From heart-shaped pancakes to strawberries on oatcakes, to peonies in the arms of a new friend, a few things that have been happening in our world
lately
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Excited – About our backyard garden. So far we have tomatoes, carrots, beets, kale, and lots of herbs that are proving a bit finicky when it comes to sprouting
Listening to – A lawnmower starting. The sprinkler next door kicks on. Five kids, with popsicles in hand, come running. Not far behind, one very fluffy (and happy) puppy. I add popsicles to my grocery list
Reading – David Sedaris' new book Calypso, after listening to his funny interview on Fresh Air. Favorite quote/thought:
“I feel like .. Do you remember when all of those young people took to the streets against gun violence? I wasn't jealous of them, but I felt kind of happy for them. You know that time in your life when you're young like that, and you really believe you can make a difference? I'm not saying that you can't make a difference when you're older or that a person can't make a difference, but there was just a light coming from inside of them. They were like lanterns, glowing with their certainty. You lose that as you get older. And I had it when I was young, so it's not like I had a chance to have it and I didn't, that when you're bitter. When you think ‘Gosh darn it, I didn't take advantage of that when I had it?' I did, I guess when you get further away from it, it makes you a little sad I suppose” ~ David Sedaris
Summer Reading List – After running across this list the Library of Congress published in 2012 of its top 25 “Books That Shaped America” I've decided to make my way through them. There are so many classics
Loving – The newness of summer. Neighbors gather with loosened ties after a long day at work. This past Sunday a surprise concert. Across the street, a wife throws open the garage door, and her husband's band plays classics well into the evening. Friends gather to drink champagne and eat dessert with our fingers
Pondering – Do you have a favorite smell? Lately, I've been thinking a lot about this when I'm out for my evening walks. So far, I've come up with two. One is the scent of charcoal on a warm summer's night. Although a close second? The smell of sweating celery and onions – the aroma of Thanksgiving
For Dinner – Hummus heaped with cucumbers and tomatoes. Oh my goodness, so addicting
A close second – Bon Appetit's California Veggie Sandwich
Eavesdropping – On conversations of water-walkers at the pool. If my favorite ladies are there, I love to hear what they've been up to. If not, I walk alone in the sunshine and listen in on everyone else. The other day I kept a comfortable distance behind two women. One told of her daughter's boyfriend woes. Just as it was getting good .. she got out(!)
Thankful – for weekend sleep-ins, a block of sharp white cheddar in my backpack, hula skirts on the rosé, and brewing thunderstorms
Cooking – from a few of these summer cookbooks. Especially Fresh India with all of its veggies and bold flavors. Also, Eat a Little Better by Sam Kass, who cooked for the Obama family when they were living in the White House
Finding – myself driving through campus if only to see the geese at Lake Laverne. It reminds me there is still kindness in the world when, for the smallest moment, time stands still. Professors in their BMWs, coffee-clutching mothers in minivans, city buses, garbage trucks, and helmet-clad bicyclists all come to a stop and wait patiently as a mother goose, and her gaggle of eight make their way across the road to safety
I'll never tire of the sight. An entire civilization making way for another. Ceasing business, as usual, to usher in an everyday miracle
Date Nights – If you have a chance, take your Sweetie to see Adrift. It's such a great story
Cooking short-list – Summer Minestrone Soup .. Avocado Toast Salad .. Gluten-free pizza crust .. and Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake (GF)
Realizing – that change doesn't have to be so scary after all. The past month I've been working my way through, what feels like, a big life transition. What I've come to realize is that change isn't about having faith in your ability to fly, to rise above, to conquer your dreams. It's about having faith that whatever the fall may be, it's not going to kill you
I'm not sure what sort of crossroads you're walking toward (and we all will at some point(s)). I don't know if it's a total overhaul, a lifestyle shift, a career move, a life-changing decision
Maybe you just want to start playing the tuba. (Maybe you want to quit playing the tuba). As with everything in this world, it's all very fleeting. You run the risk of losing it all. The small notoriety, the general comforts of knowing what you're doing, of feeling comfortable, of feeling ok
Changing things up is certainly a risk. It may never look the same
But then again, it might never look the same
Wishing – For you, a wonderful Wednesday. As always, sending lots of love. Thank you so much for being here
xx
If you're looking for a new salad to add to your summer rotation, consider this
We're talking ground lamb spiced with the flavors of Morocco, tossed with roasted carrots, kale, greens, and a lemony tahini vinaigrette. You've got crunch from the toasted pine nuts, and brightness from the pomegranate seeds. I imagine it would be great with some toasted flatbread on the side to scoop up the bits
It's delicious, flexible, and completely satisfying. It makes a great, weeknight meal. You can prepare most of the components ahead of time, and throw it together in less than ten minutes when you're ready to serve
Enjoy!
