Reading as many recipes as I do in the course of a few months, unless I make notes, or recognize the print style, I can’t recall where I read or heard about a recipe. Such with this one. I think it was on somebody’s blog that I read about it. And the writer sent us off to the New York Times’ website to retrieve it, which I did, as it was in that week’s food section. I think. It wasn’t all that long ago – like a month. It’s  a Mark Bittman recipe – he of restaurant and TV fame. And cookbook fame too – he’s done one or more books about the “Best” of specific recipes (kind of like Cook’s Illustrated in a way). I don’t own any of his tomes. But, I will tell you this recipe is awfully darned good. When I did a search for this recipe I noticed a lot of other food bloggers are on this recipe’s bandwagon too. I’m  delighted to join the parade.

It’s a salad, or a side vegetable combo. The list of ingredients is simple: sweet potatoes (I used the dark orange type we call yams), onions, both roasted with olive oil, S&P, then tossed with some canned black beans (rinsed & drained), some minced bell peppers, a passel of cilantro chopped, and then the very simple dressing (pictured at left) of olive oil, some minced green chile (hot type like jalapeno), garlic and lime juice. Very simple. And very extra delicious, I assure you. The recipe said to toss the salad with the dressing just before serving, but I think soaking it in the dressing for awhile just brightened all the flavors. There was still a bit of dressing in the bottom of the bowl which I just left there for the leftovers. My first foray into Mark Bittman’s world produced a great recipe. I’d make this again anytime.
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A year ago: Peppers for Cold Meats (a kind of relish – I liked it so much I’ve posted about it twice and have made it 3 times in the last 6 months)

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Does this salad ring a nostalgic bell in your head? I know my mother used to make something like this when I was very young. I think her concoction was just peas, cheese and mayo. Maybe it included some chopped-up sweet pickle. My friend Norma, who is recovering from major surgery, is trying to eat a few more things – like veggies – not just the puddings and smooth things she was eating a few weeks ago. That’s progress, I think. So I asked her what sounded good. She mentioned a pea salad with cheese cubes in it. Sure thing. She also thought green beans sounded good. So I cooked up a batch of baby green beans with bacon and onion. And I tried to create a pea salad that would intrigue her taste buds. She nixed the pickles (I only had relish, and that didn’t appeal to her).

But I added in some other things that may not have been in any of the 1950 era recipes – like bacon. A few recipes I found included macaroni, so I dug around in my pasta stash and found these baby tubes. And I included some hard boiled eggs in the salad too. I scooped out a small portion for us to eat and took the bulk of it to Norma. The salad is really good – amazing how just some simple ingredients can taste so good. Not exactly gourmet, but hey, once in awhile we need comfort food, right?
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A year ago: Chicken Chili
Two years ago: Chocolate Almond Biscotti

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In a few days I’m going to post a recipe that’s really designed to go with this – a broiled salmon (in the photo) with an Asian glaze to go on it. And this salad, this noodle salad, is the bed on which you would place the salmon fillet. But this noodle dish is good on its own, so that’s why I’m posting it separately. Except for bean sprouts, I could make this salad almost any day of the week, since I almost always have carrots, celery, green onions, cilantro and spaghetti on hand.

This salad is not overwhelming with Asian flavors – probably another reason I liked it so much. The recipe came from a cooking class with Phillis Carey. It’s served at room temp. You can have everything chopped up and ready ahead of time. Just don’t throw it all together until you’re about ready to serve it. I also recommend you use low sodium soy sauce. Actually I reduced the amount of soy sauce in the recipe (1/2 cup instead of 2/3) because it could tend to be too salty. If the salty soy doesn’t bother you, then use the 2/3 cup. Phillis said she usually uses sugar snap peas instead of celery – it would make it ever-so much prettier with the bright green of the peas. She also uses agave nectar when she makes it, so I put that in (and reduced the amount because the original called for 1/4 cup sugar). If you don’t have agave, use the full complement of sugar.

