Monday, February 17, 2014

blood orange, kale, & feta salad with wild rice & walnuts.


holy moly, y'all, this salad is delicious.  it's sweet & acidic.  it's crunchy & soft.  it's salty & creamy.  it's pretty much my new favorite salad.  & blakey actually really liked it too!  {the turkey sausage i served on the side certainly helped the non-meat quality.}

so please add these ingredients to your grocery list tonight & give yourself an hour to get the wild rice cooked.  {who knew there was rice that could take an hour to cook??  that's a long time.}  & enjoy!

blood orange, kale, & feta salad with wild rice & walnuts.
found on: pinterest
adapted from:  pinch of yum

1 c uncooked wild rice, cooked
{i have no idea how much cooked rice this ends up equaling, hence the weird verbage}
1/4 c walnuts toasted in a little evoo, salt, & cayenne
4 c chopped kale
3 blood oranges, peeled, divided, & chopped
4 oz crumbled feta

dressing:
3 T evoo, divided
2 cloves minced garlic
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 T water
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 T lemon juice
1 T honey
salt & pepper

1. start cooking the wild rice now!  it takes forever.  cook according to the package directions.

2. this is also a good time to toast the walnuts.  400 degrees for 15ish minutes, stirring once.  set aside to cool.  don't stir it in the salad - that will make them not crunchy, which would be unfortunate.

3. dressing!  in a small sauté pan over medium high heat, heat 1T oil & garlic.  add onions & sauté until the onions start to get a little bit of brown.  transfer the onions & oil & garlic to a vitamix or food processor.  add the remaining 2 T oil, water, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, & salt & pepper.  process until creamy.  {this is so cool - onions make a creamy dressing!  again, who knew?}  taste your dressing & adjust seasonings as necessary.  

4. in a big ole bowl, stir together kale, blood oranges, & feta.  top with the dressing & mix well.  hopefully after all of this stirring & dish-doing, your rice will be done!  add it straight from the pan to the salad - this will wilt the kale just a smidge to create a great texture.  stir it up.  & finally top with walnuts when ready to serve.  enjoy, friends!

love love,
kjp.

Friday, February 14, 2014

happy & love to you!!


wishing much happiness & love to you on this february 14th!  i hope your day is filled with wonderful people & a delicious treat or two.

 {valentine's vanilla cupcakes}

 {conversation heart sugar cookies}

{hugs & kisses to you, sweet husband & valentine of mine}

love love,
kjp.