Thursday, August 30, 2012

Well I have been thinking about a change for lunch and am ready for some new salad adventures.I studied Heidi Swanson's site 101Cookbooks, a new blog: The Year in Food,  and various links and then these two emerged. Really a combination of several recipes but generally similar to the links below.


This is a favorite of my daughters with red onion, cherry tomatoes,green beans and feta. The Greek red wine vinaigrette and fresh greek oregano from my garden make it very tasty.
I believe we got this recipe years ago from Bon Appetit but this one from Smitten kitchen is very similar.
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/05/green-bean-and-cherry-tomato-salad/

This one looks more like the original we found! I would go back to this site. We like green beans but the yellow ones are beautiful in the salad. Tonight I had yellow tomatoes but the red also give a good pop of color.

http://theredspoonblog.com/2011/08/summer-bean-salad-with-tomatoes-and-feta/

Those yellow grape or cherry tomatoes are so sweet they are like candy. Amazing!

I also love this pretty bowl. It was a wedding gift my parents received more than 50 years ago and luckily I was to take possession years later.  I love it every time I enjoy a salad in it.

Next came a new quinoa salad my friend H sent me. Peaches, basil, feta (I substituted goat cheese) fresh sweet corn, red onion, a few heirloom tomatoes ( those small red and purple ones) and a few crisp green beans. I used 2 peaches and left the skin on, fine for me. You could add pine nuts or golden raisins but this was delicious and a great mix of flavors. The dressing was simple and only enhanced the flavors. Basil added a fresh taste of summer. Quinoa makes a terrific lunch as it is filling and high in protein but so good for you.

Here is the link. This blog is a new one for me. The photography is superb. 'Makes me want to eat everything I see on this site.

http://theyearinfood.com/2009/09/one-last-hurrah.html


This sweet ironstone bowl was an old one from our years in Salisbury.It has the faintest blue lining and although very simple, I do love it. The color reminds me of a robins egg in the deep brown bowl.


Before I added the fresh corn it looked fine just as it was.


The addition of the corn and a stir,  allowed the goat cheese to form a lovely coating. These peaches are so good but we know the season is almost over. Better think about the market this weekend for one more hurrah!


Here is the recipe
Corn, Peach & Quinoa Salad
2 c cooked quinoa
1 ear fresh corn (yellow or sweet)
1 peach, diced
1/4 c crumbled feta
1/4 c pine nuts, toasted
handful chopped, fresh basil
-
golden balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper
In advance:
Bring two cups water to boil; add one cup quinoa. Cover, simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
Boil corn until just tender, and allow that to cool as well. Once corn is no longer hot, slice the kernels from the cob by holding the corn vertically in a wide, shallow bowl and running a sharp knife along the length of the corn, in sections.
Toast pine nuts at 250 degrees until golden. (This was done in a toaster oven; may need higher temp for conventional oven.) Allow these to cool to room temperature as well.
For the vinaigrette, whisk together one part vinegar with three to four parts oil. Salt and pepper to your liking.
In large bowl, combine all ingredients all ingredients and toss. May be served at room temperature or chilled for a couple hours.




2 comments:

Caroline said...

Oh my gosh, Terran, this corn and peach and quinoa salad is GORGEOUS and looks FABULOUS. I cannot wait to try this!

Unknown said...

my favorite!