Tex Mex Salad at the Clubhouse

Yesterday, I wrote about my May hiatus.  We left home in beautiful but still quite cold Ontario in the early evening of May 6 to stay overnight at a motel close to the airport for an early morning flight with our final destination being our vacation home in sunny Florida.  It seemed like such a short time ago that we had arrived home!  Really we had only been home four and a half months but it had been through the brunt of a rather nasty, cold winter that refused to relinquish its grip.  Like many northerners, we were anxious to enjoy a bit of warmth and sunshine.  And so our spring vacation started...

Travel days are always quite exhausting even if they go smoothly.   They tend to be high calorie expenditure but low caloric intake aka we are very active but don't eat much.  We finally have flying south down to a routine where we stay overnight leaving on an early flight which puts us in Florida around 2 PM.  We stop for groceries then head to the house.  After opening up the house, unpacking, and putting groceries away we head to the pool for a quick swim.  Feeling refreshed, we head back to the house to change then back down to the clubhouse for dinner.

Our clubhouse is a lovely spot to meet up with friends we haven't seen since our last trip.  The food is nothing spectacular but it is decent.  As homeowners there we do try to support it by eating there at least a couple of times each trip.  We ordered an appetizer, Tex Mex salad and drinks. 

The Tex Mex salad was huge!  We shared the salad that was served in a large bowl.  The salad consists of chopped tomato and chicken on a bed of iceberg lettuce topped with shredded cheddar cheese and Fritos corn chips then drizzled with ranch dressing.  It was quite tasty and filling!  The corn chips were something a bit different that added a nice crunch.  There really wasn't a lot of dressing on the salad even though it looks like there is.  I would guess at about 2 - 3 tbsp (about 150 to 200 calories).  Despite the dressing, the salad was on the healthy side.  When I make this salad at home, I plan to kick it up a notch by adding arugula, substituting Monteray Jack cheese for the cheddar and use grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast. 

Creamy Orzo Salad

I love to peruse the grocery store aisles looking for new products mainly for flavour combination ideas but from time to time I will buy a product that sounds interesting in the hopes of being able to clone it in the event we like it.  Two new flavours of Kraft dressing recently became available in our little corner of beautiful Ontario, Canada.  I seldom buy salad dressings as we prefer homemade but these flavours sounded interesting so I bought one of each.  The flavours were sweet onion and roasted red pepper with parmesan, both with no artificial flavours, cholesterol free, zero trans fat and low in saturated fat.

One of the salads served at our relative's annual pig roast was an orzo and watermelon salad.  It was a unique and unexpected combination.  Orzo is a delightful pasta to use as a salad base because it is naturally creamy.  I used orzo to make an easy, creamy orzo salad using the new Kraft sweet onion salad dressing.  The result was a light, creamy salad that was a sure winner!

Creamy Orzo Salad
recipe by:  Garden Gnome

2 cup cooked orzo
1 tomato, chopped
½ c broccoli, finely chopped
2 green onions, finely sliced
¾ c Kraft Sweet Onion dressing

Cook orzo to al dente.  Drain.  Measure out two cups of the cooked orzo and allow to cool.  Wash vegetables.  Chop the tomato.  Fine chop the broccoli.  Fine slice the green onions.  Mix vegetable into the cooled orzo.  Pour the salad dressing over the pasta mixture and mix well.  Serve.

Note:  Will keep well for 2 - 3 days in the refrigerator.

I really liked the flavour of the Kraft sweet onion salad dressing.  This should be a fairly easy salad dressing to clone which will give all the flavour without any preservatives.  Like many commercially made salad dressings, this salad dressing gets its texture from xanthan gum, something I will also use in the clone recipe.  Another ingredient of note is citric acid, often added to commercially made salad dressings to give a bit of tang.  Citric acid is something I always have on hand for home canning acidification of certain products.  The benefit of using citric acid over lemon juice in a salad dressing is not increasing the liquid volume as citric acid is a crystallized powder rather than a liquid.  I'll post the clone recipe I came up with shortly.

Creamy Tomato Salad

We are officially in the midst of a heat wave and my gosh it's a dilly with extreme heat alerts and severe thunderstorm watches being issued daily.  Ah,  the dog days of summer when you don't really feel much like cooking in the heat let alone eating a hot, heavy meal.  Thank goodness there is a never ending variety of salads to refresh and nourish without heating up the kitchen!

There are really no hard, fast rules as to what makes a salad.  In  their simplest form, a salad is simply salad greens and some kind of dressing but even then the dressing can be replaced with a few spritz of fresh citrus juice.  With that in mind, I love making salads with what's on hand.  In the summer months, that means garden fresh produce.  I often add fresh herbs to my salad creations because I grow herbs year round.  Herbs add a lot of flavour without adding calories while being good for you.

Tomatoes are often included in many salads so I decided to make tomatoes the star of a simple creamy tomato salad as a side dish for our grilled entrée.  It was a light, refreshing salad full of flavour, just perfect for a hot summer's meal.

