Watermelon Feta Salad

 

This is the opposite of complicated. It's so simple, it's not really a recipe. It's the perfect dish to bring to a summertime gathering. I just served it at our family reunion and was reminded how much people like it.

Ingredients
Half a seedless watermelon, cut into chunks
6-8 oz of crumbled feta (or blue) cheese
Bunch of fresh mint leaves, minced
Balsamic vinegar

Put watermelon chunks, cheese and mint into a large bowl and toss together. Drizzle balsamic over top if desired. You can also add strawberries to this salad if you like.

Ambrosia: Orange Pecan Salad

Ahh, the smell of a fresh new year! What a pleasure this time of year is for me. I love the quiet space after Christmas and before schooling gets in gear again. I have enjoyed laying around and doing...nothing.

And don't worry, my family is still eating, I just have not been posting. I've...been...lazy (gasp). Sometimes I have to take a break from routine or I think I will go crazy. The mundane of laundry, dishes, even getting dressed, just gets old to me every once in a while. I've been this way for as long as I can remember. Even when I was a teenager, life would just get "boring". It usually takes something fun and exciting to bring me back into motivated mode. At this moment in time, I have something REALLY exciting to look forward to!

I'm taking my two oldest kids to Disney World for the first time. I can't wait to see the magic of Disney through their eyes. I'm practically giddy with joy now that we are in the actual month of departure!! My husband jokes that the kids are along for MY vacation, not the other way around.

All the planning and waiting is finally coming to fruition and it's going to be great. Of course, there is one down side to Disney - the food. It's expensive and not delicious. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe things have changed since I was there 13 years ago, but I remember being glad I brought my own snacks. As I've mentioned, I can only handle so much junk food before I'd rather not eat. So part of my packing preparations are putting together healthy snacks and thinking about what we can eat quickly in the condo for breakfast or a late night snack.

Since we will be in the Citrus State, we will be enjoying grapefruits and oranges straight from the orchard. I plan on bringing bags home with us to share with the little kids and my husband (who are all staying home). This is one of our families favorite ways to enjoy citrus.

Ambrosia Salad

Ingredients

1/4 c pecans

6 oranges

1 grapefruit (optional)

1 can pineapple pieces (optional)

1/4 c sugar

1/4 c shredded coconut

Toast pecans in a dry skillet or toaster oven tray until they smell fragrant and lightly brown. Watch carefully so they don't burn). Let cool.

Slice the peel off the oranges, starting with the top and bottom. Then slice off the sides. When the pith (white part) is gone, slice knife in between each membrane and loosen the orange. Do this over a bowl to catch all the juices. Plop the segmented orange into the bowl. Repeat with grapefruit if you desire. Add pineapple to the bowl. Add sugar and stir. Add coconut. Chop the cooled pecans and add to the bowl. Give a good stir and then store in the fridge until you are ready to serve. Ah-maz-ing!

Italian Chopped Salad

It turns out that last month wasn't my last Secret Recipe Club post. Seems I was a month ahead of myself, which in my crazy, hectic life never happens.

B.K. (before kids) I was an on-the-ball kinda gal. I mean, I never forgot things, or misplaced things. I managed to remember to comb AND style my hair each morning. Really, I was pretty amazing. 

Now, not so much. Now, there are days when I never brush my hair, forget my sweet friend's birthday and simply not show up to some place where I'm supposed to be! *Gasp* I have become one of those people. 

I used to think my life was busy when I had a career, while rehabbing a house, volunteer work, bible study group, and dating. Ha!

Silly me. Now I now the truth...kids define the word busy.

For those of you out there without kids, have pity on people like me. Know that we are still in there somewhere and will (hopefully) re-emerge when the college years are upon us.

My scattered brain managed to produce another Secret Recipe Club treasure in time for today's deadline. I'm very proud not to have dropped this ball. I have unearthed a delicious chopped salad recipe. This one is very Italian and very delicious. (Sandy, you would even appreciate it.) It comes by way of Authentic Suburban Gourmet.

Lisa blogs from the sunny San Francisco Bay Area. She has a ton of delicious recipes, but what I was really intrigued about was her photography. Either she has subbed out the photography to a pro, been replaced by an alien expert photographer, or worked her tail off learning how to take better photos. I'm not sure which, but it is incredible to see the transformation of the photos on her blog. Just search "chopped salad" and you'll see some examples of what light can do for a photo. Not to mention her food styling. Her stuff just looks beautiful. Lisa blogs exemplifies how we can each improve our skills. Maybe there is hope for my mommy's brain after all.

This chopped salad recipe is from “The Mozza Cookbook” from famed chef, restaurateur and cookbook author, Nancy Silverton. I made a few changes like adding black olives and purple cabbage (because it is so much cheaper than radicchio). Be sure to check out Lisa's recipe if you like detailed instructions. And she has those beautiful photos to go with it.

The key on a chopped salad is to chop most everything in uniform sizes. That way you get a little of everything on your fork at the same time. Delicious!

Italian Chopped Salad
from Authentic Suburban Gourmet

Salad
1/2 sm red onion, chopped
1/2 sm head iceberg lettuce, cored and chopped
1 sm head purple cabbage, cored and chopped
1 pint sm sweet cherry tomatoes, halved
1 1⁄2 c garbanzo beans
1 c chopped black olives
4 oz aged provolone, chopped into sm pieces
4 oz salami, chopped into sm pieces
1/4 c banana peppers, chopped
2 tsp salt
1⁄2 c oregano vinaigrette
1⁄2 lemon juiced, plus more to taste
toasted pine nuts (see note at bottom)

Combine the onion, lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, olives, provolone, salami, and pepperoncini in a large, wide bowl. Season with salt and toss to thoroughly combine the ingredients. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette and squeeze the lemon juice over the salad, then toss gently to coat the salad with the dressing. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, lemon juice or vinaigrette if desired. Pile the salad on a large platter or divide it among individual plates, piling it like a mountain.

Oregano vinaigrette
2 1⁄2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
2 garlic cloves, 1 smashed and 1 grated or minced
1⁄2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1⁄4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 1⁄2 c extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and shake vigorously. Use the vinaigrette or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to three days. Bring the vinaigrette to room temperature, whisk to recombine the ingredients, and taste again for seasoning before using.


UPDATE: I actually tried this salad withOUT the lettuce and it was amazing that way and keeps longer since there is no lettuce to wilt. The general consenses was that it would make an amazing pasta salad! And toasted pine nuts sprinkled on top, take this dish to the next level.

Tomatoes!!

 

We had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year. I was pretty consistent with the watering and I think that really helped. Last year I was too hot and hugely pregnant to go out and even turn on the hose, so we didn't get that many. This year we have eaten tomatoes, given them away, frozen them and feed the rejects to the dastardly chickens (lest you thought I was too mean last post).

This year we grew large tomatoes like Better Boy, roma tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. One of the plants we put in was a little whim. I just happened to be in Home Depot and picked up an orange cherry tomato plant. This turned out to be a VERY happy decision. They were the sweetest little things, like popping candy. I took a photo of the tag and I highly recommend getting this plant next year. I know I will be planting it again!

 

Be sure to try out what I like to call "Summer on a Fork" salad, Caprese Salad Appetizers or maybe Creamy Tomato Dip with the end of summer's bounty before it's gone.

Burrito Bowl

 

This is one of my favorite summer recipes. It doesn't require heating up the oven or too much cooking at all, when I often find my kitchen motivation waning since it's just TOO hot.

If you've ever been to Chipotle, you've heard of a burrito bowl. We have some friends who moved to Australia (the ones I made the Pavlova for, which is another amazing summer recipe) who introduced us to Chipotle. I figured for a fraction of the cost, I could make something like their burrito bowl at home.

Burrito Bowl

(this is one of those recipes where "exact" doesn't enter the picture)

steamed rice
black beans
chopped lettuce
chopped tomatoes
chopped avocado
shredded cheddar cheese
chopped black olives
sour cream
The only cooking part of this recipe is the black beans. I rinse out the can of beans and dump them into a pot. I add salt, pepper, cilantro, minced onion and minced garlic. Give it a big stir and add olive oil and some chicken stock. Let these simmer on the stove for 30-60 minutes.

When ready to serve you can use my taco/ oatmeal trick or plate them up yourself. Start with the rice and then beans. Add all of the other toppings as you like. You can "mix, mix, mix" like Bee Bim Bop or just enjoy the randomness of what appears on your forkfull.

Bread Salad aka Panzanella

My favorite meal in the whole world is bread, cheese, fruit, raw veggies and chocolate. Really, I could eat a variation of this meal for lunch and dinner for weeks straight. That's saying something from the girl who doesn't cook the same thing twice in one month. This wonderful dish satisfies part of that favorite meal with the fresh tomatoes and chewy bread. Bread salad, it sounds strange, but Italians know it's the smart way to use day old bread. (And much better for you than bread pudding.) And you know I'm in love with all things Italian.

