Sunday, July 23, 2017

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Tahini Dressing and Maple Pecans

Eating seasonally makes eating interesting and fresh.  The ideal autumn diet helps transition our bodies from summer's lighter intake to heartier winter fare. Seasonally fresh produce is picked when they’re ripe and fully developed. The plant has had more sun exposure, which means it will have higher levels of antioxidants  When there’s abundance of a product,  the prices go down. 
Seasonal produce can grow without too much added human assistance i.e. pesticides and genetically modification. We know how these toxic compounds can contaminate the water and soil and also our health. Seasonal food that is locally produced,  reduces the load on our environment due to transport, or “food mileage”.  We love getting to know where our food is coming from, who is growing it and how makes us feel more connected to that whole process. Our local Albany Farmers Markets creates a  community around food that encourage us to share our knowledge, ask questions and engage in our own local environment. 

Here is the recipe for the dinner I made last night.
NGREDIENTS
For the Salad
  • 1 cup red quinoa
  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • 1 red capsicum
  • 3 small yellow squash
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Small bunch of Kale
  • a sprinkle of dried spices that you like, or a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary, etc.
  • 1 large apple
For the Lemon Tahini Dressing
  • 2 tablespoons Tahini
  • juice of one lemon (more to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • pepper to taste
For the Maple Pecans
  • 1/2 cup pecans
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • salt
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Rinse the quinoa and cook with 2 cups of stock. broth or water
  2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Chop the cauliflower into small florets. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes, chop the squash and capsicum. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with smokey paprika, salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, stir, and roast for another 10-15 minutes. When they are golden brown and soft, remove from oven and set aside.
  3. While the veggies are roasting, combine all dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight lid and shake to combine. Chop the apple and set aside.
  4. In a frypan add chopped kale and wilt in a frypan with a little oil or broth (I added garlic, chillies and basil) until bright green.  Add to the roasted vegies.
  5. Put pecans into a dry frypan, add maple syrup and salt and cook until crunchy.  (be careful not to burn, due to high sugar content of maple syrup)  Stir constantly, about 3 - 4 minutes.
  6. Toss everything together and enjoy.

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