I can’t believe summer is coming to an end!
This has been a fun, but busy summer. My family and I have literally been to one of our two cottages every weekend. I do laundry, fold it, and pop it back in the suitcase. All my laundry, housework and grocery shopping is condensed into 3 or 4 days. I’m not going to lie, I’m sort of looking forward to September, and having a bit more time to fit everything in. That being said, I’m going to try and completely soak up these last few days of summer. The other day I asked my son if he was excited to start Senior Kindergarten soon, and he said, “mom, let’s just enjoy the summer.” What a good reminder to live in the moment, and be present.
One of the interesting aspects of cottaging every weekend is thinking of healthy, delicious meals to bring up every weekend. John and I love food, and so do our extended families, so it’s not an official competition to see who can bring the best meal, but we’re all secretly competing.
At the beginning of the summer, my sister brought up a salad inspired by one of the Farm Boy buffet salads. It has roasted sweet potatoes, chickpeas, shredded coconut, swiss chard and is drizzled with an amazing sesame ginger dressing. Well, she recreated it, and blew us all away. I will not take credit for the salad, but I did manage to re-create a healthier version of the bottled dressing (no nasty oils or preservatives), so I’ll take credit for that. If you want to blow your family away at the next get together, give this salad a try!
Sweet Potato Chickpea Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing
Ingredients
1 sweet potato, cubed
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 can chickpeas, drain and rinse
1 small head or half large head swiss chard, kale or spinach, chopped
1-2 green onions, sliced
⅓ - ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Cilantro
Salt and Pepper
1/4 cup cashews, peanuts or pumpkin seeds for some crunch (optional)
Sesame Ginger Dressing:
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, grated or dry
1 tbsp tahini or natural nut butter
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Juice from 1 lime
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp tamari or coconut aminos
1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 425F. Peel and dice sweet potato, toss in olive oil, and season with salt. Bake for 18-20 minutes, tossing halfway through.
Prepare chard, green onions and cilantro. Rinse and drain chickpeas.
Whisk together ingredients for the dressing, set aside.
Once potatoes are finished roasting, combine all salad ingredients. Drizzle with a few generous spoonfuls of dressing. Toss and serve. Add an extra splash of hot sauce if you like it spicy.
*Note: All ingredients for this salad can be prepared ahead of time, and tossed together right before you’re ready to enjoy.