Lunch Salad

I haven't been out of the house in about 8 weeks, so sometimes it's hard to remember to eat an actual meal instead of just picking at something, or even having a cup of hot tea to get through to "later".  Whenever "later" might be.  Because, you know, what day is it?  "Day."

Meanwhile, Patrick is finishing his last semester of his senior year of his accounting degree online, and cursing roundly about it.  But at least his having to do zoom classes a couple of times per week defines Wednesdays and...which other day was it again?

So, a couple of days back, I decided to make myself a better than average salad.  I took some spring mix, chopped up an apple, cucumber, mozzarella, a touch of leftover steak, and walnuts, and added balsamic vinaigrette.  It was inspired by a salad I had at Panera (which had chicken involved, so the connection is shaky, at best).

One of these days I'll be inspired to post and actual recipe.  Meanwhile, on my sewing blog, I just posted pictures of the dresses I made for myself and my beautiful granddaughters for Christmas.  Nothing like getting pictures out there on time, right?

Happy Wednesday (I'm pretty sure), everyone!

Pink Coleslaw!

I'll bet you all thought I forgot how to cook, right?  Not really.  It's a little bit hard to convert things to "Cardiologist Approved" format, and a lot hard to remember to find the fool camera, take a picture, copy the recipe, etc, etc, etc...or maybe I'm just lazy.

Anyway, Ryan went to the supermarket to pick up a few things for our Memorial Day Cook-In (come on, you know I don't grill).  While there, he called me to inquire as to whether I knew how to make coleslaw.  "Sure," I said, "but if not, I can bluff."  So with instruction to come home with cabbage, I was all set to formulate the perfect coleslaw for Ryan and his father.

PINK COLESLAW

1/2 head green cabbage
1/4 head red cabbage
3 carrots (about 1/4 pound)
1-1/2 cups light mayonnaise
4 to 6 tbso white vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tbsp celery seed or sesame seed

Scoop the mayonnaise into a large bowl.  Add the vinegar, one tablespoon at a time, stirring to incorporate, until the mixture still holds some shape, but drizzles off the spoon.  Stir in the condiments and set aside.  Shred the carrots and red cabbage with the shredder blade of your food processor and scoop them into the bowl with the mayo mix.  Chop the green cabbage, then use the slicer blade in the food processor to cut it into strips.  Add that to the bowl, then stir the whole thing until the cabbage and carrots are thoroughly coated.  Chill for a minimum of one hour.

I was delighted by the pretty pink color this coleslaw had, and my dearly beloved was amused at my happiness.  He also was surprised at how good it was.  Ryan ate at least 1/3 of this on Saturday morning for breakfast, informing me that he "feasted upon the pink coleslaw."  Best of all, it's extremely low in sodium and with the light mayo there is no cholesterol!  (I've been working on a no-cholesterol mayo, and while my flavor is fine, the consistency is a little lacking, so no posting yet.  But Kraft light mayo has no cholesterol, so that takes some of the pressure off.)

So, there's a great, easy, one-bowl recipe for your summer cookouts or cook-ins!  Remember, Ryan feasted on it, it's just that good!

Happy weekending, everyone!

Artichoke Salad

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you!  It's a beautiful Monday here in my little corner of the world, 2 months after my dearly beloved's triple bypass.  There's nothing like a close brush with one's mortality to make every day good, even Mondays!

This recipe came from my new American Heart Association cookbook, sort of.  It actually called for rice and other ingredients, but I just don't think cold rice would be a delightful dish, even if it is called a "salad".  That shouldn't surprise you; I am the same person who dislikes potato salad and macaroni salad, after all.  But this variation of marinated artichokes will delight you.  Heart friendly and low in sodium; what could be better?

ARTICHOKE SALAD

1 pound artichoke hearts, frozen or canned, quartered

Dressing:
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Put all dressing ingredients in the blender in the order given, and blend thoroughly.  Pour over the artichokes, and let it sit for an hour or more before serving.  (Thanks, Audrey, for pointing out that my directions were unclear.)  I doubled the recipe, and had a little left over, which I used on a salad the next day - also wonderful.

Easy, fast and flavorful!  What could be better?

Happy Monday, everyone; enjoy your green beer, food, or whatever you're having!

Lucky Me!

Deana at Lost Past Remembered hosted a Girard's Salad Dressing giveaway recently. And last week, my lovely package arrived, because I was one of two lucky winners! So, thank you, Deana!

I've seen other people comment on the salad dressing bottles, and they really are quite pretty. The set also comes with this cute little booklet, with a little of this and that in it, including a fold out chart on how to set a complete formal table. I don't know about you, but the whole 3 each of forks, knives, spoons and glasses is never going to fly with me. I'm just saying. Nonetheless, it's rather entertaining reading.

My first foray into these dressings was a simple salad:

Champagne Cucumber Salad

2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced
2 carrot, peeled and grated
Girard's Champagne Salad Dressing

Put the veggies in a bowl; pour whatever amount of dressing you like over them, and let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
The Champagne Salad Dressing has a different kind of tang to it, somewhat reminiscent of the tang in Dijon mustard. I very much enjoyed it, as did some of my hungry hordes. I just won't share with the ingrates.

The next idea was a little different, inspired by my apple tree and some leftovers!

