Cooking to Combat Cancer 2

April and May bring two very important events that mean a lot to me. Two events that will bring awareness to many people. These two events are part of the effort to kick cancer's ass. Because seriously? Cancer's ass deserves to be kicked. Thoroughly. This first post is for Cooking to Combat Cancer 2 - an annual event held by one of the most beautiful souls I've ever met.. Chris. She's the author of Mele Cotte, a wonderful friend, and a cancer survivor. Thank you for doing this every year, sweetie.. your contribution to helping us to never forget is so very important. Love you!! In November of 2005 I was diagnosed with cervical cancer.. one radical hysterectomy later, and I was cancer free without much physical fuss. Meaning, I did not get sick. Mentally, there was fuss.. lots of it. When you've always taken for granted that you'd have kids one day.. and then are told it ain't gonna happen.. yeah, that kind of messes you up some. But, as I've said a million times over, I'm alive. I'm (relatively) healthy. I'm lucky. And I'm grateful for the chance I've been given. Six years before my own brush with cancer, I was introduced to it's devastation when my great uncle was diagnosed with lung cancer. Coming from a large Italian family, I had many, many aunts and uncles. My father was 1 of 14. Yes, you read that right.. my dad had 13 brothers and sisters. And although I did love my paternal aunts and uncles very, very much.. it was my mom's great aunt and great uncle, who I was closest to. My Auntie Ann and Uncle Sol. My Auntie was and still is my mom's best friend. They are only 10 years apart, and they grew up together more like sisters than an aunt and her niece. So we spent a lot of time with them. I consider my Auntie as my second mom.. for it was easier for me to talk to her than my own mother sometimes. And my uncle.. well.. he tortured me. har! My uncle never passed up the chance to pick on me, to annoy me, or to embarrass me. But this predicament I was in wasn't such a bad thing. No, for all of his fun had at my expense, the only thing that I took from all of it was how much attention he lavished on me. As I'm told often, I was the first girl in a family of boys. My uncle adored me. And I adored him. When such an amazing man was taken away from us so abruptly, it felt like a betrayal. How could this be?? This was a man who loved his family so much, he was loved by everyone he met and he was such a wonderful uncle to my sisters and I. Actually, he was known to my youngest sister as her grandpa.. as both sets of grandparents had passed years before she was born, he and my auntie took on the role. I rarely ever told my uncle how much I loved him. I assumed he always knew. As a matter of fact, the only time I can remember actually saying to him how much I loved him was right after he had the surgery to remove part of his lung.. he cried. I'd never seen him cry before. And he told me he loved me back. This was our first and only spoken exchange of our feelings for each other. He passed a couple days later. To say I was devastated is an understatement. I was wrecked. I still am.. several years have passed and the pain isn't as constant as it was before, but I still can't control the tears and the hurt inside when I think about him. Oh how I wish that I would have told him how much I loved him until he was sick of hearing it! How I hate that I just assumed he knew. Although he didn't say the words to me either, and even though I knew from earliest memory that he loved me very much.. I still wish that I would have said the words out loud to him more than once. Just as I always knew his unspoken feelings for me, I can only pray that he knew my unspoken feelings for him. The recipe I am about to share doesn't really remind me much of my Uncle Sol.. no, we were more of the pizza, soft pretzel, Twix bars kinda eaters. hee! But this recipe contains a few ingredients known to help cancer stay away, so I find it very fitting. I also find it very delicious and I'm glad we finally tried it. It's a simple recipe for Salad Niçoise, which comes to us from Nice, France. This is a salad made up of seared tuna, blanched green beans, tomatoes, steamed red potatoes, boiled eggs and of course, Niçoise olives. Everything but the tuna is tossed with a simple vinaigrette which adds just the perfect tang. And the tuna is usually seared quickly on each side, then placed on the salad in thin slices. Never being one to follow a recipe to the T (Other than Daring Baker challenges!!!), I decided to coat my tuna in toasted sesame seeds first. We fell in love with this salad immediately and it will become a common quick dinner in my repertoire. The tuna is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, which are good for a healthy heart. The green beans have been shown to prevent or slow genetic damage to cells. The garlic and scallions in the vinaigrette contain a number of compounds believed to slow or stop the growth of tumors. And the tomatoes contain lycopene, which has been shown to be especially potent in combating prostate cancer. So all in all, this salad is not only delicious and quick, but very good for your body. Salad Niçoise Makes 2 generous servings, or 4 small servings 8 oz. fresh Ahi Tuna