Waldorf Salad PLUS

Steve said he wanted salad for dinner, and for whatever reason, neither lettuce nor spinach appealed to me. This doesn't happen very often, mind you!

So, I just decided to make Waldorf Salad and call it quits, but of course, it didn't work out that way! Ha! Here is our dinner salad for this evening. We both really liked it, and I hope you do, too!

Serves 2-4, meal or side!

1 large, crisp apple (I used a Red Delicious; they're just now coming into season, so they're good!)

2 stalks of celery, cleaned and sliced

2 medium cucumbers, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise about 1/4 inch thick

3 green onions, thinly sliced

24-30 red flame grapes, halved lengthwise

2-3 handfuls of walnuts, depending on how much you like them!

Bleu cheese crumbles (they can be "optional," but they really add a flare to this!)

Mayonnaise, about 1/2 cup?

Dijon mustard, about a tablespoon?

Olive oil, maybe a tablespoon or two--enough to thin the dressing to make tossing easier.

Chop the apple, toss it into a bowl, and add the celery, cucumbers, green onions, and grapes.

Dressing: combine the mayo, mustard, and olive oil in a small bowl. The dressing needs to be pretty tangy to offset the sweetness of the fruit, so add more mustard if I've misjudged my own addition. Obviously, this is "to taste!" Ha!

Toss the dressing with the fruits and vegetables. Add the walnuts, and toss again. I just served it on salad plates without further prep; it would look great on a bed of greens, and you could add extra dressing to seep down into the greens, too. However you serve it, toss some bleu cheese crumbles on top of it! Enjoy!

Citrus, Spinach, Avocado, and Herb Salad

Okay, I'm having you chop the herbs before the avocado! The title sounded better with "avocado" first! Ha!

I've had some kind of flu for 5 weeks! I still have no stamina, so this is easier than it looks to fix! Ha!

1 navel orange and juice

1 red grapefruit and juice

Peel these with a paring knife, and section them by cutting alongside each membrane. Put the sections into a large bowl, so you have tossing room for more than just this! Add enough plastic wrap to press down across the sections and still reach the top of the bowl and fall over the sides.

About 1/2 5-oz. bag fresh baby spinach. (I used between 2 and 3 ozs. for the two of us.)

Place it on top of the plastic wrap.

2 green onions, thinly sliced

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

6 large leaves of basil, rolled together and thinly sliced

1/4 tsp. salt

Add these to the spinach.

1 small to medium avocado, peeled and diced

Add this to the spinach and herbs. Cover the bowl, and refrigerate it.

A tablespoon, or 2, of olive oil

Have a lemon wedge standing by, just in case!

To serve: slide the plastic wrap from between the layers. Add the olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice, if there's not much juice from the fruit. Toss to mix.

Serves 2 as a side dish, or it serves one for a meal! Either way, it's good!

Whipped Cream Fruit Salad

I love this salad now, and I loved it when I was a kid! My brother was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 3 (I was 6), so we didn't get to eat sweet stuff! And my parents are from the midwest, so when we visited our extended families, there was always a picnic! And always, always, someone would bring Ambrosia, the sweet salad with marshmallows, jello, and canned fruit! I'm sure there's other stuff in it, but I never got to eat it, either, so I don't know! (My mother fed us only what Mark could eat. A serendipity was that I didn't get cavities, so there's always an upside! Ha!)

This is my mother's version of a diabetic "Ambrosia."

1 15 oz can unsweetened pineapple bites, or tidbits (rings cut into bite-size pieces), drained

1 14 oz. can unsweetened peach slices, drained and cut into bites

1-2 (depends on the size) bananas, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/8"-1/4" slices

1-2 cups whipping cream, whipped and sweetened (my mother used saccharine) with Splenda or xylitol, if you don't want to use sugar!

Mix the drained fruit and bananas. There will still be juice on them, so mix in 1 cup whipping cream, whipped and sweetened. This should be plenty for a dressing! The 2nd cup is for people like me, who like the whipped cream more than the fruit! Ha!

I've actually tried this with fresh everything. Ironically, I think this is the only fruit salad that I like better with the canned fruit. I wondered if it has something to do with the canned juice! I may try it again with fresh, because it goes against my "grain" to recommend canned anything! Ha!

Also, I've been dealing with my dad's failing health and heart for quite a while now, and "easy" is almost my middle name! The last few salads have been what I think of as "refrigerator salads," which means open the fridge and see what one can add to lettuce to make it at least more interesting! Also nutritious! Also tasty! Sleep is out, so I'm using food for energy these days!

