The local ingredients that we are featuring this month were provided by two awesome local companies. First, Five Brothers Artisan Cheese gave us a huge piece of its exquisite smoked cheddar. Then, O’Leva was super generous and gave us a bottle of chipotle olive oil and a bottle of peach white balsamic vinegar. They suggested this special pairing to go with the smoked cheddar, and believe me, they know what they are doing because this combination helped us create the perfect salad dressing.

With these delicious ingredients provided by two great local companies, Melany and I decided to create warming and colourful quinoa salad is filled with perfectly roasted vegetables, plump pomegranate seeds, delicious smoked cheddar from Five Brothers Artisan Cheese and a smokey chipotle dressing made with oils from O’Leva. This flavourful salad can be served as a full meal or as a side dish.

Hope you enjoy and don’t forget to check out these two local companies!!! Also, Five Brother Artisan Cheese is almost done getting it’s new factory ready in the Goulds and has lots of new fun equipment to produce even more cheese! I can’t wait to try their fresh cheese curds!

Roasted Vegetable & Quinoa Salad with Smoked Cheddar & Chipotle Dressing {Gluten-Free}

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

This warming and colourful quinoa salad is filled with perfectly roasted vegetables, plump pomegranate seeds, delicious smoked cheddar from Five Brothers Artisan Cheese and a smokey chipotle dressing made with oils from O’Leva. This flavourful salad can be served as a full meal or as a side dish.

Author: Homemade Hearts and Fine Food Factory

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

Salad

• 4 cups butternut squash, cubed
• 4 cups Brussels sprouts, cut in half
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, cut in half
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 cup Five Brothers Cheese smoked cheddar, cubed
• ½ cup pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries

Chipotle Dressing

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup O’Leva Chipotle infused olive oil
• ½ cup O’Leva peach white balsamic vinegar
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven at 400 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, onions, garlic with 4 tablespoons olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.
3. Place vegetables on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until soft and golden. Mix the vegetables after 15 minutes of cooking to ensure they roast evenly.
4. Let the roasted vegetables cool for 20-30 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the chipotle dressing ingredients: olive oils, white balsamic vinegar, sea salt and pepper.
6. Once the roasted vegetables have cool down, transfer them to a large salad bowl and mix in with cooked quinoa, smoked cheddar and pomegranate seeds.
7. Pour chipotle dressing over the salad and mix well.
8. Serve and enjoy.

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This thai inspired slaw is very quick to prepare, especially if you have a food processor. You can grate all the veggies in the food processor, combine with cooked quinoa, fresh kale leaves and edamame beans. This is the base for the slaw and over this amazing mountain of fresh veggies and grains, you pour a simple and tasty peanut dressing that will bring all the flavours together. This recipe is perfect for a lunch or a side dish to serve with your supper.

Thai Style Slaw Bowl with Peanut Dressing {Gluten-Free, Vegan}

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

This thai inspired salad bowl that is filled with fresh and colourful vegetables. It also has a lots of nutrients and protein that will give you a boost of energy at lunchtime.

Author: Homemade Hearts

Serves: 6 portions

Ingredients

• ¼ head purple cabbage
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 5 radishes, washed
• 1 green zucchini, washed
• 3 kale leaves, washed
• 2 cups quinoa, cooked
• ½ cup edamame beans, thawed

Thai Peanut Vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons avocado oil (or any other vegetable oil)
• 2 tablespoons white rice vinegar
• 1½ tablespoon lime juice (about ½ of a fresh lime)
• 1 tablespoon all-natural peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos (or tamari sauce)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Garnish

• ¼ cup chopped peanuts
• A few stem of fresh herbs (Italian parsley, cilantro, etc), minced

Instructions

1. Using the grater attachment of a food processor (or a regular grater), grate cabbage, carrot, radishes and zucchini.
2. Place all grated vegetables in a large mixing bowl.
3. Remove stems from kale leaves and chop kale finely.
4. Add chopped kale leaves, quinoa and edamame beans to the grated vegetables and mix well.

Thai Peanut Vinaigrette

1. Whisk or blend together oil, white rice vinegar, lime huice, peanut butter, liquid aminos, maple syrup and cayenne pepper until smooth.
2. Serve salad into individual bowls and top with chopped peanuts, fresh herbs and 2-3 tablespoons of thai peanut vinaigrette.

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To say goodbye to summer and welcome fall, I made this roasted beet and pea shoot salad that contains fall vegetables with a touch of summer citrus and avocado.