Creamy Tomato Salad
recipe by: Garden Gnome

20 grape tomatoes
¼ c red onion, chopped
¼ c cooked bacon pieces
¼ c English cucumber pieces
2 tbsp Miracle Whip
2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp raw honey
¼ tsp celery seed
1 tbsp chopped chives

Cut two slices of bacon across short end to form small pieces.  Fry until crisp.  Drain and set aside.  Wash tomatoes.  Pat tomatoes dry and slice in half.  Rough chop red onion.  Cut about a 2 - inch piece of English cucumber into quarters length wise.  Slice across the quarters.  Stir prepared tomatoes, onion, cucumber and bacon together in mixing bowl.  Combine Miracle Whip, vinegar, honey and celery seed in small bowl.  Whisk to mix.  Pour the dressing over the vegetable mix and stir well.  Pour salad into serving bowl.  Sprinkle with chopped chives to garnish.  Refrigerate before serving if desired.

Let's Make a Caesar Salad

My husband and I go out with the guys for wings on Tuesday night during dart season.  It's just a casual little outing that doesn't cost much and gets me out of the house during the winter months.  Trust me, I much prefer staying indoors in the winter!  The days of 10¢ are long gone; they are up to 39¢  What I don't like about the restaurant we go to is the lack of consistency o one week they are great, the next week they are so so but they have never been horrid.  They really are the only restaurant in town with chicken wings and the guys want wings.  I usually get Caesar salad with no wings but sometimes get it with 6 wings.  Caesar salad is my absolute favourite salad.  Honestly though, restaurants seriously over charge for a Caesar salad with the average price per serving at $7 but it is one of the least expensive salads to make and most restaurants do not make their own Caesar salad dressing to begin with.

Caesar salad starts with fresh, Romain lettuce.  Romain lettuce is packed full of nutrients and it's easy to prepare.  Wash the Romain lettuce then pat dry.  Remove the harder centre stem.  Stack the prepared Romain lettuce leaves on a cutting board (1).  Roll the leaves to form a tube (2).  This is called a chiffonade and is commonly used with basils and leafy vegetables although it could be used for making thin strips of lunch meat as well.  Cut lengthwise through the rolled lettuce into half-inch strips being sure to hold the base tightly (3).  Cut across the strips in half-inch intervals (4).  You now have the lettuce base for a great Caesar salad.

Any good salad starts with good ingredients and a Caesar salad is no different.  Fresh lemon juice is a requirement of a good Caesar salad as it makes the salad sparkle.  Don't use the bottled lemon juice  Cut the lemon into wedges (5) then use one to drizzle over the cut lettuce and serve the rest of the wedges with the salad.  Some prefer a bit more lemon taste.

I seriously detest when I pay a premium price for Caesar salad to be served 'artificial bacon bits' or worse yet 'bacon flavoured soy bits'.   I make a lot of pea meal bacon but for Caesar salad like the thick cut bacon (6) my husband loves.  I also don't like it cut into small pieces either.  Sorry, but I like to taste the bacon in Caesar salad.  I prefer homemade croutons made from home baked bread not the dump from the bag, store bought version.  I don't make my own Caesar salad dressing (8).  Instead, I use Renee's Gourmet Might Caesar salad dressing.  This dressing contains no artificial colourants, flavours, sugars, and it is gluten free.  It's low in saturated fats as well.  Renee's contains no preservatives so must be refrigerated from time of purchase to use.  I usually just mix it in with a fork.

After adding the dressing, I squeeze in the juice of one to two wedges of fresh lemon depending on the size of the salad and mix it in.  Then I pour the dressed lettuce into the serving bowl and top with bacon pieces and croutons with fresh ground pepper, fresh grated Parmesan cheese and lemon wedges on the side.  I've even added fresh lemon zest on top of the salad for entertaining.

Caesar salad is simple yet elegant.  It is very easy to make, always sure to please.  It took me a lot more time to edit pictures for this post and write.  I can have a Caesar salad on the table from start to finish in less than 10 minutes.

Calypso Salad at Cheeseburger in Paradise

I was on one of the biggest salad kicks during our December stay at our vacation home (Nov. 29 to Dec. 20).  It really was the one dish I could not get enough of.  I love my salads, enjoying one at least once a day but in this case it was a bit different because I was listening to what my body was telling me.  I had been sick the week before we flew out, to the point I was concerned about having to cancel our flight.  Then while we were there I was again sick for four days.  Salads are high in nutrition, low in fat especially with no creamy dressing, easy to pick at when not feeling well AND they provide the body with much needed hydration.  It's best to decrease salad consumption if the illness is gastrointestinal until it subsides but as soon as it does subside, boost the consumption.

I really increased my salad consumption as soon as I felt well about four days before flying out.  I had a large salad at the airport while waiting for the flight then extra salads while we were there except when sick.

