Category Archives: salads

Green Spring Vegetable Salad

blog green veg salad

Today Febuary 3rd  is National Wear Red Day.  “Go Red for Women” is in celebration of women bonding together to create awareness and fight heart disease. It’s a good time for each of us to reflect on how we might change our lives in order to lead happier, healthier lives. It doesn’t always have to be big changes, we can make several small changes to our lifsestyle that can result in being healthier. For example, I have decided to walk to work twice a week.  It may not seem like a lot but in my case that is 5.2 miles per week, 270 miles a year and 27000 calories a year.  Another small change you can make is increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet. I do this and limit the amount of fats in my diet and focus on eating lean protein. I suggest cooking with olive oil which is a monosaturated fat which is the healthiest one to incorporate into your diet – besides the fact that it tastes better. So in honor of day I am sharing a few of my favorite heart healthy dishes!  Think about how you might lead a healthier life today!

From by the bay wishing you healthy food memories!
Maryann

Green Spring Vegetable Salad
Serves 4
4 cups assorted blanched green vegetables ( fava beans, asparagus, scallions, peas)
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fine grey salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh mint chopped

Directions

Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix well, Serve at room temperature.

To blanch vegetables:
Fava beans – to pan of simmering water add shelled fava beans. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove and place into cold water. Drain beans and remove bean from waxy casing. Use for salad.
Fresh Spring Peas – to pan of simmering water add shelled peas. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove and place into cold water. Drain and use for salad.
Asparagus – snap off woody ends of asparagus. Cut into 2 inch pieces and to pan of simmering water. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove and place into cold water. Drain and use for salad.
Scallions- cut off ends with roots and tops using just the white and light green part of the scallion. Cut this into 2 inch pieces. Add to pan of simmering water and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove and place into cold water. Drain and use for salad.

Tip: to make this process easier I use a strainer to remove the vegetables from the simmering water leaving the heat under the pan and keep reusing the hot water.

Lemon Cilantro Coleslaw

blog coleslaw lemon

Lemon Cilantro Coleslaw

Serves 6-8

 

1 head cabbage finely shredded

1 carrot finely shredded
1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fine sugar

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup fresh cilantro and Italian parsley , finely chopped

2 large scallions finely chopped


Directions

In a large bowl place all ingredients and mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours. This can be served cold or at room temperature.

Maple Roasted Sweet Potato and Arugula Salad


blog sweet potato salad

 

Maple Roasted Sweet Potato and Arugula Salad

Serves 4

2 cups sweet potato, peeled and chopped

1 red onion, sliced

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon dried red chili flakes

3 cups baby arugula leaves

2 tablespoons gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Coarse sea salt to taste

Directions to roast sweet potatoes and red onion:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line with parchment a baking sheet add the sweet potato cubes, sliced red onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, red chili and salt. Mix well.  Place in oven and roast for 45 minutes.

Directions for toasted pine nuts:

Use a small dry fry pan heat and add the pine nuts stirring until they are golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool.

Directions to assemble salad:

 

To a bowl or serving platter add the arugula with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss. To the arugula add the roasted sweet potatoes and red onions. Top with crumbled gorgonzola cheese, pine nuts, black pepper and finish with coarse sea salt to taste. Serve warm.

 

Great American side dishes

Article first published as Great American Side Dishes on Technorati

OK, why side dishes?  When I’m planning  the menu for an all american  barbecue that menu will include one of these classic side dishes:  macaroni salad , potato salad or coleslaw. I think it’s essential to have favorite versions of each at the ready to prepare. They need to be delicious, yet simple. My first 4th of July on the Bay was such a meal. Coleslaw was not a problem, I fortuantely had my grandmother’s coleslaw recipe, which I have enhanced along the way with additional herbs and lemon juice. I developed a great potato salad recipe one day, really by accident when I had leftover roasted baby yukon potatoes. I have been serving it ever since with raves from all my family and friends. For me, macaroni salad was the side that I didn’t have my go to recipe.  I spent hours looking for the perfect macaroni salad recipe. It sounds silly but so many had too many extra ingredients : ham, relish , eggs etc.   So many versions but none really appealed to me, so I needed to come up with my own. This recipe is light on the mayonnaise and refreshing with the lemon juice, celery and dill. Hope you will make these your great american side dishes too!

From by the bay wishing you great american food memories! Maryann blog coleslaw lemon

Lemon Cilantro Coleslaw

Serves 6-8

1 head cabbage finely shredded

1 carrot finely shredded 1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fine sugar

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup fresh cilantro and Italian parsley , finely chopped

2 large scallions finely chopped

Directions

In a large bowl place all ingredients and mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours. This can be served cold or at room temperature.

Variation:

Summer Dill Coleslaw

1 head cabbage finely shredded

1 carrot finely shredded

½ cup white vinegar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ cup fresh dill, chopped

Directions

In a large bowl place all ingredients and mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours. This can be served cold or at room temperature.

Hint: Use a mandolin when shredding your cabbage, the thinner the cabbage is the better the coleslaw will taste.

blog potato salad

Roasted  Potato Salad with Mixed Herbs

Serves 4

2  pounds baby Yukon Gold Potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 sour cream

1/2 chop mixed chopped fresh herbs (parsley, basil, mint, cilantro)

3 scallions chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Additional salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F. Toss potatoes in bowl with salt , pepper and olive oil. Arrange potatoes into single layer in an ovenproof baking dish. Roast approximately 1 hour, until golden brown on outside and tender when pierced by a knife. Cool completely. Sliced potatoes ½ inch thick and place into bowl. Add mayonnaise, sour cream, herbs, scallions, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerator until ready to serve.

