Plummy Salad

Champagne grapes, which I bought for the first time at Costco, taste a lot like red grapes. I think they're slightly sweeter, and they're tiny! They're fun to eat--we just sucked them right off the stem! Ha! I don't know about Steve, but I definitely felt like I was "getting away with something!" Ha! My very proper, Southern-upbringing mother might have frowned, or she might have joined me! I never could guess which it would be, making for an interesting childhood! Ha!

And two days later, I found champagne grapes in another store, and they were almost as big as red grapes! So, red grapes halved would be good! Ha!

4 servings

For the salad:

4 ripe red plums, seeded and diced (Black plums will work, but red plums are prettier!)

1 bunch champagne, or red, grapes

5-oz. bag of mixed greens (or a handful, or two, of greens from a 1-lb. container per plate! MMM!)

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

2-3 slices white onion, quartered and rings separated

1/2-1 cup pecans (this depends on how many nuts you like on a salad!)

For the dressing:

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (try Costco's Balsamic Vinegar of Modena! MMMM!)

2/3 cup canola, or safflower, oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

OPT: sweetener (agave nectar, xylitol, sugar, etc.) If you're using a high-quality balsamic, it will already taste sweet, so these won't be needed!)

Wash and dice the plums. Rinse the grapes and drain in a colander or on a towel (or?). If you haven't already done so, halve the red grapes, if you're using them.

To serve:

Put the washed lettuce on 4 plates. Top with the cilantro, plums, and grapes. Sprinkle the onion pieces over this. Sprinkle the nuts over the top. (This is a nice-looking salad: red skin and yellow meat of the plums, red grapes, green cilantro and lettuce, white onion pieces, and brown nuts!) Serve with the balsamic dressing!

If you're using more lettuce, this can be a main dish salad. If you've limited yourself to a 5-oz. bag, then it's a side salad--which would be great with grilled chicken! To add more color, add roasted ears of corn! MMMMMMM to any or all! Ha!

Peachy Keen Salad!

And still more salad! Woohoo! Ha!

A word about lettuce--well, several, really! Ha!--I always buy the 1-lb. size box (or bag) of mixed greens. This gives me enough to eat salads for lunch and to feed extra people, if they drop in. A 5-oz. bag gives me 4 skimpy servings, but I also know that not everyone eats salad like I do! I love to pile lettuce on the plates; it gives a salad a luxurious feeling. It's not a "diet food," if it seems luxurious! And it's okay to eat a lot of it, because it's not only nutritious, it also doesn't add a lot of calories--or fat, if you're just drizzling the dressing, instead of pouring it on! Ha! But I actually do like--yes, LIKE--the taste of greens!

4 servings

5 oz. bag mixed greens

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

6 green onions, thinly sliced

2 peaches, halved and diced

1 c. pine nuts

Dressing:

1/3 cup great quality balsamic vinegar (try Costco's Kirkland brand Balsamic Vinegar of Modena--yes, it's really imported! I have to thank Jill Erickson for introducing me to this!)

2/3 cup canola oil (or 1/3 c. olive oil and 1/3 c. canola oil)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

OPT: sweetener or sugar, if balsamic isn't a great quality one! Dressing should be without a lot of tartness!

Combine the dressing ingredients and buzz, shake, or stir!

To serve: layer lettuce, cilantro, green onions, peaches, and 1/4 c. (each salad) of pine nuts. Drizzle dressing over it, add a fork, and enjoy! (Chelsea just said, "It's good." Complete with a roll of her eyes--this is ecstasy, for her! LOL!)

Stewed Prunes (They're good. I SWEAR.)

Ok, I already know what you're thinking: PRUNES? Like GRANDMA ate??

Yes. Seriously. SO GOOD. No lie.

My grandma ate them occasionally for breakfast, mixed into oatmeal, but I like them for dessert.

Yes, really. STOP LAUGHING! ;)

But obviously . . . be careful with these. "Moderation" is the key word here. (Except for me. Curiously, they do not have the "usual" effect on me, but YOU should be careful. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

When you cook prunes this way, they develop a really deep, rich taste, sort of similar to dark chocolate. Do I have your attention now? Plus, they're jam-packed with iron. So here we go:



The Recipe:

Get some prunes. Just toss them into a little pot, like this:


Now add some red wine and some water, in roughly equal parts, to cover the prunes, like this:

If you like your chocolate dark and bitter, don't add any sweetener. If you like sweeter chocolate, add a spoonful of sugar. (I feel a song coming on . . . )

Then put it on the stove and bring it to a boil. When it boils, turn the heat down as LOW AS POSSIBLE, and let them sit there on the heat for, oh, about 45 minutes or so. Go watch some TV or something.

When they're done, some of the liquid will have boiled away, and that's ok. Mine look like this:

Now. The way to serve these is technically over mascarpone cheese. If you don't have that, you can substitute cream cheese or ricotta cheese. Just spoon it into the bowl, and spoon a few prunes and a little juice over the top. But I must confess that one night when I was without any of the above, I just poured some prunes into a bowl and topped them with light sour cream. And they were SO GOOD. The tartness of the sour cream was perfect mixed in with the sweetness of the prunes. I think I actually liked it better than any of the cheeses. YUM. I ate it with a glass of red wine, while watching Law & Order. Like this:

Fantastic.

YES, REALLY. Just try it. ;)