Nutty Grain salad

I recently remembered how much I used to like Trader Joe's (long-discontinued) Nutty Grain Salad. I tracked down an ingredient list in the hopes of recreating it some time soon. I will definitely be leaving out the cilantro. I'm curious what the pomegranate juice concentrate does...

cooked red quinoa, cooked spelt (wheat), edamame

(soybeans), carrots, dry roasted peanuts, canola oil, sweet

chili sauce (sugar, water, pickled red chili, vinegar, garlic,

salt, xanthan gum), water, pumpkin seeds, soy sauce

(water, soybeans, wheat, salt), honey, ginger, sugar, rice

vinegar (rice vinegar, water), white wine vinegar, pistachios,

cilantro, lime juice, pomegranate juice concentrate,

modified rice starch.

 

reformated/simplified ingredient list:

red quinoa

spelt

edamame

carrots

dry roasted peanuts

canola oil

sweet chili sauce

pumpkin seeds

soy sauce

honey

ginger

rice vinegar

white wine vinegar

pistachios

[cilantro]

lime juice

pomegranate juice concentrate

 

kale salad!

I never thought I would come around to this! But I did! I was resistant to putting sweetened stuff in it but the driedcranberries make it especially fun.

1 bunch kale, washed, stems removed, cut into ribbons
dressing: 1 lemon worth of juice, neutral oil like canola, salt, pepper, garlic powder, *toasted sesame oil*
pine nuts
grape tomatoes, sliced in half
dried sweetened cranberries
avocado

grated Parmesan (add just before eating)

Mix well, let it sit with the dressing on it for half an hour at least to sort of "cook" the kale, i.e. break it down a bit with the acid from the lemon. Don't put too much salt in the dressing. Also be sparing with the canola oil.

chard/strawberry salad

This made a good (and pretty!) salad:

-baby chard leaves (torn into bite-size pieces)
-sliced strawberries
-crumbled bleu cheese
-toasted walnuts
-balsamic vinegar+oil+freshly ground pepper mixed and drizzled over it

I thought it tasted better after sitting for a while to allow the flavors to meld.