Orange and Avocado Salad

This is another item on the sadly short list of things so amazingly good I'd eat them even if they weren't healthy. Others honorees includ mangoes, roasted garlic and green beans, really good hummus, fresh pineapple, and red wine.

This salad is simple, delicious, and we could eat it every night of the week. Play it by ear-no rules here.
*An orange, or two, peel sliced off, sliced crosswise into thin rounds.
*An avocado, or two, sliced into thin crescents.
*Black pepper
*Balsamic vinegar
*Goat cheese (optional)
*Olive oil (optional).

-Arrange the avocado and orange slices in circles on a plate, overlapping each other.
-Grind pepper over all.
-Crumble some goat cheese on top, if you'd like.
-Either drizzle with balsamic vinegar, or mix 1 Tbs balsamic to 3 Tbs olive oil (shake in a small jar) to make our standard, everyday vinaigrette.
-Enjoy. It's wonderful if your oranges were cold-chilly deliciousness. Another great variation is to toss the fruits with some nice salad greens, and dress after that.

Yum!

Rachel's Spicy Pasta Salad

My sister sent me this recipe more than a year ago, and then made it for us on her trip here for our wedding in September of 2005, (which was potluck and the best wedding food we've ever had). The salad is really good and very easy, and the leftovers were fantastic. It was great to be able to munch on in the post-wedding, wrapping paper strewn, chaos. The salad is flavorful and, as she mentions below, easy to customize. I think it would be fine without chicken, as well.

My sister, who lives in Flagstaff, is a fabulous cook. I think we both inherited the cooking gene from our mother, who always seems to have loved cooking, although what she cooks has changed a lot over the years, to adjust to changing tastes (and a husband with cholesterol problems). The food of my childhood was often classic 70s food: homemade macaroni and cheese (which I hated), spaghetti with meat sauce (ditto), turkey tetrazzini (ditto-I was a picky child. Love 'em all now)-side dishes of canned pears on a lettuce leaf topped with grated cheese. But we also ate things like homemade wontons and chile rellenos and Grecian chicken. My mom, and Rachel and I, all love to bake. One shining childhood memory is of the night dinner was a bowl of meringue. I blame my childhood for my deep ingrained feeling that I haven't finished my evening meal if I don't get dessert at the end of it. Nutritionists who recommend treating yourself once or twice a week to a dessert make me laugh.

And back to my sister's salad! Thanks for this, Rae.

Spicy Pasta Salad
1 ½ tablespoons curry powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 ¼ cups light Miracle Whip
1 pound gnocchi shaped pasta
8 oz. sugar snap peas
1 mango, peeled and cubed
1/3 cup honey-roasted sliced almonds

I made a few substitutions – chicken breasts instead of thighs; pasta
shells; a little more of all the spices, especially cayenne; and on one
occasion used a combo of regular mayo and miracle whip, as well as
sweetened lime juice – they were all fantastic.

1.  Combine curry powder, cayenne, cinnamon, and salt.  Sprinkle 1 tsp. of
the mixed spices on one side of chicken.  Broil 6 inches from heat for 8
minutes; turn and broil another 8 minutes or until thermometer reads 180
degrees.  Remove, let cool, cut into bite size pieces.
2.  Stir remaining mixed spices and 1 tbsp. of the lime juice into salad
dressing.  Refrigerate.
3.  Bring large pot of salted water to boiling; cook pasta until tender
but still firm.  Add peas during last minute of cooking.  Drain and rinse
with cool running water.
4.  Toss mango with remaining lime juice.  Place in serving bowl with
pasta, peas, and chicken.  Toss with salad dressing.  Refrigerate.  Top
each serving with almonds.

Spinach Apple Salad with Candied Almonds

This is a perennial family favorite, and a standard to take to potlucks. It is always well-received. It's easy, and the flavors are a good way to introduce kids to spinach (it's fairly sweet, the dressing isn't too strongly flavored, and kids usually are very happy about apple slices). The almonds are delicious, and any leftover would be great on ice cream. Theoretically, that is, as I've never had any left over. This is taken from Bon Appetit, with a few small adaptations. In my experience, if you make the full amount of dressing, you'll have way too much for one bag of spinach (unless you like your salad swimming in dressing). I'd either save the dressing to have salad again the next night, or cut the dressing in half. You can make the almonds and dressing in advance; slice apples and toss all together at the last minute.
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1/4 cup minced onion
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons sugar (divided)
1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup blanched slivered almonds (about 3 ounces)

1 10- ounce bag ready-to-use spinach leaves
2 medium-size apples, cored, thinly sliced

Combine onion, cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, paprika in small bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons sugar. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Note: I usually do this in my food processor-chopping the onion in the bowl then adding the other ingredients without cleaning out the bowl, finally drizzling the olive oil through the tube. You want the onion very finely chopped).

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add almonds. Stir until almonds begin to color, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon sugar over. Stir until sugar melts and begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer almonds to bowl and cool. (Dressing and almonds can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover separately and let stand at room temperature.)

Combine spinach and apples in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Mix in almonds. Serve salad, passing any remaining dressing separately.

Cous Cous Salad with Orange Dressing

This doubles easily, and is open to lots of variation. Very quick, as well.

Salad:
*2 1/4 Cups chicken broth or water, boiling.
*1 1/2 Cups cous cous
*1/2 Cup chopped dried apricots, currants, or raisins (I prefer apricots)
*1 can chickpeas (garbonzo beans), drained and rinsed (or other canned beans)
*1 bunch green onions, chopped
*1/4-1/2 Cup slivered almonds (or other nuts)
*optional: cooked chicken from a roast chicken

Place cous cous and dried fruit in medium to large bowl. Pour boiling broth over, stir to mix, and let stand 5 minutes. Add beans and onions, stir and fluff.

Dressing:
*3/4 Cup orange juice
*3 TBS balsamic vinegar
*3 TBS orange zest (zest from 2 or 3 oranges)
*1 TBS ground cumin
*1/2 cup olive oil

Combine all in a jar. Put the lid on :). Shake vigorously to blend right. Add to salad and toss-start with about 1/2 the jar and more to taste.

Does well made ahead, and left overs are great.