Happy eating!

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!

Green Beans, Mushrooms, & Sweet Potatoes

I'm sure these dishes will publish in reverse order:  "steaks" after Green Beans & Sweet Potatoes.  They do go together, however!  If this is too much cooking, try adding Rosemary potatoes instead, published on 4-8-09, which are easier, since they bake in the oven after shorter prep time!  The sweet potato dish will go better with the eggplant, but the potato dish would be good, too!

This is the other part to my "comfort food" dinner, one that at least looked like my childhood memories!  Ha!  If I add a salad, I even have my "3" sections on my plate!  (And, although this goes better with a salad and citrus dressing, published at the bottom of the Eggplant Steaks recipe, have I mentioned recently that I love Balsamic Vinaigrette?  1/3 c. balsamic vinegar, 2/3 c. olive or canola oil, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper gives you a great dressing!  If it's too tart--all balsamics are not created equal, so to speak!--add 1/4-1/2 tsp. sugar or xylitol.  Costco sells a balsamic that's sweet and smooth and imported from Italy!)

I fed the eggplant steaks and the green bean/sweet potato dish to my carnivorous father and brother, and there were no leftovers!  Ha!

You can use yams, but sweet potatoes are more easily digestible than yams for most people.

Serves 4-6, depending on the appetites.

1 large sweet potato or yam, or 10-12 fingerling sweet potatoes or yams

1 Tbs. canola oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 lb. fresh green beans, cleaned, or 1 lb. frozen

6-8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 Tbs. fresh thyme, or 1 tsp. dried leaves, crushed when adding (dried leaves will be added earlier in the cooking process than fresh, so they have a chance to soften!)

Heat water under a steamer in a large saucepan or soup pot.  Quarter the large sweet potatoes or yams lengthwise, and cut them into 1/2"-3/4" pieces.  (Similar size allows for even cooking.)  Or cut the fingerlings into 1/2"-3/4" pieces, halving them if the pieces are fairly large.  Place them in the steamer basket, and steam until fork tender.

Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a large skillet.  Add the garlic, and cook a minute or two, or until the garlic is fragrant.  Add the green beans (and the dried thyme, if you're using it--do not add the fresh yet!), and cook until the beans start to become a brighter green, just a few minutes.  Add the mushrooms, and cook until most, if not all, of the water has evaporated from the pan.  Add the cooked sweet potatoes and fresh thyme, and stir until well mixed.  Continue heating over low heat, stirring occasionally to avoid burning, until the sweet potatoes begin to break down, coating the green beans and mushrooms with a little color.  Immediately remove from heat; you don't want complete mush!

To serve with the eggplant steaks:  put the eggplant on a plate, spoon a little sauce over them, put the green beans, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes on the side, and enjoy!  MMMMMM!  Comfort food!!!

Eggplant "Steaks" with Lemon-Rosemary Sauce

Sometimes, we just like the Standard American Diet--or at least, something that looks like it!  And since I'm still running and gunning, we're still eating out a lot, only eating at home when I think I'd have to hurt someone if I had to look at, let alone eat, more restaurant food!  Even GOOD restaurant food!  That isn't usual for me, by the way!

So, comfort food, according to my upbringing, is meat, potatoes, and vegetables on a plate.  Not combined.  Three separate piles.  And today, I really want comfort food a la childhood!  My dad's doing a lot better, and my stress level should be going down, but it kind of all "hit"--hence the comfort food crave!  Ha!

I love eggplant grilled on a barbecue of any kind!  So, I highly recommend this!  Unfortunately for me, our grill is gas-powered, and the tank is empty, so I'll brown these in a skillet, instead.

Serves 4-6, depending on side dishes!

For the eggplant:

Canola oil spray

1 Tbs. canola oil (olive oil is too heavy a taste for this), per batch

1 garlic clove per batch, minced

1/4 tsp. salt, per batch

2 eggplants, cut in half lengthwise (easier to fit into a pan; don't do this, if you're grilling!) and sliced into 3/8" slices

For the sauce:

(Double this if you're grilling.  It makes a great basting sauce for the eggplant!)

