Our Salad Days...

Technically our salad days are winding down - although down here things are just starting to heat up!

I've been marching through Bittman, trying salad after salad and I have a few new salads to add / review.

Review - Fennel & Orange Salad - this salad gets a big thumbs down. It was odd tasting, through not terrible, and just sort of blah. I think replacing the fennel with jicama could lead to a much more exciting salad.

I'm going to make seperate posts for my other salads - Southwester Slaw & Fallafel Salad

Watermelon & Tomato salad

The last two watermelons we purchased at Winco were grown by Dan Avila & Sons of Turlock and they have been over the top delicious. I found a fun bunch of watermelon recipes in the September, 2008 issue of Saveur magazine (issue 113)

I made the watermelon & tomato salad pictured above; which is a tasty mixture of sweet, sour & spicy. Ali noted that Mark Bittman also has a recipe for this unique combination. We found it delicious.

The recipe makes a big bowl full, but it keeps well for a day in the frig.

Mix together 1/4 cup white wine or rice vinegar, 3 tsp sugar, 1 tsp kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp cayenne in a large bowl. Quarter & slice half of a small red onion & add to bowl. Let the onion soak in the mixture for at least a half hour. This softens & sweetens the onion. (Dad commented on the delicious onion in the salad.)

Remove rind & seeds from 4 lbs. of watermelon, cut into 1 inch chunks. Also cut about 1.5 lbs. of red ripe tomatoes into 1 inch chunks; add these to bowl along with 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 loosely packed cup each of shredded basil & mint leaves. Stir gently to toss. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Cool and refreshing on a HOT summer day.

Chicken Salad Craze

Note: This is an old post I finally got around to putting up. I started it months ago!

Will and I both tend toward food crazes, so sometimes meals around here might come off as a tad repetitive. Not to us! I am currently in a chicken salad craze. I have a favorite chicken salad, with grapes and walnuts, but that is for another day. Today I want to share my recipe re-creation success. Union Market (aka Union Mark-up) sells a delicious curried chicken salad that I have recently been obsessed with. I took some notes last time I bought some and successfully recreated it two nights ago. Here is a picture, although it doesn't do it justice:
Will is demonstrating how to fill a pita; Mona is wondering how she can get involved.

CURRY CHICKEN SALAD (a la Union Market)

• 2 large whole chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
• 1/4 cup or more raisins, soaked in warm water for at least an hour
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots (I buy the bagged kind b/c I don't have a food processor)
• 2 whole green onions
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup red onions (to taste)
  
• 1 stalk celery
• parsley to taste
  

Chop and combine the above in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together:

• a scant 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• a generous 1/4 cup yogurt (you can vary the ratio; the point is to have a half cup total)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
  
• 1/2 tsp sugar (I think I used brown)
• 1.5 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• a dash turmeric (to make it yellower!)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Taste the dressing for seasoning and adjust. I bet it would be great with a dash of cayenne! Gradually mix the dressing into the chicken mixture until it reaches the desired level of "dressed-ness." Great served with pitas and lettuce.

Our Family's Oldest Known Tomato Salad

When Dad & I were dating, I learned about this salad from the Italian Mama of his friend Dave. It was a salad to make on a hot summer day when the tomato plants are burdened with fruit. It tastes best when made with warm tomatoes right off the vine; tomatoes so very very ripe they can be peeled without scalding.

But that is unrealistic most of the time. So start by scalding (for just 10 seconds in boiling water) a pound or two of summer tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes into large bite-sized pieces. Add vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, a lot of crushed fresh garlic and a lot of chopped fresh basil. I'm not exact in my amounts, because it doesn’t matter. The salad is delicious freshly made or chilled. It reminds me of hot summer days, a bountiful garden and picnic dinners eaten on the grass.

Jicama and Orange Salad

We have been enjoying lunch in the back portion of our yard. It is shadier at lunch time than the patio. A sunflower grew up and provided us with a floral arrangement.

