summer salad

Blueberry & Corn Salad

Posted on by Dr. Laura Imola, BSc, ND (Licensed)

I love this summer salad.  It’s a modified version of Anna Olsen’s recipe and it is divine!  This salad is perfect for summer and I love that it’s a sweet and savory salad.  How can you go wrong by adding fresh blueberries to anything? 😉

Here’s how to whip it up…

I started by putting 2 cups of frozen organic (non-gmo) corn in a pan with a little bit of water and about a tablespoon of olive oil to sautee.

As the corn sauteed (about 3-5 minutes), I chopped up 5 green onion sprigs, 1 red bell pepper and combined that with about 2 cups of blueberries.

From Anna Olsen’s recipe, I left out the jalapeno pepper (i wasn’t in the mood for spicy this time around) and the corriander (i’m not a fan of the flavour of this herb), but these can be added, too.  The original recipe calls for 1 jalapeno pepper chopped and 1 tablespoon of chopped corriander.

I found candied ginger at my local grocery store and added the 1 tablespoon of this confection to the salad, like in the original recipe.

I threw all my ingredients together mixed them and drizzeled juice from 2 limes over top plus a little olive oil and a little sea salt.  I mixed it up so all the ingredients were well combined and added a bit more sea salt to suit my taste.

I put the salad in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.  This unique little summer salad is definately my favorite for the season!

Fresh Summer Food AND We’re Good To Go!

Posted on by Dr. Laura Imola, BSc, ND (Licensed)

I’m headed to a family BBQ tomorrow and I was delegated to bring “one of those delicious veggie salads.”    I was delighted to!  🙂

I found some Rice Couscous.  I like couscous, but a wheat free, gluten free couscous is a welcome ingredient in my kitchen.

Then, my inspiration came from all the summer fresh vegetables that are in abundance right now.  I finished it off with a simple garnish of basil, a simple dressing and himalayan sea salt.  I prepped it tonight so it could sit in the fridge overnight…these salads always taste better the next day.

Here’s how it went down….

1) Couscous Prep – 1 part couscous to 1.5 parts water.

Boil water.  Drop couscous in. Stir once.  Put the lid on it.  Turn off the heat.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Take lid off and fluff with a fork.

2) While couscous is cooking/steaming/sitting fluffed…

Minced a few garlic cloves and garden onions and sauteed in olive oil.

Added to that (a little of what I had in my fridge today):

– chopped red pepper

– chopped summer squash (yellow zucchini)

– chopped broccoli (a handful)

– chopped asparagus ( a few spears)

– a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes

– handful of sun dried tomato

Threw those all in with the onions and garlic and sauteed a few minutes until tender.

3) Tossed cooked veg with the couscous, chopped basil, balsamic vinegar, squirt of lemon, olive oil and himalayan sea salt.

Quick, easy, delicious and our kitchen smelled amazing!

Options for additions / substitutions:

– green beans, spinach, chopped kale, cauliflower, okra, corn, peas, kalamata olives, red onion, roasted red peppers, beans (lentils, chickpeas, white beans, black beans, etc.), avocado, green zucchini, chopped fresh peppers, chopped fresh tomato, dried fruit (raisins, apricots, cranberries), lean meat (chicken, turkey, tuna), nuts and seeds (walnuts, pecans, slivered almonds, sunflower seeds), etc., etc.

The possibilities are ENDLESS!  I rarely duplicate a salad because I don’t have to.  Cooking with my heart, and without a recipe, rocks!