Super Summer Salad Saturday

Summer – how hot is it? It is so hot trees are running around looking for shade; the hens are laying hard cooked eggs, the melt time for a Popsicle is 20 seconds…

With this in mind, at this time of year, I cook as little as possible.  Salads, sammies, smoothies – you name it. In the South, we love our cold plates: tuna or chicken salad with sides of pickled beets, tater salad, coleslaw, bean salad, macaroni salad, sliced fresh from the garden tangy tomatoes – I keep bowls of layered salad, chicken salad, five cup salad, marinated veggies (see blog on Quickles) all through the summer.

A lifesaver to me this time of year is my eight quart stainless steel Presto pressure cooker. I grew up with these being used and have no fear of them. I respect them and know how to treat them and in return, they are good to me. When chicken breasts go on sale, I will usually buy about 20 pounds at one time. I rinse off, and do two cookings in my pressure cooker. In about 30 minutes, I have cooked all that chicken. I purchase with the skin on, bone in for best flavor. Into the cooking water I add some celery, onion, salt, freshly ground pepper, chopped parsley. When the chicken has cooled, I pull it out and de-skin and debone, then put into freezer bags of two cups each. The rich broth is strained and frozen for future use. The cooked chicken can be used for future casseroles, salad additions, and my famous chicken salad. My mama taught me how to make this. Again, we go with the simplest is best policy: no grapes, cranberries, nuts, pineapple – good quality simple ingredients. To make enough for my husband, inlaws, folks at work and church, and for several meals and sammies, I use 3 pounds of whole chicken breast. This recipe makes a lot. Common sense will tell you how to break it down.

Celia’s Chicken Salad
Chicken breast, cooked, de-boned, skin off, and shredded
Hellman’s Mayonnaise – 1 cup, more if needed
3 stalks Diced celery
A few finely diced sweet gherkins or,
2 TBS sweet pickle relish
ground mustard to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Put shredded chicken into large bowl. Add celery, pickle, good heavy sprinkle of ground mustard, and a couple of tablespoons of the chicken broth. Add mayonnaise. Using your hands, mix all ingredients well. Mess but the best way. I use those thin disposable plastic gloves. The chicken will be tender enough it should basically just all blend together with the other ingredients. Wait about 20 minutes and taste. Adjust seasonings. Add salt, pepper, more pickle, celery, mayonnaise as needed. I personally like a lot of diced celery and about a tablespoon of pickle added. That’s it! Put into sealable container and refrigerate. Use for cold plates, stuffed tomatoes, sammies, bribes, etc.

Layered Salad – Classic Recipe
3 cups torn lettuce
1/2 shredded carrot
1 medium Vidalia, red, or equivalent in scallions, chopped
1 medium cucumber. chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 cup frozen small green peas, thawed
1/2 Hellman’s mayo
1/4 cup buttermilk ranch dressing
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese
3 tbs. crumbled cooked bacon

In a 3 qt. trifle or deep bowl, layer ingredient, first ingredient into the bottom of the bowl, etc. Stop after you add the green peas. Mix mayo and dressing and spread over top of ingredients, going to the edge of the bowl and sealing. Add cheese and bacon. Cover and chill several hours before serving. OPTIONS: alternate toppings are freshly grated parmesan cheese, crumbled feta cheese, toasted sunflower seeds, toasted almonds, cooked chicken breast. The chicken breast would be one of the items layered into the salad  The beauty of this salad is that you can use what items you like, more or less of them, make in a deep dish or spread out on a 9×13 dish.

 

Five Cup Salad (not really five cups of stuff)
1 cup (11 oz. can) mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup (11 oz. can) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup sour cream
1/2 chopped maraschino cherries
1/2 cup freshly grated or thawed grated coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. I save the mandarin oranges for last and gently fold in.Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving. Serves about 6, so increase as needed. Variations: If desired, substitute half sour cream with half whipped cream, or Cool Whip to reduce the tartness of the sour cream. I personally like the tartness of the sour cream. Add more coconut, pecans, cherries to your own taste.

Quick Pickles – Quickles

I have been promising (and I know you all have just been waiting in deep anticipation) a treatise on quick pickles – quickles I call them. Some factoids: Cucumbers have been around forever and go back as far as Mesopotamia 2030 BC. Quickles are not marinated vegetables. They are brined or salted the same as long process (slowckles) are. The word pickle comes from the Dutch pekel which means salt or brine.