xoxo
~ Adapted from Cook Real Food Every Day
Moroccan Lamb and Kale Salad with Lemon-Tahini Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- Moroccan Lamb and Kale Salad
- 1 ½ lbs ground lamb
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tsp Moroccan spice blend
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 large bunch baby carrots, halved lengthwise
- 1 bunch lacinato kale, shredded
- Lemon-Tahini Vinaigrette, divided
- 1 head frisee lettuce, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup fresh parsley leaves
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds
- ⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted
- Lemon-Tahini Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup fresh mint, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp tahini
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 small shallot, minced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Moroccan Lamb and Kale Salad
- Preheat oven to 425° F
- In a large ovenproof heavy-bottomed skillet, saute lamb over medium-high heat until crumbly and no pink remains (~ 10 minutes)
- Stir in garlic and Moroccan spice blend; cook until browned and fragrant (~ 2 minutes)
- Toss carrots in hot drippings in skillet, and saute for 1 minute. Transfer skillet to oven
- Bake, stiffing carrots once, until golden and tender (~ 15-18 minutes)
- In a large bowl, massage kale and 1/4 cup lemon-tahini vinaigrette until well coated. Toss in frisee and parsley
- Divide salad among 4 serving dishes
- Top with lamb mix, carrots, pomegranate seeds, and pine nuts
- Serve warm with remaining lemon-tahini vinaigrette
- Lemon-Tahini Vinaigrette
- In a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, add all of the ingredients and shake vigorously until well combined
- Season with salt and pepper
- Let stand for twenty to thirty minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld
79 Comments
I am a huge fan of meals in which I can make parts of it ahead of time and then just throw it together after we get home on busy weeknights. This salad sounds wonderful.
Your backyard garden is beautiful and so is the salad! I love all the different leafy greens and the dressing sounds amazing. The pomegranate seeds and pine nuts – oh, yeah! Yum!
Ever since I made Tyler Florence’s Moroccan brick chicken with the couscous pilaf and yogurt mint sauce I have been obsessing over Moroccan food. Looks delicious!
The salad looks so delicious and adding meat makes it a complete meal for the guys in the family. Like how you used kale in the salad.
so good…so good, so good, so good! I’m getting married in 10 days… and this salad is quick and delicious and I just might eat it VERY regularly until the big day! My fiance and I are in love with food and cooking almost as much as we are with each other. But out of the two of us, I am admittedly the one with the major addition to your blog (I don’t mean to scare you here, I promise, I just love your recipes!). So all I can say is: thank you! – Aylin
Your garden looks fabulous. I wish I could grow stuff but alas, I have a black thumb.
This looks like my kind of salad. I could have this and then eat a cookie and not feel so guilty.
This recipe looks so yummy. Your garden is beautiful. Hoping I have a great harvest this year to make some yummy salads as well.
Your Moroccan salad looks delicious and so picture perfect. I am unsure about lamb. I have not eaten lamb much so I would be tentative on that here. But the rest of it looks incredible and healthy too. Love new salad ideas in the summer months. They are vital to keep meals fresh and interesting.