Aunt Catherine made a delicious jicama & orange salad at the annual Jed Smith camping trip. She found the recipe on line when she looked for a Mexican salad to accompany her tacos. Thanks to Catherine and Gourmet Sleuth:

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Recipes/Salads-242/Jicama-and-Blood-Orange-Salad-621.aspx

Even though I had no mangos or jicama I decided to make the salad. What the heck, I had everything else. I used two green apples instead of the jicama and two peaches instead of the mango called for in the recipe. I also used regular oranges, as did Catherine. It came out good, but with the jicama it was delicious. The lime, fresh hot pepper & cilantro add a zing!

I'm still working on the old counter tops. But not for long. We are hanging our IKEA cabinets, with excellent results. So far it isn't too difficult (at least for me). Dad does the hard parts, as usual. My role is as grunt & consultant.

Summer Slacker Salad

Well, well, well, the challenger has become the challenged. I have not posted a salad a week this summer, despite front loading some salads.

Here are two "salads" for quick and easy meals.

Italian Brie Pasta Salad
(Adapted from The Six O'Clock Scramble Cookbook)
1/2 lb of Brie
6 really ripe tomatoes
1 C fresh basil
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil - optional

Cook pasta. While pasta is cooking, take off rind and break into tiny pieces. Cut up tomatoes and basil and put cheese, tomatoes and basil in a bowl. When pasta is cooked, drain it and immediately toss with the cheese and tomatoes and basil. Add salt and pepper and toss with olive oil if desired.

The real beauty of this salad is that you can do anything with it. You could use fresh mozzarella or other cheeses and mix in all kinds of different veggies or even fruit with the brie (strawberry, arugula, brie and tangerines?!?!)

Chicken Cesear Salad Wraps
(Adapted from somewhere...this salad entered my life somehow about a month after Isla was born. I'm not sure where it is from, but it is a great emergency meal and a wonderful no-brainer new mommy meal.)

Tortillas
Chicken Breasts
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Sweet Bell Pepper
Italian or Caesar Dressing
Parmesan Cheese

Cook a chicken breast - if frozen, boil it and then slice it (and saute in olive oil and Italian seasoning if you have time), if thawed, bake or saute in olive oil and Italian seasoning.
Heat a tortilla and spread with dressing.
Sprinkle with cheese
Slice tomatoes, lettuce, peppers and chicken into long strips
Place on tortilla, wrap and eat!!!
(Dip in extra dressing as needed.)

Crazy Tomato Sorbet

So, the tomato plants are getting bigger and its time to use those tomatoes in the freezer from last summer. A few weeks ago I thawed a bag full to use in a ragu. The recipe said puree the tomatoes, so I used my new stick blender. However they were only partially thawed, so I got a tomato snow cone affair. Don said it was a sorbet. The tomatoes were so fresh tasting & sweet, I thought - Why not do this on purpose. Here is what I started with.About 2 cups frozen skinless tomato chunks (some are the variety, "Lemon Boy" hence they are yellow), fresh basil, garlic, a lemon, salt & pepper. I let the tomatoes thaw to the point where I could separate some of the tomato hunks from one another; yet they were still quite icy. I've done this in the microwave on defrost for a minute or two.

Chop a few leaves of basil and one garlic clove. In a bowl, combine semi-frozen tomatoes, basil, garlic, a tablespoon of lemon juice and 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper. Blend with stick blender for 30 seconds, till no tomato pieces are visible. Here is the result:
Stir in additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice to taste. Eat right away or keep in freezer for only about 15 minutes.

Note: Freezing the contents of 1 or 2 cans of ready-cut tomatoes would be another way to make this yummy salad.

Beets without the Mess

This is a salad I love to eat & make. Golden beets are the classy cousins of those delicious, messy red beets that stain everything they touch. So if you want the taste of beets without the mess; look for golden beets. Luckily they are at our farmer's market, as are lovely new potatoes this time of year.
This recipe is modified from one I found in Sunset a few years ago (Thank you Roxanne Chan).

In the winter I usually roast the vegetables for a richer taste. I actually first made this salad when I high-graded the potatoes & golden beets from a hug leftover batch of roasted veggies.

