Peaches and pecans in coleslaw? Outtasight good.

I just adore coleslaw of any stripe, so when I found out I could make it with the additions of peaches and pecans, I was thrilled.

In my frequent summer dilemma of what to do with the peach crop, a recipe that used several peaches in a slaw-type setting was welcome indeed.

The magazine article that featured Peach-Ginger Slaw showed them served alongside homemade Hush Puppies. So we HAD to have Hush Puppies as an accompaniment. The only thing else I needed in this summertime tableau was a red-and-white-checked cloth. CHECK! I have my grandmother’s 70-year-old vintage one, with colors just as perky as they were in her day. This cloth of many memories was the perfect backdrop for serving these two treats.  

The addition of peach slices seemed to mellow out the tanginess of the slaw dressing. The nuts crunched up the mixture. A summer delight, just as I figured it would be.

Peach-Ginger Slaw

1 cup chopped pecans

3 tablespoons pepper jelly

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1/3 cup canola oil

1 (16-ounce) package shredded coleslaw mix

2 large fresh peaches, unpeeled and coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 10 to 12 minutes or until toasted and fragrant. Stir halfway through. Cool completely (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, microwave jelly in a large microwave-safe bowl at high 15 seconds. Whisk in vinegar and next 2 ingredients until all are blended. Gradually add canola oil in a slow, steady stream. Whisk constantly until mixture is well blended. Add coleslaw mix and toss gently. Gently stir in peaches. Stir in pecans; add salt or salt substitute to taste. Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 8 hours. Stir in pecans and salt to taste just before serving. (Source: Southern Living, July 2012)

Hunt for the perfect chicken-salad recipe is over in this garden-fresh recipe

My love connection with the perfect chicken salad began when I was a child.

The lunch counter at McKnight Drugs on the square in downtown Garland made to-die-for chicken-salad sandwiches. In my earliest experience with take-out food, my mother would call McKnight's and order three chicken-salad sandwiches on toast with a dill pickle spear on the side of each.

My mother would drive me to the square, deposit me on the curb, plant some crisp dollar bills in my hand, and send me in to pick up our "to-go" lunch for that day. The sandwiches would be wrapped in waxed-paper squares held in place by a toothpick. Once at home my mother, my daddy, and I would slowly savor each delectable bite of this inimitable meal.

Ever since then I've been on the hunt for the perfect chicken-salad recipe.

My search ended a few days ago when I tried a recipe for Orange-Chicken Salad. No way it even compared to that of McKnight's, but it was a most unusual, interesting twist on a great summertime staple and featured garden-fresh green beans to give it special appeal. The recipe, from Family Circle magazine, long ago was clipped and ever since has been languishing in the "someday" pages of my summer recipe album. Worth the wait, I must say!

I loved the addition of the fresh green beans, spinach, and mandarin oranges (you could substitute fresh oranges that had been peeled and sectioned, with the white membrane removed.) Although doing so is unnecessary, I doubled the ingredients for the dressing and opted to used sugar-free maple syrup to keep the sugars at bay. With some slices of fresh cantaloupe on the side Orange-Chicken Salad made for an ideal summer dinner.

McKnight Drug is long since closed on the square, its owners retired, and has given way to the location for a storefront church in its old corner of the square in what is now known as Historic Downtown Garland (I'll be having a book signing three-doors down at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 3, in The Generator), but I never stroll by that section of downtown without remembering my beloved chicken salad.

I'm glad I found Orange-Chicken Salad, made with healthy, garden-fresh ingredients to help preserve that memory.

Orange-Chicken Salad

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (5 ounces each)

2 cups chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound green beans, trimmed, cut into 2 1/2-inch segments

1 bag spinach

1 (15-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained, juice reserved

(you can sub sections from fresh oranges)

1/2 cup chopped almonds

Dressing:

1/3 cup fat-free sour cream

2 tablespoons reserved mandarin orange juice

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Place chicken, broth, and garlic powder in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce to simmer. Cook until chicken is done, about 10 minutes. Add beans during last 5 minutes of cooking. Remove chicken to cutting board. When it is cool enough to do so, cut in small chunks. For dressing, stir together sour cream, reserved orange juice, maple syrup, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and hot-pepper sauce. Add spinach and toss entire mixture. Scatter chopped almonds on top and serve. Makes 4 servings.

"Essence of summer" food must-have list just got a new addition

Some foods literally exude summer. Everyone has his or her faves, but my "essence of summer" foods are lemon ice-box pie, strawberry shortcake, marinated cucumber salad, and calico beef burgers, to name a few.

They're the menu items that I just can't "do" the summer season without. So early on, I start making a mental list to be sure I'm not having to cram in some last-minute gorging as the season wanes.

A new quintessential summer dish moved onto my radar screen this week. I wasn't looking for a summer synonym--but simply something to use the ample ears of corn my hubby brought home from Kroger this week because the produce area had it at a good sale price. (The corn in our garden is materializing but isn't quite as high as an elephant's eye yet, so we're still supplementing from the grocery until we bring in our own corn ears.)

So I stumbled on a recipe for "Avocado Salsa". I thought the mingling of avocados, cherry tomatoes, and fresh corn sounded, well, colorful at least. Like several other recipes I've mentioned in this blog, this one inspired skepticism also. "It just seems like it would need some kind of a dressing," I reported to Hubby as I assembled the ingredients.

Interesting role-reversal. He's usually the one who raises a dubious eyebrow about whether a recipe will "work". This time he was the Encouraging Barnabas of the kitchen. "I bet the lime juice is all it needs," he assessed as he scanned the salsa recipe in the "Celebrating a Healthy Harvest" booklet from the Chickasaw Nation.

He was right. The lime juice, mixed with the salt and chopped cilantro, worked miracles on the avocado, tomato, and corn combination (and even more so the second day after the concoction refrigerated overnight.)

The result! "Avocado Salsa", which we served over spinach but also could be an appetizer alongside tortilla chips--became instant, edible summer--a new dish perfect for summer staple events such as picnics, family reunions, church potlucks, lunches at the lake, or as we experienced it--a simple summer dinner-for-two at home.

Avocado Salsa

2 avocados, peeled, seeded, and chopped

2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

1 cup corn, cooked and cut off cob

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 teaspoon salt (we use salt substitute)

Combine avocado, tomatoes, corn, and cilantro; toss. Slowly pour lime juice over the salsa and toss to combine. Chill for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend.