Strawberry Salad with Roasted Garlic

Here is one of those truly fabulous ideas that I wish I had thought of myself… and after you read this you may well wonder why you didn’t think of it too.

But thankfully, Kristina did, and wrote a blog post about it that appeared in my inbox one day last week… and I kept it there, to remind me to get the ingredients to make it, SOONER rather than later.

The only other time I have ever eaten roasted garlic was on a friend’s boat… she served it with camembert and crackers as an appie before dinner.  I remember that I really liked it but have just never had an occasion to try it myself.

Kristina’s Raspberry and Roasted Garlic Big Salad was just the motivation I needed.
Well, I went hunting for fresh raspberries yesterday in my favorite local markets… the berries growing here are not quite ready to pick yet… but they were just so darned expensive that I didn’t buy any.  But I did spy some lovely strawberries and thought they might do just as well.

So today, after The Captain washed our balcony deck and watered the flowers and tomatoes and herbs and strawberries, we decided we should have lunch out in the sunshine and I knew this salad would be perfect. A sunny and beautiful day deserves a sunny and beautiful lunch!

I referred to Kristina’s post on how to roast the garlic and then did that right away so it would be cooled before lunchtime rolled.  You cannot imagine how great it smells as it is cooking. MMMmmmm.  I am sure everyone walking past my open windows enjoyed it as well.

And of course I made enought for both of us… if you love garlic as much as we do, you won’t have to ask why!

I didn’t make it up EXACTLY like Kristina did, so will give you my ingredients and the recipe for the little dressing I made too, but you will have to check her original post to get the low-down on roasting the garlic…  it was truly fabulous! 

We both really enjoyed it and I will be making it again, certainly… but I think next time I will use a whole head of garlic for each salad. It is THAT good!  I might even add some slices of baked chicken breast and serve it for dinner.  It is absolutely company-worthy too.

Of course my Weight Watchers friends may gasp at the N.I., but just use fewer cashews and you can lower the fat content easily...

Thanks to Kristina for the great idea – and of course  her lovely photos always add to the temptation to make up her recipes, too.

Strawberry Salad with Roasted Garlic
Makes 2 servings

• 1 head garlic, roasted and cooled
• 3 cups mixed salad greens, washed and dried
• 2 mini cucumbers, sliced
• 10 strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 cup raw cashews

1. Tear the salad greens into bite size pieces and divide between 2 serving bowls or plates.
2. Add half of the cucumbers, strawberries, and cashews to each bowl.
3. Gently squeeze roasted garlic cloves out of their papery coverings and place half of them into each bowl.
4. Toss the salads and then spoon the dressing over the top before serving.

Strawberry Dressing
Makes 2 servings

• 1 medium strawberry
• 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp olive oil
• drizzle of lemon juice
• dash of salt

1. Mix all ingredients and then spoon half over each salad.

Per serving, salad and dressing.
Weight Watchers P+ = 9.
Calories 326; Protein 10g; Carbohydrate 24g; Fat 24g; Fibre 4g.

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Raw head of garlic, sprinkled with EVOO, salt and pepper…

and roasted…. cooling on the counter.

Mine and his… waiting to be dressed with….

this little mixture.

The final product, ready to enjoy.

A sunny day and a sunny salad… I need some new unbreakable dishes for al fresco lunches.

Yup, it’s all for you!

What d’ya think?  Are you a garlic fan?

Have you ever roasted garlic?

Any other ideas as to how to enjoy it, other than on crackers?  Maybe roasted chicken?

Easy Granola Wedge Cookie

I really wanted to bake something new for The Captain this week – he is not following my new eating plan  although he does very well with, and enjoys the paleo meals I make, he is not about to give up his own favorite carbs… pasta, cookies with milk, pancakes, waffles, cupcakes, white potatoes, and the occasional handful of praline peanuts!

So, I have like to make an effort to make something just for him once in a while. 

I reread a blog post I got recently in my mailbox from spabettie that had a recipe for a Spicy Granola Wedge Cookie that you bake an then cut into wedges. She had a link to the original recipe, too, upon which her own vegan and gluten free adaptation was based.

So I followed the link and found a cookie that would be more suitable to The Captain’s taste buds, but along the way made a few changes of my own.

We don’t use canola oil so I opted for coconut oil in its place.  And I also used salted cashew pieces instead of the pecans, so I left out the salt and the baking soda.

This wedge cookie is so easy to put together and because you just spread the dough and bake it like a cake, there is none of the fuss and time involved in shaping individual cookies… I almost felt guilty, they were so easy and quick.

Apparently I no longer have a pie plate…  have not a clue where it might have run off to, so I spread the raw cookie dough into the shape of square, well approximately a square, in the bottom of a cake pan. 




It’s a nice thick dough that holds together very well.




I baked it for a couple of minutes longer than the recipe suggests…




And then let it cool for a few minutes before cutting it and serving a slice to my Mr. Sweet Tooth for his morning coffee treat.




It is a nice thick cookie, not too sweet…



And we found out that it holds up well in a baggie tucked in your pocket when you go hiking too!

Even with my changes, the N.I. is going to be pretty much the same as that which the author gives.

For my Weight Watchers buddies, that makes each of the 8 wedges worth 5 P+.  Not bad for a hefty heavy serving and of course you could always share it with a friend!

So, check out the original recipe, and also the vegan and gluten free version from spabettie.  And do use a round pie plate if you have one… the triangular wedges are cuter!

What’s your favorite easy cookie recipe?  Have one to share?

Fruit and Nut Ginger Ballz for your Valentine

I have been wanting to make something sweet to have as a little tea treat some afternoons but didn’t want anything that required a lot of added sugars or artificial sweeteners. It couldn’t be cake, or cookies, or brownies…. I have not had any food cravings for about 6 weeks now and don’t want to give that sugar monster any reason to rear his ugly head….

But Valentine's Day really requires some special sweet to mark the occasion so, I came up with these Fruit and Nut Ginger Ballz and they are delicious… very similar to a Ginger Snap Larabar, in flavor, but a bit milder.  I love them.  The Trader Joe’s uncrystallized candied ginger that I used does have some sugar so if you prefer you could use about 1 Tbs of raw grated ginger root instead.  Of course that would change the N.I.

Now these are a generous size, so you could make them half the size if you want a two-bite style treat, or you could share one with your Valentine!

 

Fruit and Nut Ginger Ballz
Makes 14 balls

• 5 ounces dates (about 1 cup)
• 4.5 ounces raw cashews (about 1 cup)
• ounces raisins (about 3/8 cup)
• 1 ounce candied ginger (about 2 Tbs)

1. Place all the ingredients into your food processor and run till the nut pieces are quite small and the mixture clumps together.
2. Run warm water over your hands and use your wet fingers to form 14 golf ball sized ballz.
3. Keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze them and then allow to thaw before eating.

Per ball.
Weight Watchers P+ = 3.
Calories 103; Protein 2g; Carbohydrate 15g; Fat 4g; Fibre 1g.

Dough will clump when it has been processed long enough.

 

 

Roll into 14 golf ball sized balls.

 

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