Beet and fig salad

This salad has a really nice combination of flavors as well as textures. Hot, sweet, sour, tender and crunchy is what you will find here. I'm thinking some nice goat cheese would have been a fabulous addition for the taste but also for the contrast of colors. Unfortunately, I was out, but if you have some in your fridge, go ahead and sprinkle a few crumbles...I'm sure it will be good. You can let me know...

Serves 2

Ingredients
1 big fresh beet, boiled until tender and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 cup, dried mission fig cut in half
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 hand full fresh flat parsley, chopped
2 tablespoon dark balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons of sweet chile sauce
Salt

Directions
Mix everything together and transfer to a serving platter

p.s. you might need to adjust the proportion of balsamic vinegar and chile sauce to your likings. It might be a good idea to mix it in a separate bowl first, start with 2 balsamic for 4 chile sauce and adjust slowly.

Chick peas with collard greens and roasted tomatoes

If you roasted some tomatoes already, then this recipe is really quick to do. You can serve it as a side dish, eat it just like this or with an egg for breakfast.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 medium size garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red crushed chile pepper
1- 15.5 oz can chickpeas
1 teaspoon of herbes de provence (or others)
1 packed cup of collard green, roughly chopped (or spinach)
1 cup of roasted cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped (or regular size roasted tomatoes chopped in 1 inch cubes)
2 tablespoons of olive tapenade
Salt and pepper

Direction
In a heavy medium size skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. When oil is hot but not smoking add garlic, chile pepper, chickpeas and herbes de provence. Cook on medium heat for about 2 minutes, add collard green. Cook for 1 minute or until wilted. Add
roasted tomatoes (see previous post for recipe) and olive tapenade. Season with salt and pepper and serve!