White Bean Salad

Originally this post was going to be about making various vinaigrettes. I had made three different vinaigrettes and had big plans to photograph them and offer several recipes along with a tutorial about how to make and customize them.

Then, I ate them in various dishes and forgot to take the pictures.

I'm sorry.

But the salads were good.

I will do it soon, though, because the basic formula for The Vinaigrette is indispensable for the summer salads, regardless of whether the salads are full of greens, beans, potatoes, vegetables, pastas, or a combination. 

For most of the people for whom I cooked Saturday evening, the main course was a white kidney bean salad marinated in a lovely red wine vinaigrette (with a side of tomato basil focaccia).  For the two of my family who don't like beans so much, a salad topped with sauteed chicken marinated in the same vinaigrette was the main show.  Both were easy, fresh, and summery, and both were delicious.

In this salad, I suggest de-seeded cucumbers.  To do this, peel your cucumber (if needed), and slice it in half lengthwise.  With a spoon, scrape out the seeds.

Slice it and dice it accordingly.

The longer this salad marinates, the better it tastes.  At least 30 minutes is necessary, and leftovers only get better.  If you do have leftovers, store the bean mixture by itself (not with the greens) in the fridge.


White Bean Salad
serves 4-5 as a main course

• 2 c cooked cannellini beans
• 1 c chopped red onion (about 1 small onion)
• 1/2 cucumber, de-seeded and chopped
• 1 medium tomato, chopped (or a handful of grape tomatoes, halved or quartered)
• 5-6 cups fresh greens (to include plenty of arugula)
• 2 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
• garlic croutons, preferably homemade (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine the beans, onion, cucumber, and tomatoes.

In a 1/2 pint jar or other small container with a tight fitting lid, combine the vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper.

Tighten the lid and shake like crazy.

Pour over the bean mixture and mix well.

Allow to marinate at room temperature at least 30-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Give it a taste and adjust the salt and pepper, if necessary.

Arrange the greens among the plates.  Top evenly with the bean mixture, spooning extra marinade from the bottom of the bean bowl over the beans and greens.  Top each plate with crumbled feta cheese and garlic croutons, if using.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

I hope everyone had a healthy and grateful Memorial Day weekend!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of our soldiers for everything you do.

We finished putting in the garden and actually ate the first fresh salad of the season. It is so amazing how completely refreshing and different fresh greens taste compared to the lettuce and greens available in the grocery store all winter long; each leaf in the salad had so much flavor that a simple drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and a little salt and pepper was all it needed.  Thank goodness for the growing season up here to begin!

And our farmer finally has chickens again. When I get chickens from the farmer, they usually come to us either whole or in halves.  The extra processing (cutting) costs more, so our farmer tries to keep it as economical as possible for his customers by only allowing minimal "processing".  That means no "boneless, skinless chicken breasts" for us.  Which is fine, because I think it's important to remember that meat is not a commodity, but a life, and should be respected as such, and purchasing the chicken whole makes it that much more tangible for us consumers.

In order for us to get to the "boneless, skinless chicken breast" stage, we reserve the darker meat on the chicken for other recipes that better feature dark meat, and then cut the breast meat from the bone (keeping the bones for broth).  I hesitate to give a number regarding how many chicken breasts will make up the 1 1/2 lbs called for in this spicy chicken salad recipe because all chickens are different, so just use your judgement (or your scale).

Be sure to choose cool flavored veggies to offset the heat of the chicken.  Sweet pea pods, bell peppers, and carrots, along with crunchy, cool celery and cucumbers work beautifully to offset the spicy bite of the chicken.  Choose a rich, creamy dressing for the same purpose. With regards to the hot sauce, look for a brand that lists only water, hot peppers, and vinegar as the sole ingredients on the label.  Better yet, make your own.  I haven't made my own yet, but I'm looking forward to using the recipe listed in The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making written by Alana Chernila of Eating From the Ground Up.

