quick lunch: bagel with cream cheese, salmon and capers

Here's more of a lunch idea than a recipe. Toasted bagel + cream cheese + smoked salmon + capers. I also added some dill on this the second time around. Serve with some veggies on the side.

Brown Market Shares: Week 1 (+ recipe for penne with kale pesto)

Michael and I signed up for a weekly share of vegetables through a program at Brown called "Market Shares." It's like a CSA, but they work with multiple farms instead of just one. The program is only open to Brown students, faculty and staff and the pick-up is conveniently on campus. I was also super excited that they also had an option to sign up for a dairy and bread share. So we will be getting a loaf of bread each week from Seven Stars Bakery (as close as I will come to Ann Arbor's Zingermann's here), and cheese and yogurt from local Narragansett Creamery. This is this week's installment:  kale, leeks, collard greens, scallions, patty-pan squash, pea greens, apples, garlic. Yum yum. It's a lot of greens. Kale pesto pasta for dinner... (nothing fancy...just a quick and easy weeknight dinner...)


PENNE WITH KALE PESTO

ingredients:
1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
olive oil
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup, or more to your taste)

1. Pasta: Make pasta according to package directions for al dente (I used a whole wheat penne and it was about 9 minutes). When you drain, make sure to save about 1 cup of the liquid. 

2. Pesto: Remove the stems from the kale (trick: fold in half, hold on to leaves and rip step out with your other hand. This way you get all the tough fibers out and it's faster than using a knife). Chop roughly. In a blender or food processor, pulse garlic and pine nuts, then pulse in about 2/3 of kale and add some olive oil, maybe about 2-4 T total, depending on what you need to get it smooth. (I was using a blender, and so I also had to add in some of the pasta liquid to get it to puree nicely. A food processor would work better.) You should get a nice green mush.

When the pasta has about 1 more minute, drain the water and keep about 1 cup of it (I used some of this to blend the pesto). Add the noodles back in the pot, add the pesto plus the 1/3 of chopped kale. Add a bit more water if it's dry looking. Stir. Grate the cheese and stir into the pasta. If you let it sit a minute it will absorb some of the extra sauce and the chopped kale will wilt nicely into the penne.

Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with a little extra cheese. I like a little spice on my pasta, so I added in a sprinkle of red pepper flakes as well.

roasted tomato couscous salad

This salad is based on a memory of a tomato salad I remember making from101 cookbooks that involved toasted capers and half raw, half oven-roasted tomatoes. Instead of a green salad, I used an Israeli (pearl) couscous. It's a really tasty combination of flavors. If you had them on-hand, you could use more fresh herbs (parsley, mint, thyme), and/or olives instead of the capers for some saltiness. 

ingredients:

1 lb heirloom tomatoes – mix of colors

balsamic vinegar and olive oil

1 cup couscous (I used Israeli/pearl couscous)

1 T capers

1 garlic clove, crushed or fine minced

salt and pepper

fresh basil

Heat oven to 425-450. Cut the tomatoes into chunks. If using cherry tomatoes, cut in half. Line the baking sheet with parchment if you want to spare some mess. Roast about half of the tomatoes with a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (and a sprinkle of salt and pepper) until they burst and soften (about 20 minutes), and save the other half to use raw in the salad. Meanwhile, make the couscous according to directions. While that's going, fry the capers in a 1 tsp of oil (careful – they splatter!), until some of the moisture evaporates and you can see them start to brown (they will smell good, too). Mince or crush/press a clove of garlic into the salad, and top with fresh basil.  Mix everything together! It might seem a bit wet at first, but the couscous absorbs the liquid, and the leftovers are good the next day, too! 

exploring Providence: another morning at the farmer's market (and another slaw recipe)

Today was another gorgeous Saturday morning, so after a short jog I biked up to the market to get some veggies for the week. Our CSA share starts in two weeks, so after that I probably won't go to the market anymore. And the weather probably won't be as nice, so I wanted to appreciate it while I can. I still was surprised the farm stands didn't have more greens (didn't see any fresh herbs, salad greens), but they did have lots of end-of-summer fruit - and one stand even had winter squash already! Below is a nice assortment of what they had. Lots of tomatoes, peaches, plums, pears, some corn, watermelon, green beans, potatoes, onions. Lots of good produce!

