Well! Something amazing happened! I asked for salad suggestions on one of my posts recently, and a couple of people sent me some great ideas. Crystal wrote first, and told me about a raw kale salad that she makes. I thought it sounded really good... but Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats isn't really onboard with the Kale Train... so I was reluctant. But, I asked nicely, and he agreed to give it a shot.
Guess what?? He loved it! And so did I! So exciting! I feel like this opens up a whole new world of delicious and nutritious salads for us to explore.
Following Crystal's semi-recipe: I used a big bunch of kale, tomatoes, arugula, cucumber, toasted almonds, quinoa, grated carrots, and avocado. My friend Sophia gave me the tip to use part of my avocado in the dressing, and the other part in chunks for the salad. This was really awesome, because it made everything a little creamier. For the dressing I used a combo of fresh squeezed citrus (lemon, lime and orange), a little big of flax oil, the aforementioned avocado, a generous dump of ground cumin, red wine vinegar, salt & pepper).
It was such a great dinner and I can't wait to make more raw kale salads.
Thanks so much, Crystal! Aloha!
oooh that looks superb! must try!
ReplyDeleteI like to take little bites of raw kale when I'm cooking it, but I've never liked it as the base for a whole salad no matter how much I wanted to. It just seems so difficult to chew and digest. Do you massage it first?
ReplyDeleteDelana - yeah, I definitely massaged the kale first - with the avocado and with the lemon/lime/vinegar - because I think it's the acids that break it down a bit. I don't usually like kale salad either - so I was happily surprised to enjoy this so much. Is there kale in Cali??
ReplyDeleteHa! So far, no. There's spinach, cabbage, and lettuce, and a few other leafy things I need to investigate more, but I think they're just other types of lettuce. Oh, kale, I always miss you so when I leave the US.
ReplyDeleteI used to hate kale, but after much experimentation, I learned to love it and there is always some in my crisper now. I discovered raw kale salads last summer and now find I crave them regularly--aren't they wonderful! I absolutely love your drawings at the end of your posts--they always make me smile.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's gluten free, isn't it? Looks really good.
ReplyDeleteWhich kale did you use? Spinach, swiss chard or something else?
I love kale, but I actually prefer it cooked. That said, I would never turn down kale salad! This one sounds delish. My mother always used to say, "will wonders never cease," and when I saw your title I was reminded of her. :)
ReplyDeleteSuper yummy looking salad! For the longest time I thought kale had to be eaten cooked. lol Nowadays, I know better. :-)
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm glad you enjoyed it. This is one of those recipes that doesn't sound that fabulous but once you throw it all together it is superb. My guy likes it too, somehow, so it's a keeper. ~ Crystal
ReplyDeleteI adore raw kale salads. They are addictive. Glad Mr. VE&T loved it. Kale is a four-letter word, maybe that's the problem? ;)
ReplyDeletethat salad looks delicious!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is one healthy salad! The avocado in the dressing must have been delicious. I also love that you used cumin, because that's not an ingredient you'd typically find in salad dressing, but it sounds so right.
ReplyDeleteHooray for kale salad! If you want to try a different type of dressing, I love the red pepper-hemp dressing from this recipe: http://www.dailygarnish.com/2012/03/kale-avocado-salad-with-creamy-hemp-seed-dressing.html
ReplyDeleteI also super love putting raw shredded red cabbage in massaged kale salads, it gives it a different sort of extra crunch!