WCW- Beetroot and Citrus Salad

I love summer weather, and with it comes a lot of picnics and potlucks as well as BBQs. This Beetroot and Citrus Salad is great for making and chilling in advance.

The ingredients all work well together and include goat's cheese, beetroot, baby peas, pecan nuts and quinoa.



I love creating homemade dressings for my salads, and this one is simple and delicious!



Layering all of the flavours together, you get some subtle sweetness from the beetroot, tang from the citrus, creaminess from the cheese and a crunch from the nuts.



This salad is a great side dish for grilled meats and looks festive enough for any Christmas potluck events.




Beetroot and Citrus Salad
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa and brown rice mix
1 cup frozen peas
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sesame oil
450 gram can baby beetroot, drained and quartered
1 orange, segmented
4 tablespoons chopped pecan nuts
150 grams goat's cheese, crumbled

Cook quinoa in rice cooker with peas.
Whisk mustard, lemon juice and oil in a large serving bowl.
Add quinoa, peas, beetroot, orange segments, pecans and goat's cheese. Toss to combine and serve,

WCW- Curried Cashew and Cranberry Coleslaw

Potluck dinners are a staple event in our family, and now that I am gluten free I want to take something that I can enjoy, that also brings a freshness and some vegetables to the table!

This coleslaw is delicious, easy to put together, and goes well with a variety of different meats and other side dishes.

The salad is simple to transport, with the dressing on the side ready for mixing through before serving.



Full of yummy bits, this coleslaw is sure to be a crowd pleaser at your next event.



Try this at your next potluck and let me know what you think!

print recipe

Curried Cashew and Cranberry Coleslaw

by June-8-2016

Ingredients

• 1 bag broccoli slaw mix
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup roasted, salted cashews
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon white sugar

Instructions

Mix the olive oil, vinegar, curry powder and sugar together in a small bowl. In a large salad bowl, toss together the coleslaw mix, cranberries, nuts and seeds. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and stir through to combine.

WCW Festive Pasta Salad

It is the season for celebrations over food and wine, and what better way to celebrate than with a colourful pasta salad? Best of all, this is so quick and easy to put together. so you can spend more time socialising and less time in the kitchen!



Festive Pasta Salad

2 packets fresh green filled tortellini

1 jar green pesto with cashews

1 package dried cranberries

freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the fresh pasya according to the package directions. Drain and return to pan. Add pesto and dried cranberries, toss to coat. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Chill for at least two hours then serve.



Quick and delicious, perfect for your next Christmas side dish.

What's Cooking Wednesday #1

One thing I love receiving is recipe books- I have post it notes all over them with recipes I want to try.

Well, this year I have decided to bite the bullet and make one recipe a week that I have flagged in my recipe books. I trawl Pinterest and food magazines a lot, but some of my recipe books have great tried and true recipes and it is time to find some new favourites.

My first recipe comes from Annabel Langbein's cookbook The Best of Annabel Langbein This is one of my go-to cookbooks but there are lots of recipes in here I have yet to try. I wanted something light but filling for a hot summer evening, and the Grilled Chicken and Crispy Noodle Salad looked amazing. I was intrigued by the combo of bananas, avocados and pesto with chicken and bacon in a salad, but since my family enjoys all of these ingredients I figured it was worth a try.

I got all of the ingredients together (minus the pesto, which was in the fridge!)



You marinate the chicken in lemon juice and pesto with whole lemon slices- it smelt so good. The recipe called for grilling the chicken, but I had already diced it so I just cooked it in the pan.



Then it was a matter of tossing all of the ingredients together...



And adding the crispy noodles to serve. Yum!



The salad was surprisingly filling, and the combination of flavours worked well. I would happily make this salad again, and wouldn't change a thing.

I really recommend any Annabel Langbein books to any cook wanting a fantastic book for reading as well as recipes- the food photography in this cookbook is so vibrant and it makes me want to cook every time. She is a great New Zealand writer and a lot of her recipes adapt well for busy families.

Linking up with Wake Up Wednesdays.