I went to market and found those beautiful local pea shoots from The Organic Farm. I love pea shoots, they are sweet, crunchy and packed with nutrients. They are just so vibrant, they make the salad so much more interesting! Did you know that you can also easily grow these beauties at home year-round? My friend Paula wrote an awesome post about how to grow pea shoots on her blog.

Along with these gorgeous pea shoots, I used one of my favourite vegetable, which is also in season right now: beets. This is the time of the year where I can get freshly dug beets any time I want really as they are sold at all the small farm stands on the side of the road and also at the Farmers Market. I love to roast a tray of beets in the evening, and then I put them in a container in the fridge to use them in recipes throughout the week. Some of my favourite uses for roasted beets are in salads, quiches, stir frys, dips, preserves and also in brownies! Here you can find another recipe for a really simple sidedish of marinated beets.

This colourful salad is made of nutrient-dense pea shoots, sweet roasted beets, bitter pink grapefruit and creamy avocados.  It is topped with an amazing lime and mustard dressing that just brings all the flavours back together. The variety of textures and tastes in this salad make each bite so delightful, marrying summer and fall together beautifully. Hope you enjoy this delicious salad! I am curious to know what is your favourite season – don’t be shy and leave a comment below! Thanks for reading!

Roasted Beet, Pea Shoots and Citrus Salad

 

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This colourful salad is made of nutrient-dense pea shoots, sweet roasted beets, bitter pink grapefruit and creamy avocados. It is topped with an amazing lime and mustard dressing that just brings all the flavours back together.

Author: Homemade Hearts

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 large (or 2 medium) beet
• 2 cups loosely packed pea shoots (can be substituted with baby spinach)
• 1 grapefruit
• 1 avocado, diced
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

Lime Dressing

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon whole grain dijon-style prepared mustard
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Chives for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Wash beets and wrap them in tinfoil.
2. Place beets on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for about 1 hour, or until a fork easily slides to the middle of the beet. I recommend to roast more than one beet and use the other beets for pickling or other fun beet recipes!
3. Once the beets are roasted, let them cool until you can hold them in your hands and remove the peel with your fingers. The peel should be very easy to remove, if it is difficult, cook it a bit longer.
4. Cut roasted beet into quarters and slice each quarter beet.
5. Peel and cut grapefruit into segments, set aside.

Lime Dressing

1. Prepare salad dressing by mixing olive oil, mustard, lime juice, honey, sea salt and black pepper with a small whisk.

Presentation

1. Place a bed of pea shoots on a serving plate.
2. Top pea shoots with sliced beets, grapefruit segments, avocado and pumpkin seeds.
3. Drizzle wtih lime dressing.
4. Put the salad on the table and serve.

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Seriously, looks at those tiny tomatoes that have such a bright pop of colour! I looked in my fridge and pantry and I had a few ingredients on hand to make a quick greek style salad. It is really simple and such a great salad to serve as an appetizer or side dish for a dinner party.

You simply combine colourful cherry tomatoes with cucumber and black or kalamata olives. Then you sprinkle with feta cheese, a few herbs, good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar and you are in business! Enjoy!

Easy Greek Salad with Cherry Tomatoes

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

This simple greek-style salad is prepared with just a few fresh ingredients that will give you a delicious meal or side dish.

Author: Homemade Hearts

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes (equivalent to 25-30 tomatoes)
• 1 cucumber
• ½ cup organic black pitted olives
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Cut cherry tomatoes in halves.
2. Peel and dice cucumber.
3. In a salad bowl, mix tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta cheese with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, thyme and black pepper.
4. Serve immediately.

Notes

If you want to prepare this salad ahead of time, just combine tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and feta cheese. You can set aside in the refrigerator. When it is ready to serve, add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, thyme and black pepper.

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I made this salad with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, bell peppers, parsley and basil, but you can really play with the vegetables and herbs that are in season and use whatever you have on hand. The creamy mustard dressing will coat and season all those delicious veggies and quinoa.

Quinoa Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

This fresh quinoa salad is filled with colourful veggies and coated in a sweet honey mustard dressing.

Author: Homemade Hearts

Serves: 6 portions

Ingredients

Quinoa Salad

• 6 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 2 cups broccoli, cut in small florets
• 2 cups cauliflower, cut in small florets
• 3 carrots, grated
• ¼ cup fresh herbs (parsley and basil), chopped

Honey Mustard Dressing

• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons honey
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Mix quinoa, pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and herbs into a large salad bowl.
2. In a small glass jar, combine mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Shake well.
3. Pour dressing on salad and mix well.

Notes

This salad will stay good in the fridge for 4-5 days so you can prepare it in advance.

