Kitchen stays cool with this oven-less summer meal: Super Chicken Salad Wraps

Previously I’ve mentioned about how Hubby is almost fanatical about not firing up the oven in the kitchen during the summer time. He’d almost rather go without some of his beloved desserts such as peach cobbler than to walk into the kitchen and get hit with an immediate heat wave emerging from the oven area. If he had his way, during the summer he’d tape up the oven door and put a ban on any oven-cooked meals.

So I eagerly cut the recipe for Super Chicken Salad Wraps from the pages of our community newspaper that arrived this week. There amid the announcements of swimming-pool hours and outdoor concerts were two easy-fix recipes suited for this season. One of them, these cool wraps that were stuffed with all things healthy, were a real attraction for me.

I’ll never get over the freshness of chopped, fresh-from-the-garden green onions and how much seasoning they add to a recipe. Out my back steps and into the garden I moseyed; I pulled two green onions and immediately whacked their heads off, chopped, and threw them into the mixing bowl. Don’t know that I’ve ever seen a chicken-salad recipe that called for grated carrots, but I happened to have in the fridge’s veggie compartment some carrots that quickly needed to be prepared. In with them; then chopped walnuts, the miracle health food these days, also were listed as ingredients. I can’t abide walnuts by themselves and only can bear them when they’re part of a recipe. Here was my chance.

Not only did this food prep not turn the kitchen into a walk-through sauna from oven use, this recipe also was assembled in a heartbeat (provided the chicken already is cooked and de-boned, of course). Containing fruit, veggies, and protein, these Super Chicken Salad Wraps represented a meal all wrapped up in one humble tortilla—one cool way to spend a summer dinnertime.

Super Chicken Salad Wraps

1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt

1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon ginger

6 ounces skinless chicken breasts, cooked, cubed

1/2 cup red seedless grapes, halved

1/4 cup cup chopped celery

1/4 cup grated carrot

2 medium green onions, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped walnuts

2 large whole-wheat tortillas (or pita pockets)

1 cup spinach leaves

In a large bowl combine yogurt, mayonnaise, ginger, and cooked chicken until chicken is well-coated. Stir in grapes, celery, carrots, green onions, and chopped walnuts. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Cover tortillas (or stuff pita pockets) with spinach leaves. Add chicken salad mixture, roll tortillas, and cut in half (or thirds if you want smaller wraps). Makes 4 servings.

Nobody’s a kook for trying this delicious peach kuchen, a queen of coffeecakes

I’ve never known how to pronounce that crazy word kuchen, but I’ve always loved recipes that made this little coffeecake. So I found a recipe for Peach Kuchen to kick off my Peachathon this weekend. This year we are blessed with peaches beyond belief! Two peach trees in our garden already have been harvested, with three to go. Our fridge is so full of peaches, we have trouble inserting anything else. This past weekend I had to get to cooking so we could clear out some bowls of peaches and make room for the next batch to be picked. Glory, glory! Because all of our peach trees were destroyed in the flooding in 2007 and the new trees only now are into full production, we’ve been waiting for this day of abundance for a long time.

This Peach Kuchen (I finally looked this German word up in a pronunciation guide. It’s KOO-khen, with the sound kook emphasized, except I’m certainly no kook for making it.) was our Saturday morning breakfast (and then dessert throughout the weekend). It was wonderful and so simple and of course very easy on the eating plan when made with the fat-free sour cream and sugar substitute.

I found the recipe online furnished by 1st Traveler’s Choice Internet Cookbook (www.virtualcities.com). The site featured Peach Kuchen as a signature recipe from Abigail’s Bed and Breakfast Inn in Camden, ME, a way-up-there city to which we’d actually traveled when we lived on the East Coast some years back. I could just imagine B&B guests sitting down to this breakfast delight. The ample crust of flour, sugar, baking powder, and butter made a terrific base for the peaches-and-cream topping.

Nope, no kooks in kuchen. I patted myself on the back for being one smart cook. Another peach recipe down and many, many to go.

Peach Kuchen

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup butter

5 peaches, peeled and sliced

2 egg yolks (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

1 cup sour cream (we used fat-free)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the sugar together. Work in butter until mixture crumbles. Pile into an ungreased square pan and pat even layer over bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan. Place peach slices over pastry; sprinkle mixture of cinnamon and remaining sugar over top. Bake for 12 minutes. Mix egg yolks with sour cream; pour over top of partially cooked kuchen. Place back in oven for 30 to 40 more minutes until top is bubbly. Serve warm with no-sugar-added vanilla ice cream. Serves 6-8.

