Spicy Thai Squid Salad

This recipe is inspired by one I found on the New York Times Cooking website.  It was a hit at the last family dinner.  I served it as an appie, in shot glasses.  


To make eight “apple” servings

Curried Butternut Squash Salad

I am always looking for new lunchtime ideas.  This salad is delicious, nutritious and so easy to prepare.  I just love the roasted butternut squash, the curried dressing, healthy kale and toasted nuts- all the high notes in my kitchen!

To serve two

Sauerkraut- eat it right out of the bowl or top your favourite dish... Pure gold!

Sandor Katz is the king of kraut... that's sauerkraut.  It's magical- fresh cabbage and a little salt and voila!  sauerkraut- full of live, health bacteria and great flavour.  This recipe is pure Sandor.

Gisele and I spent one Sunday morning chopping and tamping and stuffing into 1 litre canning jars to let them ferment until they are jars of goodness.  Now you could process and can like other "pickles" but don't be tempted- that would kill all the live bacteria.  After one week, you should be able to begin enjoying and the flavour will change as it ages.

To make approximately 6 litres.

Kimchi - Love it or Hate it- it's good for you! and it's awesome!

Koreans love their kimchi.  I had the pleasure of sampling homemade kimchi- delicious- but just couldn't find a store bought one I really liked.  So, here is a version that does the trick.  Kimchi is easy to make, the most challenging part was finding Korean chili powder in Ottawa.  Found it!

Every Korean family has its own recipe so feel free to adjust your batch to suit your preferences.  Make it as hot and spicy as you like, add whatever vegetables entice you, enjoy!

This recipe makes approximately 4-5 litres of kimchi.

Salad in a Jar- Kale

One of my favourite salad features kale as the main ingredients and is loaded with great, healthy vegetables and other stuff.  I've taken the ingredients and made them into a salad in a jar.

Begin with my original Kale Recipe.  Instead of mixing all the ingredients in one large serving bowl,  place all the ingredients in individual bowls to make filling the Mason jars easy.  You will need about six 500ml wide mouth Mason jars.

Place your ingredients in individual bowls.

Kale Salad- in a Jar

Fill the jars in layers beginning with the tomatoes.  Try to layer the different colours of vegetables, ending with the kale.  I usually add the dressing to the bottom of the jar, but with kale salad, I add it to over the kale layer to help soften the kale.  Top each jar with the toasted nuts.

Feel free to vary your vegetables depending on the season, what's at the greengrocer's, what's in your refrigerator.

It will keep in the refrigerator for about one week.

Enjoy!

Salad in a Jar- Pomelo and Avocado Salad with Lime Dressing

Salad in a Jar- Pomelo 

Ever wonder what to do with a pomelo?  

It looks like a grapefruit but has extra thick pith and is a little sweeter than a regular grapefruit.  Well, this salad is delicious and provides a nice healthy break in the middle of winter.  

There are all kinds of variations but this is my favourite- for now.

Makes four salads in a jar (500 ml Mason jars)

Pickled Bean Salad- version 2

Continuing to experiment with pickled bean salad.  This will surely provide a touch of summer in the middle of Ottawa's cold winter.

This recipe begins on the scanning website.  It requires an overnight steep and it contains oil which, for me, takes it out of the realm of pickles.

This recipe makes approx. 4- 500 ml jars.

Pickled Three Bean Salad- All of my Favourite Things!

It's Summer!  Fresh green and yellow beans abound at the farmers' market.  Wow!  Bean salad is a go to salad all summer long.  Light, fresh, tasty and wonderful.

The thing about pickling a bean salad is you have to be careful of the proportions of vinegar, vegetables and beans so you can't deviate from the recipe.  Well, not so much anyway.  I started with a recipe from the sbcanning.com website.  Changed the vinegars (as long as they have 5% acidity, you are good to go) and the beans to make it my own.  They have posted two versions which I am looking forward to comparing.

After a morning at the Farmers' Market, it was a pleasure to work on this salad.  And it looks great in the jars.

This recipe made 7- 500 ml jars.

Surprise Birthday Party BBQ for forty of your best friends.

The challenge: providing food for forty guests, at the cottage.  No oven, little fridge space, only a microwave (god forbid!) and a BBQ (bonus).  That was my mission.

All the dishes had to be prepared in advance and transported to the cottage.  The meat has to stay moist and "survive" reheating.  The salads has to stay crispy.  My menu:

Pulled pork
Asian pulled chicken
Raw kale salad
Cole slaw
Bean salad

A selection of baguettes and foccaccia breads

Voilà!

The best cut of meat for pulled pork is a pork butt- bone and all.  So I estimated about 1/4 lb per person of pork and the same of chicken.  For 40 guests, that translates into 10 lbs of pork and 10 of chicken. Eveything was cooked ahead in my oven, then "pulled" and placed in large pans.  BBQ sauce was added to keep everything moist.  Cover with foil and it's ready to be reheated gently on the BBQ.

Saucy tip:  the pork roast provided great drippings so when cooked, I drained the drippings into a measuring cup and placed in the refrigerator for about an hour, until the fat rose to the top and could be scooped out.  The "broth" was added to an artisanal store bought BBQ sauce to boost the great pork flavours.  Send along some extra to serve along with the meat.

We wanted to use slider buns but they only came as white "blah" buns so we decided to slice up some great baguettes and foccaccia cut into squares and halved.  It worked!

I estimated about 1/2 cup of each salad per person and then added an extra two cups of each.  The cole slaw was meant to serve on top of the pulled pork.  The other salads, on the side.

The feedback from the party was positive.  The hosts were pleasantly surprised at the success of the kale salad.  A hit, especially with the kale newbies!

A Summer Staple and great for BBQ - Bean Salad

My bean salad marries the best of summer fresh- green and yellow beans- with great dried beans- red and white kidney beans, chickpeas, A light dressing ties it all together.

This salad can be made ahead and left to marinate for a few hours.

To serve about eight guests.

You'll love this kale salad!

I often prepare this kale salad for kale newbies.  It's so healthy, colourful, flavourful and so easy to make.  This is a versatile salad recipe.  Along with the kale, I like to add a dried fruit (usually dried cranberries), a toasted nut (I like walnuts), possibly a seed (toasted sunflower or sesame) and some fresh vegetables (cucumber, onions, tomatoes, etc.) So, check out your pantry and your fridge.

This salad will serve about eight guests.

Steamed Broccoli Salad- Gisela's Own...

Gisela developed this recipe for the IDG Cottage lunch (June 2014). 

"I have just made the broccoli salad for tomorrow to let the flavours blend, my own recipe."

Served on a bed of baby spinach, the recipe is for 8-10 people.

A Fabulous Summer Salad- Spring Asparagus Tabbouleh

I love tabbouleh and I also love to experiment.  Asparagus, that harbinger of spring, is one of my favourite vegetables.  Why not combine them both?  Now you have traditional lemon, parsley and mint flavours married with beautiful, tender asparagus.

This recipe serves four.