Yellow Pear and Cherry Tomato Salad

This is the salad, I served with yesterday’s rice and sausage dish.  It was the first time, I used the yellow pear tomato and we found it went well, in the salad.

Yellow Pear and Cherry Tomato Salad (adapted from Food.com)

2 tablespoons wine vinegar (sherry, red)

1 tablespoon shallot (minced)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper 

1 1/2 cups pear tomatoes (yellow, halved)

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes (orange, halved)

1/2 cups cherry tomatoes (halved)

1 1/2 cups baby spinach, torn

To make the vinaigrette, in a small bowl, combine the vinegar and shallot and let stand for 15 minutes.

Add the olive oil, salt and pepper and whisk until well blended.

In a large serving or salad bowl, toss together all the tomatoes.

Pour the vinaigrette over the tomatoes and toss gently to mix well and coat evenly.  Add the spinach and mix a little more.

This is linked to

See Ya in the Gumbo    Mop it Up Mondays        Made From Scratch Monday      Inspire Me Monday         Veggie Mama’s Meatless Monday     Mealtime Monday    My Meatless Monday    Marvelous Mondays      Summer Salad Sunday

Rice Salad for a Change

There are certain salads, we fall back on, a tossed salad, potato salad, macaroni salad and cole slaw.  Nowadays though, salads have become exciting with the addition of mango and avocado and the hot peppers.  The look of salad is new but sometimes, we want that traditional potato or macaroni salad.  What happened to rice salad?

We visit friends, go to organizational dinners and weddings and I don’t remember seeing rice salads, exciting or plain.   I am back to making rice salads.  This one is not exciting but it serves its purpose.  It has those good vegetables in it.  I would put more in, next time.  It would go well with a spicy dish.

Rice Salad For a Change

Ingredients:

• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, minced
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• 1/2 cup craisins
• 1 small carrot, grated or minced
• 1/8 cup seasoned rice vinegar (I used garlic flavor)
• 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups cooked rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano

Preparation:

Toss prepared vegetables together in a  bowl.

In a small bowl with the vinegar, drizzle olive oil while whisking, to emulsify the liquids.

Add to vegetables; cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Add cooked, cooled rice; add salt and pepper to taste.

Refrigerate until serving time. Serves 4.

This is linked to Summer Salad Sundays      Foodie Friday

Broccoli Slaw

Occasionally, I pick up a bag of broccoli slaw.  It is a nice change from the more traditional cabbage slaw.  Seeing this recipe on Smitten Kitchen helped me make a yummy recipe.

Broccoli Slaw  (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1 bag of cabbage slaw

1 carrot, sliced thin

1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/2 small red onion, finely sliced

 Dressing
1/3 cup Tofutti sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Toss the sliced broccoli with the carrots,  almonds, cranberries and red onion in a large bowl.

Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

Pour the dressing over the broccoli and toss it well.

Summer Salad Sundays     See Ya in the Gumbo     Yummy  Inspirations Breakfast     My Meatless Monday  Mop it Up Mondays    Mix it up Monday     Mealtime Monday Recipe Link  Makin’ You Crave Monday    Melt in Your Mouth Mondays      Mangia Mondays      On the Menu Monday

Mesculan and Mango

 This is embarrassing.  I had saved this recipe in a post, waiting for the photo, and when I went to retrieve it, I was not sure which picture belonged here.  I have been making  lots of green recipes and using either mango or guava with the greens.  I think this is the right photo for this recipe but I could be wrong.  I have been making these salads for weeks now and they all are similar in look.  I can only guess because of the obvious mango showing itself.I have changed my way with salads.  I used to drown the greens in the dressing.  Now, I cut out most of the oil and just wet the vegetables and fruits.  I still taste the dressing and I enjoy the greens, as well.

Mesculan and Mango

Ingredients

1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons coconut milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
black pepper to taste
3 cups baby spinach leaves)
1/2 mango, cut into small pieces

Directions

Whisk the lemon juice and honey in a small bowl.

