World Food and Wine
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Summer salad favorites

Summer heat means summer salads. Try some of our favorites.

Summer is just around the corner and soon your garden, or local market, will be bursting with fresh, local, in season vegetables. After a winter of root vegetables or other vegetables imported from warmer places, summer season produce is very welcomed.

When the weather is hot and the garden is full, salads become a regular feature on our menu, sometimes becoming the meal itself. In addition to tossed lettuce salads, here are some of my family’s favorite ways to enjoy that delicious garden bounty.

Strawberry and spinach salad

1 package spinach leaves
1 pint sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Dressing

Heat sugar, oil, and vinegar until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in poppy seeds. Refrigerate until cool.

Salad

Toss spinach and strawberries with dressing and serve immediately.

Broccoli and cauliflower salad

3 bunches broccoli
1 head cauliflower
1 medium purple onion
1 lb bacon
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
1 quart mayo mixed with 1 cup sugar as dressing

Procedure

Use kitchen shears to cut bacon into one inch pieces. Fry bacon and set aside. Cut vegetables into bite sized pieces. Add bacon and cheddar cheese. Add dressing and mix well.

Pasta salad

1 lb tri-colored pasta
3 or 4 green onions
1 large green pepper
1 bunch fresh broccoli
cauliflower
1 or 2 tomatoes (or a handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half)
1 bottle zesty Italian dressing
 
Cook, drain and cool pasta. Dice green onions, green pepper, broccoli, cauliflower and tomatoes. Toss pasta and vegetables together; add dressing and garlic salt. Toss all together and refrigerate. Best when refrigerated overnight. For variations add cubed cheese, chopped pepperoni and sliced black olives.

Freezer cucumbers

Get

  • 2 quart sliced cucumbers
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 3 medium onions sliced

Mix and let stand 2 hours. Then rinse thoroughly.

Now mix

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup vinegar

Heat enough to dissolve sugar. Add 1 tsp. celery seed. Cool, pour over cucumber mixture and freeze. You can also just eat this after it has chilled, but the cucumbers will store well in the freezer.