Salad days

More on the lunch front: we love us some bistro salad. The combination of toasted nuts, creamy cheese, tart apples, herbs and greens… pinch us. A recent salad of greens, ambrosia apple, hazelnuts, and blue cheese lingers in our memory… Ditto for Tommy Bahama’s St. Croix chopped number with grilled chicken, roma tomatoes, Maytag bleu cheese, Granny Smith apples, macadamia nuts, hickory smoked bacon, sweet corn and honey-lime vinaigrette.
UPDATE: WE’VE ADDED TB’S RED WHITE AND BLEU SALAD AT THE END OF THIS LIST…

These three 1980s/90s restaurant salad recipes feature interesting dressings and grapes.

FIGBELLY SALAD
Red leaf lettuce salad with chevre rolled grapes and spicy toasted pecans tossed in tomato mint vinaigrette

Mash 250 grams (1/2 lb) chevre with 1 tbsp black pepper.
Mold 1 1/2 tbsp around green grapes. Chill.
Toast in saute pan: 1/2 cup pecans tossed with 1 tbsp butter, 1/2 tbsp oil cayenne and 1 tbsp honey. Saute in skillet for 4 minutes. Cool.
In food processor, whiz 1/3 cup roma tomatoes, a bunch of fresh mint, 1 tbsp grainy mustard, 1/2 tsp honey, 1/2 tbsp balsamic, salt and pepper. Slowly stream in 1 cup olive oil.
Slice chilled cheese grapes on top of a plate of red leaf lettuce, red onion, red pepper slices, and asiago cheese wedge.

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DIVINO SALAD
Ginger-scented rotini pasta salad with grapes and orange soy mayo.

Orange soy mayo: beat 2 egg yolks until pale yellow. Add salt and pepper, 1/2 tsp dry mustard, 1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar (try white balsamic). Mix and slowly stream in 1/3 cup olive oil, add another 1 1/2 tbsp vinegar and more oil until desired consistency.
Add 1/2 cup soy sauce and juice of four oranges.
Toss with 2 lbs pasta (or just ginger with pasta) with snow peas, halved red grapes.

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This one’s a little dated, but still good. It makes a litre of five-spice yogurt dressing!

CILANTRO’S BLACKENED CHICKEN SALAD
6 oz chicken breast per person
mixed greens
Dressing:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tbsp pureed garlic
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 level teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
pepper
Whisk dressing ingredients and chill.
Lightly dust chicken with blackening spice and cook. Cool slightly and slice diagonally.
Toss mixed greens in five-spice yogurt dressing and mound on plates. Top with chicken.
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RED WHITE & BLUE SALAD

1½ Cup Romaine hearts, diced 1″ x 1″
¾ Cup Thinly sliced Red onion, place in cold water
18 Pieces ¾” sliced ripe tomatoes
6 Tbsp Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 Cup Blue cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste
1.Place diced romaine hearts down the middle of a chilled medium round platter. Lay out tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Shingle the tomato slices in a “flower”presentation in the center of the plate on top of the lettuce.
2.Drizzle balsamic vinaigrette around the edges of the lettuce, Ladle blue cheese dressing in the center of the tomatoes, letting it pool down over the tomatoes. Sprinkle crumbled bleu cheese over the dressing.
3.Remove onions from cold water, squeeze out excess water and ball up on the center of the tomatoes. Serve.
BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE(Makes 1 Quart)
1 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
3 Cups Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Salt and Pepper
1½ Tbsp Roasted Garlic Puree
¼ Cup Brown sugar
2 Tbsp Basil, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Parsley, finely chopped
½ Tbsp Dry Oregano leaves
Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl except oil. Using a wire whisk, whisk in oil slowly to thicken. Stir well before serving.
BLUE CHEESE DRESSING(Makes 1¼ Quarts)
1 Cup Blue Cheese, crumbled
1 Cup Sour Cream
2½ Cups Mayonnaise
¾ Cup Buttermilk
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
¼ Tsp Coarse ground pepper
Place sour cream, mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar and pepper in blender. Blend till smooth making sure to scrape the sides and corners to incorporate all ingredients. Crumble the blue cheese by hand and add to dressing

 

 

BABY GREENS WITH BLUE CHEESE-PECAN DRESSING
Fusion Food Cookbook by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison
Calgary Herald Thu Nov 14 1996

Easy-to-prepare flavor-intense food is especially satisfying after a hard day at work. Simple salads like this one can be converted into a main entre by tossing the greens with meat or seafood hot from the wok or barbecue and accompanied with sourdough rolls and glasses of wine.

