Killer Kale Salad with Sesame Dressing

Kale is the main ingredient but cabbage, carrots, avocado, roasted walnuts and (not yet added) Parmesan cheese lend flavor, texture, and nutrition. The dressing is key to this salad's deliciousness.

If you want the kale salad recipe and none of my yammering, scroll to the green headline. I'm annoyed, when searching out a recipe in the heat of getting dinner on the table, to have to slog through a bunch of ramblings to find it. If you're ready for rambling, read on.

I haven't been posting much about food lately (except the most recent post, which was about brownies made with black beans! You gotta try em.) I've been too obsessed with Africa, I guess. I'm not finished with reliving some of the best experiences of my life, by the way. Roads of Uganda. People of Uganda. South African wonders. Does the fun never end? But back to food.

We grow kale every year, and I am addicted. Ok. Not like to nicotine, heroin, or red wine. But as veggies go, kale has a lot going for it AND one can develop a taste. It isn't enough that kale gets great press for its superfood qualities, but some wary types consume it as though it was medicine, a curly castor oil to be swallowed with nose held. I have a friend like that, a burly meat-and-potatoes guy who usually passes on green food. He and others joined us around the dinner table recently, and he complimented me on the kale salad! I about fell off my chair, but I managed to hold my tongue and my place at the table. And I also enjoyed a self-congratulatory slug of cabernet sauvignon. Hic.

I contributed this salad at a recent potluck, too, where it garnered raves and recipe requests. So here it is, in all its simple, delicious, colorful glory. In addition to tasting great, it's good for up to three days refrigerated and dressed. And, oh yeah, it's good for you, too! (Vitamin and mineral rich, low carb, gluten-free, and Paleo friendly, if you care.)

Killer Kale Salad 

I'm starting with the dressing because it is critical. If you go to the trouble to chop up all these veggies, you want to dress it to the nines, and not with a store-bought concoction. What you want is this toasted sesame sweet/sour dressing. I call it Laurie's dressing after the person who first wowed me with it.

Laurie's Sesame Dressing and Marinade

I've made variations of this for at least two decades. It is definitely my salad dressing of choice and it is always on hand. I make it in a food processor, which helps to keep the oil and vinegar blended. This is a doubled recipe, as I don't see the point of making a dressing that keeps well and tastes great for just one dish. Add a little at a time to the kale salad until it is coated with dressing but is not soupy. 

Ingredients

6-8 cloves fresh garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, lemon juice, or other acidic liquid
1-2 Tbsp. Dijon or other mustard (a sweet/hot variety is good)
sweetener to taste— I use a dash of Stevia, Splenda or honey
a dash of white pepper for a little kick

Directions

Use a food processor. Peel the garlic and process til finely minced. Add all other ingredients, then process until the oils are emulsified. The oil will separate after the dressing sits for awhile, but it is easily mixed with a twirl of the spoon. Works great for dressing a salad or marinating veggies for the grill or even steak or chicken.

The Kale Salad

1 bunch of kale, whatever you can get fresh, chopped
1/4 head of a small to medium red cabbage, chopped
1/8 head of small green cabbage, chopped
1 large carrot, grated
1 large avocado, cut into cubes and drizzled with fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup of lightly toasted walnut halves (or coarsely chopped)
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Chop the kale and red and green cabbages into small pieces. Grate the carrot. Slice, peel and dice the avocado and squeeze a bit of lemon over it to keep from looking yucky. Set aside. Toast the walnuts in a small skillet over medium heat until they are barely browned. Careful.They burn quickly. Remove walnuts from heat and from the pan. I usually chop the walnuts into coarse pieces, but they look saucy atop the salad as whole and handsome halves.

Mix together the greens, carrot, and cranberries. A half hour before serving, dress with Laurie's Dressing. Immediately before serving mix in the avocado and top with the walnuts and grated cheese.

Small chop.

About ready to eat? Add avocado.

Top with cheese and stand back. 

Asian/Mexican Fusion Kale, Cabbage, and Carrot Chopped Salad

Lots of yummy low-carb wonders are on this plate starting on the left with baked butternut squash, cauliflower mashed "potatoes", raw sauerkraut with braised pork, AND, the object of our affection, occupying half the plate, kale, cabbage and carrot chopped salad with Mexican and Asian dressings.