We arrived at the airport homeside about 10:30 AM and had planned to do a bit of Christmas shopping.  After a couple of stops, we found a Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant for lunch.  I ordered a Calypso salad ($8.99).  The salad consisted of  field greens, strawberries, grilled pineapples, mandarin oranges, apples, honey roasted almonds and red onions tossed with a citrus vinaigrette dressing.  Grilled salmon or blackened chicken could be added at an additional charge but I just wanted the salad.  This was a rather large salad, definitely more than most folks would eat even as a dinner salad.

This really was a delicious salad combining a lot of flavours in a unique way, well worth tweaking for a refreshing summer salad at home.  Overall, I really enjoyed it but when I make Calypso salad at home I will make a few changes.  I think the citrus vinaigrette flavour could have been a bit stronger and I found the honey roasted almonds too sweet which have been because I hadn't been feeling well, but I would replace them with plain toasted almond slivers.  A dash of lemon zest would really add a lot of flavour without the extra calories.  I also not a huge fan of iceberg lettuce.  It provides a lot of crunch and water but not nutrition.  I think a mesclun or spring mix would be a nice substitute for the iceberg lettuce.

Walmart Ready Pac Bistro Chicken Caesar Salad Bowl

Readers of this blog know that I take a rather dim view on convenience products like store bought, pre-cut fruits and vegetables as well as salad kits.  In general, they are over priced and laden with preservatives.  In the case of salad kits, you have no control over the fat content of the salad dressing.  When we are at our home in Ontario, buying a salad kit would not even be a consideration.  When we are travelling, I prefer to enjoy salads when on the road or flying.  Salads are light on the tummy, nutritious and provide much needed hydration when flying.  A lot of folks don't realize that the air in air planes is very drying especially to the mucosa tissues which makes them more susceptible to viral infections.

We left for our winter vacation at our vacation home in Florida on November 29.  As per our norm we stopped for dinner while waiting for the flight, so I had my regular salad.  Our flight was delayed so we didn't arrive into Tampa until after midnight.  By the time we got our rental vehicle and drove to our vacation home, it was about 1:30 AM.  We stopped at Walmart to get a few groceries.  Since we had left food in the fridge, freezer and cupboards as there was only five weeks between our fall and winter vacation, we really only had to pick up perishables.

While in the produce aisle, my husband put a Ready Pac Bistro Chicken Caesar salad bowl into the cart to replace the Caesar salad ingredients I had in the cart.  His premise was, we had plans for the following few days and didn't need a large bottle of Caesar salad dressing so this was a nice solution to my salad fixation and for only $2.98.  Then he hit me with the whammy "this will give you a comparison of ready salads to blog about."  Trust me at 2 AM, running on empty with no sleep in over 24 hours, his reasoning sounded rather good.

Salads on the go are a norm when travelling but sometimes it is hard to tell which is the better deal.  Most fast food restaurants offer some type of salad in the average price range of $4.  So, I decided to compare this salad bowl to the McDonald's Caesar Salad with grilled chicken, croutons and dressing.

Now, take-out salads really are not the best solution as they are more expensive per serving than making a salad from scratch.  Then there is the packaging.  Most take-out leaf salads come in two piece plastic containers.  The clear plastic top protects the salad while the bottom serves as the bowl for the salad.  The dressing usually comes in a plastic condiment packet.  Toppings are usually already on the salad.

This salad had the bowl was covered with a sealed plastic lid as was the dressing.  There was a separate insert for the dressing, chicken and cheese.  It definitely had more packaging than a fast food take-out salad.  However, just as with fast food salads, the trays and lids can be reused or recycled so it isn't as bad as it seem and if anything, since this salad had the dressing in a covered cup, there was less throw-away waste than there would be with a fast food salad.  Next up was a taste, price and nutritional comparison.

McDonald's Caesar salad with grilled chicken, croutons and dressing is 9.8 ounce (278 g) while the Walmart salad bowl was 177 grams so I converted everything to the 278 g weight for comparison.  Again, this is a time to do the math to be sure you are making the right comparison.  The general conversion was:  Y/177 g = X/278 g  which works out to be (Y x 278 g)/177 g.  For example, price was $2.98/177 g = X/278 g.  Solving the equation, the price of the Walmart salad bowl worked out to be $4.68 for a comparable amount.

The McDonald's salad was $4.19.  The comparable amount of Walmart salad bowl worked out to be $4.68, so 49¢ more.  In terms of flavour, the McDonald's salad comes with a full piece of grilled chicken which tastes fresher than the chicken in the salad bowl which seemed to have more of the texture of thick cut chicken lunchmeat.  However, the salad bowl included a parmesan style cheese that really added to the flavour of the salad.  The dressing included with the salad bowl had a nicer flavour with just the right amount of tang.  The lettuce was crisp.  Now something to be aware of,  all greens based salads sold this way are treated with a sulfate spray (copper sulfate).  This presents a health problem for those of us with sensitivities to sulfates that trigger asthma attacks and if you have melasma as I do, excess copper in the body makes the condition worse.  So be aware of that.