Quickles are a great way to use up some excess summer veggies, brighten up winter veggies, add a quick bit of zing to a dull meal, be a unique appetizer, or in some cases, add an authentic bit to an ethnic meal. Seasonings and vegetables themselves can give a local or ethnic flair. Add daikon to cucumbers and onion. Or add some curry to cucumber, onion, celery, red radish. Crushed mustard seed, turmeric, celery seed, and sugar make the ubiquitous onion and cucumber mixture quick bread and butter pickles (recipe in a previous Keep It Simple Saturday) post.

Quickles give much satisfaction with little effort.  They are great with sandwiches, sides for meat, rice….on their own.

Equipment is as simple or exotic as you choose: a colander, plate, weight or a specialized pickle press. I bought a dandy one at a local Japanese food store for $4.99. Ingredients are the same way: salt (uniodized or sea salt), spices, herbs, veggies. The process may take a few hours but you don’t have to babysit and can do other things. Once made, they will last for several weeks in the refrigerator. I do hope you all will experiment with quickles. They’ve been a part of my life since I was born. On a hot summer day, cucumber quickles from the fridge cooled and refreshed a hot little girl. Other kids could have a Koolaid freezer pop – I wanted quickles!! They are a regular feature now in my bento.

QUICKLE BASICS

Cucumbers (English, Kirby, Persian, Japanese) Peeled (if waxed) and very thinly sliced
Onion red or white, thinly sliced
Carrot thinly sliced
Radish red or daikon, thinly sliced
Cabbage – thinly shredded

Seasoning: bay leaf, mustard seed, turmeric, srirachi pepper, split Thai pepper, cilantro, garlic, sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, fresh cayenne, fresh jalapeno pepper, sesame seeds, toasted seaweed bits, ginger
Vinegar: cider, white, rice
Extra vegetables: turnip, celery, napa cabbage, zucchini, cauliflower

One Method: The above is my go to veggies for quickles. Add or subtract. It’s up to you to determine how many you want to make. I usually use a standard size cuke, a small or medium onion, a rib of celery, a carrot, several red radishes, about ½ c. sliced daikon, about ½ cup shredded cabbage. In a colander, toss well with several tablespoons of uniodized salt. Place sauce or plate, depending on size of colander and add weight to the plate. A half gallon empty clean milk jug or gallon jug of water works well. Place in sink or on another plate to catch liquid from vegetables. Vegetables will end up being limp but still crispy due to this process. Use a mandolin or sharp knife to thinly slice vegetables. Add seasonings of choice. ALWAYS use non-reactive pots, pans, bowls for vinegar/acid based foods.

Obviously, the vinegar and seasonings will determine the “flavor” of the pickle. I like a Japanese quickle to use with everything.

Recipe – Japanese Sunomono (sweet)

english cucumber

½ small onion

1 cup water

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tbsp kosher salt

2 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp minced ginger

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except the cucumber. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Wash the cucumber and slice it very thin using a mandoline. Add it to the bowl of liquid, give it a good stir, and then take care to submerge all the cucumber slices. Refrigerate for at least half an hour (but no more than a couple hours) before eating. Drain before serving. Garnish with toasted seaweed and sesame seeds. To add another layer of flavor to this simple pickle, add about ¼ – ½ tsp. dashi soup granules and/or seeded and slivered chili pepper (not much for this amount of cucumber).
Japanese Sour Pickles
1/2 cucumber
1/6 carrots
7 oz. water
1 1/3 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 oz. (dried bonito)
5 oz. daikon radish
2 2/3 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
Sliced ginger
Combine vinegar, water, salt, sugar and soy sauce. Add bonito and sliced ginger and stir slowly until sugar is dissolved. Cut cucumber, daikon and carrot into strips. Put vegetables in a jar and pour the mixture over them. Let sit in refrigerator for a couple of days for flavors to blend. Keeps about 10 days.

Thai Quickles a friend gave me this recipe and she uses pounds for measurement
2 ¼ rice vinegar
½ pound onion sliced
1 pound carrots, sliced
1 pound cucumbers, sliced
4 green chilies sliced
2 tsp. salt
3 tbs. sugar
Put the vinegar in a non-reactive pan and heat. Add sugar and salt and stir to dissolve. Let cool. Put vegetables in a bowl and cover with vinegar mixture. Let sit for one half hour. Keeps in fridge for several days.