Email subscribers: Please click on the headline to get to the website, where everything looks better.

Blending Asian and Mexican flavors may not seem like a good idea, and I wouldn't haven't done it if I'd not been so lazy. But PK and I were headed for a 4-night ski trip with 14 friends, sharing a house and cooking duties,  and we snagged cooking duty the first night and I thought a chopped winter salad would go well with Emeril Legasse's killer chili and the vegetarian option, squash bisque.

Lots of chop, chop, chopping, cut, cut, cutting in those soup recipes, plus the chopped salad, and I didn't feel like making dressing. I knew we'd have the ever-present chipotle sauce I use to pump up just about everything. But putting together an additional homemade dressing did not appeal.

At the local Farmer's Market I purchased a bottle of Asian ginger/sesame dressing. It was cheap, just past its expiration date, on the discontinued table. It was perfect. The salad was a hit.

Remove the tough ribs from the kale, process with the slicing blade
in a food processor, then finish the chopping by hand.

Cabbage roughly sliced by food processor, awaiting fine chopping.

Chopping and grating done! Except for the last-minute onion.

Multiple requests for the salad recipe surprised me! But, true to my people-pleasing gene, I looked for a sesame/ginger dressing recipe as a fill-in. I tried one. It sucked. So tonight I made the chopped salad again and reverted to my tried-and-true, already made sesame dressing plus the ubiquitous chipotle sauce, and voila! Perfect.

Please don't think of any of the recipes here as one-shot-wonders. Chopped salad keeps for a couple weeks in the refrigerator, and chipotle and sesame dressings have even more impressive refrigerator lives. Chop chop chop one night and take it easy for at least a week. You can buy grated cabbage/carrot salad in plastic but....not recommended. Try this instead.

Freshly chopped/grated kale, cabbage, carrots.

Same stuff mixed. Lasts a long time. 

Recipes follow.

Kale, Cabbage and Carrot Chopped Salad, Asian/Mexican Flavors

1 bunch kale, any variety. I used lacinato, chopped
1 small head cabbage or 2/3 head large, chopped
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 half medium sweet onion, chopped (for garnish)
Optional last-minute additions: chopped apple, cilantro, parsley, peppers

Directions:
Rinse the kale if necessary. I get mine at a local  organic farm stand and it usually doesn't require rinsing. If you need to rinse, dry the leaves or use a salad spinner. Remove the tough center stems. Fold the kale leaves and run them through a food processor using the slicing blade. Dump onto a cutting board and finish the chopping job.

Trim the cabbage and cut into wedges. Process with the slicing blade and finish chopping with a good knife on a cutting board.

Skin the carrot and process with the grating blade of a food processor. Or use a box grater.

At serving time, put mixed chopped veggies into a serving dish, add, or put on the table, optional ingredients. If you're serving a crowd, dress the salad using approximatlely equal amounts of sesame and chipotle dressings. If you're doing a small dinner, put the dressings on the side and let your lucky loved ones pile on dressings and options as they please.

Laurie's Sesame Dressing and Marinade

My friend Laurie served this to me at least 20 years ago, and I had to have the recipe. I've made variations of this for at least two decades. It is definitely my salad dressing of choice and it is always on hand. Use a food processor.


Ingredients

6-8 cloves fresh garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil (or half olive oil, half avocado oil)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, lemon juice, or other acidic liquid
1-2 Tbsp. dijon or other mustard
sweetener to taste— honey, sugar, Stevia
 dash of white pepper for a little kick


Directions: Use a food processor. Peel the garlic and process til finely minced. Add all other ingredients, then process until the oils are emulsified. The oil will separate after the dressing sits for awhile, but it is easily  mixed with a twirl of the spoon. Works great for dressing a salad or marinating veggies for the grill or even steak or chicken.

Chipotle Sauce

2/3 c mayo 
2/3 c sour cream 
2/3 c plain yogurt 
2-4  tsp. lemon or lime juice.
2-3 tsp serrano sauce or garlic/chili sauce. Lacking those, use a Sirrachea sauce.
1-2 tsp. cumin Mix and serve over, or on the side, with grilled meats, fish, veggies, eggs, or atop soups or stews.