Easy skillet side dish--Asparagus with Tomatoes--pairs color and flavor

This recipe was submitted by a faithful reader of this blog. At the time she emailed it to me, she didn’t know the month was being observed as Asparagus Month (Prevention magazine had selected the stalky green veggie to be featured during May); she did it because she and her hubby had just enjoyed this easy skillet side dish and wanted to share the idea with others.

Immediately I knew that Asparagus with Tomatoes, which she had received from eatbetteramerica.com, was a must-try, because the person submitting it wasn’t just any reader: she was the daughter of the Queen of Cooks—my cousin, Yvonne. This reader’s mother (praised in both my cookbooks—Way Back in the Country and Way Back in the Country Garden) could take any ordinary veggie and turn it into a culinary symphony. Ditto for everything else edible; she’s the maestro . . . always has been.

Her daughter, my cousin Lynda, follows in her mom’s footsteps. So I knew that anything she cooked and recommended was to go on my agenda, for sure.

Some chopped-up tomatoes and onion, cooked in oil for just minutes and then seasoned with lemon juice, honey, and salt, make a wonderful topping for some tender-cooked asparagus that were briefly boiled for 7 to 10 minutes in the same skillet. The tomato mixture was placed over that. The asparagus was so tender, it was unbelievable. Best of all, one serving of this veggie (high in vitamins A and C) contains only 70 calories.

The month of May may be behind us, but asparagus still rules, as far as I’m concerned. Just love this Asparagus with Tomatoes recipe my cousin sent along.

Asparagus with Tomatoes

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped (about 1/4 cup)

3 plum (Roma) tomatoes, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 1/2 pounds asparagus

In 10-inch skillet heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion in oil 2 to 3 minutes; stir occasionally until tender. Stir in tomatoes, lemon juice, honey, and salt substitute. Cook 1 minute; stir occasionally. Remove mixture from skillet; keep warm. Wipe out skillet. In skillet heat 1 inch of water to boiling. Break off tough ends of asparagus as far down as stalks snap easily. Add asparagus to boiling water. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 7 to 10 minutes or until stalk ends are crisp-tender. Drain. Place asparagus in serving dish. Top with tomato mixture. Makes 4 servings.

Goodbye springtime, hello summer, but this fresh veggie toss makes a meal for all seasons

I had to prepare this recipe while the title still was appropriate. Summer has crept in all around us; spring is just about a memory. But I guarantee you: this meal is so impressive and colorful, it knows no seasonal constraints.

This recipe was the last untried one from Southern Living’s March 2011 issue featuring “God’s bookmark”—that Southern icon, bacon. Everything else on the page I had enjoyed enormously—starting with the BLT Benedict with Avocado-Tomato Relish that I made for Hubby’s birthday morning breakfast.

Springtime Pasta with Bacon, the dish featured here, was billed as being great served warm or chilled. I was skeptical about whether these ingredients would make for a good cold salad (suitable for a brown-bag lunch for the next day, the magazine touted it) and personally believed it fell only into the “warm” category, but oh my! dining on it for lunchtime leftovers (fresh from the fridge) yesterday was pure bliss.

Fresh snow peas and frozen sweet green peas go into the bow-tie pasta during the last minute the pasta cooks. A wonderful melange of veggies—radishes, carrots, green onions, and fresh parsley—are stirred into the drained pasta/green vegetable mixture. Then all is tossed with a lemon juice-olive oil dressing plus seasonings as desired. Crumbled bacon and feta cheese go on top.

The magazine suggests serving it with grilled shrimp kabobs, but Hubby and I needed nothing else but this.

Goodbye springtime, hello summer, but this dish is a keeper. I just filed it with my Christmas bring-a-dish potentials and made it a meal for all seasons.

Springtime Pasta with Bacon

1 (16-ounce) package whole-wheat bow-tie pasta

1 cup frozen sweet peas

1 1/2 cups fresh snow peas

8 radishes, sliced thin

2 large carrots, grated

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

salt (or salt substitute) and pepper to taste

6 turkey bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

4 ounces feta or goat cheese, crumbled

Cook pasta according to package directions. During the last minute of cook time add sweet peas and snow peas. Drain. Toss pasta mixture with radishes and next 5 ingredients; season with salt substitute and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with bacon and feta cheese. Serves 6-8.

