Grilled Eggplant Caponata Salad

About a month ago, it was just way too hot not to grill. I mean 80's in March in Buffalo?! I knew that I needed to take advantage of it while I could, because it was unseasonably warm and I knew it wouldn't last. I searched for some meatless grilled recipes, since we had been eating more meat than we usually like to, and came across this one on Delish. It definitely made a lot, but it was great! I could see this being a staple in the summertime, especially when tomatoes are fresh and plentiful from the garden! We at this as a main dish, but it would be delicious as a side salad along with a piece of grilled chicken or fish.

2 small Red Onions, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
2 small Eggplants (about 1 1/4 pounds each), cut into 3/4 inch thick slices
Nonstick cooking spray
4 medium Celery Stalks
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar 
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Ground Pepper
6 medium Plum Tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 cup Kalamata Olives, pitted and chopped
3 tablespoons Capers, drained
1/2 cup Italian Parsley Leaves, loosely packed

Spray both sides of the eggplant slices with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle onions, eggplants, and celery with salt and place them on a hot grill rack. Cover the grill and cook the vegetables for 8-10 minutes or until tender and lightly browned, turning once during cooking time. Remove the vegetables from the grill and set aside to cool slightly. Cut the eggplants and celery into 3/4 inch chunks and coarsely chop the onions. In a large bowl, mix together the vinegar, oil, sugar, and pepper until blended. Stir in the tomatoes, olives, raisins, capers, and parsley. Add the eggplant, onions, and celery, and gently toss to coat. Serve this salad at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

Wild Rice Salad

When I first signed up for Pinterest, this recipe from Fat Girl Trapped In A Skinny Body was one of the first things I repined to my "To Eat" board. I didn't know when I was going to make this salad, but I knew it was something I had to try. When we decided to host Easter dinner again this year, I immediately remembered this salad and added it to my menu. It is a great dish to make for a crowd because it is very easily doubled (although I still ended up making entirely too much!). Another plus is that it can be made up to 3 days ahead of time, so I made it on Saturday and put it in my fridge, allowing me to have more time on Sunday to finish the other dishes I had planned to make! The sweetness of the cranberries, the crunch from the toasted nuts, and the chewy texture of the rice really come together to make a delicious salad! I could see myself making a big batch of this salad on a Sunday and keeping it in the fridge to eat all week for lunch.

For the Salad:
1 cup Wild Rice
1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
1/3 cup Toasted Pecans, chopped
1/3 cup Toasted Unsalted Cashews, chopped
1/4 cup Scallions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Red Onion, finely chopped

Combine 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the rice. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Drain well (if necessary) and cool. Transfer the rice to a large bowl. While the rice is cooling, mix in the cranberries, pecans, cashews, scallions, celery, and red onions. Pour the dressing (recipe below) over the rice mixture and toss to coat. Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

For the Dressing:
2 tablespoons Red WIne Vinegar
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

Add all ingredients to a ball jar with a cover and shake to combine.

Egg Salad "Carrots"

Happy Easter! We are hosting dinner tonight with Joel's family and mine. There will be 10 people at our table, enjoying Easter staples like ham, Polish sausage, pierogi, and a few new-to-us dishes, which I will be sharing with you throughout the week. I had Friday off from work, so my mom came over to help me make the pierogi. We doubled the recipe I used last year, made them using a slightly smaller sized circle of dough, and ended up with close to 50! All that pierogi making made us hungry, so for lunch, I decided to whip up some egg salad, since I had hard boiled a bunch of eggs, anyway. I saw this cute idea on Pinterest, via Hungry Happenings, and slightly altered the method to share with my mom. Though I did not dye the biscuits orange, or top them with dill, they were still the perfect vessel for this egg salad recipe, which I found on the Food Network's website. Enjoy this beautiful spring day!

For the "Carrots":
1 tube Breadstick Dough (I used PIlsbury)

Break apart the breadsticks (there should be 12 in a tube). Use a cream horn mold, or, if you don't have one (like I didn't), take a store bought sugar cone and wrap it with tinfoil. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Take two breadsticks and pinch the seams of the width together. Starting at the tip of the cone, wrap the breadstick around the cone until it gets to the wide end. Bake on a foil lined baking sheet at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Once cooled, fill with egg salad.