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tsp. lemon zest

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Spray a large skillet.  Add canola oil, and heat on low.  Add 1 clove of garlic and the salt, and cook a minute or two, until the garlic is fragrant.  Turn up the heat to medium-medium high.  (Eggplant soaks up oil like crazy and becomes heavy with oil, has a gloppy texture, and tastes disgustingly like oil unless the heat is high enough to cook the eggplant quickly.)  Place the eggplant slices in the skillet.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the slices are lightly browned on one side.  Turn the slices, and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes more.  (The oil should be gone; DON'T ADD MORE!  If you've sprayed the pan, it won't stick.)  Now turn the slices again, cooking briefly to darken the color.  And turn for a brief time on the other side.  Dish them onto a plate, and put it into the oven on the lowest setting possible--150 degrees, or so!  Finish cooking the remaining eggplant slices, starting with 1 garlic clove for each batch.  Add them to the plate as they're finished.  On the last batch, cook the eggplant slices a bit longer on lower heat, until they're tender.  (Placing the plate with the first slices in the oven continues the cooking process, and the slices will be tender when they're ready for eating.) 

While the eggplant is cooking, between bouts of turning slices!, combine the oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary, salt, and pepper.

To serve:  place eggplant on a plate, and spoon the sauce over it.  Serve this with salad and citrus dressing ( 1/3 cup oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/16 tsp. pepper), and Green Beans, Mushrooms, and Sweet Potatoes.  MMMMMMM!  Enjoy!

Spinach and Mushrooms on a Zucchini "Crust"

Have I mentioned lately how MUCH I love my food processor?!

My dad's been in and out of the hospital for the last 6 weeks--right now, he's in and about to come out!--so I haven't had much time to cook!  My diet has consisted of restaurant food, for the most part.  Last night, I couldn't face this again, and I had these bits in my fridge, leftovers from things I'd hoped to make!  Ha!  The rest of my ingredients got tossed, and these remained.  

It was pretty great, if I do say so myself!  Ha!

1 large onion, sliced (I halved it and used my food processor!)

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 Tbs. fresh rosemary leaves, or 1 tsp. dried

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

4 medium-large zucchini, sliced (again, I used my food processor!)

About 1 lb. sliced mushrooms (you guessed it:  f p!)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

10-12 oz. fresh spinach leaves

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 oz. basil leaves, shredded (If you put the leaves on top of each other and roll them together, it makes the fine slicing easier.  The leaves stay put!)

4 green onions, thinly sliced

OPTIONAL:  12-16 roasted tomatoes

In a sprayed, large skillet, cook the onions until they're soft.  Add the garlic, rosemary, and salt and pepper, and cook until the garlic is soft, about a minute or two.  Add the zucchini and stir.  Turn the heat up to medium-high.  Cook the zucchini, stirring it often enough so that it doesn't burn, and cook until the water has evaporated out of it, perhaps 30 minutes or more, depending on your heat level.  Pour into a sprayed 9 x 13 baking dish, and set aside.

In the same skillet, pour the mushrooms.  Cook them until the water has evaporated--this won't take nearly as long as the zucchini!  Season with salt and pepper, stir, and add the spinach leaves.  Cook just long enough to wilt the spinach.  Spoon this over the zucchini mixture.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top, and bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes, or until the top is light brown.

To serve, place a square on a plate, and top with basil shreds and green onions.  If you're using roasted tomatoes, add them to the toppings.  The picture shows sundried tomatoes--an experiment--but I wouldn't recommend them!  Ha!  I didn't have tomatoes to roast!  Remember, this is from leftover ingredients!  Ha!

Also, you could add artichoke hearts to the mushroom part and delete the tomatoes all together!  Add them before the spinach and heat them through, and then proceed with the rest!

Balsamic-Roasted Tomatoes with Mushrooms and Spinach

Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

2/3 cup olive or canola oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 cups grape tomatoes

1 Tbl. olive or canola oil

3 cloves garlic, minced (or 3 cubes, 3 tsp. jarred, or 3/8 tsp. garlic powder)

16 large mushrooms, wiped and sliced

1/4 cup water

1/2 lb. fresh baby spinach

2 Tbl. chopped fresh basil

Spread tomatoes on cookie sheet, and drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette.  Roast at 450 degrees for 15-17 minutes, or until they pop.  Remove from oven, and set aside.

In a large pan, heat oil.  Sauté garlic until soft.  Add mushrooms and water, and cook until "crisp-tender," about 10 minutes, or so.  Add spinach and stir into mushrooms.  Cook, stirring frequently, until spinach is wilted.  Add basil, and mix it into the mushrooms and spinach.  Using a spatula or slotted spoon, move the tomatoes from the cookie sheet to the pan.  Stir just a bit to mix things.  Spoon either into a serving bowl or onto plates.  Drizzle with a little balsamic vinaigrette, and serve immediately.  Enjoy!

