This is a great dressing for a simple garden salad.
Ingredients 

• Garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup raw apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 tablespoons raw honey, as needed for sweetness
• ½ - ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  
  

Method
Mix all of the ingredients in glass jar, then seal the lid and shake until the honey dissolves and the ingredients are well combined. Adjust flavor to taste. Let the dressing marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving. 

Ingredients 

• 1 package cherry tomatoes
• 1 large cucumber
• 2 avocados 
• Juice of 1-2 limes
• 2 tablespoons olive or avocado oil
• Handful chopped parsley  
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (optional)
• 1 cup cooked quinoa

Method

• Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add to a bowl
• Slice the cucumber in half and then cut into thing slices, add to the bowl
• Cut and dice the avocado and add to the bowl
• Add the lemon, oil, salt, and pepper and mix well.
• Mix in the cooked quinoa
• Garnish with parsley and pumpkin seeds
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*This salad keeps well for a day, you can take to work and serve over rice crackers or make lettuce wraps with it.  

I love to roast spaghetti squash, the texture makes it a great replacement for pasta and their mild flavor pairs well with most pasta sauces and vegetables.

I had a little time on my hands and a box of mushrooms that needed to be used. Problem is, I LOVE mushrooms, but my husband can only take a limited amount of them. A plate of squash with mushrooms sounded ideal to me, not so much to him. So, to make us both happy I created these two alternatives.  

For the squash 

• 1 medium spaghetti squash 
• 2 large garlic cloves
• salt 
• pepper 
• avocado oil 

For mushrooms

• 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil 
• 1 box mushrooms (I used crimini) thinly sliced 
• 2-3 large garlic cloves minced 
• salt and pepper 

Ground turkey sauce 

• 1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil 
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme  
• salt and pepper 
• 1 pound ground turkey 
• 24 oz. stewed or strained tomatoes (I love this brand)
• 1 cup diced tomatoes 

Cashew "Parmesan"
 I love this recipe. It keeps really well in the fridge for a few days.    

For the spaghetti squash

• Pre heat oven at 375.
• Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds out.  
• Brush the squash with avocado oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
• Place an unpeeled garlic clove in each of the halves and placed the squash cut-side down on a baking sheet and roast until fork tender, 45-60 minutes.  
• Let cool and scrape the flesh out of the squash into pasta-like noddles.  
• You can discard the garlic clove or save it and add to your turkey sauce.

For mushrooms 

• Heat the avocado oil in a skillet at medium heat.  
• Add the garlic, salt and pepper and cook until fragrant.
• Add the mushrooms and stir well. 
• Stir occasionally and cook until the mushrooms start to brown. 
• Be careful not to let the garlic burn, you might need to bring the heat down to low until the mushrooms begin to brown.
• Serve the spaghetti squash and top with the mushrooms, cashew parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and fresh back pepper. 

For ground turkey sauce

• Heat the avocado oil in a large casserole pot at medium heat, add the onion and cook until translucent-- 7-10 minutes. 
• Add the garlic, oregano, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant--2-3 minutes. 
• Add the ground turkey turkey, stir and cook until it begins to brown--5-10 minutes.
• Add the stewed and diced tomatoes, decrease the heat to medium- low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  
• Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.  
• Serve the spaghetti squash, top with sauce and cashew "parmesan". 

This dish can also be layered in a casserole dish lasagna style. Simply spread 1/3 of the turkey sauce in the bottom of the dish, layer some squash, then some mushrooms and some more turkey sauce.  Add another layer of squash, mushrooms and turkey sauce. You can top it with some shredded mozzarella and bake at 350 until the cheese starts to brown--20-25 min.  

This soup is packed with immune boosting ingredients that will help you start feeling better faster. 

Onion and garlic are considered anti fungal, antibacterial and decongestants. Celery is loaded with antioxidants, flavonoids, vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, potassium, calcium, fiber, vitamin B12, magnesium, and vitamin B5. Mushrooms are high in B vitamins, fiber, iron, potassium, riboflavin, selenium and zinc. Turmeric is a natural antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. Cumin is high in vitamin C and has anti-fungal properties. This recipe is easily doubled and freezes really well.

Ingredients

• ½ a medium onion chopped
• 1 large garlic clove minced
• ½  teaspoon turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon coriander
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2-3 medium sized carrots chopped
• 2-3 celery stalks chopped
• 1 small box mushrooms sliced thin  (I use shitaki)
• 1 quart bone broth
• 2 lemons or limes
• 1 avocado (optional)
• 1 bunch of cilantro (optional)

Directions

• In a large soup pot on medium high add 1 tablespoon of olive or avocado oil. Add the onions and cook until translucent.
• Then add the garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt and pepper. Stir until it becomes fragrant, 2-3 minutes.
• Add the carrots and celery cooking until they begin to soften.  Then add the mushrooms and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes.  Finally, add the broth and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil reduce to the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
• Turn the heat off, add the juice of the lemon or lime and stir.
• Serve warm. You can top it off with some diced avocado and cilantro.

 

We have been in a salad rut at home. You know, that point where you have been circulating the same three or four salads week in and week out for months? Lucky for me, this rut coincided with a short trip to Toronto where I not only took a break form cooking every night but also had some wonderful food which sparked my creativity.

When eating out I always order a side salad--it's any easy way to get your veggies in and balance some of the more indulgent choices that happen when we travel. On our last night in the city we had a delicious meal at Woods Restaurant. Naturally, I ordered the green salad and was super impressed. The ingredients were simple  but the dressing was AMAZING...citrusy, tangy and with a hint of sweetness. It reminded me of a dressing I made fairly regularly a few years ago, so naturally when I got home I had to try and dig up the recipe. The dressing is a recipe from our grocery delivery service Washington's Green Grocer (if you live in the DC/VA/MD area I highly recommend them), but I changed up some of the salad ingredients based on what I had in my fridge. 

Dressing 

• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 1/3 cup lime juice (I love limes so I increased this to 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder or 2 teaspoons fresh grated onion (I used the fresh onion)
• black pepper to taste

Salad

• 1/2 head finely chopped green cabbage
• 1 medium watermelon radish sliced into match sticks (you could use 3-4 regular radishes if you can't find watermelon radishes)
• 3-4 medium celery stalks finely sliced
• 1 avocado diced
• 1/2 box of spicy microgreens (optional)
• 1-2 green onion finely sliced (green part only)
• 2 tablespoons hemp seeds (optional) 

For the dressing:
Put everything in a glass jar and give it a good shake. You can keep any leftovers in the fridge for a few days. 

For the salad:
Pour 2-3 tablespoons of dressing at the bottom of your salad bowl (add more if you like heavier dressed salads), add the cabbage, radish, celery, avocado and microgreens. Toss well and make sure the dressing is evenly distributed. Let the salad sit for at least 15-20 min. to allow the flavors to develop. Right before you serve garnish with the green onions and hemps seeds. 

This salad goes really well with grilled chicken or shrimp. 

Let me know if you try it! Do you have any "go to" dressings and salads?