Iraqi Salad

Okay, we've enjoyed our indulgence. We've eaten turkey and stuffing and yams and mashed potatoes and gravy and green bean casserole and rolls and cornbread and pie and more pie and just one more sliver of pie. We're ready to burst!

The Thanksgiving leftovers should be gone by now. Today, we return to moderation and restraint. Today, we reaquaint ourselves with vegetables.

But who said that vegetables have to be boring? Why do salads have to be bland bowls of lettuce, carrots, and croutons?

To demonstrate that plain ol' vegetables can be transformed into something amazing, today I'm offering a gorgeous and flavorful salad featured in the beautiful cookbook Ma Baseema: Middle Eastern Cooking with Chaldean Flair. As I wrote in my recent post about Cardamom-Scented Shortbread Cookies, Chaldeans [kal-DEE-uns] are Iraqi Christians. They cherish their extended families, sharing large meals with multiple generations of loved ones, and they are noted for their hospitality.

And this Iraqi salad is highly representative of Chaldean cuisine, as it features many vegetables but gives them a unique twist. The familiar cucumbers and beets and onions are taken into a new realm of flavor with a simple but vibrant dressing, as well as the addition of a sprinkle of mint.

Rather than feeling deprived today as you recover from the holiday feast, try this salad and enjoy something that's nutritious but enticing.

Iraqi Salad
(slightly adapted from Edward Korkis' "Zalata d'Iraqia" featured in Ma Baseema)

Salad:
1 large cucumber, seeded, cut into 1/2" dice
1 small red onion, chopped
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can shoestring beets, drained
3 large scallions, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths
1 teaspoon dried mint (available at Middle Eastern markets; substitute parsley, if need be)

Dressing:
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
juice of half lemon
2 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
1 ounce red wine vinegar

Combine all salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Combine all dressing ingredients; mix well, then pour over salad. Stir to combine all the ingredients, then let the salad rest for 30 minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8.

Cucumber, Tomato and Olive Hors d'Oeuvres

For Tom's reception last week at the 55+ Gallery in the Turner Senior Resource Center, we brought both a blueberry cake and some summery hors d'ouvres.

I always have such a hard time trying to figure out what to make for these events. Because it's August, it only made sense to use some beautiful garden and farmers' market produce rather than puff pastry that can be purchased at any time of year. We wanted something seasonal.

And for some reason, a deconstructed Greek salad got stuck in my mind: cucumbers, tomatoes, lovely Kalamata olives. Feta's rich saltiness was desired, but it was too crumbly for the hors d'oeuvres as we started to envision them, on skewers.

So we substituted something spreadable - herbed cream cheese. And, of course, we left out the gorgeous but messy beets!

These were a delight for all our senses: visually enticing, tantalizing aroma, cool to the touch, crisp to bite into, and vibrantly flavorful.

Cucumber, Tomato and Olive Hors d'Oeuvres

1 English cucumber, sliced 1/4"+ thick
1/2 of an 8-ounce container of chive and onion spreadable cream cheese
16 Kalamata olives, pitted, halved lengthwise
32 grape tomatoes

Cut each cucumber slice in half across the slice. Schmear 1 teaspoon of cream cheese onto each cucumber piece. Take a froofy toothpick and skewer an olive half first, then a tomato. Skewer the cucumber last, without pressing the toothpick all the way through; the cucumber should lay flat against a serving tray.

Makes 32 hors d'oeuvres.

Note: Be sure to use wooden toothpicks. The plastic skewers we used were distinctive, but they didn't stay in the cucumber slices very well. Also, if you want the cucumbers to be "striped," simply run a vegetable peeler down the length of the cucumber before slicing it.

Fattoush: A Fabulous Summer Salad

I love fattoush - it's one of my very favorite salads! Just as Jeremy will inevitably order a Reuben if he sees one on a menu, if fattoush is offered to me I will always happily eat some.

Fattoush is easy to make, showcases fresh ingredients from the garden or the farmers' market (or both), and is a flavorful accompaniment to meat or fish in addition to being fabulous all on its own.

This is an Arabic salad which began, as did the Italian panzanella, as merely a way to use up stale bread by combining it with vegetables and letting a dressing help to soften the crisp bread. But these bread salads are so fabulous that I never bother to wait until the primary ingredient is stale - I just toast up some fresh bread and proceed along whenever a craving strikes!

The sumac included in the dressing ingredients is vital, and is available very inexpensively at Middle Eastern markets. It provides a sour flavor that enhances, rather than overpowering, the salad, working in conjunction with the lemon juice without making the dish too tart.


