Kay Wheeler Moore

Welcome to my blog

Hello. . .

The Newfangled Country Gardener is for anyone who has a garden, would like to have a garden, or who simply enjoys eating the garden-fresh way. I don't claim to be an expert; in this blog I'm simply sharing some of the experiences my husband and I have in preparing food that is home-grown.

About the author

Kay Wheeler Moore is the author of a new cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, that features six generations of recipes that call for ingredients that are fresh from the garden. With home gardening surging in popularity as frugal people become more resourceful, this recipe collection and the stories that accompany it ideally will inspire others to cook the garden-fresh way and to preserve their own family food stories as well. The stories in this book center around the Three Red-Haired Miller Girls (Kay's mother and aunts) who grew up in Delta County, TX, with their own backyard garden so lavish that they felt as though they were royalty after their Mama wielded her kitchen magic on all that was homegrown. Introduced in Kay's previous book, Way Back in the Country, the lively Miller Girls again draw readers into their growing-up world, in which a stringent economic era--not unlike today's tight times--saw people turn to the earth to put food on the table for their loved ones. The rollicking yarns (all with recipes attached) have love, family, and faith as common denominators and show how food evocatively bonds us to our life experiences.

Monday, January 30, 2012

These colorful salad cups dazzle the eyes (and taste buds)

Seldom have I prepared a dish so colorful. These Colorful Turkey Salad Cups were just filled with good, healthy little bites that made a beautiful dish as well.

Who could argue with ingredients such as mango, avocado, cucumber, red pepper, red onion, and toasted pecans, all tossed with a light dressing of a cranberry sauce/sugar-free orange marmalade mixture? Truly healthy; truly attention-grabbing. Hubby kept asking, “Nothing unhealthy about this, right?” (I think he just wanted permission to have another serving.)

Again, without chopped cooked turkey on hand, I subbed cooked chicken for it. The recipe called for hoisin sauce, to be purchased in the Oriental section of a traditional grocery, but I skipped this step (didn’t have this ingredient) and instead subbed about 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce. One more sub: spinach leaves for Bibb lettuce. Any time I can work a little spinach, because of its health benefits, into a recipe, I try to do so.

This was a goodie for us! We cleaned up the last morsel yesterday after several days of storing the mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator—a wonderful salad that (like the rest of us!) only improves with age.

Colorful Turkey Salad Cups

1/2 cup jellied cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons orange marmalade (I used sugar-free.)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (I used soy sauce.)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups cubed cooked turkey (I subbed cooked chicken.)
1 small sweet red pepper, chopped
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1 medium mango, peeled and chopped
1 medium avocado, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
12 Bibb lettuce leaves (I subbed fresh spinach leaves)
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

In a small saucepan combine the cranberry sauce, marmalade, hoisin sauce, and pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until blended. Stir occasionally. Cool. In a large bowl combine the turkey, red pepper, onion, cucumber, mango, avocado, pecans, ginger, and cranberry mixture. Spoon onto lettuce leaves; sprinkle with mint and basil. Refrigerate until you serve. Makes 6 servings. (Courtesy Tasteofhome.com).


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