Salads

Asian Zucchini Noodle Salad

Asian Zucchini Noodle Salad

Spiralizers. You’ve probably heard of them. Toaster-sized spiralizer appliances take boring old potatoes, beets and zucchini–you know, the vegetables that come to you in the elegant shapes that Mother Nature intended– and turn them into noodles. (Forgive my snark.) Nevertheless, I confess that I’m a…

Salad Days!  Summer Squash Carpaccio with Arugula

Salad Days! Summer Squash Carpaccio with Arugula

    With the weather heating up here in Southern California, these are salad days to be sure. A digression: If you’ve ever wondered about that expression, “salad days” has Shakespearean origins. In Antony and Cleopatra, a rueful Cleopatra laments her youthful inexperience and recklessness– “…my salad…

Avocado-Cilantro Salad Dressing

Avocado-Cilantro Salad Dressing

  I’ve lived in my home for forty-seven years and for most of that time we had an enormous Haas avocado tree in our back yard. Talk about an embarrassment of riches! In addition to the abundance of avocados we had to eat and give away…

Edamame Salad

Edamame Salad

      These days many food sites exhort us to “eat the rainbow”–a colorful visual cue to remind us of the importance of incorporating a variety of nutrients into our daily diets.  Good advice. I know I need the nudge. Here is a recipe for…

Black-Eyed (Cow) Pea Salad for the New Year!

  OK everyone. All together now. Say cowpeas. That’s what black-eyed peas are. They are a type of cowpeas, “one of the most ancient crops known to man” according to Purdue’s horticultural Jefferson Institute, and the real shocker is that they aren’t really peas at all.…

Roasted Sweet Onion Salad Dressing and Musings about Weetabix and Cobb Salad

Do you get the dreaded “midnight munchies?” Me, too. Here’s a photo. OK. Maybe that isn’t me. But, alas, my refrigerator raids seldom get more inventive than a bowl of Weetabix and just enough cold milk to keep the Weetabix crispy. I’ve had many a…

Pasta with marinated cherry tomatoes

Did you forget? This is National Lasagna Awareness Month. Funny choice of words, I think. Who isn’t “aware” of lasagna? Speaking of funny (well…sort of funny), this made me laugh. Reminds me of those wonderful classic Steven Wright jokes. If you want to celebrate lasagna…

Tomato-watermelon Salad with Feta and Almonds

If my friend Marion recommends a recipe, I pay attention. Just trust me. Marion knows. That was why I was a little taken aback recently when Marion sent me a photo and a rave review of a watermelon and tomato salad. Watermelon? Yes. Watermelon and…

Potato Salad with Goat Cheese

“Found a little patched-up inn in the village of Bulson. Proprietor had nothing but potatoes; but what a feast he laid before me. Served them in five different courses-potato soup, potato fricassee, potatoes creamed, potato salad and finished with potato pie. It may be because…

Turkish Eggplant with Yogurt and Green Chile Oil

Does your food smile? Superstar (and perfectionist) chef Yotam Ottolenghi has been known to empty shelves displaying food in his delis because of the smile factor (actually, the no smile factor). In Ottolenghi’s food world, you have to be able to taste the food before…