Mulberry, Goat Cheese & Avocado Salad
on Mixed Greens with Ginger Grapefruit Vinaigrette
Hey guess what? I’m guest posting on Carrie’s Experimental Kitchen today … it’s a yummy salad I made with my mulberries.
Go on over to Carrie’s blog and check it out!
This recipe was shared at Fit & Fabulous Fridays, Foodie Friends Friday, EveryDay Mom’s Meals and Summer Salad Sunday.
Jump Up Chicken Orange Salad with Feta & Pecans
I was scrounging for lunch again yesterday … my body was so hungry for something good, delicious, healthy. My organic salad greens in the fridge were almost gone. There wasn’t much to be had in the fridge except some cut fruit and a bit of cheese.
But I ALWAYS have plenty of food in the freezer. AND I have a yard full of edibles! I went out and collected some wild violet and dandelion leaves, a bit of fresh basil, some Johnny Jump Ups (as my mom calls them … they are also known as Violas), cooked up a frozen chicken patty, toasted some pecans from the freezer and voila! I had a beautiful salad definitely worth jumping up for.
Jump Up Chicken Orange Salad with Feta and Pecans
- Greens (I used wild violet and dandelion greens)
- Cooked chicken, cut into chunks (I used a breaded chicken patty, but grilled chicken or even rotisserie chicken would work too)
- Orange, peeled and cut into small chunks
- Toasted pecans
- Crumbled feta cheese
- Viola flowers (Johnny Jump Ups … preferably from a source that isn’t sprayed with herbicides or pesticides)
- Fresh basil leaves
Fill your bowl most of the way with greens. Tuck in the chicken, orange pieces, sprinkle with pecans and feta. Add the flowers and the basil and drizzle with a pleasing vinaigrette. I used my Honey Lemon Ginger White Wine Vinaigrette, but I think the Tequila Lime Vinaigrette would be lovely on this salad too … I need to make some more of that beautiful dressing.
This recipe was shared at Cast Party Wednesdays, Fit & Fabulous Fridays, Fabulous Friday, Weekend Potluck, Mom’s Everyday Meals and Mealtime Monday and Delicious Dish Tuesday.
Tulip & Violet Salad with Salmon Cucumber Toasts
a.k.a., Tiptoe through the Tulips with Me Salad
I have been wondering what beautiful blossoms in my yard are edible? There must be something besides dandelions and wild violets …
So I did a little research and it turns out there is a reason the deer chomp off the tulip blossoms so quickly … they’re delicious! Tulips have a faint taste sort of like asparagus, but with a lighter, more flowery taste.
I have planted a lot of tulips, but I don’t get to see very many of my sweet tulip blossoms, thanks to the deer that visit my yard so frequently. I welcome the deer as a magical presence in my life … and at the same time I get frustrated with them for killing my trees, eating all my tulips, lilies, strawberries, hostas, apple and apricot trees (will I EVER have apples?) … it’s very hard to garden with deer around.
I had just three surviving tulip flowers … I figured I had better pick them before the deer got them.
Please do not try eating your tulips if you use chemicals on your tulips or on your lawn anywhere near your precious tulips.
Tulip & Wild Violet Salad with Blue Cheese and Pinons
- Find some greens. I snipped some “volunteer” greens from my garden. Make a bed of greens on your salad plate or bowl.
- Arrange tulip petals and wild violet greens and blossoms (whatever you have) on top of your greens. (Just please make sure there aren’t any nasty lawn chemicals on your flowers!)
- Sprinkle your beautiful salad with crumbled blue cheese and toasted pine nuts (pinons) … or other nuts of your choosing.
- Drizzle with your favorite vinaigrette. I was sure I had some berry vinaigrette in my fridge, but I couldn’t find it and settled for my maple cranberry vinaigrette. It worked out beautifully anyway.
Salmon Cucumber Toasts
- French bread
- 1 oz. light cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon or so of blue cheese
- A sprig of fresh dill, snipped
- Garlic scapes, snipped … or a bit of fresh garlic, chopped
- A bit of finely chopped onion … or green onion
- A small fillet of salmon, grilled or smoked
- Cucumber slices and basil leaves, for the top
Directions:
- Toast the french bread lightly
- Mix the cream cheese, blue cheese, scapes or garlic, onion, dill and salmon in a small bowl till mixed well.
- Spread the french bread toast with the cheese mixture and top with cucumber slices and basil leaves.
This recipe was shared at Full Plate Thursdays, Tastetastic Thursdays, Katherine Martinelli’s Easter Blog Hop, Fit & Fabulous Fridays, Everyday Mom’s Meals and Totally Tasty Tuesdays.
Raspberry Salmon Havarti Toast with Wild Greens
Do you recognize those “wild” greens?
Today is National Weed Appreciation Day and you know what? I really appreciate my weeds. Oh some of them are a pain, literally, like the thistles and the cockleburrs that I just can’t seem to get under control, but the dandelions and wild violets that sprout up all over my yard and in the cracks of my sidewalk are just lovely! I totally love the thought of picking food from my yard. I mean, what’s better than free food?
Here’s one of the wild violet plants that sprung up in the crack of my sidewalk. How lovely is that?
So today I thought I would honor the beautiful weeds that grace my life by making a gourmet toast with them. I don’t use any herbicides or pesticides on my lawn so it’s relatively safe for me to eat them. Please don’t try this if you use any chemical weed control in your yard.
Raspberry Salmon Havarti Toast with Wild Greens
This could be served as an appetizer, a snack, a nice lunch, or even a light dinner!
- French bread
- Raspberry jam
- Cooked salmon (I had some leftover salmon we did on the grill the other night)
- Havarti cheese, sliced
- Dandelion and/or wild violet greens and some wild violets if you are lucky enough to have some about that are chemical free and clean
Directions:
- Lightly toast the french bread, then spread with a thin layer of raspberry jam.
- Add flakes of salmon on top of the jam, then arrange slices of Havarti cheese to cover the salmon.
- Bake at 400 or broil the toast for a few minutes until the cheese is nice and melted and bubbly.
- Top with wild greens and violets and enjoy!
This recipe was shared at Tastetastic Thursday, Full Plate Thursday and Fit & Fabulous Friday.
