Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken

I'm loving all these cool crisp salads from Simply in Season. I'm also loving the abundant fresh greens this summer. This salad has some frisee from Whole Foods, arugula from the same place, & (best of all) greens from my Mother-in-law's garden. We also have some red lettuce from the farmer's market to have as a side salad tonight.

The Grilled Chicken salad is made by the wonderful oregano & garlic flavors, as well as the tender chicken.

For the dressing mix: 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, one tsp dried oregano, salt, pepper, & two minced cloves of garlic. Reserve two tbsp.

Toss eight cups mixed greens, tomato, & two slices red onion separated into rings into the rest of the dressing.

Brush one pound chicken breasts with the reserved dressing. Grill for about five minutes on each side, or until chicken is cooked through. Then cut into slices to put onto the salad.

Garnish with feta cheese & olives.

We had ours with a bit of farmer's market baguette! Thanks to Le Quartier Baking Company.

It was our first farmer's market of the year, & it was quite a festive affair. There was a man there playing the accordion & singing in French, accompanied by a man on the guitar. It was quite good music. My husband said he was not from France & probably had a Cajun accent. Apparently he was right, as I have discovered today they are a group called the Prairie Gators.

So today's music is from them. Though, I couldn't find a video of him actually singing.

This is still worth a view.

Nicoise Salad

This salad was made by it's interesting combination of toppings & the fresh mixed greens.

A satisfying mix of crisp red lettuce, bitter-nutty frisee, & peppery arugula, though of course any mixed greens are called for. The egg, tomato, tuna, & nicoise olives played out well together.

The dressing was a pleasant balance of sweet mustardy acidity.

Whisk or shake well together: 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, & 1/2 tbsp lemon juice. Then toss 4 cups of greens with the dressing.

Top with: 5 ounces canned tuna (drained), 3 boiled & quartered small potatoes, 2 hard-cooked eggs in wedges, one medium tomato in wedges, & at least ten Nicoise olives.

Favorite Song for today (led to in a more or less direct way by my favorite radio station):

Charles Bradley- The World is Going up in Flames

Greek Tomato Salad

Refreshing cool salad. As a bonus we trimmed our basil plant which is now over a foot tall to use some fresh basil for this recipe. Nothing better than fresh basil.

Combine in a dish: 8 medium tomatoes (peeled & sliced), one medium thinly sliced onion, & one chopped cucumber.

Mix & pour over the vegetables: 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil, one tbsp olive oil, one tbsp balsamic vinegar, & one clove chopped garlic.

Toss lightly. Salt & pepper to taste. Garnish with one half cup of crumbled feta cheese & Kalamata olives.

Favorite Song for today (led to in a more or less direct way by my favorite radio station):

The Phoenix Foundation- Buffalo

Cucumber Salad

These were quite good. What it tasted like to us, to be honest, was sweet pickles with an onion-celery kick.

Remember to allow at least a few hours for prep time.

Thinly slice one half cup of onion & 3 cups of cucumber. Sprinkle with one tsp salt. Let sit for one hour.

Bring to a boil 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup vinegar, & 1/2 tsp celery seed. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over the cucumber-onion. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or over night. Keeps several days.

Favorite Song for today (led to in a more or less direct way by my favorite radio station):

Dolorean- The Unfazed

Garlic Potato Salad

We had our first grill out of the season, over at my Parents' place, last night. My brother grilled some pork chops to perfection, & some sweet corn on the cob. My Dad also provided us with root beer floats. This potato salad was my contribution.

Another smash hit from Simply in Season. Garlic, rosemary, & a pleasant undertone of balsamic.

1. Boil six diced red potatoes & set aside.

2. Chop up one cup of green onions. I used a little bit less than a cup of yellow onions instead.

3. Mince three cloves of garlic, or you can use garlic scapes. (As I am sure we will when my parents' annual crop of garlic arrives.)

4. Combine two tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, one teaspoon rosemary (or two teaspoons fresh rosemary), salt & pepper. Then mix with onion, garlic, & potatoes.

5. Chill for at least three hours before serving!

After dinner we worked hard, especially my husband, to put seventeen small squash, zucchini, tomato, & cucumber plants into planters & or the dirt. We slept deep last night. The windows open & the fan blowing.

