Mixing up a salad

How much easier can you get with a salad that involves greens, corn, tomatoes and chunks of sausage? Sure, the recipe calls for grilling corn on the cobb, which is not in season yet, but is easily substituted for frozen corn. It also calls for making a dressing, another step I skipped, using bottled dressing instead. Oh, and I didn't slice my cherry tomatoes thin - I used grape tomatoes which were great as is (and made it easier for the kids to pick around so they didn't have to eat a "yucky" tomato.)

If I had actually followed every step of the recipe, this still would have taken very little time to make. It was such a nice change for a salad, a great new way to enjoy sausage, and yet still a good, filling dinner. I will make this again. Maybe with fresh corn, when it becomes available.

(Btw, how are the pictures? These were taken with my cell phone and I'm pretty pleased with how well they turned out.)

Sausage and Corn Salad

from August 2010 Chatelaine Magazine

4 cobs of corn
3 tbsp white-wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
4-5 hot italian sausages, about 500g
8 cups mixed salad greens
500 g cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced

Preheat barbecue to medium-high. Peel back corn husks but do not remove from cobs. Peel off and discard silk. Re-cover corn with husks. Soak cobs in water for 5 min.

Meanwhile, stir vinegar with garlic, cayenne and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in oil. Stir in cilantro.

Oil grill. Barbecue sausages and corn. Turn sausages occasionally until cooked through, 10 to 12 min. Turn corn frequently until tender, at least 8 min. Spray any flare-ups with water if necessary. When cool enough to handle, remove and peel back husk, then, using a knife, shave corn from cob. Thickly slice sausages.

Divide greens, corn, sausage and tomatoes between plates. Drizzle with dressing.

I Hearts Cooking Clubs - Mark Bittman Edition: Bacon and Girlfriends

I've been a bit remiss lately, not in cooking, but in remembering to take the pictures off my camera and put them onto my computer! I admit, I'm still learning iPhoto, and not figuring out how when I edit a picture there, how I can get it to save to my library of photos, the ones I would upload to here. Or figure out how to upload a photo from iPhoto to here. (And if you know how and can explain it to me, no small task, I'd welcome your advice!)

I'm making up for my I Heart Cooking Club delinquency by combining two weeks themes into one recipe, but it is a really good recipe, one good for both the bacon week and the girls night in week. I found this recipe, Spinach, Bacon and Sweet Potato Salad, doing a search for Mark Bittman recipes involving bacon. It had everything I wanted in it, and is probably the best Mark Bittman recipe I've ever had.

My children, as can be expected, gave it thumbs down. The Hubby and I both gave it thumbs up and will likely have this again sometime.

From the October 2009 issue of Runner's World

2 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 thick slices of bacon (I used 3 slices of double smoked bacon, thick, diced)
1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Juice from 1 orange
1 pound fresh spinach

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put potatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with two tablespoons of the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Roast, turning occasionally, until crisp and brown outside and tender inside, about 30 minutes. Remove and keep on the pan until ready to use. While potatoes cook, put bacon in a stainless steel or other nonreactive skillet and turn heat to medium. Cook, turning once or twice, until crisp. Drain on paper towels and pour off fat, leaving darkened bits in the pan. Put back on medium heat; add remaining oil to the pan. When hot, add bell pepper, onion, and ginger to the pan. Cook, stirring once or twice until just softened, about five minutes; stir in cumin and bacon (broken into pieces). Stir in orange juice and turn off heat. (The recipe can be made up to an hour or so ahead to this point. Gently warm dressing again before proceeding.) Put spinach in a bowl large enough to comfortably toss the salad. Add the potatoes and warm dressing. Toss to combine. Serves four.

Tyler Florence Friday: Megan's August Challenge

I knew from the moment that Megan posted this months optional Tyler Florence Fridays recipe, Avocado, Cilantro and White Onion Salad, that I would be eating this alone. The kids wouldn't touch it. And while it is basically a deconstructed guacamole without the heat, too much avocado would not appeal to the husband.

I, on the other hand, would enjoy the melting softness of the avocado, the tang of the onion and that wonderful flavor that is cilantro. Bring it on!


Aside from significantly reducing the recipe (what is on this plate is what I made, plus some left over dressing), I changed the onion from white to red. I like red onions and can eat them raw. White onions I can eat cooked but that's it.

I'm actually eating the salad as I write this, paired with a fillet of salmon that I pan fried and let get chilled. The saltiness of my salmon is balanced by the refreshness of the onion and avocado, and I never say no to cilantro. I do think the salad needs something to accompany it though, as otherwise it would be too much.

