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I finish this week off with another delicious and beautiful looking salad. I love using beets in salads, especially the roasted variety. There are times when I am simply too lazy to roast the beets.. or I just don’t have the time. I buy the already cooked variety from Trader Joes. They are delicious as well.. but nothing like roasting your own.

For this salad I roasted a few plump beets. I wrapped each one in aluminum foil and placed them in the oven. Remember to place them on a cookies sheet first to avoid any leakage. Beet juice can be impossible to get off surfaces. I then segmented some oranges- which has been my ingredient of choice ever since they have come in season. I have been putting them in everything I can.

I placed the colorful beets and oranges on some mixed greens and made a delicious salad with orange juice and balsamic vinegar.

The salad was so beautiful looking that I didn’t want to disturb it and eat it. Once I did, I realized how delicious it was…
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I decided to continue the vegetarian theme. This vibrant looking salad is delicious and extremely flavorful. It would be perfect with the lentils from yesterday. Although the salad is made with rice vinegar which has more of a Chinese or Japanese flavor.. but I think it would stand up very well with the delicious cumin and mustard seeds flavors.

The trick is to first buy an English cucumber instead of the regular variety. The English variety is leaner and longer and has less seeds. I cut it in half length wise and then scoop the seeds out with a spoon. In order to get the cucumbers super crispy, one can sprinkle some salt on them, place them in a colander over a bowl. The salt will extract the extra moisture out of the cucumbers and make them crunchy. This step is optional and skipping it will not lessen the flavor.

The salad has very few ingredients including the rice vinegar, serrano chilies and cilantro. Try this simple yet delicious salad…
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Pomegranates are festive. They are my favorite fruit- a bit labor intensive to take the seeds out but so worth all the work. For some reason, I can’ get myself to buy the shelled ones in the stores- so I choose to put in the work.

I love the tangy taste but most of all I love the way the seeds look- like tiny jewels.

I decided to incorporate a salad made with pomegranate seeds dressed with a pomegranate vinaigrette. I had a huge bowl filled with pomegranate seeds and a chunk of feta in my fridge. I thought of feta cheese to cut the tang of the pomegranate seeds. For the vinaigrette, I took out my bottle of pomegranate glaze. I mixed in some white wine vinegar a bit of honey and of course some extra virgin olive oil. The flavors were incredible- tangy, sweet and savory.

Definitely a great salad for the big feast..
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I loved making this salad. It is a great way of introducing different vegetables without cooking them. I took a vegetable peeler and made lovely ribbons with carrots and zucchini.

Speaking of vegetable peelers- it is very important to have a good one. I would highly recommend a Messermeister peeler. I got one a couple of years ago and absolutely love it. It makes peeling a cinch.

Making lovely ribbons was very easy with my great peeler. I combined feta cheese with the carrots and zucchinis. I made a delicious dressing cumin seeds, orange and lemon juices.

The salad was delicious with the chicken on the side- healthy and yummy…
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I still continue to make burgers even though summer is officially over. It is great way to make a healthy meal, especially if one uses ground turkey or vegetables to create the burgers.

I love eating fries but have been very good at keeping away from them… well, maybe not in Dublin.. but otherwise I have been quite good. So, this recipe is really good.

The potatoes are boiled and marinated in a green chutney- which is similar to the one Indian restaurants serve as a condiment with appetizers. I made it fresh with cilantro, mint and lime juice. It is simple to make and gives it tons of flavor to the dish.

Try this one- you may never go back to the mayo laden potato salad…
Click here for the recipe… »