Always on the hunt for creative ways to prepare carrots—found one!

Imaginative, quick ways to prepare that healthy but prosaic side dish—the carrot: I’m always on the lookout for them. As I’ve blogged about before, I’ve had a passion for carrots ever since I was a wee sprout propped up on seat cushions to dine at Dallas’ Wyatts Cafeteria on its legendary carrot-raisin-pineapple salad. 

Everyone knows the nutritive benefits of this bunny food—beta carotene, which benefits the eyes; helps for diminished risk of heart disease; boosts to healthy skin, hair, and bones; great source of fiber, to name just a few plusses.

In other words, if your mother said eat them and you did everything possible to avoid her counsel, you were WRONG. We grow too soon old and too late smart.

But how to add diversity to the orange veggie? The Chickasaw Nutrition Services, ever on a quest to help people dine more healthfully, gave me a recipe card for Balsamic Roasted Carrots. I love the simplicity of the plan: roast some sticks of quartered carrots in the oven; toss the carrots in an olive oil-and-balsamic vinegar mix before roasting. Roasting about 15 minutes in the oven leaves the carrots cooked to a slightly crunchy/tender but not overly mushy stage.

Actually, these tasted as good chilled as they did warm. I can imagine making these in advance of a picnic and refrigerating them to serve as you would a marinated carrot salad alongside chicken nuggets. See, I’ve returned to my roots: carrot salad—the food that got this whole carrot thing started for me in the first place!

Balsamic Roasted Carrots

8 carrots, medium, peeled, cut in half and then quartered lengthwise (3 1/2 cups)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a roasting pan with foil. In a bowl combine all the ingredients; toss to coat. Place coated carrots in the pan and roast for about 15 minutes. Toss occasionally until caramelized and slightly tender. Makes 4 1/2-cup servings.

A-A-A-A, what begins with A? Asparagus-Avocado Soup saves a hot-weather day

Ah, asparagus! The vegetable of the month in Prevention magazine—and me with a goodly handful of asparagus recipes to try. So look forward to even more green (besides what’s posted from earlier this week) in this and future blog postings.

Prevention touts asparagus as supplying insulin, a special fiber that helps the “good” bacteria in the digestive tract. It has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits and is considered to be one of the world’s healthiest foods. Prevention featured seven quick recipes to showcase this wonder veggie; I chose recipe #7 (the perfect number) to prepare—Asparagus-Avocado Soup, because it called for two of my faves and sounded as though it would be a wonderful combination.

Into the food processor went 8 ounces of cooked asparagus and a chopped avocado, along with cold water, fat-free sour cream, fresh lime juice, and chopped cilantro. The resulting soup had the texture of gazpacho, but the addition of asparagus made the dish a little more mellow than that cold soup.

 Served with a scoop of fat-free sour cream and a sprinkling of cilantro on top, it was a delicious hot-weather lunch treat with a few chips on the side for munching.

Asparagus-Avocado Soup

8 ounces asparagus

1 chopped avocado

1 1/4 cups cold water

1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream plus extra for garnish

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro plus extra for garnish

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Cook asparagus. Add to blender with chopped avocado, cold water, sour cream, chopped cilantro, and lime juice. Puree until smooth. Season to taste. Ladle into 4 bowls and top each with 1 tablespoon sour cream and a few sprinkles of chopped cilantro. Makes 3 1/4 cups.

First a chicken bit, then a . . . what? Do grapes belong on kebobs? Yes!

“Why don’t we ever grill outdoors?” has been Hubby’s complaint for a long time now. Seems as though grilling items end up being cooked atop the countertop grill—or we simply choose some other grill-less entree. Finally a food item that intrigued me required him to shake off the dusty cover of the patio grill and fire that baby up.

The recipe called for the combination of skewered grapes and chicken bits. I’ve grilled many combos that have seen many veggies as well as fruit slices lined up in rows alongside chicken on skewers—but never grapes. Plus this called for a flavorful overnight marinade—lemon and garlic mixed with other spices. The recipe, from “Celebrating a Healthy Harvest”, specified large green grapes. My produce section had only the smaller ones; I believe this would have been more tasty with the substantial, large grapes—I also am not sure why green grapes were specified, since I think red one would be terrific as well.

