Salad | KarmaFree Cooking

Archive | Salad RSS feed for this section

Green is for Spinach…

I did not grew up eating “greens” … I only knew spinach was something “kinda gross” that Popeye ate out of a can to become strong and powerful.

I can’t recall when my perception of spinach changed, but I am thankful it did. Spinach is now my go to salad green, especially baby spinach, that’s so ready available in every supermarket nowadays.

So in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, I wanted to celebrate my love for spinach. Cooked, raw, frozen and thawed… all this recipes take advantage of the goodness of spinach. I hope that if you’re still on the fence about spinach, to give a few of this recipes a try… they might change your mind too.

Spinach Salad with Strawberries

Spinach Salad with Figs, Blue Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Spinach Fried Quesadillas

Spinach Pinwheels

Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms

Spinach Croquetas

Smoked Gouda Rissotto with Mushrooms and Spinach

Bucatini with Goat Cheese, Spinach and Tomatoes

Spinach and Almond White Lasagna

Kick-butt Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

Quinoa Pasta with Baby Spinach and Lemon Vinaigrette

Sweet Plantain Canoes Filled with Creamed Spinach and Pine Nuts

Tags: cheese, food, green, March, mushrooms, pasta, spinach, St Patricks Day, vegetarian

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories appetizers, main courses, Salad, side dishes

If I had a Valentine… what would I cook for him?

15 Feb

I love going out to dinner to a nice, fancy restaurant as much as the next girl… especially, if someone special is inviting. But experience has taught me that on Valentine’s Day or around that date, it’s the WORST TIME to go out to dinner. There may be some exceptions, of course… but usually during this time, restaurants are extremely crowded, putting extra pressure on all the staff.

To me, it’s more romantic to plan something special at home. Make something you know you’re extremely good at and that you know your partner will love – for the awesome flavors, but also for the effort and care you put into it. Besides, when you have dinner at home… dress code is optional. 😉

Unfortunately, this year, I am spending Valentine’s weekend with a nice construction crew who’s remodeling my tiny, little kitchen into a very chic and modern tiny, little kitchen. And to top it all… no romantic Valentine for me this year.

But… let’s play pretend. If I had a romantic Valentine to invite over for dinner, what would I cook for him to let him know how much I care?

This is my menu…

Start with a Spinach, Arugula, Figs and Blue Cheese salad with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

Main course would be the exquisite Baked Pasta with 4 Cheeses, that usually floors anyone who has it for the first time.

On the side, and because we’re in Puerto Rico, I need to have sweet plantains with vanilla and cinnamon.

And for dessert, I would make a batch of Carob Syrup to dip some strawberries in… I would even add a pinch of cayenne to keep things interesting.

Do you like my menu?? What are your go-to dishes if you want to show someone you care?

Tags: arugula, carob, cheese, easy, food, pasta, spinach, strawberry, sweet plantain, Valentine, Valentine's, vegetarian

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories desserts, main courses, MY EDITORIAL, Salad, side dishes

A new Salad to start 2014

18 Feb

This was a post I should have written to publish early in January. Well, it’s already early in February and this will have to do.

This salad was part of our first KarmaFree Cooking class last December. And what’s different about a salad you should ask… well, besides trying to instill into people’s minds the importance of eating a large green raw salad every day, we wanted to introduce some new and different ingredients people might not use raw in a salad. Can you pick them out in this picture here???

Scroll down to see if you guessed right…

Raw pumpkin and raw beets… They’re usually eaten cooked, but these are sweet and delicious additions to any salad.

I know that all you folks who are going thru winter might not crave something cold and raw like salad when it’s cold outside… but eating a healthy portion of raw veggies each day will certainly keep the cold and doctors away.

Here are the components of our Salad:

Green leaf lettuce

Baby Spinach

Alfalfa Sprouts

Yellow Bell Pepper

Shredded Pumpkin

Shredded Carrots

Shredded Beet

Sliced Red Onion

Toss all the ingredients in your desired proportions together in a salad bowl. Dress with your favorite dressing. May we suggest a healthy serving of our Parsley Garlic Dressing.

Parsley Dressing…. GONE!!!!!

May your winter be pleasant and your salad bowl is always full.

Tags: alfalfa, beet, bell pepper, carrot, food, lettuce, onion, pumpkin, Salad, sprouts, vegetarian, yellow bell pepper

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories appetizers, Salad, side dishes

Romantic Mains to Impress

10 Feb

Even though I am not currently dating someone special… I still like to cook something nice, even if it’s just for myself.

After all, Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate LOVE and there are many ways to express and celebrate love – love towards your parents, love towards your kids, love towards your siblings, love towards your pets, love towards your partner, love towards your neighbors, your family in general, your co-workers, your friends and most of all, LOVE TOWARDS YOURSELF. Because, if you don’t love yourself, how do you expect others to love you too???

Here are a few ideas I have cooked in the past to impress a few loved ones… hope you choose to make one to impress YOURSELF!!!

Cheese, Spinach and Mushroom Manicotti

Roasted Stuffed Tomatoes over Pasta

Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms

Eggplant and Goat Cheese Bake

Asparagus Tart

Korean Seasoned Tofu

Chame’s Spinach Salad with Figs and Blue Cheese

Poached Pears with Blue Cheese and Almond Praline

Tags: asparagus, balsamic, blue cheese, cheese, delicious, easy, fig, food, love, mushroom, parmesan, pasta, pear, puff pastry, romantic, savory, scallion, sesame seeds, soy sauce, spinach, tofu, tomato, Valentine's, vegetarian

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories desserts, main courses, MY EDITORIAL, Salad

Recap of our 2nd KarmaFree Cooking Class – Love Yourself First

7 Feb

Last week we had our 2nd KarmaFree Cooking class and our theme was Loving ourselves first thru our Food. Sometimes, we only cook nice things when we’re cooking for others. But why not cook something nice even if it’s just us in the house??

The recipes we shared are old and new KarmaFree Cooking recipes that work well made just for one person, for two or for a crowd. These are simple, quick and delicious recipes that work well to make just for you on a solo movie night at home and just the same are not much more effort making for a large dinner party.

Here was our class menu:

Pasta with Marinated Tomatoes over Brown Rice Pasta

Qu inoa Pasta with Fresh Baby Spinach and Lemon Vinaigrette

Spinach Salad with Macerated Strawberries

Baked Sweet Plantains with Cinnamon and Vanilla

Poached Pears with Blue Cheese and Almond Praline

Even though these were all recipes we had shared in the blog before, it’s never the same reading and making them on your own as seeing how I make them, after I have made them over and over and over again. Your words… not mine.

The class is not only about sharing recipes and techniques. We also talked about alternative pastas… we talked about my favorite olive oils and vinegars. We also talked about microplanes and rasps to grate lemon zest and how I do not like to rinse pasta after I drain it. We also shared how the same ingredients for the Marinated Tomates can be used in a bruschetta as an appetizer or skewered to make for a fancier passed hors d’oeuvre.

I am so grateful for all of those who attended… we had a larger class this time around. Some repeats and some new students. I want to give a great shout out to Adriana from Great Food 360 who attended once again and contributed with the wonderful pictures. She rocks!!!