Holiday Quinoa Kale Salad

with apples, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, pomegranate arils, crumbled feta and a light honey white wine vinaigrette

It’s Christmas Day and I hope you are spending time with loved ones right now or otherwise enjoying your holiday. Perhaps you’ll see this tomorrow, or the next day or even sometime next summer. I’m having a quiet day at home alone while my kids are off doing Christmas with their dad, so it gives me some much-needed time to catch up on things like blogging.

We had our Christmas celebration with my family a couple days early … instead of turkey or ham or goose this year, my dad made venison tenderloin. We had the customary mashed potatoes but I also made Colcannon. One of my sisters made roasted brussels sprouts and my other sister, well, she made the salad. Except she needed a little help. She knew what she wanted to make because she had this salad at a local restaurant, but she had no idea how to make the dressing. So I helped her make the salad.

Usually I make the salad, but my family always tells me I can’t get too creative with it or the kids won’t eat it. Sigh. Also, dad doesn’t like anything sweet on his salad. And nuts and cheese must be limited. So when my sister told me what was IN the salad she was making, I was in seventh heaven. It sounded like MY kinda salad! I asked her what kind of dressing was needed on the salad and she said it was a really light dressing, so I concocted a white wine vinaigrette, but then she said it was quite a bit thicker than what I had made, so I added mayo. That did it, it was just perfect. We made up some corn for the kids to eat and didn’t worry that they wouldn’t touch the salad … or that my dad doesn’t like nuts or cheese or fruit on his salad. We just served it … and everyone loved it. Well, perhaps not everyone, but I didn’t really care. My sis and mom and I … and yes, even my dad … loved the salad and I did see several others munching on it too. In fact my dad didn’t want me to take all the leftovers because he wanted some for lunch the next day.

We did no measuring when assembling the salad, but really, you don’t need to. Just toss it together until it looks sorta like this.

Next year, if I’m making the salad, I’m not listening to their limitations. Sometimes, people, you just gotta step outa the box.

Holiday Quinoa Kale Salad

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients

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For the honey white wine vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard
• A pinch of garlic powder
• A sprinkle of thyme
• 2 Tablespoons honey (or to taste)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 – 3 Tablespoons light mayonnaise

For the salad:

• Baby spinach leaves
• Fresh kale leaves (no stems), chopped fine
• Cooked quinoa
• Chopped apple
• Dried cranberries (craisins)
• Fresh pomegranate arils
• Toasted pecans, roughly chopped
• Crumbled feta cheese

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Instructions

1. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. In a large salad bowl, toss together lots of spinach and kale. Toss with a bit of quinoa, some chopped apple, and dried cranberries.
3. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, toasted pecans and crumbled feta.
4. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy!

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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