What a colourful and vibrant salad that’s good beautiful. Great colours and flavours too.
I’m not a fan of salads, unless they are loaded to the brim with flavors. You have done that with this tasty lamb and kale salad, with those yummy moroccan flavors.
This salad looks tasty. I’ve never had lamb in salad before.
I am SO jealous of your garden! I kill everything I try to grow! I would love to go out in my garden and just pick veggies to eat! It sound like you are at the beginning of a great summer!
Gahhhh I wish my garden had more! This recipe is deliciousl! Lamb and Kale are two of my favorite ingredients.
Sounds like you have a nice amount of fresh veg growing in your garden. I have gooseberries growing at the moment – I’m very pleased with myself. I have been showing my friends that salads can be yummy for years and this one really does prove my point. I wonder if I can make it as well as you have.
Looks fantastic! I would happily serve this to my family and friends. I enjoy a good salad in the summer, when veggies are at their peak.
Oh my, I LIVE for Moroccan food – this is definitely going into the menu bank for another weeknight Moroccan fantasy (I wonder if my fiance is sick of it by now?… oh well!)
Gosh your yard is something amazing! This salad looks like something from a gourmet restaurant!
My dream is to have a backyard garden (raised beds and all) just like the one you have! And that salad looks amazing. Would not have thought to try lamb with a salad. I bet it tastes soo good.
I would love to have a friend that’ll just hand me a bunchful of peonies, just like that! Also, how is it growing kale? I am tempted to try but am afraid it’ll be hard!
Sitting here in the extreme heat, feeling sorry for myself and there you were in my inbox, talking about a new salad! Somehow the thought of making it for dinner tonight warms my heart. A wonderful change from the veggie soup that’s been on repeat
The freshness of this salad is next level. I need to try this one out!
Are all those ingredients freshly taken from your amazing backyard?!?! I have started to fill my terrace with fresh basil, mint, and pepper and I can’t wait to cook all my beloved vegetables and pasta with them!! (yes, in Italy we hardly have backyards when we live in cities but in the south, where I live, we often have terraces).
Your garden looks great. My beets isn’t doing so well, it’s my first time trying to grow it. That salad looks so good!
This salad really good! I normally don’t like salad without Mayo but I would definitely eat this.
Been wanting to have a mini garden in my backyard but my place could not accommodate such. Hopefully I can try gardening even some plants that I can also use to when I am cooking. Would just put it into small pots to grow.
I am a pescetarian so I’d skip the lamb, but wow, that salad looks delicious! I love colorful foods and that definitely checks all the boxes.
This sounds terrific! Moroccan food is one of my favorites (and yes, I visited Morocco in 1994, where I acquired a bunch of cool stuff, most of which broke on the trip home). Preserved lemons to me are one of those ingredients like fish sauce which are hideous on their own but become delicious as part of a dish. They’re really easy to make too – I wait until lemons in a bag go on sale and I make a big jar – and keep pretty much forever. Can’t wait to try this dish.
What a beautiful and vibrant looking salad. I love kale in a salad to change things up and the addition of lamb would make my husband happy too.
love that you added pomegranate seeds, I would eat this but without the meat. Your veg garden coming on better than mine
It sounds like your garden is really taking off all those different veggies you have planted YUM!
This salad sounds delicious as well I LOVE kale!
Oh wow your garden is beautiful! I am very jealous, I’d love to grow my own vegetables! The salad looks delicious and way more my kind of meal with the lamb in there too!
The summertime is always great and your garden sounds like a lovely place to spend some time x
That is one extraordinary looking salad! All my favourite flavours wrapped up in one bowl. Who knew kale could look so good!
Love your garden!!! Love the colors you have incorporated in it. This salad looks exactly what I would fix. Thanks for sharing.
Moroccan flavours are some of the best I think and lamb and pomegranate is just perfection!
YUM! I love lamb and I love salads and am definitely going to give it a try this summer. Thank you for the recipe!
