Artichoke and Walnut Salad

Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables. I think it is an Italian thing. I am always on the lookout for a new way to serve artichokes. This salad with walnuts is a nice change. You can also make this salad with hazelnut oil and hazelnuts if you prefer.

This salad is light but flavorful. The Dijon flavor does not overpower the salad. The walnut oil adds a nice flavor that echoes the toasted walnuts.

One of my favorite things about this salad is that it is something you can make quickly and most of the items are always in my pantry.

Artichoke and Walnut Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

28 ounces of brined, canned artichokes, drained
½ tablespoon of walnut oil (or canola)
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
½ tablespoon of sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Combine the walnut oil, Dijon mustard and sherry vinegar. Whisk to emulsify the dressing. Toss the artichokes in the dressing and refrigerate until ready to serve.

When you are ready to serve check the dish for salt and pepper and adjust as necessary. Add the toast walnuts just before serving so they remain crunchy.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 93.76
Calories From Fat (38%) - 35.91

Total Fat - 4.21g
Saturated Fat - 0.39g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 761.33mg
Potassium - 22.55mg
Total Carbohydrates - 11.33g
Fiber - 1.84g
Sugar - 0.1g
Protein - 3.65g

Comments:

If you are an artichoke fan this salad is a nice change from some of the more common salads. I liked the textural contrast of the walnuts to the soft artichokes. This salad would be great on a crostini that was topped with almond feta.

Cucumber, Pickled Onion and Green Salad with “Buttermilk” Dijon Dressing

There were so many colors on the plate this evening I wanted a more monotone salad to accompany dinner. Don’t let the color of this salad make you think it is bland. The pickled onions add a lot of flavor as does the Dijon mustard and rosemary.

Cucumber, Pickled Onion and Green Salad with “Buttermilk” Dijon Dressing
Serves 4

Pickled Onion Ingredients:

½ red onion, thinly sliced
white vinegar to cover

Salad Dressing Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of reduced fat almond milk mayo
½ cup of almond milk
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary, finely minced
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Salad Ingredients:

8 cups of mesclun greens, torn into bite size pieces
1 seedless cucumber, finely sliced

Directions:

Cover the red onion with white vinegar and refrigerate. This needs to sit a minimum of 15 minutes, but a day is not too long. When you are ready to make the salad drain the vinegar from the onions.

Combine all the salad dressing ingredients in your food processor and puree to combine. Refrigerate until you need it. This will keep days in the refrigerator.

Combine the greens, cucumber, drained onions and salad dressing in a big bowl. Toss to combine. Taste the dressed salad for seasoning and adjust the salt and pepper as desired. Serve cold.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 57.11
Calories From Fat (43%) - 24.81

Total Fat - 2.85g
Saturated Fat - 0.2g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 205.85mg
Potassium - 314.47mg
Total Carbohydrates - 6.56g
Fiber - 2.69g
Sugar - 1.28g
Protein - 2.16g

Comments:

This is a simple salad that has big flavor punch for the onions and the dressing. It is a nice change from our usual salad with vinaigrette.

Agave Mustard Salad Dressing

(pictured: green salad with a little agave mustard dressing and stuffed tomato)

We have been eating a lot of salads with vinaigrette lately so I wanted to make something a little different tonight for the salad. My husband particularly enjoyed this salad, which is strange since he isn’t a fan of mustard. I think there was just enough agave to take down the sharpness of the Dijon he doesn’t enjoy. This dressing is thick and rich as you would expect from the traditional version. In fact, this dressing turned out much more like the original than I expected. If you like honey mustard dressing you should give this one a try.

Agave Mustard Salad Dressing
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 ½ tablespoons of amber agave
1 ½ tablespoons of Dijon mustard
1 ½ tablespoons of reduced fat almond mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder

Directions:

Whisk to combine. This is enough dressing to generously cover 8 - 10 cups of salad.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 26.11
Calories From Fat (63%) - 16.4

Total Fat - 1.88g
Saturated Fat - 0.13g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 86.35mg
Potassium - 22.33mg
Total Carbohydrates - 2.07g
Fiber - 0.7g
Sugar - 0.36g
Protein - 0.43g

Comments:

This dressing exceeded my expectations. I haven’t made honey mustard dressing in some time and this really hit the spot tonight. My husband, who doesn’t love mustard, thought this dressing was really good and “not very mustardy” as he put it.

I love the nutritionals on this recipe. Any dressing that it this low in total calories is okay in my book. The fat percentage is high, since the overall numbers are so small I wasn’t overly concerned.

If you are a fan of honey mustard dressing this version with agave is a really good substitute.

Cabbage, Potatoes and Onions with Mustard

Dinner last night was a function of what I had in the house. There was left over cabbage from making the salad over the weekend, so I thought I would use that in cooked form. Cabbage is a member of the cruciferous family of vegetables and has the same cancer fighting properties as broccoli. Cabbage and potatoes are a good combination, so I included the potatoes. The onions and garlic were added for their cancer fighting properties, as well as flavor. The fennel was included for flavor as well as its blood thinning properties. The “stickiness” of your blood (as measured by fibrin levels) makes a hospitable environment for cancer. By consuming food that reduces platelet aggregation (like fennel) you can make your body a less hospitable environment for cancer to grow and metastasize. Since all of us have microtumors that our body needs to fight I plan to give it all the help I can. Finally the mustard was added for flavor. Mustard goes well with both cabbage and potatoes (just ask any German). Even my husband, who is not a mustard fan, liked this dish and couldn’t identify the mustard specifically. Overall, this recipe was a winner and one I will be using as a base recipe in the future.

Cabbage, Potatoes and Onions with Mustard
Serves 2

Ingredients:

½ tablespoon of canola oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of fennel seed
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced (allow to stand 10 minutes so the allicin can develop)
¼ head of green cabbage, finely shredded
1 pound of Yukon Gold Potatoes
4 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Sauté the red onion in the canola oil until it is tender crisp. Then add the fennel seeds so that it can toast for a minute. Add the green cabbage and garlic and continue to cook over medium high so the cabbage will release its liquid.

Meanwhile, microwave the potatoes until they are just tender. You don’t want them to be too soft of they will break up in the final dish. It won’t change the flavor only the texture of the final dish. Cut the potatoes into bite size pieces.

Add the Dijon to the cabbage and toss to evenly coat. Add the potatoes and toss to evenly coat with the mustard. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired.

Serve hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 294.77
Calories From Fat (5%) - 15.42

Total Fat - 1.89g
Saturated Fat - 0.1g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 397.78mg
Potassium - 1701.9mg
Total Carbohydrates - 64.95g
Fiber - 7.1g
Sugar - 0.52g
Protein - 8.62g

Comments:

This dish is a great example of the something that is better than the sum of its parts. I loved the taste and texture. I would have liked a little more color in the dish, but that is a visual issue and has nothing to do with taste. I intentionally held the fat down on this dish since our breakfast was a little high to get the overall fat down for the day. Much to my surprise the dish seemed to have more than enough fat for both my husband and myself. If you have someone in your life that isn’t a fan of mustard (like my husband), the mustard flavor does not overpower the dish. We discussed the dish after dinner and my husband did not know this contained mustard until I told him.

If you want to know more about what reduces platelet aggregation see Chapter 17 in "Life Over Cancer" on blood circulation. I will be using more foods that reduce platelet aggravation and will be identifying those on the blog when I do.