Surely this salad would be good as leftovers – just tuck it away in the refrigerator and toss it again when you want some. Possibly the bean sprouts wouldn’t survive more than a day, though, and add some more cilantro too. Celery sometimes gets soggy once it’s in dressing. But the taste would be fine. Serve it with any kind of grilled fish, I would think. Or pork chops with an Asian hint. Or chicken also with an Asian bent.
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Two years ago: Lentil Soup (my dad’s recipe)

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A week or so ago the doorbell rang, and it was a gentleman who sells frozen meat products in our area. Now normally I might be suspicious of any door-to-door truck with food, but the company has a website, and they have sales agreements with restaurants and end consumers. Some who have a standing order once a month. Or twice a month. The first intriguing thing that hooked me was the fact that they carry Newport Meat Co. meats (mostly beef and lamb). Having had a tour of that wholesale meat company here in Newport Beach, once upon a time, and having purchased (and eaten) their superior meats from time to time, I knew this might be a good thing. The company, this personal-truck-delivery, Personal Gourmet, sells line-caught fish, Kobe, prime and top choice Angus beef, free range poultry and pork, lamb and veal.

Recently I’ve been trying hard to empty out our freezers. Well, not empty, but at least use some of the meat and other things in them. They’re so full I can hardly get anything in there. So, of course, there WAS some room when this fellow stopped by. In the end, I decided to try two items – Australian, very large shrimp and bone-in double thick pork chops. We  haven’t tried the latter yet, but will soon. And I dug into the shrimp bags the other night to try these big, meaty shrimp.

If you’ve been reading my blog for long, then you know that I’m more than a little leery of most shrimp. I don’t buy Asian shrimp, period. Having read an article awhile back about some of the questionable conditions shrimp are raised in farmed beds, it said to seek out American shrimp. Which are hard to find. I don’t know anything about Australian, but I sort of assumed these would be as good as. What they are, are HUGE. Not like the Mexican Guaymas shrimp that are about 4 inches across, but these are big – nearly as long as an avocado (see picture). Our meat guy said 2 of them were a serving. So I was a good girl and just defrosted 4 shrimp.

This salad was very simple to put together. I started with a recipe I’d clipped out of an old Cooking Light magazine. I didn’t have all the ingredients, so I improvised (walnuts instead of pumpkin seeds, blueberries instead of mango, fennel instead of radishes). I also changed the dressing a bit after reading the reviews online for this recipe. More olive oil was called for, I thought, and I added some agave nectar to sweeten the dressing a little. Oh, and I added croutons, since I had some on hand.

We liked the salad very much. I stuck fairly closely to the dressing ingredients (although I doctored the quantities), and we definitely liked the flavor combination (garlic, lime juice, seasoned rice vinegar, cumin, paprika). But because I had the nice, big shrimp, I left them whole rather than cut them up into smaller pieces. Your choice. In addition, I reduced the amount of shrimp (the original recipe called for more than a cup apiece).
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A year ago: About Penzey’s jarred broth concentrates

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‘Tis the season for watermelon. And if you haven’t tried one of the salads mentioned here on my blog, with watermelon and Feta, well, here’s another one. If I had to rank them, I still think the plain one with just watermelon and Feta is the best, but this was good too. Different.

It’s just a combo of watermelon cubes or balls, Feta (the recipe calls for ricotta salata, but I wasn’t going to drive 10 miles to get it), red onion slices, arugula, walnuts and a citrus dressing. The most time consuming was cutting the watermelon. Once that was done, it was fairly quick work preparing the rest of the mixture. The recipe is Sardinian. Can’t say that I’ve cooked much from Sardinia. Have you? I assumed not. Anyway, this was written up in Food & Wine Magazine in 2007. The recipe come from a gentleman named Efisio Farris, and I think he owns a winery there. What he said about this is that in his country watermelon and arugula grow next to one another, so putting them together in a salad was a natural combination.

