Fig, Pancetta and Grape Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
October 18, 2012 - Written by Diana
Fig Pancetta and Grape Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
A couple of weeks ago at the farm market, there were figs. I love the way figs taste but I also love that they remind me of growing up in Queens. Our Italian neighbors across the back fence grew some pretty neat stuff, wine grapes was one, and fig trees were another. Every summer, they had figs on their trees they grew in pots on their patio and would hand over the fence a big bowl for us. We sat at the picnic table biting and chewing the figs. Then later in the fall they took big burlap rugs or cloth and wound it around each tree to try and keep it alive for another winter. They lasted a few years, but the NY winters were rough on the fig trees.
We found the last container of figs at Anderson Orchards. The farmer said he’d have more, but we didn’t have time to go back since we went on vacation. When I asked …
Blackberry Peach Mint Fruit Salad
July 23, 2012 - Written by Diana
I think some seasonal fruits and vegetables become ripe at the same time for a reason… like they tastes so great together. Or maybe they taste so well together because they ripen at the same time. Peaches and blackberries are the perfect combination. This fruit salad can be a side or a dessert, either way it’s sweet, fruity and delicious. The mint takes it up a notch and white wine is the perfect finishing touch. Four ingredients for the perfect salad and while you peel and chop the peaches and chop the mint, most of the work is quick and easy and it can be made ahead and chilled while you work on something else. I served this at the (birthday) dinner party for the kids (college age kids) this weekend. It was wiped out – gone. I also made it for dinner tonight as a side for our main pasta dish.
Blackberry Peach Mint Fruit Salad Print …
Cobb Salad and Mother’s Day – They Go Together
May 10, 2012 - Written by Diana
Mother’s Day – Cobb Salad – I think they can go together really well.
Reason 1 :The ingredients in my fridge were pointing towards salad with all the greens I had accumulated. Spring is a great time for salad greens, they thrive when it is cooler, and slow down or bolt when it’s really warm. I even had a smoked chicken in the fridge and fresh ricotta that needed to be used up. Herbs are growing in the garden.
Reason 2: Mother’s Day isn’t really for mothers when we have to cook, Cobb salad comes together easily with cold make ahead ingredients, that can be assembled quickly. Hard boil a couple of eggs, fry up some bacon, and chop some veggies the night before. The next day assemble your salad.
Reason 3: Grumpy Granny inspired me with her choice of Culinary Smackdown guidelines – May is salad month. This may not be not be my entry, but it started me thinking about salads.
Reason 4: It’s a really tasty salad with all of the good stuff in it, so you won’t feel guilty eating it. When everyone brings the macaroni …
Roasted Vegetable Salad with Orange, Feta, and Walnuts
March 3, 2012 - Written by Diana
Since we spent a decadent food filled couple of nights away, tonight’s dinner is vegetable laden and light. The golden beets are so pretty, especially after roasting. I also roasted carrots and fennel in olive oil, and sprinkling it with the juice of a blood orange, slicing all the veggies with a mandolin for use in the salad. I used three different greens – Romaine, red oak leaf lettuce, and my son’s recent favorite – arugula. Then I sliced in some blood orange pulp, plus sprinkled feta, fennel fronds and walnuts over top. The dressing was a simple squeeze of blood orange juice over top with some thyme olive oil. A simple salad – not overly crunchy since the veggies were roasted, but with a little caramelized soft sweetness. Very yummy salad, and just what I needed after a couple of nights away. It’s tough to find the fennel in the photo of the salad, but it was there with great licoricey bites every so often.
Roasted Vegetable Salad with Orange, Feta, and Walnuts …
Apple-Cabbage Slaw with Kumquat Dressing
January 20, 2012 - Written by Diana
You knew I was going to do something with that kumquat ginger syrup didn’t you? I made another chicken roast, with a side of winter vegetables and a really cool tasty Apple-Cabbage Slaw with Kumquat Dressing. A little sweet, a little vinegary, but all good. In fact, my daughter ate it and then stopped and said – “Wait, this is slaw, you tricked me.” I asked if she liked it and she said she did, but it was still slaw.
