Dishing Up the Dirt

roasted carrot and beet salad with tahini dressing

March 12, 2013

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This morning when Taylor and I got out of bed we decided to take a moment and chant a new mantra. Things have been a little stressful and sometimes it’s good to remind yourself that you are awesome and totally capable of doing anything you put your heart into.

“We rule. It’s all going to be okay. Let’s get shit done.” Followed by a few fist pumps.

Try it out. (Don’t forget to pump your fist.) Feels good right?

I think everyone could use a go-to mantra to start their day on the right foot. And hey, it totally worked. We had a great day and look who has decided to bounce back a bit…

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Only a small amount of our kale died. We still have about 90 percent of it. Big relief!

Tomorrow we seed our first round of scallions and lettuce. We are really excited about both of these crops because they are some of our favorites. We are also going through the process of applying to farmers markets in the area. Fingers crossed we get into some of our top choices!

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On a different note, look who has decided to become great friends. That’s right, beets and carrots. They pair particularly well when roasted and tossed with a tahini dressing.

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This salad was SO stinking good. I am a sucker for roasted root vegetables and when they are paired with quinoa, spinach, and this lovely dressing amazing things happen.

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Grab a fork, chant your favorite mantra, and dig in!

Roasted Carrot and Beet Salad (Serves 2-4)

For the Carrots and Beets:

2 large beets, scrubbed clean and chopped into roughly 1 inch pieces

4 carrots, scrubbed clean and chopped into roughly 1 inch pieces

1 TBS olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Toss the carrots and beets with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Place on a prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes turning veggies over at least once or twice. Veggies are done when they are fork tender.

For the Quinoa:

1 cup quinoa

3-4 cups spinach

Place 1 cup of quinoa with two cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until all the water is absorbed for about 10-15 minutes.  When quinoa is done cooking remove from heat. Add spinach to the pan and mix well. Cover until ready to serve (This will make the spinach nice and wilted)

For the Dressing:

2 TBS Tahini

2 TBS lemon juice

2 TBS water

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 tsp tamari

2 tsp pure maple syrup

Dash of Cayenne pepper

With an immersion blender (or regular blender) blend all ingredients together until smooth.

To assemble your salad mix the roasted veggies with the quinoa and spinach. Drizzle with dressing and serve warm! Enjoy



Leave a Reply

30 thoughts on “roasted carrot and beet salad with tahini dressing

  1. haha, what a great way to start the day!

    1. drealieberg says:

      you should try it out!!!

  2. Beth says:

    Andrea, was there a problem at your greenhouse? Glad things are now ok, but sorry that some of your kale was lost. What happened? Your loyal readers wish you well!

  3. Amy Jo - Pure and Simple says:

    I crave a trip to the garden for some fresh produce every time I look at your blog.

    1. drealieberg says:

      Why thank you lady!!!

  4. Julia says:

    Yooooooou light up my liiiiiiiiiiiife! I need to try tahini dressing and your veggie dishes always look incredible! I’m fist pumping you right now and promising I’ll get shit done with you and taylor 😉

    1. drealieberg says:

      you and your pancakes light up my life!!!

  5. This looks like an amazing and healthy salad. Glad your kale bounced back!

  6. Yum! I am roasting as many veggies as I can in the month of March, before it gets too warm and I can’t stand to turn my oven on. This salad looks perfect!

  7. laurengrier says:

    #FISTPUMPING!!!!! You guys rock! So relieved the kale bounced back. Phew. Now, for this salad, I want to shove in my face because I too adore tahini dressing!!

    1. drealieberg says:

      Everyone needs to get in the habit of fist pumping every morning!!!

  8. I went a little too hard in the club last night and this looks like a perfect, healthy way to get me back to feeling like my normal self!

    1. drealieberg says:

      This salad will set you straight!!!

  9. eaberget says:

    You’re going to make a beet fan of me yet. And that dressing – I could maybe bathe in it. Hooray for Kale the Survivor.

  10. Monet says:

    Look at those beautiful beets and carrots! Doesn’t roasting vegetables add such nice flavor to salads? We’re about to make something very similar tonight. Thank you for sharing!

    1. drealieberg says:

      I love roasted veggies SO much!!

  11. I love your mantra almost as much as I love this salad. Beautiful job 🙂

  12. roasted carrots and beets are some of my faves! Beets are nature’s candy!

  13. YUM! I love roasted carrots and beats. I’m also very jealous of your seedlings. I can’t wait for the day where I can have a garden of my own.

  14. Yay for roasted carrot salads!

  15. liz says:

    Andrea, whatever happened to bacon? Did you give it up for Lent or what?
    This salad looks and sounds great.

    1. drealieberg says:

      we roasted a pig for taylor’s 30th and that pretty much did me in for a while!!!

  16. Deborah says:

    Gotta love the fist pump! I love this combination of flavors – need to try this asap!

  17. Joanne says:

    YES on the kale! I’m fist pumping now because I’m so happy about it! And I’m LOVING this salad. I’m still craving roasted veggies just in lighter, salad form so this sounds perfect!

  18. Glad to hear your kale turned out okay (for the most part)! I always have a hard time getting the texture of roasted carrots right for some reason, but yours look so good and I love the idea of this salad!

  19. Love your mantra! 🙂 Roasted beets and carrots together sound like a perfect match. The mix of colors on the plate looks amazing. Can’t wait to try that recipe.

  20. Natalie says:

    This looks like a salad I would LOVE. So healthy and full of delicious veggies.

  21. I’m sorry about your kale, but glad to hear it was only a very small percentage of your kale crop. And your mantra rocks, I feel like I need to start doing a morning mantra these days 🙂 Love the salad too! Another healthy veggie dish to add to my ever-growing list of things I need to make from your site.

  22. Love all the veggieness going on here! And that dressing… flavor overload! Love it!

  23. Leigh says:

    I see this recipe has been around for awhile but I must make it STAT! It looks amazing, sounds amazing and I’m positive it will taste amazing! Have everything I need on hand. Woot Woot! Love it when that happens!

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