or Albacore - (try to find sushi grade - you won't be sorry) 1 TBS olive oil or cooking spray (recipe for sesame seared tuna below) 1/4 pound green beans, trimmed and blanched - (I suggest salting the boiling water) 3/4 pound of new red potatoes, quartered and steamed until fork tender - (My trick here is to put 2 crushed garlic cloves on the bottom of the steamer basket.. it gives the potatoes a light garlicy flavor that's delicious) 1/4 c. red onion, either thinly sliced or minced 1/4 c. pitted Niçoise olives 1/2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved 1-2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and quartered Vinaigrette 2 TBS. Champagne vinegar - (I used Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar) 1 TBS. fresh tarragon, chopped 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 1 small shallot, minced 3/4 c. olive oil sea salt, to taste ground black pepper, to taste Arrange salad ingredients in separate piles on a large serving platter. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and then lay thinly sliced tuna on top. OR you can go non-traditional and put all ingredients in a large bowl with the vinaigrette and lightly toss (which is what we did). Serve alone, or with garlic toast. If you want to use the same tuna that we did the recipe is as follows (I cut the recipe in half for one 8 oz. tuna steak): Sesame Seared Tuna Courtesy of Allrecipes.com 1/8 c. soy sauce - (I used reduced sodium) 1.5 tsp. mirin (Japanese sweet wine) - (We omitted this because we didn't have any) 1.5 tsp. honey 1 TBS. sesame oil - (Sesame oil is VERY strong.. I cut this down to 1 tsp.) 1.5 tsp. rice wine vinegar 4 (6 oz.) tuna steaks 1/4 c. sesame seeds 1 TBS. olive oil In a small bowl, whisk together the soy, mirin, honey, sesame oil & the rice wine vinegar. Spread the seeds out on a plate or shallow bowl. Dip the tuna into the soy mixture, making sure the whole steak is coated and then press the tuna steak into the sesame seeds - coating both sides well. Heat the olive oil in a cast iron or other heavy skillet over high heat until it's VERY hot. Place tuna steaks in pan and sear for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side. You can go longer, but you chance the possibility of burning the seeds and over cooking the fish. Slice thinly and place warm tuna over Salad Niçoise. And hey.. if the opportunity to share a Twix bar with someone you love arises afterwards.. why not take it? :) xoxo

It's a Stravaganza of Salad!

**A note from, what I loosely call, "the author"** DUDES - Yesterday I FORGOT the Stravaganza was TODAY. F*ck! Today I had eleventy billion things I had to get done. F*ck!! I started this lil round-up around 8ish this morning.. it's now 10:30 p.m. I partly blame my chores. I partly blame the beautemous sunshine outside and I partly (85%) blame how I don't know how to shut the fakk up when writing on this here blog. Forgive me! Please? :D xoxo Holy cow! You guys ARE THE BESTEST!! When Kelly, of Sass and Veracity, and I started this whole Salad Stravaganza thing, we were thinking how blessed we'd be to get like 20 to 25 submissions.. 48 49 is what we got!! FORTY EIGHT NINE! Ya'll rocked our salad lovin' worlds! Thank you SO MUCH!!! =) So here's the deal if you are just now tuning in.. One day (okay, several days in a row quite possibly adding up to a month of days) Kelly and I were whining about our boredom with the same old, same old salads that we make almost every day for lunch and/or dinner.. and then we thought, "Wow, wouldn't it be great if someone would do some sort of salad event?" I mean, really - I know that Kel and I can't be the only 2 women on the face of the planet who hate their thighs, arse, hips, tummy, underarms, forearms, ankles, big toes, earlobes, etc. could we? Hell no we aren't! I've yet to meet a woman who finds herself to be perfect in every way (even though I think many of my "real-life" and "online" gal pals are completely perfect in any way, shape or form). I even know quite a few men, who don't poo-poo the salad lunches or dinners as they aren't happy with their bodies either. Christ we live in a world that constantly tries to beat into your brains about how healthy you should be (at least that's the way it is here in America) and how being overweight is the bad juju, mon. Yet, those healthy, skinny folk are pretty much in the minority. Why is that? I'm going to tell you why!!! Because chocolate cake TASTES GOOD! :P No really, how many of you are in she same boat as Kelly and I with the same old boring salads? If I've learned anything from this wonderful offering of delectable salad recipes, is that we need to look beyond what's in the crisper drawer of our refrigerators, kids. I've never seen such a variety of salads that use ingredients such as roasted vegetables, fruits & berries, beans, herbs, cheeses and meats! I mean, salads aren't just for diets anymore. And salads of this caliber can't even be recognized as healthy meals, because they are SO DELICIOUS! Hello? How can something that tastes SO GOOD be good for you?? Before I show you what I mean, I just want to thank Kelly for being an awesome partner in this salad adventure. Boy, for someone who's never organized and kept track of event submissions before, Kel - you rock, sistah!! I LOVED working on this with you, thank you so much =) What's more, way more, is how lucky and happy I am to be able to call you my friend. Love you, honey! xoxo Okay now that the moosh is outta the way *blush* let's get to my half of the Salad Stravaganza round up: Starting us off on our journey is a new friend of mine whose name is Danny. Danny keeps promising me he's going to start his own blog, but for now he's emailed me a recipe for what I am titling,"Danny's Best Ever Salad" Why that title? Because Danny says anyone who's ever tried it has proclaimed it to be the best salad they've ever had. =) I can believe the hype as this salad sounds amazingly good! Allow me to copy the recipe here for all of you on Danny's behalf: Danny's Best Ever Salad Fill a large tray with mixed greens Hard boil 3,4,6,...eggs (as many as u like) In same pot boil a few small potatoes Slice 1 red onion 1 can large black pitted olives A handful of cherry or grape tomatoes Dressing: this really makes the salad , or any salad....! 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil Juice of 2 blood oranges 3-4 tbsp. of aged balsamic vinegar (the good stuff only please) Finely chopped fresh basil as much as u like 1 tbsp. honey dijon mustard Mix all dressing ingredients together well. Peel and half eggs and potatoes and place on greens, toss in olives (liquid removed), red onion, and tomatoes. Smother entire salad with dressing and enjoy! Did I lie? Doesn't that sound fantabulous? Thanks Danny! Next on our list is the gorgeous Jenny of All Things Edible. Yes, well it's a fitting title for her blog as she shares with us so many tasty treats - this salad among the tastiest! Her Romaine-Strawberry Salad sounds heavenly. And if that weren't enough, her equally talented 4 year old son has submitted a recipe too!! One of the best pasta salads I've ever had, Tri-Colored Pasta Salad with Cheese, Baby Carrots and Cucumber I'm so hunnnnggggrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Thanks Jenny! And please thank your son for us too! Marta of An Italian in the US was kind enough to share with us a magnificent salad made with mangos and other super tasty ingredients. Her Insalata di cavolo rosso, peperoni, mango, avocado e mandorle is not only a mouthful to say - but hello? It's a salad that I'd be more than happy to have a mouthful of! hehe What all of that means is a delicious mix of red cabbage, peppers, mangoes, avocado and almonds. *swoon* You've got your sweet, your savory, your creamy and your crunchy.. what else could be better? Thanks so much, Marta! Emily of Appetitive Behavior writes one of my favorite blogs. She comes up with some major droolworthy dishes and I always look forward to what's next! And she sure kept us drooling with her submissions (yes, plural as in 2 tasty recipes!) for the 'ganza! First up is this creative Amansala Ginger Salad Emily says that she had a version of this salad in a restaurant called Rangoon in Philadelphia with her boss and she was immediately taken with it. Although she could not reproduce it exactly, she says this version is an excellent substitution. I'm quite intrigued with the ginger in the salad, that's something I've never tried.. YET! Her second submission is this, Melon Salad Agridolce. What we have here is one of my favorite things - a fruit and cheese platter. You know sliced melons, pears, grapes or cherries paired with nutty, creamy, salty, delicious cheese selections and usually there is a side of various nuts and always served with a good glass (or bottle, Kel!) of wine. Now take these components and turn them into salad. Genius!! You've got fresh greens with the cheese, the fruit and the nuts - and a red wine vinaigrette drizzled over it. Ohhh happy! happy! Thank you so much, Emily! I'm grinning from ear to ear just thinking about this next salad.. You see, when I first saw Alanna's, of A Veggie's Venture, submission I knew I was going to run out to get the ingredients that very night. And I did.. and I squeeeeeeeeeee'd the whole way home. Seriously, just imagine some crazed woman with a bag of green beans in one hand, her other hand firmly gripped to the steering wheel of her car with this huge, teethy, maniacal grin on her face comin at you at 65 mph. Yeah, scary. Her Fresh Green Bean Salad with Asian Dressing did this to me! I even blogged about it early and spoiled the debut for the Stravaganza! Hee! Thank you and thank you and thank you, Alanna! Talk about your lovely and talented ladies, our next salad genius is Dolores, of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity. Unfortunately for last month's Hey! Hey! It's Donna Day event, Dolores was a a lil late in meeting the deadline, but it worked out perfect for us! Woot! Now we get to share with you (and our own tummies!) this completely droolworthy Caesar Salad with Skewered Shellfish. Holy cow.. does anyone have a tissue so I can wipe my chin(s)? Heavenly, Dolores, thanks so much! One of my favorite ladies in the blogosphere is Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict. Jasmine has such a wonderful way of writing that I just really can't help myself but to love her posts. She was neck-deep in her classes, but still found the time to send us a most delicious salad