Simple Springtime Salads

4/13/16 Cook’s Corner

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.