February 10: Italian Chicken salad

  

  Nothing says Italian like basil, unless it's basil and tomatoes! This salad was my dinner tonight, while everyone else was eating meatball sandwiches. I'm pretty sure I came out ahead on this one, but they were homemade meatballs, and my daughter-in-law is an awesome cook . . . 

Okay, I'll admit it; they were awesome meatballs, in awesome sauce! I know this because we had them for dinner last night. The kids ate them with pasta, and I had them with spaghetti squash. (At least one of the kids also preferred the squash option, as did her mom) Anyway, the sauce was Italian, which got me thinking basil and tomatoes, so I continued that theme in tonight's salad. 

There is a lot more basil in this salad than it looks like. I buy living kitchen herbs whenever possible, so I picked  about a dozen leaves and threw them in with the lettuce, then topped it with a sprig. I bought yellow tomatoes simply because they smelled best. Whenever I shop for produce, I pick it up and smell it. I find it's the best indicator of taste with things like tomatoes, berries and other fruits.  People give me wierd looks, but I just ignore them and talk to the tomatoes, and for some reason, nobody asks me what I'm doing. 

Recipe: toss together red and green frisee lettuce, basil leaves, chunks of chicken breast (cooked, obviously! I used cold, but hot would be good too.) mushrooms, tomatoes, and carrots in your favourite Italian dressing. (I used Kraft Olive Oil and Balsalmic Italian).

February 9: Cheesecake Salad????

You heard me; it's dessert, it's salad, and it is delicious!
Yesterday I ate some gluten-free lemon poppyseed cake, and it was lovely. Unfortunately, my tyrant of a stomach had some strong objections (it hates grains of all kinds). However, it got me thinking about lemon poppyseed dressing, which I haven't bought in a long while. I was on the move again anyway, going from my parents' house to my son's, so I decided to stop along the way and do some shopping.Because my diet is so specific, it's just better for everyone if I bring my own food when I visit people. My son has four (very cute) kids, and I can't expect him and my daughter-in-law to cater to me.

I went to Thrifty Foods in Duncan, BC. Thrifty is a smaller, upscale grocery chain has been on Vancouver Island for decades, and has recently expanded to mainland BC. It has, I am told, the best birthday cakes anywhere, and a solid reputation for quality and variety. I didn't buy too much, but I had fun looking at all the neat stuff. I found some lovely organic lettuce and  a house brand Citron Honey Poppyseed dressing (on sale!) that looked great. Then I went looking for goat cheese.

This kind was on a 2-for-one sale, and I can't resist a good sale. Cranberry cinammon sounded a bit on the wild side, but I dedided to be brave and give it a try. Good choice! It's a rich, sweet cheese covered in soft cranberries, with the tiniest hint of cinammon. Combined with the sweet citrus dressing and some surprisingly tasty strawberries (surprising because they are imported from Mexico- a long way for berries to travel), it gave me the perfect dessert salad, and reminded me quite a lot of cheesecake. However, it was light and refreshing and not sickeningly sweet, and it left me feeling satisified, not sick and guilty. So, definitely NOT cheesecake, but a marvelous dessert, if you are adventurous enough to try it.


Recipe: Toss together oak-leaf lettuce, strawberries, chunks of cranberry cinammon goat cheese, and lemon poppyseed dressing. Top with freshly toasted cashews.

Toast the cashew by placing them on a flat, ovenproof dish and placing them in a cold oven. Set the oven to 385 F, and take the nuts out as soon as the oven reaches that temp. I like to throw them on the salad right away and hear them sizzle on the dressing.








 

February 8: The Betty Mae Salad

The surprise in this salad is a maple vinaigrette that pairs perfectly with the walnuts and compliments the pork and apples.