Fattoush

1 cup chopped parsley
1 large piece whole wheat pita bread, torn into 1" pieces and toasted lightly
1 small red onion, quartered, sliced thin
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 large cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, sliced thin
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground sumac
lettuce, for serving (optional)

Place parsley, toasted pita, onion, tomatoes and cucumber into a large mixing bowl. Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and sumac. Pour dressing over the salad and combine well. Let salad rest for 30 minutes to let flavors develop, then serve over lettuce if desired.

Serves 6 as a side dish.

A Simple Chopped Salad

I engaged in an internal debate over whether to even bother posting this recipe; it's almost too ridiculously simple to seem worth it. And yet, why not offer something easy, something nutritious that can be tossed together quickly at the end of a long day with no forethought?

Not only is this salad delicious in its pure simplicity, and not only is it gorgeous with all those vibrant colors; but it is also ideal for picnics, as it has no mayonnaise to spoil and no lettuce to wilt.

It's easy to make, and could even have some fresh herbs tossed into it for variation on the theme.

And so, in all its colorful glory, here is my Simple Chopped Salad -- actually, now that I think about it, a perfect offering with farmers' markets being held today, tomorrow and Saturday in Ann Arbor and also on Saturday in Ypsi.

Enjoy!


Simple Chopped Salad

1/2 cup each chopped yellow, red and orange pepper
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/4 lemon
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
sprinkling of kosher salt
generous sprinkling of freshly ground pepper

Combine all of the vegetables in a medium bowl. Squeeze the lemon over the vegetables, then drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper, then stir together and serve.

Serves 2.

Lenten Friday: A Simple Salmon Salad

Back in 2007, I created a Super Duper Double Decker Salmon Salad Sandwich for a contest sponsored by Arnold Breads. (It was named a finalist for the Detroit area, and I even got to present it on one of the local morning news shows, which was a lot of fun!) The salad was made from scratch with fish poached in wine, and lots of lovely additions to the mix (a ginger dressing, carrots, etc.). It was really good -- even Jeremy, who loathes most fish and isn't too keen on vegetables -- really liked it.

But I just wanted a simplified version the other day, something to dip toast triangles into or to stuff into pita bread. I cut to the chase with a can of salmon, some minced cucumber, a little lemon juice ... and my secret ingredient.

I love mayonnaise, and it is sublime mixed with tuna or salmon or chicken or ham to make a creamy salad. But sometimes you don't want all of the fat that comes with it, and the healthier substitutes can have an odd taste. Mayonnaise also spoils if you keep it out too long, and these sorts of salads are perfect for picnics and other warm weather activities.

And so, how to have a creamy salmon salad without what most would consider to be the requisite mayonnaise???

Hummus. Red pepper hummus, to be specific, since the depth of flavor and the richness of the color perfectly complement the gorgeous sweetness and the coral hue of the fish.

This is a ridiculously easy and immensely flavorful salad for sandwiches, stuffing into hollowed tomatoes, serving as the centerpiece on a green salad, or any other way in which you'd like to eat it. It's nutritious, too ... how 'bout that??? And it's great for those poor folks who have egg allergies, as well.

Spring is here (for most of us, anyway!), so it's time to start lightening up the menu. Nourish and nurture yourself ....

Salmon Salad

1-1/2 cups salmon, flaked
1/4 cup red pepper hummus
juice of 1/2 lemon
pinch of salt
generous sprinkling of lemon pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2" piece of cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped into 1/4" pieces

Stir everything together. That's it!

30 Things I Vowed to Do This Summer (and How Little Progress I've Made in Accomplishing Anything)

On June 22, I wrote a post listing 30 things I'd vowed to do this summer.

Now, I'm a woman of my word and I do my very best to be like Horton the Elephant and mean what I say and say what I mean. And yet, time seems to be passing with not a lot of progress ... hmmm. There are no excuses, only some explanations and elucidations ... and here they are:

30 Things I Vow to Do This Summer (Or At Least, The Food-Related Plans!)

1. Make pesto.
Did it! Only did it yesterday, after spending weeks looking out the kitchen window at my gorgeous basil and saying "I need to make pesto." But I did it nonetheless!

2. Roast tomatoes and make a sauce.
My cherry tomatoes have ripened 1 or 2 at a time, which is not enough to make a sauce. The Big Boy tomatoes look a bit misshapen, and only 1 has ripened. It's a bit early for this, yet.

