Caprese Salad

by Mrs Marvel

Hi there! I took a short break, hope you didn’t miss me too much. :-)

While this recipe has a long name – tomato, onion, fresh mozzarella and three-basil salad – this is a Caprese salad. Most recipes have variations – onions, capers, avocado… You can customize how you like it. Everything I have read says to use the freshest, most juicy tomatoes and fresh mozzarella – not the dry kind for shredding, but the wet kind for slicing. You can choose grape tomatoes, roma, whatever you like. Also, while the salad is prepared as a presentation in layers, you can easily toss it to make sure everyone gets a bit of everything.

Caprese Salad

3 pounds ripe tomatoes, room temperature, thickly sliced

1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced

1 cup fres basil leaves of any combination of sweet green, purple, lemon, cinnamon, Asian or chocolate, coarsely chopped, plus several sprigs for garnish

6 to 7 ounces fresh mozzarella, thickly sliced

1/4 to 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 to 6 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Layer tomatoes, onion and chopped basil on a large platter. Top with mozzarella slices. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with vinegar. Season to tase with salt & pepper. Garnish with sprigs of fresh basil. Makes 4 servings.

Tofu Egg-Free Salad

by Mrs Marvel

I’m guessing the person who saved these recipes was either vegetarian, had a family member who was, or was just open minded to various foods. Some vegetarian options are well known – such as tofu – but have a bad rep. I don’t love tofu, but I don’t hate it either. You will often find it in asian dishes – such as in miso soup or ttekkoboki. I recently tried a Korean “comfort breakfast food” that is very similar to this. I found it a little bland, in all honesty, and I think this would be also. You may want to add more green onion, or red chili pepper or chili paste. You could combine the sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil along with chili paste to make everything blend well, as well. If you cook it, serve it over rice, it would be delicious.

Tofu Egg-Free Salad

1/2 pound fresh tofu or bean curd, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon minced green onion

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Place tofu in large bowl. Add sugar, soy sauce, green onion and sesame oil. toss lightly to coat well. Serve cold as salad with greens, if desired. Makes 2 servings.

 

Happy Valentine’s Day to your heart – this recipe is fat & cholesterol free!

Tabouli

by Mrs Marvel

Having its origin in Lebanon & Syria, tabouli (tabbouleh) is a vegetarian salad that combines minced herbs and soaked bulgar. It’s popular in mediterranean cuisine & had a surge of popularity in America in the late 1970s and early 80s. I remember my mother making this and thinking it was weird. As an adult, I’m thinking it’s probably pretty good and would be very satisfying. Bulgar is considered an ancient grain – it is made from wheat kernels that have been processed and it is already precooked. It has a nutty, chewy flavor and texture. Don’t confuse it with cracked wheat, which is not processed into bulgar and would add a ton of prep time to your meal. Bulgar can be prepared by pouring over hot water and letting it sit for about 10 minutes. Some recipes have much more parsley than bulgar, but really the choice is yours if you want your tabouli to be more nutty than veggie.

Also worth noting, generally a lemon yields about 3 tablespoons of juice – this recipe calls for juice from 1 1/2 lemons, so that would be 4.5 tablespoons, or 1/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon.

Variations – you can add mint leaves, cucumber, garlic, celery leaves, radishes, red chili pepper

Tabouli (very good)

Moisten 1 1/2 c bulgar – set aside at least 15 minu

Process 1 bunch parsley in food processor – fine. Dice 5 tomatoes, 1 bunch green onions. Add juice from 1 1/2 lemon, salt & paprika. Add to bulgar. Mix well, pour 1/4 c olive oil.

Spinach Bacon Mushroom Salad

by Mrs Marvel

Isn’t interesting how certain flavors go together, but on their face you might not think they would? Spinach, bacon and mushrooms might not sound like something you want to put together, but I bet this is delicious. I’d probably add some feta cheese and you could also throw in some sliced grape tomatoes, if you like.

Spinach Bacon Mushroom Salad

1 lb fresh spinach – wash 3 times

1/2 c cooked & crumbled bacon (6 slices)

1/4 lb sliced thin mushrooms

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 c olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Sour Cream Potato Salad

by Mrs Marvel

Clipped from some unknown magazine we find a recipe for Sour Cream Potato Salad. Although there is thankfully an absence of gelatin, this does call for the salad to be packed into a jello mold and chilled.

I don’t love potato salad, but my mother used to make a red potato salad that I loved. I don’t know if she ever gave me the recipe!

Sour Cream Potato Salad

4 c sliced cooked potatoes

1 c diced celery

1/4 c sliced green onions

1/4 c sliced radishes

1 c (1/2 pt) dairy sour cream

1/4 c vinegar

1 tbs bleu cheese salad dressing mix (similar to ranch dressing mix)

Thinly sliced radishes for garnish

Parsley

Combine potatoes, celery, green onions and radishes. Blend sour cream, vinegar and bleu cheese dressing mix; pour over vegetables; toss gently to blend. spoon salad into an 8-inch ring mold, pressing down well with spoon. Cover with aluminum foil or transparent saran; chill several hours. To unfold, loosen top edges carefully with spatula or thin-bladed knife; place serving plate over mold; invert; shake hard once; salad will drop out. Garnish with sliced radishes; surround salad and fill center with parsley sprigs.