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Thursday, June 26, 2014

Broccoli Slaw Salad

It's summer and that means salad for dinner.  Anything that requires no heat from my kitchen stove.  Tonight, besides some Cider Pork Chops with BBQ Dry Rub from Whole Foods we had one of my favorite salads, Broccoli Slaw.  It is tart and crunchy and a perfect compliment to any grilled meat.  It's also very easy to put together so can be done by helpful teenagers.  Here is how I make it:

I put one package of broccoli slaw in a large bowl.
To this I added a can of sliced black olives,
2 cups of broccoli florets (cut into bite size pieces),
chopped white onions (you could also use sliced green onions),
a cup of salted sunflower nuts,
and the crunched up noodles from a package of chicken Ramen noodles (be sure to save the flavor package - you'll use that in a bit).  I put the noodles in a zip lock bag and then give the bag a few whacks with a rolling pin to break it into little pieces.  Be careful not to turn the noodles to dust!
For the dressing, I whisked together 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup canola oil, 1/2 cup sugar and the flavor packet from the Ramen Noodles.
Pour the dressing over the vegetables and stir to completely incorporate the dressing.
This salad needs to be eaten the day it's made.  The noodles will get soggy.  I don't like soggy noodles but the boys in my family don't seem to mind!!

"A well made salad must have a certain uniformity; it should make perfect sense for those ingredients to share a bowl."  -Yotam Ottolenghi

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Another Market Visit

This summer seems to be flying by.  We're either at work or at one of our children's many activities.  But I couldn't let another weekend go by without visiting the Minneapolis Farmer's Market.  Here is my bountiful Sunday morning find.
My first stop was for salsa.
I've purchased this salsa before - Minnesota Mild.  This time, I thought we'd try the HOT.  The many who makes this salsa, also is the one who sells it.  With every purchase he gives out little hints or recipes for using his product.  He said in Chile, salsa is a condiment and it's always on the table.  I thought I'd give that a try.  What could be better than fresh, hot salsa on grilled chicken.

My next purchase were radishes and spring greens.

These will make a great salad for my lunch tomorrow!

Next stop, asparagus.
Have you ever eaten raw asparagus?  The man selling these gorgeous spears asked me if I liked fresh, raw peas.  I love fresh peas.  He broke off a piece of asparagus and it tasted every bit as good and fresh as a pea right out of the pod.

Of course, I had to pick up my daughters favorite pickles.
 I bought a pound of Southwest Spiced pickles and sliced them so there would be enough for all of us to share!

I always buy organic beef at the market and today was no different.
This is wonderfully tasting free range, anti-biotic free ground beef.  I can really taste the difference between this and overly processed meat.

Lastly, no visit to the market would be complete without a purchase of some fresh cut flowers.
Even my boys appreciate the summer colors brought indoors.

I also enjoyed the music and a cup of really good coffee.  I was a little lonesome though.  My shopping partner, my daughter, was gone on a camping trip.  We've made a date to visit the market next weekend together!

"Fresh food is a luxury everyone can afford."  -David Moyer

Monday, June 16, 2014

Laughter

Sometimes we all need a good laugh.  I mean a laugh out loud moment.  Maybe it's because I'm really tired (was at a baseball tournament in Stillwater, MN all weekend) or maybe it's because I'm just in the mood to be silly but I find this list HILARIOUS!  As I read each one, I actually envisioned in my mind doing some of these! 


I will let you know how it goes when I try a few!!!

"A day without laughter is a day wasted."  -Charlie Chaplin