Let's talk nutrition.  Pictured is the nutritional label on the salad bowl.  After doing the conversions to get to 278 g (same as McDonald's) I came up with 361 calories, 25 g total fat (4.5 g of that is saturated, 0 g unsaturated), 78.5 mg cholesterol, 12.5 mg carbs (4.7 g sugars, 1.6 g fiber), 1,539 mg sodium, and 25.1 g protein.  I compared this to the nutritional value for the McDonald's Caesar salad with grilled chicken, croutons and dressing.  The McDonald's version (278 g) came in at 490 calories, 31 g total fat (7 g saturated, 0 g unsaturated), 140 mg cholesterol, 17 g carbohydrates (sugar 4 g, fiber 3 g), 1110 mg sodium and 27 g protein.  The Walmart salad bowl was higher in Vitamins A and C content than the McDonald's version but the McDonald's version was higher in calcium and iron.

Going by the numbers, the Walmart salad bowl is lower in calories, fat and cholesterol and higher in Vitamins A and C.  The McDonald's version is lower in sodium, higher in protein and higher in calcium and iron.  The bottom line is, neither of these salads are good for anyone on a sodium restricted diet.  In my opinion, both salads are too large for one person and there really is no reason to have to use the full amount the salad dressing included with the salad.  Reducing the amount of the dressing in either will reduce the fat and sodium content.

The reality is, neither of these salads are as healthy as a homemade version.  That's a given but think about it.  If you go to a restaurant and order a Caesar salad, you have no idea of the nutritional value especially with respect to sodium and fat content.  Unless you order a dinner size Caesar salad, most served in restaurants will average about 125 g but they usually have bacon.  At the same time, both of the salads are healthier choices when the dressing is reduced than a lot of fast food or take-out choices.

My bottom line is, I liked the Walmart salad bowl.  It tasted fresher.  I used less than half of the chicken, about half of the dressing and about a quarter of the cheese.  It was more than sufficient for flavour while reducing both the sodium and fat content.  If I had to pick up a take-out quick salad when out, my choice would be the Walmart salad bowl.

The Classic Yet Verstile Caesar Salad

My husband and I eat some type of salad pretty much daily at home as well as when travelling or at our vacation home.  It is the must have with any dinner but quite often during the warm months at home and at our vacation home, we turn to salads for lunch and/or dinner.  Salads pack a lot of nutrition while replenishing much needed water even though they tend to be low in calories making them an ideal choice.  In fact, the majority of calories in salads come from the dressing and toppings like cheese or croutons.

One of my favourite salads is Caesar salad.  It can be served with or without chicken strips but I really like mine without the chicken.  A little shredded Parmesan cheese adds protein and even though croutons are the norm, I seldom eat them.  It is likely one of the most versatile yet most inexpensive salads to make.

Caesar salad really starts with romaine lettuce, lemon juice, dressing, bacon bits and/or croutons all of which can be easily made at home.  Romaine lettuce grows nicely in pots on a sunny windowsill or in the garden.  I usually use Renee's Caesar Salad dressing to make Caesar salads at home.  This is a creamy gourmet dressing very, very close to homemade.  The thing is, a Caesar salad is just the beginnings of a Caesar salad wrap or a dinner Caesar salad.  Simply add pre-cooked chicken strips to either for a delectable meal.  I keep pre-cooked chicken strips in the freezer as a quick meal start simply for this purpose.   The chicken strips can be cold or warm.  I personally prefer cold but have had chicken Caesar salads with warm chicken strips as well.  The strips can be grilled or pan-fried then frozen in packets for later use.  I keep packets of frozen pre-cooked chicken strips on hand in the freezer for easy summer meals.

Ranch Potato Salad

A few days ago I announced that I was one lucky Canadian blogger chosen to participate in the Hidden Valley Ranch™ Recipe Challenge.  That means I have been having a bit of fun experimenting with Ranch!  I have three specific recipes I am still tweaking for the final submission prior to July 1.  Of these recipes, I will be submitting two but will not share them here until after the judging.  Hopefully, one will be a winner!

Our kids and grandkids were home last weekend for a family pool party and BBQ.  I made a ranch potato salad to accompany the charcoal grilled jerked chicken breasts and corn on the cob.  I love packing as much nutrition as possible into salads and that means extra vegetables.  My potato salad is no different.  What was different about this potato salad was the addition of homemade bacon bits and Hidden Valley Ranch™.

Everyone enjoyed the upscale flavour of the ranch potato salad.  It was very easy to make and I liked that I managed to get a few extra vegetables into a dish.  Now I will admit our kids and grandkids love their vegetables so I really don't need to use any tricks to get them to eat more.  This is a keeper recipe that I'm sure you will enjoy.  It is not one I am submitting for the contest but it still is quite good!

