ROASTED ASPARAGUS AND ARTICHOKE GREEK SALAD

My husband does not eat enough vegetables. He loves asparagus so I used roasted asparagus to entice him to eat this salad. He really enjoyed it. I got super excited at Kroger when, expecting to pay a lot for organic asparagus, it rang up on sale for less than $2. I know I looked silly dancing around the checkout!

You can find the recipe at “Monkey And Me Kitchen Adventures” recipe bog: No Oil Greek Salad.

Why do I line my tin foil with parchment paper? I want to reduce my exposure to aluminum which can leach from the foil into food when cooking. Aluminum has no nutritional value and elevated levels have been associated with Alzheimer's disease. Here is a nice review about aluminum foil.

Here are Dr. McDougall’s webinars regarding aluminum and Alzheimer’s Disease: Part I and Part II

What I mixed for my salad:

-Roasted garlic 400 degrees for about 25 minutes (wrapped garlic in tin foil lined with parchment paper) until started to soften. Sliced 7 cloves.

-Cut the firm ends off the asparagus. Combined in a small bowl:

1 TBSP red wine vinegar

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

fresh ground pepper

Tossed the asparagus with this seasoning mix to coat well. Spread out the asparagus on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Baked 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Cut each into 3 pieces.

-Sliced about 6 pepperoncini peppers and 12 Kalamata olives

-Chopped 1/2 English cucumber and 1 red bell pepper

-Drained, rinsed, and gently squeezed with paper towels quartered artichoke hearts from a 14 oz can. Cut each into 3 pieces.

-Finely chopped onion (I didn't have red which I would have preferred so used sweet onion) and measured about 1/4th cup

-Sliced then chopped 1/4th head cabbage

-Chopped a head of red leaf lettuce

What I did differently for the dressing:

-I did not have whole cashews so used 1/4th cup cashew pieces

-Reduced salt to 1/4th tsp.