For the Egg Salad:
1/2 Red Onion, chopped
12 Eggs
1 Celery Stalk, chopped
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Fresh Dill, chopped
2 tablespoons Whole-Grain Mustard
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Place the eggs in a large saucepan with a tight fitting lid and cover them with cold water by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, then cover the eggs, remove from the heat, and set aside for 8 minutes. Drain the water from the pan and cool the eggs by running the pan under cold water. Peel the eggs and roughly chop. In a large bowl, mix together the onion, celery, mayonnaise, dill, mustard, and lemon juice. Add the eggs and gently mix. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Warm Sweet Potato and Chickpea Salad

I really enjoy being a part of the recipe swap that is hosted by Sarah at Taste of Home Cooking. It has really expanded my recipe repertoire and for that, I am so grateful! Take this recipe from Melissa at I Was Born To Cook, for example. I was never a fan of chickpeas and only recently have been coming around to them. Because of that, I don't think I would have bookmarked the recipe if I had just been choosing recipes on my own. However, this week, the swap theme was "Healthy Recipes" and this was the recipe I was assigned. At first, I was a bit hesitant due to my lack of love for chickpeas, but in the end I'm so glad it was assigned to me because I really did enjoy it. The cayenne pepper gave the roasted sweet potato a little kick, and the tahini dressing is so fresh tasting with the parsley. I love that this salad was warm but that it still had a little crunch from the raw onions and chickpeas. I never would have thought to pair these ingredients together on my own, but now I am looking forward to cooking with chickpeas more often! Thanks, Melissa, for sharing this great recipe. I look forward to making it again!

For the Salad:
1 large Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2 pinches Salt
1 (15 ounce) can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 Yellow Onion, chopped
1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
1/3 cup Tahini Goddess Dressing (see recipe below)

In a large bowl, combine the sweet potato, cayenne, oil, and salt and toss until evenly coated. Roast on a baking sheet at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until soft. Allow the potatoes to cool slightly, then put in a bowl and add the chickpeas, onion, and parsley. Toss with the dressing and serve. Serves 2 (as a main course, but we ate it as a side dish so it went a little further!).

For the Tahini Goddess Dressing:
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Tahini
4 teaspoons Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Cider Vinegar
2 teaspoons Agave Nectar (I subbed honey and it tasted great)
1/3 cup Water
2 tablespoons Fresh Parsley, chopped

Place all ingredients except parsley in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the parsley at the end and mix well. Makes 1 cup.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

We had some butternut squash leftover in the freezer, along with half of a container of arugula in the fridge. Rather than forgetting about them until it was too late (like I tend to do too often!), I was going to combine them and make up some dish, but I was at a loss. At the last moment, I searched for recipes with both arugula and butternut squash and the first thing that popped up was this recipe from Ina Garten. It sounded awesome so I changed course and began to make this dish. We thought about adding chicken, but unfortunately, Joel burned his hand on the pan and ended up tossing it down, leaving the chicken to fly across the kitchen floor…hence the meatless dish! For a last minute dish, this made quite a delicious dinner.

1 Butternut Squash, peeled and diced
Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Maple Syrup
Salt & Pepper
3 tablespoons Dried Cranberries
3/4 cup Apple Cider/Apple Juice
2 tablespoons Cider Vinegar
2 tablespoons Minced Shallot (I skipped)
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
4 ounces Arugula
1/2 cup Walnut Halves, toasted
3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

Place the butternut squash on a sheet pan and add 2 tablespoons oil, maple syrup, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; toss. Roast the squash at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, turning once, until tender. Add the cranberries to the pan for the last 5 minutes. While the squash is roasting, combine the apple cider, vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until the cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Off the heat, whisk in the mustard, 1/2 cup of oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Place the arugula in a large salad bowl and the roasted squash mixture, the walnuts, and grated parmesan cheese. Spoon just enough vinaigrette over the salad to moisten and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.