salads – Page 3 – The Kitchen Illiterate

Roasted Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad

Last week was by far the craziest, busiest week I’ve experienced in grad school. But though I couldn’t find time to share my culinary endeavors here, I was, in fact, endeavoring (er?). And one of those endeavors involved some roasted butternut squash. I saw a recipe for this butternut squash salad on Orangette months ago, and while she may not have been able to hold out for winter to make it, I somehow managed to hold out until winter was almost over (at least, I hope winter is almost over). And honestly, I think this salad is more springy than wintery anyway. Sure, there’s roasted squash in there, but the lemony tahini dressing and the cilantro give this hearty salad a bright, summery taste. Perfect for bridging these last few months of cold, grey Boston.

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Summery Zucchini and Chickpea Salad

Zucchini and Ceci Beans

I finally made it to the farmer’s market yesterday here in JP. I can’t believe it’s already been going on for a month and it took me until yesterday to head over there. What kind of an organic-favoring, local-food-loving person am I? A forgetful one, that’s what kind. Well, when I woke up yesterday morning I had this feeling in my belly that I’d been overdosing on meat and dairy and all I wanted was fresh, colorful vegetables. Then I remembered that the farmer’s market runs on Tuesdays and I rushed over right away to see what I could find.

What I found was a whole lot of awesomeness: oceans of corn, piles of new and unusual squash varieties, lettuces, tomatoes, and of course, the uniquitous July treat: zucchini. Sadly, I only had five bucks on me, so I had to make do with a beautious zucchini, a shiny red tomato, and a cucumber. I would have piled my little string hippy mart bag with so much more if I wasn’t completely broke.

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Tahini Vegetable Ravioletti Salad

Tahini Vegetable Pasta Salad

Thus far this is definitely proving to be the summer of the salad. I’m not sure I’ve ever had so much pasta salad in my life, but I’m not complaining. I am a pasta addict, and if I can eat it cold, on a hot summer afternoon when all I want to do is lay down in a bucket of ice, so much the better. And adding a ton of vegetables makes me feel slightly virtuous.

The part that’s proving to be a bit of a challenge is coming up with unique ways to dress all these pasta salads. The mayonnaise option is over played, and I can’t be satisfied just drizzling some cold vegetables with oil and vinegar or Italian salad dressing. Where’s the creativity in that? And like most other things I attempt in the kitchen, I just can’t bring myself to make the same thing twice, so I’m constantly experimenting with dressings and vegetable combinations. So far there has been a lot of household happiness as a result of my various experiments, so I guess I haven’t gone wrong yet.

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What to eat with meat? Potato Salad and Cornbread!

Picnic Salads

It took me weeks to decide what to serve alongside all that meat at our cookout party on Saturday. I pored over all my cooking magazines and did numerous epicurious searches. There are so many picnic options I was having a hard time committing–I knew I wanted to make some kind of pasta salad, but I wanted it to be different. And potato salad is one of my favorites, but it’s usually so predictable and boring. What to do, what to do? My option paralysis was setting in and I almost threw in the towel and told everyone else to bring something, but at the last minute, inspiration struck.

Inspiriation was inside an old issue of Bon Appetit, where I glimpsed a recipe for Potato Caesar Salad. I had been thinking about making caesar salad anyway, but this sounded almost like divine intervention. I love potato salad, I love caesar salad, and I felt pretty sure this was not a picnic table standard. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, because I wanted to try a very traditional caesar dressing (and yes, I know raw eggs are generally bad news bears at a picnic, but we were very conscientious about keeping it refrigerated.) And it was a knockout–even people who said they usually hate potato salad luurved it. And I love it when that happens.

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Tortellini Salad with Creamy Herb Dressing

Tortellini Salad

It has been so wickedly, unbearably hot here these past two days that I can’t do any of the things I want to do in the kitchen, like make pizza or bake a cherry pie or get anywhere near the stove. It is such oppressive, mind-melting heat that it feels like August, not June. Our apartment is on the third floor and has an amazing ability to retain heat like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I’m not sure why we’ve never bothered to put in an air conditioner, but if this past week is any indication of what the rest of the summer will be like, it might be about that time.

So what does a person eat when it’s so hot it requires all your energy just to open your mouth? Salads. Cold, refreshing salads. This is when Lisa’s salad round up comes in very, very handy. I perused, I pondered, I tried to stay upright in front of my computer when all I really wanted to do was lay down in a tub of ice. And then I chanced upon the best hot night dinner ever: pasta salad.

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Day o’ Salads: Corn and Black Bean Salad with Cumin Lime Vinaigrette

Corn and Black Bean Salad

I try to eat salad everyday. It’s usually just some mixed greens and carrots with whatever salad dressing I have in the refrigerator, but occasionally I’m capable of getting creative. And my creativity was encouraged by Lisa over at La Mia Cucina, who’s throwing a Salad ‘Stravaganza. She asked for my salads, and I am only too happy to oblige. And yesterday, I obliged with not just one salad, but two. Two salads in one day? Am I crazy? Well, yes, but that shouldn’t have been your first indication of that.

I’ve been pondering this Corn and Black Bean Salad for a few days. Now, corn and black bean salads aren’t really that unique. I see them everywhere, so I wracked my brain trying to think of some way to make this one different. Most of the recipes I’ve seen call for cilantro, and because my dear, dear wifey/housemate Crystal loathes the stuff, that was obviously not going to work. I thought and thought and thought, but it wasn’t until I started throwing vegetables into a bowl that an idea finally occurred to me. Isn’t that just the way it always works?

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Two Super Speedy Dinners: Penne with Arugula and Shrimp and Grilled Asparagus and Pesto Potato Salad

Penne with Arugula and Shrimp

Neither of these dinners really seemed to merit their own special posts. There are no innovative or difficult cooking techniques involved. Neither of them require unique combinations of ingredients or sought-after spices or even new-to-me greenery. Well, I never really cooked with arugula before, but otherwise this is all pretty run-of-the-mill. However, they were both so fast and delicious and felt so perfect for spring (which I’m still patiently waiting for, here in Boston) that I did want to share them. They are both perfect when you come home from work starving and want something healthier than a microwavable meal, but just as easy. In short, they will quickly become staples in my kitchen, I am sure.

A few key ingredients served to make these super speedy: store-bought pesto and frozen shrimp. How I can even think of writing about frozen shrimp on this, my food blog, is beyond me, except that it’s actually a good food innovation. Sorry to all you purists out there who wouldn’t even consider frozen shrimp. You can plug your ears and hum a little tune through all of this.

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Warm Potato and Chicken Sausage Salad

I had been planning to make this all week, and for one reason or another it just didn’t happen. Which is ridiculous, because it was ridiculously easy and took maybe about twenty minutes. It’s also pretty healthy: I found the recipe in Eating Well. I think in the future I might cut back on the vinegar, but Mr. X thought it was perfect as is, so what do I know? The arugula adds a great peppery sharpness, and the chicken sausage I found, Al Fresco Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage, was super excellent and juicy. I suspect there will be more warm potato salads in my future.

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