Avocado, Shrimp and Tomato Salad

(2 servings)

We still have not really hit the triple digit temperatures, although it feels like it to me. It's just hot and I have no desire to leave the house unless it's absolutely necessary.

I made this delicious cool salad, and momentarily forgot about the heat.

1 medium avocado, sliced
1 medium tomato, sliced
1 1/2 - 2 cups cold cooked shrimp
1/4 cup Green Goddess Salad Dressing
*tsp of fresh lemon juice, optional

Divide the avocado, tomato and shrimp between two plates. Drizzle with the salad dressing and serve.

*If you are not serving this salad right away, sprinkle the lemon juice evenly over the avocado slices - this will keep them from changing colour.

Green Goddess Salad Dressing

(1 cup)

This salad dressing is very quick and easy to make. I love it over sliced tomatoes.

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
4-6 anchovy fillets
small handful of fresh parsley
1 green onion, cut up
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp capers
freshly ground black pepper

Place everything into the bowl of a food processor, and process until smooth.

Spoon over salad or cut up vegetables.

Broccoli Salad with Feta

(about 4 servings)

This is a very tasty salad, which keeps well for several days, refrigerated.  I was pretty excited to finally find some dried currants, here in Dallas.
 
3 cups of small broccoli florets
1/4 small red onion, chopped
1/4 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup dried currants, or chopped raisins, or chopped dried cranberries
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing
3 tbsp mayonnaise
3 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tsp mustard
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place the broccoli, onion, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, currants  and cheese into a salad bowl.

Combine the dressing ingredients: mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard, and pepper. (Not sure you need salt in this as the feta is usually plenty salty.) Pour onto salad and toss.

Serve.

Yummy Salad of Mozzarella & Tomato

(serves 2)

It seems there are heirloom tomatoes everywhere at the moment and they are hard to resist. They taste great and some of them are quite beautiful. This is a simple salad to make and it's delicious when served at room temperature.

1 medium tomato, sliced
6 small slices mozzarella cheese
6 olives
2 anchovy fillets
1 tbsp fresh basil, sliced
1 tsp capers
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Divide the tomato slices and cheese and arrange on two plates. Garnish with the olives and anchovies. Sprinkle the basil and capers over the tomatoes and cheese.

Drizzle the oil and vinegar over the salad and then finish off with some freshly ground black pepper.

Dill Potato Salad

(about 8 servings)

This salad always changes a bit for me because I usually add to it whatever I happen to have in my refrigerator at the time.

2 lbs yukon gold or waxy potatoes
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 bunch radishes, sliced
1 cup shelled peas
4-6 dill pickles, (1 cup) chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup pickle juice (marinade)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
freshly ground black pepper
salt, if needed (the pickle juice is usually high in sodium)

Wash the potatoes and place into a pot of lightly salted water. Boil for about 15 minutes or until they are tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, allow to cool. Cut into bite-sized pieces and place into a large bowl.

Add the eggs, radishes, peas, pickles, onions and dill.

Combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, pickle juice, mustard and ground pepper in a small bowl. Pour over the vegetables and toss gently. Check and adjust the seasoning.

This salad will keep well for a few days refrigerated.

Thailand Green Papaya Salad

(4 servings)

I usually add long green beans to this, but forgot to get them; I even had them on my shopping list.

3 small Thai chilies or 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 small cloves of garlic, peeled
2 tbsp small dried shrimp
2-3 tbsp fish sauce
2-3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1-2 tbsp brown sugar, to taste

3 cups shredded green papaya
6 cherry tomatoes, cut up
1/2 green onion, chopped
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup peanuts

Pound together the chilies and garlic. Add the shrimp, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. Combine until the sugar is dissolved. I also pound in a few slices of tomato at this point.

Place the papaya into a bowl and pour the sauce over it. Mix and gently pound a bit to crush and distribute the juices. Mix in the remaining tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. Toss the peanuts over the top.

Serve.

Watermelon and Feta Salad

(serves 2)

Texas seems to forget there's a season called Spring. It's darn hot already, well at least by my standards, (and we haven't even hit the triple digits yet). This dish is pure heaven on a very hot day. :)

The flavours in this light and refreshing salad are amazing; sweet, salty, sour and a bit of mint.

salad
4 cups cold seedless watermelon, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup feta, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/2 cup Kalamata olives
2 tbsp salted pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 tsp fresh mint, finely chopped

freshly ground black pepper


Divide and arrange the ingredients between 2 plates. Grind a bit of fresh pepper over the salads.

dressing
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp orange juice

Combine the vinegar and orange juice. Sprinkle evenly over the salads and serve.

Tomato and Feta Cheese Salad

(2 servings)

This is a very simple salad I make whenever I find nice tomatoes at the market. Yesterday I grabbed a couple of blackish coloured heirloom tomatoes.

If I happen to have fresh basil or mint on hand, (which I didn't today), then I'll chop some of that up and sprinkle it over this dish.

2 large tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp green onion, finely sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup feta, crumbled

Slice the tomatoes and arrange on two plates. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and green onions, then drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over them. Top with the feta cheese.

Let these sit at room temperature (to marinate) for about an hour. Serve.

Heringsalat, German Herring Salad

( 2-3 servings)

While I was at the German deli getting stuff for the meat salad, I saw some pickled herring and decided to make some herring salad as well. There are different versions of it. I prefer the one which includes beets because I love them, and the way they colour this salad.

1 cup pickled herring, drained and cut into 1/2" pieces
1 red beet, roasted and chopped or 1/3-1/2 cup chopped pickled beets
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1 dill pickle, chopped
1/2 granny smith apple, chopped
1 tbsp capers
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
2 tbsp sour cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Serve with bread, rolls or crackers.

Fleischsalat, German Meat Salad

(2-3 servings)

My mother used to make this when I was a child. I like using Schinkenwurst, which is a type of bologna studded with ham chunks; it's also known as Bierwurst in some parts of Germany.

1/2 lb sliced Schinkenwurst, cut into 1/4" strips
2-3 dill pickles, chopped
1/2  granny smith apple, chopped
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp pickle juice 
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. I like to let the salad sit for a few hours, but it's delicious right away as well.

Green Bean Salad

(4 servings)

This salad keeps well, which is great for me.

1 lb green beans, cut into 1 1/2" lengths
1/4 cup red onion,  chopped
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp water
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp honey or sugar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Bring some salted water to boil and cook the beans until just tender, about 4-5 minutes. Drain in colander and rinse with cold water to stop further cooking.

Combine the onion, vinegar, lemon juice, water, mustard, salt, pepper, honey or sugar and olive oil in a salad bowl. Stir until the honey or sugar has dissolved. Add the beans and toss.

Let stand for an hour or two and serve.