Quinoa Salad

One of my favorite things about the arrival of summer is all the beautiful, crisp salad greens at the farmers market. I absolutely love to eat salads, but how can you turn a salad into a full meal that is truly satisfying?

The trick is to make sure you add enough protein, fat and carbohydrates to your salad so it is still a perfectly balanced meal.

There are dozens of healthy additions you can use to make your salad more filling and delicious. Here are 10 of my favorites.

10 Ways To Make Your Salad More Satisfying

• Warm ingredients Grilled or sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms and meats wilt salad greens and make them slightly warm, adding depth and character to an otherwise boring salad.
• Brown rice Adding 1/2 cup of warm rice to a salad makes it more satisfying to eat and keeps you full for longer. Use single serving rice balls and this simple addition will add less than 2 minutes to your salad prep time.
• Nuts Walnuts and sliced almonds are my favorite, but feel free to try pecans, cashews, peanuts, pumpkin seeds or anything else that sounds interesting.
• Beans Chickpeas, black beans, edamame and other legumes are inexpensive and delicious sources of protein and fiber to add some substance to a salad.
• Avocado Half an avocado is sometimes exactly what a salad needs to take it to the next level.
• Smoked salmon For a slightly more upscale salad experience top your greens with a few slices of smoked salmon.
• Quinoa Mix in a small amount of quinoa as an accent or make it the base of a salad by adding cooked or raw veggies and greens. See my Mexican-style quinoa salad recipe.
• Grilled meats Your salad is a great place for summertime BBQ leftovers.
• Egg Boiled, fried or poached, an egg is a wonderful way to make your salad more substantial. See my Summer salad with poached egg recipe.
• Sardines Canned fish is one of the easiest ways to get extra protein and omega-3 oils in your salad. Here are 6 reasons to eat more sardines.

How do you make your salads more hearty?

This article was originally published June 8, 2009.

Tags: avocado, beans, brown rice, egg, meat, nuts, quinoa, salad, salmon, sardines, wheat berries

Mandarinquat

Even though SF residents will suffer through a freezing June, July and August, there’s no denying the sweetness of a surprise summer day in February. This weekend’s weather was amazing, which makes it that much sadder that I wasn’t able to make it to the farmers market.

organic brussel sprouts - Swanton Berry Farm

Unfortunately a veterinary emergency kept me from visiting the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market this weekend, but thankfully friend and fellow foodie Emily Olson from Foodzie volunteered to step in. Not only did she bring me a bounty of fruits and vegetables, she also provided all the pictures for this week.

Carrots - Marin Roots Farm

Thanks Emily!

Spinach - Heirloom Organics

Meyer Lemons - K & J Orchards

Cardoons - Knoll Farms

Guavas - Brokaw Farm

Pimientos de Padron - Happy Quail Farms

California Navel Oranges - Olsen Farms

Green Garlic - Knoll Farms

Kiwis - Four Sisters Farm

Zutano Avocado - Olsen Farms

Broccoli di Ciccio - Chue's Farm Fresh Vegetables

Thompson Raisins - Hidden Star Orchards

Mustard Rapini - Knoll Farms

Is it springtime yet?

Tags: avocado, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cardoons, carrots, Emily Olsen, Foodzie, green garlic, guava, kiwi, mandarinquat, Meyer lemon, mustard rapini, oranges, padrons, raisins

Avocado

And now for something completely different.

In a break from my usual elitist glory San Francisco farmers market adventure, I took a field trip this weekend to sunny Southern California where I discovered the cheapest produce I have ever seen in this state. Seriously, it was crazy.

Normally I prefer to hit up either the Irvine or Santa Monica markets when I’m in the OC. But this Saturday wasn’t amenable to a drive across town so instead I visited the Orange County Marketplace at the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa on Sunday. It is open 7am to 4pm Saturdays and Sundays, admission $2.

The OC Marketplace is really more of a swap meet than a farmers market, but there is a whole section for fresh produce. At the vegetable stands I found what I consider typical Southern California fare–tomatoes, avocados, citrus, squash and peppers–with a few seasonal items mixed in. I saw nothing particularly exotic, and the quality of produce ranged from not-so-hot to pretty good.

What is truly remarkable about this place is the prices.

Cheap Berries

Cheap Asparagus

Asparagus is typically $3-7 dollars per bunch at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. At the OC Marketplace it was $0.99. Berries, typically $3-6 per basket (even at the supermarket), dropped in price while we waited in line from (I kid you not) a ridiculously cheap 3 baskets for $2, to a mind-bogglingly cheap 4 baskets for $2. And from what I could tell they were perfectly ripe and in excellent condition.

Have you ever seen 7 white peaches for $1? I have.

Cheap Apricots

Cheap Peaches

Honestly, I don’t get it. If any of you can explain to me how this market can practically give away groceries I would love to know the reason.

My best guess is these are simply whole sale prices. In other words, these are the same goods grocery stores buy and sell to you for a higher price. The quality of produce was certainly more on par with grocery stores than what I have seen at other Southern California markets. And I doubt much of it was organic, though few items were clearly marked.

Alternatively these vendors could be offering a mix of whole sale and local fare. It wasn’t clear to me if/how any of the offerings were locally grown. This being California, however, it seems logical that at least some of the goods come from the area. When I asked someone where the food was from the answer I got was “the L.A. market,” which obviously is not a farm.

My worst fear is that much of this produce comes from the horrible slave farms that are starting to be exposed. Hopefully that isn’t true.

The source of this produce may be a little dubious, but I cannot imagine you finding a better deal anywhere in Orange County. If organic and local are less important to you than simply affording fresh healthy food, a trip to the OC Marketplace is easily worth the price of admission.

For you Bay Area readers, I’ve seen similar deals at the Ashby market in Berkeley (no admission fee).

Do you know anything about these swap meet style produce vendors?

Note: Since it is Memorial Day there will not be a new post on Monday. We’ll be back Wednesday–same Tomato time, same Tomato channel.

Tags: apricots, asparagus, avocado, berries, cheap, elitist, fair grounds, money, Orange County, peaches