Ranch Potato Salad
source:  Garden Gnome

10 medium waxy potatoes
1 lg stalk celery
½ English cucumber
4 - 5 radishes
1 small onion
1 green onion
¾ c Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
⅓ c Hidden Valley The Original Ranch®
 ½ c homemade bacon bits

Wash and peel the potatoes.  Cut into bite sized pieces.  Steam until tender.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Cut about 4 slices of bacon to form pieces.  Fry until crispy.  Remove from heat and drain.   Place in mixing bowl.  Cut the celery stalk down the centre then thinly slice and pour into bowl with bacon.  Cut the English cucumber into quarters then cut into bite sized pieces.  Add to bacon bowl.  Cut the radishes into quarters and slice, add to bacon, vegetable bowl.  Slice the green onion thinly and add to bowl.  Chop the onion finely and add to bowl.  Mix vegetables and bacon together.  Stir into cooled potatoes.  Mix the Hidden Valley The Original Ranch® and Miracle Whip or mayonnaise together.  Pour over the vegetables.  Use a wide, slotted spoon to mix.  Add a little extra of either if the mixture is too dry.  Spoon into serving bowl.  Refrigerate 1 hour before serving to allow the flavours to blend.

Caesar Salad at the Airport

Although I am sure some of my readers realized I was way for the past three weeks, some do not.  We left southwestern Ontario (Canada) on May 8 for our vacation home.  Then we flew out of Fort Lauderdale on May 12 to spend a wonderful side trip to Aruba.  We returned to our vacation home on May 19 where we stayed until May 29.  It was a wonderful, food filled vacation of which I will share some of our foodie finds and favourite restaurants in the next couple of weeks.!

We always fly out of Detroit Metro Airport usually on Spirit but occasionally on Delta.  Now Spirit is a low budget air service that provides a seat and washroom.  You can't even get a glass for water without paying for it!  Once clearing security you can buy food and non-alcoholic drinks that can be brought on board if desired.

Airport food is expensive compared to other restaurants but you are paying for the convenience of getting food before boarding.  We have arrived several times where the airport restaurants a closed so which is really a pain if your flight is delayed.  Spirit does sell non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks as well as limited number of snacks but they only accept credit cards or debit card, no cash.

We get there early enough to get through security so we have a bit of down time in one of the restaurants.  Once cleared security, we head to one of the bars where we can order fairly decent, all be it pricey food.  We stopped at the Redwing Bar for lunch.  I seriously do not like much in my tummy when flying.  Quite frankly, my choice would be no food at all before flying by my husband insists I eat a little.  Don't worry about me going without food for part of the day as I do make up for it once we are safely at our destination.

I ordered the chicken Caesar salad and ate just enough to appease my husband .  This is just a lovely salad that can easily be made at home.  Chicken strips are one of my favourite quick meal starts.  Look for chicken on sale then skin and debone.  Pan fry or barbecue the chicken and cut into strips.  Package in meal sized servings then freeze until you want to use it.  Use the chicken strips for Caesar salad or wraps. 

Quinoa Salad

My husband was away on a golfing trip a couple of weeks ago so I made an impromptu visit to one of our kids.  We visited on of the local cheese factories in the Greater Toronto area then did a bit of grocery shopping before enjoying a delicious barbecue at their house.

We eat a lot of salads.  Although salad commonly refers to lettuce based dishes, salads also include those that are grain based.  Our kids made a wonder quinoa salad, perfect as a side for steak.   Quinoa, pronounced ki:nwa, is a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), closely related to beets, spinach and tumbleweed.  It is a grain-like crop  grown primarily for it's edible seeds.  Nutritionally quinoa is comparable to common cereal grains.  It has a light, fluffy texture with a mild, nutty flavour.

The beauty of any salad is there really are no set ingredient amounts.  If you really like cucumber, add a bit extra.  If you don't like onions, omit them.  Salads can be served hot or cold as well, although they are usually served cold.  The quinoa salad was very much the same way.

Quinola Salad
source:  Garden Gnome's Daughter

1 small zucchini
½ c seared mushrooms
½ c green pepper
1 lg carrot
1 c quinoa
2 c water
½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Bring two cups of water and quinoa to a boil.  Cover at a low simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the germ separates from the seed.   The cooked germ resembles a tiny curl.  It should have a slight bite to it similar to al dente pasta.  Remove from heat and fluff.  Wash and chop the vegetables.  Sear the sliced mushrooms.  Pour the vinegar and olive oil over the vegetables.  Mix well.  Stir in the cooked quinoa.  Mix and serve.

The kids grilled steak to perfection.  Just look at those beautiful hash marks!  Quinoa and Caesar salads rounded out the meal.  Desert was the orange cream cheese coffee cake I brought, cut into fingers then topped with a mixture of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.

This was a perfect warm weather grilling menu!  When looking for BBQ menu ideas, think outside the box while keeping it simple and nutritious.  Not that there is anything wrong with the tried and true grilling favourites, just that over the course of the warmer months you can get into a grilling rut.  The easiest way to spice up a BBQ menu is to add a different salad, like the quinoa salad.

This Hot Mama is Cooking With Gas!

