Mango Avocado Salad with Pineapple Mint Dressing

In 2010, I started blogging after a good friend of mine, Serena from What A Sweet Life, convinced me to start posting all of my favourite recipes along with related photos online. She knew how much I loved cooking/baking + photography. We spent a lot of time chatting about food + photos. She strongly thought I would enjoy posting about both my passions and sharing them with others. I was very skeptical, but Serena is a smart girl + really enjoyed blogging herself. I am so glad I listened to her! I cannot even begin to detail what food blogging has brought into my life. Yay for the internet! *hah*

At first, the only people who read this blog were my parents, my sister, and a few friends. (Thanks guys!!!) But over the past two years, I have been lucky enough to increase readership and meet some of the most wonderful, kind-hearted and inspiring people throughout the process. I never would have thought that I could befriend someone I have never met before. But I've definitely made friendships with a variety of fantastic food bloggers that I now consider dear friends - friends whom I plan to stay in touch with for many years to come.

These wonderful friends I've made are extra special to me, as we share and understand one another's passion for food and photography. About a month ago, I was sitting reading blog posts by some of my favourite bloggers, and I thought "how great would it be if we could all meet up, share some dinner and chat until the late evening hours." Unfortunately, since we are all from different places in North America, we are unable to all meet up for dinner - well, for now at least! So, I thought, why not try a virtual potluck with some of my favourite people. 

I suggested the idea to the others and luckily everyone agreed! (Thank you! xoxo) We decided we would hold a virtual potluck on May 21, 2012, and highlight flavours of spring.

So, without further ado, please check out what everyone brought to the Veggie Virtual Potluck :)

First up, I brought the Mango Avocado Salad with Pineapple Mint Dressing. It's a delicious salad because it plays on the spiciness of the arugula, sweetness from the mango, saltiness + crunch of the macadamia nuts and sour/sweet combo of the dressing. Yum!!!

Salad Ingredients

• 4 cups (1 bag) of fresh arugula
• 1 mango; diced
• 1 avocado; diced
• 1/2 cup of macadamia nuts; toasted
• pineapple mint dressing

Pineapple Mint Dressing Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of pineapple juice
• 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped mint
• 1 tablespoon of sugar (or 1 tablespoon of honey)
• 4 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Method

1. In a small saucepan without oil, toast the macadamia nuts on medium for about 5 minutes, or until fragrant. Note: due to the oils in the macadamia nuts, they can burn easily. So be sure to flip them occasionally + keep a close eye on them.

2. Make the Dressing: In a jar, combine the pineapple juice, fresh chopped mint, sugar, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Shake, shake, shake to combine. Allow dressing to sit for at least 15 minutes before using.

3. Right before serving the salad, chop the avocado and toss with a small amount of the dressing. The acid in the dressing with help prevent the avocados from browning too quickly.

4. Toss the arugula with as much of the dressing as you like. I always put half of the dressing in, taste and then see if anymore is needed. Top the salad with the diced mango, toasted macadamia nuts and avocado. Enjoy!

Source: Baked Bree

And here is what my friends brought to the Virtual Veggie Potluck:

Peaches + Cream

Big Bertha Veggie Burger

The Vegan Chickpea

Super Green Salad with Strawberries

Vanilla + Spice

Avocado Potato Salad

Flavour

Broccoflower Guacamole

Will Cook for Friends

Peaches + Cream Granola Parfaits

Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes

Strawberry Rhubarb Coconut Crumbs Bars

The Healthy Wife

Lime Cilantro Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Hobby and More

Mint Thyme Tomato Chutney

Chard Cauliflower Carrot Wraps

Fork + Beans

Stuffed Bell Peppers

VIMWAC

Vegan Chocolate Banana Rolled Oat Bites

Thanks for checking out our Spring Virtual Veggie Potluck. Please be sure to stop by all of the participating blogs for some GREAT recipes.

Also, be sure to check out the blogs of a few others friends I've met through blogging! They are always so kind to leave me comments and I appreciate them a lot! They are also very inspiring + creative + talented! :)

Gastronomical Sovereignty

Une Gamine dans la Cuisine

Love.Peace.Happiness.Cooking

Munchin with Munchkin

Lysa's Cooking

Home Skillet

Oh My Veggies

Veg Recipes of India

Iced Vanilla Rooibos Latté

Wow! It is officially HOT here today. But I'm not complaining. :) I've been waiting all winter + spring thus far to experience such nice weather. I just cannot get over how humid it got over the past two days. I guarantee we'll have a thunderstorm tonight. And I loooooove thunderstorms. Great way to start a long weekend!

I also love chilled summery drinks on hot days such as these. And as much as I would like a delicious frappucino from the coffee shop down the street, I just cannot afford to shell out $6.00 every day all summer! *hah* So, I have decided that I will make my own homemade iced drinks this summer. Since I'm not much of a coffee drinker, I opted to make an iced tea latté today to cool myself down rather than your usual iced coffee. And it definitely hit the spot! I am looking forward to trying other flavour combinations over the summer. Next up - an iced chai tea latté.

Happy Friday everyone! :)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons of vanilla rooibos tea leaves
• 1 cup of water; heated according to the type of tea you are using
• pure vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of honey (optional)
• 1 and 1/2 cups of vanilla almond milk; chilled
• 1 cup of ice cubes

Method


1. Steep the loose-leaf tea in the hot water for 5 minutes. Strain. Note: you want the tea to be quite strong, as you will be diluting it with almond milk + ice.


2. Add honey (if using) to the steeped tea and stir well to combine. Add a splash of pure vanilla extract. Place the tea in the fridge to chill.


