A simple salad for the last days of summer with an Asian-inspired honey sesame dressing and marinade. Every year I feel as though I’m hanging on to the last bits of summer, wishing the sun’s rays to remain warm and strong just a bit longer so as to delay the inevitable winter, the graying of the plants and the whiteness that will eventually come and blanket my little piece of the earth. I appreciate the seasons. I suppose any true Minnesotan must, lest you drive yourself crazy. There’s... more

This grilled romaine salad with blue cheese vinaigrette is perfect for a romantic Valentine’s Day meal or any day of the week. It’s easy to do both on a grill pan over a range or on a grill outside if you’re up to braving the cold. Grilled lettuce is a bit of an odd concept I suppose. What we traditionally serve as cold and crisp is getting thrown on the grill, which is great fun if you love the grill like a certain someone around here. Personally, I love the grill plenty,... more

Dried cranberries, pecans and blue cheese come together with a slightly sweet poppy seed dressing. This salad is becoming a tradition during the holiday season for us, served at our Christmas dinner. With the mix of sweet and salty, it’s the perfect introduction to the rich foods that follow. I am so honored to be a part of Share Our Strength’s 7-course progressive dinner Share Our Holiday Table with 50 other bloggers this week. Through Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign,... more

This is a post about bean salad. A Mediterranean bean salad I made back in June. It has taken me this long to share it, but that’s because I had some other sharing I was obligated to do. It’s a post about Greek seasoning on chicken. It’s a post about stuffing it all together in a pita, serving it with tzatziki to make a chicken gyro and having a wonderful meal with your family and your friends and your neighbors. It’s a post about food. This is a post about the food I... more

Maple and blue cheese meet in a perfect pair, on a bed of greens and a sweet, maple-glazed steak. This happens to be my favorite “meal” salad, and it needs nothing else. It’s sugaring season, when the sap in the maple trees is running, and while we do notice our maples in the backyard running, we don’t actually tap our own. However, down on the reservation where Ole works, they most definitely are participating in the sugaring off: taping and boiling, which inevitably leads... more

I suppose I could think of and share a reason why it would be called Texas caviar, but the point is that there are no fish eggs in it. I like to think of it as salsa that has been kicked up a notch or two. In fact, it’s been changed so drastically, I dare call it a salsa. My sister’s friend brought this to a birthday dinner a few years ago. I was instantly hooked. It’s tasty, interesting, flavorful and packed full of protein. There are beans. There are enough beans for this... more

While this lemon chicken pasta salad could function as a side dish or a potluck item, we eat it on top of a bed of organic spring mix greens as a meal. It’s fantastic paired with garlic bread or pesto cheese bread as well or even just a few raw vegetables for dipping. It’s easy to make ahead, and it stores well in the fridge. As with any creamy pasta salad, it absorbs the moisture the longer it sits. If this bothers you, simple stir in a tablespoon of milk or two tablespoons of ranch... more