Wow, that sounds like a perfect salad for these summer days! Today was a horrible eating day and I think I’ll make up for my lack of vegetables with this salad tomorrow! Thanks for the inspiration to get with the weather
Look at your garden! So full of life, it’s so exciting when the veggies start to pop through the soil. I’m also loving the newness of summer. It’s making me feel like a whole new person. Salad looks gorgeous!
Everything about this piece just sounds like summer to me. i love the idea of relaxing on a summer evening, looking out at the neighbors and just enjoying life. I would love that. So amazing. As for favorite dishes I like variety. Probably steak or something seafood. I would love And the salad looks absolutely delicious as well. Wouldn’t have thought to add lamb, but it looks great. Hope you continue to have
not the biggest kale fan but in this recipe works wonderfully plus it looks so good that even hubby said “we must have this again” and he is a fussy eater with greens ! im going to make it again over the weekend
My neighbor is growing kale this year and planted extra just for me. I cant wait until I have fresh kale.
Salad looks yummy but more than that, I loved the style of your writing, thank you
I love lamb, always have it every Sunday and I am happy to be able to try this. Looks so delicious and the colours are amazing.
I just wanted to say that I LOVE your blog. I too enjoy cooking and your blog makes me deliciously happy. I look forward to reading more. 🙂
I love that quote about being young and feeling like you can make a difference. It reminds me of when I was in college. I got really into environmental activism and fell into a group of friends who were really into it to (naturally since we were all involved in the same organizations). We went up to DC for protests and did stuff on campus. I’m definitely still concerned about those same issues, just a bit less idealistic than I was then. But that time is great because you have lots of energy and the real world hasn’t quite hit you yet.
Just discovered your lovely (and addictive) blog! So fun to see a few photos of your garden. For another summery salad, I like one from Citizen Cake– hearts of romaine, chunky bits of bacon, cool slices of radish, and a buttermilk bleu cheese dressing. Delish! 🙂
This salad is so pretty and colorful! I’ve never had lamb and pomegranates in a salad before. Looks tasty!
xoxo
Annie
I try to bring a salad to work whenever I can, at least 3x a week. Thank you for giving me another version to try, since I’m getting a little tired of my usual mixed greens w/arugula and raspberry vinaigrette. 🙂
I love a good salad and this looks and sounds just heavenly!! I shall be making this very soon
It can be little odd reading blogs from the northern hemisphere, particularly when talking about salad days when it is winter. I will have to wait another 6 months to enjoy some of the summer salads you are craving. Similarly, here is my most favorite salad (modified and courtesy of the genius of Alice Waters) that could be difficult to make in Seattle at least until the autumn: Slice some bread into batons, wrap with prosciutto and grill. Toss together sliced fresh figs and muscadel grapes with red radicchio/Treviso. Dress with balsamic vinegar and olive oil (truffle if extravagant) and garnish with the prosciutto batons. Salty, sweet, spicy, bitter and savory. This is the closest that European style food gets to the ideals of Thai cooking…
I am loving your garden! And I love a salad so much! I always forget how good they are until I eat them haha I cant wait to try this out with a veggie alternative
Your backyard is just too cute; fresh produce right from the farm speak of an absolutely awesome lifestyle. Anyway, today’s recipe looks as yummy, colorful and enticing.
Very scrumptious!
Check out the Zuni Cookbook and its fantastic salads. They are truly quite awesome. My husband and I often enjoy a simple salad of rocket (or dandelion greens), oranges, dates, and prosciutto, maybe some toasted almonds as well. It makes for an easy and flavorful meal indeed!
The salad looks so good.. but I just have to mention that as I’m writing I’m enjoying a DELICIOUS ginger apricot cookie that I found in your archives. It’s stinkin’ hot in North Carolina also, but never too hot for cookies! As long as the air conditioning is on full blast in the kitchen…I’ve been following your blog for a while and loving it…
Your backyard garden is lovely! I’d love a space where I could plant fruit and veggies. That salad looks mouthwateringly good – I do love a tasty salad in the summer
this salad literally has all of my favorite ingredients. i love lamb and during the summer tend to grill it more but this is a great idea on using ground lamb. love it.