2-3 cubes frozen chipotle cubes - or 2-3 canned chipotles in adobo sauce, minced. 


Taste, taste, taste. Gauge your own heat tolerance. As you can see, this recipe is based on thirds, using the same amount of mayo, sour cream, and yogurt. 

More Kale Recipes from Ordinary Life

Kale chips!
Creamed kale with dried tomatoes
Kale and Yoga Eggs Fritatta
Killer Kale Salad with Sesame Dressing
Savory Eggs, Kale, Prosciuitto Breakfast
Kick Butt Kale Soup
Key to a Happy Marriage (includes kale!)
Spring Smoothie
Quinoa Kale Salad

Farm Fresh Kale and Strawberry Salad

Tina Arapolu co-owner of Easy Valley (organic) Farm in Southern Oregon, helps produce tons of veggies just a couple miles from where I live. I asked her to show me where she grows kale.  Wow! The hoop house was rockin' with vitamin vibes from all that kick-ass kale. Maybe you don't get as excited about kale as I do? It is an acquired obsession.

PK and I enjoyed yet another potluck party last weekend, prompting me to fiddle around making one more raw kale salad. When a pot-lucker  told me that it was the first kale dish she'd ever liked ,and she couldn't even taste the kale, and a few more asked for the recipe, I figured it was worth a yet another kale recipe post. This will be the eleventh! (Scroll down for links to earlier recipes.)


But this one is really good. It's all about using super fresh ingredients and a homemade strawberry vinaigrette dressing.  I think the dressing would make cardboard palatable.

One bunch of just-picked lacinato kale is $2.50 at Tina's

make-your-own change farm stand. I prefer this variety for salads. And

I love the country feel of the on-your-honor sales approach.

Local berries, one mile away, are the BEST! Our berry
crop failed this year so I frequent the strawberry stand. 

Let's get to the dang recipe! This is a non commercial blog and lacks a "print" button, but you can do it the old-fashioned way: select and copy the recipe to a word processing program.

Kale Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

6-8 servings

1 bunch of farm-fresh kale, de-ribbed and chopped
1/2 head (small-medium) organic cabbage, chopped
1 small-medium sweet spring onion with some greens, sliced
1 handful of arugula, chopped (optional, I just happened to have some)
1/4 to  1/3 cup dried cranberries (dried cranberries have a lot of sugar. They taste great in the salad, but leave out if you're diabetic or avoiding carbs.)
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese 
1/3 cup roasted salted pumpkin seeds (or slivered almonds, roasted pecans or another roasted seed or nut)
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced

Directions
Chop the kale, cabbage and arugula, if using. Add the white parts of the sliced onion and the cranberries. Mix in a salad bowl and cover, or store in a plastic bag and refrigerate, if making several hours in advance.

An hour or so before serving, assemble the mixed kale, cabbage, arugula, cranberries and onion and toss with dressing in a salad bowl. Start with 4 tablespoons of dressing and add more as necessary.

Let it marinate. refrigerated for at least a half hour. Before serving, sprinkle the feta cheese on top, followed by the nuts or seeds, then the sliced strawberries.  Sprinkle with the sliced green onion tops, or substitute chives. 

Strawberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

I reviewed a dozen or so recipes and finally came up with this, which turned out great. 

1/2 cup strawberry vinegar*
3/4 cup oil. I used half avocado oil and half olive oil
3 tablespoons honey, or to taste. This yields a light to moderately sweet dressing. Low-carbers can choose Splenda, stevia or other low-carb sweeteners. 
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard

Directions
Use a wire whisk or a food processor to blend ingredients. The oil may separate, so shake or stir before dressing the salad.

*Strawberry Vinegar

This recipe is adapted from Epicurious. It is the essential ingredient in strawberry vinaigrette dressing. It is incredibly fresh and strawberry-tasting.

Make it a couple hours, or even a day ahead. Don't freak out! It's easy! You can use this fruity vinegar for a week or so, according to Epicurious. I tripled the recipe because I was making salad for 36 people. One recipe would have been plenty! The ingredients below make about two cups of vinegar. Adjust accordingly.