4 cups baby lettuce greens or torn mixed lettuce greens

3    oz enoki mushrooms

1    red bell pepper, stemmed and seeded

2    whole green onions

1/4    cup raw pecans

Dressing:

1/4    cup crumbled blue cheese

6    tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3    tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons thin soy sauce

1 1/4 teaspoons freshly and finely ground black pepper

1/4    teaspoon salt, or to taste

Preheat oven to 325F.

Wash and dry lettuce. Cut off and discard dirty mushroom ends then separate the mushroom threads. Do not wash. Sliver the red pepper and green onions. Place the pecans on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then finely chop and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients, then taste and adjust seasonings.

In a large bowl, combine the greens, mushrooms, pepper and onions. Stir the dressing, then add only enough dressing to salad to moisten the greens. Sprinkle on the chopped pecans and toss salad to combine evenly. Taste the greens and adjust the seasonings for salt and pepper

Serves 4 to 6.

From 1995: Anyone planning a picnic should stop at The Bread Line first. This eat-in/take-out spot on the 4th Street S.W. restaurant strip is a picnicker’s paradise with all manner of salads, breads, squares, cookies and desserts ready to pick up and pack in the cooler or picnic basket. It’s a substantial main dish salad, chock full of tender chicken and fresh fruit and veggies.

THE BREAD LINE CURRIED CHICKEN SALAD

2 lbs. chicken, cooked and diced

1/2 cucumber, sliced thin

3/4 cup green onion, chopped

3/4 cup celery, half-inch dice

2 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, quartered, sliced thin

1/2 cup raisins

2 ounces fresh lime juice

(about 2 limes)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1/3 cup curry powder

3 ounces rice vinegar

Combine chicken, cucumber, onion, celery, apple and raisins. Whisk together lime juice, sugar, mayonnaise, curry powder and vinegar. Pour dressing over salad and toss gently to combine.

Makes a large salad, enough for 8-10 people.

THE BANFF SPRINGS HOTEL SALAD DRESSING

Here is the house dressing, and the equally popular, fat-free soy vinaigrette served in the wine bar.

KOFFIE HUIS CREAMY HOUSE DRESSING

Makes three cups.

1 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup beef consomme

1/3 cup white vinegar

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons dill weed

2 tablespoons garlic

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

dash of paprika

salt and pepper

In a blender, blend oil and egg yolks together. This will create a mayonnaise. Add all of the other ingredients and whip until blended.

GRAPES WINE BAR HOUSE SALAD DRESSING

This is an imprecise recipe from the Springs, but you can play around with it. In a blender, combine an egg or two (if you want it really creamy add a little lite sour cream or mayo), with some fresh (or pickled or jarred) ginger, fresh chopped garlic, and pepper and paprika to taste. Blend.

Add enough soy sauce to come up with ”a creamy light brown crayon” color. Use on a salad of butter lettuce with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms and big croutons.

Top with grated Parmesan or asiago cheese and lots of freshly ground pepper.

Chicken crosses road, meets raisin

We adore roast chicken. But we love it more with glorious rich drippings soaking into pasta, couscous and chewy bread chunks.
Here are three versions of this bliss. All feature the sweetness of raisins.