The original recipe called for orange juice. I didn’t have any, so used pineapple juice instead. Farris said that raspberry vinegar is a regular staple in his region, and that we’d find the dressing (orange juice, raspberry vinegar, lime juice and a little olive oil) a never-to-forget combination. Uh, well, okay. Maybe I’ll need to try this with the orange juice to verify that statement. Anyway, everyone liked the salad. It’s refreshing, perfect for a warm summer evening. I will tell you, though, don’t plan for leftovers because the dressing just kind of mutilates the salad after sitting in it for a couple of hours – what was left the other day was mostly mush, so had to toss it out. I suppose I could have whizzed it up in the blender and called it watermelon soup, but I didn’t. Anyway, I’d make this again, but I’d likely use MUCH less dressing. It doesn’t need hardly any, anyway. And, I think this serves far more than 4 people – there must be a typo in the recipe – each person would be eating nearly a pound of watermelon. Noooo. Too much. I didn’t weigh the watermelon, so I really don’t know how much of 3 pounds I used. I served 10 people with a double recipe and had leftovers. So judge it yourself and definitely taste as you add the dressing and use less . . . rather than more.
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A year ago: Shrimp Avocado Salsa
Two years ago:Baked Brie & Apples

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It’s been a year or so since I made this salad. It’s SO darned good. And SO darned EASY. My DH loves it besides! He was a very happy camper that we had this for dinner the other night. I’m fortunate that Dave enjoys and relishes having a salad for dinner – a dinner with nothing BUT salad. Usually the salad has some kind of protein in it – in this case a small amount of bacon – but any way I make it, he likes it. I had a fresh baguette, so I made some garlic croutons to go with it. Enjoyed the bit of crunch.

In case you didn’t read it when I posted this recipe back in 2007, I highly recommend it. This recipe is in my “Carolyn’s Fav’s,” one of the tabs at the top where I’ve listed my very favorite recipes.

A year ago: Wellesley Chocolate Chip Cookies
Two years ago: Lumpia (a Filipino appetizer)

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Really, I’ve always liked garbanzo beans (chickpeas). Love them? No. But that was until I tried a recent recipe for them (the utterly unbelievably delicious garbanzo bean salad with Feta and Cilantro, that came from Farmgirl Fare’s blog, and she got it from a book called Falling Cloudberries). So, my antennae are on alert now for anything garbanzo beans. Therefore, when I read this garbanzo bean salad recipe at 5secondrule’s blog, I knew I had to try this one too.

Using canned garbanzo beans makes any chickpea dish easy. I know it’s no trouble to boil beans, for goodness’ sake, but they’re so inexpensive in a can. And the canned ones are at the perfect peak of softness. Or firmness; whatever bite descriptor you prefer! And, I didn’t have to heat up my kitchen. I almost always have canned garbanzos in my pantry, so it was no problem for me to pull out the ingredients for this salad. I had all the ingredients on hand (some Thai red curry sauce, cilantro, fresh mint from the garden, fresh lime juice and fresh tomatoes). Oh yes, some light coconut milk too. Who would think that a garbanzo bean salad would have coconut milk in it. This isn’t a hot dish, but a cold, perfect-for-summer salad. It takes just a few hours of merging the flavors and it’s ready to serve. There is just a hint of heat to this. The original recipe called for Thai red curry paste. I didn’t have that, but did have a bottle of a sauce from Trader Joe’s. I knew it was good because I’ve used it before for something else. I do, now, have a partial jar of red curry sauce in the refrigerator, so will have to figure out what to do with it. Meanwhile, we’ll have eaten up all of this salad in no time. It’s good. It’s a tiny bit spicy. It’s a tiny bit creamy, but you don’t realize there is coconut milk in it. Above all remember that this salad comes together in a jiffy.
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A year ago: Noodles in Jade Sauce
Two years ago: Caramelized Apple Gingerbread

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Last night we had some friends, Bob & Peggy, over for dinner. Bob is recovering from open heart surgery, but after just two weeks he felt up to coming to our house for dinner. Bless his heart! They have minimal air conditioning at their house, so I was grateful they’d come here, rather than me needing to package up everything  (hot) and take it to their house. Their kitchen is not air conditioned. Peggy said, don’t go to too much work. So instead of finding all kinds of new recipes, I decided to use some old tried-and-true ones.