1 pound strawberries, trimmed (3 cups)
2 tablespoons sugar (or low-carb sweetener)
2 cups white balsamic vinegar, or, as adapted by me who lacks access to white balsamic, 1 cup unseasoned rice vinegar and 1 cup balsamic

Directions
Using a food processor, pulse berries with sugar until finely chopped and juicy. Lacking a food processor? Try a potato masher. Transfer to a bowl and add vinegar. Stir. Let stand one hour or more. Strain vinegar through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. This can take 30 minutes or more. Discard solids. Refrigerate, covered, in a glass jar. Stays fresh tasting for about a week. 

Why bother eating kale? 

Here are the Top Ten Health Benefits. 

Curly kale. Great for kale "chips", soups, frittatas etc. 

Lacinato kale, AKA  dinosaur or Tuscan. Mild.

Siberian kale, mild and also good for chopped salads.

More kale recipes from Ordinary Life

Kale chips!
Asian Mexican Fusion Kale Salad
Creamed kale with dried tomatoes
Kale and Yoga Eggs Fritatta
Killer Kale Salad with Sesame Dressing
Savory Eggs, Kale, Prosciutto Breakfast
Kick Butt Kale Soup
Key to a Happy Marriage (includes kale!)
Spring Smoothie
Quinoa Kale Salad

Spring Salad - Asparagus, Avocado, Kale  and Cabbage
The potluck party that inspired this recipe. (spring salad)

Salad for dinner- again!

With smoky tri tip, grilled asparagus, caramelized onions, fresh cilantro, cheese and loads of crisp greens,
salad for dinner is all you'll need. The pinkish dabs are chipotle sauce. Recipes below.

At least once or twice a week, sometimes more often, we have salad for dinner, especially in the spring/early summer when greens are plentiful, tender and sweet. Salad as dinner sounds virtuous, but it isn't. Our salads are decadent, filling, nutritious, and delish!  I could barely finish the one pictured. I think it was all the grilled/caramelized onions that did it. As a carb watcher, I realize that onions are fairly carbaceous (new word?), but onions at the tail end of their storage life beg to be eaten. Ever heard an onion beg? It's pitiful. Bread can whine and be ignored, but not homegrown onions about to sprout and melt down.

This year's onion crop was planted from starts on April 23. On the right, sweet varieties that we'll begin thinning/eating soon. On the left, "keeper" onions. Down the middle, a shallow trench of compost. Onions like to eat.

We had softball-sized keeper onions left over from last season (!) until about a week ago when I had to toss the last one into the compost. It was literally weeping. Breaking down. Why couldn't you eat me? I had no answer. 

At the start of the grilling process. The asparagus is pulled first, then the peppers,
and when they're browned, the onions. Cool before using on salad.

A great way to use near-death onions is to slice them into thick rounds, marinate them, and grill til nearly caramelized. Also on the grill for this salad - fresh asparagus, also marinated, but removed from the heat while still tender/crisp, and store-bought sweet peppers.

General salad-for-dinner guidelines follow. The only thing to really embed into your brain is don't stress about how much fat is in the dressing, the avocados, the cheese, or the meat. Really. Just forget about the fat and enjoy how great it tastes. Skip the garlic bread, of course. You will be thinner in the morning.

Salad for dinner in a nutshell
You'll need greens, veggies, protein, and some kind of dressing.
Greens - fresh from the garden if possible. If not, there's a lot to be said for boxed or bagged ready- to-eat greens. Figure on two or three generous handfuls per person. Greens include all lettuces (except why bother with iceburg?), spinach, cilantro, mustard greens,  bok choy, etc.
Other veggies - I generally chop cabbage, kale, chard,  broccoli and/or cauliflower as about a quarter of the salad.  Avocados are used throughout the winter and early spring. Veggies change as the summer garden offers up tomatoes, cukes, zukes, beets, and so on. Any veggies on hard may be used: carrots, asparagus, celery, whatever. Greens and veggies are least 90-95 percent of what's on your plate. Oh, the joy of life without bread!
Protein 
Our second salad-for-dinner this week didn't involve the grill, but a Costco rotisserie chicken, fresh asparagus, and one small avocado for each salad. Other protein choices include smoked fish, tuna salad, any thinly sliced cooked/smoked meats or poultry (but not processed meats), hard-boiled eggs. Cheese is mostly a condiment. I like either feta or Parmesan. Vegetarians could use grilled or baked and seasoned tofu, more cheese, more eggs, or whatever protein they prefer.