Bread Salad aka Panzanella
loaf of old crusty, chewy bread with lots of holes in it (the Italian version uses an unsalted bread)
tomatoes, the ripe fresh kind you can only get in summer
onions, use red for color or sweet vidalia
fresh basil
good quality extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
course salt and pepper to taste

Tear the bread into chunks and put in a big bowl. Cut the tomatoes up into chunks (we had a bunch of cherry tomatoes, so I halved those and used them - why did I plant cherry tomatoes??) and add to the bread. Slice the onions and add to the bowl. Tear or chop the basil into small bits and throw it in the bowl. Then you can whisk the olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl. I usually use a 1:1 part ratio for the both. That means if you use 1/2 c oil you use a 1/2 c vinegar, but that might be too strong for your tastes.  In which case, just add as much vinegar as you like. Then pour the dressing over the salad. Let sit for at least 15 minutes so the bread soaks up the dressing. Give it an occasional stir.

Some folks add cucumbers or tuna chunks, cheese, olives, etc. Just like any salad, you can make it your own, but it is wonderfully simple and delicious in its original form.

Greek Salad - Using the Cucumbers!

Cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, feta - oh my! I love greek salad and it's so easy to make at home. This dressing recipe was the perfect combo of spices to create that fabulous greek salad taste. Serve with a wedge of toasted pita. I prefer the kind my local Greek restaurant uses which is not dry at all, but a moist flat bread by Toufanyan, which you can buy at Publix. I'm sure it has more calories than traditional pita, but it's so much yummier. If you warm it up in a frying pan with a little spray oil it's delicious. A perfect accompaniment to this salad. Just like Athens Greek Restaurant in Roswell. Now if I could only get Maria to tell me her secret tzatziki sauce recipe!

Fabulous Greek Salad Dressing (from Allrecipes.com)

1/2 c olive oil

1 1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 1/4 tsp dried oregano

1 1/4 tsp dried basil

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp Dijon-style mustard

2/3 c red wine vinegar

Put all ingredients in a tightly sealing container and shake well. Keeps in the fridge like other salad dressings. Makes about 10 servings.

Summer Tomato and Peach Salad aka Summer on a Fork

This is a wonderful summer salad that my friend Melissa first made for me at a birthday party. Then when my family went to the beach last week, I knew I wanted to make this salad. It's like Summer on a Fork - seriously. Every essential summer flavor is in it...peaches, tomatoes, basil. Just delicious!

Everyone loved it, although some said they might prefer it with feta cheese instead of the goat. I think either way, it's absolutely delicious. The kids liked it because it has peaches in it. That night, I served it for dinner with other assorted sides to make a "Side Salad Buffet" for dinner. There was a black bean and corn salad, my mother-in-law's coleslaw recipe, fresh bread with garlic butter and the yellow summer squash casserole posted here. Everyone found something to please their palates, but I was especially thrilled that my Grandmother (who has traveled everywhere and eaten in very fancy places) loved the meal! What a great feeling knowing you have made something for someone and they love it.

Please know this salad will be absolutely gross if made out of the summer season. Do not blame me if you decide to make it in December and it is tasteless. Hot house fruits and veggies are soooo NOT yummy. I am a firm believer in eating what is in season and this salad proves that at their peak, they can't be beat!

Summer Peach and Tomato Salad
Adapted by my friend Melissa from Cooking Light
Serves 8


1/3 c thinly vertically sliced red onion
3 ripe peaches (about 1 lb) cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb heirloom beefsteak tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb cherry or pear tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 c (2 oz) crumbled feta cheese OR goat cheese
1/4 c torn basil leaves


Combine onions, peaches and tomatoes in a large bowl. Combine vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisk until mixed (or put in a shaker and shake well). Drizzle vinegar mixture over peach mixture and toss to coat. Before serving, sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Summer Fresh Caprese Salad Appetizer

This is a show stopper of an appetizer. My brother and sister-in-law served these at their wedding. We recently had my Dad over for "linner" (you know lunch-dinner) and he brought all of the ingredients to make these. I think he fell in love with them at the wedding. My Dad has always loved eating food but this interest in cooking is pretty new. I'm still getting used to the fact that my Dad knows his way around a grocery store! Since he brought everything, it was very easy and fun to put it all together with him. (Excuse the piles of sippy cups drying in the background! Those plastic things never dry enough in the dishwasher, such is my life.)

