Tag: salad

Family Favorites · Vegan · Vegetarian

Kiwi Mandarin Salad…sweet and tangy!

cathysmaha2 Comments

Mandarin Salad, Colorado Cache Cookbook, is a staple for my friends and I.  It is so yummy and refreshing and perfect with BBQ chicken (check out my coming post on June 29, 2012).

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It’s perfect any time of year.  Experiment with it when other fresh fruits are available. This time, I added kiwi and Craisins and loved it!  The tangy kiwi and Craisins with the sugary almonds are delightful.

KIWI MANDARIN SALAD

SUGARED ALMONDS
1/2 cup sliced almonds, `
3 tablespoons sugar

SALAD
1/2 head iceberg lettuce
1/2 head romaine lettuce
1 cup chopped celery
2 whole green onions, chopped
11 ounces can mandarin oranges, drained
3 fresh kiwi, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup Craisins

DRESSING
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
dash Tabasco sauce

  • In a small pan over medium heat, cook almonds and sugar, stirring constantly until almonds are coated and sugar dissolved. Watch carefully as they will burn easily. Cool and store in air-tight container.
  • Mix all dressing ingredients and chill.
  • Mix lettuces, celery and onions.
  • Just before serving, add almonds, mandarins, kiwi and Craisins. Toss with the dressing.

Adapted from Colorado Cache Cookbook, Mandarin Salad

New Favorite · Skinny · Vegan · Vegetarian

French Green Bean Salad…light and fresh!

cathysmaha1 Comment

Our Book Club meets every other month and tries to match the pot-luck cuisine to align with the story.  This month our book was ‘Sarah’s Key’. I loved this book!  If you’ve not read it, I highly recommend it.  The story takes place in France during WWII.  While food and cooking wasn’t the topic of the book, French Cuisine was the food du jour.

French cooking brings Julia Child to mind but I was looking for something light and fresh.  I was delighted to find a French Green Bean Salad that was perfect!

French Green Bean Salad

FRENCH GREEN BEAN SALAD

Kosher Salt
1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill

Ingredients for French Green Bean Salad
  • Fill a large bowl with ice water. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Add the beans and cook for 1 minute only so the beans are crisp tender. Drain the beans and put them in the ice water until completely cool. Drain the beans again, dry on paper towels. Place the beans in a large bowl.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. While whisking, slowly add the olive oil to make an emulsion.
Dressing for French Green Bean Salad
  • Pour enough dressing over the beans to moisten them well, reserving the remaining dressing for another use. Toss with the dill, season to taste and serve at room temperature.

Recipe by foodnetwork.com, 2010 Barefoot Contessa

New Favorite · Skinny · Vegan · Vegetarian

Strawberry Spinach Salad…rite of spring

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What says Spring more than fresh spinach and strawberries?  I have a lonely bunch of spinach that popped up volunteer in my garden in late March.  The strawberries at the market are beautiful, so time to celebrate spring with this luscious salad.  I opted to top the salad with red onion and walnuts today but top with other items to make your salad unique!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

STRAWBERRY SPINACH SALAD

12 ounces fresh baby spinach
2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced
Optional Toppings: sliced red onion, walnuts, crumbled goat cheese, chopped fresh broccoli, blanched sugar snap peas,

SESAME-POPPY SEED DRESSING:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup oil
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

  • SALAD:  Combine baby spinach and strawberries in a large bowl; toss with 1/2 cup Sesame-Poppy Seed Dressing just before serving. Service with remaining dressing and toppings.
  • DRESSING: Pulse first 5 ingredients in a blender 2 or 3 times or until smooth. With blender running, add oil in a slow, steady stream; process until smooth. Stir in poppy seeds; chill 24 hours.
Nicaragua · Vegan · Vegetarian

Nicaragua … lunch and tortilla making!

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As we hiked back up the hill to the dining lodge, I was anxious for fresh fruit juice and a delightful lunch. Today, we enjoyed fresh juice and salad, and chicken/vegetable curry over rice.  Notice the gorgeous fresh flowers that graced our tables.

Fresh salad for lunch

Chicken curry over rice

Our afternoon activity was right up my alley. We were making corn tortillas with the staff over a wood stove as well as roasting and grinding coffee beans from the farm (coffee grinding to be covered in a future post of my full coffee experience).  I will never take corn tortilla making for granted!

Step one for authentic corn tortillas involves Masa, Spanish for dough. Masa is made from field corn which is dried and treated with a lime water solution.

Dried Corn prepared for Masa

Next, we ground the corn by hand with a grinder.  If we Americans did this every day, there would no more flabby upper arms…this is hard work!

Grinding the corn for Masa

After the corn was ground it was time to make the tortillas.  Our teacher was a pro but this virgin tortilla maker failed miserably.  I’ll spare you a photo of my alien-shaped wonder.

Cooking the tortilla over a wood stove

The final step was the taste test. The packaged corn tortillas from the grocery store don’t stand a chance compared to the real thing.

The women of Nicaragua are amazing.  Many do not enjoy the modern conveniences that we take for granted, yet are full of joy working hard to serve their families and guests wonderful food and hospitality.  I feel so blessed to experience this with our wonderful teacher.  I yearn for more!

Next week…more from Nicaragua!

Family Favorites · Garden

Fresh Tomato Salsa … just in time for the weekend

cathysmaha3 Comments
Garden Tomatoes

Every year I plant a vegetable garden with several varieties of tomatoes, onions, peppers, eggplant, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, cilantro, basil, rosemary and thyme.  2011 was not my best year in the garden.  Tomatoes were late to set but were coming on strong just in time for the first frost.  I picked all of the green tomatoes and brought them in the house to ripen.  Today is the day that this last memory of summer will create a wonderful fresh tomato salsa to share with neighbors and family this weekend.

Salsa is wonderful with chips but also a great topping for fresh fish, chicken, or even to dress a salad.  Or if you’re desperate for salsa, just eat it with a spoon!  My husband and I once observed a gentleman in a restaurant simply take the bowl of free salsa, crush in the free chips for his version of Gazpacho and then leave.  I’m not a fan of that behavior, but what you do in the privacy of your own home is your business!

Fresh Tomato Salsa

FRESH TOMATO SALSA

4 small (2 cups) tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Cilantro
1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
1 tablespoon vinegar
8 ounces tomato sauce

Mix together. Chill and serve.