Here in beautiful Ontario, Canada we have several choices of cooking fuel - wood, charcoal, butane, propane, natural gas and electricity (hydro).  Some are experimenting with solar cooking as well but that really is only somewhat dependable during the summer months.  I've cooked with all of these cooking fuels.  By far the most common cooking fuels in residential homes is wood (Northern areas), electricity, natural gas and propane.  Availability of a cooking fuel can be restricted by location.  For example there are no natural gas mains in some rural areas so you must use electricity, propane or wood.  Apartment buildings in urban centres generally do not have the option for natural gas and many won't allow any type of outdoor grill on balconies.  If you do have an option, aside of owning your own woodlot or having access to free firewood, natural gas is the cheapest cooking fuel coming in at about the third of the cost of electricity.  Ontario has gone to TOU pricing which means you are paying more during high periods of use that translates into paying more to cook breakfast and dinner.  The beauty of natural aside of the low cost is natural gas appliances operate even if the hydro is disrupted so you can still cook.

My last kitchen range was a Jenn-Air slide-in model with every bell and whistle available.  I had the smooth and coil cartridges, the big pot burner,  and the grill.  It was an absolutely gorgeous stove but just would not stand up to heavy duty canning.  I was adamant about switching to a gas stove for this house.

I chose a Whirlpool Gold 30-inch free standing gas range (model# GFG461LVB) with continue burner grates.  It is 5 burner range with self-cleaning oven and extra features.  Unfortunately it does not go below 170ºF so I will not be using the stove for dehydrating, something I could do with the Jenn-Air. 

Pictured also is my new Whirlpool Gold Quiet Partner dishwasher (model# GU2475XTVB1).  All of the controls are hidden when the door is closed.  My husband had a dickens of a time getting the old dishwasher out because the previous owner installed the floor in a manner that prevented sliding the dishwasher out.  They did leave a lot of extra tiles so there should be some of the marble tiles in the garage that we will cut to fit at the base of the dishwasher then install the kick plate.  The dishwasher runs like a dream!

The very first thing I did with the gas range was boil water in the tea kettle.  It was sophisticated but gave me an idea of how to work the controls.  To turn on the burners, the control is set to ignite where the electronic igniter creates a spark to light the burner.  During a power outage a match can be used to manually light the burners or oven.  Once the burner is lit, the control is turned from ignite to desired setting.

Banana bread is one of our favourites so what better way to test the performance of a new oven than with a tried and true recipe?  The bread came out quite lovely, nicely browned although just a bit darker than I would like so I will adjust the baking time when I make it again.  Other than that I have no complaints.  There was a good rise even though I was baking potatoes and a peameal bacon roast at the same time.

We eat a lot of salads but that is not always reflected in this blog where I show the entée only unless I make a special salad.  By far my favourite salad this summer is Greek salad.  I'm not sure why but I'm finding it a bit more interesting than the standard garden salad.  Don't get me wrong as there are lots of ways to jazz up a garden salad and the toppings are endless but the Green salad is just easy to make with a clean, refreshing flavour.  It isn't heavy like Caesar salad can be yet the feta cheese provides extra protein and calcium.  And the feta is a nice change from cheddar cheese.  Next up will be experimenting with blue cheese.  That should be interesting!

I baked the peameal bacon roast and baked potatoes in the oven along with the banana bread.  I cooked the carrots on the gas stove top.   The results were excellent!

What is really nice is I can now cook meals at a third of the price of using electricity.  When the TOU pricing came out I struggled to figure out an easy solution.  I used the outside grill as per normal but there were those days I really needed an alternative.  Now I can relax and cook exactly what I want without worrying about the TOU pricing for hydro.  At the same time I know I can always cook even if the hydro is out.

Easy Acini de Pepe Salad

A salad does not always have to be vegetable and/or fruit based.  Most salads are very easy recipes.  While it is true that many are vegetable based, some of our favourite salads are pasta or potato based with added vegetables.  These salads include the traditional tuna fish salad and potato salad.  Pasta based salads are quite versatile as a wide range of pasta shapes lend themselves nicely as a base for salads.

I made an easy acini de pepe salad to complement left over chicken breasts and grilled corn on the cob.  I cut the grilled corn on the cob off the cob then froze to see how that would affect the flavour and texture when reheated.  I must say I was quite impressed with the results so will be freezing corn that way this year.

Acini de pepe is a pasta often used in Italian wedding soup.    It gets it's name for the Italian term for peppercorns.  When cooked acini de pepe is a bit smaller than peppercorns.  I think it has a lovely mouth feel, little balls of pasta.  Acini de pepe if lovely to use as a moldable salad similar to what you would do using rice.  I cooked the acini de pepe to al denté then drained and cooled the pasta.  I stirred in an Italian viniagrette.  I molded the pasta then placed on a bed of lettuce and topped with cherry tomatoes from the garden and chopped green onion.  It was a delightful pasta based salad!

