I’m eating a lot more salads these days, mainly because produce is so nice, and my own tomatoes are beginning to yield enough that I have to keep up! Also have jalapeno peppers and cucumbers ripening. I really like any salad, but ones combined with cooked protein, usually chicken, and sometimes grain, make a salad into a cold meal, which is perfect for hot weather. Here’s one I made last week. I wish I had taken a picture, because it is really colorful. This isn’t my photo! It makes a large amount, so use your biggest bowl.
Chicken Veggie Rice Salad
1-1/2 Cup of dry rice, cooked and cooled. I used brown jasmine rice, but white rice or other grain is fine.
2 Cups of freshly chopped ripe tomatoes.
1 Cup mild peppers (red and yellow or other colorful peppers), finely chopped. Bell, Banana pepper or Cubanelle would be good.
1 Jalapeno pepper, finely chopped.
1 Small cucumber, finely chopped.
1 Medium red onion or sweet onion, chopped.
1 can (about 15 or 16 oz) of black beans, drained and rinsed.
1 can kernel corn (or equivalent frozen or fresh corn)
2 Cups of cooked chicken meat, cubed. Rotisserie chicken is great for this.
2 or 3 TB chopped fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley, or basil.
Vinaigrette
1/4 Cup olive oil
2 TB lime juice
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)
1/4 tsp black pepper
Mix vegetables and chicken with the vinaigrette, then fold in the cooked rice. You could use any grain, such as quinoa or wheat berries, or even a small pasta like couscous or orzo.
I found this recipe a couple of years ago, and it’s great. Watermelon is surprisingly good in salads, or with a savory cheese like cottage or fresh goat cheese as a snack.
GREEK-STYLE WATERMELON SALAD
INGREDIENTS
3 cups cubed watermelon
2 large ripe tomatoes
1 medium cucumber
⅓ cup pitted kalamata olives
⅓ cup crumbled feta
Some chopped parsley and mint
Olive oil and red-wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
PREPARATION
In a large bowl combine 3 cups cubed watermelon; 2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped; 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped; 1 small red onion, sliced; 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives; 1/3 cup crumbled feta; and some chopped parsley and mint. Drizzle with olive oil and red-wine vinegar, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss and serve.
I’ve posted this recipe before too, and it is really good. My daughter ordered it recently when we met for lunch at a small restaurant in Grosse Pointe, MI, but it was an old-fashioned staple on the restaurant menu at J.L. Hudson Co. department store in Detroit; they served it with popovers!
MAURICE SALAD
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE DRESSING:
2 Tablespoons White Vinegar
1-½ teaspoon Lemon Juice
1-½ teaspoon Onion Juice
1-½ teaspoon Sugar
1-½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard
¼ teaspoons Dry Mustard
1 cup Mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons Chopped Parsley
1 whole Hard-boiled Egg, Peeled And Diced
¼ teaspoons Salt, Or To Taste
FOR THE SALAD:
14 ounces, weight Deli Ham, Cut Into Small Strips (1/4″ X 2″)
14 ounces, weight Deli Turkey Breast Cut Into Small Strips (1/4″ X W 2″)
14 ounces, weight Deli Swiss Cheese, Cut Into Small Strips (1/4″ X 2″)
½ cups Sweet Gherkin Pickles Cut Into Small Slivers
1 head Iceberg Lettuce, Shredded
16 pieces Pimento Stuffed Olives
PREPARATION:
Prepare the dressing: In a medium-sized bowl combine vinegar, lemon juice, onion juice, sugar and mustards. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add mayonnaise, parsley, egg and salt to taste. Mix well.
Prepare the salad: Combine ham, turkey, Swiss cheese and pickles in a large bowl. Toss together with dressing.
Divide lettuce among plates. Top with salad, and garnish each plate with two olives.
I’m about to go to the kitchen right now to make a salad for a late lunch. I have chicken, lots of tomatoes, fresh asparagus, cooked broccoli, onion and peppers. Maybe with a small pasta and a nice vinaigrette? I’ll let you know how it turns out.
What is your favorite?
Stella's Place 
We’ve been playing with panzanella as the local real french bread goes stale so fast. Our jalapenos and creb bell varieties went south with a heat streak followed by a huge rain maker of a tropical system so that’s out for this year. Luckily I still have jars of pickled TAM jalapenos so they can be used in a pinc.
Been looking at taking various dips and thinning them out to use as dressings or making a green goddess out of fresh greens and powdered ranch (too lazy to make ranch from scratch) using different vinegars and olive oils. Gonna work up the nerve to try it with various rice vinegars…one day.
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I like rice vinegar. Less acidic. I think the panzanella version I would like is the one where the bread cubes are browned in some kind of fat either in a pan or in the oven. Let me know how your experiments turn out!
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Our Asian big box store has rice vinegar in a number of different flavors and I’ve even infused lemon zest into some – I find lime too ‘tangy’. I like the flavored rice vinegars in sushi rice, I can eat it plain.
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My peppers are doing well this year. Jalapenos are coming on especially well. I think I will pickle some – do you have a recipe that you recommend?
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I used this one: https://gimmedelicious.com/2015/08/31/quick-10-minute-pickled-jalapenos/
But I used 5% white wine vinegar instead of plain white. I used the TAM variety of japapenos, they’re only about 1/3rd as hot as the standard but retain all of the flavor.
I haven’t tried this one with canning, I tend to use a bread&butter pickle recipe there.
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BTW, year-end seed sales are on. You might want to dig around some sites and pick up a pack or twop of some of the newish ‘fruit’ flavored mints for infusions or garni.
https://www.hobbyfarms.com/garden-obsession-fruit-flavored-mints/
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I’ve moved from dressings to salt, pepper, red wine vinegar and good, green olive oil on a simple lettuce, tomato, cucumber & some type of olive, with sometimes feta cheese.
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I usually do the same on my salads – either red wine vinegar or balsamic with really good olive oil. I don’t usually do the cheese, but I will add either cooked chicken or tuna.
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The one I made today was olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. The mustard acts as an emulsifier, keeping the oil and vinegar from separating.
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I forgot about doing that. Used to go to a restaurant in Miami which served soft lettuces with chopped hard boiled egg and a dressing with mustard in the oil & vinegar. I’ll do that!
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I love the watermelon salad, so beautiful!
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Delicious too.
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Yum!
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Now that it’s spring, lettuces and summery veggies are on my mind: glad to come back here. Reminded me of a place my mother and I used to get take-out. Chopped salad had all the ingredients cut the same size. We liked cabbage, lettuces, tomatoes, cubanelle and bell peppers, green onion, cucumbers, radishes, black olives, celery, carrots and baked chicken. Another good one was uncooked broccoli and cauliflower marinated in a vinegar & oil herb dressing then chopped with baked chicken. Love these because they are crunchy and very mouth-satisfying.
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My mouth is watering!
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