Nevertheless the outcome of this recipe was wonderful. Marinated overnight the skewered items had time to absorb the citrusy-garlicky flavor of the marinade. Best of all Hubby’s grilling itch was scratched for the moment, although the experience prompted both of us to ask ourselves why we didn’t do this more often.

Well, we’re off and running now. After all (approaching summertime) and outdoor grilling go hand-in-glove like . . . well, like grapes and chicken bits.

Grape and Chicken Kebobs

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 3/4 cups large seedless green grapes

2 tablespoons cooking oil

2 tablespoons reduced sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

freshly ground black pepper

In a resealable bag or container mix marinade ingredients. Slice chicken into 3/4-inch chunks. Add chicken and grapes to marinade; refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours or overnight. Preheat a grill to medium-hot (375-degrees). Soak 8 eight-inch bamboo skewers in water for 15-20 minutes. Alternate chicken pieces and grapes onto skewers. Start with a chicken bit and end with a grape on each skewer. Grill the kebobs until the chicken is cooked through; turn them every 2 minutes. Makes 8 pieces, 4 servings.

Cabbage, Leeks, Limas, Lemons? A star is born with this winning, fresh combination

Not easy being green? At least EATING green is easy when you help yourself to this recipe for Cabbage with Lemons and Limas (and Leeks, too). This suggestion sprang from our hometown newspaper, The Dallas Morning News, in its food feature section, which recommended to readers, “Paint your plate with produce.” 

Cabbage, the star of this dish, is high in vitamins A, K, and C, and is rich in fiber and folate. Cabbage has calcium for sturdy bones, antioxidants to keep cancer away, and even contains protein. Best of all, one cup of cooked cabbage contains only 33 calories. Who can argue with that? 

Combining the green all-stars of cabbage, limas, and leeks (I used the leeks in place of onions in a recipe because I had some leeks on hand) was most unusual; adding the lemons for seasoning was a good idea (remember that I’m still rich in fresh lemons from my visit to the West). Since lemons are bright with acidity, they bring up the good flavor of the cabbage and banish the “cabbage-gone-bad” taste and aroma. In other words the lemony-fresh aroma is all you smell when this dish is cooking.

I like the touch of grated Parmesan on top—makes it seem like more of a veggie casserole in its little casserole dish. Best of all was the addition of the sprig of fresh thyme.

Anyone who thinks cabbage is flavorless will have another thought after digging into this tasty, easy-to-prepare menu item. We loved it and were sorry to see the last bite disappear from our serving bowl.

Cabbage with Lemons and Limas

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion sliced fine (I substituted 2 leeks, sliced fine)

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups cabbage, shredded or thinly chopped

juice of 2 lemons

2 cups cooked large limas, well-drained

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (roughly 1 sprig)

salt substitute and pepper to taste

grated Parmesan for garnish

In a large stock pot heat oil over medium-high heat. Add sliced onion and minced garlic. Stir to coat vegetables in oil; cook for about 3 minutes until garlic and onion just soften. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes to let vegetables carmelize. Raise heat to medium. Add shredded cabbage and lemon juice. Toss gently; allow cabbage to wilt. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until cabbage is tender. Add limas, zest, and thyme, Stir and heat about 5 minutes. Season with salt substitute and pepper; serve with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan. Makes 6 servings.

Little bites of carrot-cake heaven in this "lighten-up" recipe

I adore carrot cake but know the gooey cream-cheese frosting that’s part-and-parcel of it somewhat defeats the purpose of all the carrots’ nutritional value. I loved the fact that in its “Lighten Up” feature recently Southern Living produced a lighter version of a traditional carrot cake recipe; this included a frosting utilizing the 1/3-less-fat (such as Neufchatel) cream cheese. But it still seemed too much. Besides, who needs a whole cake sitting around as a temptation? 

This same magazine feature also offered this option: carrot cake muffins—identical recipe but in a muffin format that included the addition of pecans (and golden raisins, too, which I opted out of). Muffins could be enjoyed and then frozen and reheated for later dining. The recipe called for three cups of grated carrots and an 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple, drained.

I wondered whether the muffins without the frosting would be stand-alone good or a little bland. I shouldn’t have been concerned. The muffins were majorly moist and sweet and were like dining on mini-carrot cakes. By themselves they made a great Sunday-morning breakfast or as an add-on to my usual breakfast cereal. 

Southern Living tub-thumped its recipe with the headline, “You can thank us later, when your mouth isn’t full.” Via the Internet I can tippy-type my thanks even with my mouth full, which it indeed was this weekend as I enjoyed these bites of carrot heaven.