 This little beauty is named for another beauty, my mom. If you think your mom is the best mom in the world, then I am sorry to disillusion you, but you are wrong. My mother stocks up on gluten and dairy-free treats every time I say I'm coming to visit. Today I had lemon-poppyseed cake for the first time in six years. (Okay, you caught me. Yes, I have given up grains of all kinds, because my tummy insists they are evil, but when it comes down to my stomach or my mom, it's a no-brainer. She bought it for me, so I'm going to eat it and enjoy it.) Today my mom had eye surgery, and then she came home and made a pork roast with fresh cinnamon apples for dinner. She's pretty much unstoppable. And that's just one reason why I'm convinced that my mom is better than your mom!

Recipe:
Toss together romaine lettuce, sliced carrots and mushrooms (If I liked them at all, I would add green onions to this). Add bite-size pieces of hot roast pork and top with cinnamon apples and walnut halves. Drizzle with maple vinaigrette.

Cinnamon Apples: Apple sauce with pork is an old favourite, but my mom has improved on that tired standby. She peeled, cored, sliced and froze the apples last summer. She put some apple slices in a baking dish, sprinkled them with brown sugar and cinnamon, and baked them (covered) at 350 F until they were tender. Served hot with the pork, they are perfection.

Dressing: whisk together equal parts vegetable oil, vinegar and pure Canadian maple syrup. (I used white vinegar, but I was wishing I had the apple cider variety)

February 7: BELT Salad Fail

Well, it looks pretty, but this was pretty much a flop in my books. Bacon, Eggs, Lettuce and Tomato; it sounded like a good idea. I think it might have even worked with better ingredients. This was the very centre of the iceberg lettuce leftover from lettuce wraps, so it's very white and flavourless.  I added a little Italian Dressing from a bottle which gave it more life but was too salty for me. The eggs were not cooked quite enough and the bacon was just those bits from a bag. Added to that, I always put a little mustard in egg salad to make it extra yellow, but this time there was a little too much.

It wasn't completely awful; I did eat all of it, but I would not repeat this one.

The good news is that after this less than stellar lunch, I managed to get into my car! Well, I lie; it was my daughter who actually got the door open. (The back door, which can't be unlocked with a key and is the one door out of 4 without a a broken handle.) Problem: now that it's unlocked, I can't lock it again, and the car is stuffed full-- I'm still in the middle of moving. It seemed my only choice was to get in the car and head for my parents' house where I could unload all of their stuff. So, I'm on the ferry to Nanaimo with all this stuff, writing on my tablet in my car, because I can't leave the car. Fun times.

February 6: Nuts about Melon

A plain garden salad becomes a treat for the taste buds-- not to mention a nutritional bonanza-- when you add fruit and nuts. I've never tried this type of salad with watermelon, but we had this melon leftover, and it was so sweet and juicy, you would never know it's still winter.
I used bacon bits out of a bag. They are real bacon, but nothing like as good as cooking up fresh ones. I'm not really sure what they put in them to preserve them, but it scare me a little that you can keep them so long and they don't go bad.
I have to admit that I'm getting a little tired of iceberg lettuce, and my body is telling me that I need to give it some dark green, and soon! However, I still haven't managed to break into my car, so shopping will have to wait. And, even  though it might have been better with spinach, this was a pretty darn good salad!

Recipe:
tear lettuce and toss with cucumber slices, toasted almonds, bacon bits, a little olive oil and basalmic vinegar and a pinch of sugar. Top with cubes of fresh watermelon.

February 5: Super Lettuce Wraps

When your mother told you not to play with your food, she wasn't talking about lettuce wraps. This hands-on eating. I suppose you might not consider this a salad dish, but I like to think of it as "finger salads."  I took an informal poll at dinner, and everyone agreed with me that it counts as salad. (And I'm pretty sure they weren't just humoring me because of my contributions to their DNA.)

My daughter and I worked on this meal together, and it was a big success, even with my two eldest granddaughters who have been known to be picky. When a salad goes over big with teens, you know it's tasty!

When I've had this dish in a restaurant, it was served with crunchy bits of deep-fried wonton wrappers. We decided that freshly toasted nuts would give us a better and much healthier crunch. We made two fillings; Thai orange chicken and hoisin pork. In the past I've done vegetarian versions that were every bit as good. We didn't add all of the chili flakes the recipe called for, because my son-in-law and I are both intolerant of spicy foods. Instead, we used served Thai chili sauce on the side.