Baby Spinach Salad

We eat some type of salad once or twice most days so I am always looking for new salad ideas.  Last weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy a barbeque at our friend's farm.  This is one of the friends we get our beef on the hoof from so have visited numerous times.  I love their farm.  It is a gorgeous 25 acre spread.  They just put in an absolutely amazing and very natural looking babbling brook that can be enjoyed from the spacious deck or in the cute sitting area beside the brook.  They are both quite accomplished cooks.

Salads do not need to be fancy or complicated.  That is one of the beauties of salads.  At the same time salads do not need to be the same old, boring garden or Caesar salad.  Don't get me wrong as both salads are quite good but they are over served, being the salads of choice at most restaurants.

Our hosts served a very simple baby spinach salad with pear slices and a delightful maple syrup dressing.  It was a refreshing change!  The flavours paired nicely together.  This is a combination I will be experimenting with.  I have a couple of ideas to enhance the salad just a little without complicating it too much.

Thousand Island Dressing

Summertime is here meaning we are eating more salads.  That translates into more salad dressing and by far salad dressings are homemade.  Honestly we eat some type of salad daiy throughout the year but during the summer we eat more because salads are easy to make, low or no cook dishes.  Dressings range from simple lemon juice to homemade viniagrettes as well as a few creamy based dressings.  When it comes to salad dressings, I won't buy something I can easily make at home.  At the same time I like to get a bit creative with salada dressings.

I've been making Thousand Island Dressing from our newlywed days.  This rich and creamy salad dressing is so easy to make with three ingredients most home cooks keep on hand.  They are: MiracleWhip, ketchup and relish.  I honestly don't measure when I make this dressing.  There is about 2 cups of MiracleWhip and don't use mayonnaise as the MiracleWhip adds a bit of zest to the dressing.  Stir in about 3 tbsp of ketcup and 2 tbsp of sweet relish.  Adjust the ketchup and relish if needed to taste.  Don't worry about the initial consistency of the MiracleWhip as the other ingredients will thin it out to the right consistency.  This salad dressing will keep nicely in the refrigerator for several days. 

Carrot Salad

Years ago during our first visit to Las Vegas I discovered carrot salad.  It was a delightful change. The salad was sweet with a slight tang, lovely crunchy texture and amazing flavour.  I've been trying to recreate that salad ever since, finally coming up with a close clone.  I just love easy recipes but even more I love cloning recipes. 

We ate dinner at California's just off of Fremont Street in Las Vegas.   Carrot salad was an offering on the salad bar and I think that is about the only restaurant I've seen it in Las Vegas.   I know for a fact when I was first introduce to this salad at this very same restaurant there were no raisins in it.  It was the shredded carrots and dressing only.  So I set out to recreate the salad at home. 

California's in Las Vegas caters to the Hawaiian crowd.  I was sure there was a hint of pineapple in the salad.  Not a strong, in your face flavour, just a hint.  I don't put raisins in my carrot salad.  I clean then shred the carrots and stir in just enough mayonnaise with a couple of tablespoons of pineapple juice to create a dressing.   I don't add any sugar although some reipes have sugar and raisins added. 

Insalata Caprese

We eat a lot of salads, usually as a side with dinner but sometimes as a full meal for lunch.  I love discovering the various salad offerings at buffets and salad bars.  The word salad often brings to mind the generic garden salad consisting of iceberg lettuce, tomato, and cucumber topped with an equally generic salad dressing (eg. Thousand Island, house).  However, salad need not be boring or generic.  There are so many salads to discover.

The salad section of the buffet at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino offers all of the ingredients for making your own garden or Caesar salads.  There is also a lovely offering of ready to serve salads.  I chose a colourful vegetable packed mixed salad (top) and insalata caprese (bottom right).  Insalata caprese is a salad made in the style of Capri.  It consists of tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella cheese, basil and olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper.  Insalata caprese is usually served as a starter rather than a side dish.

This is a very easy salad to make at home.  The version pictured had the buffalo mozzarella cheese shaped to mimic the grape tomatoes however the most popular presentation is tomato slices topped with freshly sliced mozzarella cheese, topped with a drizzle of olive oil then garnished with fresh basil leaves.  Another pretty presentation is to alternate the tomato and mozzarella slices ring fashion on a plate then drizzle with olive oil and garnish with fresh basil leaves.  It is one of our favourite salads when the garden is laden with tomatoes.

A Simple Dinner

Life has an uncanny way of getting extremely busy.  Those are the times when putting a fast, easy meal on the table is a must.  Many rely on fast food take-out for these types of dinners but nutritionally these foods are not good value for you food dollar and they put a nice sized dent into your pocketbook.  There is another way, and that is to rely on easy to put together 15 minute and 30 minute meals.