I also stopped at this Indian spice store (Not Just Spices) on Hope St on my way up there. That will be a good resource. I will really miss By The Pound, an amazing bulk spice/food store in Ann Arbor. But now I at least know where I can get some cheap spices and dried beans. Maybe it will inspire me to try cooking more Indian food. that's something I've always wanted to learn. I also need to explore that area (Summit?) on Hope Street more. They have lots of shops and restaurants and it's really cute looking.

cucumber-pepper slaw with feta

I can't believe it's already September. One of the things I am feeling sad about, as we are enjoying the last weeks (days?) of summer, is that I was traveling so much and missed out on so much summer produce. Sigh. I had a great summer, but I wasn't cooking very much and that I am a little bummed about. Anyways, for this fall Michael and I signed up for a CSA share that is run through Brown, so we will get to enjoy the end-of-summer produce as well as fall's bounty. Which will be wonderful.

The last few days I re-made that grain salad with cherries, blue cheese and pecans. And served it on baby kale (which is a very good product - yum yum). It was really good. If you haven't made it yet, do it! Tonight I wanted to make something different and get some more veggies. So I paired some chicken with a jerk marinade with a fresh veggie slaw.

Another variation, if you wanted to make the veggie slaw more substantial and take for lunch would be to dice or more roughly chop the vegetables, and then mix with quinoa or a whole grain (barley, farro, etc). That would be good, too.

ingredients:
1 medium - large cucumber
1 T salt
2 T olive oil
1 scant T rice vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
fresh black pepper
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, fine diced (or paper-thin slices)
3 oz. feta, crumbled (vegan without the cheese)
roughly chopped basil

1. Cucumber: Cut lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Then cut cross-wise on a mandoline (thin slices) or with a knife. Salt and put in a colander over a bowl. Let sit 15 minutes while you do the other ingredients, then rinse and pat try with a paper towel. 

2. prep other veggies: thinly slice the jalapeño, peppers, and onion.

3. mix the dressing: olive oil, rice vinegar, sugar, black pepper. Don't add salt because the cukes will add some more saltiness.

4. combine everything and serve. Let sit about 30 minutes before serving.

Slaw recipe adapted from Saveur. I found their dressing to be 4x what I needed, also I was afraid of using a habanero!

We had this for dinner with chicken. For the jerk chicken, I just mixed some jerk seasoning with about 2 T olive oil. I smeared this on some chicken drumsticks and let it marinade a few hours in the fridge until dinnertime. Then cook the chicken in a pan on the stovetop, or grill if you have one.

barley salad with cherries, pecans, blue cheese and greens

I have been really excited to organize my new pantry, and put everything neatly in jars and start building up my bulk foods pantry. I really like making whole grain salads, and so I like having things like farro, barley, quinoa on hand. I made this for lunch the other day and Michael was raving about it. It's a really good combination of flavors and textures. It also keeps really well. Keep the salad greens separate, and then you can just mix the barley mixture with the fresh greens when you're ready to eat so they don't get soggy.

2 cups cooked pearl barley
1/2 lemon, squeezed
1/4 cup roughly chopped toasted pecans
2 cups salad greens (mixed or arugula)
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped red onion (or shallot), rinse if you don't want a strong onion taste
2 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles

This recipe is from Whole Foods, Lunch-in-a-Jar

bagel bruschetta with heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella

This morning Michael and I went on a 36-mile bike ride down the East Bay Bike Path, from Providence to Bristol, Rhode Island. It's one of those rails-to-trails paths, so it's very flat and easy, with little cross traffic. The scenery was gorgeous: salt marshes, forest, harbors full of boats, mansions along the coast... On the way back we stopped in the cute little town of Warren, RI for a lobster roll. But we were still hungry when we got home and needed a fresh, summery snack. This tomato salad would be good on its own as well, especially with some fresh basil (which I unfortunately didn't have on-hand). 

