Memorial Day Salads

I love Pinterest... I do, I do, I DO!!!  So, here is a list of some of my favorites for this holiday weekend.  Click on the picture to take you to the link...

Sweet Liberty Fruit Wreath

Patriotic Taco Salad

Summer Corn Salad

Pina Colada Fruit Salad

Patriotic Salad

Easy American Trifle Dessert

Vintage Salads

Have a salad you remember from your childhood?  With the invention of the internet it is so easy to find such things now.  Lots of mayonnaise... lots of jello... things like marshmallows and cottage cheese and Cool Whip filled the salads of yesteryear.  LOL  Here are just a few links to vintage recipes...

VintageRecipes.net

A Great History of the American Salad!

Remember that old Green Goddess Dressing?
Other stuff on Vintage Victuals of note on salads

The Famous Pink Jello Salad... from Grandma's table to your's!  LOL

Old Fashioned Cherry Coke Salad

Remember the Carrot Jello Salad?  I DO!!!

"Molded" Gelatin Salads.... not moldy... just made in molds!  ;)

A list of molded gelatin salads of years gone by

A modern twist on gelatin molded desserts

A history and some great recipes for Gelatin Molded Salads and Desserts

Seriously... just add VODKA!!!  LOL  No, really... this is a great website for all kinds of Jello Mold Ideas

and the classics that are served EVERY THANKSGIVING at our home and Dan's parent's home...

Yep... one of Dan's favorites minus the cherries...  THE GREEN JELLO SALAD!

AND

Something similar to this recipe called a CRANBERRY FROZEN SALAD or this one

Both of these last two could double as a dessert but they get called salad and are ALWAYS served alongside the meal.

Great Salads not made with lettuces...

So far, I have shared lettuce salads with you but what if you don't like lettuce?  LOL I use a variety of other things to make salads.   You can use grains... wheat, barley, quinoa, rice, millet, bulgur wheat, farro, and many more.

I have also used beans to make more substantial salads that can be eaten as meals or to satisfy the vegetarian guests at our table.

I grew up on vegetable salads of all kinds.  Remember those old church picnics?  I never went to one that we did not have some variation on a green bean/three bean salad, the classic of German potato salad or a broccoli and bacon salad.  Vegetables can be nice in cold salads all summer long.

Who does not love a pasta salad?  Macaroni salads come in all shapes and sizes, Italian salads can add a nice zesty twist to a meal or any variety of a couscous or orzo salad makes a nice accompaniment to any meal.

Even fruit salads... which will be covered in another post, are great for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Here are some great salad links using a variety of ingredients.


Grain
15 Whole Grain Salads
Make Ahead Lunch Salads with grains

Bean Salads
Bean and Green Bean Salads
Summer Bean Salads
Best Bean Salads

Vegetable & Vegetarian
Taste of Home Veggie Salad Ideas
Vegetarian Fare

Pasta Salads
27 Tasty Pasta Salads from BHG.com
25 Easy Pasta Salads from Family.go.com

The Vinaigrette... so simple to do at home

I won't try to reinvent the wheel for you on this one.  LOL  There are some great articles already written on this topic and a variety of twists on it.  I choose to make my own for three basic reasons... the freshness of ingredients that I can use, the control I have over what goes into my dressing and the cost... it is MUCH cheaper for me to make it than to buy it.  

Here is a small list of my favorites...

How to Make a Basic Vinaigrette

Try a Chia Seed Vinaigrette

More about Chia Seeds in Salad Dressings

A Great PDF Download with lots of Chia Seed Dressing Recipes
& Videos of recipes from the same site

Easy Homemade Vinaigrette Ideas

Make the Perfect Vinaigrette

A video on how to emulsify your vinaigrette... 

really simple and good instruction.  

You will be making your own tonight for dinner!  :)

One more nice article 

with instruction and recipe included.  

Salad Cookbook

I recently picked this book up online.  I have really enjoyed Patricia Wells style and food for a very long time.  I will be working my way through this book through the summer months.  There are so many amazing ideas contained in the pages of this treasure.  

Other sources for great salad ideas...

Delia Online

Ellie Krieger's site

or Food Network pages like this one

Ellie is also on Cooking Channel TV with load of great ideas on salad, too.

Got any favorite sources for great salads you would care to share?  

You cannot have too many salad resources!  LOL

Please share with us!

Simple Kale Salad

Here is a very simple and healthy salad with loads of flavor!   It is simply three basic ingredients...