Favorite Song for today (led to in a more or less direct way by my favorite radio station):

Sparrow and the Workshop- I Will Break You

Also, here's some info about this group.

Sesame Chicken Couscous Salad

This recipe has many steps and several ingredients. The end product, though, is well worth it. A festive dish, fresh/crisp, with a kick of lemon.

It made just enough for two people for two meals. As a side rather than a meal I assume it would serve more.

1) Cook half pound of chicken breast. Cool down in ice water. Chill in fridge. (Optionally leave out the chicken to make this vegan.)

2) Combine one and one half cups broth, one tsp soy sauce, & one tsp sesame oil. Bring to boil. Add one cup uncooked couscous. Turn off heat. Cover and let stand 5-8 minutes. Fluff with fork.

3) Stir in two sliced green onions & one large chopped red sweet pepper. Cover and chill in fridge.

4) Steam one and one half cups snow peas (or snap peas) for one minute. Then add 3/4 cup broccoli florets and steam two more minutes. Rinse in cold water & drain.

5) Add chicken to couscous. Add broccoli & peas.

6) Combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, two tbsp olive oil, two tsp soy sauce, & pepper. Mix into couscous mixture.

7) Add 1/4 cup slivered almonds & one tbsp sesame seeds. Mix in immediately before serving. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Favorite Song (led to in a more or less direct way by my favorite radio station): Fernhill-Cowboi

Marinated Radish Salad

Dill, green onions, fresh red radishes: three ingredients that have a certain overpowering harshness to them if one is not careful with them. In my mind, an unlikely list of ingredients for the main flavors of a salad. However, as I discovered with the help of Simply in Season, after just a few hours of marinating (the recipe warns no more than four) all of the flavor is still there but none of the pungency.

For eight servings:

1. Combine eight large bunches of radishes (sliced, diced, or julienned), eight sliced green onions, & 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (or one tbsp dill seed).

2. Stir together 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, one tsp sugar, one tsp Dijon mustard, salt, & pepper. Pour over radish mixture & toss.

3. Cover & refrigerate for at least two hours but no more than four.

It suggests to serve with a bit of shredded swiss sprinkled on top. I skipped this, however.

Favorite Song (led to in a more or less direct way by my favorite radio station):

Isbells- As Long As It Takes

Dandelion Bacon Salad

Dandelion Greens are quite likely my least favorite vegetables. I am not one for bitter tastes, as a general rule. And anyhow there are so many other more delightful greens.

However, out of curiosity I decided to try this recipe from Simply in Season. I figured, if a recipe from this book doesn't make them palatable then I'll just be done with them forever.

The result was actually quite tasty. I think it was the lemon juice which offset the bitterness. It is still not one of my favorite vegetables, but I do think I will find myself craving this salad from time to time...

Blend one quarter cup lemon juice, one quarter cup sugar, a pinch of salt.

Stir in one half cup evaporated milk.

Fry four slices of bacon, crumble, set aside.

Remove all but one tablespoon of bacon fat. Add one tbsp flour to the pan. Stir until smooth.

Slowly add the lemon mixture. Heat & stir until thickened.

Turn off heat but leave pan on burner.

Add eight cups of dandelion greens & stir gently to coat.

Garnish with bacon & hard cooked egg.

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time):

Timber Timbre- Trouble Comes Knocking

Fennel Coleslaw

Another delicious slaw. Man, I love fresh fennel.

Thinly slice one quarter head of a large cabbage, one bulb of fennel (cored), & one quarter up onion. Toss together.

Whisk together one quarter cup mayonnaise, one & one half tbsp apple cider vinegar, one & one half tbsp honey, one tbsp chopped fresh parsley, one half tbsp Dijon mustard, and one half tsp fennel leaves. Pour over vegetables & toss until coated.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. So refreshing!

Favorite Song (from my favorite radio station): The Bevvy Sisters- The Littlest Birds

Apple Carrot Salad

If you try no other apple salad, I would recommend you try this one. Its balance of sweet/sour/minty is lively & refreshing. And it's so simple!

1. Mix one quarter cup of lemon juice with two tablespoons of orange juice. Dissolve one tablespoon of honey in the juice.

