A Life, Lived

18 Weeks of Salads . . .

A little more than a year ago a group of slow travel community members decided to participate in a weekly cooking experiment. We would all try the same recipe and then blog (or post in the slow travel food and drink forum for those who don't have blogs) about it on Sunday.

We started off as bakers. . . examining Dolce Italiano by the uber talented Gina dePalma (also a slow travel community member).

Then we became scoopers as we learned how to make ice cream . . . using the Perfect Scoop by the wonderful David Lebovitz.

Then we started ladling soups - just in time for the return of cold weather. We didn't use a single cookbook for this, rather we all selected a tried and true recipe that we enjoyed. The soup making lasted five months! We never got bored nor did we have a recipe that made us go 'ewww'.

Throughout the spring and summer we tackled salads. Now one might think that salads might get a touch dull . . . believe it or not this was NEVER the case. In fact, we really looked forward to our weekly salad (in addition to all of the other salads we were tossing together). Some of the salads were substantial dinner salads whereas others were an accompaniment to other things.

The 18 salads were:

Eden's Foraging the City Salad
Black Bean Salad
Raw Asparagus, Pea, and Arugula Salad
Thai Chicken Salad
Grilled Tuna Nicoise Salad
Fajita Salad with Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing
Roasted Corn and Wild Rice Salad
Shrimp Salad
Grilled Romaine Salad with Citrus Caesar Vinaigrette
Grilled Chicken Salad with Tarragon Pesto
Watermelon Salad
Ceviche
Israeli Salad
Thai Beef Salad
Tropical Rice Salad
Couscous Salad
Southern Mustard Potato Salad
Tortellini Salad

Thanks Eden, Judy, Amy, Debrah, Kim, Deborah, Jan, Cindy, Marcia, Candi, Nancy, Terry, Maria, Palma, Ida, and Sandi for a creative and delicious journey!

So what is next for the slowtravel chefs?

Turn in NEXT Sunday to find out!

Tortellini Salad

Today marks the last of our salad exploration. 18 weeks  . . . 18 great salads. To be honest I can't believe that we're finished - Paul accused me of being confused when we were out walking last night. He was sure that we had missed a month of salads somewhere.

This week's salad was posted by Ida. She posted a salad that was true to her Italian heritage with lots of delicious Mediterranean flavours . . . sun-dried tomatoes, olives, roasted red peppers . . . all mixed with cheese tortellini. No, you wouldn't find this amazing salad on the menu in Italy, but what do they know anyway? LOL This is definitely one of those few times when North American Italian food RULES!

We really liked this salad for its robust flavours; neither of us could stop eating it. Ida warned us that the recipe made a large bowl - and it did. This would be a great salad to make for a party or a pot luck - you'll be the most popular person there!

The only change that we made to the recipe was to add about 1/4 cup basil leaves, cut in a chiffonade. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can play around with it, adding or deleting things based upon preference.

Enjoy!

Tortellini Salad

1 lb fresh or frozen tortellini or a Barilla bag of dry tortellini
1 container of pearl or small sized fresh mozzarella balls
16 oz jar of julienne cut sun-dried tomatoes in oil PLUS oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 large bunch Italian parsley, chopped fine
1 jar black dried olives in oil, pitted and sliced
16 oz jar marinated artichokes, cut into pieces
1 jar marinated red peppers, cut in strips
S/P and some extra virgin olive oil

Boil pasta as per package instructions making sure not to over boil it! Drain, and set aside.

In a very very large bowl mix together the cheese through to the roasted red peppers.

Add cooked tortellini and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. If the salad is 'dry' add more olive oil.

Cover bowl and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavours to blend.

Southern Mustard Potato Salad

 This week it was Sandi's turn to select a salad for us to try. Given that she is a published cookbook author you just knew that the salad would be awesome! The recipe she picked is a family favourite - a combination of a southern potato salad and a German mustard potato salad.

Sandi pointed out that there are as many recipes for potato salad as there are potatoes . . . in fact I suspect that each and every family has their own favourite recipe that  MUST. NOT. BE. ALTERED. AT. ANY. TIME! You know of what I refer to. What most seem to agree on is that potato salad is a dish made from potatoes, and varies throughout different regions and countries of the world. WHEW That was tough.

With respect to its place among the various individual menu courses served together as one meal, it is better classified as a side dish rather than a salad per se, as it generally accompanies the main course.

