Rice Noodle Salad with Grapefruit

I pretty much never go to the library while school’s in session. During the average week, I’d rather use my spare time for cooking, running, and hanging with Ellie. BUT there was no work and endless free time last week, so I walked down to the library with her to peruse the cookbook section.

Why I don’t have How to Cook Everything Vegetarian in my collection is beyond me. I’ve made every dinner this week from this cookbook and they’ve all been awesome.

Biryani and Urad Dal with Poppy Seeds last night. So good.

Last night also happened to be one of those nights where beer was necessary. Not sure why we had it in wine glasses, but it was much appreciated.

And now it’s pizza Friday, and I’m making Spinoccoli Pizza. Happy weekend to us all!

I made a double batch of this salad on Sunday night and we had plenty for lunches for days. Unless you’re feeding an army or you want a ton of leftovers, a single recipe is definitely sufficient. I added some pan-fried tofu to up the protein and make it more of a main dish. I can see the end of grapefruit season coming and it’s tragic, but for now, I’m eating them with reckless abandon, and they’re perfect in this salad!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:54]

(adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman)

Roasted Beet and Grapefruit Salad

Clearly I could never be a food stylist.

I kind of tried to artfully arrange slices of beets, avocado, and grapefruit, but then I sort of ruined it by chucking handfuls of walnuts and pomegranate seeds on top.  At least it’s healthy!  

This salad is part of my continued quest to eat a large variety of produce and not just handfuls of chocolate chips.  It’s definitely an uphill battle.

Being home all day definitely makes it easier to eat a ton of produce (if I can keep myself from eating everything I bake).  In just over a month I’ll be back at work and I’ll have to do a little more planning in advance to make sure I have healthy lunches and snacks on hand.  I always kind of failed at that last year, and ended up eating peanut butter and jelly pretty much every day.  But I’m hoping that now I can figure out combinations I like, that I can prep in advance, so my lunches are interesting and healthy.

Roasting beets takes awhile, and so does sectioning grapefruit, so this probably won’t end up as one of my go-tos when packing my lunch.  But it’s so pretty and so full of good things I definitely plan on making it again!

Recipe:
2 medium beets, peeled
1 tbsp olive oil
4-6 oz baby spinach
1 grapefruit
1 avocado, thinly sliced
3 tbsp toasted walnuts
seeds of 1 pomegranate

dressing
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed grapefruit juice (squeeze the membranes left from sectioning the grapefruit)
juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp walnut oil
1 tsp dijon
1 tsp agave
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the beets into thin wedges and toss with the oil. Wrap in foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake for about 40 minutes, or until tender. Let cool completely.

To section the grapefruit, cut off the outer rind and membrane, then cut out the sections (here’s a how-to with pictures).

To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together.

Place the spinach in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Divide among individual bowls, then top each with a few slices of beet, avocado, and grapefruit. Sprinkle with walnuts and pomegranate seeds.