Instructions: Toast bagels and rub the toasted side with a (peeled) clove of garlic. Top with tomato-mozzarella salad.

Tomato-mozzarella salad: dice a few tomatoes of different colors, squeeze with half a lemon, drizzle some olive oil, and add a little salt and pepper. would also be good with fresh basil. 

We saved the extra dressing from the bottom of the bowl to make salad dressing. It's a beautiful tomato-lemon-olive oil mixture. 

a very green no-cook meal for your first meal in a new apartment

Yesterday we moved into our new apartment in Providence. It was a lot of work, first moving down from a second-story apartment with very narrow, steep stairs, into a third-floor apartment. Every muscle in my body is aching today... People really should just offer to help random strangers move instead of going to the gym. :) Luckily we had the help of a friend, which made things go much faster.

So anyways, we did eventually get hungry, in the middle of our afternoon/evening of unpacking and organizing. One great thing about this apartment is that it's 2-3 blocks from the grocery store, so it's really easy to run out and get something. I was going to make a warm meal, but it turns out that our gas is not turned on yet. I went and knocked on some doors in the building to make sure we were doing it right...and got to meet a super friendly man who lives downstairs. He brought up matches and confirmed what we already thought: no gas flow yet. So... it had to be a cold meal. I ran out and got a good loaf of bread, avocado, and the ingredients for a simple green salad. I threw dinner together while Michael put the table together so we could sit down and eat.

It ended up being a very green meal and was just the thing for a hot summer night. We ate the salad with olive bread from Seven Stars Bakery in Providence, with avocado slices and a sprinkling of Maldon salt. (This is one of my easy favorites.) Oh, and full disclosure: to keep things super classy I got some chicken wings from the hot bar at Whole Foods to have with our healthy dinner. :)

Green Salad with Mango and Mozzarella
salad greens
mango, diced
fresh mozzarella, torn into pieces or cubed
squeeze of lemon
dash of extra virgin olive oil
grind of fresh pepper

whole-grain salad with mushrooms, fennel, feta, walnuts and parsley

I'm returning from a month of silence - whew. And posting from Germany, no less. It's been a busy month. Michael was in Minnesota with me, we ran a marathon, spent time with family. I had a big work deadline and was preparing for my three weeks abroad... so I wasn't cooking much while in transit and didn't really have time to post anything. And now while spending time in Germany (and a few days in Switzerland) I'm also eating a lot of good German food and not doing much cooking. My first night I wanted to have Schnitzel, at Felix Austria, which is still my favorite place to go for Schnitzel in Berlin. I've had some Kuchen, all though not too much yet...., also really good Thai food at Fehrbelliner park (Thai people gather there on weekends and sell "street food" in the park - delicious), and Turkish grilled marinated meat with parsley-red onion salad and soft bread. Yum. So good to really enjoy things you can't get in the US - at least not where I'm living.

Berlin varieties: Turkish dinner, Kaffee und Kuchen, Schnitzel and Wurst

But in the airport I did spend a lot of time going through my cooking magazines and tearing out good recipes. Eating Well had a great issue - almost took out all those pages. :) And the other night I got to hang out with my friend Anne, and after a nice long walk to get super-delicious ice cream...we made a nice home-cooked meal. :)  Anne also gave me some recipes from her trusted binder of good ones... I am excited to try those out.

I love grain salads. They're very satisfying and feel really healthy at the same time. This one is inspired by a recipe in Cooks Illustrated. Anne made some cocktails with a homemade rosemary-lemon simple syrup (yum yum) and it felt super summery and perfect to balance out the halloumi, pizza, and schnitzel from the last few days. :)

radish and pecan grain salad with cranberries and arugula

I made this salad for our little outdoor dinner last night and it was really good. I highly highly recommend trying it. It's the perfect combination of fresh flavors, crunchy vegetables and nuts and hearty grains. I adapted the recipe from Food 52  (their picture is a little prettier...I was more about getting dinner on the table than photographing...). The whole grains hold up well and it would be good for a picnic salad and/or lunch - maybe just add the arugula later so it doesn't get soggy.

