Moroccan Spiced Carrot Salad (Paleo & Vegan)

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To my surprise, little baby carrot heads were popping out from the surface of our garden beds back in early March. They were from seeds planted last year, ones that didn’t sprout before the season ended. And somehow, they grew on through snow and frost and unpredictable Colorado spring weather... hardy little plants to say the least! I’m planning to xeriscape our front yard this year, and build brand new garden boxes, so I’ll likely have to wipe them out before they get fully grow, but maybe they’ll have enough time to grow into baby carrots before then. 

Moroccan Carrot Salad is a quick recipe and perfect for carrots big or small: only 4 real salad components, if you don’t count the spices that give it that Moroccan flare. Carrots, parsley, raisins, and lemon vinaigrette. Then, ground cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne, and cinnamon pop in and dress it up. Thanks to those spices, this carrot salad really stands out. 

I use a food processor (affiliate link) with a shredding attachment to shred the carrots — I do not have the patience to do that by hand! 

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This is the perfect side to Moroccan Beef Kabobs, or Lamb & Winter Squash Tagine.

Moroccan Spiced Carrot Salad

Published April 17, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 6   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 cups shredded carrots
• 1/3 cup minced parsley
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 dashes ground cayenne
• Juice from 2 lemons
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Place shredded carrots in a bowl with minced parsley and raisins. Add cumin coriander, paprika, cinnamon, and cayenne and toss.
2. Make vinaigrette: Mince the garlic and add it to a jar with the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Shake to combine. (Makes enough dressing for 2-3 salads). Drizzle about 1/3 of vinaigrette over salad, or to taste. Toss and serve!

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Rhubarb Ginger Lemonade

“That’s a lot of rhubarb,” the cashier said, as he picked up the bag and placed it on the scale. I shrugged. What is "a lot" of rhubarb, anyway? Rhubarb season is only so long and the rhubarb plants in my garden are so small, buying pounds upon pounds of it is the only thing to do. 

So why so much rhubarb? Well mostly, I wanted to make this rhubarb crisp over and over again. But also, I had dreams of a pink lemonade with tart rhubarb notes, and a rhubarb ice cream. This recipe is the result of the first dream -- the ice cream is still a work in progress. 

Rhubarb is pretty tart on it's own, so honey lends natural sweetness to this drink to balance out the lemons and rhubarb juice. The addition of ginger adds a bite, making this lemonade super refreshing and rounding out it's flavor profile. (I LOVE ginger in lemonade!)

And that color? It's totally natural! The batch of rhubarb I used to make this lemonade was super pink to start with, so if your rhubarb is a softer hue of pink, I would expect your juice to end up a softer shade of pink, too. 

Mix it up: There are a few twists you could pull on this recipe, including topping it off with sparkling water (spritzer, anyone?), or adding a shot of tequila for an springtime hard Rhubarb Ginger Lemonade. Give them both a try! 

Rhubarb Ginger Lemonade

Published April 19, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped rhubarb
• 3-1/2 cups water, divided
• 1-1/2 inch ginger root, minced
• 4-5 lemons (about 1 cup lemon juice)
• 1/3 cup honey

Directions:

1. Add chopped rhubarb, 1/2 cup water, and ginger to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, until rhubarb is soft.
2. Place a strainer over a bowl. Pour rhubarb mixture through strainer, catching water and juices with bowl. Using a spatula, press all of the juice out of the rhubarb chunks. Then, discard rhubarb pulp.
3. Juice the lemons. Strain lemon juice to remove any seeds. Pour lemon juice into the bowl with the rhubarb juice. Add honey and remaining 3 cups water, and stir until honey is dissolved. Chill before serving, and pour over ice in glasses.
4. Note: you can also top off your glass with sparkling water or add a shot of tequila!

Spring Salmon Burgers Made with Canned Salmon

I loooove salmon burgers but pre-cooking a fillet and using that to make burgers -- or mincing up raw fish - is too much to ask of me on a weeknight. So, this recipe uses canned salmon instead. If you make them I think you’ll be amazed at how fancy a simple can of salmon can become with just a few extra ingredients!

Mix in fresh herbs for a burst of flavor: these burgers use parsley and fresh baby dill, which gives each bite a pop or flavor. Onion, garlic and cayenne help too!

Use something that will give the burgers a crispy crust. You can use almond flour or bread crumbs, but my favorite is cornmeal. It toasts up on the edges, giving the burgers a nice crispy finish. Plus, I pretty much always have a quarter cup of cornmeal laying around.

Keep it all together: Because this recipe uses canned salmon, you need something to glue everything together. For this recipe, you need to add an egg into the mix. If you were using raw salmon, you might be able to skip this, but here you need it.

Stir, but not too much: This is more of a personal preference. I mash the mixture with a fork, but only just enough to get the egg, cornmeal, and herbs mixed in. I try to leave some of the salmon in small chunks because it gives the final burgers a flakey texture. If you mash the fish too much, the burgers will still taste fine, they’ll just be lacking some flakiness.

Serve with a creamy, tart sauce. These are served with a lemon-yogurt and dill sauce, which brightens up the dish and compliments the herbs in the burger. Tradition tartar sauce would work too.

In these pictures, I served the burgers over baby greens with radishes and sprouts, but they'd also be fantastic over Green Machine Slaw, or Roasted Asparagus and Raw Radish Salad. Plus, a glass of rosé, which really made my canned salmon meal feel extra fancy 😉

Spring Salmon Burgers Made with Canned Salmon

Published April 17, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 3   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the Salmon Burgers:
• 1 six ounce can of salmon, juices drained
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup cornmeal or almond meal
• 1 tablespoon minced parsley
• 1 teaspoon minced dill or 1/4 teaspoon dried dill 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoon minced onion
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

For the Yougurt Sauce:
• 3 tablespoons greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh dill, minced, OR 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/16 teaspoon each salt & ground cayenne

Directions:

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine salmon, egg, cornmeal, parsley, dill, salt, cayenne, and minced garlic & onion. Using a fork, mash just enough to incorporate the ingredients, leaving the fish flakey still.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. When the oil glistens, shape salmon mixture into three equally-sized patties, about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick, and place in skillet. Cook on the first side for about 7 minutes, then, use a spatula to flip to second side. Outside should be crispy and golden.
3. While the salmon burgers cook, make the yogurt sauce: combine ingredients in small bowl and stir until smooth.
4. Serve salmon burgers as desired — on buns, over greens, etc - with a smear of yogurt sauce on top, and extra dill or cayenne if desired.