This is our plan. We're having some friends over tonight for a BBQ feast of wings and ribs and we thought that this would be the perfect salad to join the menu. Paul did the taste test yesterday and declared it incredible. I was a bit surprised given that it features mustard and he is well-known for being mustard-phobic, nonetheless it was a hit with him. The salad is a great blend of flavours and crunch. MMM

We also made Sandi's incredible cole slaw recipe from her cookbook which is a tangy vinegar cole slaw. We've made it a couple of times and have found that it just vanishes from the bowl.

If you're looking for a awesome salad to take to a picnic or BBQ give these a try - although you'll need to buy her cookbook to get the recipe for the cole slaw!

Enjoy!

Southern Mustard Potato Salad

1-2 pounds potatoes
4-5 hard boiled eggs
1 sweet onion, diced
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup pickle relish
3 Tbs spicy mustard
1/2 cup mayo

Clean potatoes then boil them whole. Once tender, 15-20 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool. Dice onion and celery. Dice potatoes into large chunks.

In another bowl whisk together mayo, mustard and pickle relish. Add kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Stir all ingredients together. Finally, peel and slice the hard boiled eggs and stir those in as well. Serve warm or cold.

Couscous Salad

This week's salad was posted by Annie. She wrote that she found the recipe on the McCormick spice website after a friend brought her a big bag of cinnamon from Vietnam and she started looking for savory recipes to use it in. (Now that is a good friend, indeed!)The recipe was created by Suzanne Goins from the Los Angeles restaurant Luques.

This was on the menu for last night. We went out to see Julie and Julia late in the afternoon and it was almost 7 by the time we made it home. I debated making the salad today and calling out for a pizza (which would have been out first fast food/take out in 8 months!) Happily we decided to stick with the original plan. The salad came together quickly and in fact was ready before the Moroccan chicken brochettes that I made to go with it (it was raining and I was too lazy to grill in the rain again so the oven was called into action).

We both agreed that the salad was delicious! Paul liked the addition of the cinnamon and I really enjoyed the interesting mix of sweet and savoury ingredients. The interplay of textures was great too!

I had never had a couscous salad before and was left wondering . . . why?

Because we're watching our fat intake I cut the oil in the dressing by 2 tablespoons (even though olive oil is considered to be a good fat I still think that less is better! LOL)

Enjoy!

Couscous Salad with Chickpeas, Dates & Cinnamon

3 green onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (preferably Vietnamese)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 (10 ounce) package couscous

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and
drained
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup dates, pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
(optional)

Directions

Finely dice white end of green onions. Slice green parts of green onions and reserve for salad. Gently cook white onion pieces in olive oil 5-7 minutes in a medium saucepan. Stir in chicken broth, cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and red pepper. Bring to a boil; add couscous. Cover and remove pan from heat. Let stand 5 minutes.

Whisk together vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and olive oil in a small bowl.

Fluff couscous with a fork; put in a large bowl. Toss in sliced green onions, chickpeas, carrots, dates, pine nuts, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; add vinaigrette and toss again. Serve right away or chill. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Tropical Rice Salad

This week Palma shared one of her favourite recipes with the sunday salad samplers. She wrote that it is a great side dish with grilled chicken or fish. It is served cold, so you can make it ahead, and let the flavors blend.

We had this salad for dinner tonight - it was a perfect summer treat! It was so refreshing with the fresh veggies, fruit, and delicious citrus dressing.

I think that the only change I made was to use fresh pineapple (I needed some for a salsa we're making tomorrow night) and I mistakenly bought unsliced water chestnuts. Other than that I followed the recipe as printed - why mess with perfection!

This was easy to make - I had it all pulled together in no time at all. We put it in the fridge before a well-deserved nap and pulled it out again for dinner.

Everyone LOVED it - if you're looking for a different but light salad to take for a dinner party this summer you can't go wrong with this one!

Enjoy

Tropical Rice Salad

2 c. chicken stock
1 c. white rice (I've never tried it with other rice, but feel free)
1 c. halved snow peas
1 c. chopped red bell pepper
3/4 c. celery
2/3 c. (or one can) sliced water chestnuts
2-3 green onions, chopped
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 can crushed (or chunk) pineapple, drained well

2 t. orange juice concentrate
2 t. honey
1 t. soy sauce
1 t. olive oil
1/2 t. sesame oil
1/2 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. minced garlic
1/4 t. minced ginger root

Cook rice in chicken stock. Drain well. Cool rice. Put rice in a large mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Pour over rice mixture and toss. Chill six hours, and toss again before serving.

Yam Neua - Thai Beef Salad

Here we are at week 14 of our salad exploration. Maria transported us to Thailand with this amazing recipe. I've had beef salads at many different Thai restaurants so it is great to have a recipe under my belt to use. This version was given to Maria by her niece Isabel who for many years assisted her Thai mom in Atlanta-area restaurants.