2 cups mixed grains (like farro, freekeh, wheat berries, wild rice, and quinoa, pearl barley, or any combination of the above - I used pearled barley and wheat berries)
1 cup baby arugula leaves
1 cup parsley leaves, minced
1/2 cup mint leaves, cut in a chiffonade
1/2 pound pecans, toasted
1 cup radishes, cut into thin slices
1/4 cup shallot, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sherry vinegar (or apple cider)
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add some salt and the grains, and cook until just tender. If you are cooking wild rice and/or wheat berries, add them first and let them get started 10-15 minutes. Then add any pearled or faster quicking grains. I let the wheat berries cook 10 minutes, then added the pearled barley for another 25 minutes. The rye berries had a nice, slightly chewy texture. When done, drain into a colander and let sit until warm to the touch. Stir every once in a while to help them cool.

2. Mix the dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil, shallot, and vinegar. Let sit.

3. Prep the radishes and other ingredients. Toss everything in a large bowl. Season with a bit of salt.

summer slaw with peanut sauce and avocado BLTs with my sisters!

I'm in Minneapolis staying with my twin sister for a few days. Yesterday morning we went on a 15-mile run along the Mississippi River - so beautiful. Okay, my legs were throbbing a bit... but it was so nice to explore a new route and get to chat the whole time. I actually don't know Minneapolis very well. So many of my Duluth friends have moved to "the Cities," as we call Minneapolis/St. Paul in Minnesota, but I actually haven't spent much time here. And when I am here, I am usually with my sisters and not out exploring too much. So the run was really nice. From Northeast, we crossed over the Broadway bridge and then went down the West River Parkway, past the Mill City Museum and Guthrie Theater, with views of the University of Minnesota campus overlooking the other bank, and on the way back we crossed the Stone Arch Bridge with beautiful views of downtown Minneapolis.

And then our younger sister and her boyfriend came over for dinner and we had BLTs and salads al fresco. Really feels like summer. Elisabeth said "I feel like I'm in a health food magazine." :) Then we baked cookies and played Settlers of Catan - can it get any better than this? The three of us aren't together very often, so I always really appreciate these days.

Anyways, dinner was really good. Click "continue" for the slaw recipe. I will post the second salad tomorrow. :)

brussels sprouts, asparagus with apple and pecans

I know this seems like a bit of a fall recipe, but I was kinda craving brussels sprouts when browsing through the produce at the store. I remembered a combination with apples I had seen on 101 cookbooks, and then just threw in some other tastes and textures: cheddar and pecans. And I had some fresh asparagus spears so I added some of them, too.

This isn't really a recipe... some directions: saute the apples first (I used 1/2 apple) with some butter or oil, and a pinch of salt, then remove them and do the brussels sprouts (trimmed, quartered). Add a clove or two of garlic, some salt and pepper. Add the asparagus if you are using it (3-4 spears, sliced thin). Add the pecans, stir everything around and let it cook. Throw the apples back in. If you want it a little sweeter, drizzle with a little maple syrup. Top with a little shredded sharp cheddar cheese and salt and pepper.

inspired by 101 cookbooks Shredded Brussels Sprouts & Apples

spicy sesame soba noodles with snap peas and scallions

There are a lot of good variations of this recipe. A noodle (soba or spaghetti will work, too), with a sesame or peanut sauce, topped with scallions and toasted sesame seeds. My friend Rachel makes a great version, which always has a nice kick to it. Here I tried to add some snap peas, which don't mix physically with the noodles super well, but it's a good taste combination. It's a great recipe for picnics and potlucks. :)

1 T peanut oil
2 T minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
2 T balsamic vinegar (or rice vinegar)
1 1/2 T honey (or sugar)
1 T (or more) hot chili oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 pound soba noodles (or spaghetti or linguini)
12 green onions (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed and sliced on diagonal.
sesame seeds
optional: peanuts, basil or cilantro

