Child of the Wild Blue Yonder: food blogger

Julia Child Knows...

Spinach & Pomegranate Cous-Cous Salad

Lets talk about pomegranates for a second... they're kinda strange, right? In my opinion, it's kind of hard to work with the fruit to get to all of those delicious little seeds, called arils. Whatever the method you use to attain them (there are plenty of tutorials online) it's worth it. They're juicy, sweet, and not to mention pretty. Oh, and the seeds are very good for you, so don't be shy when snacking on them.

Pomegranate seeds make a wonderful addition to a salad. I used to make this wonderful salad with kale, and pomegranate seeds... thinking about it now is making me hungry!

Just recently, I was in the mood for that specific kale, and pomegranate salad that I used to make frequently when I was growing kale in the garden of my old rental house.

I had just gone grocery shopping, and unfortunately kale was not on my list... but I had spinach! It may not have been the kale salad I was craving, but it surely satiated the craving.

The recipe for this salad is extremely minimal and it makes a great side dish, or appetizer. Spring is finally hear, and the fresh taste of earthy spinach, light, and fruity pomegranate in a balsamic vinaigrette is reminiscent of blooming flowers, and that delightful after rain smell. :)

What You'll Need:

- 1/2 Cup Uncooked Cous-Cous

-Seeds of 1 Pomegranate

-1 Large Carrot, shredded

-2 Cups Spinach, chopped

For the Balsamic Vinaigrette

-2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

-4 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

-1 tsp Honey

-1/2 tsp Garlic, minced

-1/4 tsp Fresh Parsley, minced

-Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Bring 1/2 Cup of water to boil, add salt, and cous-cous, stir. Remove the cous-cous from heat and cover. Let it sit for about 8 minutes, and then fluff with a fork. Set aside to cool.

2. Seed the pomegranate, and prep all the vegetables.

3. In a small bowl combine the oil, vinegar, honey, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Set aside the vinaigrette.

4. Combine the veggies together with the cous-cous once the grain has cooled. Mix everything together and coat with the balsamic vinaigrette. Allow to sit in the fridge for at least a half an hour before serving.

We served our salad alongside Josh's buttery lemon and rosemary chicken. Mmmm!

Have I mentioned how aesthetically pleasing I find pomegranate seeds? Look at that, so juicy and red.

To remove the seeds from the fruit I scored the skin and pulled the fruit apart using my hands. Don't cut through, you don't want to cut into those delicious seeds! I then took each half of the fruit, cupping the opened half. Tap the top end of the fruit using a wooden spoon, and gradually the seeds will fall out. Like I said, there are quite a few different methods for removing the seeds from a pomegranate, but I am partial to this!

Add all the ingredients together in a large bowl, and stir together. Coat with the balsamic vinaigrette.

Cover and let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Serve this salad on its own or alongside your favorite entrees.

Bon Appetit!

Tropical Smoothie Bowl

cooking blog 10:34 AM

Biscuits and Gravy

biscuits and gravy 12:42 PM

Earthy Spinach "Pesto" with a bonus Recipe Download

delicious 1:02 PM

Free Download!

cute 9:11 AM

Tangy Asian BBQ Sandwich

asian barbecue 1:09 PM

Orange-Ginger Baked Beet Chips

baked chips 11:45 AM

Okay, is it just me or are chips probably the best snack in the world...? You can dip them... you can make nachos... I even put chips on my sandwiches sometimes when I'm looking for some extra crunch. Unfortunately, chips aren't exactly 'good for you.'

Luckily, there are so many alternatives to making chips healthier, and even better for you! For one thing, baking potato chips is already much better than frying! But using a root vegetable... that's actually good for you! So here's our version of beet chips! We soaked the sliced beets in orange juice, and ginger to really infuse the flavor before baking. The result was a chip that was just as addicting as a regular potato chip!

These beet chips make a great side to a sandwich, or even a random snack. I'd bet they're also great for dipping.

What You'll Need:

-2 Large Beets, peeled

-1/2 tsp Orange Zest

-Half Orange, juiced

-1/2 tsp Fresh Grated Ginger

-1/2 tsp Olive Oil

-Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Peel and slice the beets using a mandolin slicer to ensure thin even slices. Make sure the beets are sliced very thinly so that they get nice and crispy in the oven.

2. Place the sliced beets in a bowl with orange juice, orange zest, grated ginger, and olive oil. Mix with your hands ensuring that each beet is totally coated. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 350º F.

3. Bake the beets in the oven for about 15 minutes, flipping once half way through. Check to see that the beets take on a slight color change, and crinkle. Let sit out on a drying rack for a few minutes, season with salt, and pepper, and enjoy.

Be very careful when using the mandolin slicer! I've heard so many horror stories of people slicing off their finger tips! Lucky for me, even with my bad track record with knives, I have never experienced a mandolin incident! :)

After allowing the beets to soak for a bit, arrange them on a baking sheet and bake at 350º F for about 15 minutes.