Golden Beet & Potato Salad
4 or 5 golden beets (each about egg size)
5 or 6 small new potatoes
Cook beets & potatoes separately in boiling water, till tender. Slip skins from beets.
Cut vegetables into bite sized pieces.
Make dressing by mixing together:
2 T plain yogurt
2 T Mayo (homemade is yummy)
1 T rice vinegar
2 T finely chopped red onion
2 T finely chopped parsley
1 T prepared horse-radish
2 cloves garlic, minced or smashed in a press
Salt & pepper to taste
Stir into veggies, serve warm or cold. The horse-radish is not overwhelming. The tastes are perfect together. Enjoy!

It is Suddenly Salad Time

As you may know, Chico has been having a very cool wet spring and I have continued to do cool weather cooking. However this past week we finally had summer weather. Suddenly sweating over a hot stove and eating hot entrees just wasn't much fun. So I needed to change gears, dust off the barbecue and start thinking about hearty salads for the main dish. Thank you Ali for the challenge. It will be fun to share & learn about other people's salad ideas.
I don't use recipes for a lot of the salads I fix. So here are some tips anyone can use to make a cool summertime salad/meal.
1. Buff out a tossed green salad by adding: feta or other cheese cubes, chopped barbecued chicken, cold cooked sausage, cooked beans or favas, nuts, toasted squash or sunflower seeds, hard-cooked egg, cooked beets, red onion slices, chopped snow peas, left-over marinated string beans, lots of avocado, mushrooms, bell pepper, radishes, sprinklings of fresh basil or oregano or cilantro.
2. Turn leftover pasta, lentils, beans, rice or any cooked grain into a salad by adding some of the above mentioned goodies plus dressing. Instead of dressing just add spices, lemon juice or vinegar, a bit of mustard, perhaps a bit of sugar, garlic, salt & pepper. The delicious Quinoa salad, Ali posted below, is a formal example of this salad idea. (Didi made it yesterday - yum!)

Two More Salads

I have a new favorite blog...it was just a cooking blog that I heard about through Stacy's sister, but then she combined it with her personal blog, so among great recipes, I get to read about decorating her place, her sweet little boy and her adventures in San Diego.

Also, based on the blog name, I think her name is Elizabeth Bryant, which is Lola's pornstar name...destiny, right!?!

Anyways, her cooking style is very similar to my own and we've been eating her recipes a lot lately.

Here are two yummy salad recipes:

Salad #1
Chicken Tarragon Salad
This is very mild and light. I used coconut yogurt instead of sour cream and cut the amount mayo and sour cream in half. I served it on toasted sourdough bread the first meal and in filo bowls the second meal. I wouldn't recommend the filo bowls too much work for very little pay off (I did make baklava too, and that was good and well worth the effort.)

Andrew and I had a horrible tarragon experience once and have avoided it like the plague since, but we used fresh tarragon and it was good.

Salad #2
Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Corn
This is SO good and SO easy! I've never used quinoa, but we loved this. I recommend starting with her basic recipe, because it is so simple and good, but once you've made it, the recipe has lots of potential for experimentation. We added lime juice and I think there is really no limit to the add-ins you can use.
We used the roasted frozen corn from Trader Joes, for extra roasty taste!

Blue Cheese BBQ Salad

This was invented in a "What are we going to eat tonight? I really don't want to cook rice" mood.

It is easy peasy and very good.
In Andrew's and my opinion, the ONLY BBQ sauce to use is Sweet Baby Rays, but to each his own...actually no, this just won't be as good if you don't use SBR's - "The Sauce is the Boss!"

Ingredients - prepare the ingredients for a big green salad with all the fixin's - beefy tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, shredded carrots, jicama, beets, what ever you like...

Rub a flank steak with a combination of kosher salt, pepper, crushed garlic and lemon juice and let sit while heating the grill/broiler. (This is a tasty rub for any cut of beef!)
Grill/broil a flank steak to level of preferred doneness.
After resting for a few minutes, slice long thin slices.

