Salad stories.

Grandma's Spaghetti Salad - comfort food, pure and simple

We lived near my father's parents while I was growing up and spent much time with them. I have many warm memories of my grandma, and more than a few of them are food-related. She would frequently cook for family gatherings such as birthdays and holidays. This is a dish she served from time to time that I remember really enjoying. In my adult life, I have not been a huge fan of pasta salads. It is just more enjoyable to me served warm. But I came across the recipe for this recently and felt like giving it a try again, just for "old times' sake." It really wasn't a recipe, but more of an ingredient list. Not having directions wasn't too big of a deal, but it does involve making a cooked dressing, that I wouldn't necessarily recommend to a novice, even with directions. But it didn't turn out half bad. There was one unfortunate incident. It calls for pimentos, which I happened to have in the pantry. Pimentos are unfortunately packaged in a glass jar. It is probably already obvious, that in the midst of getting them out and rearranging some other things, that pricey little glass jar of pimentos took a dive off the shelf onto the tile floor and exploded into a bajillion pieces.

Anyway, one child appreciated the rendezvous with historical family tastes and two did not even try it.

Summer Salad Series, part 7

Shrimp Orzo Salad - This was really good, but what I'd like to know is, who decides the estimated time to make these recipes? It seems like a good rule of thumb is to pretty much double whatever suggested time is given. For example, this one said 1/2 hour. Maybe if your shrimp is pre-shelled and cooked, and the vegetables pre-chopped. It was probably worth the hour it took to make it, but is not going to happen again during the school year.

Summer Salad Series, part 6

Little G always asks me to double or triple the amount of chicken made for this salad. The kids like it, though they don't usually eat it all mixed together this way.CHICKEN SALAD from BECKY R.
4 chicken breasts
1 oz olive oil
1 oz soy sauce
¼ tsp white pepper
¼ tsp thyme
Mix items 2-5 together and drizzle over chicken breasts. Bake at 325 for 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken is springy and not overdone. Slice chicken for serving and return to drippings.

Leafy lettuce or Belgian endive
Crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (I use feta)
Lightly chopped walnuts

Mix for dressing: 6 oz olive oil (I use 2-3 oz)
2 oz balsamic vinegar
1 tsp anchovy paste
4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 shallot chopped finely (I use scallion)

To serve: Serve lettuce with warm chicken and drippings, feta, walnuts, and dressing to taste.

Summer Salad Series, part 5 - Rosemary Chicken Salad

This is SO good! My friend Kay introduced it to me more than 4 years ago, and it has become one of our summer favorites. It's great for serving others or for packing in a cooler for a picnic.(Check below the recipe for money saving tips.*)

ROSEMARY CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES
From Cooking Light, issue??? (2005?)
3 c chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about ¾ lb)
1/3 c chopped green onions
¼ c chopped smoked almonds
¼ c plain fat-free yogurt
¼ c light mayonnaise

1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

10 slices whole grain bread

Combine first 9 ingredients, stirring well. Spread about 2/3 c of chicken mixture over each of 5 bread slices, and top with remaining bread slices. Cut sandwiches diagonally in half. Yield: 5 servings
Cal 360, fat 11g (sat 2.1g mono3.5 g poly 1.8g) Protein 33.6g, carb 29.9g, fiber 4.4g, chol 76mg, iron 2.9mg sodium 529mg, calc 104mg

*There are a few "splurge" items in here. WalMart carries their own brand of smoked almonds that are reasonably priced, and if you hide the can so certain people don't see them and munch on them till they're gone, one can is enough to make several recipes. Also, we have a "farmer's market" kind of store here where one can buy as much or as little of an herb as desired for $10/lb. Ten cents worth of rosemary was enough to make one teaspoon. If you don't have the option of buying a small quantity freeze the extra or plan ahead to use it in other recipes.

Summer Salad Series, part 4

Mexican Bean and Corn Salad

Summer Salad Series, part 3

Chilled Dilled New Potatoes

We enjoy a variety of salads in the summer, and especially experimenting with new ones that don't have mayonnaise in them as: a) a few of us are not fans of it, and b) I always like to come up with new things that can go along on family outings or to potlucks that is likely to spoil. This one has a vinegar and oil dressing, which fits the bill.

Summer Salad Series, part 2

CUBAN BEANS AND RICE SALAD
From Sunset 8/03, Linda Lum, Steilacoom, WA, Makes 6 cups, about 4 main-dish servings
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp gound cumin
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
3 c cooked long-grain white rice, cooled
1 can (15oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
8 oz firm-ripe tomatoes, rinsed, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1 firm-ripe avocado (about 9oz)
In a large bowl, mix lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in rice, beans, tomatoes, parsley, and cilantro. Pit, peel, and dice avocado. Gently stir into salad. Serve immediately or chill up to 4 hours.
Per serving: 364 cal., 37% (135cal)from fat, 8.6g prot., 15 g fat (2.2g sat); 50 g carb (5.2 g fiber); 768 mg sodium

Summer Salad

Warm Thai Beef Salad - I've added the recipe below, but didn't take the time to make the ingredients into a single column. You'll have to copy and paste and seperate them out. It automatically deletes the spaces/tabs when posting.WARM THAI BEEF SALAD
From The Complete Whole Grain Cookbook by Carol Gelles, p. 116, makes 4 servings
This salad is a good example of the Thai cooking principles of balancing sweet and sour, hot and salty flavors.
¼ c fresh lime juice 1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 ½ Tbs soy sauce 1 ½ c cooked and cooled long grain white rice (preferably jasmine)
1 Tbs vegetable oil ½ c chopped red onion
1 Tbs sugar 1 Tbs chopped fresh coriander
2 cloves garlic 2 c shredded lettuce
½ tsp salt ½ c chopped cucumber
1 lb ground beef ½ c chopped tomato
Put the lime juice, soy sauce, oil, sugar, garlic, and salt into a blender container. Cover and blend until smooth; set aside.
In a large skillet, cook the beef and pepper flakes until the beef is no longer pink. Stir in the rice, red onion, and coriander. Remove from heat. Pour on the dressing, and toss until combined.
Serve on a bed of lettuce and top with chopped cucumber and tomato.
Nut info: Cal 457, chol 99mg, sodium 942mg, fiber 1 g