All of my family enjoys the fresh taste of caprese salad, but these morsels are tiny finger food versions of the famous salad, which was perfect for my brother's wedding cocktail hour. Caprese salad consists of sliced tomatoes, sliced buffalo mozzarella cheese, layered with fresh basil. All doused in a wonderful balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. Delicious when those items are fresh and in season, which is really what Italian cooking is all about. (See my post about loving the food in Italy here.) This version is perfect for people milling about waiting for the grill to finish your Disappearing Pork Loin or Easy Roasted Chicken and not feel like they are tied down to a plate. This would also be a fantastic recipe to bring to someone's house because it can be served as an appetizer or as part of the main meal.

Summer Fresh Caprese Salad Appetizer

Smaller cherry tomatoes

Buffalo mozzarella (this is NOT the same as mozzarella you use for pizza, Buffalo mozzarella is tender and soft and made from a combination of cow's milk and water buffalo's milk - hence the name)

Fresh basil

Balsamic vinegar

Extra virgin or virgin olive oil

Toothpicks

Slice the mozzarella into cubes around the same size as the tomatoes. Pull the leaves of basil off the stems and slice them into smaller pieces. Thread each toothpick with a tomato, a chunk of cheese, a basil leaf and repeat, leaving the toothpick ends showing out of both sides, which makes it easy to pick up. Place the completed sticks on a platter. Drizzle the appetizers with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, going easy on each. Taste your work and see if it needs more oil or vinegar. Serve with a sprig of basil on top for garnish.

The Green Salad that Bites You Back

When I was in the middle of the Eat from the Pantry Challenge, the thing that was hardest to do without was a green salad. I love eating salads, we eat a bunch during the summer when it is just too hot to cook, but we also eat them throughout the winter. I know these greens have to be grown in a hot house and I prefer my garden's greens, but still, when there is snow on the ground, you can't be picky. Something green and crunchy just seems to make you feel fresher and healthier. The kids are partial to the ginger dressing mentioned here on their salad but I have found a new favorite.

My brother's fiance shared her fabulous homemade salad dressing with the family as a Christmas present this past December. I will say, it has a SERIOUS kick when it's first made, but if you let it sit in the fridge for a while, it does mellow. It is a garlicky, balsamic vinaigrette and it's prefect for waking up sleepy taste buds. The great thing is a little dressing goes a long way, so it will last a while. My SIL recommends making it in a Magic Bullet but I don't have one of those so I did it my Cuisinart food processor. Seemed to work just as well. Thankfully, I throw all my food processor parts in the dishwasher when I am done.

Nadia's Kickin' Vinigrette

Ingredients
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 tsp clover honey
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Put all ingredients in a well sealed, lidded container and shake well, or emulsify in a blender.

I use this dressing on all kinds of salads, but the one pictured above has sliced apples, colby jack cheese and another new found fave - crunchy topping. A friend of mine made this topping for our Bible study one week. She served it over fruit salad, which was delicious. I asked for the recipe and quickly made up a batch. The crazy "secret" ingredient is Rice Crispies! These work perfectly in the recipe because they have a neutral taste and they extend the pecans with a much lower cost (much like using refried beans to make the meat in tacos serve more people). I have made candied pecans many times. One year the kids and I had a taste test with three different candied pecan recipes. We really like the simple butter and sugar ones the best over the more complicated egg white ones. Either way, making candied nuts is expensive unless you have a nut tree growing in your backyard. I love the idea of extending the basic candied nut recipe with cheap generic cereal. We ate the crunchy topping over yogurt, fruit salad and green salads. It's a perfect complement to the tart dressing and makes your salad more like a restaurant salad. You can make the topping and store the extra in the fridge sealed tightly where it will keep for a long time. However, I'll warn you it didn't last long in our house. This stuff is addictive!

Crunchy Topping

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups rice crispy cereal
1 1/2 cups chopped hazelnuts, pecans, almonds or walnuts
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir together the cereal, nuts, brown sugar and margarine in a bowl. Spread out on baking sheet (use your silicon mats). Bake for 10-15 minutes, stirring a couple of times while cooking. Should smell toasty and be lightly browned when done. Cool and use or store in sealed bag or container.

Whole Food's Sonoma Chicken Salad

Since I volunteer at the Whole Foods cooking school nearby, I have gotten to experience many of their yummy recipes firsthand. They even post some of their in-store recipes on their website. I really love the Sonoma Chicken Salad and have made it on numerous occasions. My only problem is I like chicken salad in the summer and who wants to turn on their oven in summertime?  My solution to this problem is to microwave the chicken breasts. They are moist and fully cooked without upping your A/C bill. Don't knock it til you try it.