What a lovely garden you have, it’s nice to see how well it is coming on! The Moroccan lamb salad seems like the perfect meal for a summers day, I could veto the meat and still really enjoy this. I love anything that is easy to put together like this.
i just got back from a trip in Morocco and i love their food! and how timely i came across this as i was actually looking for recipes! so excited to try this!
Long time reader, first-time poster since I started a site of my own – but your writing and food have never failed to inspire. What a gorgeous looking salad – the dressing seems like a great variation for summer. ps: I just picked up a copy of Calypso at the bookstore the other day and am excited to read it. Love David Sedaris. x
I am just planting my new garden so i hope maybe next year i’ll have all that goodness and can make such a delicious dish from my own grown veggies
This looks so delicious. And I love kale. I need more salads that are fresh and healthy to make. Such a great suggestion!
Honestly, this salad looks out of this world – like all the meals you feature on the blog !
Hummus with cucumber and feta cheese is my favourite summer obsession.
This looks like a delicious salad to enjoy. I’ve never had lamb before but I hear it’s delicious!
I think change is good. It definitely makes life a whole lot more exciting. I mean fear of change is just for boring people …
Love this salad so much! It’s so colorful and beautiful and I love that there’s lamb in it! Yum!
This looks like the perfect summa salad. I love all of the flavours.
I would be excited too if I had the pleasure to do a little garden like yours! This salad is the perfect choice for summer!
Your garden looks beautiful. Watching plants grow makes me so happy. We’ve moved, and I miss my little garden so much. I hope I can carve out a little corner in our new yard soon.
I wish I could grow a vegetable garden too. But I have such limited space that I can only grow herbs in small planters. Your salad looks really delicious! My husband has been asking me to make salads more often. I will add your recipe to my list.
I really need to try Lamb again… I stopped eating it because it was the last thing I ate before the day I had emergency stomach surgery – so I associate it with that but I know it wasn’t the cause! Ha!
I would definitely love to try this kale salad, especially since kale is full of so many nutrients and antioxidants. Oh and in terms of my favorite smell, it has to be a tie between the smell of freshly baked bread and the aroma of a curry, they are both intoxicating scents to me. And naturally because I am always hungry, of course a food scent would be my favourite wouldn’t it?
This was an awesome salad. We scarfed it down and went for seconds immediately! xx
what a great salad idea… the rich savory flavor of lamb is an amazing way to add depth to that salad making it great for any occasion… your backyard garden looks like it has a good layout. I have a garden in the backyard too! fresh picked tomatoes and green beans and any veggie really is the best! I wish I could grow many varieties of fruit in MN, but at least I get lots of veggies ; )
Beautiful post, that salad look delicious! I will attempt it but without pine nuts! And I agree about the comment regarding change it does not have to be scary but can actually be really liberating and necessary! Thanks for sharing.
I love the recipe here. I am a huge fan of any dish with some lamb in it. Your back garden is lovely. I wish my garden was as interesting.
This post captures the essence of early summer perfectly. I have a similar favorite summer scent, but mine is campfires 🙂 Also, I love kale salad so I really want to try this recipe!
Mmmmm, this looks and sounds delicious! And the recipe looks so easy to follow too 🙂 I have a few of these ingredients in the cupboard, so I might have to give this a whirl! Is there anything I could substitute the kale for though, as I’m not a massive fan of it LOL x
Hi! I just started following your blog so I wanted to say hello. I love your recipes and your posts are so fun to read! I especially enjoyed this one 😉
Just made the dressing! I am so excited to use it on my salads this week – I also bought some pre-washed salad (which I normally don’t) – so this week, I’m livin’ on easy street!
This sounds fabulous! And exactly what I’m looking for this time of the year–HEALTHY!