SALAD

SUPER QUINOA SALAD

1 cup of quinoa cooked and cooled as directed on package
2 cups broccoli and/or asparagus, chopped, blanched and cooled
1 small cucumber chopped
1 cup feta cheese crumbled
1 whole avocado chopped
1 cup of peas or chopped snap peas
Handful of alfalfa sprouts
sprinkling of tasted seeds (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin for example)
Handful of cilantro chopped
Handful of mint chopped
Juice of 2 lemons
3-4 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine ingredients, and toss with the lemon juice, oil and salt and pepper. This is quick and easy. Quinoa is high in protein so this is a very satisfying salad and you don't need to have all the ingredients on hand - and you can make your own variations. This is from Mary's daughter-in-law Kathleen! Serves 4 approximately.







BLACK BARLEY TEX MEX SALAD

8 Oz black barley
2 small tomatoes - chopped
1 half red onion chopped small
1 ear of sweet corn - niblets cut off
1 green pepper chopped
1/2 cup chopped jicama
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
5 Tablespoons white vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste and red pepper flakes if you like heat.

Fill a saucepan with about 6 cups of water, bring to a boil and add the barley - let it stay at a rolling boil for about 1 hour - checking to see that the water does not boil away and tasting barley until it is cooked - it will be chewy and if there is water left you can drain it off - set aside.

Combine oil, vinegar and spices and taste - add the red pepper if you like hot stuff - the barley is bland so you may want to spice it up - add the chopped veggies and then the barley - serve at room temperature on a bed of lettuce. Very substantial stuff! This recipe makes about 8 servings.






HOUSE BOTTLED DRESSING

Don't buy bottled dressings - make your own! This is from the great Hali'maile General Store Cookbook

3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon tarragon
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients in a screw top jar and shake. Keep in the frig and use on greens with a soft texture like baby spinach, red leaf and butter lettuce.

SUSAN MARY'S EXCELLENT CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD DRESSING

Combine in a screw top jar and keep in your frig!

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup salad oil
3 Tablespoons rice vinegar

You can double or triple the recipe - don't forget to buy some dried rice stick noodles and break off a handful and fry them quickly in hot oil - they swell up and get crispy very quickly - remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and use to garnish your chinese chicken salad!


WINTER SALAD - SIDE OR MAIN COURSE

Soft textured greens like butter red leaf lettuce or baby spinach
1 small can of mandarin orange slices drained
1/2 small white onion sliced very thin
1 avocado sliced (an avocado is ripe when it gives a little under your thumb - if it feels hard it won't taste good)
Optional extra - a handful of pomegranate seeds tastes good and looks pretty. To remove seeds from pomegranate EB recommends slicing the fruit in two, hold over a bowl cut side down and whack the half with a wooden spoon and the seeds will come shooting out.

Toss with the House Bottled Dressing shown above.

NOTE - to make this into a main course salad, add a cup of cooked bay shrimp

SOPHISTICATED SALAD - thanks to Kate and Tom

Use endive and romaine - you'll need about 3 pieces of endive for each serving so one head of endive is probably enough. Wash and spin a handful of romaine for each person.

KATE'S DRESSING

In a jar combine 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt (it tastes better that's why you use it), 1/2 teaspoon of Coleman's dry mustard, a few grindings of pepper, 4 Tablespoons of Champagne vinegar and 1/2 cup of good olive oil. Shake to combine and use as needed and keep the unused portion in the frig.

Separate 3 or 4 leaves of endive and place in a salad bowl and toss with a little of the dressing - set aside while you work on dinner.

Before serving, add a handful of romaine lettuce torn into pieces and toss with the endive and maybe a little more dressing. Arrange the pieces of endive to the side of each salad plate and fill the plate with the romaine. You look soooo sophisticated now!


MOROCCAN CARROT SALAD

1 Pound (about 5) carrots peeled and grated in a Cuisinart, or sliced very thinly on the diagonal
3/4 minced fresh parsley
big pinch of sea salt
1 Tablespoon of orange flower water (or use orange juice)
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Combine the carrots, parsley and salt. Stir together the orange flower water, honey, lemon juice and cumin and add this mixture to the carrots just before serving.

Note - this is pretty and subtle - you can serve it as a side veggie or place on a bed of leaf lettuce as a stand alone salad. It has about 40 calories per serving and the recipe comes from Martha Rose Shulman's book, "Mediterranean Light" 1989

ASPARAGUS AND BULGUR OR SPELT WITH PRESERVED LEMON DRESSING

For the dressing:
1 preserved lemon - they are packed in salt and you can buy them in gourmet shops
7 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

For the asparagus and bulgur or spelt
1 pound of asparagus cut into 2 inch lengths
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 red onion chopped
1 cup of bulgur - or use spelt (you will need to cook the spelt longer)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

To make the dressing, cut the preserved lemon in half. Chop one half and put it into a blender. With a spoon, scoop out the pulp from the remaining half and add the pulp to the blender. Discard the rind. Add the remaining dressing ingredients, blend until smooth and set aside.
To make the asparagus - steam for about 4 minutes (they should be bright green and fairly crunchy) spread out on a plate to cool - set aside.
Using a large pot or saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute the onion for a minute, add the bulgur or spelt and cook another minute or two until toasted. Add two cups of water with the salt and bring to a boil. Cover pan, reduce heat and cook until the water has evaporated, about 15 minutes. If you are using spelt, it will take at least twice as long - I leave the pot uncovered and the mixture bubbling and I add more water as needed. Taste to be sure it is cooked enough - spelt gives a more chewy texture than bulgur. Let cool.

To serve, arrange the cooled bulgur or spelt in a large serving bowl, toss the asparagus with the dressing and arrange over the top and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts. Add the dressing just before you serve because it will cause the asparagus to lose the bright green color. Makes about 6 servings.