Quick Indian Carrot Pickle
5 medium carrots
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground mustard seeds
1 teaspoon chili powder (adjust to taste)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon mustard oil or olive oil
sliced green chili, sliced the long way

Peel the carrots and thinly slice them about 2 inches long (should be about two cups). Wrap the sliced carrots in a dry towel, ensuring the carrots don’t have any excess water. Mix all the ingredients together with the carrots and put in a glass jar. Keep the jar in the sun for a day. Pickle is ready the next day. Pickle can be refrigerated for about two weeks.

Quick Bread and Butter Pickle
(recipe posted in Keep it Simple Saturday Recipe post)

Simple Saturday Cooking and Recipes

Saturdays are always busy so it is KISS – Keep it simple Saturday. Yesterday I did snow day cooking (see post). Saturdays are for cleaning, running errands and watching Duke play basketball – unil the end of the season. Supper tonight will be leftover soup from yesterday’s cooking. Lunch everybody just grabs.

So for KISS, breakfast is simple: Egg in the Nest or, Toad in the Hole – the two names I have heard this dish called for years. there may be others but I only know these two. Simple breakfast, simple recipe. This is a satisfying breakfast or quick lunch or easy supper.

In between times, I will make Pimiento Cheese: A southern staple that is without seasons. It is a staple on picnics, wedding receptions, for kids to grab and go (in my day someone would grab two pieces of plain old white bread and slather with the mixture and hand to me as I was on my way out the door to play until suppertime), stuffed into pieces of celery for addition on a fancy appetizer tray or a cool summer nosh.  Pimiento cheese sandwiches are excellent grilled.  Those quick bread and butter pickles I made yesterday are a great aside for pimiento cheese.

Word of warning:  I use Hellman’s mayo. This has been a source of dismay for my in-laws, relatives, and some friends. Daughters of the south, they use Duke’s mayo. Uhuh. To me, too oily tasting and sweet. Women in other states may use a local brand or Miracle Whip. Some of you may be tempted to use a “lite” mayo. I beg you, please don’t. I mean, you are already eating several mouthfuls of cheese. It’s like eating a Big Mac, large fries and a diet coke. So please use a good quality, full tilt, heavy duty mayo such as Hellman’s.
The sun is shining and a cold front has moved. The snow from yesterday is still much in evidence. I ended up not making sausage balls for my husband yesterday but will today. This recipe has been around since Hector was a pup. Some I bake for immediate eating – the rest I wrap up on rolls of eight and place in a freezer bag for bringing out at various times.
Y’all enjoy your Saturday. Whatever you do, be safe, be careful, have fun.

TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE or, EGG-IN-A-NEST
Per serving:
1 Egg, 1 slice of bread (your choice), butter or margarine, salt and pepper
Cut a hole, about the size of an egg yolk from the center of the bread. Smear one side of the bread with softened butter or margarine. Spray skillet with cooking spray. Break open the egg into the pan keeping the yolk intact and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let white start to cook (about a minute). Drop bread slice, butter side up, on egg with the yolk in the hole of the bread. Cook, depending on how you like your egg. I like over medium. The hole you cut out of the bread should be smeared with butter and allow to pan toast along side of the egg. When ready, flip egg over and allow buttered side of bread to pan toast. Remove to plate and put the “hole” on top of the yolk.

PIMIENTO CHEESE
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
2 cup grated sharp or extra sharp or mixture cheddar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 6 oz. jar or 2 4 oz. jars pimentos, drained and smashed
salt and pepper to taste
dash of hot sauce (Franks or Crystal)
Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add all of the remaining ingredients and beat until well blended. It can be used as a dip for raw veggies or crackers, sandwich filling, filling for celery, topping for beef or turkey burgers. it is also a primo midnight snack: Just open the container and spoon a spoonful or two into your mouth.

SAUSAGE AND CHEESE BALLS
1 pound good quality breakfast sausage (I use homemade) regular, hot, maple, etc.
1 c. all purpose baking mix (such as regular Bisquick or store brand)
2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tbs. grated onion (optional)
Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients just until blended. Doing this by hand is good. Shape into about 40 1 inch balls and place onto two lightly greased baking pans. I cover my pans with foil and lightly grease. Bake about 12 – 14 minutes until done. These are also good for breakfast.