Green, Purple, and Citrus Salad with Tahini Lemon Dressing

Sometimes, when I find inspiring recipes on Pinterest, I try them out on myself. But sometimes the amount of ingredients and variety of flavors makes me want to share them with friends. I made this salad for a church potluck last Sunday. It is inspired by Tieghan Gerard who blogs at Half Baked Harvest. She shoots amazingly beautiful food photography. I encourage you to check out her site.

Note: When I tried to buy Red Grapefruit, I accidentally bought regular grapefruit instead. Be careful, if you do, in fact want that pop of pink.

 

Green, Purple, and Citrus Salad with Tahini Lemon Dressing

Inspired by Half Baked Harvest

Dressing

2 Tbsp. Tahini (sesame seed paste)

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tsp. Low Sodium Soy Sauce

Juice + Zest from 1 Lemon (use only half of the zest)

2 cloves Garlic, minced

2 tsp. Fresh Ginger, grated

Salt + Pepper, to taste

Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and stir until combined.

Salad

1 8 oz  can of Garbanzo beans

2 Tbsp. Low Sodium Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil

1/4 tsp. Chili Powder with a dash of Cayenne Pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spread the chickpeas out on a towel and dry them completely. In a small bowl, toss the garbanzo beans with the soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper. Pour out into a tin-foiled pan. Roast for 20 minutes and then stir the chickpeas around and roast another 10 minutes or until the chickpeas are browned. Remove from the oven, and set aside.

4 cups Tuscan Kale, chopped

2 cups fresh Broccoli florets, sliced thinly

1/4 head Purple Cabbage, shredded

1/4 cup fresh Parsley, chopped

1/4 cup fresh Cilantro, chopped

Black and White Sesame Seeds

2 Red Grapefruits, segmented, with all peel removed

2 ripe, but firm Avocados, sliced or chopped

Add the kale to a large bowl and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil and a big pinch of salt. Using your hands, massage the kale until it is well coated and has slightly softened. To the bowl add the broccoli, cabbage, parsley and cilantro. Toss well. Add the dressing and continue to toss until all the veggies are coated. Gently toss to combine. The salad will taste best if the dressing has a few hours to soak into the green vegetables. Just before serving, add the grapefruit, avocado, garbanzo beans, and sesame seeds.

Serve alongside Tahini Lemon Rice!

Prepare rice as you normally would, before bringing water to a boil, add Tahini paste, lemon juice, butter, and salt.

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake

I love making my own birthday cake. It's an excuse to try new recipes, experiment in the kitchen, and then share the results with my friends! This year I decided to tackle a Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake (inspired by my one-year old birthday cake, sans the lemon). I've made a lot of cheesecakes through the years. Sometimes I place fruit on top, or chocolate, but I've never added frosting to a cheesecake. I can't say where the idea came from, but it works so well, adding a fourth texture to this delightfully complex dessert.

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake

(Adapted from Baker by Nature)

For the Crust:

2 cups Graham Crackers, smashed into crumbs

6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted

For the Lemon Cheesecake Filling:

3 (8 oz) packages Full-Fat Cream Cheese, very soft

1 cup Full-Fat Sour Cream, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups white Sugar

2 tsp. Vanilla

3 large Eggs + 1 Egg Yolk, at room temperature

2 Tbsp. All-purpose Flour

3/4 cup Fresh Lemon Juice

2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Zest

3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Frosting:

1/2 cup of cream cheese mixture (from above)

3 Tbsp. Butter, softened

1/4 cup Powdered Sugar

Zest of one Lemon

3 drops of Yellow Food Coloring

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).
2. For the Crust: Crush graham crackers in a food processor, or by placing crackers in a bag and pounding with a meat mallet. Add melted butter; stir well to combine. Press down into a lightly greased 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
3. For the Lemon Cheesecake Filling: In a large bowl using a hand held mixer, beat the softened cream cheese and sour cream until smooth.
4. Remove 1/2 cup of cream cheese mixture (pre-eggs), set aside in refrigerator for frosting.
5. Return to the large bowl, add sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Then add in the eggs and yolks; beat until smooth. Stir in the flour, mixing just until combined.
6. Quickly stir in the lemon juice and zest, mixing just until it's incorporated in the batter.
7. Pour filling into prepared crust. Drop in blueberries, evenly.
8. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake sit, undisturbed, for 45 minutes inside the oven, with the door shut. The cheesecake should be still slightly wiggly.
9. Remove the cheesecake from the oven, run a knife very gently around the edge of the cake, and let it sit in the pan for another 15 minutes before covering loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerating for at least 6 hours.
10. For the frosting: In a small bowl with a hand-held mixer, combine cream cheese mixture with softened butter. Once smooth, add powdered sugar, lemon zest, and yellow food coloring.