There are a multitude of ways to make fast, easy meals just that.  I like to keep quick meal starts ready to use in the freezer.  These include pre-seasoned cooked ground beef, ham cubes, cooked BLSL seasoned chicken strips, and other cooked meats (eg. roast beef slices).  This takes a bit of cooking ahead but really if you are cooking ground beef for dinner cook extra for the freezer as well.  I keep cooked beans and quick to cook meats in the refrigerator and of course being a home canner I keep several jars of ready to use foods on the pantry shelves (eg. meatballs, chicken, beans).   Bulk cooking sessions preparing several quick meal starts in a couple of hours can go a long ways towards stocking your freezer helping to remove the temptation to stop for take-out.

Sausage is a delicious quick cooking meat that is rather versatile.  It can be served on a bun, as is for the meat serving or cut into bite sized pieces then added to other dishes.  Bulk sausage can be formed into patties or it can be browned and crumbled to add to casseroles, soups and stews.  Sausage ranges in flavour from very mild to spicy and everything in between.  Aside of quick cooking and flavour, sausage is inexpensive.  Breakfast sausage is usually mildly seasoned and may have a maple syrup flavouring added.  Despite its name breakfast sausage is not just for breakfast.  I served breakfast sausage links with buttered broad egg noodles and black bean salad for a quick, easy meal that took less than 15 minutes to prepare.  The black bean salad is served cold but it could easily be served warm as a topping for rice.  

Easy Black Bean Salad

As mentioned in previous posts, beans are considered an extremely frugal food with high nutritional value for your food dollar.  While frugalistas recommend eating beans at least three times a week, we don't.  We average about once a week.  Dried beans are the best value coming in at about 90¢ per pound for store bought packaged beans depending on the size of package and variety of bean.  A one pound package of beans will yield 4 to 5 cups of beans or about 2 to 3 (14 oz) cans of beans that would cost at best 69¢ per can or $1.38 to $2.07.  Dried beans are as easy to cook as pasta they just take a bit longer so nix those cans that aren't eco-friendly and save some money cooking beans from scratch.  If you home can, consider canning a couple of batches for the convenience of ready to use. 

I can't recall when I first had black beans but they were love at first bite.  Along with other beans that I home can,  black beans are one of my favourites.  Home canned beans are convenient because they are ready to use.  If I run out of home canned beans then I resort to cooking them from scratch as was the case with this easy black bean salad.

Black beans have a rich, earthy flavour that makes them quite lovely for salads and dips.  This tasty salad is ever so easy to make.  I garnished the salad with a dab of sour cream and sprinkling of green onions.  It made for a colourful presentation.

Easy Black Bean Salad

1 c dried black beans*
1 c niblet corn
1 c salsa
sour cream
green onion

Rinse and check beans for stones.  Place in saucepan and cover with water to about an inch above the beans.  Bring to a boil then boil for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and cover.  Let sit 1 hour.  Drain and cover with fresh water.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer.  Cook beans until tender, about 40 minutes.  Drain and cool.  Cook niblet corn, drain and cool.  Stir beans, corn and salsa together.  Chill.  Garnish with a dab of sour cream and green onion slices.

* 1 c dried beans = 2½ c cooked beans

Traditional Greek Salad

I spent some quality time with my doctor yesterday which translated into a reason to treat myself.  The good news is I'm off the crutches but still not very mobile.  She's keeping a close eye on the progress and while I won't be doing a jig anytime soon, I am happy to be able to hobble around on my own two feet.  I made a pit stop at Bulk Barn then decided to stop to have dinner with the guys before heading home.

I ordered a traditional Greek salad for dinner.  A Greek  salad consists of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, Kalamata olives, feta cheese and romaine lettuce with a Mediterranean feta dressing.  This tasty salad is quite easy to make at home.  In addition to the standard salad ingredients you will need pitted Kalamata olives or you can use pitted black olives if desired.  You will also need drained, crumbled feta cheese as a topping and blended into the simple dressing.  The dressing consists of 1 part vinegar, 3 parts extra virgin olive oil and about 1 tbsp feta cheese per total cup.  Blend this well then pour over the salad before topping with the crumbled feta cheese.  Serve with a crusty dinner roll on the side.

Caesar Salad Presentation

As a foodie I like to pay attention to presentation when eating out.  Presentation goes well beyond what the food actually looks like.  Unique cutlery or serving pieces can accent even a mediocre dish, giving it eye appeal mixed with a bit of pizzaz. What's interesting is a bit of uniqueness goes a lot ways when it comes to food presentation.

A few days ago we were out for an afternoon of fun at the casino.  Well, more precisely my husband had a businessman's luncheon to attend so he dropped me off at the casino where he would meet up after the luncheon.  I decided to stop at the bar there to get a Caesar salad.  The salad was pretty much average and at $4.95 you couldn't expect much more although there were real pieces of bacon and fresh grated Parmesan cheese. 

Just look at the bowl design the Caesar salad was served in.  Isn't it interesting?  I took the picture with the bowl facing 90º turned just to give you an idea of the presentation.  The ecliptic bowl sat on a very distinct angle displaying the salad to the diner.  I think the presentation had great eye appeal.  It was a unique presentation that made the salad feel a bit special.  I may just have to look for similar salad bowls!