CAESAR-ISH KALE AND ROASTED BROCCOLI SALAD WITH AVOCADO AND TOASTED WALNUTS

Posted on by Laura Geraty – By

Let’s just absolutely butcher a traditional Caesar salad, shall we? Meet my Caesar-ish Kale and Roasted Broccoli Salad with Avocado and Toasted Walnuts.

First, we trade romaine for massaged kale, and croutons for deeply toasted walnuts. The kale allows you to make this Caesar-ish kale salad days ahead with no sacrifice in crunch. I prefer walnuts to croutons only because I’m almost always eating a salad like this with pizza or pasta. I’m all about carbs but also like to diversify my plate.

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SLOW-ROASTED TOMATO AND BURRATA WINTER CAPRESE

Posted on by Laura Geraty – By

We’re in the thick of it in the north east. You know you’ve reached the dead of winter when a 40-degree day feels downright balmy. But here we are, so let’s make the best of it by keeping our ovens on for hours and making this slow-roasted tomato and burrata winter caprese.

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BRUSSELS SPROUT, ARUGULA AND APPLE SALAD WITH SPICED PEPITAS

Posted on by Laura Geraty – By

Brussels Sprouts, Arugula and Apple Salad

This Brussels Sprout, Arugula and Apple Salad with Spiced Pepitas has everything I love about a good salad:

  • Tons of texture in the form of leafy greens, the crunch of crisp apples and toasted pepitas, and bites of creamy feta;
  • The perfect interplay between sweet, salty and spicy;
  • And, of course, visual beauty before you even take your first bite.

It’s what I call a “gateway salad”, one I’d prepare to help turn the tide for any self-proclaimed (but clearly misinformed) salad haters out there. I find salads with fruit + cheese + nuts can help open people’s eyes to how delicious salads can be.

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STICKY RICE WITH CRISPY TOFU AND BRUSSELS HASH

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My love affair with tofu started somewhere around age 10. My favorite Thai restaurant (which was the only Thai restaurant within a several town radius of my own) served the most perfect fried tofu triangles with peanut sauce. The tofu was crunchy on the outside and moist and simply flavored within. Smothered in rich peanut sauce and quickly dipped in the restaurant’s bright nuoc cham, each bite was an adventure for my inexperienced palate.

This flawless little appetizer is the reason I’ve stuck with making endless rounds of mediocre tofu for decades, ever in the search of some cooking method that would replicate that early food memory. I’ve shallow-fried, deep-fried and roasted infinite sheet trays. I’ve drained and pressed tofu overnight in the refrigerator, frozen and thawed it, and worked with every texture from silken to extra firm. I’ve quick-marinated and left tofu to sit with seasoning for several days before cooking. While much of these efforts came with some reward, the texture has always been…meh.

It wasn’t until I came upon a recipe from Cookies and Kate that I discovered the merits of cornstarch.

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FARRO, CHARRED BROCCOLI AND CASTELVETRANO OLIVE SALAD

Posted on by Laura Geraty – By

With all the buzz around grain bowls over the last few years, I’ve gotten away from making grain salads. But what is a grain bowl after all than a grain salad with its parts disassembled?

One could certainly argue that grain salads are better. In fact, I might be arguing it? When you mix ingredients, flavors meld. Every bite has a little bit of this and that without you having to gather ingredients from around your plate.

There are also times when photo ready grain bowls just aren’t practical. Are you a new parent, cradling a baby in your arms while trying to shovel something nourishing into your mouth? Are you eating while driving your kids to soccer practice or doing work at your computer? Do you want to prep something ahead to easily pull from the fridge throughout the week? Grain bowls are pretty but they take work to assemble and eat. Of course, the ideal is to mindfully dine at our kitchen tables with no distractions but that is not always practical. Enter, the grain salad.

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