All I can say is that I LOVE Isabel for sharing and if she wishes to share any more of her recipes I'd be happy to have a go of them.

I grilled the sirloin between thunderstorms on Friday and this salad made a great addition to our Thai feast. We also had fresh spring rolls and the Spicy Ground Chicken and Rice Noodles that I clogged about on Friday. MMMMMM I do believe that Thai food is my favourite 'international' cuisine. For years it was Italian but I've moved on to the fresh taste and delicious taste contrasts of thai (although don't get me wrong - if someone places a well-made Italian Italian dish in front of me purring will still occur).

I followed Maria's recipe as printed with a few modifications - I added 1/2 cup of thai basil leaves because the basil in our garden is out of control right now. I also added some mint for the same reason. I added some thinly sliced carrots for presentation (and additional 'crunch'). You'll notice, as well, that my steak is NOT grilled medium to well - I don't think that my grill has that setting on it *smile*.

Maria reminded us to check the seasonings: there should be a balance of hot, sour, and salt. To adjust seasonings in Thai food follow these rough guidelines . . . if it is too sweet add more fish sauce . . . too salty add more sugar . . . not tangy enough - add more lime juice . . . not hot enough - add more chili.

Guess what I forgot? I should have added more chillies!

Of well, it was an amazing salad nonetheless.

Thanks for the treat Maria!

Enjoy, y'all.

Yam Neua - Thai Beef Salad

1 lb tender beef steak, such as top sirloin.
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
1 tomato, cut into wedges
1 cucumber, peeled, cut lengthwise in half and thinly sliced
1-2 Thai bird’s-eye chilies or according to taste (I use 1-2 serrano chilies)
1/4 cup Thai fish sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
2 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2  cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1/4  cup chopped scallions

Grill beef until medium to well-done. Slice thinly on the bias and set aside. Combine all the salad ingredients and add the sliced beef. Make the sauce by mixing together all the ingredients and toss with the salad.
 
Serve over a bed of green lettuce (e.g. Romaine) whole or chopped, or place individual servings over a large lettuce leaf.
 
Variations -  Mint and sliced shallots can be added to the salad. Grilled shrimp or calamari may be substituted for the beef. Instead of lettuce, the salad may be served with a wedge of fresh cabbage. Palm sugar (or any other sugar) may be added for a slight touch of sweetness.

Israeli Salad

Terry selected this week's salad - one that she first ate this salad when she visited Israel. She discovered that Israelis love eating fresh vegetables cut up small like this for breakfast!

I was intrigued about the whole notion of an Israeli Salad so I did some googling and discovered that . . .

Israeli salad consists of finely chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, fresh lemon juice, quality olive oil, and a bit of salt and pepper for seasoning. This is just a baseline!

You can add different ingredients to transform this salad from perfectly simple to something a bit more sophisticated.

Israeli salad is actually known in Israel as ‘salat katzutz’, chopped salad, or ‘salat aravi’, Arab salad. It’s known as ‘Israeli salad’ mostly outside of Israel (except for maybe in some hotels that cater to tourists…). This salad is a staple in the Israeli diet and can be prepared in a myriad of ways.

The dish cannot be an ancient one since the tomato was a New World crop. The tomato was introduced to cultivation in the Middle East by John Barker, British consul in Aleppo c. 1799 –c. 1825. Nineteenth century descriptions of tomato consumption are uniformly as a part of a cooked dish. In 1881 the tomato is described as only eaten in the region, “within the last forty years.”Israeli foods like hummus, falafel and Israeli salad are common to much of the Mediterranean and Arabic world."

Israeli salad is similar to other chopped salads found in the Middle East, such as the Persian salad shiraziسالاد شيرازي (which includes mint, diced onions, and peeled cucumbers), the Turkish choban salad, and similar chopped salads found throughout the eastern Mediterranean area in Turkey, Greece, Lebanon, and even Egypt.

Terry's recipe was from Molly Katzen's book, The Enchanted Broccoli Forest.

Paul loved this salad - declaring it fresh and tasty. I wasn't so sure that I enjoyed pickles, olives, and radishes in my salad. We had some again for lunch today and my opinion had changed - I guess that for me the flavours needed time to blend.

This is an easy salad to pull together. I'm not sure that I'll use the food processor when I make it again because some of the ingredients were chopped too small while others were still chunks. I guess if you want a uniform consistency you do it the old fashioned way! LOL

I suspect that this recipe is rather forgiving and you can add or subtract to it based upon the vegetables that you have on hand.