CHICKEN PASTA FROM THE VENETIAN GHETTO
Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s recipe, which was adapted from Claudia Roden’s recipes from her Book of Jewish Food.
(online, we have read complaints that this dish is too bland. Perhaps instead of a whole chicken, we will roast thighs and reduce the amount of pasta.
1 chicken (three and a half pounds-ish)
Salt and pepper
Some white wine
Some pine nuts
Some raisins (optional)
Possibly some butter
A pound of linguine or tagliatelle
Roast the chicken. Last time I did this, I butterflied the chicken, seasoned it with salt and pepper, put it in a roasting pan with a glug of white wine, and blasted it at 450.
When the chicken is done, remove it to a platter and let it cool. Meanwhile, put the roasting pan on a burner (or scrape all the juices, chicken fat included, into a saute pan). Do what you need to do to make the sauce. This varies case by case: sometimes, if the chicken wasn’t that fatty, I’ll swirl in some butter. Last night’s chicken was plenty fatty, so I added another glug of wine to the saucepan along with a bit of water. You could add some rosemary here, too, if you wanted. I roasted the chicken in a glass pan and won’t do that again: I want to be able to deglaze the roasting pan properly for the sauce.
Add the pine nuts and raisins to the pan and let it simmer for a bit. Be careful and don’t let it all cook away, though.
Pull all the meat off the chicken and put it in a bowl. You can also put the skin in the bowl, if you want; I only like skin when it is very crispy, so I eat the crispy bits and feed the rest to the wagging dogs at my feet.
Cook the pasta and toss it with the chicken meat and the sauce. I usually make a salad to go with this, since it is very very rich and could use something astringently green afterwards, but last night I opted for brie instead and I won’t say that was a mistake.
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ROAST CHICKEN BREAST WITH RAISINS AND PEARL COUSCOUS
Recipe: Wolfgang Puck
• 4 (12-ounce) chicken breasts
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fennel bulb, 1/4-inch dice
• 1 sprig sage
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup sweet wine, preferably Passito or Moscato de Pantelleria
• 1/2 cup Zibibbo raisins, if available
• 1 cup Chicken Stock
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 ounces butter
• 1 cup sweet seedless grapes, halved
• 8 crisp fried sage leaves
• couscous
• • 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup pearl couscous
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chicken stock, hot
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon minced parsley leaves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
To prepare the chicken: Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a saute pan, heat olive oil and sear skin side down until golden in color, about 3 minutes. Turn and saute another 3 minutes. Transfer pan to oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until done. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm.
Remove fat from pan. Add fennel, sage sprig, lemon zest, lemon juice, and raisins and deglaze with 1 cup of white wine and 1/2 cup sweet wine. Over high heat, reduce by half. Add brown chicken stock and cream. Reduce until slightly thickened. Remove sage and finish sauce with butter and grapes.
To prepare the couscous: In a saucepan, heat olive oil. Add onions and cook for 1 minute, until glossy (do not brown). Add pearl couscous and stir until well coated with oil. Season with salt and add 1 cup of chicken stock. Stir occasionally until 2/3 of the liquid is absorbed. Add the remaining cup of stock, and continue to cook until al dente. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, stir in butter, and finish with parsley. Set aside and keep warm.
To serve: Place a few tablespoons of couscous in the center of a plate. Slice each chicken breast diagonally into 2 pieces. Arrange on top of couscous. Nap with sauce and sprinkle with sage leaves. Serve immediately.
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ROASTED CHICKEN WITH BREAD SALAD
FROM ZUNI CAFE

1  2 3⁄4-3 1⁄2-lb. chicken, preferably a fryer, 
lump of fat inside chicken discarded
4 tender sprigs fresh thyme, marjoram, 
rosemary, or sage
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1⁄2–3⁄4 lb. day-old chewy country-style bread (not sourdough), cut into large chunks crust removed
8 tbsp. mild olive oil
2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tbsp. dried currants
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. pine nuts
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 scallions trimmed, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
2 tsp. lightly salted chicken stock or lightly salted water
4 handfuls (about 3 oz.) baby red mustard greens or arugula or frisee leaves
1. Rinse chicken, pat very dry inside and out, and put on a plate. Loosen skin from breast and thighs without tearing it and tuck an herb sprig into each pocket. Liberally season chicken all over with salt and pepper. Loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.
2. Put bread on a baking sheet and brush with 3 tbsp. of the oil. Broil until lightly colored on each side, 2-3 minutes per side. Trim off any badly charred tips, then tear bread into 2″-3″ wads and put into a large bowl. Preheat oven to 475°. Mix white vinegar, 4 tbsp. of the oil, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Toss 1⁄4 cup of the vinaigrette with the bread. Soak currants in red wine vinegar and 1 tbsp. warm water in small bowl.
3. Heat a 10″ ovenproof skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. Wipe chicken dry, put in skillet breast side up, and roast in oven for 30 minutes. Turn bird over and roast for 10-20 minutes more, then flip back over to recrisp breast skin, 5-10 minutes more.
4. Meanwhile, warm pine nuts in oven for 1-2 minutes, then add to bread. Sweat garlic and scallions in 1 tbsp. of the oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat for 5-6 minutes. Add to bread and toss well. Drain currants and add to bread, then add stock or water and toss again. Put bread salad into a small baking dish and tent with foil. Transfer to oven when chicken gets its last turn.
5. Remove chicken from oven and turn off heat, leaving bread salad in oven for 5 minutes more. Transfer chicken to a plate. Pour off fat from skillet, leaving pan drippings behind. Swirl 1 tbsp. water in skillet. Slash skin between thighs and breast of chicken, then tilt bird and plate over skillet, draining juices into drippings. Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes, then carve into 8 pieces.
6. Simmer pan drippings over medium heat, scraping up browned bits, for 1 minute. Toss hot bread salad with a spoonful of pan drippings in a bowl, ad greens and remaining vinaigrette, and toss well. Put bread salad on a platter and arrange chicken on top.