1. Heat peanut oil in a small skillet, saute ginger and garlic 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and mix dressing (sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, chili oil). Whisk.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions (soba noodles cook quickly!) and drain and rinse with cold water. Drain thoroughly and add to a bowl with the sauce. Add sliced green onions and snap peas and mix. Let sit 1 hour to absorb dressing. Then top with nuts and cilantro or basil if you are going to do so, or sprinkling of sesame. Serve at room temperature.

a fancy ham and cheese sandwich

Katie and I had lunch at TeaHaus in Ann Arbor last week, and had the best pairing of a fresh spring mint pea soup and a very grown-up ham sandwich. This can hardly be called a recipe, but it's more an inspiration. As a pairing, it was wonderful, and the addition of a garlic herb butter to the bread did wonders for the sandwich. Yum. Oh, and you can just make out the gorgeous pastry there in the photo on the left...pear-cherry-marzipan. Double yum. Wish I had another one like that right about now.

ham and Swiss with herb-garlic butter on baguette
thinly-sliced ham
swiss cheese (Emmenthaler, Jarlsberg, Gruyere)
garlic-herb butter*: (mix some butter with mix-n-match herbs: chives, pressed garlic, parsley, basil, oregano) - I used tarragon
slice of thin baguette (might need to remove some of bready middle)

*see this link from bon appetit about how to make a compound butter. This was just a quick version and the butter was warm enough to just mix with the herbs, but if you want to keep some of your herb butter on-hand, try this technique

serve with a green soup, like this one (spring green minestrone) :)

soba noodles with mango and eggplant and lime dressing

This recipe is - big surprise - another one of Synne's from Yottam Ottolenghi. It's one of my favorites, so many good flavors. Eggplant and mango, who would have thought?  But the colors look beautiful together, it feels light and fresh and summery with the lime-vinegar dressing.  In his cookbook Plenty Ottolenghi also writes that "this dish has become my mother's ultimate cook-to-impress fare. And she is not the only one, as I have been informed by many readers." So true!

I made this for friends who came over last night...and it was even warm enough (barely!) to sit outside. Although I know it's bad form (and risky), I often try out new recipes when cooking for friends and guests. I knew the soba noodles would work, but I tried making wild rice burgers for the first time...and that recipe needs some work. I will post it when I re-make them and make some adjustments. they were tasty, but there was something that needs some tweaking so they stay together more as burger-like patties. I'll get back to you on that.


soba noodles with mango and eggplant

1/2 cup brown rice vinegar
scant 1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1-2 garlic clove(s), peeled and crushed (depending on how much raw garlic you want)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
grated zest and juice of one lime 

1/3 cup olive oil
1 medium eggplant/aubergine cut into 1/2-inch chunks 

8 ounces / 225g dried soba noodles
1 large ripe mango, cut into small chunks (how to cut a mango)
1/4 - 1/2 medium red onion, sliced paper-thin
fresh cilantro, garnish

Dressing: combine vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan, stir until sugar dissolves. Add salt, garlic, red pepper, let cool. Add sesame oil and lime juice and zest. Set aside.

Eggplant: Saute eggplant cubes in a saucepan with some oil and a little salt. Do this over med heat so they slowly cook and start to caramelize. Stir occasionally  but you can prep onion and mango while this is happening if you keep an eye out and can multitask. :)

Noodles: Follow package directions, but warning: they cook very quickly. So be ready to watch them once the water boils again, and drain. Rise with cold water and shake off excess water.

In a big bowl: Add noodles, dressing, eggplant, mango, red onion, and cilantro. Toss together. Enjoy!