In another bowl, whisk the coconut milk and olive oil together. Combine the ingredients in both bowls.

Add the black pepper to taste.

Cover and chill the dressing for a few hours.

Combine the   and onion in a large bowl. Season with a little salt and pepper. Add just enough dressing to moisten the salad. Toss to coat and serve .

This is linked to  Summer Salad Sunday   

Real Food Wednesday      Cast Party Wednesday     Gluten Free Wednesday    Whatcha Whipped Up Wednesday    Whole Food Wednesday

Wellness Weekend  

Avocado, Tomato and Sweet Onion Salad

I had a lot of cooking to do, for the next three days, and this salad struck me as just the right salad, to make.  It might have something to do with the fact that I had bought a multiple pack of avocados from Costco and they were sitting there.  I love them but tend to forget about them.  If I am making a salad, in a hurry, I stick to greens and don’t bother with even tomatoes or cucumbers.  When, I make for the family or company, I add a little something.  This is my little something from CD Kitchen

Avocado, Tomato And Sweet Onion Salad

Ingredients

2 medium avocados
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/4 medium-sized sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Maui)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar  (flavored with basil and oregano)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions

Peel avocado and remove pit. Cut avocado into 1 inch chunks and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Wash tomatoes, cut each in half and add to bowl with the avocado.

Slice the onion very thin and add to the bowl.

Sprinkle sugar over the vegetable.

Sprinkle vinegar over the vegetables, season with salt and pepper .

Drizzle oil over the mixture and gently stir until all ingredients are well combined. Serve on a lettuce leaf, if desired.

 This is linked to Scrumptious Sunday Link Party      Mop it Up Mondays     Inspire Me Monday       Whole Food Wednesday      Made From Scratch Monday    Real Food Wednesday         Whole Food Wednesday             Cast Party Wednesday         Allergy Free Wednesdays         See Ya in the Gumbo      Gluten-free Wednesdays

Hearth and Soul

Spinach, Mango and Strawberry Salad

Spinach, Mango and Strawberry Salad

Ingredients

1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds

1/8 cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoons dry mustard

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon tarragon

2 cups baby spinach, rinsed, dried and torn into small pieces

3 strawberries sliced

1/2 mango – peeled, seeded and cubed                                                                                              

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Arrange almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and lightly toasted.

In a small bowl, mix white wine vinegar,  balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, olive oil, dry mustard, tarragon, salt, and pepper.

In a medium bowl, toss the  vinegar mixture with the spinach, strawberries and mangos. Top with the toasted almonds.

This is linked to Allergy Free Wednesday      Real Food Wednesday    Cast Party Wednesdays           Pennywise Platter                     Made from Scratch Mondays        Scrumptious Sunday            Passionately Artistic               Hearth and Soul

 See Ya in the Gumbo

Full Plate Thursday 

Fit and Fabulous Friday

Asian Cabbage Salad with Sesame Seeds

There are certain blogs, I go back to time and again, knowing I will find a recipe that appears as perfect for what I am looking for. Kalyn’s Kitchen is one of these.  Kalyn’s recipes are clear and she includes those little tips that make all the difference.  When I was looking up cabbage recipes and saw that Kalyn had some, I clicked over and found this delicious recipe.
Asian Cabbage Salad with Sesame Seeds  Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen -  a place to find terrific recipes

Asian Cabbage Salad with Sesame Seeds
(Makes about 4 servings, recipe adapted from the original South Beach Diet Book.)

Ingredients:
1 bag shredded cabbage (16 ounces)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
2 tablespoons peanuts (or more)

Dressing Ingredients:
2 T rice vinegar (don’t use seasoned vinegar, which contains sugar)
1 T sesame oil
1 T honey
1/8 tsp. hot sauce
1/8 tsp. grated ginger

Instructions:
 Mix rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey, hot sauce and ginger in a small jar and shake to combine. (Can also whisk together in a bowl.)

Toast sesame seeds about 1 minute in a small dry pan, until they start to be fragrant and slightly browned.