Buffalo Chicken Salad
serves 6

• 1/4 c butter, melted
• 1/4 c hot sauce
• 1 1/4 c  dried bread crumbs
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (or up to 1/2 tsp if  you prefer it very spicy)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
•  1 1/2 lb chicken breast, cut into approximately 1 inch cubes
  
• 8 cups salad greens (including baby spinach, baby chard, arugula, red and/or green leaf lettuces)
• pea pods
• green onions (seasonal)
• sliced celery
• shredded carrot
• sliced cucumbers (seasonal)
• sliced bell pepper (seasonal)
• Your favorite Ranch-style or Bleu Cheese-style dressing

Preheat oven to 425F.  Lightly oil two rimmed baking sheets with olive oil.

In one shallow bowl, combine the melted butter and hot sauce.  In another shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, paprika, salt, cayenne, onion powder and garlic powder.

Dip several pieces of chicken into the hot sauce and butter mixture. Coat well. 

 Toss the coated pieces in the breadcrumb mixture.

Place on the prepared baking sheets.  Continue with the rest of the chicken.

Bake chicken for about 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and coating is beginning to lightly brown.

Meanwhile, prepare plates by dividing the salad greens between 6 large salad bowls or plates.  Toss with the pea pods, green onions, celery, carrot, cucumber, and/or bell pepper.

Drizzle with dressing.

Top the prepared salad plates/bowls with chicken pieces.

Enjoy!

Chopped Salad with Simple Vinaigrette and A Big Thank You

It doesn't get any easier than a chopped salad. So fresh, so tasty, so versatile with regard to ingredients - it's one of my favorite ways to accompany just about any meal.  As I was making this the other night, I was sort of thinking it's entirely too simple of a concept to blog about.  But then, much like with the roasted garlic, it occurred to me that maybe not everyone knows  how to  make a chopped salad.  And then while I was eating it, I decided that everyone should know how to make one.

Naturally, salads can be made from a formal recipe, such as a Greek Salad, or an Asian Salad, or even a Caesar Salad.  Not so with a chopped salad; all that is needed are any manner of leafy greens, preferably some romaine or other sturdy lettuce, maybe some herbs, and whatever fresh vegetables you have on hand.  The ingredients can vary depending upon season and what is available in your kitchen or garden. Since it's late March here, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and pea pods didn't make it into the chopped salad in the picture; instead I used some left over broccoli, red onions, carrots, a handful of cherry tomatoes, and half of a green bell pepper.  For the greens, I used romaine, young chard, spinach, red and green lettuce leaves, and some kale.  Pretty much any combination makes a great salad though.

The process is simple: cut the vegetables into large chunks, pile everything all onto a large cutting board and drizzle it with a favorite vinaigrette (I'll share a simple, fresh tasting lemon vinaigrette below).

Find a very sharp knife and start chopping; this is the part where the juices from the vegetables ooze out to flavor all the ingredients and the vinaigrette coats everything.  Use your knife to fold the salad back into the pile and chop some more.

Serve just like that, or topped with sunflower seeds or nuts, your favorite cheese (I love Feta, personally), and/or homemade croutons.

I'd like to take a moment to thank Jessica from Oh Cake who generously awarded The Art of Cooking Real Food with three blogger awards.  I "met" Jessica via the Love Blog Hop and she has pioneered the helpful and amazing Food Blogger's Network. She is an incredibly talented woman and I am honored beyond words to have received these awards from her.  I'm working on my post of thanks and my list of bloggers to whom I will pass the awards.  Thank you so much, Jessica!

Chopped Salad with Simple Vinaigrette
serves 5-6

• 3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• pinch of dried thyme
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4-5 cups mixed lettuce, baby greens, spinach, herbs, etc
• 2-3 cups roughly chopped fresh vegetables

In a pint size jar with a tight fitting lid, add the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, mustard, and thyme. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Tighten the lid and shake well.  Set aside.

Place the greens on a large cutting board.  Pile the vegetables on the greens.  Shake the dressing again and drizzle over the vegetables.  Season the salad with salt and pepper.

With a large sharp knife, chop the salad, using the knife to turn the mixture.  Continue to chop until everything is bite-size.


March is #greenslove month!

Please join in the #greenslove fun by linking up any leafy green recipe from the month of March 2012.  Don't forget to link back to this post so that your readers know to come by the #greenslove event!  The twitter hashtag is #greenslove.

