Lazy recipe of the week...

Recipe of the week:

The beet salad for dinner recipe


This was our dinner the other night when we needed something alive and light after earlier heavy snacking. We then ate it nightly since the kids enjoyed it and salads are hard to get into them. It is solid enough to feel like dinner but still virtuous with it's high fiber and whole food makeup. It is colorful if you have a monotone menu in need of some zip. It can be thrown together quick as a wink and eaten on its own or you can make some grainy muffins or grilled artisan bread to eat with it.

Greens: baby greens or nice leaf lettuces work well. A good handful per person is enough for meal sized portion.
Cooked Sliced beets, canned work fine or roast some in foil in the oven if your baking something else, they keep quite a while in the foil in the fridge, but weep red tears so put then in a bowl or bag.
crumbled blue cheese, (or feta if you prefer it)
1/2 carrot per person or so, peeled and finely sliced into coins
Cucumber chunks, 1/2 cup per person, whichever way you like to cut them.
1/2 cup of cooked beans per person, garbanzo, red kidney or canneli are nice
Toasted seeds, pumpkin or sunflower, optional
Tomatoes, wedges or cherry-halved.

You can add cooked chicken or tofu to the salad and of course, get creative with what you have on hand.

Toss with Classic Vinaigrette. Enjoy

Classic Vinaigrette

This will be more than you will need, keep it around and use it its on cooked vegetables and salads.

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
several grinds pepper or more
1/2 teas sugar
1/2 teaspoon grainy mustard
two medium cloves garlic, minced or squeezed out of one of those scorned garlic presses. (Remember one man's scorn is another man's recommendation. (Take that Anthony Bourdain!)
Put all the ingredients in a jar and shake her up. Done. Keeps well at room temperature for weeks.