No special appetizers – just some tortilla chips and a cheese dip. I did make a garbanzo bean salad that I read about yesterday on somebody else’s blog (I’ll write that up as a separate post, though). I had some meatloaf frozen which became the main dish of the meal. But instead of spreading it with my usual sweet and sour sauce, I decided to dig out the recipe for Red Peppers for Cold Meat that I wrote up last year. Perfect for a spoon full on top and along side a baby meatloaf. Then I made a watermelon salad that’s so refreshing in this hot-hot weather. And an old family standby, a chocolate cake from a mix. So here’s what I made:

Meatloaf – last time I made meatloaf, I froze them in individual portions (about 4 inches by 1 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches. Not only do they defrost a bit easier, but they take a lot less time to bake too. I used my old favorite, the meatloaf mixture only from my Sweet & Sour Meatloaf.

Red Peppers for Cold Meats – well, I’d used it before as a relish for baked meatloaf, and knew it tasted great. This time I had less red bell peppers, but I had a poblano/pasilla chile, so added that to the mixture. This time I used more onion too. The preparation of it is certainly flexible. It keeps for a long time in the refrigerator.

Minted Watermelon & Feta Salad – this pairing is a match made in heaven. If you haven’t ever tried it, well, you’re missing something special. I was ever-so skeptical before tasting it the first time over a year ago, but now I’m a true convert. Especially when watermelons are in season (now). There is a Tomato & Watermelon Salad too, with red onion, but this one is a Martha Stewart recipe. I made it with watermelon, feta and mint since I had ample tomatoes in the red pepper mixture and in the garbanzo salad too.

Garbanzo Bean Salad with Thai Curry Sauce – Ever so easy to do. Couldn’t believe how easy. Uses canned chickpeas and bottled Thai red curry paste/sauce and coconut milk. Yes, this really is a cold salad. And extra delicious. Stay tuned in a few days for that recipe.

German Chocolate Chip Cake – this is an old family standby that normally uses a German chocolate cake mix. I didn’t have one, so used a regular chocolate cake mix instead. It’s so simple – spread the cake batter in a 9×13 pan, sprinkle it with sugar, cinnamon, walnuts and about 2/3 cup of chocolate chips. Bake as usual. Some of the nuts and chips sink down into the cake; some stay on top. And the sugar/cinnamon mixture gives the cake a finished look without making frosting. Especially good with vanilla ice cream. I didn’t have any, so I used whipped cream instead.

A year ago: Feta Tomato Gratin (easy appetizer)

Two years ago: Apple Cherry Walnut Green Salad

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It may be a long time since I’d made this – as long as 14 years ago. On the day that our daughter, Dana, was married in our backyard. About 50 people were invited and having a catered lunch was just not in the cards. So I elicited help from family and friends to help with the last-minute food prep to serve a nice lunch buffet. I served a Cornish game hen salad that had been a favorite (still is), and this salad. In this dish we covered salad and carbs all in one.

Once Dana & Todd said their vows, we served shrimp & avocado salsa to keep everyone’s tummies under control. It was a very, very hot September day. My treasured punch bowl broke when we served the punch – I’d placed the bowl on a table outside and it sat in the sun for about 4-5 minutes before I poured the iced punch into the bowl. I heard the crack. And shortly thereafter, all the punch dribbled out the bottom of the bowl, all over the tablecloth and all over the patio. Sigh. I’ve never replaced the punch bowl. Thought about it, but haven’t.

Ideally this dish is made with red-skinned potatoes, but I had some of those new baby potatoes on hand – they’re called “teeny tiny potatoes.” The recipe came from Bon Appétit, way back in 1994. The recipe is available online, and some people who made it thought the dressing was too heavy and oily. Indeed, if you poured all the dressing onto the potatoes it might be – but I never have. I always have dressing left over, so keep that in mind. I’ve added another tablespoon of vinegar to the mix – I like it better myself.