with a tropical feel.. I introduce to you, The Tropical! YUM! This salad has all the fixin's - chicken, grapes, almonds, greens, peppers and a yummy raspberry vinaigrette - oh yeah baby! Thanks Jasmine - it sounds delish! Jeanne, from Cook Sister! brings to us a most creative salad that she'd been playing around with in her head for quite some time. I'm so glad she finally decided to give it a try because she has me salivating by just reading her post (which I've read several times!). The vibrant color of that butternut squash just has me all ga-ga drooly. heee! Paired with the warm butternut squash is salty Feta cheese and crunchy pine nuts.. oh! my! God! I want some right now! =) Go check out this gorgeous Roasted Butternut, Feta & Pinenut salad immediately if not sooner! Thanks Jeanne! What can I say about this next girl? Well.. exactly what can't I say about her? I could go on for days =) She is my partner in crime, my "sister" from afar, she's my confidante, my rock and the calming factor in my life. No one settles me down like Ivonne. You might be familiar with her "little" blog - Cream Puffs in Venice? hehee My dear, sweet friend Ivonne has not only made us one salad.. but three.. bless her cotton socks. ;) And what glorious salads they are! First we've got a warm and inviting mix of roasted potatoes, green beans and tomatoes. This is a type of salad I make often - and for the exact reason that Ivonne states, "The warm potatoes soak up the dressing..." Ohh how I love roasted potatoes in a salad, especially with a good oil and vinegar dressing.. YUM! Her second and third salads come from Tracy Stern's Tea Party. The first of the two is what sounds to be a magical mix of both creamy and crunchy in a green apple and avocado salad with her own special dressing.. I will be using that dressing tonight, as a matter of fact! I can't wait! And finally, her third salad is pasta salad containing chickpeas, roasted red pepper, red onion and artichoke hearts. *swoon* We can't thank you enough, Ivonne - you rock! Ahhh my Gracie. How I heart her so =) She is one of the driving factors in my life that makes me want to continue on in bettering my baking skills. Between her and my other love (I'm gettin kinky with all this lovin' going on!) Helene, I hope to one day at least be able to frost a damn cake evenly. hee! While reading Gracie's post, I was chuckling and giggling quite a bit. I guess we did kinda "gently remind" the Daring Baker crew of our lil salad event, didn't we? heheee! And I so love hearing what delicious and commonly loved foods her hubby doesn't like. hahahaaa! Which, yeah.. this time is salad. But that doesn't stop her - thank God! - although it's not as often as she'd like, she still enjoys salads - and if even half of them are anything like this one.. I'd be able to live on salad alone! Pears poached in red wine, bites of savory bleu cheese, spicy candied walnuts with a blackberry jam vinaigrette drizzled over each seductive bite. And I say seductive because - Hot damn, kids! This salad is sexxxxxy! Thanks for bringing the Sexy Back in salads, Gracie!! heee! Ohhhh.. and one more thing! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRACIE!!! Tomorrow (July 2) is Peabody's birthday - make sure you wish her many more to come! Our second Romaine and Strawberry salad is brought to us by the lovely and very articulate Kristen of Dine and Dish. But there's nothing second hand about this gorgeous salad with it's creamy poppyseed dressing, no there is not! Kristin craves this recipe since she was introduced to it by a friend this past Easter. And I can totally see how she would crave it often. Okay that's 2 now - I am SO TRYING a romaine and strawberry salad before all the strawberries go away! Thanks Kristin - between you and Jenny, ya'll have got me craving it now too! =) Laura's blog, EAT DRINK LIVE, had become a fast favorite for me. How I never found her before she joined the Daring Bakers, is a mystery to me.. or at least it's a reason I'm kicking myself in the arse over. Laura's baking abilities are bar none and her creativity in the kitchen is quite stunning! Just like this lil stunner of a salad, Spiced Orange and Avocado Salad Wow.. oranges and avocados.. just a lil slice of heaven right here on earth! Not only is this salad something special to look at, but it sounds absolutely delicious. Thanks muchly, Laura - you've once again blown me away! Next is my smilie girl - I picture her smiling a lot AND she makes me smile alla time. =) Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms was kind enough to share with us her Grandma L's Super Salad! What this is, is a combination of super fresh ingredients, such as crisp romaine and carrots and then 2 of my favorite things, marinated mushroom and roasted red peppers! Yum! This sounds SO GOOD, Elle! Thank you sooooo much =) I've met so many wonderful people in this blogging world of ours and truly, I am blessed. Whether I were to meet all of them or none of them in person, I am blessed. I feel this way particularly for our next "salad mixologist". Morven and I were paired together for our first BBM over a year ago and we became fast friends. She's my soul sistah! I love you, Morv! =) (Does everyone pour out their hearts and kinkiness in their