So pretty, easy to make, and good for company. Provided they like avocado and cilantro.

I'm not going to post the recipe for this one, it is available at Tyler Florence Friday's, where you will shortly see this post listed with a bunch of others for this week's edition of Tyler Florence Fridays.

TFF: Megan's Challenge, Quinoa Pilaf

It is time again for Megan's Challenge, our optional Tyler Florence Fridays recipe of the month, and I really, really pushed this one until the very end. This bowl is sitting on my counter right now, I haven't eaten it yet, just tasted.

I like quinoa but don't make it often as I'm the only one in the house who will eat it. So I was interested when I read Megan's selection for the month, but admit, I automatically decided I was removing the olives. I don't like olives. Or currents. Everything else I left the same, except I garnished with green onions (I didn't have any red on hand) instead of mint.

And I'm going to make one more change to it - I'm going to add in some crumpled feta cheese. My one taste found it needed something salty to replace the olives and to give it some umph and feta it will be.

I'm eating this for lunch today, which isn't that far away now, so I think I'll go add the feta in now, to give things time to mingle and meld together.

Btw, don't forget your congrats to Beth, last week's "winner" post, with her Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, who is featured on Tyler's blog.


Quinoa Pilaf
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon preserved lemon rind, finely diced
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 (15-ounce) can artichoke hearts in water, drained and quartered
1/2 red onion, diced (I didn't have any, used green onions, scallions, instead)
1/2 cup black olives, pitted (left these out)
1/4 cup currants (left these out)
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish(I used more green onion)

In a small saucepan, combine broth, quinoa, bay leaf, turmeric, salt, pepper and olive oil in a saucepan. Stir in preserved lemon and cover. Simmer until water is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat. Add tomato, artichokes, onion, olives and currants, mix well to combine. Top with mint and serve.

Tyler Florence Fridays: Quick but tasty salad

A quicky this week, I've got lots to do, so I'm squeezing in my submission for Tyler Florence Fridays this week. Be sure to check out last week's winner, Michelle of Big Black Dog and see her lovely and creamy Strawberry Lemon Pudding. You can also see her post on Tyler's blog. Congrats Michelle!

Okay, my salad. This is a variation on Tyler's Grilled Steak Salad with Texas Peaches, Pecans and Limes. See any pecans in there? Well, that's cause there aren't any. I'm not a big fan of pecans, so I subbed my pecans for goat cheese. And trust me, that sub works just fine!

I also changed things a bit by not making my own chili powder but using some I had on hand, along with a bit of extra cumin. And I added some lime juice and honey to the olive oil before I drizzled it on the salad.

Yes, I deviated quite a bit from Tyler's actual recipe, but that's okay, I'm sure Tyler of all people would be okay with that. Especially since it was tasty and enjoyed by all. My children loved having peaches and goat cheese on their salad, my husband liked that I did not put goat cheese on his.

For those of you who want to try the original recipe, here it is:

Grilled Steak Salad with Texas Peaches, Pecan and Limes
by Tyler Florence, as found on FoodNetwork

4 pounds skirt steak, trimmed of excess fat
1 recipe Ancho Chili Powder, recipe follows
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 ripe yet firm peaches, halved and pitted
3 limes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
4 cups micro greens or baby mixed greens
1 cup toasted pecans

Lay the steak out on a large platter or piece of plastic wrap and rub both sides with the Ancho Chili Powder. Marinate for 1 hour so the flavors can penetrate the meat.

In the meantime, place a large grill pan on 2 burners over medium-high heat or preheat an outdoor gas or charcoal barbecue and get it very hot. Brush the grates with oil to keep food from sticking. Rub the peaches with oil and season with salt and pepper. Put the peaches cut-side down on the grill and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until the flesh softens slightly and caramelizes. Turn them over with tongs and grill the other side for 3 minutes to char the skin; remove to a platter. Grill the lime slices for 2 minutes each side until slightly charred.

Scrape off the excess chili powder on the surface of the steak so it doesn't burn on the grill. Rub the steak with oil and season both sides with of salt and pepper. Grill the steak on the hottest part of the barbecue for 4 minutes per side, until well charred. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let stand for 5 minutes. Cut the meat across the grain on the diagonal.

To serve: put the greens on a platter and arrange the peach halves, lime slices, and steak on top. Sprinkle with the pecans and drizzle the salad with the olive oil.

Ancho Chili Powder:

3 ancho chiles, seeded and hand-torn into pieces
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar

This homemade chili powder will add a smoky depth to chili and as a dry rub for steaks. Toast the ancho chile pieces over low heat in a dry skillet until fragrant, shaking the pan so they don't scorch. Put the chiles in a mini food processor and pulse to a powder. Add the remaining ingredients and buzz again to combine.

