Lentil Salad

Ingredients:

16 oz bag of dry green, brown or French lentils

2-3 medium tomatoes finely diced

½ of a red onion finely minced

2-3 persian or pickling cucumbers finely diced

1 orange or yellow bell pepper finely diced

½ bunch parsley or cilantro

juice of 1 lemon or 2 tablespoons of pomegranate vinegar

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil

¼ teaspoon of cumin

salt

pepper

Directions:

Wash the lentils and pick out any stones.

Cook the lentils in 64 oz of water until soft.

Rinse the lentils with cold water and drain well.

Combine the cooked lentils with all the other ingredients in a bowl

Mix well

Adjust oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Labor Day Cole Slaw Salad

I am calling this red slaw recipe “Labor Day Cole Slaw Salad” because I made this over the holiday weekend and got a lot of compliments and requests for the recipe. I prefer to use red cabbage because it has more antioxidants than its white/green sisters. You don’t have to use honey, agave or maple syrup but the sweet addition works really well with the tartness of the lemon juice.

Ingredients:

1 small head of very thinly shredded red cabbage

2 shredded carrots

2-3 Tablespoons of lemon juice or pomegranate vinegar

1-2 teaspoons of honey, agave or maple syrup

3-6 tablespoons of mayonnaise

½ bunch of fresh dill, parsley or cilantro

salt

pepper

Directions:

Add shredded cabbage to a stainless steel or glass bowl

Using a stainless steel ladle, meat hammer or a potato masher, “beat” the cabbage to soften it

Add all the other ingredients and mix well

Adjust the mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy!

Faux Tuna Salad (Chickpea Salad)

Last time I ate at Pure Luck, the waiter talked me into ordering their chickpea salad. He described it as “a tuna salad without the tuna”. I really liked it, but never asked him for the exact recipe. So here’s Faux Tuna Salad - my take on Pure Luck chickpea salad. You can make your variation of this salad by substituting chickpeas for tuna in your favorite tuna fish salad recipe. You can make this salad vegan by substituting conventional mayonnaise with vegan mayo or olive oil.

Ingredients:

2- 15oz cans of garbanzo beans (or dried and cooked equivalent)

1 peeled and finely diced carrot

1 finely diced small red onion

2 stalks of finely diced celery

2-3 tablespoons of mayonnaise

salt

pepper

Directions:

Wash and drain the chickpeas

Using a fork, mash the chickpeas or pulse them in a food processor to a rough and chunky consistency (not a smooth hummus consistency)

Combine and mix all the ingredients in a bowl

Adjust the mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy!

Pomegranate Vinegar

My next door neighbor has a pomegranate tree, which means that I have access to lots of pomegranates this time of the year.

I decided to incorporate this yummy fruit into more recipes. I began with a home made pomegranate vinegar. It is great to use in salads which call for lemon juice or any type of vinegar (balsamic, apple cider etc). Here’s my recipe – give it a try! It makes a lovely DIY present for your dinner hosts in lieu of wine.

Ingredients:

1 fresh pomegranate

10 oz of white vinegar

12-16 oz glass bottle

Directions:

Open the pomegranate and take out the seeds; discard the skin and pulp

Add pomegranate seeds to the glass bottle

Pour the vinegar over the seeds and close lid very tightly

Store in a dark cool place for 2 weeks to develop flavor

Use in recipes calling for vinegar or lemon juice

Optional/alternative:

Instead of pomegranate, use cherries with pits and stems