Italian chopped Salad 🥗 + Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 🍪

Craving something fresh, filling, and full of flavour? At our July 22nd Food & Community event, we served up a crisp and colourful Italian chopped salad alongside soft, gooey oatmeal chocolate chip cookies — a perfect balance of savoury and sweet to fuel your day.

🥗 Vegetarian Italian Chopped Salad

A crisp, colourful, and protein-packed salad tossed in a zesty Italian vinaigrette. Makes 6–8 side servings or 3–4 meal-sized portions. Adapted from CookieandKate

Retrieved from CookieandKate

Ingredients

Salad:

• 10 oz chopped romaine lettuce (about 2 medium or 3 small heads)

• ½ medium head radicchio, finely chopped (about 2 cups) – optional, or sub green cabbage

• ½ medium red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

• 2 ribs celery, chopped

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced

• ⅓ cup pickled pepperoncini, stemmed and thinly sliced

• ⅓ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and roughly chopped

• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained (or 1½ cups cooked)

• 1 cup (4 oz) provolone cheese, cubed (optional)

  
  

Italian Vinaigrette:

• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon honey

• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

• 10 twists freshly ground black pepper

• ¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste

• Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

  
  

Instructions

1. In a large serving bowl, combine all salad ingredients: lettuce, radicchio (or cabbage), onion, celery, tomatoes, pepperoncini, sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas, and cheese if using. Toss gently to mix.

2. In a separate container, whisk together all dressing ingredients until well blended. Taste and adjust salt or vinegar if needed.

3. If serving immediately, drizzle enough dressing to lightly coat the salad and toss well.

4. If prepping ahead, store salad and vinaigrette separately. Toss right before serving for best texture.Tip: If refrigerated, let the dressing warm up for 5–10 minutes or microwave for 10–20 seconds before using.

🍪 Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Yields ~24 cookies)

Adapted from Delish

Retrieved from Delish

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened

• ¾ cup brown sugar

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats

• 2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

4. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.

5. Scoop dough onto sheets (about 2" apart) and bake ~12 minutes or until set.

Missed out on the last one? Our July 22nd Food & Community session featured a refreshing Italian chopped salad and soft, gooey oatmeal chocolate chip cookies — the perfect mix of fresh and feel-good.

✨ Don’t miss the next Food & Community event on Tuesday, July 23 — we’ll be serving up another delicious meal made with love and free for all students!