Laurie's Sesame Dressing and Marinade
My friend Laurie served this to me at least 20 years ago, and I had to have the recipe.
I've made variations of this for at least two decades. It is definitely my salad dressing of choice and it is always on hand.
6-8 cloves fresh garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, lemon juice, or other acidic liquid
2 Tbsp. dijon or other mustard
sweetener to taste— I use a dash of Stevia
a dash of white pepper for a little kick

Directions:
Use a food processor. Peel the garlic and process til finely minced. Add all other ingredients, then process until the oils are emulsified. The oil will separate after the dressing sits for awhile, but it is easily  mixed with a twirl of the spoon. Works great for dressing a salad or marinating veggies for the grill or even steak or chicken.

Chipotle Sauce

2-3 cubes frozen chipotle cubes - or 2-3 canned chipotles in adobo sauce, minced
2/3 c mayo (more or less)
2/3 c sour cream (more or less)
2/3 c plain yogurt
2-4  tsp. lemon or lime juice.
2-3 tsp serrano sauce or garlic/chili sauce 
1-2 tsp. cumin Mix and serve over, or on the side, with grilled meats, fish, veggies, eggs, or atop soups or stews.

Simple (summer?) Salad in the Sink

Dear E-mail subscribers, please click the link to the blog website. The formatting in the email is all messed up. 

With excessive loss and suffering here in rural Oregon and across the globe, writing about gardening and cooking seems irrelevant. Maybe irreverent. I try not to feel guilty about having had (not dead yet!) a lucky slide through the decades. Images of hungry children begging in foreign lands, and desperate humans even in small towns such as ours, holding "Stranded, Will work for food" signs haunt me. Measuring good and guilt is tricky. 

But. When images of our pandemic garden flood my heart, I'm lifted. PK and I spend countless industrious hours out there, everything from harvesting tomatoes and peppers to picking cabbage worms off fall and winter crops, or deadheading flowers. The garden is ongoing work, which some may believe is unnecessary toil. Just shop the local farmers' markets, they say. Yes. Support those markets. But, if you have a bit of Earth to cultivate, consider the gladness of gardening. And the joy of sharing the bounty.

A homemade view filled with birds, bees, butterflies, and cheerful crowds of sunflowers. Salad in the sink coming right up!

Salad in the sink for two right here. If you want to skip all the BS, scroll down to the recipe. Which you won't be able to print. But it is so simple and savory you can remember, right?

Sounds appetizing, eh? Salad in the sink? 

It is actually a terrific way to use late-season zucchini and tomatoes and more. In truth, it is a salad served, ideally, from a colander in a sink, which may not be suitable for a fancy dinner party, but is useful for shoveling heaps of zukes and tomatoes from the seasonal avalanche onto salad plates.

During COVID at home with PK, it's a flavorful, fun, and easy-to-put-together first or only course. The man is flexible. He also does the dishes. And other useful things. 

Assemble this concoction in a colander (a rectangular one is ideal) and serve from it too. I suppose if dinner guests (what are those?!) are coming, you could move it to a pretty bowl at the last minute. 

The thing is, the zucchini spirals go into the colander first and are then generously salted before other stuff is added. Like proper dedicated athletes, the coils need to sweat for at least 20 minutes. Serving straight out of the colander saves the salad from being watery, plus it is a classy serving touch, don't you think? 

Clean the sink first. 

Even though summer officially gave way to fall on Sept. 21, our garden didn't get the news.  The prolific plot continues to produce excessive zucchinis, beauteous tomatoes, and tender green beans, which are just coming on. Bring em!

The basil is confused about when to stop and hasn't. The Walla Walla onion in this simple salad was harvested in June and has been cool in the garage frig during the blistering summer along with its bloated brothers and sisters, some of which are 10 inches diameter. They had a diet of rich compost and now contribute sweet crunchiness to the salad in the sink.

In addition to a zucchini 9-10 inches long, all you need are a few dead-ripe tomatoes, a generous handful of green beans, sweet onion, basil, salt, and Parmesan or fresh mozzarella cheese.