Enjoy!

Israeli salad

1 large English cucumber, or 2 6" regular ones (the English cucumbers have fewer seeds)
2-3 medium-sized ripe tomatoes
12 radishes
1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives
2 scallions
1 large Kosher pickle
1 medium green pepper
3/4 cup (packed) fresh parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
juice from 1 large lemon
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cut the cucumber and tomatoes into small cubes and place in large bowl.

In your food processor, place the radishes and olives; pulse until roughly chopped. Add to the large bowl.

Place the scallions, pickle, and green pepper in the food processor and mince. Add to the large bowl.

Mince the parsley in the food processor; add to large bowl.

Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to your salad, and toss everything together gently. Chill.

Optional additions: feta cheese on top, or you can serve with yogurt or sour cream or little cubes of cream cheese on top.

Ceviche

On our 12th week of salad explorations we traveled to Latin America thanks to Candi. She had selected Ceviche as her salad. We've had Ceviche a few times before and were eager to try it at home. Candis' recipe and our Mexican cooking class on Thursday inspired us to have an entire Mexican themed dinner on Saturday. MMMMM

Appearing on the menus of countless 'trendy' restaurants and bars, ceviche is the new "in" food of the beginning of the 21st century. Yet I discovered that it  is actually an old world dish from Latin America. It has been one of Latin America's best-kept secret for centuries, but Ceviche is becoming a popular appetizer and will be gaining popularity as the century progresses.

Ceviche's birthplace is disputed between Peru and Ecuador, and as both countries have an amazing variety of fish and shellfish, it could easily have come from the ancient Inca civilizations of Peru and Ecuador. Every Latin American country has given seviche/ceviche its own touch of individuality by adding its own particular garnishes. In Peru, it is served with slices of cold sweet potatoes or corn-on-the-cob. In Ecuador, it is accompanied by popcorn, nuts, or corn nuts. It is also served in a large crystal bowl with the guests helping themselves, either by spearing it with toothpicks or filling the pastry shells. In Mexico, seviche is accompanied by slices of raw onions and served on toasted tortillas.

Ceviche, which is often spelled seviche or cebiche, depending on which part of South America it comes from, is seafood prepared in a centuries old method of cooking by contact with the acidic juice of citrus juice instead of heat. It can be eaten as a first course or main dish, depending on what is served with it. The preparation and consumption of ceviche is practically a religion in parts of Mexico, Central, and South America, and it seems as though there are as many varieties of ceviche as people who eat it.

Some folk are squeamish about ceviche because the fish isn't cooked with heat - I get that - the first time we tried it we were both a tad leery! LOL The great thing about Candi's recipe is that the fish is actually poached prior to being marinated in the dressing - any concerns that you have about raw fish can be packed away for something else. :-)

Candi wrote:

I chose a version of Ceviche that poaches the fish to reduce cooking time, and also for food safety reasons.I got the recipe for the book Ageless Face, Ageless Mind by Nicholas Perricone. I adapted it a bit to add more flavor.

We followed Candi's recipe as printed with a couple of changes . . . the halibut at the fish market was crazy expensive yesterday so we used mahi mahi and it seemed to work fine. We also doubled the cilantro because we really LOVE cilantro.

We both thought that this was excellent. now I am sure that the food purists out there will get their knickers in a twist and say that this isn't traditional ceviche. BAH Who cares? We both agreed that this recipe was great! I was going to only do half the recipe and I'm glad I did the full version as someone (who shall remain nameless) had thirds!

I'll be finishing off the leftovers today wrapped in tortillas as fish tacos. MMMMMM

Enjoy!

Ceviche

Prep time:15 minutes plus time to chill. Cooking time:10 minutes. Serves 6.

To cook the fish:
3 cups of water or chicken broth
1/2 cups white wine
juice of two limes
1 jalapeno or Serrano chili sliced in half
3 gloves of garlic,crushed
I Tbsp Old Bay seasoning
1/2 lb firm white fish fillet(halibut or the like)
1/2 lb large shrimp,peeled and de-veined

Coat the fish and shrimp with old bay. Bring the broth,wine, lime juice, chili and garlic to simmer. Add fish and shrimp and simmer(do not boil) until fish is opaque(about 5 minutes) and shrimp is pink(about 2 minutes). Remove from poaching liquid and cool in the refrigerator.

To make the salad:

2 large tomatoes,diced
1/2 white onion, diced
1 jalapeno,seeded and diced(or more if you wish)
juice of two limes
1/4 cup cilantro, diced
hot sauce to taste
sea salt and cracked black peppers to taste

Mix tomatoes, onion, jalapeno,lime juice and cilantro together. Season to taste with hot sauce,salt and pepper.