 Chopped and washed Curly Kale

1 or 2 Avocado halved, pitted and peeled 

(if you are making it big, go with two)

Juice from 1 lemon (again, use more if you want)

 I take the avocado and literally mash it into the kale with my hands so that the leaves all have a bit of avocado on them and then I pour the lemon juice over the kale with avocado and toss it until it is coated well.  

If you want to add tomatoes and maybe a nut of your choice it is a nice compliment.  

That's it!  Just serve with your meal and you have added an amazing mound of green goodness and health!  :)

Basic Lettuces I Use

I have been able to find several really lovely lettuces at our local market.  This particular one is a curly endive.  I use this particular variety in the classic Italian Wedding Soup.  It would be nice in a cold salad, too, in a blend of different lettuces.

This is a classic Endive.  I have used the leaves from this to serve as "pockets" for other goodies when serving hors d'oevres.  It is also nice chopped into salads.  I plan to share a salad from Giada in a few days that uses them.

Arugula is a nice spring lettuce that has a bit of a peppery flavor.

Nice and light and perfect for those early spring salads for Easter or Mother's Day.

 This is a Boston Bibb or Butter Lettuce (both in the package above and the one below)

 Boston Bibb is the lettuce of choice for the classic Salad Nicoise.

It is perfect with a lemon or vinegar dressing and can serve as a beautiful bed for other salad showcasing.

It has a light flavor, too, and does not overpower the other ingredients on display.

 Traditional Green Leaf Lettuce is one that a precious lady used to grow in her garden in Paluxy, Texas.  

You can find it readily in the supermarkets today along with it's sister, the Red Leaf Lettuce. (below)

Both red and green lettuces are great for simple salads throughout the summer and can be paired with both savory and sweet ingredients nicely.  I often use one or both of these when pairing with apples and dried fruit as well as carrot, tomato, celery, etc...

This one gets a very bad wrap but it is a classic.. It is the Iceberg Lettuce.  It has it's uses but my favorite is to use it as a filler in with other lettuces or to use to top things like tacos with.  The leaves can also serve as a base for other items and, of course, hamburger, chicken and other sandwich filling.  Don't throw it out... just add variety to it.

 This one is Curly Kale.  There are several varieties of Kale but this one seems to be the easiest to find in our local stores.  I use this in a salad I am going to share with you in the next few days, too, and it is FABULOUS in smoothies.  I also use Romaine and Spinach in smoothies.  Lots of green and fiber... it does a body good!

 Romaine is great subbed in just about anything you have ever used Iceberg Lettuce in.  I use this one a my go-to standard because it is readily available and very affordable.  It makes great wraps, too.

Spinach is fabulous... in smoothies... in salad... cooked... on burgers and sandwiches or just snitching it out of the bowl and popping it in the mouth while thinking your wife did not see you swipe it.  LOL  This one is Dan's favorite!

We love this mix!  We love that it comes organic now and that it is cheaper at Walmart then it's non-organic counterpart.  Put whatever you want on it and add nuts and some grated cheese along with a favorite vinaigrette and you have a party in your mouth!  This one is my favorite!!!

Got a favorite that you can get in your area?  

One you love to grow in your garden? 

What do you add to your favorite lettuce?

Please feel free to share with us...

The personal sized Salad Nicoise... for hot summer weather this is perfect

This is a Julia Child recipe and I have it here if you would like to try it. :)

Fruit Salad tip...

Here I have apple, strawberry, grapes and banana.  I will often add green grapes instead and kiwi and blueberries but did not have them on hand today.  To keep the apple and banana from turning brown I add an acid.  Lemon tends to be too tart and I don't often have orange or grapefruit to use.  

 I will keep cans of pineapple on hand to use in such an instance and the pineapple juice does nicely to keep the brown away plus the pineapple is a nice addition to the salad.  It also gives a little shine to the salad.  If you want even a little more shine you can sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top and stir it in for a nice sheen.

Pineapple

Quick lunch salad...

I have recently lost 20 pounds.  I am still working on losing about 15 to 20 more.  I have changed how I eat and I plan meals much better these days.  I also keep lots of things prepped and ready to put together things like this salad.

This is a typical lunch for me these days.

I started this one with about 2 cups chopped Romaine lettuce

1/2 of an apple chopped up

1 serving (about 2 Tbsp) pistachios toasted

1/6 to 1/3 cup craisins

1/2 cooked chicken breast cubed

I love to add Feta cheese to the top, too when I have it

I also make my own Cranberry Vinaigrette

1/2 cup cranberry juice and reduce it in the saucepan for a few minutes

a couple Tbsp apple cider vinegar or Basamic vinegar added once the above is cooled

pinch of salt
if you want a little sweetness you can add a bit of brown sugar to taste

about 1/2 cup of olive oil whisked in to form an emulsion

I use about 2 Tbsp or so of the vinaigrette on the salad

This is one of my favorite "go-to" lunches these days.  YUM!!!