You can buy hoisin sauce, but it's very easy to make, and so much better with the fresh ingredients. Besides, you can change the balance of the ingredients to suit your taste.

Recipe:
For the hoisin pork filling, we just browned ground pork with diced carrots, hoisin sauce and a little extra garlic. We used a recipe from food.com: http://www.food.com/recipe/hoisin-sauce-recipe-443956

The Thai orange chicken was from All Recipes: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/thai-orange-chicken/ You need to make it with less sauce (We didn't and ended up putting it through a strainer to remove some.) because if it's too runny, you will never keep it in the lettuce!

We used 2 heads of iceburg lettuce; cut out the cores and carefully separate the leaves. For toppings, crush and toast almonds and chop green onions, serve with extra hoisin sauce and Thai red chili sauce.

February 4: Cuban Pork and Grilled Watermelon

Today has been a bit of a bummer. My KIA's  passenger door handle is broken, and today the driver side lock broke. Result: a car loaded with stuff, and no way to get into it. Arrrggh!   Anyway, amid the frustration, dinner was a bright spot. Once again, I found that a very simple salad can be the best!


I've never had Cuban Pork before, but my daughter was making it, so I followed her around the kitchen to learn how. It smelled so good that I was practially drooling by the time it was done. She cooked it in the lime marinade, so I used that instead of a dressing-- perfect!

Grilled water melon sounded really wierd to me, but it's actually quite fab. The cooking seems to bring out the sweetness. It also changes the texture, causing my daughter to give up her life-long hate of my favourite summer fruit.

When she was a little girl, I made her eat a little bit every time we had watermelon, because having a kid who didn't like it was so wierd. I was sure she'd change her mind if she just kept trying, but she never did. Luckily, she doesn't resent me, and she told me today that she still tries a little every once in a while to see if her tastes have changed. If only I had thought of cooking it years ago!

Recipe:

Cuban pork: Combine1 pound (454 g.) of cubed lean pork, juice and zest of 1 lime, a tablspoon of cumin, 4 cloves of garlic, salt to taste, and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Marinate for at least 10 minutes, then cook at medium high (you want to sear the meat without burning the garlic). When it's done, add the juice of another lime, and cook one more minute.

Grill water melon on barbecue or in a non-stick pan on the stove, quickly searing both sides before removing from heat.

Create a bed of iceberg lettuce, add pork and watermelon, and drizzle with the "juice" from the pan. Eat it while it's hot!

February 3: Beautiful BC Salad

This was an example of salad as an art form. You start with what you have, and then inspiration hits. You never know if you'll end up with a masterpiece, but today I came pretty close!

It started with the intention of using up some leftovers; half an apple from yesterday and some smoked salmon from the day before. The way the flavours blended was almost too good to be true; I've never had smokey apples before, but I highly reccommend it! These are both products of beautiful British Columbia, Canada, where I have lived for most of my life. Those of us who are lucky enough to live here think it's the best place in the world!

 Once I put the apples and salmon together, they didn't need much more, although if I'd had some pecans they would have gone nicely. My daughter thought it didn't need dressing, but I wanted to keep the apples from going brown, and it was also good to add a little tangy element, since this is quite sweet.  It was so pretty, I went looking for a way to display it, and luckily my daughter has some perfect glassware. This salad was a filling Sunday Brunch for me, but it was almost too much for me, as the salmon is very rich. I think it would make a wonderful appetizer, using this amount for 3 servings. 

Recipe:
1/2 a golden delicious apple, 1/2 cup bite-size pieces of candied smoked salmon, 3or 4 sprigs of flat-leaf parsely (pinch the leaves off and discard the stems). Be careful not to over-mix, as the salmon starts to break up.

Dressing: whip together 2 teaspoons mayonaise, 2 teaspoons rice vinegar (Another time I would use lemon juice instead), 1 teaspoon sugar.