round-ups? :P ) 'kay well there's something else I love.. and that's roasted veggies.. and hoooo bay-bay, Morv's done us up right! A salad made up entirely of roasted vegetables with a sprinkling of fresh cilantro and spring onions - all warm and caramelized and crispedy and creamery.. oh heaven's.. THIS is one of the reasons I love her so. :D Thank you Morven! The ever charming Susan of Food Blogga has wowed me yet again with another one of her fresh veggie creations.. this time it's an inviting Warm Three Pea and Radish Salad. YUM! I love me my peas! And if this weren't enough, Susan educated us on the differences between the English pea, the Sugarsnap pea and the Snow pea as well as a little background on each and tips on how to prepare them. I learned something new! I always appreciate that. =) I also appreciate such a pretty and most delicious salad! Thanks so much, Susan! Oh my gosh.. time for me to get sappy again! har! (You can scroll down a few lines if you've had enough of the sap) Callipygia of FOODchair is another close friend of mine who I cherish! We've shared much about each other - the good, the bad and the ugly. I don't know what I'd do if she weren't in my life. Course she'd be better off if I weren't in her life - lousy friend that I am!! Happy Belated Birthday, Callipygia!!!! I love you sweetie! =) (her birthday was yesterday, the 30th - everyone wish her a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) hehe And now on to her fabulous salad! Have you ever read Callipygia's posts? If you haven't I couldn't urge your more strongly to go and get comfy in her archives. You won't be disappointed. A damn good example is her post regarding mushrooms. Yep, mushrooms! Once you are finished reading, before you even realize you are famished and wish her Seven Generation Salad was sitting right in front of you, you'll notice just how much you take a mushroom for granted. Seriously. You rock, Callipygia - Thank you so much! Hooo lordie, I'm going to start shortening up these lil write-ups! And this is a good one to try to keep short and sweet because - yes, you guessed it! - I could go on and on about how much I love Danielle's blog Habeas Brulee. This woman knows how to cook! She knows how to bake! She knows how to do attorney type things! My God, she knows how to blow glass, producing BEAUTIFUL bowls, vases, glasses, etc. A few of which are highlighted above.. she made the clear glass bowl and her sweetie made the red one! And you'd really need beautiful bowls to show off these 3 (THREE) beautiful salads. Firstly we have a very creative Fava Bean and cherry salad I gotta tell yas.. I'm so fakkin intrigued by this one - my "dislike" of beans doesn't even sway how much I'd like to try this! And then we've got two cucumber salads.. Danielle decided to compare two grandmother's recipes. Her own grandma's Hungarian style cuke salad and Alanna's (from A Veggie Venture) grandma's sour cream based cuke salad.. either or, I'd be SO HAPPY to have them in front of me, right now! Thank you so much, Danielle! Well this is the price you pay when you have so many wonderful friends.. my very special Sara, whom I just adore. She's a wonderful cook, she's a great writer and she's trying to learn how to bake with me! She's also a very special friend (as if you couldn't guess?) - and if anyone is going to get me to eat tofu, it's going to be Sara. :D Sara out did herself this time.. not 1, not 2, not even 3 recipes - FOUR! Four fabulous salad recipes that had me drooling right from the start with this tomato salad "base". Fresh tomatoes, a lil salt, a lil oil & vinegar.. YUM! Building on to that she created this super yummy sounding Tomato Pasta salad! Double yum! And then she hits one out of the park with two pineapple salads that sound AMAZING! We can't thank you enough, Sara - 4 fabulous thigh trimming salads! Lisa's blog, aptly named, Lisa's Kitchen is a new blog to me - but I gotta say - it looks great! And hey, you have to love a Lisa, right? =) Lisa brings us a creamy cole slaw that looks to die for.. this one I'm definitely making Hubbs as he's a cole slaw aficionado. He's going to love this and I'm going to love it sittin' beside a marinaded, grilled chicken breast - cole slaw and grilled chicken are the bomb! Thank you so much, Lisa! And last but certainly not least (you can all sigh with relief, my long-windedness is almost complete) my partner in the Salad Stravaganza and very good friend, Kelly of Sass and Veracity! WOOOOO! Kelly! We did it, Sistah Christian!! Kel's salad is just way to fakkin good looking to even remotely being good for you. I absolutely positively REFUSE to believe that this salad is better than say.. a plate full of brownies (which, yes.. I've eaten for dinner before.) (DO NOT JUDGE ME!) ***crickets*** Brown Derby Cobb Salad with Marinated Top Round Steak. Could you just die right now? She marinated the steak and then she grilled the steak to medium rare perfection. And then.. then she sliced the steak into tender savory mouthfuls of joy. Can anyone else hear angels singing? And then.. AND THEN she boiled the eggs, she fried the bacon to the perfect crispedy crisp, she sliced the avocado and sprinkled on the bleu cheese.. AND THEN she grilled up some poultry mammories to juicy