Salad’s & Veg

Chipotle Sweet Potato Noodles

I love Mexican flavours and try to often think of interesting ways to incorporate the flavour profiles outside of the beloved taco. Even though, I could eat taco’s every single day!

After a little inspiration from Pinch of Yum, this Chipotle Sweet Potato Noodle recipe is a new favourite dish added to the weeknight rotation!IMG_3283

Sweet, spicy, smokey, hearty and fresh; this noodle recipe is simple and healthy and an easy go-to recipe to whip up. The chipotle dressing and sweet potato noodles make for an amazing base that you can simply add any toppings of your choice and you are set for a delicious meal. I worked with what I had on hand, peppers, tomatoes, jalapeno, kale, avocado, pepitas, goat feta, and cilantro. However, this would be equally as awesome with some black beans and roasted corn. And you can easily omit the cheese to keep this vegan friendly.

Here’s the dish –

Sweet Potato Noodle Bowl (yields 4-6 servings)
  • olive oil
  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, diced
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 cup chopped greens – kale, spinach, arugula, etc (I love black kale!)
  • 1/2 cup raw pepitas
  • 1/4 cup goat feta or cojita (or opt for no cheese)

Chipotle Lime Dressing:

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2-3 tablespoons water
  • juice of one orange
  • juice of one lime
  • 2-4 individual chipotle peppers, canned in adobo sauce
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 teaspoon agave or honey
  • pinch of Himalayan sea saltFullSizeRender (8)
  1. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chopped peppers and saute until soft.
  2. Pulse the dressing ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Taste and adjust to your liking.
  3. Remove, wipe skillet and add a little more olive oil over medium heat. Add the sweet potato noodles and toss for a minute or two until softened (no more than 5). Also, toss in a 2 TBSP of the dressing to coat noodles.
  4. Once slightly cooked, toss the noodles, peppers, kale, cilantro, and pepitas together.
  5. Toss with the salad ingredients and top with tomato, avocado and crumbled cheese.

FullSizeRender (7)

Dig In. xx

Wild Mushroom Freekeh Salad

Freekeh is the new grain on the block and I can see why! This ancient super grain offers a ton of nutritional value and an earthy, smoky flavour that is super delicious.

When compared to other ancient grains, Freekeh ranks high in protein and fiber. Offering almost twice as much as our beloved quinoa. It’s also low in fat, low on the glycemic index, packed with iron, calcium and zinc – it really is a super grain! It’s versatility also offers you the ease of swapping out the other grains in your favourite dishes whether they are savoury or sweet and adding in this nutty substitute. Seriously, give it a try! I don’t think it’ll replace quinoa any time soon, but it is a very nice change. 🙂

A salad that I am super obsessed with this summer is this Wild Mushroom Freekeh Salad that I cam across on Canadian Living. So simple and so tasty, it was an instant household winner. Plus, it was a major bonus that the only thing I had to buy for this recipe were the mushrooms. Everything else I had on hand or growing in the garden – ahh the perks of summer!

While this recipe was perfect the way it was, I did make a few tweaks based on what I had on hand, and whenever I cook mushrooms I always add garlic and white wine (it just naturally  happens!). Here’s the  dish with a few of my modifications below.

Wild Mushroom Freekeh Salad

Wild Mushroom Freekeh Salad

Lemon Vinaigrette:

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon liquid honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • pinch pepper

Salad:

  • 1 cup freekeh rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon earth balance or butter
  • 2-3 cups oyster mushrooms torn
  • 1-2 cups shitake mushrooms torn
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 4 tbsp of white wine
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups diced vine-ripened or plum tomato
  • 4 cups packed baby arugula

Ingredients

  1. Lemon Vinaigrette – In large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. Set aside.
  2. Salad –  In large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook freekeh according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool. (Refrigerate in airtight container for up to 2 days.)
  3. In large nonstick skillet, melt earth balance or butter over medium heat; cook mushrooms and salt, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add in garlic and white wine and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
  4. Add freekeh and tomatoes to vinaigrette; gently toss to coat. Gently stir in mushrooms and arugula.

Wild Mushroom Freekeh Salad

Get Freekeh. xx

Grill On

Spring is here and we’ve been graced with warmer weather this season, putting me in total BBQ mode. Peppers, zucchini, beets, asparagus, any protein, pizza, peaches  – I’ll grill just about anything! And it’s no surprise that most items taste better on the BBQ, that summery taste of the grill comes so easy and leaves for little clean up – huge bonus!

