salad
Fennel and Blood Orange Salad
There’s something alluring and mysterious when you spot a sign in your grocery store for blood oranges. Will it bleed when cut? Will it taste vastly different from an ordinary orange? Yes, the juices are more defined because of the visual red pigment, and yes, it’ll taste slightly bitter but not as acid. But look…
Read MoreAsian-style Rice Noodle Beef Salad
Our Asian experience seems like a lifetime ago but whenever we have a dish that reminds of food from that side of the globe, it almost feels like we’re back there. Almost. I’ve made this Asian-style rice noodle beef salad many times in Hong Kong and Bangkok but last night, as we sat around the…
Read MorePersimmon Apple Radicchio Stacks
I intimidate people. I remember the first time I was told this and was floored! It wasn’t said in a negative way nor aimed at my personality. It happened to pertain to my style of cooking. We love to entertain and our friends enjoy coming to our house for dinner. The issue tends to…
Read MoreBrussels Sprout Salad with Garlic & Goji Berry Dressing
I was first introduced to goji berries when we lived in Asia. The berries come from a shrub native to China and the Chinese have been eating them for generations (they believe it’ll help in living longer). I’ve never eaten fresh goji berries only the dried version. This orange-red berry is rich in antioxidants, helps…
Read MoreBroccoli and Bacon Salad
Broccoli is a veggie I cannot get enough of and when I see a recipe that includes bacon, it has to be a winning combo. Broccoli is so nutrient-rich I can’t imagine not having it in my diet. This is a light dish as it doesn’t have a heavy sauce nor does it call for…
Read MoreBlack Bean Salad
Beans. They’ve been around since time immemorial and while there are thousands of varieties, only a tiny fraction are mass-produced for our enjoyment. The only beans I knew growing up was my mom’s baked beans usually made from navy beans and sometimes she’d throw in kidney beans, much to my chagrin. I really had no…
Read MoreQuinoa Salad
Ancient grains…two words that conjure up something you might find in an archeological dig! They’ve been around for a millennium and include quinoa, amaranth, spelt, and kamut. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a grain that comes from the Andes mountains of South America and its origins dates back to that of the Inca’s. There are more…
Read MoreMelon and Cucumber Salad
According to The Oxford Companion to Food, salad is a term derived from the Latin sal (salt), which yielded the form salata, ‘salted things’ such as the raw vegetables eaten in classical times with a dressing of oil, vinegar, or salt. In the medieval period, salads composed of green leaves, sometimes with flowers. Later, at…
Read MoreRoasted Red Pepper Salad with White Beans and Anchovy Sauce
I enjoy listening to stories of the past and with my mother in-law visiting, it’s the perfect time to hear more. Aida was born on the tiny island of Gibraltor 89 years ago. She moved to England in 1946 and has what I call a lovely Spanish/English accent. We are never short on conversation, our…
Read MoreDaylily Petal Salad
How decadent! Daylilies in a salad! Using flowers in a dish isn’t a new thing for me but it has been a long time since I last did so. My grandmother always had a bed of nasturtiums in her flower garden which she used in bouquets around the house and if memory serves me correctly,…
Read More