In recent years, I've gone big on spiralizing zucchini. Quick, easy, and delish. If you can imagine zucchini being delish. Maybe that's overstated. Palatable? Anyway, salting zuke "noodles" improve the bland vegetable's taste and texture and create a medium for savory sauces.

With ends trimmed, this zuke is about 9 inches long. The Paderno World Cuisine spiralizer can handle about 10 inches. It also has blades to shred and slice other veggies or cheeses. Many competing brands exist, of course. This simple tool may set you back about $25.

Spiralizing a zuke is quick and easy once you get the hang of it. You need a hard surface for the suction cups that keep the device in place.

For the salad in the sink, snip the noodles, so you don't have to pretend you're making pasta.  (Subbing zuke noodles for pasta recipes requires only a couple of snips.) For either use, salting produces the best results. How much? I don't measure, but I shake, shake, shake with gusto three or four times, then mix and let rest for at least 20 minutes, carefully stirring a few times. Despite using what seems like excessive salt, I've never had to rinse the noodles. They keep for days refrigerated, and I add them to other salads, soups, or stirfries.

I apologize for not having a "print" function, although a person could copy, paste, and print. I am an occasional blogger these days and got away from frequent recipe posting several years ago. Not that I had a print function even then. 

RECIPE - Simple Summer Salad in the Sink

Ingredients for two - easy to ramp up for more mouths

• one firm medium/large (9-10 inches) zucchini, spiralized
• a big handful of fresh green beans, lightly steamed 
• a cup or so of sliced sweet, crunchy onions like Walla Walla
• two or three firm garden tomatoes, such as Romas, Tasteilees, or whatever you have
• chunks or slices of fresh mozzarella or shredded Parmesan cheese, to taste
• salt for sweating operation
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• torn or whole fresh basil to taste
• salad dressing of choice 
• a sprinkling of roasted salted pumpkins seeds for topping once the salad is plated

Directions

Spiralize the zucchini and dump into the colander in your sparkling clean, appetizing sink. Use scissors to snip noodles, so you're not dealing with spaghetti -lengths. Sprinkle the zucchini with salt, mix and let sweat for at least 20 minutes. Stir a time or two. Lots of water will be released. Taste before mixing with other stuff to make sure it's not too salty. If it is, rinse quickly with cold water. (I've never had to rinse.)

Cut the green beans into halves or thirds, then steam or boil until tender/crisp. Rinse with cold water and set aside. Cut the tomatoes into wedges, slice the onion, add fresh mozzarella chunks or slices, then gently mix all together. Top with fresh basil leaves, whole or torn. 

After scooping the salad onto plates or bowls, apply your favorite salad dressing. I prefer my homemade sesame dressing, but if we've run out, I sub in vinaigrette or Annie's organic Fig Balsamic. We usually dress our individual salads. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan, if using, and top with roasted pumpkin seeds, salted or not. 

This is as fancy as it gets during COVID isolation. The sink salad this particular night was followed by deluxe grilled salmon filets and mustard roasted potatoes with a good Malbec. Thanks, Grace!

A modest representation of the 2020 tomato and pepper harvests.

One of many basil harvests. Much pesto is in the freezer for 2020-2021. 

Zukes and green beans. Both prolific.
 My teeth are getting green. 

Interested in other salad and/or veggie recipes? I searched this blog for "salad dressing," and almost every salad recipe I've ever posted came up in this one link. 

Most of the recipes include my go-to homemade sesame dressing, AKA Laurie's Glory Sesame Dressing. 

Check em out!

Earlier 2020 gardening post

Living with Pandemic Better With Gardening 

Thanks for visiting. Good to be back!

Spring Salad - Asparagus, Avocado, Kale and Cabbage

It doesn't seem right to mix kale, asparagus, cabbage and avocado in the same raw salad. Throw in a bunch of dried cranberries and some chopped garlic chives and it could be an embarrassment.

But! I had all those things, including the kale, asparagus and garlic chives growing in the garden, a potluck to go to and not a lot of time. Plus I know my friends. They'll drink plenty of wine and it won't much matter.

It turns out the combo got some generous comments and I thought it was quite tasty, thank you very much. I will  make this salad again soon and put it on my ongoing spring menu when the asparagus spears are piercing the garden soil and avocados from the south are on sale in the markets.

