I’ve never in my life wanted to ask someone
for a salad recipe!” – Laura K.

The evening before my first brunch, it occurred to me that the only items on the menu my two gluten-free friends would be able to eat were the steamed asparagus and fresh strawberries.  I searched online for a recipe that would use ingredients I already had on hand and found a recipe for a kale salad that had roasted vegetables and lentils.  Yum.

Turned out I didn’t have any lentils on hand (okay, actually I did, but my pantry was so disorganized that I didn’t find them until a few days later <heavy sigh>), but what I did find was a packet of Seeds of Change Quinoa & Brown Rice.  I had bought a case at Costco some time back.  It makes a delicious meal all on its own and only takes
90 seconds in the microwave (now that’s MY idea of cooking dinner after a long day at work).  Tell you what, it was the perfect ingredient for my kale salad.  Time to get another case.

Here’s a link to print the recipe for Kale & Roasted Sweet Potato Salad, and below is a step-by-step description of how I made it.  I recommend this salad for any meal.  Delish!

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Peel and cube a large sweet potato.  You can use any kind, but I prefer the jewel sweet potato because its color and flavor are yam-like but it has the high fiber of a sweet potato.
   
3. Chop a red onion into large wedges.
4. Toss the sweet potato and onion with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I find it easiest to put the vegetables and oil in a plastic bag and kneed the veggies to coat evenly.
   
5. Spread the vegetables on a baking sheet covered with foil and season to taste.   My seasoning of choice for probably half of everything I cook is McCormick’s Garlic Pepper.  That’s all I used on these veggies and I can’t imagine them tasting any better.
   
6. Roast for approximately 40 minutes until veggies are tender and edges are nicely browned.
   
7. Remove and discard the tough kale stems and slice the curly leaves into bite-sized pieces.
    
8. Add two tablespoons olive oil and one finely minced clove of garlic to a saucepan over medium high heat.  Sauté until garlic is tender and slightly browned, about two minutes.
   
9. Add the kale and cook until it is wilted but still slightly crunchy, about five minutes.
   
10. Tear open a packet of Seeds of Change Quinoa & Brown Rice and microwave for 90 seconds.  Pour contents over kale.
      
11. Combine roasted veggies, kale and quinoa and brown rice. Serve warm or chilled.