Bean Salad...

The original recipe I saw for this was from the UltimateDanielFast.com website and it had black beans but I had garbanzo beans so that is what I used.

This salad contains...

Garbanzo Beans

a few black beans I had in the fridge got added to it

Red Onion

Cherry Tomatoes quartered

Avocado

Cilantro

Roasted Red Peppers diced

I made a Lime Vinaigrette to go on it...

Lime Juice

a bit of Balsamic Vinegar (not tons of this)

Olive Oil

Garlic

a pinch of salt

This is totally Daniel Fast friendly.

Oriental Chicken Salad

A few years ago I had a salad at Applebees that I really enjoyed.  Since then I have been making my own version at home.  I "healthified it" a bit...  

 Here is a little bit of the gathered ingredients... shallots and garlic chopped on the board.  I use canned Mandarin oranges because they are a little harder to find fresh but when I find them fresh that is what I use.  I have dried ginger right now because I just used all my fresh two days ago.  LOL  I am also currently out of rice vinegar so white wine had to do.  

 First I made the dressing/vinaigrette and tried something a little different this time.  I subbed raw coconut oil for the regular oil I use.  Sesame oil is good, too, but this gives it a nice coconut flavor that I really enjoyed.

 Did you know that virgin coconut oil is good for helping to treat and prevent Alzheimers?  Yep...

 I keep Chow Mein Noodles on hand all the time... nice crunch factor.  You can also add slivered almonds but I was fresh out on that, too.... I think I need  a grocery run!  ;)

 So, oranges are drained and I used a little of the juice in the vinaigrette

 Fresh Romaine instead of iceberg lettuce.  When I have red cabbage I add that, too.

 Nothing fried here... just some sauteed chicken breast cut into bits.... I used coconut oil for the saute and then salt, pepper and ginger to season.  It cuts a great deal of calories not to fry this and use white meat only.

Delicious and filling for dinner!  Oriental Chicken Salad

Now let me tell you what is in the dressing...

ginger, white wine vinegar (or rice vinegar), coconut oil (or sesame oil), a bit of Tahini, a bit of Mandarin orange juice, salt, pepper, shallot, garlic, brown sugar.  I did not measure outside of equal parts vinegar and oil.  I just taste as I go to see if it is what I like.  I taste by dipping a lettuce leaf in to get the full effect.

"Clean out the fridge" salad...

This is what I do when I have a mishmash of veggies and stuff that need to be used up.  I start with a bed of lettuce and then I start cutting stuff up that can be eaten raw.  

Today it was tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, yellow squash and red onion. 

 I threw together a quick "Buttermilk" dressing made with sour cream and milk with some salt, pepper and garlic in it to give it a kick and that is dinner. 

 I had a few triangles of a quesadilla with it on the side.  

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

 Simple washed organic spinach, fresh strawberries and chopped walnuts make up this simple but seasonal and delicious salad

 Every good salad deserves a good dressing and I often choose Balsamic Vinaigrette

 Balsamic vinegar and olive oil make this one up primarily

I start with one part Balsamic

2 parts olive oil

a pinch of salt and pepper

a drizzle of honey or bit of brown sugar

you can add onion and garlic if you want but today I did not.

Delicious and compliments the strawberries very nicely in this particular salad.

Taco Salad

Pictured is the vegetarian version but all you have to do is add cooked ground beef or roasted or grilled chicken strips and you have a full meal.  

This one was made with walnuts I chopped in a food processor with some cumin and chili powder for flavor.  I sprinkled the walnuts over a bed of Romaine lettuce, roasted corn, avocado, tomato and you can add cheese to it, too.  It is fabulous with salsa on top.  I have also known people to use Green Goddess or Catalina dressings, too.  My favorite is a homemade Buttermilk dressing with a little salsa mixed in and we call it Mexicali Dressing.  It works for me!  

With Cinco de Mayo on it's way this is a perfect light supper with which to celebrate.

Two other versions I have done...

The raw version

and a version with a mix of different lettuces and meat added

May... the Month of The Big Salad

For the month of May I will be sharing salads as main courses and sides with you... lots of salads... fruit salads, pasta salads, veggie salads, main entree salads and classic salads.  Lettuce is readily available again as are a variety of fruits and veggies so this will be a fun journey and hopefully one that is delicious and nutritious, too!  Stay tuned for the month of May and 31 Days of Salad