Let's get this Fiesta started!

Since I'm the host of this month's Monthly Mingle, the Mexican Fiesta, it seems only fair that I kick things off before our July 13th finale date.

So pull up a seat and enjoy some of this lovely Mexican inspired salad that I threw together for Canada Day last week. It has an very non-Mexican base, Israeli Couscous. Interesting way to start my Fiesta, isn't it?

Don't be fooled by the couscous though. This bowl of yummy is full of flavor: lime zest and juice, cilantro, cumin, and a touch of Ancho chili powder. Along with some deliciously flavored pieces of roasted sweet potato, green onion and some red pepper.


This make ahead, healthy salad is a great side dish. Served cold, and best after resting in the fridge for a few hours, it frees up some of the cooks time at dinner, with no last minute fussing or prepping needed. It was very well suited with my main Mexican dish (which I will reveal closer to the 13th), and was well received by everyone but the children. Fortunately, that night, six adults outvoted four children, so I call it a success!

I can't really include a recipe as I didn't follow one or write one down. I simply threw together a few things that I had on hand, tasted it, added abit more cumin, then left to do Canada Day type things with family and friends.


Hopefully my little salad has provided a bit of inspiration to those of you out there who were on the edge, thinking of joining in on the Mingle, but unsure. "Come on in, the water's great!" as the saying goes. Everyone is welcome!

Just be sure to send me your recipe link before July 13th, then I will be able to include you in the round up. The address is allthingsedible (at) gmail (dot) com.

Can't wait to see what everyone brings!

TFF: Megan's Challenge for June

Before I start, a big congrats to Kim of Stirring the Pot for being last week's winning post for Tyler Florence Fridays. Her rhubarb pie was chosen to be featured on Tyler Florence's blog this week, based on its seasonality and yumminess. (And if yumminess isn't a real word, too bad, I like it!)

Now one of the great things about TFF is that we get to pick our own recipes for posting. And we are allowed, even encouraged, to make whatever changes we need or want to make the recipe. Once a month, however, Megan, my buddy down in the warm, warm South (yes, Megan, it is raining here, again, and I am a bit jealous of heat!) picks a recipe and invites us all to make it and blog about it. We still have the option of making changes, and the challenge is totally optional.

Last month I missed out on making Megan's challenge, the quiche, which was annoying because I really wanted to make it but ran out of time. After that, I wasn't going to miss this months. Especially not when it was for Summer Rolls, a beautifully cool and healthy Asain wrap with a sweet chili sauce.

I love these wraps. These are good wraps. Normally I make wraps like these with shrimp, but Tyler doesn't include any shrimp in his, and as I served these with my Daring Cooks potstickers and had enough to do already, I skipped adding some shrimp into mine. Without the shrimp, I still loved them.

The sauce was nice and spicy, but not too spicy, and matched well with the mildness of the wraps. Plus it was a pretty color, which you'll have to take my word for as I did not take a picture of the sauce. I was too busy eating.

And if it weren't raining, cold and miserable out right now, I'd be tempted to make some more of these tonight for dinner. Just for me. (Well, I suppose I'd share, but not graciously.)


The only change I made to the recipe was to omit the red chili (because I didn't have one and doubt the kids would have eaten it if I had put one in) and the peanuts (because I forgot to buy some and the ones I had on hand smelled rancid, not good for eating at all.) Oh and I nearly forgot, I also omitted the beet. Again, I didn't have one.

Now go forth, find some nice hot weather and make this lovely, healthy and cooling Summer Wrap. Have one for me too, please. Or at least share your summer weather.

Summer Rolls with Sweet Chili Sauce
by Tyler Florence

3 ounces Vietnamese cellophane noodles, cooked according to package directions
2 cups bean sprouts
2 carrots, julienned (I actually used my peeler to make strips of carrots instead of julienning - they were thinner than if I'd done a juliene but had a nice texture with the bean sprouts.)
1 large beet, julienned (Oh yes, I forgot I didn't use this either. Forgot to buy one)
1 fresh red chile, cut in circles (I left this out)
2 handfuls fresh cilantro, hand-torn
3/4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts (I left these out)
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 lime, juiced
Sea salt
20 (8-inch) round rice paper wrappers
40 mint leaves

Put the cellophane noodles, vegetables, cilantro and peanuts in a large bowl; toss with sesame oil and lime juice to give the filling some flavor; season with salt and pepper.