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Zuni Cafe’s Roasted Chicken
Adapted from the cookbook from the Zuni Cafe, San Francisco
The original recipe falls over three-plus pages in a small font and includes a fantastic amount of detail. It’s a great read. However, I prefer recipes that cut to the chase a bit more, so I have edited this down significantly, into the hopefully dish- and time-saving way I would approach it next time. It is typically served with the Bread Salad (recipe below) but I see no reason you can’t use any of your favorite side dishes instead. To me, the real genius is getting that bird so perfectly roasted all over with only a modicum of fuss.
Serves 2 to 4
One small chicken, 2 3/4 to 3 1/2-pounds
4 tender sprigs fresh thyme, marjoram, rosemary or sage, about 1/2 inch long
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 to 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
A little water
Season the chicken: [1 to 3 days before serving; give a 3 1/4 to 3 1/2-pound chicken at least 2 days]
Remove and discard the lump of fat inside the chicken. Rinse the chicken and pat very dry inside and out. Be thorough — a wet chicken will spend too much time steaming before it begins to turn golden brown.
Approaching from the edge of the cavity, slide a finger under the skin of each of the breasts, making 2 little pockets. Now use the tip of your finger to gently loosen a pocket of skin on the outside of the thickest section of each thigh. Using your finger, shove an herb sprig into each of the 4 pockets.
Season the chicken liberally all over with salt and pepper. Season the thick sections a little more heavily than the skinny ankles and wings. Sprinkle a little of the salt just inside the cavity, on the backbone, but don’t otherwise worry about seasoning the inside. Twist and tuck the wing tips behind the shoulders. Cover loosely and refrigerate.
Prepare your oven and pan: [Day of, total time is 45 minutes to 1 hour]
Preheat the oven to 475°F. Choose a shallow flameproof roasting pan or dish barely larger than the chicken, or use a 10-inch skillet with an all-metal handle (we used a 12-inch cast iron frying pan for a 3 1/2 pound chicken). Preheat the pan over medium heat. Wipe the chicken dry and set it breast side up in the pan. It should sizzle.
Roast the chicken: Place the chicken in the pan in the center of the oven and listen and watch for it to start browning within 20 minutes. If it doesn’t, raise the temperature progressively until it does. The skin should blister, but if the chicken begins to char, or the fat is smoking, reduce temperature by 25 degrees. After about 30 minutes, turn the bird over — drying the bird and preheating the pan should keep the skin from sticking. Roast for another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on size, then flip back over to recrisp the breast skin, another 5 to 10 minutes.
Rest the chicken: Remove the chicken from the oven and turn off the heat. Lift the chicken from the roasting pan and set on a plate. Carefully pour the clear fat from the roasting pan, leaving the lean drippings behind. Add about a tablespoon of water to the hot pan and swirl it.
Slash the stretched skin between the thighs and breasts of the chicken, then tilt the bird and plate over the roasting pan to drain the juice into the drippings. You can let it rest while you finish your side dishes (or Bread Salad, below). The meat will become more tender and uniformly succulent as it cools.
Serve the chicken: Set a platter in the oven to warm for a minute or two.
Tilt the roasting pan and skim the last of the fat. Place over medium-low heat, add any juice that has collected under the chicken, and bring to a simmer. Stir and scrape to soften any hard golden drippings. Taste — the juices will be extremely flavorful.
Cut the chicken into pieces, spread on the warm platter (on top of the Bread Salad, if using).
Capitalize on leftovers: Strain and save the drippings you don’t use, they are delicious tossed with spätzle or egg noodles, or stirred into beans or risotto. You can also use them, plus leftover scraps of roast chicken, for a chicken salad.
Zuni Cafe Bread Salad
Adapted from the Zuni Cafe, San Francisco
I can’t describe it any better than they do: “Sort of a scrappy extramural stuffing, it is a warm mix of crispy, tender, and chewy chunks of bread, a little slivered garlic and scallion, a scatter of currants and pine nuts, and a handful of greens, all moistened with vinaigrette and chicken drippings.”
As I noted above, I’ve trimmed down the steps for this recipe significantly so it doesn’t resemble the original recipe a whole lot. But it remains equally delicious.
Generous 8 ounces slightly stale open-crumbed, chewy, peasant-style bread (not sourdough)
6 to 8 tablespoons mild-tasting olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon dried currants plumped in 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon warm water for ten minutes or so
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 to 3 garlic cloves, slivered
1/4 cup slivered scallions (about 4 scallions), including a little of the green part
2 tablespoons lightly salted chicken stock or lightly salted water
A few handfuls of arugula, frisée, or red mustard greens, carefully washed and dried
Preheat the broiler. Carve off all of the bottom and most of the top and side crusts from your bread (you can reserve these to use as croutons for soup or another salad). Tear bread into irregular 2- to 3-inch chunks, wads, bite-sized bits and fat crumbs. You should get about 4 cups.
Toss them with just a tablespoon or two of olive oil, lightly coating them, and broil them very briefly, just to lightly color the edges. If you’d like to toast the pine nuts (recommended) you can put them on your broiler tray as well, but watch them very carefully — they cook quickly!
Combine about 1/4 cup of the olive oil with the Champagne or white wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Toss about 1/4 cup of this tart vinaigrette with the torn bread in a wide salad bowl; the bread will be unevenly dressed. Taste one of the more saturated pieces. If it is bland, add a little salt and pepper and toss again.
Heat a spoonful of the olive oil in a small skillet, add the garlic and scallions, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until softened. Don’t let them color. Scrape into the bread and fold to combine. Drain the plumped currants and fold them in, along with the pine nuts, if they were not already mixed with the bread scraps from the broiling step. Dribble the chicken stock or lightly salted water over the salad and fold again.
Taste a few pieces of bread — a fairly saturated one and a dryish one. If it is bland, add salt, pepper, and/or a few drops of vinegar, then toss well.
If you’re going to serve the salad under the roast chicken (recipe above), you can pile the bread salad on the serving dish you want to use and tent it with foil. If you want to serve it separately, do the same, but in a 1-quart shallow baking dish. Hang onto the bowl you mixed it in — you’ll use it again.
Place the salad in the oven after you flip the chicken the final time, for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Tip the bread salad back into the salad bowl. It will be steamy-hot, a mixture of soft, moist wads, crispy-on-the-outside-but-moist-in-the-middle-wads, and a few downright crispy ones. Drizzle and toss with a spoonful of the pan juices. Add the greens, a drizzle of vinaigrette, and fold well. Taste again.

