Salad Days

I had the will power to endure 10 minutes in my 104 degree kitchen yesterday. (Yes! The thermometer said 104!) Fortunately, this salad took only 9 minutes to make. I took it over to my parents lake-side house and enjoyed the salad with a frosty Negro Modelo while sitting IN the lake. Life is so sweet sometimes!

Radish & Orange Chop Salad
Serves 3-4

3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
10 radishes, halved and sliced thin (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 oranges , peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, and drained (about 1 cup)
1 ripe but still firm avocado, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 small red onion, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 romaine heart, washed, dried, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
3 ounces Manchego cheese, shredded
1/2 cup unsalted pepitas
salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Whisk oil, lime juice, and garlic together in large bowl. Add cucumber, radishes, oranges, avocado, onion, and cilantro; toss and let stand at room temperature to blend flavors. Add lettuce, cheese, and pepitas; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Motivation to cook and outside temperature are inversely related. The hotter it gets, the less likely anyone is to step into the kitchen and whip up a tasty meal. Salads buck that trend a little, because for the most part no heat is involved in their creation. They’re also fast, meaning less time standing on your feet and more time with a cool drink in the shade.

Yesterday, with temps reaching into the triple digits (I saw 102 degrees at 3 p.m.), I was inspired to create not one, but two cooling salads for dinner. The first was a No-Peanut Noodle Salad that I am dedicating to Cully, the son of some great friends who also happens to be allergic to nuts. The light sauce that replaces the typical, heavy-going peanut sauce in this salad is fat free and deliciously refreshing when it’s hot outside. The second salad was a twist on the usual cucumber salad. It has a bit of chopped avocado just for fun!

Cully’s No-Peanut Noodle Salad
Serves 2-3

7 ounces rice noodles
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp chili-garlic sauce + more for passing at the table
1 cup chopped mango (about 1 large or 1 1/2 small mangos)
1 cup shredded carrot
3 green onions, chopped

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place noodles in the boiling water and remove from heat. Soak for 10-15 minutes until the noodles are soft. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool.

While the noodles are “cooking” combine the vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chili-garlic sauce to make the dressing. Pour over the cooled noodles and toss with the remaining ingredients. Pass additional chili-garlic sauce or sriracha sauce at the table for those that want to spice up the salad a bit more.

Cucumber-Avocado Salad
Serves 2-3

1 medium cucumber, chopped
1/2 avocado, chopped
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and chill until ready to serve. A little bit of lump crab meat would be delicious in here as well.

A Mexi-inspired salad - just in time for Mexican Monday! This one has hominy (dried corn which has been soaked in lye to remove the germ) and fresh corn. Dressed up with a bit of lime juice and chipotle, it’s ready to eat as is or to be used as a filling in tacos with your meat of choice and a slivers of crunchy cabbage.

Double corn salad with lime and chipotle

1 28-ounce can hominy, drained
1 cup corn kernels
3 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 canned chipotle chili in adobo sauce, chopped
1 tsp adobo sauce
salt, to taste

Combine the hominy, corn, green onions and cilantro in a bowl. Whisk the lime juice, olive oil, chipotle chili and adobo sauce. Toss the chipotle sauce with salad and season with salt to taste.