Asparagus, Avocado, Kale and Cabbage Salad with Sweet and Tart Sesame Dressing
Serves 10

Ingredients
1 pound or more of asparagus, tough parts of stalks discarded
1 large avocado, cut into  chunks
1/3 medium-sized red cabbage, thinly sliced and chopped
1/4 medium sized green cabbage, thinly sliced and chopped
1 bunch of kale, any variety, rinsed, dried and chopped into small pieces
 handful of dried cranberries
 handful of roasted pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts or other nuts
 a bunch of garlic chives, if you can get those sweet tasty grass-like stalks, or  regular chives, or sliced green onions
 1/4 to 1/2 lime or lemon to drizzle over avocado
 Dressing (recipe below)

Directions
Slice the tops off the asparagus spears on the diagonal and set aside. Cut the remaining stalks into smaller pieces.
Slice and chop the cabbages, chop the kale.
Halve the avocado, remove the pit, slice the flesh while still in the skin, then cut across the slices to get the size chunks you desire. Scoop avocado out with a spoon and drizzle with juice of lemon or lime. Set aside.
Slice into bits the chives, onions or whatever you're using,

To assemble the salad, mix the cabbages and kale in a large shallow bowl. Put a few tablespoons of dressing on the cabbages and kale. Mix well and let marinate for up to 30 minutes.

Arrange the asparagus heads in a radial pattern from the center. Put the rest of the cut-up asparagus around the inside edges of the bowl.  Arrange the avocado pieces between the asparagus spears. Sprinkle cranberries, seeds or nuts on top, and finish with chopped chives, onions, or whatever. Drizzle with more salad dressing and serve.

Sweet and Tart Sesame Dressing
4-6 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil or avocado oil, or a combo
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil. (gotta be toasted)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup Worcesteshire sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar, or half lemon juice, half rice vinegar
1 - 2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 -3 TBSP pure maple syrup. Sugar or honey may be substituted, but taste before adding the third tablespoon.

Use a food processor to chop the garlic, then add everything else and process til oil and other liquids are mixed. Taste and adjust seasonings.

NOTE: This is way more than needed for one salad. It stores in the refrigerator for several weeks and is good on any salad or as a marinade for roasting veggies. Or just cut the recipe in half.

Despite the fact that our asparagus patch produces so much that we actually get tired of eating it, I've neglected to post other asparagus recipes. Next spring I'll rectify that; I feel a post about spicy pickled asparagus coming on. And maybe that asparagus and gruyere quiche.

In the meantime, if you're looking for asparagus recipes, here's a fabulous collection plus a definitive guide to everything you ever wanted to know about this delicious vegetable posted on a useful site called Quick Easy Cook.


For now, I'm good for a load of tasty recipes on using kale.

More kale recipes on Ordinary Life

Kale chips!
Asian Mexican Fusion Kale Salad
Creamed kale with dried tomatoes
Kale and Yoga Eggs Fritatta
Killer Kale Salad with Sesame Dressing
Savory Eggs, Kale, Prosciuitto Breakfast
Kick Butt Kale Soup
Key to a Happy Marriage (includes kale!)
Spring Smoothie
Quinoa Kale Salad
The potluck party that inspired this recipe.

Salmon of Grace and Ginger

My favorite salmon recipe! I've been trying for decades to find or create one this good. Credit goes to Grace McGran.

                         If you just want the recipe, scroll a bit. I'm not going to BS for too long.

But keep reading if you're curious about how I finally found THE best salmon recipe that will be my go-to choice for entertaining as well as dinner for two and relieving my angst about what to do with boxes of fish, mostly salmon, from PK's Alaskan fishing trips.

It's all about Grace. She lives in Canada. One reason I like (ha ha) Facebook is that it was the conduit for reuniting us a few years back. We had a 90-minute phone conversation last week. She and I met on the Oregon coast in the 1970s at roughly the same time that I met PK. It was a time of great change and upheaval. In our own ways, both Grace and I made choices during the few months we were neighbors that have reverberated through the decades. Think about it young people, when you reach a crossroads, what you do matters forever. 

Grace (she was then called Diane) and I made an instant connection back in the day. She lived next door. She was a gardener, a pie maker, and a cook. Oh, and she sang just like Joni Mitchell. No kidding. She was also a beauty, inside and out. 