Carrot Cake Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used sugar substitute)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 (8-ounce can) crushed pineapple in juice, drained

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs (or egg substitute)

2 egg whites (or egg-white substitute)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups grated carrots

1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place about 15 paper baking cups in muffin pans; coat baking cups with cooking spray. In a large bowl combine first 5 ingredients; in the center of mixture make a well. Whisk together pineapple and next 4 ingredients; add pineapple mixture to flour mixture. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in carrots and pecans. Spoon batter into baking cups. Fill cups about 2/3 full. Bake as directed. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes about 15 muffins.

Healthy Tex-Mex appetizer as close as one’s stovetop

Some days a body would almost walk as many miles as necessary to eat a few bites of of Tex-Mex cuisine.

Fortunately when that occurs today, the nearest Mexican-food eatery often is as close as one’s neighborhood street corner. But such was not always the case, especially outside the “Tex-Mex Belt” (the Lone Star State and environs). In the late 1960s when Hubby and I lived in Louisville, KY, for him to attend graduate school, our desperate hunt for enchiladas and tacos and guacamole yielded sad results. The city was without Hispanic cuisine. That’s how I learned to make my favorite guacamole and Mexican-fried rice and homemade enchiladas—totally in self-defense. We knew we couldn’t live without our regular Tex-Mex fix, so we invented our own until such time as Mexican-food eateries spread eastward.

Today those almost-manic cravings for dining on Tex-Mex still seize me. I still cook my standby favorites as well as add new ones to the collection. The one featured in today’s blog arrived a few months back in my mail in the form of a Kroger grocery-store flyer, often the source of some terrific recipes. Cheese, Mushroom, and Corn Quesadillas are easy and diverse. Originally featured to inspire pre-Super Bowl 2011 food preparation, this recipe is versatile for any occasion and, as in our case, was served as a meal and not just as an appetizer. 

The combination of fresh mushrooms and fresh corn topped with cheese made an extraordinary flavor and a very healthy dish.

Today local Tex-Mex offerings exist from sea to shining sea and even in foreign countries (Hubby and I got the shock of our lives when we encountered some of the world’s best Tex-Mex in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in West Africa. Really. The Lebanese owner of the restaurant had married a Texas gal, who had to have her Mexican cuisine even on the Dark Continent. This place probably served the best salsa I’ve ever experienced.) They can also exist from one’s own stovetop, thanks to the likes of Cheese, Mushroom, and Corn Quesadillas.  

Cheese, Corn, and Mushroom Quesadillas

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 cup fresh corn kernels, cooked

2 cloves garlic

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon each salt (or salt substitute) and pepper

8 (7-inch) flour tortillas

1 1/2 cups Mexican-blend cheese

In skillet over medium heat melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add onion; cook for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, corn, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Melt remaining butter; brush one side of each of 4 tortillas. Arrange tortillas, buttered-side down, on baking sheet; top with 1 cup cheese, mushroom mixture, and remaining tortillas. Brush tops with butter. Bake at 450 degrees for 6 minutes. Top with remaining cheese; bake 1 minute or until cheese is melted. Top with salsa. Served as an appetizer, serves 8 to 10.

Unique guacamole recipe relies on lemons, serrano peppers, chunky avocado

On arriving in the West at the home of our son, we were escorted to his backyard citrus grove and invited to pick from the trees. Lemons practically the size of basketballs spilled from our arms as we plucked the fruit and toted them away. I’ve never hacked into a single lemon and procured enough juice from one to make an entire container of lemonade, but such were the properties of these monster yellow orbs. Texas isn’t the only state in which things grow king-sized.

To find usages for these whopper lemons I pulled out a recipe from a recent Prevention magazine. It featured cooking ideas from actress Eva Longoria. Her pet recipe for Chunky Guacamole with Serrano Peppers called for lemon juice instead of the traditional lime juice for guacamole. To create the 1/2 cup of lemon juice for this guacamole dish I was amply supplied.

Native Texan Longoria was quoted as saying that avocados left chunky instead of mashing them up smooth makes a better salad and that serrano peppers give it a greater kick than the usual jalapenos do. No mayonnaise or sour cream are added, as sometimes occurs with guacamole. The flavors of the avocados, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, serrano pepper, and lemon juice stand on their own.