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This ABC Summer Salad is so colourful and refreshing. Layers of Avocados, Apricots, Blueberries and Cucumbers are placed in a Mason jar, over a few spoonfuls of lime vinaigrette for a burst of flavour. The taste of the sweet fruits, crunchy seeds, tangy dressing and leafy greens just create the best combination in your mouth and you end up wanting more!

To make this salad, you simply prepare all the ingredients and then layer them all in Mason jars. What is great with Mason jar salads is that you place the dressing at the bottom so your spinach does not become all soggy. You can keep a jar of prepared salad for up to a week in your fridge, so it is the perfect lunch to take on a busy weekday, or for a summer picnic! When I made this salad, I kept one jar for 5 days in my fridge and I was surprised to see that the avocado did not even become brown! This is the best way I have found so far to always have a healthy salad on hand!

For the lime vinaigrette, I got the inspiration from an amazing avocado and papaya salad that I often eat when I go to an italian restaurant in Halifax. This salad is covered in such a simple dressing made mainly with fresh lime juice and high quality olive oil. I really wanted to create my version of this simple dressing to go with this summery salad! The result is phenomenal, this salad has become a summer staple!

This ABC Summer Salad is also wonderful to take on a picnic! It is delicious served with my Raspberry Lemonade.

ABC Summer Salad in a Jar With a Lime Vinaigrette

 

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This colourful summer salad has all the fruits and veggies you need: avocados, apricots, blueberries, cucumbers and spinach are mixed in with a light and refreshing lime vinaigrette.

Author: Homemade Hearts

Serves: 4 jars

Ingredients

ABC Salad

• 2 cups blueberries
• 1 English cucumber, peeled and diced
• 3 fresh apricots, diced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 4 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
• 4 handful baby spinach

Lime Vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoon lime juice
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon parsley, dried (or 1 tablespoon if fresh)
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Lime Vinaigrette

1. To prepare the vinaigrette, whisk the lime juice, olive oil and honey.
2. Incorporate parsley, sea salt and pepper and mix well.

ABC Salad

1. To prepare the salad, take 4 clean Mason jars.
2. In each jar, layer 1.5 tablespoon lime vinaigrette, ½ cup blueberries, ¾ of a diced apricot, ¼ of a diced avocado, 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds and a handful of spinach.
3. Place a lid on a jar and refrigerate for up to one week.
4. To eat, pour the contents of the jar in a bowl or container to mix all the components of the salad and enjoy.

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This colourful and crunchy salad is perfect to take as a lunch or for a relaxing dinner after a busy day. This recipe has been adapted from another amazing recipe by the Whitewater Cooks.

The original bowl is prepared with fried tofu cubes, but I decided to replace them with roasted edamame to make it even simpler. This salad is so quick to prepare. You can cook your rice, grate all your veggies and mix your dressing ahead of time. Then, you keep all the ingredients in separate containers in the fridge. When you are in need of a quick lunch, you will have everything on hand to assemble an large glory bowl in just a minute or two. This recipe will definitely become a staple in our home!

Glory Bowl with Roasted Edamame

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

This salad is so colourful and full of flavours.It has been adapted from the famous Glory Bowl developed by Whitewater Cooks.

Author: Homemade Hearts, adapted from Whitewater Cooks

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Roasted Edamame

• 2 cups edamame, frozen
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

Glory Bowl Dressing

• ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ inch fresh ginger, peeled
• ½ cup avocado oil
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Glory Bowl

• 2 cups basmati rice, cooked
• 1 cup carrots, grated (2-3 carrots)
• 1 cup beets, grated (2-3 beets)
• 4 tablespoons pistachio, shelled and roasted
• 4 tablespoons pine nuts
• ½ cup arugula
• ½ cup baby spinach

Instructions

Roasted Edamame

1. Mix frozen edamame beans wtih oil, salt and pepper.
2. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes, mixing halfway.

Glory Bowl Dressing

1. In a blender, mix together nutritional yeast, water, Braggs Liquid Aminos, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, avocado oil and sesame seeds until smooth.
2. Transfer to a glass container.

Glory Bowl

1. Serve this salad into four bowls by placing ½ cup rice, ½ cup carrots, ½ cup beets, 1 tablespoon pistachio, 1 tablespoon pine nute and ¼ cup roasted edamame in each bowl.
2. Top each bowl with 3 tablespoons dressing, or more to taste.
3. Enjoy.

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This inspired me to make a kale salad at home. I created a sweet and tangy vinaigrette to coat the kale leaves. The dressing is made with fresh raspberries and blood orange olive oil from the local olive oil tasting bar. It is simply delicious.