I remember her making us a stir fry Asian dinner, during which I learned basic tricks such as; don't saute the veggies all at the same time. Duh. But I didn't know. 

We had fishermen friends and what seemed like an endless supply of salmon. I watched her tuck salmon parts into holes where she planted corn seeds. She made things grow and rejoiced in the results. I am trying to remember that we ever had a salmon meal together. Salmon excess was just so common in those days. I was fresh from North Dakota. I fed a lot of cooked salmon to our dog.

During our chat last week, however,  I asked for her favorite salmon recipe. 

She said something dismissive like, "Oh, it's just so simple. I don't have anything special." But then she provided general directions. Like me, she often wings it when cooking, using what's on hand and making recipe changes at her whim. Only a few things were mentioned as ideal for success: a cast-iron pan, fresh diced ginger, lemon juice or some other acidic ingredient, sesame oil, and maple syrup. Got it. Did it. (twice, to make sure.)

Salmon of Grace and Ginger, recipe

Perfect for two. 

INGREDIENTS

• skin-on salmon fillet, about a pound
• knob of fresh ginger, minced (I tried grating it but it was too fine)
• salt and pepper 
• avocado oil, or other high-heat oil, enough to coat the pan
• butter to taste, optional
• sesame salad dressing,  1/3 cup to 1/2 cup (recipe follows)
• scant maple syrup (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Use a cast iron pan or another heavy-duty pan. Mince a thumb or two of ginger. (I grated it my first try, and that didn't work as well as mincing.) Apply salt and pepper and chopped ginger to the skinless side of a skin-on salmon filet, about one pound. I understand from Grace, that this recipe can be baked after the initial skinless-side-down frying operation. 

NOTE: If you double or triple the recipe and do not own a huge cast-iron pan, you'll need to pre heat the oven to 375, fry your salmon in two or three batches, and bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes following the frying step, checking halfway for doneness.

Heat the pan to medium-high and add avocado or other oil. When oil is sizzling, carefully place the fillet skinless side in the hot oil and fry for about four minutes. Use a wide spatula to turn the fillet to the skin side down. Cover and cook for about five minutes. Check for doneness after four minutes. Add butter to the top, if desired, and poke holes for butter to soak into the fish. Remove the fillet to a plate at the point of the desired doneness. I like it moist in the thickest area, barely done.  

To the pan, add the salad dressing and reduce for a few minutes. It doesn't take much time with salad dressing, which is more than half oil. 

You may adapt the dressing and/or use purchased Asian types. But you may want to try the recipe provided because it is delicious! I should call it Laurie's Glory Sesame Dressing as it was provided by that longtime friend about 20 years ago and is my favorite dressing and marinade, and now, salmon glaze.  See bottom of the post, following photos.

I've fried the skinless side of the fillet, turned it over and cooked it skin side down,  and fork-tested for doneness. In the meantime, I've applied a little butter to the top, as everything is better with butter. Correct?

I used this gourmet salt in place of regular salt the
second time I made this recipe. It cost a lot of $$ and
I couldn't tell the difference. Either way, tastes great.

The peeled ginger was how much I used to cover a
one-pound salmon fillet.

After salt, pepper, and ginger are applied, it's OK to let it sit for 10 minutes.

Avocado oil is a healthy oil which withstands high-heat frying. 

Start by frying, for a few minutes,  the skinless gingered, salted and peppered side
 at medium high heat in a cast-iron pan. Take care not to burn the ginger.

Flip it over (carefully) to fry the skin-side down. Cover and cook 4-5 minutes.
Test for doneness after 4 minutes or less. 

Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of salad dressing into the hot pan and reduce for a few minutes, stirring to capture the browned bits at the bottom.  Then pour the reduction onto the cooked salmon and serve ASAP.  Heavenly!

Laurie's Glory Sesame Dressing, recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup sesame oil
• 1/3 cup good quality soy sauce
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar (or balsamic), or fresh lemon juice
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 2 T maple syrup, honey or balsamic glaze (my fave)

Use a food processor.

Process the garlic until finely minced. Add the other ingredients and whirr until emulsified. The mustard helps with emulsifying, I'm told. This dressing keeps in the refrigerator for up to a month.