Rosemary Potatoes

Easter is this Sunday, so I thought I'd offer this potato dish to accompany your ham, turkey, or other meat dinner.  Since I'm a vegetarian, and since I dislike cooking the same blasted "holiday meal" every year--it's boring!--we're probably going to have chili, which my youngest daughter, Chelsea, asked me to post.  I'll do it next week!  In the meantime, I'll take this dish over to my dad's, who hates it when I DON'T cook the regular stuff!  LOL!  Poor Dad!

We all like this very much, and my daughters actually ask for it periodically--usually when they need comfort food!  AND it's really easy!

It's actually an adaptation of a fried potato dish, which I thought took too long to prepare.  This is equally great-tasting, my oven does the work, and clean up is a lot easier!

6 medium red, white, or brown potatoes, thinly sliced (I used my food processor) and rinsed

1 Tbs. fresh rosemary, or 1 1/2 tsp. dried, either of them finely chopped

3 Tbs. butter

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Lay the potato slices in a 9 x 13 casserole dish, which has been sprayed with canola oil spray.

Melt the butter.  (In a 900-watt microwave, one minute at 30% power melts it without causing it to overflow.)  Stir in the rosemary, salt, and pepper.  Pour this over the potatoes, and toss them to distribute the butter mix.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

If you're using this as a main dish, it goes well with garlic bread and steamed brussel sprouts with Veggie Dressing.  Enjoy!

Steakhouse at home: Steak with Bacon-Shallot Sauce and Creamed Spinach

I love steak. Love, love, LOVE. My diet generally hews more toward Atkins than Pritikin, although the late Dr. Atkins would not approve of my carb intake. (It’s on the low side, but I don’t shy away from the occasional piece of – gasp! – toast.) Anyway, I found filet mignon on sale over Valentine’s Day (specifically, I found “Tenderloin Butt,” which is a larger cut that includes the filet – I butchered it myself), and stashed some in the freezer to experiment.

Lucky, lucky me. I mean YOU! You, I meant you. Ahem.

The Steak Recipe:
3 strips bacon, chopped
1 Tbs butter
4 small steaks (I used filet mignon) or 2 large, about 1 inch thick
Salt and pepper
1 large shallot, diced
10 oz mushrooms, sliced (1 grocery store package)
1 ½ cups red wine

In a large frying pan, cook the bacon in the butter over medium-high heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, get the bacon out of the pan, but leave the drippings in. Add the steaks, using tongs (TONGS, people – don’t pierce the meat with a fork or you’ll lose all the juice!), salt and pepper them, and cook: about 2 minutes per side for medium-rare. (Add a minute for each gradation of doneness: 3 minutes for medium, 4 for medium-well, etc.)

[While the steak cooks, microwave the spinach in the recipe below.]

Remove the steaks from the pan (again with the tongs, people), and put them on a plate. Cover them with foil to keep them warm.

Add the shallots and mushrooms to the pan, and cook until the mushrooms start to soften, 5-10 minutes. Add the red wine, and the bacon bits, scraping the pan to get all the good bacony-steaky bits off the bottom. Reduce the heat to medium and allow it to simmer until the liquid is about half gone, about 10-15 minutes.

[If you’re making the spinach, now’s the time to finish it.]

Place the steaks on plates, and pour the bacon-shallot sauce over them.


Too-Easy-and-Good-to-Believe Creamed Spinach
2 packages frozen chopped spinach – 16 oz
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup sour cream (I use Daisy brand because I can pronounce all the ingredients, and I usually use Light – mostly because I like the consistency better for this)
½ cup mayonnaise
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ cup Parmesan cheese

*Note: I like garlic – I like to be able to taste it – but if you don’t, use 1 clove of garlic instead of 2.

Microwave the frozen spinach in a large bowl until hot. Add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine. (You might have to toss it back in the microwave for a minute or so – sometimes the other ingredients cool off the spinach too much.)

I KNOW, RIGHT?! How easy is THAT?!

I don’t eat a lot of bread, but if you do, this would be FANTASTIC rounded out with a baked potato or some garlic bread. YUM. Can’t beat a steakhouse meal at home-cooked prices, you know? ;)


(And no, that's not blood. That's the red wine. ;D)