Fennel Cucumber Salsa

1 english cucumber, diced (we used regular)
1 large fennel bulb, diced
1 avocado, diced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 C pickled banana peppers, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 T. honey
3 T. lemon juice
S & P to taste

Combine everything. Let sit 20 minutes before serving to let flavors meld together. Absolutely delicious!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Dressing:
1 lemon
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/3 c sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Salad:
¼ c sliced almonds, toasted
8 ounces (1 ½ c) strawberries, hulled and quartered
½ medium cucumber, sliced and cut in half
¼ small red onion, sliced into thin wedges (1/4 cup)
1 pacakge (6 ounces) baby spinach

1. Zest lemon to measure ½ tsp zest. Juice lemon to measure 2 tablespoons juice. Combine zest, juice, vinegar, sugar, oil and poppy seeds in a small bowl. Whisk until well blended. Cover, refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For salad, spread almonds in single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 10-12 min or until lightly toasted. Remove from oven; cool almonds.

3. Meanwhile, hull strawberries and cut strawberries into quarters.

4. Slice cucumbers and toss with remaining salad ingredients.

I had this at a Pampered Chef party. The dressing is awesome, so I thought I'd post it. Enjoy!

Roasted Portobello Caprese Salad

From Martha Stewart Living
Makes 4 servings
We made this a while back and are making it again tonight. Super tasty vegetarian option. We really enjoyed it!

8 portobello mushroom caps
2 garlic cloves, halved
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 medium tomatoes, sliced 3/4 inch thick (8 slices total)
1 bunch fresh basil
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/2 inch thick (4 slices total)
4 cups arugula
Toasted bread, for serving (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place mushrooms and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet; coat with oil and vinegar. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, and season with pepper. Roast, shaking sheet occasionally, for 20 minutes. Flip mushrooms and garlic to recoat with oil. Add tomatoes; flip to coat in oil, sprinkle with remaining teaspoon salt, and season with pepper. Roast until mushrooms are tender and tomatoes are soft, 20 minutes more.

Rub softened garlic onto mushrooms. Place 1 mushroom on each of 4 plates, and top each with some basil. Stack another mushroom and 1 mozzarella slice onto each. Layer more basil, 1 tomato slice, more basil, then another tomato onto each. Divide arugula among plates, and drizzle with pan juices. Serve with bread if desired.

Ponzonella

Yummm...We are a part of a food co-op now and we got 3 pints of cherry tomatoes this past week. I thought, "great, nobody likes tomatoes except Nate and I. How are we going to eat all these?" I pulled out a recipe I had written down a while ago and VOILA! instant success! Jake, at first glance upon sitting at the table said, "Augh! What did you do to that wonderful baquette!" Within seconds of the first bite..."Mom! You have to add this to our favorites list!" Abby, "tomatoes, at first taste are yucky but by the end they're delicious!" So, here goes, hopefully this will be as successful at your home.

5 C day old bread, cubed (or fresh baguette works too)
6 med sz tomatoes, cut in bite size pieces
1 red onion thinly sliced
1/2 C basil, chopped or shredded
1/4 C olives, kalamata or green & black or any combination

Wisk the following ingredients together, pour over the top of the salad, and toss:

1/2 C olive oil
1/4 C red wine vinegar
1/4 C lemon juice
1/4 C parsley
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Shave parmesan cheese over the top!

If you like it soggier let it sit for an hour before serving.

my favorite non-green salads

Here are the recipes of my 3 favorite salads in case you don't have them, have forgotten, and/or need something new to bring to the ward sociable:

Russian Potato Salad

from the Moosewood Cookbook (not sure which one)

2 c potatos, peeled, diced, and cooked (I prefer to boil them in halves, then cool and cube quite small)

2 c carrots, peeled, diced, and cooked

2 c beets, cooked, peeled, and cubed

1 c minced dill

1/3 c minced onion

1 c tart apple, diced small (Granny Smith)

2/3 c heavy cream or sour cream (I use sour cream)

2 T lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (I prefer the taste of cider vinegar with the sour cream)

dash or salt, sugar, and ground black pepper (I increased all to at least 1/4 t)

If preparing ahead of time, keep veggies and sauce separate until just before serving. Note to Hawkeses who tend to estimate measurements (me!): this salad is much yummier if the quantities are followed exactly rather than estimated. I tend to under-eye-ball the carrots, onions, and dill pickle.

Roasted Corn Salad

Mom's

6 large ears corn, brushed with olive oil, broiled for 6 min/side

2 poblano or pasilla chiles, roasted under broiler (with corn) until blistered and charred. Let rest 15 minutes in paper bag, then peel, core, seed, and remove membranes before chopping.

1 large ripe tomato (fresh from the garden!)

1 white onion, diced (I prefer a small onion or 1/2 large, diced larger), massaged w/ 1/2 t salt

1 sweet red bell pepper, diced

1 sweet green bell pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 ripe Hass avocado

Italian dressing to taste (Good seasons made with red wine vinegar is my favorite)

If preparing ahead of time, reserve avocado, tomato, and dressing until just before serving.

French Potato Salad

Janet's

3-4 lbs potatoes, cooked and cubed or 1/2 inch sliced

green beans (optional)

3 T minced shallots

1/2 t salt

1/4 pepper

2 T country dijon (Grey Poupon) mustard

2 T red wine vinegar

Pulse the above several times w/ hand-held blender before adding

1 c canola oil

With hand blender, blend all ingredients and lift blender *very* slowly until emulsified. Note: if blender is raised too quickly, the oil will separate, and the dressing will have to be thrown out. Be patient!

Enjoy!

Tim -- here's another family favorite not-so-secret

OK, so it's a little up-scaled, but here is....(drum roll)... the carrot salad of my childhood:

"Grate carrots, toast some sunflower seeds, and toss with blueberries, olive oil, lemon juice and plenty of black pepper. Sweet, sour, crunchy, soft."

This is an excerpt from a great NY Times article on summer salads: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?em

I'm anxious to try the "grown-up" substitutes for raisins and pineapple chunks. But I guess that's part of the appeal of mom's version -- it was super cheap and super easy.

Asparagus Bean Salad

Asparagus Bean Salad

For the salad:

1 lb fresh asparagus (I used 2 lbs. and it was still plenty flavorful and I liked the extra greens—there is ample dressing)

6 dried tomatoes (I used sun dried bottled tomatoes instead—I couldn’t find the dried ones)

15 oz. white navy beans, drained and rinsed

¼ cup chopped onions

3 tsp capers drained (I don’t know that these were vital to the flavor of the salad, but they were good)

3 T grated Parmesan cheese

For the dressing:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ Tbsp. brown sugar

4 T rice vinegar

4 T olive oil (if you use the sundried tomatoes, you can use some of the oil from them)

2 T water

1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp ground sage

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Place the asparagus in a small saucepan. Add 1” of water and cover and cook until tender-crisp. Drain & chill. If using the dried tomatoes place in a saucepan with 1” water. Cover and place over medium heat for about 4 minutes until plump. Drain and chop into small chunks and chill. In a small bowl whisk together the garlic, brown sugar, oil, vinegar, water, mustard, sage, salt and pepper. In a large bowl toss asparagus, tomatoes, beans, onions, and capers. Pour dressing over all and mix well. Chill for at least 1 hour. Before serving, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve. It’s DELICIOUS! Mmmmmm.

NOTE: The friend that shared this recipe with me mentioned that it was a bit pricey because of the asparagus. When it’s in season, it’s not too bad, but I thought that the flavors would go well with green beans as well, so you might give it a try.