by amvandenhurk | Plant-Based Eating, Salad
BBQ Chickpea Salad is a Rainbow
Rainbows make everyone smile. BBQ chickpea salad is a rainbow of colors, textures, and tastes. A family favorite salad meal that delights my guys and it is meatless. We love our salads in this house especially in the summertime.
Calling this a dump salad is doing it a disservice, but it is chop and toss. Just looking at the salad makes me smile with the layers of colors. Packed with lots of veg such as corn, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce. Warmed chickpeas in BBQ sauce tops it.
Simple and quick week day meal.
Weekdays can be busy any time of year, but when it is hot outside, I like to keep it easy. I use canned corn and grate my carrots, but you can use fresh corn and slice the carrots. We like blue cheese dressing (not vegan), but ranch works well with it. Do whatever works for you.
Looking for another great salad to enjoy during the summer? Try a bread salad.
Ingredients
- - 3 heads romaine lettuce
- - 1 English cucumber sliced
- - 2-4 tomatoes chopped
- - 1 can corn rinsed and drained
- - 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- - BBQ sauce to coat chickpeas
- - Blue Cheese or Ranch dressing
Preparation
- - Rinse and drain corn and chickpeas.
- - Chop lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes.
- - Heat chickpeas and BBQ sauce.
- - Toss dressing with salad.
- - Top salad with chickpeas.
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https://wellwornapron.com/bbq-chickpea-salad/ 
by amvandenhurk | Pasta, Plant-Based Eating, Salad, Sides, Vegetarian
Simple Pasta Salad for the Summer
It is the dead of summer where there is no escaping the heat and humidity. Too hot to grill even to grill. No one really wants to turn on the stove especially in the afternoon. I am no exception. Even boiling water feels too much. Making this simple pasta salad is worth turning on the stove for it though. I like to make the pasta salad in the morning while the air conditioning is still running before it switches over to day mode. Making it early allows the flavors to blend together by dinner.
l keep this salad as simple as possible. I use whatever smallish pasta I have in the pantry. In the summertime, I usually have fresh tomatoes and seedless cucumbers on hand. I do not usually have bottled salad dressings outside of real blue cheese dressing. I prefer to make my own such as Buttermilk-Basil and Basic Italian vinaigrette. The flavor is so much better and fresh tasting. Just takes a couple of minutes longer than it does to shake the bottle. It is also good to finely grate fresh parmesan cheese. Worth the extra effort on both counts. Really.
This simple pasta salad is good as a side to grilled meats and seafood as a stand alone meal.
Ingredients
- 1 16oz box of small pasta such as elbow
- 1 seedless cucumber, sliced and quartered
- 6 tomatoes
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
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- Basic Italian Vinaigrette
Preparation
- Boil water of pasta and cook according to directions on the box and drain setting aside.
- Chop cucumbers, tomatoes, and green onions placing in a large bowl.
- Sprinkle Italian seasoning into the grated parmesan cheese.
- Mix pasta with vegetables then add cheese and Italian vinaigrette.
- Chill for at least two hours.
- Serves a huge crowd and/or many lunches for days to come.
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https://wellwornapron.com/simple-pasta-salad/ 
by amvandenhurk | Salad, Sides
The Classic Wedge Salad Revised
The Wedge Salad has gotten a bad name. Mainly due to limp iceberg lettuce and heavy-handed blue cheese dressing use. And that it is a favorite at golf clubs.
It is a classic salad from the 1960s steak houses. No one really knows where it came from. Maybe it was Ruth’s Steakhouse, but no one can be sure. This salad was a staple at old-school steakhouses. It would be a head of iceberg lettuce quarter and a steak knife would be piecing it with bacon and blue cheese dressing.
The Wedge Salad fell out of favor with foodies. Once chic was now passe. Our tastes changed or you could say evolved. Iceberg lettuce was deemed lacking and more robust lettuces such as romaine, butter, and red leaf entered our grocery stores and our kitchens. Also, the fact the salad had bacon and blue cheese dressing made it seem unhealthy. A big no-no for many diet-focused folks.
The Wedge Salad needed a refreshment. Recently, it has made a comeback in restaurants. It has been updated with new ingredients.
I like a good Wedge Salad. When I make mine, I use romaine lettuce, which I always have in the fridge. Bacon and good quality blue cheese dressing still play major roles. Adding tomatoes gives it some added flavor, nutrition, and color. Of course, this salad is best served with steak.
Worth taking a look at this salad from the days of cocktails and steak dinners.
Wedge Salad Revisited Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 Roma tomato
- 3 slices bacon
- 4-6 tablespoons blue cheese dressing
Preparation
- Cook bacon until crispy; drain on paper towel.
- Chop bottom off romaine lettuce then wash and dry.
- Quarter romaine head placing on platter.
- Cube tomato.
- Scatter tomato and bacon on top of lettuce.
- Drizzle blue cheese dressing.
Hello! I'm Ann Marie and I wear the well-worn apron. Join me as explore plant-based eating while I live on an island off the U.S. state of Rhode Island.