Thai Crunch Salad

This salad was my favorite at the "Favorite Foods" Christmas dinner 2016.  I add cooked quinoa and whole peanuts and sometimes cooked chicken to make it a meal salad.
Link to original blogger https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/thai-crunch-salad-with-peanut-dressing.html

For the Thai Peanut Dressing

• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from one lime
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (use gluten-free if needed)
• 2 tablespoons honey

• 2-1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

For the Salad

• 4 cups chopped Napa cabbage or shredded coleslaw mix (I like to toss in a little shredded red cabbage for color)
• 1 cup prepared shredded carrots
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded (or it makes the salad too watery) and thinly sliced
• 1 cup cooked and shelled edamame
• 2 medium scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. For the dressing, combine all of the ingredients except for the cilantro in a blender and process until completely smooth. Add the cilantro and blend for a few seconds until the cilantro is finely chopped. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. For the salad, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. If serving right away, drizzle the peanut dressing over top and toss; otherwise, serve the dressing on the side so the salad doesn't get soggy.

Greek Panzanella

Delicious. Something about the way the toasted bread absorbs the dressing...We'll make it for you this summer sometime.

3/4 c. good olive oil
6 c diced rustic bread
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 cucumber, unpeeled, halved, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 yellow bell pepper, same
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced in half rounds
1/4 c red wine vinegar
2 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 pound feta cheese, cut into 3/4 inch squares
1/2 cup kalamata olives

Heat 1/4 c of the olive oil in a large saute pan until hot. Add the bread and sprinkle with salt and pepper; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently for 5-10 minutes, until nicely browned. Set aside.

Toss the cucumber, bell peppers, tomatoes and onion in a large bowl, mix.

Vinaigrette: whisk together vinegar, garlic, oregano, mustard, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper together in a small bowl. Stirring constantly, add the remaining 1/2 c of olive oil to make an emulsion.

Add the feta, olives and bread to the vegetables in the bowl, add the dressing and toss lightly. Set aside 30 minutes for flavors to develop. Serve at room temperature.

Som Tam

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Ingredients:

2 cups of shredded green papaya (or rutabaga)

2 T roasted peanuts (unsalted probably)

2 cloves of peeled garlic

1-2 small Thai chili (optional)

½ piece of palm sugar

7 cherry tomatoes

juice of ½ lime

1 ½ Tbs fish sauce

5-10 fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch sticks

Directions:

1.     Roughly crush peanuts with mortar/pestle. Set aside.

2.     Peel and shred the papaya. Soak strips in cold water while you prepare the rest

3.     Smash chilies, garlic and palm sugar with mortar/pestle. There should still be large bits and pieces- not a puree.

4.     Add peanuts and papaya and continue bashing, just enough for the papaya to soak up the flavors.

5.     Add tomatoes, beans, lime juice and fish sauce. Continue to bash, shifting mixture with spoon to mix. You aren’t trying to break up the ingredients too much, just enough to release the flavors.

i do! i do like cilantro sam-i-am!

This dressing is so cool and light, we were eating it with a spoon. A perfect blend of amazing flavors. Please try this. It is the first time I have enjoyed cilantro. Now I want everyone to try it. As we say at our house, I'll give you a quarter if you do!

1 cup buttermilk

1 4oz can gr chilies

1 bunch of cilantro

1 sm tomatillo

1/2 tsp lime juice

dash of cayenne pepper

1 cup mayo

1 clove garlic

1 jalapeno (seeds removed)

1 tsp salt

dash of tobasco

1 package of ranch dressing mix

Mix in blender. Refrigerate before serving.

my vegetarian salad

In honor of Claire's birthday, here is a vegetarian dish that I made today and was pretty awesome. This called for cilantro, which of course i took right out. And the recipe was huge, so this is half, just right for 2 with leftovers. You mix the sauce and pour it over the other ingredients, then toss on the sesame seeds, but I didn't have any. It looks kinda crazy in the picture, but it was yummy, i swear! Here it goes:

Sauce:

• 1/4 cups Soy Sauce
• 1 T Sesame Oil
• 1 T Canola or veg Oil
• 1 T Rice Wine Vinegar
• ½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• pinch of salt and pepper to taste
• 
  
• 1/2 lb. spaghetti noodles, cooked and rinsed (called for wheat)
• A few Green Onions, Sliced, Divided
• 1/2 Red Pepper, Sliced Thin
• ¼ heads Red Cabbage, Sliced Thin
• 1 Carrot, Shredded With Vegetable Peeler
• 1 cup Shelled Edamame, Cooked
• 1/4 cups Toasted Sesame Seeds

And since I changed so much, if it turns out nasty, here is the original recipe.. http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/last-minute-sesame-noodles/ i love claire!!

chow down, it's good for you!

This could set the record for the vaguest post ever. I went to a friends house to eat and they had the most delicious side dish/salad! Here it is.

sliced cucumbers

rice wine vinegar

pinch of salt

"some" sugar

That's it. They had a bowl of rice wine vinegar (2 cups?) w/ what i would guess was 2T? of sugar and a pinch of salt in it. Then we had a huge platter of sliced cucumbers. We took one with some chopsticks and dipped it in the vinegar and ate it. It was fantastic! I could have eaten them all night. They said they had them at a Vietnamese place and asked what the sauce was. Easy!