Today I’m so thrilled to share a wonderful salad that is springish and colorful with lots of greens, apples and dates, and beautiful thin strips of red carrot.

About the recipe

This recipe comes to you from my dear friend Rose whom I saw recently. We haven’t hung out in almost a year! The last time we spent time sitting and chatting was last July. when we met for my birthday.

We finally got a chance to meet up in my garden recently and sit and enjoy lunch together and folks you won’t believe how much time we spent talking. Anyone take a guess? Over 5 hours! We had over 8 months worth of life to catch up on LOL!!

Our humble lunch menu

Anyways back to this recipe. I feel I’ve been out of touch on what to make when friends come over, its been a while you see. When Rose and I made plans to meet for lunch I was literally in a panic. “What do I make?” is all I kept thinking.

Finally I decided to keep it simple. I asked Rose to bring a salad and dessert, and I made an Indian veggie pilaf called upma accompanied with yogurt raita. It really was a humble meal, but being with a dear friend elevated it to something special.

Humble Lunch Menu

Arugula and kale salad with red carrots, dates and apples
Vegetable Upma
Raita
Chai
Dessert of cookies, and salted caramel brownie bars

Beauty in a salad

This salad is so good folks that even though the salad could have fed 3-4, Rose and I finished the entire bowl! Its naturally sweet from the dates, apples and sweet red carrots. And tangy from the maple syrup dressing.

Toss it with any blend of greens and add in feta cheese if you like. The result is a delicious and filling salad that is beautiful too.

Thin strips of carrot add lots of flavor

About the carrots, make sure to use a peeler to make thin strips of carrot slices aa it adds awesome color and is so tender that it absorbs the dressing. If you can find those rainbow colored carrots it makes the salad even more alluring.

Arugula and Baby Kale Salad with Red Carrots, Dates and Apples

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of salad mix of arugula and baby kale
• 1 apple cut into small pieces
• 4-5 pitted dates cut in halves
• 1 carrot thinly peeled or sliced
• Feta cheese (optional)
• Maple syrup dressing
  • Ingredients:
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2- 1 tsp grainy mustard
  • Juice of 1 lemon or 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Directions:

Make the dressing and set aside.

In a salad bowl place all the ingredients in layers starting with the greens first, then apples, carrots and dates. Top with feta if using,

Right before serving salad toss with maple syrup dressing. Serve immediately.