Kale Salad with Raspberry Blood Orange Vinaigrette

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

This kale salad is sweet and tangy. The fresh raspberries and blood orange which coat the curly kale are just delicious.

Author: Homemade Hearts

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 6 cups kale leaves, washed and chopped
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup hemp seed hearts
• 1 apple, chopped

Raspberry Blood Orange Vinaigrette

• ½ cup blood orange olive oil (I got mine at O'Leva, a local olive oil tasting bar)
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup raspberries
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

Instructions

1. Place kale, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and apple in a large salad bowl.
2. Add 1 cup Raspberry Blood Orange Vinaigrette and mix until evenly coated. Serve immediately.

Raspberry Blood Orange Vinaigrette

1. Blend all ingredients together in a blender.
2. Store the leftover vinaigrette in a glass jar. This salad dressing will keep for about 1 week in the fridge.

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If you close your eyes while eating this salad, the combination of flavours will take you somewhere warm where the sun is shining and bright colours are just  around every corner.

Vegan Taco Salad with Fresh Tomato Salsa and Avocado Dressing

 

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Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

This vegan taco salad is made with a layer of spicy tofu and olive taco filling, which is placed on a nest of fresh baby spinach, and topped with a chunky mild salsa and a tangy avocado dressing.

Author: Homemade Hearts

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Vegan Taco "Meat"

• 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
• 6 tablespoons water
• 8 ounces extra firm regular tofu, drained
• 3 tablespoons brown rice flour
• 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds, ground
• 1 tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon chipotle pepper powder (optional)
• 1 can (398 mL) sliced black olives, drained
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

Fresh Mild Tomato Salsa:

• ½ cup red onion (or 1 small onion), finely chopped
• 2-3 tomatoes, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• ½ lime, juiced
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Avocado Dressing

• 1 avocado
• ½ tomato
• ½ lime, juiced
• ¼ cup white rice vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Salad:

• 2 cups baby spinach

Instructions

Vegan Taco "Meat"

1. In a small bowl, combine ground flax seeds and water. Set aside.
2. Using your hands, crumble the tofu in small pieces.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine crumbled tofu, brown rice flour, ground sunflower seeds, Braggs Liquid Aminos, cumin, chili powder, turmeric, paprika, onion powder and chipotle.
4. Add flax seeds and olives. Mix until everything is well combined.
5. Cook the tofu mix in a large frying pan with the grapeseed oil for about 10 minutes, or until the tofu is partly crispy.

Fresh Mild Tomato Salsa:

1. Combine the red onion, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, lime juice and salt.
2. Set aside in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to let the flavours combine.

Avocado Dressing:

1. In a high speed blender, mix together avocado, tomato, lime juice, white rice vinegar, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper until smooth.

To assemble the Salad:

1. Place approximately ½ cup baby spinach on serving plates.
2. Top with a generous portion of vegan taco "meat", salsa and avocado dressing.
3. Enjoy!

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I used my spiralizer to give a fun shape to the vegetables, but you could also simply grate or thinly slice the zucchini and carrots if you don’t have one.

Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Creamy Mustard and Garlic Dressing

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

This simple salad is so colourful with its gorgeous ribbons of zucchini and carrots. The creamy mustard and garlic dressing is so delicious it will likely become a staple in your household.

Author: Homemade Hearts

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Salad:

• 3-4 medium zucchinis, spiralized with straight blade (ribbon cut)
• 2 large carrots, spiralized with straight blade (ribbon cut)
• 1 red pepper, cut into thin juliennes
• 280 g sweet orange grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• a few leaves of lettuce or baby spinach for plating

Creamy Mustard and Garlic Dressing:

• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons old fashioned Dijon-style mustard
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

Salad:

1. In a large bowl, mix together spiralized zucchinis and carrots, red pepper and tomatoes.
2. Serve vegetables over a bed of fresh lettuce or baby spinach.
3. Pour creamy mustard and garlic dressing over each individual serving, mix well and enjoy.

Creamy Mustard and Garlic Dressing:

1. In a high speed blender, combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, mustard, agave nectar, sea salt and cayenne pepper.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Transfer to a glass container and you can keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

Notes

If you will be serving all 6 servings in one meal, you could pour the dressing directly in the bowl and toss until all the veggies are coated instead of pouring the dressing on each individual serving. This way, the veggies will be evenly coated and you can then serve on a bed of greens. If you want to keep leftovers, I recommend not pouring the dressing ahead of time since the veggies will soften.

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