Recipe: Salads

A while ago, we had a bit of a gathering at our house and I decided to make some salads. Although I enjoy a regular lettuce salad, I do tire of them and I imagine others do as well. There is nothing special about them and other than add some fruit or make it a spinach salad or maybe using different dressings, you can't jazz them up all too much.

So I decided to try my hand at a grain salad and a beet-slaw.

GRAIN SALAD
5-6 cups Cooked Grains (at least 4 different kinds and at least one rice. I used a wild rice mixture from bulk barn, buckwheat, quinoa, barley and orzo)
1 cup Olive Oil (approximate)
2 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Vinegar (wine or cider)
1 tsp Sugar (or to taste)
2 cloves Garlic
sprinkle of salt and pepper

After cooking, mix grains thoroughly in large bowl to get even consistency. Set aside and let cool Put remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Taste to make sure it's to your liking. Pour over grains. The salad will soak up a lot of the dressing, so you may need to use more to get a good coating over the whole thing. Try to add dressing as close to serving as possible, as it will continue to soak it up as you let it sit.

BEET-SLAW
3 large Beets
2 Carrots or 1 large Carrot
1 stalk of Celery (optional)
1 cup Vegan Mayonnaise (veganaise, nayonaise or make your own)
3/4 tsp Seasoning Salt
1/2 tsp sugar
dash each Lemon Juice and Cider Vinegar
dash Dill Weed

Peel and shred the Beets and Carrots (and celery if you like) into a large bowl (wear disposable gloves if you want to keep your hands free of red beet dye). Combine remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and toss with the salad. use only enough to coat the salad lightly. Set aside in fridge, covered, for at least 1/2 hour. Enjoy!