Put cabbage  into mixing bowl, toss well with dressing, arrange on individual serving plates and sprinkle with sesame seeds and peanuts.

This is linked  to Whole Food Wednesdays    

Cozy Home Party

Waldorf Salad

I like almost anything, with apples which makes this dish, a joy to make.  It is crisp, slightly sweet and one that most people do like.  Making this is easy as pie…… Why do people say that?  Pie is not easy to make, in my opinion.  The crust and I are enemies and that crust usually wins.     Forget the pie.  This is easy to make.  It is nice to have a little bit of sweet in contrast to the fish, soup, meat and vegetables.

Friday and Saturday are the last two days of Passover and then we return to eating bread and pasta and anything else, we don’t eat, this week.  Many people run out and get a pizza or put up a pot of water for pasta or hope the bagel shop is open.  Strangely, I have no desire for “chametz”, the leavened foods, we do not eat on Passover.  Sometimes, I go days after the holiday without eating any of these.  I have no desire for bread or pasta or pizza.  I can’t say the same for the rest of the family.

There is so much work involved in this holiday and there is lots of eating.  It is sad when it is over.  Every year, we say this and it is true, I feel “blah” for a day or two afterwards.  Then, real life, so to speak returns and routines fall into place and time constraints change priorities but this is all a chance to love living.

Waldorf Salad  (adapted) Southern Food – About.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups coarsely chopped apples, about 2 medium apples
• 1  cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Preparation:

To make Waldorf salad, place chopped apple, celery and walnuts in a bowl.

Combine mayonnaise, sugar, allspice and lemon juice. Toss mayonnaise mixture with apple mixture.

 Serves 4 to 6.          

Smoked Salmon Potato Salad

I buy lox (smoked salmon) in the local grocery store and my husband picks it up at Costco.  We usually are organized and only one of us brings it home.  Perfection is not always in play and one week, we both brought home rather large packages.  Being a lox lover, I was thrilled and started on a search for recipes other than bagels and lox, scrambled eggs with lox or stuffed wontons with lox.  I found some with noodles and others with potatoes and there were a big variety of salads.

I found recipes on several sites and there is one particular site that particularly held my interest and where I got this recipe, Just Smoked Salmon.  Knowing me, you know I adjusted some of the ingredients but all in all, I kept to their recipe.  They used canned Sockeye Smoked Salmon and I used fresh smoked salmon.

Summer Salmon potato salad 

1 large slice smoked salmon
3 large potatoes, boiled and cut into chunks
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 cucumber, cut into bite sized chunks
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon coarse grained mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh dill chopped

Combine salmon, potatoes, tomatoes and cucumber in a bowl.
Sprinkle with pepper.
Combine remaining ingredients and mix well.  I used a small Rubbermaid container and shook it with the lid on, of course.
Toss with salad ingredients.

Serves 6-8.

The  lox makes all the difference in the potato salad.  It brings the salty flavor to pop throughout the salad.  The

cukes felt just right, in this salad, although, I have never used cucumbers in potato salad, before.

This is linked to

See Ya in the Gumbo             Mangia Mondays

My Meatless Mondays           Savory Sundays 

Tuesday’s Tasty Tidbits                Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays

Real Food Wednesdays             Ultimate Recipe Swap

Savory Sweet Potato Salad

I love turning wonderful sweet potatoes into a savory dish and this salad manages to do just that.  Like any potato salad, this is a salad that can fill you up, if you eat enough of it.  OK, I sat down and made a meal of it.  For me, that means a small bowl.

Savory Sweet Potato Salad

2 large sweet potatoes  1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 4 teaspoons rice vinegar (I use seasoned) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 cup olive oil 4 scallions, thinly sliced Method: Peel sweet potatoes.  Cut into about one quarter inch cubes. Microwave in water for 8 – 10 minutes or until fork tender. While potatoes cook, whisk together mustard, vinegar, and salt in a large bowl, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Add hot potatoes to dressing and gently toss to combine well. Cool salad to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Add scallions and salt to taste and gently toss.

    Real Food Wednesdays