Check out the #greenslove co-hosts!

Al Dente Gourmet ~ Aldy ~ @AlDenteGourmet

ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~  @astigvegan

Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl

Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins

BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker

Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth

CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog

Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess

Cheap Ethnic Eatz ~ Evelyne ~ @cethniceatz

Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies

Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes

Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica ~ @kbelleicious

Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk

My Twisted Recipe ~ Dudot ~ @mytwistedrecipe  

No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley

Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose

Queen's Notebook ~ Elizabeth ~ @Mango_Queen  

Rico sin Azucar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar

Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla

Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem

Soni's Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood 

Sprint 2 the Table ~ Laura ~ @Sprint2theTable

Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna ~ @tspbasil 

That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick

The Art of Cooking Real Food ~ Laura ~@TAofCRF

The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd 

The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian

Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack

Vegetarian Mamma  ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma

Easy Taco Salad

 

When I menu plan for the week (and I do because I'd spend a lot more money at the grocery store than I really need to spend if I didn't menu plan), I always allow for super speedy dinners on those nights I know are going to be busy.  This Easy Taco Salad is one of those quick "go-to" meals for us.  And I especially like that I can feed 6 people a healthy, delicious, filling meal for under $7, including fruit on the side.

For the chips, I could just buy a bag of chips, but I prefer to bake corn tortillas in the oven.  I like that I can decide how they are cooked, how much and what kind of oil is used, what type of corn is used, and it's less expensive.  My favorite are the organic sprouted corn tortillas from Food for Life (they are in the freezer section of the grocery store because there are no preservatives to give them a lengthy shelf life).  There are 12 tortillas in a package.  I baste them with a little olive oil and run a knife through them to create eight chip size wedges per tortilla.  I just spread them on a baking sheet, sprinkle with sea salt, and bake them for about 8 minutes or until they are golden and crispy (no need to turn them).  With only two trays, I usually do two separate batches.

Leave a little breathing room between your chips to ensure even cooking

Remove them from the oven when they are golden

While the chips are cooking, I warm some chili beans on the stove (you could add some cooked shredded chicken or beef to the chili beans, too), and prepare our toppings.  At our house, everyone likes different toppings on their salads, so I usually chop some lettuce, red or green onions, bell peppers, avocado, tomato, etc, shred some cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, monterey jack, etc), and set out some salsa and sour cream.  The chips are placed on each plate, topped with about 1/2 cup of warm chili bean mixture, then topped with whatever each person likes.  The salsa acts as a "dressing" for this salad, so I prefer a slightly cooked version.  Add some fresh fruit on the side, and dinner is served in about 15 minutes.

Easy Taco Salad
serves 6

• 12 6" corn tortillas
• 2 - 3 tsp olive oil
• sea salt
• 3 cups prepared chili beans
• 4 - 6 cups chopped lettuce
• a handful of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (optional)
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups (6-8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese (or other cheese you enjoy on your tacos)
• 1 1/2 c prepared salsa

Suggested various toppings:

• chopped red or green onions
• chopped green or red bell peppers
• chopped tomatoes
• chopped avocado
• sour cream

Preheat oven to 350F.

Using a pastry brush, lightly paint the oil on both sides of each tortilla.  Stack the tortillas and cut them through into 8 wedges (you should have 96 wedges).  Layer them on baking sheets, allowing at least 1/2 inch between each chip.  Sprinkle with sea salt and bake for about 8-10 minutes (depending on the kind of tortillas you are using).  When they are golden, but before the edges turn brown, remove them from the sheets and allow to cool.  (Note - depending on how many baking sheets you use, you may need to do a few batches.  If you use more than one rack in the oven, be sure to turn the trays or swap them from top to bottom to ensure even browning.)

Meanwhile, warm the chili beans in a pot on the stove. If you would like to add cooked beef or chicken, stir it in with the chili beans and adjust the flavors to your liking.

Divide the chips evenly among the plates.  Top each plate with 1/2 c of the warm chili bean mixture, a good handful of chopped lettuce (and cilantro if using),  and some shredded cheese.  Drizzle about 1/4 c of the salsa over each salad.  Top with which ever toppings appeal to you.

