4/13/16 Cook’s Corner
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| Chuck's bountiful produce |
Betty Kaiser
After a long dreary winter, I am always happy to see fresh
spring lettuce pop up in my husband Chuck’s garden. He literally has a green
thumb when it comes to growing lettuce. One day the garden bed is looking
winter wimpy and the next it is sprouting lovely lettuce. Of course, there are
only two of us to eat it all but shares with friends and neighbors.
Winter green salads at our house are pretty pathetic. After
all, there are only so many ways that one can combine lettuce with the variety
of tasteless winter vegetables that are available. It doesn’t help that I’m not
very fond of the colorful packaged lettuce varieties that are available. I’m
probably a minority in that mind set because there seems to be more packaged
lettuce than fresh. But I digress.
I was a little slow in discovering how tasty fruit could be
in a green salad. After all, I grew up in the era when a tossed salad consisted
of lettuce, tomatoes, celery and green onions! But once I tasted my friend
Kathe’s Mandarin Salad, I became hooked on adding orange slices, strawberries,
or whatever else was handy to a bowl of lettuce.
Her candied almonds also dress up the simple ingredients.
Add some cooked chicken and you’ve got a main dish.
In wintertime, I particularly love to add pineapple to a
crisp combination of shredded cabbage and carrots. I do prefer to shred my own
veggies but in desperation I have bought the packaged variety. Toast a few
sunflower seeds to add to the mixture and it will brighten up any meal. The
following original recipe came off a can of Dole pineapple many years ago.
And speaking of fruit, today’s final recipe is from Kraft
Foods for a creamy grape salad. Yes, you heard right. Grapes. I think it might
make a nice dish to take to a potluck dinner. The only fruits are grapes and
pineapple chucks along with some slivered almonds and cream cheese dressing. It
makes 24 servings of 1/2 cup each!
My salad dressings are often something that I buy off the
shelf. I love the Litehouse Ranch Dressing made with buttermilk. I also like
Kraft’s coleslaw dressing and Newman’s Own Raspberry and Walnut dressing. I
think that taste-wise they do a better job than I do and their products last a
lot longer than mine. Just about the only salad dressing that I make from
scratch is a low cal Italian recipe that I’ve had for years.
Salads tend to be a last minute creation at my house so I
have to use whatever I have on hand. Therefore, today’s recipes do not use any
exotic or expensive ingredients. Give one of these a try and see how you like
it. Enjoy!
MANDARIN SALAD
(From the kitchen of
Kathe McIntire)
Candied Almonds
Topping
1/2-1 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup sugar
Put sugar in fry pan and melt over medium heat. Add almonds
and stir until coated. Cool on waxed paper and sprinkle on salad.
Note: Make this in advance if you like and refrigerate. It
keeps well.
Mix together in a
large serving dish…
1 head of lettuce, chopped (any type)
1/2 bunch green onions
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 can sliced water chestnuts
Optional: 1 cup slivered or diced cooked chicken
Dressing
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
Shake well and add to salad a few minutes before serving
about 6 lucky diners.
SUNFLOWER PINEAPPLE SLAW
1 can (20 ounce) Pineapple Tidbits
1/2 pound shredded cabbage
1/2 pound shredded carrots
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, slightly toasted
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrated, undiluted
Salt and pepper to taste
Drain pineapple, reserve 2 tablespoons juice.
Rinse cabbage and carrots in ice water. Drain well. Combine
pineapple with them and sunflower seeds.
Stir together mayonnaise, orange juice, pineapple juice,
salt and pepper. Pour over salad mixture, toss and chill. Serves 6.
HIBERNIAN SALAD FROM
IRELAND
1 bunch Romaine Lettuce cut as you desire
1/4 head red cabbage, shred, rinse and pat dry
2 whole carrots, shredded
1 sliced cucumber
1 diced tomato
Black olives
Grated Parmesan
Combine ingredients and serve with either Italian or a
buttermilk ranch dressing
LO-CAL ITALIAN
DRESSING
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
Add to taste your choice of seasonings: celery salt, garlic
salt, basil and dill weed.
Put everything in a blender and blend well. Transfer to a
container with a lid suitable for shaking and refrigerate several hours.
CREAMY GRAPE SALAD
4 cups EACH seedless green and red grapes, halved
2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
4 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese (1/2 pkg.)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
Combine fruit and nuts in large bowl. Microwave cream cheese
in bowl 20-30 seconds or until softened; whisk until creamy. Add sour cream and
sugar; mix well. Add cream cheese mixture to fruit and mix lightly. Serve in a
lettuce cup and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Note: I thinned out the dressing with a little milk and
added a sliced banana. Fresh sliced strawberries would also brighten up the
visual appeal. Also, if you don’t have slivered almonds, toasted walnuts or
pecans work just fine. And this recipe is easily pared down to serve fewer
diners.
Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s
Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes that are delicious, family
oriented and easy to prepare.