Optional: You can also add firm fried tofu to make it more of a substantial meal.

best salad ever: mung bean-carrot salad with lemony garlicky dressing

Okay, I haven't been posting much, but what I'm lacking in quantity I am going to make up in quality. :) This is another amazing Ottolenghi recipe I was introduced to via Synne, who brought it to some potluck or picnic in Berlin. And every time I have made it, it has been a favorite and has been completely devoured - no leftovers. I was totally unfamiliar with mung beans, but when cooked properly they have a really nice texture and the salad combines great flavors and colors. (Look for mung beans at natural/whole foods stores, sometimes in the bulk section, or at Asian markets.) This salad holds up well and is perfect for bringing for lunch or picnics - except be warned that it does have a bit of raw garlic... Also, I wouldn't suggest making it when your kitchen is 70 degrees with 77% humidity, as mine is today, but I have been eating avocado on toast and needed to finally cook something. Not that there's anything wrong with avocado on toast...

ingredients:
140g dried green mung beans (about 2/3 cup)
60ml olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed (or 1 garlic clove if you are worried about the raw garlic)
½ tsp dried chili flakes (red pepper flakes)
1 tsp salt
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm batons
½ tsp sugar
chopped cilantro
Grated zest of 1 lemon
140g feta, broken into chunks

1. mung beans: First get the beans boiling: bring water to a boil, add mung beans and simmer 20-25 minutes. Check after 15 minutes - the beans can vary, and you don't want them to turn to mush (I have done this once before). Taste a couple and see whether they still have some bite. Drain, shake off water, and put in a large bowl.

2. carrots: While the beans are cooking, cut and prep your carrots, into small batons. Put the carrots in a saucepan so they form a shallow layer. Add some water, some oil, and 1/2 tsp of sugar and salt. Bring to a rolling boil and keep on a high heat until the water evaporates and the carrots start to caramelize (about 8 minutes). (This is when you don't want to be doing this on a hot day...oops...) You want the carrots to still be slightly crunchy, not mushy.

3. seeds and dressing: When the beans are almost done or done, heat 2 T oil in a small saucepan and add the seeds. Cook on medium, stirring, until they start to pop (about 3 minutes). Really use your senses here: you will start to smell the seeds become fragrant, and hear them pop. Then pour the beans and hot oil over the beans (in the bowl).  Add the vinegar, garlic, chili flakes, lemon zest, and some salt.

3. Combine everything. I let the beans cool a bit, then added the chopped cilantro and feta, and a drizzle of olive oil.

salmon-asparagus quinoa salad with dill

This was part of my post-run high-protein "refuel" on Sunday after my 18-miler. Less than 6 weeks till Grandma's Marathon now! I had some smoked Alaskan salmon in the freezer from my dad (thanks, dad!) that I had taken out to thaw. I also had some cooked quinoa leftover from the salad with black beans, mango and radishes. All I had to do was roast some asparagus in the oven (with a little olive oil, salt and pepper), and add everything together with some chopped dill. Simple, but I loved the flavors together, and it felt very healthy and very satisfying.

lentil and roasted parsnip salad with fresh spinach

I threw this salad together while getting ready in the morning, and then had it for lunch - an outdoor lunchtime picnic with Jessica on campus. :) Perfect for the (finally!!) spring-summer weather. It does take maybe 45 minutes because of the parsnip-roasting and the lentils, but it's a lot of hands-off cook time, so you can do other stuff. This might not look like much from the pictures, but it was a really delicious combination. The parsnips get really sweet when you roast them and they pair really well with the other ingredients. The lentils make it more filling, and the fresh greens make you feel like a responsible adult. :)

ingredients:
a bunch of parsnips
125g puy lentils

1 bay leaf
1/2 onion
a large bunch of spinach

honey-mustard dressing:
4 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice (or vinegar)
2 tsp honey
1 tsp dijon
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and pepper

1. Heat oven to 350. Peel and chop parsnips into rough chunks about the same size. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in 350 oven for about 40 minutes, stirring once.

2. Put lentils in a pot with lots of water. Let come to a rolling boil for 1 minute, then drain water and add just enough water to cover the pot. Add bay leaf and 1/2 onion and let simmer about 20-30 minutes. Don't let the lentils get mushy - you want them to retain some bite. (this is also why you need to use French or puy lentils and not the grayish-green ones). Remove bay leaf and onion when draining lentils.

3. Mix the dressing. Roughly chop the spinach. Mix everything together and serve warm. I packed the lunch by layering lentils (slightly cooled), parsnips, and then salad on top so it didn't get mushy. Then I mixed it together with the dressing when ready to eat.