lipsmacking goodness. Could that be all? Hell no it couldn't be all.. THEN she whipped up a home made Cobb salad dressing.. *swoon* Could somebody please shut those angels up?? I can hardly hear myself think! uhh? HOLY CRAP!!!!! I'M THE WORSTEST HOSTESS IN ALL OF THE WORLD!! I FORGOT ONE OF THE SWEETEST GALS EVER =( I FEEL HORRIBLE.. WORSE THAN HORRIBLE! PLEASE GO GIVE KELLY-JANE LOTS OF SALAD LOVIN', KIDS! My dear sweet Kelly-Jane, of Cooking The Books, who made us TWO gorgeous salads.. one of which I flipped over and will so definitely be making it as soon as some apricots become available.. and still - putting that recipe in my notebook to try this summer.. I FORGET TO ADD TO THE ROUND UP. I swear to God, I suck. Kelly-Jane, I hope you can forgive me! But while I wait to find out what her punishment is going to be.. allow me to share with you what this very talented gal cooked up for us! Firstly, she made this very pretty "Cowboy" salad of rice, beans, chicken sausage, spices and what looks to be an amazing lime dressing bringing all the glorious flavors out. This salad looks and sounds so good that I think it'd make a perfect dish to start off my "healthy bean eating" kick. YUM! Secondly - and the one I really flipped over (yanno me by now - the sweet and the salt or the savory and I'm all fakkin over it) was her creamy and luscious Apricot, Ham and Cheese salad.. ohhh man it looks SO GOOD! I can't wait to make this for Hubbs, I think he's going to really enjoy it too. Again, I'm so sorry Kelly-Jane! But a great big THANK YOU! for an awesome submission of 2 really, really tasty lookin salads! xoxo Anyhoo.. yes, yes my friends... 50 51 delicious new salad recipe choices right at your fingertips!! Your thighs are breathing a sigh of relief.. I know mine are!! We can't thank you guys enough, seriously - way to make a lil salad round up so huge and filled to the gills with creativity. Ya'll rock.. but ya'll knew that, didn't you? ;) xoxo

Beans! Beans! The Magical Fruit...

The more you eat.. the more you Hi! I just can't help myself from mentally singing that lil diddy everytime I think about beans. They are quite magical, aren't they? Not that I'd really know, as not many beans pass these almost 40 year old lips. Yeah.. I'm not a big bean lover. Nope, not so much hip on the legumes. I know. I'm weird. I realize I'm in the minority here and that most really enjoy beans. I, personally, can't get past the texture.. kinda fibery & creamy at the same time. And they sometimes get stuck at the back of the roof of your mouth - you know, where the hard palate rolls into the soft palate right before you hit the uvula? heh heh Nay Sayers.. you didn't know I was so fakkin educated on areas in the human mouth, now didja? I'm not really.. I just looked it up - but I was pleasantly surprised when I realized I could use the word "Uvula" in a sentence. I love that word. Uvula. I don't use that word often enough, yanno? Anyhooooo.. yeah the bean meat or whatever ya wanna call it.. the pasty stuff sometimes gets stuck in that area of the mouth and sometimes it's hard to get it off.. sometimes you find yourself chipping away at it with the tip of your tongue, or even worse, rubbing it with the base of your tongue in a way of trying to scrub it off. Quit looking at me that way. Are you trying to tell me that I'm the only person EVER to get the bean meat stuck on the roof of my mouth? The only one who could spend hours trying to chip away or scrub it off with her own tongue?? Whot. Evah. You've NEVER experienced that waxy, pasty, grainy, squicky feeling sometimes brought on by pasty bean meat? How about when it adheres to your two front teeth like little ill-fitting wool sweaters? So, I'm guessing you get the idea why I'm not a huge bean loving gal, eh? BUT! I want this to change! I dooo!! I know I'm missing out on all kinds of delicious salsas, hummus, nachos, southwestern eggrolls, rice & beans, layer No. 1 of most Mexican 7 Layer dips.. I mean the list could go on and on.. And what's more, I've heard that beans are good for you. Can you imagine? Well now, I gotta tell you how excited I've been for the past 48 hours. Squeeeeeeeeeeee! I made a bean dish - And - I LOVED IT! No, LOVE is not strong enough of a word.. I.. I.. I could make out with this bean salad. I could! Okay a lil background.. I'm going to spoil it for those of you who are waiting with bated breath (baited breath? like fish hook baited?) for the big Salad Stravaganza debut on July 1st, but I can't help it. Alanna of A Veggie Venture submitted a recipe for the Stravaganza that just made me NEED to run out for green beans and almonds. 'kay well, you know I gotta mess with everything.. so I opted for cashews in lieu of the almonds, BUT STILL! I RUSHED to get these ingredients and I RUSHED to get home to prepare this dish.. this amazing BEAN dish. Ohh.. uhhmmm.. all that stuff you just read up there - yanno, about the hate hate relationship I have with beans? 