Short shopping list for snappy salad

Looking for a fast, fresh, fantastic, flavorful salad idea? Here’s one with plenty of crunch.

Sesame Broccoli Slaw
6 ounces sugar snap peas, rinsed
3-ounce package top ramen noodles
12-ounce bag Trader Joe’s Organic Broccoli Slaw (or make your own mix of shredded broccoli stalks and carrots)
1 bottle Trader Joe’s Fat Free Sesame Soy Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Crunch up dry noodles and combine in large bowl with peas and slaw mix. Add dressing to taste (I ended up using about half the bottle), toss mixture until coated with dressing, and sprinkle salad with sesame seeds before serving.

May 26 Salad

This is the Ahi Salad at 3 Fires Lounge. You’ve got sliced ahi, shredded red and green cabbage, grated carrots and cilantro vinaigrette. Not too shabby!

May 20 Salad: An Omnivore's Delight

 Chris made his world-famous tri tip tonight and I went all omnivore on him, making a salad with the tri tip, mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, fresh white corn (raw, cut right off of the cob) and a roasted red pepper vinaigrette.

Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette
Two roasted red bell peppers
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 clove garlic

To roast bell peppers, either toss ‘em on the grill or throw them in the broiler, turning occasionally, until skin is charred and blistered. Remove from heat and place them in a paper bag for a couple minutes (wait until they’re cool enough to handle) before removing skin, stems and seeds.
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

May 6 Salad

I based this whole salad around the dill that’s been chilling in my fridge for the past couple days. We had a royal potluck at work last week to celebrate Wills and Kate getting hitched. My contribution was a huge batch of tea sandwiches — dill rye, English cucumber, cream cheese and fresh dill. The only thing that would have made this potluck better would have been a visit from one or more of those adorable corgis from “The King’s Speech,” but I digress.

I had dill to spare after the potluck, and thought I’d use it to make the Mustard Dill Vinaigrette that goes along with an orzo salad recipe I absolutely love. I drizzled said dressing over a plate full of butter lettuce, grape tomatoes, English cucumber slices and grilled salmon. Yum.

May 3 Salad: My first mango

 

Can you believe it took me 30 years before I purchased my very first fresh mango? Sure, I’ve eaten and enjoyed mangoes before, but someone else always did the work. Pretty ridiculous, eh?

Well, thankfully the weekly grocery ads inspired me to put a mango in my shopping basket, because this fruit was a key component of a pretty fantastic salad. This dinner-sized salad features a couple butter lettuce leaves (washed and patted dry), half of a diced mango, half an avocado (sliced), a dozen large cooked shrimp (give ‘em a quick squirt of fresh lime juice) and some cilantro vinaigrette from my May 1 salad. The end result was sweet, snappy, rich and refreshing all at once.