Asiago Pasta Salad

A couple of years ago, the deli at one the grocery stores I frequent had a colorful pasta salad displayed in the case that caught my eye.  It consisted of penne pasta, grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, peppers, large chunks of asiago cheese and some sort of vinaigrette.  I tried a sample and was sold.  I immediately purchased 1/2 lb and rushed home to figure out what was in it.  It turned out to be pretty straight forward, with a basic red wine vinaigrette, and the simplicity of the whole thing  made it taste even better to me.

We are heading to a family reunion tomorrow, so I made a batch of this to bring along.  The first time I brought this salad to a family function, several people made me promise to bring it every year.  So I will.

A few suggestions for this salad: if you don't have any yellow peppers lying around, don't let it stop you from making it - just use whichever ones  you do have.  The same goes for the tomatoes - chunk some other tomato you already have on hand (the juices will just add more flavor to the salad).  It'll taste mildly different, but it's a pretty fool proof salad.  The only things I wouldn't mess with are the olives and the Asiago (because then it wouldn't be Asiago Pasta Salad, now would it?).  Use olives from an olive bar (many grocery store delis have these) or find a good quality jar of olives and brine.  Please do not substitute those flavorless black things in a can.  For the cheese, try to find an Asiago that has been aged 3-8 months (Asiago Mezzano); the cheese is semi-hard at this age so it's easy to cut and it holds its shape well in a dressing sort of setting, and it still tastes a little sweet which is nice because it's such a spunky cheese.

Asiago Pasta Salad

• 1 13-14 oz box whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 pint grape tomatoes (halved, if you like)
• 8 oz pitted kalamata olives  (halved, if you like)
• 6 oz  Asiago cheese, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/3 c red wine vinegar
• 2/3 c extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Boil the pasta according to package directions.  Drain, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking.

In a large bowl, combine the pasta, peppers, tomatoes, kalamatas and Asiago cheese.

In a small jar (not smaller than a pint) with a tightly fitting lid, combine the vinegar, olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper.  Screw the top on tightly and shake like crazy until everything is well mixed.Pour over the pasta mixture and mix well.

Serve right away or store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

This recipe makes about 8 heaping 1 cup servings so adjust the recipe for as many servings as you'd like to have on hand.

Cucumber Salad with Dilled Yogurt

Cucumbers fresh from the garden are one of life's little pleasures.  The harvesting season is entirely too short, if you ask me; I wish it was all year long.  Of course, there are cucumbers available at the grocery store all year long, but just because they look like cucumbers, doesn't make them cucumbers.  Fresh summer cucumbers not only smell like cucumbers, they taste like them too (which isn't true for the winter cucumbers in the grocery store).

Because it is so crazy hot here right now (90 degrees Fahrenheit and oppressively humid at 10am) , I don't feel like fighting the air conditioning in the kitchen with the heat from my oven.  So, it's going to be a salad sort of day.  I've got some of those luscious cucumbers and some big, beautiful tomatoes resting on my counter, and I can almost hear them calling to me to dress them in yogurt and dill.  They like that.

This version of this salad is simply utilizing what I had on hand.  A squeeze of lemon in the yogurt sauce is nice, too, but I didn't have any.  If you've got a lemon, go ahead and give it a little squeeze.

Cucumber Salad with Dilled Yogurt
(serves about 4)

• 1/2 c plain yogurt (full fat)
• 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh dill
• 1-2 big tomatoes, sliced about 1/3" thick    
• 1-2 cucumbers, sliced on the diagonal 1/3" thick
• very thinly sliced red onion, (about 1/4 of the onion, maybe less)
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix the dill, yogurt, and a little salt together in a small bowl and set aside for at least 15 minutes to give the dill time to flavor the yogurt.*

Layer 2 tomato slices on each plate, topped with 3 cucumbers and a few strands of onion.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.  Drizzle yogurt sauce over and top with a little more chopped dill, if desired.

Eat with a fork and knife.

* Note - the longer you allow the dill and yogurt to do its thing, the stronger the dill flavor will be.