Apologies for the extended hiatus from this blog!!  When I saw the date of my last post…GASP!  I knew it had been a while, but I didn’t realize that I had been away for almost 2 months.  I did take a trip to the Mainland, which I will share soon, but that was only 10 days.  As I have mentioned before, time gets away from me on an almost daily basis, so there you have it.  And on to salad!

I love salads of all kinds, and can eat them any time of the day.  Salad for breakfast?  No problem!  This salad is simple, quick to assemble and delicious.  What made it so good was the combination of roasted beets, creamy goat cheese and walnuts.  Dress with a homemade vinaigrette {recipe from my friend Barb} and enjoy.  It doesn’t require many ingredients or much effort to create a tasty salad dressing, sans additives that you probably don’t want.

Mixed Greens Salad with Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese & Walnuts

Mixed greens, washed and spun dry
Roasted beets {you can use steamed beets if you prefer}
Onion, thinly sliced {sweet or red onions are good here}
Soft fresh goat cheese
Walnuts, broken
Salt & freshly ground pepper

Put mixed greens of your choice into a bowl or plate {I used arugula and romaine}.  Top with roasted beets, onions, goat cheese and broken walnuts.  If you have some whole walnut halves, put one on top for a pretty garnish.  Season salad with salt and pepper and drizzle with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Roasted Beets
{from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone}

Peel 2 large beets and cut into 1/2 inch dice
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place diced beets on a foil-lined sheet pan, so they are not over-crowded {or they will steam instead of roast}.  Toss beets with just enough olive oil to lightly coat {too much oil will yield greasy beets}.  Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Roast the beets for 25-30 minutes, until the juices begin to caramelize and the beets are tender but firm.

 

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp Meyer lemon juice {regular lemon is fine}
3 tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in a jar & shake to blend.

Notes:

• On my trip to Washington State, I had a salad almost identical to this one, but it included fresh blueberries.  I highly recommend the addition of berries to this salad.
• I am a huge fan of maple syrup, so I generally use it over brown sugar.

Bon appétit!