Over the Spring/Summer season, I thought I would share some of my favourite picks for grilling, to help excite and inspire your grilling game. 🙂 Don’t mind the iPhone shots, I was serious multi-tasking when I thought this would be a good one to share. Hope you enjoy and please share what you’re grilling up this season! 
Most recently, I have been obsessed with grilled Kale. The flavours and texture add a unique twist on a regular salad. I love a raw kale salad and have found that adding in a few grilled leaves makes it even more amazing. It puts an interesting spin on a classic dish and helps change things up from salad to salad when you have a garden full of Kale – which I can’t wait for!
My Classic Kale recipe is oh so simple:
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 parts olive oil
  • 1 part lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • salt, pepper
  • parmesean
  1. Mix together olive oil, lemon juice, zest, garlic, salt and pepper.
  2. Massage dressing onto the raw kale. The longer it sits, the more delicious it gets.
  3. Grill a couple plain leaves and tear into the dressed salad and enjoy!
  4. Add toppers if I have them on hand, currants, pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, whatever might be in the cupboard.
Kale Salad
Next up, which has become a new favourite summer appetizer/snack of mine is from Canadian Living’s Summer Best special issue. Their recipe for Grilled Sesame Edamame is ahhh-mazing!!! As soon as I came across this one I knew it would be a winner, seriously so YUMMMM!!! Grilled Sesame Edamame
Grilled Sesame Edamame
  • 500 g edamame (defrosted)
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp toasted sesames
  • 1/2 tsp himalayan sea salt
  1. Skewer defrosted edamame, heat grill to medium-high heat.
  2. Grill edamame until golden 8-10 minutes.
  3. Toss in sesame oil, top with sesame seeds and salt.
  4. Serve warm.
    Grilled Sesame Edamame

Stay tuned for more of my favourite BBQ picks and don’t forget to share yours on instagram – #delsdish #delsgrill

Get Grilling! xx

Lemon Miso Sesame Salad

Don’t you love when you come across a new recipe that inspires a new dish of your own. The Oh She Glows Orange Miso Dressing is one that got me thinking of new dishes that I could use this new favourite go to dressing with- I double up the recipe it’s just that good!

I first tried this dressing when I made the Oh She Glows  Enlightened Miso Power Bowl (which all of you must try, it is delish!) and I started to think  of the perfect salad combination to use with the remainder of this sweet nutty dressing.  Side note- I do slightly modify the recipe by using lemons instead of oranges (as I have an intolerance 😦 ).

With some careful thinking, I like to think I have come up with a pretty stellar combo! This flavourful meal is piled high with raw vegetable goodness, which can easily be adapted to whatever you may have on hand or whatever inspires you when  picking up your groceries. I prefer napa cabbage for this particular salad for it’s light and crunchy texture and think the shrimp is a nice added touch, when lightly sauteed in coconut oil and garlic- yum!

This isn’t so much an exact recipe that I’m sharing today, but more less the basics of a tasty combination to hopefully inspire you to create your own.

Lemon Miso Sesame Salad

  • 1 cup chopped napa cabbage
  • 1/4 cup jicama cut in matchsticks
  • 1/4 cup red pepper thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup shredded carrots
  • handful of shelled edamame
  • 1 green onion chopped
  • handful of chopped cilantro
  • 2 tbsp of hemp hearts
  • 6-8 shrimp sauteed with 1 tbsp of coconut oil and 1 clove of garlic
  • orange miso dressing to taste

IMG_3979

Eat Up! xx

Spicy Lime Quinoa Salad

There is nothing I love more than a big bowl of fresh vegetables. Especially when it’s an easy throw together kind of dish that can last you a few days. This is one of my favourite go to recipes, as it keeps for several days and can be used in a variety of ways.  I particularly enjoy this spicy lime quinoa salad on its own, stuffed in an avocado, tossed on a bed of greens, or as a side to grilled fish. You can really enjoy it however you please, as it is so versatile. Here’s the dish-

Spicy Lime Quinoa Salad

  • 1 19 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 a red onion, diced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 3 stalks of celery, diced
  • 3 carrots, shredded
  • 1 cup corn (I prefer straight off the cob, but frozen or canned will do)
  • 1.5 cups cooked quinoa
  • handful of chopped cilantro

IMG_3910

Spicy Lime Vinaigrette:

  • 3 limes, juiced
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • dash of cayenne, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and sugar

Combine diced vegetables, beans, and quinoa in a large bowl. Drizzle with the spicy lime vinaigrette  and toss until evenly mixed.

 IMG_3943

Dig in. xx