The husband and I both have summer birthdays, one month apart, which means there have been lots of treats and indulgent meals lately. When we’re not in celebration mode, we’ve been opting for healthier fare to help balance things out, and these falafel and hummus bowls have quickly become a new favorite! ...
salad
Mexican-Inspired Hummus Bowls
Earlier this summer, I came up with a recipe to imitate Trader Joe’s cowboy caviar, and I’ve made it three additional times since then. The only downside to making it at home is that it doesn’t keep as long as the store-bought version—and I suppose that’s the natural tradeoff when there are fewer preservatives involved. Since the recipe makes quite a bit, I’ve been finding new uses ...
Chickpea and Apricot Salad
This will come as a surprise to, well, approximately no one, but wow - wedding planning sure involves a lot of work! Things are slowly starting to move along, but I feel like my approach leaves a lot to be desired in the way of logic and order. ...
Wild Rice and Sweet Potato Salad
After several weeks of plying you (and myself) with holiday treats, I figured we could all use some extra greens. I know, I know…most people don’t want to hear about salads until January, when the cold reality of New Year’s resolutions sinks in, but hear me out, because this wild rice and sweet potato salad is about as cheerful and celebratory as they come! ...
Strawberry Rhubarb Vinaigrette
It has been almost five years since I moved from California, and you know what I’m still not used to? Summer rainstorms and the staggering attendant humidity. Snow and the bitter cold I can handle – although I’ll gripe about it along with everyone else, for sure! At least I was mentally prepared for the cold. I mean, it’s all anyone talks about when you say that you’re moving to Michigan. ...
Mexican Quinoa Salad
Today is my first ever REAL snow day! I’m not going to lie – I’m pretty darned excited about it. In true graduate student fashion, however, I'm excited about it because it means that I can stay home and have time to work without interruption. My university cancelled class once last year as well, although technically that wasn’t because of snow accumulation, but rather because the ...
Mediterranean Chopped Salad
It’s always a challenge for me to put together quick, healthy dinners. I’m no good at planning a whole week’s menu and sticking to it, so when I go to the grocery store, I usually buy the ingredients for two or three specific recipes and then figure that I can create the remaining dinners from whatever happens to be on hand. ...
Walnut & Chicken Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette
I have a problem. I’m obsessed with pick-your-own-fruit orchards. First, I picked tart cherries in northern Michigan last month, and that was all fine and dandy and I limited myself to about six or seven pounds of cherries. Then, while visiting family in western New York last week, my aunt asked if I wanted to tag along with her to the blueberry fields, and I figured heck, why not? And so I picked ...
Cherry Poppy Seed Chicken Salad
Happy Monday! Today, I'm bringing you another recipe along the same lines as last week's cherry cornmeal buckle, to continue taking advantage of cherry season: cherry poppy seed chicken salad! ...
Mango Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing
It has been a crazy couple of weeks over here in the Cake Pants household. Final exams (both to study for and to grade), term papers to write, a wedding to attend on the opposite side of the country, a two-day professional workshop, and up next, another trip across the country for a graduation ceremony, and then a set of PhD exams at the end of the month…whew! Anyhow, it’s always difficult to plan ...