Stay Cool With Salad!
by: Bobby McDonald
With intense unseasonable heat in the past few days and with the likelihood of extreme temperatures being the "norm" during the months of June, July, and August, the last thing that most cooks want to do is come home from work or summer activities and heat-up the kitchen. Well, salads are a perfect nutritious and cool alternative to feed you family.
Salads can be made from fresh greens and vegetables from the garden, as well as being the perfect way to stretch leftovers of beef and chicken, from a previous meal. They offer loads of nutrition and aid in meeting the requirements of the daily food pyrimid.
Try the following recipes as an alternative to "heating-up" the stove!
Apple-Spinach Salad
With Oriental Dressing
1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup natural peanut butter***
3 tablespoons brown sugar
7 cups spinach leaves, washed, dried,
stemmed and chopped
1 Red Delicious apple, cored and
thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped peanuts for garnish
Combine vinegar, water, soy sauce, peanut butter, and sugar in a
food processor or blender and puree until mixed smoothly.
Combine spinach and apples in a large salad bowl.
To serve: drizzle the apples and spinach with dressing and
gently toss to coat. Garnish by sprinkling the chopped
peanuts on top.
Serves: 6
*** Use natural peanut butter, as processed peanut butter
will not produce the best flavors.
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Blueberries, Field Greens, and Cheese
With Raspberry Vinaigrette
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
3/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste
8 cups mixed field greens
1 cup fresh blueberries
6 ounces Feta Cheese, crumbled
3/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
Combine vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
Place torn greens in salad bowl and add blueberries, cheese,
and toasted pecans. Toss with dressing to coat.
Serves: 8
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Vintner's Salad
2 heads Bibb lettuce
1/2 head Romaine lettuce
1 bunch of watercress
1/2 cup walnut halves
1/2 cup grated Gruyere Cheese
Chill washed and dried greens, walnuts, and Gruyere in
large salad bowl, covered in the refrigerator, until time to serve.
Raspberry Vinaigrette
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tblsp. Dijon Mustard
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Combine dressing ingredients in a jar with tight fitting lid,
and shake well. Just before serving, pour dressing over
salad and toss gently.
Serves: 8
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Hawaiian Fruit Salad
With Tequila Dressing
2 cans canned Fruit Cocktail
1 pineapple split vertically with stem in-tact
1/2 pint blueberries
Marchino Cherries for decoration
Coconut for garnish
zest of one lime
Core and cut the flesh of the pineapple into cubes,
reserving the shell for a serving bowl.
Combine the fruits in a large glass salad bowl
and pour the following dressing over it before chilling.
Tequila Fruit Dressing
1/2 cup premium tequila
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Cover and refrigerate dressing drizzled fruit for three or more hours.
To serve, drain the fruit and place in the reserved pineapple shells
garnish with marchino cherries and sprinkle with coconut.
This makes a festive luncheon salad and adds sparkle to a
summer table.
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