Palm Springs eternal

Sometimes when we’re lounging peacefully poolside at our Palm Springs getaway — eyes closed, water gently lapping beneath the breezy palms — we imagine the wonderful boozy row between Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra in their nearby home. You remember: the one where Gardner launched a Champagne bottle at Sinatra but missed, resulting in the famous cracked sink in the master bathroom. All that ruckus because Gardner blew a gasket after hearing about Sinatra’s dalliances with Lana Turner.

Ah, Palm Springs. Stars — among them Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, Gene Autry, Bob Hope, Liza Minnelli, Liberace, Arnold Palmer and Dinah Shore — flocked to glamourous gin mills in the California desert in the 1940s and ’50s for respite from the harried life of Hollywood.

These days, Palm Springs is the most artificial place on the planet. Imported palm trees and faded Hollywood stardust now give way to leathery, overfed Canadian retirees et al.

Foodwise, desert cuisine is hard to fathom. Orange, lemon and grapefruit trees abound as do California staples of dates and avocados, and hearts of palm (wrong trees, but still Palm Springsy).

Fine dining in PS, Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage commonly means tony seafood dishes and glamourous steak houses dripping with bernaise. The desert dining of days gone by included midnight suppers at the Chi Chi Lounge, with orders of Welsh Rarebit and barbecued spareribs to soak up all that gin. Four-inch steaks, an obsession with zombies and Polynesian delights courtesy Don the Beachcomber.

To our imagination, Palm Springs cuisine means cool, citrusy salads to beat the heat. And we like them effortless and light, so we can lounge poolside sans pooch hanging over our Lilly Pulitzer tankini. Cold shrimp and lean chicken add the perfect touch of protein for swimming a few laps between belts. It is Frank’s world, after all. We just live in it.

