, top with ramen and almonds, and serve with extra dressing on the side.

For more recipes using cabbage, please see my Cabbage Recipes Collection. For more recipes using salad greens, please see my Salad Greens Recipes Collection. For more ideas using radishes, please see my Radish Recipes Collection. These collections are all part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient.

Roasted Shrimp and Potato Salad with Grapes and Celery

A savory and sweet, crunchy and filling late summer salad with roasted potatoes and shrimp, chopped celery, and whole grapes in a dilled yogurt-mayonnaise-lemon dressing.

I've been doing a lot of walking to train for a half marathon, and part of my walking has been to pick up milk at the local grocery store.  Normally I have Simon (the photobombing dog below) with me, waiting patiently at the dog tie up & water station, so I don't linger in the aisles.  The other morning, however, my daughter and I walked together, and after walking in the woods (just found out there's elevation changes on the course, so I need to get some hills in) she and Simon headed home and I headed to the store for milk (and to pad my mileage).  I had time to linger over the deli section, and two salads in particular caught my eye--a dilled shrimp, celery, and grape salad and a dilled lemon potato salad.

On the way home (lugging a gallon of milk is not the hassle it used to be--a side benefit of having kids who go through a gallon every 36 hours) I wondered what would happen if I combined the two salads and, for grins and giggles, roasted the potatoes and shrimp instead of boiling or steaming them.

Since the celery I'm regrowing in my garden is doing amazingly well (of course it is, since I'm only meh on celery by itself, though I love it in soup packs and to help stretch a pound of ground meat) I figured I'd try and combine the recipes.  Our farmers have a nifty new tool, a potato digger, and we've been getting lovely harvests of red potatoes lately, so I had most everything I needed.  I played around with my kitchen scale again, like I did in my Chicken Salad by the Ounce recipe, but this time in metric form.  The volumes in this recipe are my estimation of the weights I used.