Combine favorite blue cheese dressing and Sweet Baby Rays

Layer lettuce, veggies, beef, croutons, and dressing and sprinkle more blue cheese if you like.
Enjoy!

We use homemade garlic sourdough croutons:
Cube sourdough bread
Toss with olive oil, kosher salt, and crushed garlic and bake until lightly crunchy.

If you want to kick it up a notch, sautee some red onions in a little balsamic and brown sugar, via Bittman, and add those too.

Favorite Salads at Seventh Ave.

Here in South Slope, we basically eat one of two salads probably five nights per week. In case you want to capture some of that fun, I am going to share both with you. First, the salad that started it all:

Italian Salad

(I just named it that: but I always think of it as Italian. The original came from my friend J., who DOES NOT like bell peppers, so my version would be an abomination to her.)

Please note amounts are approximate; I mean, its a salad, you know? Just make it up!

half a head Romaine or green leaf lettuce

1/3 of a green, yellow, or orange bell pepper

cherry tomatoes

half a ripe avocado

red onion

1/2 lemon

olive oil

nice flakey salt

Okay, so now I am going to introduce you to the Lola Method for Salad Perfection. Please vary in whatever way makes salads more perfect for you.

1. CUT UP the lettuce. This, I discovered, just makes salads better. No idea why. I like to stack all the leaves on top of each other, then slice off the ends. Slice longways 3 or so times. Then slice at a 90 degree angle shortways across the leaves. You should have delicious-looking lettuce squares.

2. Rinse. I am a crazy lady, apparently, because I do not understand the appeal of salad spinners. I toss those lettuce leaves into a colander, give 'em a rinse, shake em dry. Let them sit by the edge of the sink while you get the rest of your salad ready and they will be dry enough.

3. Chop up the veggies. I slice the red onion very thin, cut the cherry tomatoes in half, and cut the bell pepper into thin strips, which I then halve. You totes know how to do avocados.

4. Now the magic: toss those lettuce leaves into a nice big bowl. Add 2/3 to 3/4 of each of the other veggies to the salad. Save a bit of each out for later. Squeeze one half a lemon over all. Glug on some olive oil, and don't be shy about it! Then, then....you know this is so important it gets its own number...

5. Salt! Sprinkle on a goodly pinch or so. Did you know that the root of the word "salad" is "salt?" True fact! Don't leave out the salt or its not really a salad! I use redic fancy salt called Maldon flake salt and it is yummy on salad but I imagine any kosher type salt would do. Then get on in there with your hands and mix up the salad. Go ahead and use your hands. Taste and add salt if needed.

6. Other magic trick: you know how after you toss a salad all the goodies fall to the bottom and it just looks like you are serving a big bowl of lettuce? I have the fix: grab the portion of the veggies you saved out in step 4. Sprinkle them across the top of your dressed salad. Lovely!

7. Enjoy!

Bloody Mary Salad

I came up with this little number while trying to figure out what to do with limp celery and tomatoes that had only about 24 hours left in them...
To my delight, it captured the essence of the cocktail in a yummy way...

I like an olive garnish in my Bloody Mary, so I included one here too!

Salad:
- Tomatoes - sliced and de-juiced
- Celery - chopped
- Diced Green Olives - chopped
- Shallots - chopped
(Spinach or wild greens would work too for a lighter salad. Cucumbers and and hot pepper vodka would be a nice tribute to The Del's Bloody Mary.)

Dressing:
(Emulsify the following)
- 1/2oz Vodka
- 1/2 oz Olive Oil
- 1/2 oz Lemon Juice
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- Dashes of Tabasco to taste (I like lots!)
- Dash of Celery Salt
- Cracked Pepper
- A dash of sea salt (- watch the salt level!)

Toss and Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more (If using the greens toss right before serving).
This would also make a fun bruschetta for a cocktail party, or could be served in cocktail glasses with a garnish for fun!

* Cutting the tomatoes ahead of time, removing seeds, and salting them and letting them sit will draw out some juice that can then be used in the dressing, as desired

I just threw this together, so the measurements aren't exact, like any good drink!  I'd like to make the dressing a little thicker, but maybe de-juicing would help.