When the fish is cool, cut shrimp in half and fish into bite-sized pieces. Mix into tomato mixture. Chill for at least one hour and up to four hours.

Next week's salad is an Israeli Salad selected by Terry. I can't believe that we only have 6 more weeks of salads to go. this is depressing because they have all been so amazing!

Watermelon Feta Salad

Now before you mock me, I am well aware of the fact that it is NOT Sunday today. When it was time to make this salad last week I was on vacation and frankly salads were the last thing on my mind. I didn't want to get too far behind so I caught up with the rest of the group as quickly as I could. Last night's dinner with paul's sister, b-i-l, and nephews provided the perfect opportunity.

Nancy at A wine lover's wanderings picked this watermelon salad. She gave us several suggestions for a variety of ingredients, check out her blog for several different recipes. Our amazing friend Sandi went with a combination using mint and basil since her garden overflows with those herbs right now. Upon our return from Maine we discovered that ours did as well so we used those herbs and followed her technique.

Watermelon salads are all the rage these days. If you don't believe me just visit Ms Google and you'll see that I do not lie. Heck, even the grand dame of southern cooking, Paula Deen, has a version out there. You know it is a popular thing to whip up when a contestant on "The Next Food Network Star" tries to impress the judges with it on reality TV (sadly said contestant overused onion and trashed another chef so he was sent packing). There is a lesson there  . . .

Before you think that this is a sweet fruit salad STOP! A true watermelon salad is a delicious combination of sweet (the watermelon) and salty (the feta) pulled together with herbs and onion. We discovered that this is a traditional Greek dish - who knew? After one bite both Paul and I were more excited then ever about our upcoming trip to Greece!

Enjoy!

Watermelon Salad

1 seedless watermelon

1/4 cup thinly sliced purple onion

1 cup fresh basil and mint leaves

2 Tbs olive oil

2 tsp lemon juice

1 cup feta cheese crumbles.

 

Make a pesto paste with the olive oil, lemon juice and herbs in the blender- or mince the herbs and whisk together. Pour over the feta and allow it to marinate.

 

Cut the watermelon into bite sized pieces. Slice the onion very thinly.

 

Toss everything lightly in a large bowl, garnish with freshly torn mint and basil

Grilled Chicken Salad with Tarragon Pesto

Marcia selected this week's salad recipe. She was in luck, way back in March as we were busy setting this group up and trying to figure out who was going to post what.  She was about to reach into her recipe files, when the mail came and with it herApril Bon Appetit. This salad was on the cover. Spring popped out to her and she decided it would be "her" salad recipe.

We are so glad that she did! This was an incredibly delicious (and filling) salad!

I have that same magazine at home and never once thought of making the cover recipe. i am so glad that marcia 'forced' it upon me.

I was equally lucky given that the tarragon in the herb garden has gone amuck. This was the perfect recipe to use up that excess herb. I know that when we return from vacation it will have grown like the delicious weed that it is and we'll be able to have 'salad, the sequel'.

 Grilled Chicken Salad with Tarragon Pesto

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup (packed) fresh tarragon leaves plus 2 teaspoons chopped
1/4 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
4 tablespoons pine nuts, divided
5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
2 teaspoons chopped shallot
6 tablespoons (or more) olive oil, divided, plus additional for brushing
4 boneless chicken breast halves
4 1/2-inch-thick slices country-style French or sourdough bread
1 5-ounce package mixed baby greens
1 cup thinly sliced radishes (from 1 large bunch)
1 cup thinly sliced Japanese cucumbers (about 1 1/2)

Preparation

Place 1/4 cup tarragon leaves, parsley, 2 tablespoons pine nuts, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and shallot in mini processor; chop coarsely. With machine running, gradually add 3 tablespoons olive oil. Season pesto to taste with salt and pepper. Add more olive oil by teaspoonfuls to thin, if necessary.

Whisk 2 teaspoons chopped tarragon, remaining 4 teaspoons lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons oil in small bowl. Season dressing with salt and pepper.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush chicken breasts on both sides with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until grill marks form, skin is crisp, and chicken is cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer to work surface; let rest 5 minutes. Using clean brush, brush both sides of bread with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until dark-brown grill marks appear on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Place greens, radishes, and cucumbers in large bowl. Toss with dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide salad among 4 plates.

Cut grilled chicken breasts crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Arrange 1 sliced chicken breast atop salad on each plate. Spoon tarragon pesto over chicken. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons pine nuts over salads. Serve with grilled bread slices.