'kay that really had nothing much to do with this post because I like green beans. I've always liked them. heh heh So yeah, no, I've never really been known for shootin' straight from the hip. Ya dig? I kinda liked takin ya'll on a wild bean hatin' rant before I got to the point of this here post. heeee! So as I was saying, Alanna submitted this dish and I just fell in love with it, and honestly? I can't really say why. But I did and I tried it and it was the best bean salad I have ever had in my whole and entire life! The beans were crisp and flavorful, the dressing was tangy and zingy and was all about the Asian flavored love. And the icing on the cake was the Soy Glazed cashews that are sprinkled on top of the green beans. Those were so good on their own that Hubbs has informed me that no nut will pass his lips if they aren't soy glazed nuts. That didn't sound exactly right... If this description hasn't made you push yourself away from the screen in a mad dash to find yourself some green beans and the nut of your choice, then maybe this will help.. green beans are low in calories (only like 44 calories in 1 cup!), they are an excellent source of Vitamins C & K and something called manganese! And! And! They are really good for your heart and all the lil things attached to it! Dudes.. these green beans pack a major healthy punch! Since I only changed the type of nut used in Alanna's recipe, I'm not going to give the recipe here - but I am going to give you a word to click on that will take you to the recipe.. but kids? Single file, okay? Don't be jammin' up Alanna's site. :D Okay here's the word: --> UVULA <-- And because Alanna has already submitted a recipe to Ilva's and Joanna's Heart Of The Matter No. 4, and because The Heart Healthy gals prefer one-event submissions, I'm going to submit this recipe in Alanna's name just because I feel so strongly that it should be passed around and seen in events that are healthy eating related. So I'm hoping the gals won't see this as a recipe coming from another event as the Salad Stravaganza has yet to "debut". heee! PS - You might notice that I labeled this dish as a starter, a side dish and the main dinner dish, because I feel it would work as all three. =) xoxo

A Jumble of Salads Because it's a Stravaganza!!

Hi! I have no time, but wanted to post quickly on a couple things that I've been meaning to share. Salads! I know I've been posting everything but salads lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been eating them left and right! Okay well at least 2 times a week for dinner and 5 days a week for lunch. Although I have not tried any of the AMAZING submissions we've received for the Salad Stravaganza yet, I have finally got out to buy the ingredients and will be experimenting starting today. Yay! This first salad I want to share is the best grilled chicken salad you will ever eat! As long as you over-look my horribly lit pictures and try it. ;) It's a simple salad.. your basic greens.. and yes, I'm an iceberg lover.. even though there are definitely many more lettuces out there that have more flavor, I usually buy iceberg. Do you see now how badly I need salad help?? hehe But the crunchiness of the iceberg lettuce works nicely with this recipe. So all you do is, marinate your chicken breast - I do this simply with Wishbone Robusto Italian salad dressing. I swear by this stuff. Although I can't stand it as a salad dressing, for marinating chicken it's wonderful. I marinate for at least 30 minutes if I'm in a rush, but usually at least 8 hours. I either grill the chicken or pan sear it until it's nicely browned, being careful not to over-cook it. Cut it into bite sized chunks and throw into a salad made of iceberg lettuce, sliced cukes, grape tomatoes, diced bell peppers, black olives, and small diced pancetta - cooked until crispy. I prefer pancetta in this salad as it's not as potent as your basic bacon. DO NOT GET ME WRONG. There is nothing better than bacon!!!! But, for me, in this salad, I prefer the dressing and the chicken to be the main flavors with the pancetta adding a nice crunch and background hit of heavenly porkiness. heee! 'kay so you've got all your components in a big giant bowl.. I am now sharing with you my most favorite and pretty much only dressing I eat.. where there is nothing spectacular about the ingredients, I firmly believe it's all in the shake and the salt. I sprinkle garlic salt on the salad.. just when you think you've got enough, go ahead and give it one more little sprinkle (nope the salad doesn't turn out salty). And then in some kind of vessel, I use the cruet that you can buy with Kraft's Good Seasons packet dressing (I sometimes use the packets in a shrimp marinade, I'll have to blog about that one day, eh?). I fill the cruet up past the line for the vinegar (about an 1/8 of inch over) with balsamic vinegar. Then I fill the rest of the bottle with canola oil. I'm not a huge fan of olive oil and balsamic as a salad dressing. I prefer the lighter canola oil on my salads, and the olive oil in my cooking. Anyhoo.. once it's filled, I pop the cap on and I shake the mo'fo until I've got an emulsion - and then I shake some more. I have no idea if I'm adding anything to the emulsion by shaking it longer than necessary.. I just like prancing around my kitchen while shaking it. :P Once you're emulsified, pour a generous amount over your salad. Wait there's more shaking involved!!! I put a tight fitting lid on my bowl of chicken salad (or plastic wrap secured with a rubber band) and I shake, shake, shake.. shake, shake, shake, shake