3. Find ways to get Jeremy to eat more vegetables.
Jeremy ate a spinach pizza when we went to Giordano's in Chicago -- yeah!

4. Pit cherries ... lots and lots and lots of cherries, 'cause I buy them in 10-pound boxes for several weeks in a row.
I've pitted several quarts of cherries, both Montmorency and Balaton; but I haven't bought the usual massive quantities. I will have to take extra special care to find worthy uses for these precious babies, since their supply in my freezer is so limited this year.

5. Shop at the Ypsilanti Depot Town Farmers Market some Saturday morning.
Meant to do it on my way to a rummage sale in Ypsi a few weeks ago, but was running slow that morning and didn't have time. Gotta get to this!!!

6. Make Panzanella with my freshly harvested tomatoes and basil.
Still waiting for the tomatoes .... (Note: at 7 o'clock this morning I took 2 ripe Big Boy tomatoes -- which seem more like Little Boy tomatoes, but I take what I can get -- some red onion and some parmesan and some of yesterday's pesto, toasted 2 sourdough English muffins, and tossed it all together to make Panzanella to bring to work for lunch ... yay!!!)

7. Work on my gardens -- backyard and community.
YES!!! I have done this one!!! I'm so proud of myself ... :)

8. Shop more at the Om Market for Indian groceries.
I was there a few weeks ago. But when I shop there, I want one of everything and I just don't have the money or the time for that ... sigh.

9. Work up to running to the Om Market (preferably without gasping for my last breath), which is a mile-and-a-half from my home, while Jeremy rides his bike ahead of me.
This one is so, so long gone! Running is sorta good for me overall, though not so good for my knees or hips, and I admittedly do feel good once I actually get off my tushy. And then we had a wretched heat wave which was prohibitive to wanting to leave any air conditioned space. But really, the bottom line on this one is very simple: running is mind-numbing, and I feel no desire whatsoever to be a gerbil on a wheel plopping one foot in front of the other repeatedly while gasping for breath. I'll stick to free weights, long walks, and building up the muscles of my right arm while stirring batters. And I need to bake my challah for Rosh Hashanah in September, with kneading enough dough all at once to make 4 loaves of bread being an excellent form of exercise, to my mind!

10. Eat at the new Mediterranean/Middle Eastern restaurant opening soon near my house.
Zamaan has only just opened, in the midst of a massive road construction project which is the bane of my existence and daily proof that God is telling me to devote myself to cooking and writing at home rather than slogging through traffic to get to work. I looked over the menu last week -- many varieties of hummus, pita sandwiches, sampler platters of lovely things like grape leaves and chicken and salads, fruit smoothies, baklava. Gotta perform a mitzvah and eat there before they close because no one had the patience to fight the impediment of the orange barrels to try the food.

11. Go back to Comet Coffee.
Did this one, too! Whew!

12. Go to Lab, a self-proclaimed "coffee + tea + yogurt experience," which serves my beloved Intelligentsia coffee.
Tom and I walked in there the other night to see what the place is like, after having eaten elsewhere. It's very bright, very open, almost sterile. I admired the passion fruit frozen yogurt and the odd varieties of mix-ins (everything from fresh strawberries to chocolate Cheerios), and determined that I must get coffee there sometime. Pour-over Intelligentsia Black Cat Espresso??? O ... M ... G!!!

13. Go back to Shalimar with Tom tomorrow night for a fabulous Indian dinner, just like we had on our first date.
Yup -- did that one!

14. Use the beautiful bottle of blood orange vinegar that I bought at Fox & Obel (an extraordinary gourmet market) in Chicago.
I made a vinaigrette with extra-virgin olive oil, the blood orange vinegar, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard and a blob of orange marmalade. It was absolutely lovely!

15. Write up posts about Jeremy's and my culinary adventures while we were in Chicago.
The Dish on the Deep Dish. Fox & Obel.

16. Work on my assorted and sundry sidebar projects, which have been sadly neglected in recent weeks.
I entered my Risotto alla Milanese into Cinnamon Girl's Side Dish Showdown recently. I added my post about tea sandwiches into Tea Time Tuesday. I put a blurb from Mediterranean Summer: A Season on France's Cote d'Azur and Italy's Costa Bella into Teaser Tuesdays. I posted photos of coffee cups on Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays. I'm making some progress, here!

17. Eat less meat.
Doing better about this, though I did eat a hamburger on Friday night at a barbecue at work, and I ate half a burger and half of a salad with chicken on Saturday night at Applebee's.