Variation: Roasted Dill Potato Salad

The mixed chop herbs should be parsley and dill about half of each. Remove from the above recipe mayonnaise, sour cream and lemon juice. In it’s place make a dressing with ½ cup olive oil, 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon grainy mustard. Whisk together and pour over the potatoes and herbs. Garnish with crumbled bacon from three cooked slices.

blog mac salad
Dill Macaroni Salad

Serves 6

1 pound cooked elbow macaroni

3/4 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

4 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 celery ribs, chopped finely

1/2 onion ,chopped finely

3 tablespoons dill, chopped

2 tablespoon fine sugar

1 tablespoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon hot paprika

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Optional: 3-4 tablespoons water

Directions

In a large bowl add all ingredients. Combine well. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready for use. Before serving from the refrigerator  add 3-4 tablespoons of water to add a little moisture. Garnish with additional paprika and dill leaves.

Mixed Greens with Apples, Candied Pecans and Honey Vinaigrette

blog apple salad

 

It’s post Labor Day and as summer transitions into fall, I eagerly welcome the apple season. I love apples! I started picking apples in my grandparents orchard, small though it was. They grew McIntosh apples. As a young adult, I went apple picking on a date. The date was ok, but the apple picking was fantastic. That was when I discovered that there were so many more varieties of apples beyond the simple, yet classic McIntosh. I loved strolling through the enormous orchard testing varieties from tree to tree before deciding where to spend my time picking.  So many varieties, Cortland, Empire, Macoun, Granny Smith, Winesap, Red Delicious, Honeycrisp the names go on. All are great for eating, currently my favorite is Honeycrisp. For cooking it depends on the recipe, however, Granny Smith is still one of the best all round cooking apples. I thought I would kick off our apple season together with a few recipes featuring apples. The first recipe is a salad that balances between sweet and tart as well as soft and crunchy. Apples may not be the first ingredient you think of when making salad , but it will be once you eat this salad. The second recipe is hard to resist, it’s apple muffins with a streusel topping, the aroma on a cool autumn morning is intoxicating! So go head fall in love!

From by the bay wishing you crisp food memories!

Maryann

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Mixed Greens with Apples, Candied Pecans and Honey Vinaigrette

Serves 4

Dressing:

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

2 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon prepared mustard

Salad:

4 cups mixed greens

¼ cup manchego cheese, shaved

1 apple

1 teaspoon lemon juice

¼ cup candied pecans

Directions

To make dressing combine all ingredients in a glass jar and shake. Keep to the side until ready to use. Shake before pouring onto salad.

Slice apple with skin on and place in bowl with lemon juice and mix to coat apples. To make salad combine all ingredients except cheese in a large bowl. Pour dressing over salad and mix well. Top with shaved manchego cheese.

Candied Pecan

1 egg white

1 tablespoon water

2 cups pecans

½ cup light brown sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 225 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine egg white and water in mixing bowl. Beat until fluffy. Fold in pecans to coat evenly. Combine the sugar and salt and sprinkle over the pecans. Spread the nuts evenly onto the baking sheet and bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven , cool and store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Enjoying Corn Two Ways :Fresh Corn Pesto with Tagliatelle and Fresh Corn and Zucchini Salad

blog corn
It’s the beginning of September , Labor Day is this weekend and it’s time to take advantage of the abundance of fresh corn that is still available. Here are two more recipes to try this weekend. Both of these recipes are tasty ways to think of fresh corn beyond eating on the cob. The first recipe is for cooked corn with a fresh zucchini dressing to create a lovely side dish that would compliment any main course. The second  recipe features corn as the main event by creating a corn pesto to use on pasta. Using corn as the base of the pesto makes a sauce that is creamy in texture and very delicious! So run out this weekend, buy some corn and give a try to these recipes . Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
 
From by the bay, wishing you bright and fresh food memories!
Maryann

blog corn zuc salad

Fresh Corn  and Zucchini Salad
Serves 6
8 ears of corn, cooked
1/4 cup mint
1/4 cup chives, chopped
1 1/2 cup zucchini or summer squash, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Cut corn off off the cob and place in a bowl. Add to a food processor mint, chives, zucchini, lemon juice , salt and pepper and blend. Slowly add the olive oil and continue to blend to a smooth consistency. Pour dressing on top of corn and mix well. Serve at room temperature.
blog corn pasta
Fresh Corn Pesto with Tagliatelle
Serves 4
6 ears of fresh corn
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped 
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup basil leaves
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
12 ounces tagliatelle 
Directions
In a frying pan cook bacon until crisp, drain and place to the side. While bacon is cooking cut the corn off the cob. Once the bacon is done cooking, keep 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat from bacon and place frying pan back onto a medium heat and saute the corn for 2-3 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and let cool. Take half of the corn and place into a food processor along with the pecans, remaining olive oil, cheese, basil and salt and pepper and blend until it’s a creamy consistency. Cook pasta as directed, before straining take 1 cup of hot pasta water and place to the side. Place the strained pasta into a bowl, top with the corn mixture, remaining whole corn kernels and 1/2 the pasta water. Mix well. You are looking for a creamy sauce that covers the pasta well, , add more water if needed. Sprinkle the top with crumbled cooked bacon and more parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Fresh White Corn Salad

blog corn salad

 

Fresh White Corn Salad

Serves 4

4 ears of white corn, shucked ( or use yellow corn if white is not available)

1/4 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon fine sugar

2 tablespoons good olive oil

 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn for 3 minutes. Drain and immerse it in ice water, this will stop the corn from cooking. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob.

In a large bowl add all the ingredients and mix well .Serve cold or at room temperature. Mix again and garnish with extra cilantro right before serving.