We love a crisp green salad, but adding warm roasted cauliflower turns it into something a little more satisfying. Roasting brings out cauliflower’s natural sweetness and gives it those irresistible crispy brown edges. Tossing it with a little Turmeric & Tahini Vinaigrette while it’s still warm helps it soak up even more flavour.
Cool cucumber and fresh herbs keep everything light, while crumbled feta adds just the right amount of salty richness. Our Turmeric & Tahini Vinaigrette ties it all together with its creamy texture and warm, earthy flavour.
Serve this salad alongside grilled chicken or salmon, bring it to your next gathering, or enjoy it all on its own for an easy lunch. It’s colourful, flavourful and proof that cauliflower definitely doesn’t have to be boring.
Tip: Roast the cauliflower ahead of time and refrigerate it until you’re ready to assemble the salad. Add the greens and vinaigrette just before serving so everything stays fresh.
Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Turmeric & Tahini Vinaigrette
Golden roasted cauliflower, crisp cucumber, salty feta and plenty of fresh herbs make this salad anything but boring. Finished with our creamy Turmeric & Tahini Vinaigrette, it’s hearty enough for lunch and makes a beautiful side dish for dinner.
Nothing says “Hello Summer” quite like this gorgeous summer fruit salad. Packed full of height of the season cherries, refreshing watermelon, tart raspberries and sweet strawberries, all topped off with our Cranberry Strawberry Vinaigrette.
It’s hot, hot, hot here in the Okanagan, and I’ll take any excuse not to turn on the oven! Especially when all the fruit is ripe and ready for picking. This beautiful fruit salad isn’t just for looks though, it’s so refreshing and so much better than old school fruit salads where everyone just picks out the good bits. This salad is all the good bits!
What you need to make this summer fruit salad
Watermelon – Summer watermelon is the best for this recipe. It will make it extra sweet and delicious. Here are a couple tips for picking a good one:
Your watermelon should feel heavy for it’s size (this means it’s super juicy).
It should have a nice yellow (almost the color of a slightly ripe banana) splotch on it from where it was resting on the ground.
Try knocking on it – it should provide a nice “bounce” and have a hollow sound.
It shouldn’t be shiny.
Strawberries – You will need strawberries washed and sliced for this recipe.
Raspberries – Keep them whole and just toss them right in.
Cherries – This is probably the most time consuming part, pitting all your cherries. But if you want a quick little hack, check out this instagram reel for an easy way to pit cherries.
Fresh mint – This help bring out the freshness in this salad. Don’t have mint? No problem, you can easily swap in some basil to switch it up.
Taste of the Okanagan Cranberry Strawberry Vinaigrette – My go-to salad dressing for the summer. It works just as well in a spinach salad as it does with this fruit salad. You’ll seriously be using it on everything this summer.
A few tips when making this salad
Eat this summer fruit salad immediately after you make it. As this salad sits in the fridge, the fruits continue to release moisture, making the salad soggy and watery. It still tastes good, but the textures are best when served fresh.
To add a note of saltiness, feel free to add crumbled feta cheese (vegan or regular) to this salad.
We love the monochrome pink/red berries and watermelon in this salad, but you can absolutely switch it up by adding in different berries like blueberries or blackberries, or even add some grapes or peaches.
Summer Fruit Salad with Cranberry Strawberry Vinaigrette
Nothing says “Hello Summer” quite like this gorgeous summer fruit salad. Packed full of height of the season cherries, refreshing watermelon, tart raspberries and sweet strawberries, all topped off with our Cranberry Strawberry Vinaigrette.
It’s that time of year when backyard BBQs are in full swing and I’m always looking for a side dish that’s not only delicious, but that travels well. Something that’s cool and refreshing and not loaded down with mayo. Enter this crisp, light, and creamy cucumber salad. Farmers market cucumbers, lots of fresh herbs like dill, mint and parsley, some chickpeas for added protein and some red onion for bite and crunch. It all gets tossed in a healthy yogurt-based dressing that is so easy thanks to our Gaga for Greek Seasoning. If you’re looking for a summer side dish that goes just as well with juicy burgers as it does with grilled salmon, you’ll definitely wanna try this recipe.