Bonus Salad: The BLT
Since this salad didn't give me the greens I need for the day (I have to eat at least 3 cups of raw veg to keep my tummy happy), I made another one for dinner. I don't usually include these extra salads, but this one was so pretty, I snapped some shots of it.

I just used the rest of my field greens, some fresh tomato and home-made bacon bits. (My daughter was making the fresh bacon bits for a Superbowl treat and threw some my way.) I tossed it in a greek dressing, which had some nice flavours, but was a bit salty for me, especially combined with the bacon.

February 2: Gold and Greens

Since I'm just a regular person, I can't go out and buy new ingredients every day. I shop sales, and I don't waste food, so I have to find creative ways to use the same ingredient in different ways. Today it was the salad greens I bought yesterday. I decided to try them with golden delicious apple, which is one of the best apples grown here in BC. I had this salad as a late dinner, and I was surprisingly satisfied despite its having no meat. Actually, it's not that surprising, as it was chock full of nuts. I used a honey mustard salad dressing, which added a little more gold and lot of zip.

Today I went to Bellingham, Washington for the day with my kids, shopping and just hanging out. I loved the walk along the pier, and so did little Tommy. We had lunch in a little place called Ginger Boat. It didn't look that impressive, but the food was superb. If you're ever in Bellingham, I highly recommend the stirfry. The egg rolls looked great too, and according to my daughter they were as good as they looked. I had so many veggies in my stirfry, I almost filled my quota and didn't need a salad, but I wanted one anyway. It's nice to have a habit you don't mind indulging! Now, if only chocolate were as healthy . . .

Recipe: Toss together mixed greens, slices of golden delicious apple, sliced English cucumber, whole roasted almonds, and a grated carrot in Renee's Honey Dijon Dressing.

February 1: Naked Salad

Don't get excited; this is not salad porn! I called it naked because it was so good on its own, I decided  not to add any dressing, not even a little lime juice. Now, I love my salad dressings, but between the salmon and the citrus fruits, this one honestly didn't need a thing. I had it as a late-night snack, and I would have gone back for more, but I'm afraid of waking up the baby.

Today I am in Agassiz BC (Where, I am reliably informed, there have been Sasquatch sightings!). I am visiting with my daughter, her husband, and her adorable son, Tommy. He's grown like crazy since I last saw him, and is learning all kinds of new words. He's even cut his first tooth, but he isn't ready for salad just yet.

We left my car here, still packed to the gills, and went shopping in Chilliwack today. I found this "Smoked Sockeye Salmon Candy"  at Superstore, and it looked too good to pass up. It is very good- firm but not chew, and sweet, but not overly so. I also bought  pomello, which is always a bit of a gamble for me. They can be delicious or horrible.This one was pretty good, especially for this early in the season, but LOADED with seeds. There are seedless ones, but they never say whether they are or not. I was going to slice it, but ended up having to pull it apart with my hands to get all those huge seeds out.

If you're not familiar with pomello, it's a sort of giant grapefruit. The meat is milder and drier than grapefruit, and when ripe it can be very sweet. The peel is incredibly thick, and I always feel I've been ripped of when I see how little fruit there is inside, but it's a nice treat, and it went very well in this salad.

I can't bring myself to call this a recipe: I bought a box of organic mixed field greens and herbs, cut up a naval orange, added the meat of half a pomello, and a bunch of candied smoked salmon, and tossed it by hand. That's all there was to it, but it was scrumptious!

January 30: Travelling Carrots

Moving day! The only vegetables in the house were a few carrots, so I decided to use them for a take-along salad to have in the car. I put them in a marinade last night and took this photo (last one on my beautiful granite counter top!). Then, while cleaning the freezer, I found some dill I'd put there last summer. It came from my mother's garden, and it was in an airtight container, so it was still very nice. It made a huge difference to my carrots! Although very simple, this salad was very successful.