A secret, if there is one, to this recipe is pouring apple cider vinegar over the hot potatoes. As with many absorbent carbs (like beans and potatoes), they benefit from a lot of acid. I have a sensational bean salad that I make that has almost no oil in it – all vinegar. The beans soak up the acid, and somehow the starch in the bean just neutralizes the vinegar. Don’t know how or why that works, but it does. This recipe works much the same way. You can leave the potatoes out at room temp for up to 4 hours, so it’s just a matter of making the Romaine salad part, tossing dressing on the potatoes, spreading them on top of the salad, then sprinkling capers on top.

I had leftovers after serving this, so I removed the Romaine and saved the all-dressed potatoes. The next night I made a more traditional green salad (Romaine, radishes, red cabbage only) and piled the potatoes on top. I also dressed the entire salad with the Dijon dressing too. I liked it better.

You can prepare the dressing up to a day ahead; just bring it to room temp before tossing it on the potatoes. I like this dish because it covers both salad and carbs – all in one. The dressing is a mustard-rich one – you definitely can taste more than a hint of the mustard. If you don’t like mustard, tone it down a bit. This salad can be taken to a picnic. Is great for a hot summer night.
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A year ago: Cornish Game Hen Salad
Two years ago: Sicilian Tuna Salad

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When I saw the photo in Cooking Light for this salad, I figured I’d have to make it sometime. It was perfect for our outdoor dinner party the other night. I could make it ahead (at least 24 or up to 48 hours even), it provided a bit of carbohydrate for the meal, it was tangy with fresh lemon juice from the fruit of our Meyer lemon trees, and last but not least, it had lots of fresh veggies in it. With only two tablespoons of oil in the entire dish.

I set up my little photo studio as I made it. As if you didn’t already know how to layer things. But here goes. First I started with my tall glass trifle dish. I’ve served a green salad in it before, but it’s just perfect for this layered salad. The recipe said it served 8 – we were having 6 – so with some of the vegetables I used slightly less. It would depend on the bowl you used, too.

First went in the dry bulgur wheat. Just poured it in there.

The dressing was mixed up – 3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice, the 2 T. of olive oil, some fresh garlic and salt. I poured it in and stirred it briefly to make sure all the bulgur was in contact with the dressing.

The layer of onions was next. The recipe called for red onions, but I didn’t have any. However, I did have some Washington sweet onions.

Then I chopped up about $6.00 worth of heirloom tomatoes. It made two cups of chopped tomatoes. Almost hated to use them for this since I wasn’t sure the superior flavor would shine through. But it’s what I had on hand.

I cut some fresh mint from our garden, added some fresh Italian parsley and some fresh dill. Chopped it up finely, mixed it together with my hands, and sprinkled that on top of the tomatoes.

Next went a generous layer of cucumbers. I used the hothouse type and left the dark-green skin intact. That was spread around a bit to fill in the outer edges.

Lastly, a mixture of red and yellow bell peppers was added. The top was sprinkled with some kosher salt and freshly grated black pepper.

Then I sealed it tight with plastic wrap and refrigerated it for 24 hours.

Just tell your guests to dip down deep, so they get some of the bulgur at the bottom. Once the first person dips in, the salad loses some of its form, but that’s okay. You need to put the bulgur on the bottom, because it needs to absorb all that lemon dressing.

What I love about this kind of salad is the tang from the lemon juice. I have a favorite Syrian salad I make every summer that has crushed up toasted pita bread in it. (Joanne – thanks again for that great recipe – she shared it at an office potluck many years back – and now lives in Switzerland ) I just adore that salad. This is reminiscent of it, except it has the bulgur as the carb. If you have extra room at the top of your bowl, just before serving, chop up some lettuces and pile that in. The dressing will spread around once you dish this up so the lettuce would have some tang. Or, toss the salad with a bit of lemony dressing, then scoop it on top. I’ll make this again – particularly because I can make it the day before.
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A year ago: Zucchini (everything you always wanted to know)
Two years ago: Baked Fennel

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