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| Memo No. 2008 June 4, 2007 |
SUMMER SALADS
It's June already! Probably no other time of year competes with food preparation like summer does. There's yard work to do, gardens to weed, a variety of sports to be enjoyed and whatever else suits your fancy. Main dish salads come to mind as a solution for enjoying more of what summer has to offer. Ingredients for other salads can be measured ahead and assembled just before eating. Asian Chicken Salad from Anne Byrn's latest internet newsletter is an example. In addition to doing innovating things with cake mixes, Byrn wrote The Dinner Doctor a few years ago and this salad was included.
ASIAN CHICKEN SALAD
- 1 (3 oz.) package Oriental-fl avor ramen noodle soup mix
- 1/2 cup pre-sliced almonds
- 3/4 cup bottled red wine vinaigrette
- 1 (16 oz.) package coleslaw or broccoli slaw mix
- 2 cups shredded chicken (another way to use leftover rotisserie chicken)
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves (I prefer parsley)
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)
Break up ramen noodles with your hands and place them and almonds on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in preheated 350F oven until the noodles and almonds turn light brown, 6 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, pour the red wine vinaigrette into a measuring cup and stir in the packet of seasoning from the ramen noodle soup mix. Set salad dressing aside. Place the slaw mix, chicken, cilantro or parsley and scallions in a large serving bowl. Just before serving, pour salad dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Scatter toasted almonds and ramen noodles on top and serve. Source: The Dinner Doctor by Ann Byrn.
I made some changes in Macaroni-Ham Salad from the June, 2007 Southern Living magazine. After making the salad to serve at the Bryan Chief one day with 3 cups of elbow macaroni, the next day I reduced the amount of pasta to 2 1/2 cups. I also replaced regular elbow macaroni with whole wheat pasta (Flavorite brand) and doubled the amount of ham from 1 to 2 cups. The recipe called for a cucumber, peeled and seeded. I used a seedless European cucumber and neither peeled nor seeded it. I reduced the amount of mayonnaise from 1 1/4 cups to 1 cup but kept the amount of Cajun seasoning the same. Even with 1/2 cup less elbow macaroni, this still makes a large salad and can be halved if it suits your family size better.
MACARONI-HAM SALAD
- 2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
- 2 cups cooked cubed ham
- 1 seedless European cucumber, diced
- 1 large tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 1 small yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 small green bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup light mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Kosher salt to taste
Prepare macaroni according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water until cooled. Combine macaroni and next 9 |
ingredients until blended. Add salt to taste. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. Recipe makes 8 to 10 servings.
Adapted from recipe in Southern Living magazine, June 2007.
ANOTHER RHUBARB DESSERT
While it's still rhubarb picking time in this part of the country, I couldn't resist sharing Rhubarb Sour Cream Crumb Cake from Land O Lakes. Made with sour cream and butter, how can it not be good!
RHUBARB SOUR CREAM CRUMB CAKE
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 cups chopped fresh rhubarb
- Crumb Topping Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
- Sweetened whipped cream (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F. Combine sugar and 3/4 cup butter in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Add eggs and vanilla, continue beating until creamy. Combine 2 3/4 cups fl our, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, mixing well after each addition. Toss together rhubarb and remaining 1/4 cup fl our in same medium bowl; gently stir into batter. Spread evenly into greased 13x9-inch baking pan.
Combine brown sugar, 1/4 cup fl our and cinnamon in a small bowl; cut in 1/4 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
If desired, cake servings can be topped with a dollop of whipped cream. Cut into 15 servings.
LAST WORD
Less than 15 percent of Americans meet specifi c dietary and exercise recommendations, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC tracked the percentage of Americans who met diet and exercise benchmarks set by government. Data was collected by a telephone survey of more than 350,000 Americans. Five daily servings of fruits and vegetables was the dietary goal. The exercise objective was defi ned as regular activity: moderate exercise such as a brisk walking, bicycling, vacuuming or gardening for 30 minutes fi ve days per week, or vigorous exercise: running, aerobics or heavy yard work for 20 minutes 3 days a week. Women had better numbers than men. The study authors note that poor diet and lack of physical activity increase risks of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, stroke and some cancers.
Source: Cornell Food and Fitness Advisor, June 2007. |
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