I'm getting very good at moving. I just pile everything in my little KIA and away I go. For a small car, it can carry a whole lot of stuff. This time, I even crammed a Lazy-Boy recliner in my backseat. Of course, I didn't have that much to move. I spent the last seven months house-sitting in a nearly empty house, until I sold it and made myself homeless. Oh well, at least I am heading south, away from Winter!

Recipe: Cut carrots into fine sticks and place in a water-tight container. Add vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, dill, and just a pinch of sugar (I also put in some brine for my last jar of marinated artichokes). Put the lid on and shake it up. Refrigerate or store in a cooler until ready to serve. The longer it marinates, the better it is.

January 30: Egg Salad Boats

I'm moving tomorrow, so today's salad had to quick and easy, and it had to come from a nearly-empty fridge. I had part of a head of romaine left, but it was getting sad and wilted. I put it in a plastic bag, added about 1/2 cup of water, and shook it up. Then I put it back in the fridge, and a couple of hours later it was crisp and firm enough to hold the egg salad and pick it up in one hand. I might not eat this all of the time, but it made a good lunch and gave me enough energy to get through an afternoon's cleaning and packing.

Recipe: For each "boat" use a centre leaf from a head of romaine lettuce; 1 hard-boiled egg, cooled and diced; 1 tablespoon diced celery (the tender centre stalks are best) 2 teaspoons mayonnaise; 1/4 teaspoon prepared mustard.

If I have it, I like to add fresh dill, but since I didn't, I served it with dill pickles.

January 29: Quick Tuna Salad Lunch

Every once in a while I get a craving for tuna salad. I used to eat it in sandwiches, but now that I am grain-free, I just put it on a pile of lettuce, and I actually prefer it that way. I always add either pickles or celery for the crunch factor, but today I decided to try it with both, and it was very good.

Recipe:
1 can of  chunk white tuna, drained; 1 stalk of celery, diced; 4-6 baby dill pickles, diced; 2 or 3 tablespoons mayonnaise. Mix gently, so as not to break the tuna up too much, and serve on a bed of sliced romaine lettuce.

January 28: Aisian Coleslaw 2

This did not turn out as well as I'd hoped, mainly because I bought the wrong kind of coleslaw. I use bagged coleslaw all of the time, but I always buy the "3-colour coleslaw." I tried the regular one this time, and discovered that the cabbage is shredded far too fine for this type of salad. In fact, this would be better with hand-sliced cabbage, because it seems to wilt a little in the dressing.

While I don't usually use onion, I decided this salad needed the colour (besides, I had a half of a red onion in the fridge and I hate wasting food). I didn't actually eat it, but I like the flavour it adds to the dressing. Overall  this was not an attractive salad, and the cabbage disappeared, but it was not too bad.

EDIT: This was much better the next day!

Recipe: Toss together a bag of coleslaw with: 1/2 can sliced water chestnuts; 3 cups of beansprouts; 1/2 of a red onion, sliced; 1 stalk celery, sliced (use the leafy bits as well); 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, all in an Asian vinagrette.

Dressing: 1/2 cup vegetable oil, a dash of sesame oil, 1/4 cup soy sauce (see January 22 salad for notes on gluten-free soy sauce), 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, 1  teaspoon sugar, 1 clove of garlic, diced, and a pinch of ginger. I just put it all in a jar and shake it like mad.

January 27: All Heart

As moving day approaches, my fridge is getting pretty low on fresh veggies. But, as luck would have it, people have invented some pretty nifty ways to preserve foods. Today I used food from packets, cans and jars, and still ended up with a salad that was fresh and satisfying, not to mention just plain delicious!.

After I made it, I thought that I should have saved this one for a couple of weeks and made it a Valentine's Day salad. But as I had already eaten half of it, it was a bit late.

Recipe:
Tear red leaf lettuce into bite-size pieces and toss with sliced hearts of palm and marinated artichoke hearts, crumbled soft goat cheese, dried cranberries, roasted cashews,and a creamy dressing.

Dressing: Whisk some of the brine from the artichokes into your favourite mayonnaise, adding a smidgen of sugar.