Here’s what you need to make this salad
Cucumbers – obviously you can’t make cucumber salad without cucumbers, but what kind of cucumbers should you use? We like to use English cucumbers because they have fewer seeds and the skin is nice and thin, meaning you don’t have to peel them. That being said, you can make this salad with pretty much any cucumber you have on hand. If you want to use garden cucumbers you’ll just want to peel them first and scoop out the seeds so that the salad doesn’t become watery.
Fresh herbs – most garden fresh herbs will work in this salad, but stick to the soft leafy variety like dill, mint, parsley or cilantro. Save the woodier ones like sage and rosemary for cooking. Just rinse them clean, pat them dry and then pull the leaves from the stems and toss them in whole.
Red Onion – Thinly sliced red onion gives some bite to this salad, but if you find raw onions a bit too strong you can soak them in cold water for a few minutes to soften their flavour.
Chickpeas – This is totally optional, but we like to add a little protein. You could totally swap this for fresh summer corn, or leave them out altogether.
Greek Yogurt – Bright and tangy, Greek yogurt gives the dressing some creaminess, but keeps it light and healthy.
Gaga for Greek Seasoning – Next to the cucumbers this is the real star of the show. Our Gaga for Greek Seasoning makes is super easy to whip up this yummy Greek Vinaigrette. It’s also great rubbed on a chicken breast, and brings instant flavour to Greek potatoes.
Olive Oil & Lemon Juice – just to round out the dressing and give it a bit more punch.
How to make this Greek Cucumber Salad
This salad takes a bit of prep. If you have a mandolin it really comes in handy for thinly slicing all the cucumbers, but not to worry and good sharp knife is really all you need. You’ll want to slice the cucumbers about 1/4 of an inch thick, then pat them dry with a paper towel. Add them to a large bowl along with the red onions, chickpeas and roughly chopped herbs.
For the dressing, simply mix together the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil and Gaga for Greek Seasoning. You can use an immersion blender, or just whisk it together in a small bowl.
Toss it all together and serve right away, or put it in the fridge to chill for an hour.
Loaded with fresh herbs, this easy cucumber salad with creamy Greek vinaigrette is light and refreshing and perfect for your next picnic or bbq.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Servings: 6
Ingredients
2long English cucumbers
1/2canchickpeasdrained and rinsed
1/4red onion
1/4cupfresh mint leaveschopped
1/4cupflat leaf parsleychopped
2tbspfresh dillchopped
For the Dressing
1/4cupGreek yogurt
1/4cupolive oilextra virgin
2tbspfresh lemon juice
2tbspTaste of the Okanagan Gaga for Greek Seasoning
Instructions
Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, thinly slicing all the cucumbers about 1/4 of an inch thick, then pat them dry with a paper towel. Add them to a large bowl along with the red onions, chickpeas and roughly chopped herbs.
For the dressing, simply mix together the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil and Gaga for Greek Seasoning. You can use an immersion blender, or just whisk it together in a small bowl.
Toss it all together and serve right away, or put it in the fridge to chill for an hour.
Now that the weather is heating up, it’s the perfect time to whip up a big batch of pasta salad. This Olive Tapenade Pasta Salad is almost no-cook which is perfect this time of year, and it comes together so quick and easy you’ll want to make it all the time. What’s the secret? It’s as simple as opening a jar!
Our Olive Tapenade is not only a delicious dip or spread it works wonderfully with pasta. Swap out your jar of marinara for our Olive Tapenade and you’ve got yourself an easy dressing/sauce that works with both hot, or in this case cold, pasta. Throw in a few accompaniments like veggies, nuts, herbs, or cheese and put it on repeat all summer long.
How to make Olive Tapenade Pasta Salad
The ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need:
The Pasta – Short cut pasta works best in pasta salad. You want a shape that has lots of nooks and crannies to catch all the dressing. Think farfalle, fusilli or rotini.