A tip: leaving one peeled avocado pit pressed into the center of the salad mixture prevents the guacamole from turning brown. I tried this; it really works! The next morning after having been left overnight in the fridge the avocado chunks still were bright green.

This lemon-spiked treat is wonderful with tortilla chips as an appetizer or as a garnish on top of a steak or (as we used it) atop grilled salmon.

Chunky Guacamole with Serrano Peppers

6 avocados, roughly chopped

4 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/2 large white onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoons salt (or salt substitute)

1 cup chopped cilantro (from 1 bunch)

1 serrano chile pepper, finely chopped

enough juice squeezed from fresh lemons to make 1/2 cup

Into a large bowl put avocados, tomatoes, onion, salt, cilantro, pepper, and lemon juice. Stir gently until ingredients are well combined. Makes 8 cups.

Fresh mango, warm bacon dressing gives this salad its Southern sizzle

I just can’t seem to put down that page of recipes that featured “God’s Bookmark”—the nickname that in its recent Bacon Boot Camp feature Southern Living applied to bacon. I’d already prepared Cantaloupe Bacon Relish for Easter 2011 lunch and BLT Benedict with Avocado-Tomato Relish for Hubby's Birthday Brunch. But now another recipe in the collection beckoned: Mango-Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette. How good that sounded! Just had to try it.

I don’t think I ever had eaten a mango-and- spinach combo before, but the mix of fruit and spinach seems to be a resilient pairing (spinach/strawberry and spinach/orange salads are popular). The dressing of lime juice, honey, and red-wine vinegar combined with drippings from the bacon and the sautéed red onion was a charmer. The sprinkling of Mexican cheese made a perfect topping. The Southern Living recipe suggested that this would be a great partner for grilled fish and fresh, crusty bread. Hubby and I dined on it solo as a main-dish dinner salad (along with a few bites of warmed-up pasta left over from a lunch out.)

This is a very special salad that will get sent to my idea-list for my next bring-a-dish to attend. I can’t imagine guests not going nuts over it. Now the question is: will I prepare the final recipe on the “Southern Sizzle” page: Springtime Pasta with Bacon? Time will tell.

Mango-Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

4 thick bacon slices, diced (I used turkey bacon)

1/2 medium-sized red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup red-wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon honey

1 (9-ounce) package fresh spinach

1 mango, peeled and diced

1/3 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese

salt (or salt substitute) and pepper to taste

In a skillet cook bacon over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels. Reserve 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. Sauté onion in hot drippings for 2 to 3 minutes or until onion is soft. To the skillet add vinegar, lime juice, and honey; cook 2 minutes. Stir to loosen particles from bottom of skillet; stir them into the dressing. Place spinach in a serving bowl. Add warm vinaigrette and toss to coat. Top with mango, cheese, and bacon; season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately while dressing is warm. Makes about 2 1/2 cups salad.

With "spring" in the title, recipe just has to bring about something good

The title that included the magic word “spring” couldn't help draw me to the recipe. I mean, who can avoid getting spring fever on these recently gorgeous days we've experienced in our part of the Long Star State? Any food item that seems to move us a little further along in the leave-taking of winter just has to be yummy, I reckoned.

Crunchy Asian Spring Salad was just that. Colorful, healthy, different, but beyond all that, it used two green onions from our soon-to-be garden. Onion shoots stand like green sentinels above the soil as we gaze out the patio door onto our little spot of nature. Some day soon, the growth beneath the ground will be bulbous and ready to keep us in onions throughout the summer. For now, though, we pluck a few of the startlings to spice up this tasty spectacle of color and health.

The light toasted sesame dressing was a wonderful pull-together for this assorted veggie toss. Chow mein noodles added the crunch. This weekend hubby and I enjoyed this springtime feast as we sat on the deck of our outdoor living area attached to our RV at the lake. We took a lunch break from spring-cleaning the RV and its environs and marveled that time for these spring-prep errands had rolled around again. Boy, were we ready to sit outdoors and bask in the breeze from the lake—while we dined on this splendid accompaniment.

Crunchy Asian Spring Salad

4 cups spinach leaves, torn

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 cup carrots, cut into thin matchsticks

2 green onions, chopped

2 cups red cabbage, roughly chopped

1 cup snow peas, halved

1/2 cup Asian toasted sesame dressing, light

1/2 cup chow mein noodles

In a large bowl combine first six ingredients. Add dressing and toss to coat. Top with chow mein noodles. Chill until ready to serve. Makes 8 1-cup servings.