Salads
August 1999 – Summer and salads, they really go together.
As I write this, it is a very hot summer here in Ontario, where I live, the hottest on record. And when the weather is hot, I don’t want anything to do with hot foods, so I pretty much live on salads. Which is okay, because salads are usually full of vegetables, and heathy ingredients.
If you are watching your calorie or fat intake, stay away from dressings with a lot of oil, or reduce the oil called for, and use light mayonnaise when mayonnaise is called for in your favorite recipe.
The great thing about salads is that anything goes: take a fresh tomato or two from the garden, drizzle with a little olive oil or balsamic vinegar, snip a little basil over top; that’s a salad. Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, bottled salad dressing; that’s a salad. One of my favorites is Greek salad: maybe some lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red pepper, green onions, black olives, crumbled feta cheese. Drizzled with a dressing of lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, a touch of olive oil, oregano, honey. The point is, you can whip up a salad in a few minutes with whatever you have on hand.
Most salad recipes are very flexible, it’s not like a cake recipe where if you don’t follow it exactly the cake won’t rise. You can adjust – add or subtract from them depending on your taste (and what you’ve got in your fridge).
So try out some of these recipes as a starting point, experiment, and stay cool!
Salad Dressing
Mandarin Almond Salad
Salad combines romaine lettuce with canned mandarin oranges and toasted sliced almonds.
Spicy Coleslaw
This coleslaw had a tangy creamy dressing. If you are in a hurry use packaged coleslaw mix.
Herbed Barley Salad
This tasty salad combines barley with vegetables and fresh herbs.
Waldorf Salads
The original Waldorf Salad was served at the Waldorf Hotel in New York way back in the late 1800’s, and variations have been made by cooks everywhere ever since.
Broccoli Bacon and Mushroom Salad
This salad combines broccoli, bacon and mushrooms with a sour cream dressing.
Cauliflower Salad
This simple and colorful salad combines cauliflower, tomato and green pepper.
3 Bean Salad
This tasty bean salad is a summer staple to serve with hotdogs or hamburgers.
Corn Salad
This recipe is best with fresh corn – but for a quick salad you can use canned or frozen corn kernels instead.
Grandma’s Salad Dressing
Creamy salad dressing that is good for potato salad and devilled eggs.
Mashed Potato Salad
This was only ever called “Potato Salad” when I was growing up – I have called it “Mashed Potato Salad” to differentiate from what most people would expect – i.e. chunks of potato.
Italian Pasta Salad
This pasta salad is very quick to assemble with bottled salad dressing. You can customize with your choice of vegetables and add meat too if desired.
Creamy Herbed Pasta Salad
Tasty pasta salad with fresh herbs and creamed cottage cheese.
Dilled Salmon Pasta Salad
This tasty pasta salad with canned salmon is quick and easy to make, great for a hot summer day.
Chicken Salad
Tasty chicken salad recipe makes great sandwiches, or serve on its own over a bed of lettuce.
Pineapple Chicken Salad
A nice summer luncheon salad. Make this quickly with leftover or deli chicken.
Tomato Aspic Salad
Jellied salad recipe made with canned tomato soup, cream cheese and salad dressing.