We had a full house – both of the kids were home and the fiancee was at dinner too, so I brought out the leftover kumquats for a tasting. My daughter died laughing over the name and then refused at first to eat it. She wanted to peel the skin which I said was the best part. My son and the fiance popped them in their mouths without a second thought, but my daughter really had to get herself ready. Then she was fine until the tart juice squirted in her mouth making her pucker. Later I thanked her for being adventurous – it’s …
There’s Cilantro in my Watermelon
September 14, 2011 - Written by DianaToday was the second time I bought this salad from work. As I was going through the line, the cashier asked me why they put the green stuff on the watermelon. I told her it was cilantro and I thought it was tasty. She obviously disagreed.
I’m not a cilantro fan, but watermelon as a salad with a little heat is actually yummy.
The ingredient list is easy:
Chunks of watermelon – bite size
Cilantro chopped
Jalapeno – diced really itty bitty
Red Onion – diced really small
Toss and serve.
Enjoy!
Melon & Blackberry Fruit Salad Tossed with a Mint Simple Syrup
July 24, 2011 - Written by Diana
We were invited to my brother in law’s for a small family cookout, and I wanted to throw together something cool and delicious for a side dish. We bought melons and blackberries at our local farmer’s market. The mint is something my daughter and I have been trying to cultivate in our garden. Mint can get out of control easily, so we’re planting patches of mint down at the bottom of the legs of our deck. It can go out of control all it wants down there. We have one mint plant my husband mowed totally down to the nub and after it grew back, then my son scalped it with the weed whacker and it’s back again. I need hardy plants with the two of them around because they can’t tell the difference between weeds and herbs. I am loving all the different things I can put mint into, it’s so tasty.
Beet, Feta & Spelt Berry Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
July 7, 2011 - Written by Diana
Beet, Feta, Spelt Salad with a Strawberry Vinaigrette
My Beet, Feta and Spelt Salad was my favorite of the two salads (the other was a pasta salad with peas, lamb mint sausage and a dill mint pesto) that we brought to the 3rd of July family gathering. It’s a potluck and I try to bring something new to the table, to make it interesting. Of course the young boys wouldn’t touch it, because it was healthy looking, and an aunt said she didn’t eat beets because they taste like dirt. I say earthy – she says dirt. Her husband liked it, and so did my family. I made a pretty big batch, so we had leftovers for breakfast and then some for dinner again. I also left a small bowl behind for my daughter because she had to work and wasn’t able to go with us. Feel free to cut down on amounts, I was cooking for a potluck, and had plenty of leftovers for us, which I wanted by the way – so …
Salad For Breakfast
May 14, 2011 - Written by Diana
Recently, we were discussing breakfast. It came out that one person ate her breakfast as a salad. She cooked up her eggs and bacon, and ate it over salad. Well, here we were a week later, and out of bread, rolls, wrap, pita, etc. I thought, well, what the heck – let’s try breakfast as salad, because well, heck it’s salad season. So I cooked up my breakfast and put it over some nice greens with avocado, and salsa. The salsa is difficult to see under the egg, but it’s there. I really enjoyed my breakfast this way though I will let my salsa warm up a little first next time. Really cold salsa with warm eggs is too much of a temperature difference. A zap in the microwave or letting it come to room temp would be a little better.
Ingredients:
- Salad Greens
- Home made Salsa
- Avocados
- Pancetta
- Eggs
- Salt
- Pepper
- Miscellaneous Herbs
Prepare your eggs and Pancetta in your favorite way. Create a salad and place the cooked eggs and pancetta on top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs. Enjoy!
Salad Season Has Arrived!
May 12, 2011 - Written by DianaI arrived home from work to a hot and sweaty daughter studying at the computer. When I mentioned dinner, she replied – anything but not hot. Salad season is on folks, especially now. This is the best time for fresh salads because salad greens love early spring best. They don’t do so well in the super heat of the hazy summer end, but planting seeds outside in the end of winter will bring you perfect greens in the beginning of spring when the bugs are still on vacation. I hope to have a few more cool evenings with warm tomato soup, stew or a roast, but I’m looking ahead to more salad days.
Tonight’s dinner was both quick and easy to prepare and all the ingredients in my fridge, so I didn’t have to run out for anything. The quinoa was made up in a big batch but frozen in dinner size portions. You can set it to defrost in the fridge, or if you are like me and deciding at the last minute, you can microwave for one minute, stir it around a little and it’s ready to go. The rest of the ingredients came together into a nice salad …