18. Eat another Delicious Dogs on the Run hot dog ... perhaps at Art Fair.
Haven't seen the cart at all ....

19. Continue to look for quirky cookbooks as I peruse rummage sales.
Haven't found anything unique or interesting, at least food-wise. I did get two different copies of a High Holiday prayer book -- the Silverman Machzor [MAHK-sore], for those who know about such things -- since the gorgeous new Machzor Lev Shalem [MAHK-sore lev shah-LEM] has been published for this year's Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement, the most sacred day on the Jewish calendar). They're being given away, if they aren't copies that families had dedicated either in honor or in memory of particular individuals. They are fascinating little historical documents; one of my copies has even been scribbled in by a cantor, with notes about the service. These are priceless!

20. Continue to look for intriguing plates and cups and whatnot while I'm at the aforementioned rummage sales, to use for photographing food.
As stated above, I posted photos of coffee cups that I'd bought at Value World on Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays.

21. Improve my food photography.
I like to think my pictures have improved, for the most part! Jeremy gave me a new beautiful pink camera for Christmas, which is infinitely better than our old digital camera. Better use of flash vs. no flash as needed, new colorful drapes to place behind the food items ... I'm trying!

22. Try to enter more cooking contests.
I entered several just last week ... wish me luck!

23. Finish a book, particularly the one about being a personal chef on a yacht in the Mediterranean that I keep renewing from the library -- Mediterranean Summer: A Season on France's Cote d'Azur and Italy's Costa Bella by David Shalleck.
I am still trying valiantly to find time to read, in addition to finding time to write and to cook and to go for walks and to see my friends and to spend time with Jeremy and Tom, and .... The book is due back at the library today, so I guess it's not going to happen. Too bad -- I really like it!

24. Make BLTs with tomatoes from my garden.
Still waiting for those putzy tomatoes to ripen ....

25. Make BLT pasta salad.
Need the tomatoes.

26. Bring a picnic to an outdoor concert.
A loved one was in the hospital during Top of the Park, a summer festival here in Ann Arbor featuring live music in the evenings followed by movies shown outdoors after dark. We can still do the picnic, though, sometime.

27. Donate tomatoes to a program that feeds the hungry.
STILL waiting for those *&#^@^@ tomatoes to ripen. I have, however, donated several batches of cucumbers to an office that works with clients who have mental illness and who have been homeless.

28. Make my prize-winning Ratatouille in August when the ingredients are freshly harvested.
This one is imminent! Zucchini and yellow squash and onions are all available at the Farmers' Market. I can buy a few tomatoes for this cause, and then relish a culinary trip to the south of France.

29. Make Cherry Sorbet.
Gotta do this. Shoulda done this during our recent heat wave.

30. Make a lattice-topped Cherry Pie.
Also on the "to do" list, and it needs to move up into the "do it NOW" list.

Okay, then. Not a lot of progress here, is there??? Some things have fallen by the proverbial wayside. Some still can't be done until those stupid tomatoes are ready ... they are causing quite the impediment with their tardiness! (Or is it my impatience at expecting them to be ready too early???) And other items, I can proudly say I've accomplished. Another update should be coming at the end of the summer ....

Yet Another Perfect Summer Lunch (If I May Say So Myself!)

It's a good thing I like cucumbers, since I'd had no idea they were so prolific and therefore rashly planted 6 seedlings in my plot in the community garden at my condo complex!

I've found several ripe ones already, with dozens and dozens of little yellow flowers telling me that I have the potential to be the pariah doling out extra cucumbers (at least it's not the dreaded zucchini!) for the rest of the summer. Good thing Tom is a bleeding heart (just one more thing to love about him!) who works with the homeless and the mentally ill, who can always use some free vegetables and a dose of nutrition; I know that the bounty will be accepted happily at his office.

As is often the case, I found myself with an odd little notion of an idea about how to put at least one of these cucumbers to use, and set about trying to realize it. Sometimes these fragments don't form a cohesive whole when I try to make them happen; other times, as with this recipe, it was serendipitous from the start. Who needs Rachael Ray and her 30-minute meals, when I made this in only 5 minutes or so??? This was truly one of the best lunches I've brought to work; and not only can it be made with astounding speed, but it's downright cheap, too -- though not tawdry!

I know the following instructions for the sauce are really kinda vague, but I was cooking and stirring while already running late for work. Scoop out the last blob of peanut butter from the jar ... taste and find out that the sauce needs a little more oomph .... Essentially, I just dribbled and drizzled until I got something I liked!