my salad.. shake my salad.. I know!!! Am I a freak of nature when it comes to my salad dressing, or what??? But I'm telling you - it comes out perfect each and every time.. SO GOOD!! Ohhh and if you use this method for just veggies without lettuce and let it sit for an hour or two, or even over night - heavenly when you finally dive in. I do this with bell peppers a lot - slice 'em up, shake 'em up with the dressing and just let them sit, with maybe an extra shake every once in a while for good measure - then we snack on them later. SO GOOD. SO FAKKIN GOOD. But Wait! There's more!!! As an added bonus, if you really get into your shaking abilities, you'll burn off the pancetta before you even eat it! How's that for a bonus?? :D The second salad, is basically the same dressing - although the components are different. This one is made with our first harvest of the leaf lettuce we are growing in our garden - squeeeeeeeeee! We may not have 'maters yet (Sher :P ) but we've got lots of lettuce and it's fab. I just threw on some cukes and grape tomatoes, gave it a shake with my balsamic and oil dressing and shaved some Parmigiano Reggiano over top.. heavenly. Finally.. potato salad. My mom's potato salad, to be specific. Quickly (as if, like I could be quick and to the point in my posts.. har!) boil potatoes with their skins on and take them out the very second they are fork tender.. let cool. Peel and dice - throw into big bowl. Dice some white onion - as much as you prefer. Dice some bell peppers, black olives, green olives, celery, and boiled egg - all amounts are what you feel is right for you. Give it a quick mix in the bowl with the potatoes. Now find some vessel again - the cruet won't work here, you need something bigger. Add 3-4 TBS. of Hellmann's mayo or Kraft or whatever, but NO MIRACLE WHIP (or as I like to call it, Miracle Sh*t), add 2 good squirts of either Dijon or plain yellow mustard, add a good sprinkling of celery salt, spanish paprika, onion and garlic powders and black pepper. Now, drizzle in eh? 1/4 c. - 1/3 c. milk - be careful on the milk, you don't want your dressing to be too thin - and you can always add more if it's too thick. Now, put the lid on your vessel and.. you know what to do, ladies and gents.. SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE - SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE - SHAKE YOUR POTATO SALAD DRESSING - SHAKE YOUR POTATO SALAD DRESSING!! Please feel free to frolic in your kitchen while shaking. It adds to the flavor. I just realized that's a crappy picture because you can't see all the good stuff in it.. but trust me there was good stuff in it. :D Pour your freshly shaken dressing over your potato salad and give a good mix, but be gentle so you don't mash your potatoes.. cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.. longer if you can - over night is best.. The ONLY potato salad I'll eat. =) I'm also linking to past salads I've made as they all need re-introducing.. each one is sooooo fakkin' good.. Such as: - My Summer Tortellini Salad - Mmmmmmm - Chopzanella! - A savory Broccoli-slaw - Kevin's Grilled Corn & Shrimp Salad that I make all the time now! - My Dad's favorite Fish Salad - A low cal/low fat Mango Rice Salad with Grilled Shrimp And finally - a quick fruit salad - which I haven't made in a while for some STOOPID reason, but will post pictures when I do.. take your favorite melons and cut into bite sized chunks, add your favorite type of grapes, maybe some mandarin oranges, strawberries and other types of berries are excellent as well. Give 'em a light toss.. now in some kind of vessel (methinks you know where I'm going with this) combine (whisking is allowed here, but you don't burn as many calories in whisking as you do in SHAKE SHAKE SHAKING your booties!!) 2 TBS. honey with 2 tsp. freshly grated ginger and 3/4 c. citrus juice - I've tried them all and they all work wonderfully, but orange is my favorite - Pour over your fruit, give quick, gentle mix and let macerate for a couple hours. You can do this in the fridge or on the counter top, depending on if you prefer your fruit salad to be cold or room temp (I usually go room temp) - mow down.. is fabulous. =) And lastly, I attended what I guess is becoming my yearly Women In The Outdoors (since I'm all about the linkage today) event with my friends again last week. Although I was not as awestruck as I was that first time, I did have fun and I kicked 14 out of 20 clay pigeon's arses. WOOO! Okay well I'm sorry I squished all these delectible salads into one very long and not so quick post - but, as I'm sure some of you can relate to, summer blogging isn't as easy as winter blogging... that sunshine, fresh air and my pooches are what I crave, so my PC is getting the cold shoulder more often than not. =( Nigel is being sneaky here.. this is when he looks away from you but keeps walking very... slowly... towards you and then POUNCE! He'll try to tackle your knees. We call it stalking - it's hilarious. =) How can you resist that face and that schnozz?? Chloe likes to play ball. And after a 20 minute game of catch the ball and bring it back, she likes to play ball again. Then after that she likes to play ball AGAIN. It's kind of never ending. :D Enjoy!! xoxox