APPLE POPPYSEED CHICKEN SALAD

1 cooked, cold chicken leg and thigh
2 medium apples, cored and diced small
1/2 cup craisins
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (I mixed mine)
Approx. 1/4 cup Girard's Apple Poppyseed Dressing

Cut the chicken into bite sized morsels. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, apples, craisins, and nuts (if desired). Pour the Girard's Apple Poppyseed Dressing over the mixture, using more if you want a wetter chicken salad. I served some in a sandwich to my dearly beloved, who dubbed it "strange." I believe that's because this is a somewhat sweet dressing. I just loved it; I wolfed the remainder of the bowl down without bread or other encumbrances.
Now, to figure out what to do with the other two dressings! What a puzzle to have to endure just before Labor Day weekend, right?

Garden Tuesday: Hydrangea

I should have put some evergreen tree spikes around my hydrangea this year. It's back to being white, instead of pink. But it is flourishing, and I love that the flowers stay on the bush when they dry, leaving spots of color throughout the drab winter!

And for those of you "suffering" a glut of tomatoes and cucumbers, here's an easy fix for you:

TASTE OF SUMMER SALAD

2 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced
4 large tomatoes, cut in large chunks
1/2 cup Zesty Italian salad dressing

Cut the veggies, combine in a bowl, and refrigerate at least 15 minutes, and up to 2 days. The Italian dressing keeps the veggies from softening up. This amount fed five of us as a side dish; I was saddened to see that I didn't even have any left for lunch today.

Summer Chicken Salad

For those of you looking for something light to kick off your Independence Day Weekend, this is the salad for you. It's got a nice amount of substance, and the pairing of sweet and tart ingredients is terrific. Too bad I have no more chicken in my fridge!

SUMMER CHICKEN SALAD

1 plate mixed greens
1/2 cup roast chicken pieces
1/2 cup diced pineapple pieces
Italian Vinaigrette Dressing:
1/3 cup wine vinegar
1 minced garlic clove
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup salad oil

Arrange the greens, chicken and pineapple on your plate. For the dressing, pour the ingredients into a cruet in the order given; shake vigorously. The dressing stays together better if it's chilled for a while before use.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

A Thorsday Appetizer

You know my boy Ryan has been sick. So we haven't been doing much school work. And I feel my skills becoming a little rusty.

We have not been romping in the yard. And I need more romping.

This is what I've been doing. A lot.

Queen Bitty recently contacted me, and demanded that my human get that salad dressing recipe for her human. Really, for a 4 pound dog, she can be quite demanding. I prefer to get my way by charm. Now, over to my human for....

Marinated Artichoke Hearts

Thank you, Thor.

My dearly beloved loves artichokes. Steamed with drawn butter or marinated, the man adores artichokes. so, rather than pay the excess price for marinated artichokes, I long ago learned to simply buy cans of artichoke hearts, drain them well, quarter them and plop them into Italian salad dressing. My own dressing, of course. And, for Duckie, here's a recipe for a great Italian dressing; feed it to Ben to your heart's content!

ITALIAN DRESSING

1/4 cup wine vinegar
2 tbsp water
2 tsp finely minced onion
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder (more, if desired)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup salad oil (not olive oil)

Mix the onion and spices into the vinegar, shake well, and let it sit for at least an hour. Add the water and oil, shake and serve. Great on salads, it's also wonderful as a marinade, or poured over steak or chicken before grilling. You really need to let the spices soften up and mix with the vinegar to get the full effect, and the water will keep the vinegar from making your eyeballs spin inside your head. Olive oil becomes rather viscous and unpourable in the refrigerator, thus I caution you against using it. This is another "Learn from my mistake!" moment. You can use white vinegar instead of wine vinegar, but look how pretty this is!

Happy Thorsday, everyone. Thor is hoping for healthy boys and no rain next week!

Thousand Island Dressing

Who else likes to make their own salad dressing? When all of the kids are home, I don't make all that they want, because then I could spend my life with the blender and never get to eat. Well, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing, especially at the end of the Grand Celebratory Season, which is rapidly approaching....anyway....

Who thought up Thousand Island Dressing, anyway? I've been to the Thousand Islands, located in the St. Lawrence Seaway between New York and Ontario. Rich people used to build giant vacation houses there. Does that seem like the kind of people who would suddenly holler at each other, "Dude! Let's put ketchup on our salads!" Ah, yes, I suffer such strange contemplations.

THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING

3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp sweet relish
1/2 tsp very finely minced onion
1/2 tsp horseradish
1 tsp water (if desired, to thin the dressing a little)

Mix the ingredients together (I use one of those Good Seasons cruets) and chill at least 30 minutes. Pour over your salad, and ignore people who poke fun at you for putting ketchup on your salad. It even adds flavor to the relatively bland Iceberg lettuce.

Katie and Michelle in the Southern Hemisphere, I know you're starting your kitchen gardens. Hope this is inspiration to you!

Garden Tuesday: Salads

Boy, if I didn't know this was "gardening by the square foot", I'd swear I had a lovely thicket going on here, wouldn't you?
These are the first baby tomatoes I've seen. I don't really like the fact that I can't focus the digital camera. I really love the pictures I take with my good old Leica, but I really enjoy the convenience of digital. Dilemmas in life.

And my first baby zucchini. Lots of people curse the prolific zucchini. I love them. I love them raw, cooked, in bread, however I can get them. I'm thinking of shredding some and freezing them so I can enjoy zucchini bread through the winter. We'll see how that goes.

Of course, with my bountiful lettuce, on taco night, I decided I didn't want to get my hands dirty. Instead, I made myself a taco salad. Who needs the tortilla, anyway?

And lunch: Hawaiian salad, green lettuce with tomatoes, pineapple, shredded coconut and balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

How are your gardens growing?