2. Shred two carrots. Shred two apples directly into the juice to keep them from going brown as quickly.

3. Mix in the carrots, one quarter cup raisins, and two tablespoons chopped fresh mint.

Serve immediately... yum!

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): Shooglenifty- Maxine's Polka

Stuffed Beets

Another simple beet salad! With these kind of recipes, we are actually becoming rather avid fans of beets.

Simply cook the beets. I baked mine, which took a long time. I feel like there has to be a better way of cooking whole beets. To bake them you wipe them off with a dry paper towel. Then you can bake them at 400 degrees for an hour. The skin will just slide off with your fingers after that.

To stuff the beets, you hollow them out with a spoon or knife. According to the recipe, you then stuff the beets with a mixture of one cup plain yogurt, one tablespoon honey, a few tablespoons of nuts, and two apples diced small.

This mixture was quite tasty, but there is more leftover than winds up in the beets. Also, now you have extra beet that you have scooped out.

You could save this for another recipe. Or, I mixed it in the remaining apple-mix, and served it as a side salad. In fact, while the stuffed beets were a treat, I feel like you would bring out the same flavors by just shredding the beets and adding them to the apple-mix.

These beets were so pretty, and I had a difficult time capturing that with the camera. The meal was sweet, but not too sweet. All in all, a good salad if you enjoy beets & apples as much as we do.

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): Eliza Carthy- Mr. Magnifico

Beautiful Beets

Last night we sampled the "Shredded Beet Salad". The beets were a bit difficult to shred, but they looked so shiny on the grater. And after shredding they boiled up nicely in no time. For a salad, all in all, it took more prep time than I anticipated.

I'd say this salad was all about the way the ingredients played off of each other. The parsley, beets, lemon juice, and olive oil seemed to dance with each other. That's the best I can put it.

Then for garnishes: egg, carrots, & olives. Each added to the previous ingredients their own notes in perfect harmony. (Our olives had been brined with orange rinds, adding further intrigue.)

It was one of those dishes that seemed to have many ingredients. I could even taste each one. But somehow the flavors kept winding up lost in each other in various and interesting ways.

The servings were appropriately small for such a rich & dense salad. But I'd say the recipe did in fact produce the four servings it promised.

It was a pleasant bit of interest at the start of an evening spent with entertaining folks.

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): Jim Moray-All You Pretty Girls

Fruit for Dinner

In a recipe like this Peanut Apple Salad, much is dependent upon the apples. I think it would be a mistake to use too sweet an apple.

This particular recipe did not specify what sort of apple ought to be used. So we purchased the cheapest apples short of red delicious (an apple I am not fond of and thought would be overly sweet & soft).

The apple we ended up with is titled "Jazz" and it is crisp & sweet with that zing of tang that I think really makes a salad-apple.

(One thought I did have later. Redder apples would be better for this salad, because the apples provide much of the color in this meal.)

Another item the recipe left wide-open was what type of nut to use. Sure the title says "peanut" but this is already allowed for with a portion of peanut butter. We happen to be rather fond of walnuts, so we opted for those.

I admit, I didn't put the full portion of sugar in our salad. Somehow it seemed wrong with the sweetness of the apples already coming through. I would say sugar to taste & dependent upon the apples.

I also added a bit more coconut, since the coconut project had produced plenty of shredded goodness. I'm sure this made the coconut more of a feature, but that's all for the better if you are as big of a coconut fan as we tend to be.

The results were reminiscent of Waldorf salad, but stood well apart. Specifically this salad was more subtly creamy, and had less dressing in general. The mayonnaise flavor was kept well in the background by the peanut butter & fresh ingredients.

It was definitely lick your spoon worthy. I made half a batch & we ate it all. The recipe said it served eight and I'd say this is about accurate.

I served this salad with pita chips. I snipped up small pitas, with a pair of kitchen scissors, and brushed them with olive oil. Then I sprinkled them with a mix of cinnamon & cardamom. Just enough to add those flavors, but not enough to draw attention on the first bite. Then I toasted them for ten minutes in the oven. The pita chips were slightly crisp bits of warm grain to complement the crisp & creamy sweetness of the salad.

All in all, it was an addictive treat bringing a refreshing sort of sweetness to a calm evening.

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): Karine Polwart- I'm Gonna Do It All