Salads Make Me Happy!

This is a colorful salad that makes a great appetizer to a savory meal. It is a pleasantly sweet salad. If you prefer to make the salad less sweet, you can opt to use grapefruit instead of the tangerine. For a different experience and to balance the sweetness, you could add some olive slices.

Ingredients:

1½ cups, packed, young arugula leaves
½ of one medium jicama, peeled and julienned
1 red or yellow bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
1 avocado, cut into ½ slices
Slices of 1 tangerine, seeded
Juice of ½ lime (pour over avocado slices)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh tangerine juice
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
½ teaspoon sea salt
⅛ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root
¼ teaspoon grated tangerine peel

In a glass measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, tangerine juice, cilantro, sea salt, ground pepper, ginger root and tangerine peel. Let the dressing sit for one hour, stirring often to mingle the flavors.Spread the arugula leaves onto four small salad plates. Add the jicama, bell pepper, avocado and tangerine slices. Pour the juice of ½ a lime onto the avocado slices to keep them fresh. When the dressing is ready, pour the dressing over the four salads. Serve immediately.

When I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in 1997, I spent a good portion of it hiking with a young gentleman who had taken some college classes in Botany. He loved identifying the variety of edible plants he found as we hiked. He taught me to recognize quite a few herbs, plant leaves, and berries on our journey. The wild, organic greens and berries always tasted so wonderful! One day as we were hiking our typical 15 miles, I noticed he kept lagging behind. I kept asking him if he was okay, as I knew he could hike faster than me. He said he was doing great, but “just had to go to the bathroom”. Again?? That evening I had forgotten about his bathroom episodes, so I was surprised when he presented me with a “wild weed salad”. It was a bowl of weeds! Every time he had stopped “to go to the bathroom”, he had actually been selecting a tasty array of wild greens for me. And, they were beautiful, organic and fresh picked. I was happy!

This recipe can be used as a dressing for an edible weeds* salad, or as a dip for a vegetable platter. The cashews make this recipe creamy in texture. It tastes like a ranch salad dressing! I find the fresh dill to be very tasty in this dressing. Chives also work well. But, have fun experimenting with other herbs. As a dip with an assortment of vegetables, it is an easy to make appetizer plate for a party. Everyone always appreciates a “made from scratch” creamy dip!

Ingredients:

1½ cups cashews (unsalted and not roasted)
5 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1½ cups water (1 cup if you are making a dip)
1½ teaspoon fresh basil
1/3 to ½ cup chopped fresh dill

Blend all ingredients, except for the dill, until
very, very smooth. (In a standard blender this
could take 5+ minutes. In a Vita-Mix or K-Tec, it
should take less time.) Pour the dressing/dip into
a bowl. Fold in the chopped fresh dill. Add extra
lime juice and salt to taste