The Dressing – This really is the easy part. Simply mix a jar of our Olive Tapenade with some Red Wine Vinegar and olive oil for a simple and tasty dressing. You can pick some up at the Kelowna Farmer’s Market or select wineries and specialty food shops throughout Western Canada. Or of course you can always order online.
The Accompaniments – This is where you get to mix it up and have a little fun. Use what you have in the fridge or play around with different add-ins every time you make it. Today we’re using cherry tomatoes, mixed olives, marinated artichoke hearts, cucumber, pine nuts and marinated bocconcini. We even reused the olive oil from the bocconcini to make the dressing. If you wanted to make it a little heartier, you could add in grilled chicken, tuna, or even chickpeas would be great.
Tips for cooking the pasta
Cook it in extra-salty water. Serving food cold tends to mute its flavors, so you want to make sure your pasta is well-seasoned as it cooks.
Cook the pasta a little longer. Since you’re not cooking it in sauce and serving it warm, cook the pasta a minute longer than you normally would, but don’t let it get mushy. Pasta gets hard and chewy as it cools, so this extra cooking time will keep it moist.
Add the dressing while it’s still warm. If you toss the pasta with the dressing while it’s still a little warm, it’ll absorb the dressing better and be more flavorful.
To make the pasta Salad
Start off by cooking your pasta according to the package instructions. Remember to cook it about one minute longer
While the pasta is cooking you can prep your other ingredients. Mix the tapenade with the red wine vinegar and olive oil. Chop your cucumber, shallots and tomatoes. Toast your pine nuts and tear some pieces of basil so they’re bite sized.
Once your pasta is cooked and drained, combine everything together in a big bowl, toss with tapenade and either serve immediately, or place in the fridge, covered, until you’re ready to eat it.
This is a nice recipe for prepping ahead of time for parties or even work lunches. The pasta holds up really well in the fridge and would be great to make on a Sunday for the week ahead. It actually takes on even more flavor as the salad sits!
Now thatthe weather is heating up, it’s the perfect time to whip up a big batch of pastasalad. This Olive Tapenade Pasta Salad is almost no-cook which is perfect thistime of year, and it comes together so quick and easy you’ll want to make itall the time. What’s the secret? It’s as simple as opening a jar!
A delicious salad full of autumn flavours. It makes a great accompaniment to your Thanksgiving or Christmas meal and comes together in a snap. Use pre-washed mixed baby greens and our Cranberry Pear Vinaigrette for an easy yet impressive dish.
1firm but ripe Bartlett pearsdo not peel, quartered lengthwise, cored, and cut into long, thin slices
1/2cupthinly sliced red onion
1/4cupsweetened dried cranberries
140gsoft goat cheesecan subsitute blue cheese
1/3cuptoasted or candied walnuts (see below)
Taste of the Okanagan Cranberry Pear Vinaigrette
Candied Walnuts
1cupwalnut halves/pieces
1/4cupwhite granulated sugar
1Tbspunsalted butter
Instructions
For the Candied Walnuts
Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat, add 1 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp butter.
Heat over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. When the sugar mixture starts melting, stir constantly until all sugar is melted and nuts are coated.
Transfer immediately onto a sheet of parchment paper and separate the nuts right away. Once the coating hardens transfer them to a bowl and set aside for your salad.
For the Salad
Place the mixed greens, onions, and pears in a large bowl.
Shake the dressing and pour over the salad. Toss to coat evenly.
Arrange the salad in a large serving bowl. Scatter the cranberries, nuts and crumbled goats cheese over the top. Serve immediately.
Summer has arrived and you know what that means… Strawberry Season! This twist on a old favourite swaps tomatoes for fresh-from-the-market strawberries. Paired with our Cranberry Strawberry Vinaigrette, made with balsamic vinegar, this salad is super quick to put together and makes a refreshing side to grilled chicken or other light summer meals.
