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Salad

Wordless Wednesday – Fattoush

August 19, 2010
Lebanese, Mediterranean, pita bread, Salad
6 Comments

FATTOUSH

RECIPE

3 hearts romaine, chopped

1/2 English cucumber or 3 Armenian cucumbers, peeled and sliced

2 cups grape tomatoes, sliced

1/4 cup sweet onion, chopped finely

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped finely

1 1/2 cups crushed pita chips

1 tsp. sumac (optional)

DRESSING

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3-4 T lemon juice (or balsamic vinegar)

1/2 tsp. garlic, mashed into a paste

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Chop the romain and place in a salad bowl. Add the cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and mint. The mint is what makes this salad so fresh. It should make 1/2 cup after it has been finely chopped. Gently toss the ingredients with the dressing. Add the pita chips and sumac and gently toss again. For the perfect, healthy meal, add canned tuna or shredded chicken. Although fattoush is well-known for its lemony dressing, I prefer balsamic vinegar. Either will do. Serves 4.

Armenian Cucumbers

Garlic Mashed with Salt

Fresh Mint

Curry Chutney Chicken Salad – Cool Summer Salad

June 25, 2010
chicken, Curry, Salad
4 Comments

With my friends out by the pool,
Trying hard to keep it cool.

Lemonade may quench our thirst,
But our hunger’s at its worst.

What to eat that’s not too heavy,
That will satisfy this bevvy?

Soup too hot.
Lettuce? Not!

Oh! I know the perfect thing.
A cool and sweet and tangy zing.

Cube some chicken, slice some grapes,
Celery and scallions to keep our shapes.

Toss it with a creamy dressing,
Simple stuff – no need for stressing.

A chutney, mayo, yogurt team,
A lemony, peppered, curried dream.

All you need is fork in hand,
But scoops will make this luncheon grand.

Cold and sweet and salty too.
I take it out to feed my crew.

This one I don’t need to sweat,
With sounds of “Yum” my ears are met.

CURRIED CHICKEN SALAD

4 chicken breasts,  cooked and cut into chunks/cubes

2 fuji apples, peeled and sliced into thin squares

1 1/2 cups red or black seedless grapes, sliced in half

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 scallions, chopped

1/2 jar Crosse & Blackwell’s Major Grey’s Chutney

1/4 cup plain yogurt

2 T mayonnaise

1 T Dijon mustard

2 T lemon juice

1 T curry powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. coarse black pepper

1/4 cup almonds, slivered (for garnish)

Tortilla Chips – Scoops, optional

Cook and cube four boneless chicken breasts.  To save on time,  rotisserie chickens from the grocery store are an excellent choice as they are juicy and flavorful.  Place the cubed chicken in a mixing bowl.  Add the grapes, apples, celery and scallions and set in the refrigerator to cool.

In a second mixing bowl, add the yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, chutney, curry powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Mix well.

Gently toss the chicken mixture with the dressing.  Serve in a lettuce cup or small bowl topped with slivered almonds.  Serves 4-6.

APPLE – PERSIMMON AUTUMN SALAD

November 18, 2009
persimmons, Salad, Uncategorized
6 Comments

 

For this tasty autumn salad,
I could almost write a ballad.

A wondrous pleasure for the senses,
For which I don’t need defenses.

My love for sweet is no surprise,
This one won’t go to my thighs.

Persimmons, apples, nuts and greens,
I’ll still fit inside my jeans.

Creamy, tangy Gorgonzola,
“Protein, not fat!” says friend, Viola.

So what if sugar hugs the nut?
I’ll burn it ‘fore it hits my butt.

Just chewing has to count for some,
So fork it up and just say, “Yum!”

Four bowls later I’ll admit,
It tastes so good – this stuff’s the sh@%!

Excuse my impropriety,
I lost myself in fruity glee.

Time to put the shovel down,
Feeling stuffed and kinda’ round.

Staying slim a crazy dream,
Now I have a busted seam! :(

Apple-Persimmon Autumn Salad

This is another one of my mother’s fantastic recipes.  The great thing about this salad is that you can change up the fruit, nuts and cheese to make it a year-round or seasonal salad. There really is no perfect recipe. Add whatever you like. In fact, pomegranate seeds make a great substitute, or addition, to the dried cranberries this time of year.

3 Hearts of Romaine – chopped

2 Celery Stalks – diced

2 Green Onions – no whites

2 Fuji Apples – peeled and sliced into thin squares

2 Fuyu Persimmons – peeled and sliced into thin squares

1 Cup Dried Cranberries or Pomegranate Seeds (or 1/2 and 1/2)

1 Cup Pecans or Walnuts – chopped

1 Cup Gorgonzola or Bleu Cheese – crumbled

2 Tbsp. Sugar

Dressing

1/2 Cup Light Olive Oil

1/4 Cup White Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tbsp. Lime Juice

1 Tbsp.  Sugar

1/2 tsp. Salt

In a pan, roast the nuts with the sugar until they become caramelized.  Set aside to cool. Wash all of the vegetables.  Chop the romaine into bite-size pieces. Add the celery, green onions, apples and persimmons.  Pour on the dressing and gently toss. Add the cheese and nuts last and give the salad a few gentle tosses.  Serves 6.

THIS IS NO FROU-FROU SALAD

September 2, 2009
Cabbage, Salad
1 Comment

Chopped Red Cabbage Salad

Red Cabbage Salad Ingredients

Red Cabbage and Bean Salad

Out with friends I must go to enjoy the lettuce I love so.  In my home, to my dismay, there is no bib or fragile frisee.  Alas, no arugula or butter crunch.  For such finery, it is out to lunch.  Forget the beats with citrus dressing. For them I am always obsessing.  Dreams of  endive, radicchio too. Dressing so lovely, creamy and bleu. 

Ok!  Enough of that!  Sorry, I can’t help myself. 

What I am trying to say is that my family likes a hearty salad.  One that will suffice as a one-course meal or at least pair well with a bowl of soup.  Soup and salad are on my menu at least twice a week, no matter the season.  The last few days, though, the heat has come on strong so we dropped the soup and had one of our favorite salads, a hearty bean and red cabbage.  It is definitely a meal in itself.  Although not included in this recipe, add shredded chicken or tuna for a very filling, very satisfying salad.

Ingredients

1 head red cabbage

3 tomatoes (Shady Lady if available – grape tomatoes make a nice substitute)

5  Kelly or 1 English cucumber

1/2 cup finely chopped small red or sweet white onion

1 cup rinsed garbanzo beans

1/2 cup rinsed kidney beans

1 cup fresh mint leaves (rinsed and dried)

Chopped Red Cabbage Salad Ingredients

Chopped Red Cabbage and Bean Salad Ingredients

Wash and dry all vegetables.  For the onion, consider quartering and soaking it in ice water in the refrigerator for at least two hours. This will cut the sting and leave only the sweetness. Cut the head of red cabbage in half at the spine.  Cut again into quarters. Shred along the flat side of the cabbage. Place into a salad bowl.  Chop the tomatoes and cucumbers into small, bite-sized pieces and add them to the shredded cabbage.  Finely chop the onion and mint and add those as well.  Add the garbanzo and kidney beans.

Salad Dressing

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 small clove garlic

2 teaspoon coarse salt

Add salt and garlic to a mortar.  Mash them together with a pestle.  To a measuring cup, add olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice.  Transfer garlic mixture to measuring cup and whisk until blended well. Pour over salad and gently toss. 

Chopped Red Cabbage Salad with Pita Chips

Chopped Red Cabbage Salad with Pita Chips

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