Salad Days

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.