UPDATE: Coconut Date Rolls are a perfect poolside snack with a fruit tray or on top of your salad.
1 lb. pitted dates
1 cup slivered almonds, roasted
1 cup unsweetened dried coconut flakes (reserve some for rolling)
Blend the dates, almonds & coconut in a food processor until a paste is formed. Roll heaping tablespoonfuls of the paste in the dried coconut and form into 1-2 inch balls. Top with a slivered almond! Makes about 25 little rolls.

PALM SPRINGS FRUITY CHICKEN SALAD
1/2 cup pitted dates
2 large oranges
1 small pineapple
2 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halved, cooked and cooled
1 cup plain lowfat yogurt
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp grated orange peel
1 1/2 tsp finely chopped candied ginger
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh mint
1/8 tsp salt
dash cayenne pepper

Make dressing by whisking together all ingredients until well combined. Slice dates. Slice peel and pith from oranges. Slice oranges crosswise into 1/4 inch rounds. Quarter and peel pineapple. Slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange oranges, kiwifruit, and pineapple on 4 salad plates.
Tear chicken into strips. Toss with dates and Orange Mint Yogurt Dressing. Divide mixture into 4 portions and arrange evenly on each serving plate. Garnish with mint sprigs.

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SUNNY PALM SPRINGS SALAD
A salad made with hearts of palm, avocado, grapefruit, and tomato.

1 grapefruit or tangelo or oranges
1 avocados
2 tomatoes, Roma type
1 can (398 mL size) hearts of palm
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
ground pepper to taste
salt to taste

Using a sharp knife, supreme grapefruit over a bowl to catch juices.
Cut the avocados in half lengthwise, reserving shell to serve from. Cut the avocados into bite-size pieces, then add them to the bowl. Cut the tomatoes into bite-size pieces, discarding the seeds. Add the pieces to the bowl. Drain the hearts of palm, cut them into small rounds, then add them to the bowl.
Pour the oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper into a shaker to emulsify. Toss well and serve.
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PALM SPRINGS SHADE SALAD
Chopped salad of crab, pineapple, avocado, green onion, grape tomato in a ginger/soy/sriracha mayo.

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MILLIONAIRE’S SALAD
14 oz. can artichoke hearts, quartered
14 oz. can hearts of palm, sliced in 1/4 inch slices
14 oz. olive salad
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, quartered
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2/3 c. olive oil
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
Drain artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, olives and pimentos. Add mushrooms. Combine other ingredients. Mix with vegetables. Allow to stand in refrigerator overnight. Serves 6 to 8.

Chicks dig chickpea patties

So many google hits for veggie burgers, people! We are happy to post some more veggie patties here (soon to come).
In the meantime, here is an interesting topper we may experiment more with this summer.
While we love dried apricots and their jammy sweetness, we’re curious about fresh fruity mayos and if, say, fresh mango or peach or even blueberry would work well with savory goodness.
We may also indulge in Trader Joe’s dried chili mango strips for this. Palm Springs, here we come!

APRICOT BASIL MAYONNAISE
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup mayonnaise (or 3/4 cup olive oil and an egg)
zest of lime 1 tsp
1/4 cup lime juice (2)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt

pour water over apricots, let cook until room temperature. Drain.
Process everything except olive oil. Stop to scrape down sides.
Gradually add olive oil in a stream until mayo is smooth and creamy. Serve at room temperature or chill. Keeps two weeks refrigerated.
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CHICKPEA PATTIES
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 slices nutty oatmeal or wheat nut bread, torn into small chunks
1/2 large red onion, sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup egg substitute or 2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 for moistening, if needed

Shredded lettuce
Sliced tomatoes
8 to 10 warm pita pickets or toasted English muffins

1. Pulse the chickpeas, bread, onion, jalapeno, garlic, oregano, cumin, pepper, and salt in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Remove half the mixture to a medium-sized bowl.

2. Add the egg substitute to the mixture in the processor and process until almost smooth. Spoon into the chopped chickpea mixture in the mixing bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. If the mixture seems too stiff, mix in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.

3. Form the mixture into 8 to 10 patties, 1/2 inch thick each, and place in a large dish or on a baking tray sprayed with non-fat cooking oil. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the patties. (If desired, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours.)

4. Cook on a griddle or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties (4 at a time if necessary to avoid crowding) and fry 4 to 5 minutes. Spray the tops with cooking oil or drizzle olive oil around the sides of the skillet, turn, and fry the patties 4 to 5 minutes longer, until nicely browned.

5. Serve with the mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomatoes in the pita pockets or on the English muffins.

Serves 8 to 10.