Thai-Style Peanut Noodles with Cucumber

2 packages Ramen noodles, seasoning packets reserved for another use
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
juice of 1/4 lemon
splash of Thai chili sauce
sprinkle of red pepper flakes
coconut milk
1 cucumber, diced
1 large handful honey roasted peanuts, chopped fine
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain, then rinse under cold water until cool.

In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the peanut butter, lemon juice, chili sauce and red pepper flakes. Slowly dribble in a bit of coconut milk and stir it in; keep doing this until the mixture is the consistency of pudding.

Pour the peanut butter mixture over the noodles and stir to coat the noodles with the sauce

Place the noodles onto a plate, then top with cucumber pieces and peanuts.

Sprinkle the sesame seeds over everything. Serves 2.

Two for Tea ... Two Kinds of Sandwiches, That Is

Well, after obsessing about it for several days, on Thursday I finally enjoyed my lunchtime tea presentation ... whew! You know how you get a little bug up your bum about an idea, and you just fixate until it's realized??? That's how I was about the cucumber sandwiches. I heard them calling, and I heard the entire "finger sandwich and cookie" assortment begging for my attention.

So, when you have a craving you have to give in! Otherwise you're tormented. You'll devour all sorts of substitutes -- tossing aside regard for calories and budgets -- hoping to find a passable alternative ... and then you'll ultimately give in and indulge. You might as well have what you want from the beginning.

On Thursdays, my friends/co-workers Beth and Michele are usually the only other ones in the office besides me. Since most of the other folks work weekends, Thursday is a popular day off; Friday is necessary for Saturday and Sunday preparations, after all. We figure that if we're there manning (woman-ing???) the proverbial fort, we might as well enjoy ourselves. So we usually order lunch to be delivered.

But I'd been hearing the Siren song of afternoon tea; and I had cucumbers and egg salad and several varieties of breads ... as well as some fruit ... not to mention an assortment of leftover cookies that were waiting for me in the conference room when I got to work. I decided to bring my lunch on Thursday.

So I took some oat bread and spread it with a bit of butter; this would keep the bit of Ranch dressing I used for flavoring from seeping into the bread.

I spread the dressing over the bread, then lay very thin cucumber slices over the bread. I used a kitchen knife for the cutting rather than a mandoline, because I'm noted for my klutziness and I am convinced -- as is Jeremy -- that I would slice my fingertip off if I ever dared to use a mandoline. The knife worked just fine ... no need for fancy or expensive kitchen toys!

Then I closed up my sandwich, cut off the crusts, and cut it into cute little squares ('cause those New York City deli sandwiches -- despite being foot-high works of art! -- aren't what you want for an afternoon tea.).

Next on the menu -- since a proper afternoon tea offers trays with variety, not just a plain ol' (but beloved!) pb&j -- was an egg salad sandwich.

My egg salad is very simple: eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and some finely diced red onion. I got the idea for the recipe from the movie "Harvey," starring Jimmy Stewart. The scene is a bit difficult to explain, as it comes in one of the screwiest parts of the screwball comedy; but suffice it to say that Jimmy Stewart's niece in the movie, Myrtle Mae, offers to make an egg 'n' onion sandwich for the sanitarium worker she's flirting with despite his having come to the house to retrieve her mother who was wrongly committed and managed to escape. (Go watch the movie -- it's cute, it's sweet, it's fun!)

Anyway .... I like to use an egg slicer on the eggs, slicing them first horizontally and then turning the egg and slicing it cross-wise; this makes lovely little shreds of egg, rather than chopped and mashed egg. I then spread this onto pumpernickel bread, but you could use a caraway rye as well. (And while it may contain rye flour and thus technically be "rye" bread, a proper rye must have caraway seeds!!! I have spoken.)

Close the sandwiches, cut them into quarters, and you have more pretty little finger sandwiches waiting for you. Truly, it doesn't get much easier than this ....

So, I packed up my sandwiches, placed some strawberries and blueberries into a container, and meandered off to work. Beth ordered a rich macaroni and cheese for lunch, Michele ordered mozzarella sticks and a slice of carrot cake, and I joined in by ordering some raspberry iced tea to complete my array. Finger sandwiches? Yup. Fruit? Yup. Cookie ... oh, alright, since I already admitted it in Thursday's post, cookieS? Yup. And then finally, iced tea? Yay!!!

And it was an absolutely lovely lunch, if I may say so myself! Simple, easy, cool, light ... it was everything I needed and had been craving, even if we ate at 1 p.m. rather than the standard tea time of 4 ....