Kale-raisin-orange salad

Shout out to my grandma who made a rendition of this salad for my future sister-in-law's bridal shower. We got soooo many compliments on the salad. It was supposed to be a side dish and ended up being the star of the show. She found a recipe in the newspaper and I made it my own.

Ingredients:

I bag Kale, chopped

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1 can mandarin oranges, oranges chopped in half

Handful of cashews for topping

1 tablespoon juice from oranges can 

Vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Juice from 1 lemon

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons sugar 

Pinch of salt and pepper

Combine the kale, raisins, sunflower seeds and oranges in a large bowl. In a small bowl wisk the mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the kale mixture and toss. Add 1 tablespoon of the liquid from the mandarin oranges can over the salad and stir again. Let the salad sit in the fridge for 10-20 minutes before serving to allow the kale leaves to soften. Top with cashews right before serving. 

Tip: this salad is even better by day 2...You can store the salad that has already been tossed in dressing in the fride over night and it won't be soggy the next day! It will be even better the next day!

Rainbow Kale Salad

Needed a little detox after Super Bowl festivities this weekend... This salad is sweet, spicey, salty, crunchy, chewy and every other word that you want in a dish!

Ingredients

8 oz kale, chopped tiny

1/2 red onion chopped

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed

1/2 cup shelled edemame 

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

A handful of shredded carrots

1/2 cup sunflower seeds (the crunch!)

1 jalapeño, chopped teeny tiny (the spice!)

1 orange, cut into bit size pieces

1 lime

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons honey (the sweet!)

A pinch of salt and pepper

Start by mixing together the olive oil, cider vinegar, juice of the whole lime, honey, 1/4 of the jalapeño,  salt and pepper. Pour a quarter of the dressing over just the chopped kale in a bowl. Mix to coat all the kale. Put the kale in the fridge and let it marinate for about an hour. (Marinating it makes it less bitter. Feel free to skip this step if you wish!) After an hour, add the onion, rest of the jalapeño, garbanzo beans, edemame, pomegranate seeds, carrots, sunflower seeds, and orange. Pour in the remaining dressing and toss. Top with avocado or chicken if you wish!

Lunch tomorrow:

Halibut and Antipasto Salad

Ingredients 

1/2 pound Halibut

1 jar roasted marinated red peppers, sliced

1 jar hearts of Palm, chopped into 1/2 pieces

2 tablespoons capers

6 slices salami, cut into strips

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter

1 wedge of lemon

Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste

Start by putting a sprinkling of salt and pepper on the fish.  I like to wrap the fish in aluminum foil like a present to keep it from stinking up the house. Place the wrapped fish in a sauté pan and cover with a lid. Cook for ~10 minutes, depending on the thickness. When it is finished cooking, unwrap the foil and add 1 clove garlic and butter. Wrap it back up to allow the butter to melt for about one minute. Take it out of the foil and squeeze the lemon juice over the fish.

Meanwhile, combine the roasted red pepper, hearts of Palm, capers, salami, 1 clove of garlic and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a bowl.