3. When ready to serve the latté, slowly stir the chilled almond milk into the chilled tea. Note: If you don't have time to allow the tea to chill a bit in the fridge, you can combine the almond milk, tea and ice cubes in a martini shaker and and chill the beverage that way.


4. Fill two glasses with ice. Pour rooibos latté over the ice and enjoy!


yield: about 2 cups


Source: Courtney original

Blueberry Feta Salad with Toasted Pecans

I'm just sitting on the couch, waiting for Mad Men to start, and thinking back over the lovely weekend I just had. (ps. I LOVE Mad Men - anyone else???) 

Friday, Jesse and I were supposed to attend a concert, but the artist (Buck 65) fell ill and was unable to make it to the city for his show. We were bummed, but thankful he's been able to reschedule his show for July! Yay! :) We decided not to cancel our date night, however, and we ended up going for a really nice long walk and stopped to have nachos with TONS of delicious guacamole out on a patio late Friday evening. So nice! I am so happy patio season is back! :) 

Saturday, we did a bunch of errands including a stop at Tall Grass Prairie to buy some homemade bread and fresh, whole wheat cinnamon buns. We sat outside enjoying the gorgeous weather + devoured our cinnamon buns. So yummy! Saturday was also my little sister's birthday. We met my family at The Keg for dinner. It was quite comical - two vegetarians at The Keg for dinner. *hah* We ended up sharing a delicious strawberry spinach salad with goat cheese + bruschetta. Yum! After dinner, we went back to my parents' place for cake. My sister requested her favourite Duncan Hines Sprinkle Cake. *hah* Some things never change! 

Today, on Mother's Day, we attended a pizza party at my grandparents' house. It was a really good time - my entire family had a giggle fit after dinner. I laughed so hard I could not stop snorting! *hah* It's great to have a giggle fit sometimes. My mom made a delicious cake for Mother's Day - a fantastic, rich chocolate cake with the best icing I've ever had. I'll have to get the recipe from her and share it on The Fig Tree soon. It was seriously the best chocolate cake I've ever had - and that says a lot. I've had a ton of chocolate cake in my lifetime! *hehe*

My contribution to tonight's Mother's Day dinner was this blueberry feta salad with toasted pecans. It's one of my very favourite salads. The blueberries and feta work so well together. Such a great, fresh salad for spring.

Hope you all had a great weekend as well. Looking forward to a busy week and a long weekend next weekend! Lots of cooking and baking coming up this week. I'll be participating in the Manitoba Food Bloggers Bake Sale, hosting a dinner party for some dear friends and attending a very special potluck. 

Wishing you all a fantastic, sunshiny week! 

Salad Ingredients

• 1 bag of spring mix (includes: frisée, romaine, spinach, radicchio and arugula)
• 1 cup of fresh blueberries; rinsed
• 1/2 cup of feta cheese; crumbled
• 1 cup of pecans; toasted & coarsely chopped

Maple Balsamic Dressing Ingredients

• 1 small shallot; finely diced
• 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of pure maple syrup (or 2 teaspoons of honey)
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a small saucepan on low-medium heat, toast the pecans for about 5 minutes. Note: keep a close eye on the pecans as they toast, as they can burn easily. You want them to be warmed through and fragrant. 

2. Whisk together all dressing ingredients + set aside. Allow the dressing to sit for at least 15 minutes, so the flavours have time to develop.

3. In a large salad bowl, combine the spring mix, blueberries, toasted pecans, and feta cheese. 

4. When ready to serve the salad, drizzle the dressing over top and toss well.

Souce: mom <3

Polenta Napoleons with Tomato Vegetable Ragout

These savoury vegetarian Napoleons are one of my favourite things to make. I love making them especially when I'm having company over. They look & taste like they took a ton of effort, but are really quite simple to put together. I bake the polenta rounds to create a bit of a crispy crust. Then I sandwich the rounds with a flavourful goat cheese and top them off with a homemade vegetable ragout and fresh basil. The napoleons could be served as an appetizer or as a main dish served along side a nice green salad with a light vinaigrette. 

The vegetable ragout is also delicious served as a pasta sauce or over cooked quinoa. I've also served the vegetable ragout over these Mediterranean Quinoa Veggie Burger patties with a sprinkle of Romano cheese. Delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 roll of store-bought polenta (or homemade polenta cut into rounds)
• 1/2 cup of cornmeal
• canola oil spray
• 8 ounces of goat cheese
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large zucchini, diced
• 5 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 yellow pepped, diced
• 1 can of tomato paste
• 1 cup of vegetable stock
• a handful of fresh basil, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat over to 325'F.

2. Cut the roll of polenta into about 14 rounds (about 1/2 inch thick). Press each round into the cornmeal to lightly coat. Spray each round with some canola or olive oil spray. Place rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in oven and cook for about 20 minutes. Note: the cornmeal crust will give the polenta a nice crunch.

3. Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil or canola oil. Add the diced onion and sauté until tender (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and sauté another minute.

4. Add the diced celery, zucchini and peppers. Sauté for about 10 minutes, or until the peppers start to softened nicely.

5. Mix together the tomato paste and vegetable stock in a small bowl and add to the sautéed vegetables. Allow mixture to simmer for about 5 minutes on low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add fresh, chopped basil.

6. Assemble: Place one polenta round on a plate then put 1 ounce of goat cheese on top. Press a small basil leaf into the goat cheese. Place a second polenta round on top of the goat cheese. Press down to ensure the napoleon will stay together. Top the napoleon with some of the tomato vegetable ragout. Repeat until all napoleons are put together. Serve warm.

Yield: 7 to 8 napoleons

Source: a Courtney original recipe