Salads - they're not just for veggies any more

I have always been a sucker for a salad. Even as a child, I loved raw vegetables - in a salad, with a dip, by themselves. As I got older, one of my best friends and her fiance added a simple salad to almost all of our meals together. I was hooked! When my husband and I were dating he used to love my salads, mostly because of my obsessive nature combined with my mother's warning that nothing in a salad should ever be too large to put comfortably and completely inside your mouth which resulted in anally portioned bites.

Over time, however, I drifted into a green salad rut - lettuce, carrots, cucumber, peppers....you get the picture. This summer has been one of revival in my salad world. It all started with a desire to get more nuts into our diet. We all know that nuts are an important source of trace elements, potassium and good fats, but you can only eat so many strait. Nuts led to fruit, which lead to cheese, which lead to herbs - and I'm a new woman. A couple of my recent combos below are below. I hope they inspire you to create your own.

More fruit salad than salad salad
Baby greens
Diced granny smith apple
Fresh blueberries
Diced Swiss cheese (goat cheese would also be fantastic)
Chopped walnuts
Chopped basil
Chopped Italian marinaded & grilled chicken tenders

Feeling a little Mediterranean
Bibb and Romain lettuces
Carrots
Yellow bell pepper
Halved cherry tomatoes
Chopped basil
Slivered almonds
Sunflower seeds
Parmesan curls
Steamed garlic and herb shrimp (steamed and seasoned at the grocery store)

I love my salads with a homemade vinaigrette. My current favorite is made with Penzies spices French Country seasoning mix, red wine vinegar and olive oil.

Happy eating!

Jack Hanna's Midnight Snack

Last weekend, we went to visit the in-laws for Labor Day. While we were there, I noticed a pile of old Paula Dean magazines. Being a sucker for magazines, especially one with recipes, I dug right in. While I like Paula Dean, I don't exactly associate her with healthy eating, but I found a gem of a cookie recipe.

The recipe actually came from an article about Jack Hanna of wildlife fame. Apparently, Jack has a bit of a sweet tooth and likes to eat cookies after dinner every night (well, who doesn't?). Someone, who must love Jack a lot, developed this surprisingly healthy and tasty recipe.

Start by grabbing a cold beer and make sure there are a couple stashed nearby in the fridge. Okay, this has nothing to do with Jack's cookies, but cookies take a while and I was watching SEC football while I cooked. Now, seriously...on to the cookies.

Jungle Jack's Cookies
Adapted only slightly from the March/ April 2008 issue of Paula Dean's magazine

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup (I used the pancake syrup I had in the pantry)
2 large eggs
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups organic all-purpose flour
1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups oats (I used quick cooking, but regular will work)
1/2 cup 7-grain cereal (I used Kashi puffed)
1/2 cup flax seed
1/4 cup oat bran
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped almonds (I used slivered)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and maple syrup at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined.

In medium bowl, combine flours, baking soda and salt; sift once. Add flour mixture, alternately with oil, 1 cup at a time, beginning and ending with four mixture; beat at low speed until smooth after each addition. Fold in cereals, flax seed, oat bran, chopped nuts and chocolate chips.

Drop dough, by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet. Don't get them too large, they spread. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet before moving to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen crispy, crunchy chocolaty cookies, after you eat all you need to and then some. Enjoy!

What to do with left over vanilla

When I made the vanilla spiced peaches a few weeks ago, I was left with a lone vanilla pod. Now, vanilla isn't cheap, so I wanted make sure to use it before it began to loose it's flavor. I decided to stick with a classic - vanilla ice cream. It was wonderful. It's a custard based recipe, so be prepared for thick and rich that just doesn't come out of a Byers container. It also take a little time, so don't plan to whip it together after work.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
From: Ice Cream Recipes.com

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
1/2 pint (250 ml) milk
1/2 pint (250 ml) heavy cream
4 oz (approximately 1/2 cup) sugar
1 vanilla pod sliced long-way down the middle

Pour milk into saucepan and bring the pan slowly to the boiling point. Place vanilla pod into the milk and turn the heat off. Leave it to infuse for 20 minutes.

In a bowl, beat together egg yolks and sugar until thick. Carefully remove the vanilla pod from the milk and scrape the seeds out with the back of your knife and add back into milk. Be careful not to use too much force or you will also get part of the woody hull, which you will then have to try and fish out of your mixture.

Pour the milk mixture into the eggs and sugar while stirring. Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, stirring while the custard thickens. DO NOT BRING TO A BOIL or it will probably curdle. Do stir constantly (don't worry that the vanilla looks clumpy). When you can see a film on the back of your spoon remove the saucepan from the heat.

Leave it to cool. Once mine came near room temperature, I covered it and put it in the fridge until I was ready to finish the ice cream. When you are ready to make the ice cream, take the custard out of the fridge and stir in the cream. Put the mixture in your ice cream maker and process.

Totally worth the work (and the wait) :)! Happy Labor Day!