Pour 3 cups of hot, not boiling water in a large shallow bowl. One at a time, immerse the rice paper wrappers in the hot water for 10 seconds to soften, then place on a slightly damp towel. The rice paper is very delicate, don't soak them any longer or they will break apart. Keep them covered while you work to prevent them from drying out and curling.

To form the rolls, lay a rice paper wrapper on a flat surface. Grab a small amount of the cellophane and vegetable mixture and lay it across the bottom third. Use less filling than you think you should, if you overstuff the wrapper it will tear. Carefully fold the bottom of the wrapper up to cover the filling. Fold in the left and right sides, then tuck and roll it over once. Lay 2 mint leaves on top, then tuck and roll it over to close the whole thing up like a tight cigar. The mint leaves should show through the transparent rice paper. Arrange the finished rolls on a platter and cover with a damp towel.

Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 cup hot water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon red chili paste, such as sambal

In a blender, puree the rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, hot water, sugar, lime juice, garlic, and chili paste until combined. (I used my immersion blender in a big measuring cup, easier than cleaning the blender.) Pour into a small bowl and serve with the summer rolls.

Magazine Mondays: Modern Girls Lunch Bag

When Ivonne started posting recipes for Magazine Monday, she was inspired by the pile of food magazines she'd collected, with wonderful recipes in them, that had never been used. I can relate to that, I have a similar mountain of my own, even though I seriously downsized my pile, with dog eared corners and post it notes marking pages.

Which is why she tries to make a recipe from one of those magazines each week, and why I've been inspired to join her as often as I can.

This week, however, marks a transition for my own mountain of magazines. Inspired by I'm an Organizing Junkie, and Sara of I Like to Cook, with her notebooks, and a ever growing pile of recipe printouts and cut outs from that mountain of magazine, it is past time I reorganized my recipe binders. I'm not doing anything haven't done before, separating and organizing my recipes by type in a divided binder, but the last time I did this, I ended up with one neat binder. This time I bought a few extras and am leaving room for growth.

I'll show how it went in a few days, when it past the stage it is at now, with labeled binders and stacks of recipes on the floor at my feet.

Now back to the recipe!

I pulled this one from the December 2001 issue of Cooking Light. I used to regularly subscribe to this magazine, but stopped when I was fed up with half the magazine being used for things like make up tips and clothing advice. I picked a copy up before Christmas and found that it was still like that, so doubt I will restart a subscription with them any time soon. (As it is, I am likely going to let my subscription to Canadian Living lapse, not because it does not have good recipes, but because the recipes are only 1/5th of the magazine, and I don't want make up and clothing and raising my pets advice, since I neither wear makeup, am a fashionista or own a pet!)

Sidetracked again! (Can you tell it is Monday morning?)

I like couscous, but, like a few other yummy food items, I am the only member of my household who will eat it. So I was looking for an excuse to make this salad, and found two. First, my mom was coming to visit and has been trying to eat healthier. Second, Emily from Modern Girls Kitchen invited me to be part of a Modern Girls Brown bagging lunch round-up. While I was too late even making this to join in on the round-up (and eat lunch at home most of the time), I'm still going to give credit where credit is due. This salad is quick, simple to make, and takes very little time at all. And makes a great brown bag lunch, healthy, easy to eat, portable and is good at room temperature.

I'm submitting it today for Magazine Monday, and forwarding the post on to my mother, who asked me last night for the recipe so she could make it for herself, and linking to Modern Girls Kitchen.

I've made a few minor changes from the original, using a bit less couscous than originally called for, and doubling the dressing. I'm including the recipe with the single measurements of the dressing, but as I said, I doubled it, after tasting and finding I couldn't taste anything.


Grilled Fennel-Couscous Salad
from Cooking Light, December 2001

half a fennel bulb
1/4 cup dry roasted cashews (we still have a child who isn't supposed to eat these yet, so while I used the cashews, on hand from when we had to cancel his allergy challenge to clear him of the allergy, I kept these separate until I plated mine, just in case he wanted to eat any - he didn't.)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp fresh black pepper
1 naval orange, peeled and cut into cubes
2 cups water (I used 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups uncooked couscous (I used only 1 cup)

Grill the fennel until crisp tender, then cut into cubes the same size as the orange pieces. Bring the water to a boil, the pour over the couscous in a large bowl. Cover the bowl and leave for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork then add everything else into the same bowl. Mix well, to be sure the lemon and oil covers everything, then taste. Adjust the seasonings as necessary (I found the dressing needed doubling, and that is with my having reduced the couscous by 1/3.)