Fresh Sweet Corn and Tomato Salad

There's little better in this world than fresh sweet corn and tomatoes at the end of the summer. This is a recipe I posted two years ago. I made it again recently and its wonderful.

Fresh Sweet Corn and Tomato Salad

Serves 4
Dressing
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 t. olive oil
1 t. balsamic vinegar
¼ t. sea salt
¼ t. black pepper
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced


Veggies
½ C. uncooked whole wheat orzo
¼ C. red onion, diced
1 C. tomato, diced
4 ears of fresh sweet corn, kernels cut off
½ C. cucumber, diced
Italian flat-leaf parsley

Cook the orzo according to directions. While the pasta is cooking make the dressing by whisking together the ingredients. Drain the pasta and put it into a bowl. Spoon a little of the dressing over the pasta, stir to coat and set aside to cool. Prepare the vegetables. When the orzo is cool, mix the orzo, vegetables and remaining dressing together. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Muffaletta Salad - Vegan Style

Do you know what a muffaletta is? Well it's not vegan, that's for sure! It's a submarine-style sandwich made with a kind of bread that originated in the French Quarter of  New Orleans, Louisiana. It's usually starts with this bread and is layered with an olive salad (key ingredient), deli meats and cheese. 

Long before I began eating as a vegan, I made one of these subs and it was excellent! (if you like smoked meats topped with an olive salad that is...) But it's the olive salad that makes the sandwich. It's very different and really tasty! 

So, one day while I was cruising the internet I came across a recipe for a muffaletta salad. Reading the recipe brought back memories and I became intrigued with the idea of using the olive salad minus the meat. The base of this salad is from that recipe. I found it on the Food Network website. It's by Guy Fieri. As usual, I wasn't completely sold on the recipe as is. I thought I could improve on the dish, and I did! 

Here are the changes I made...With the dressing, I changed the quantity of a couple of the ingredients and the length of time it is blended. Then, I changed the ingredients of the salad itself so it became more of a meal. The dressing is what really makes this dish. It's wonderful, really wonderful. You have to try it. 

BTW, I took the salad to a neighbors house (with kalamata olives, not canned). She loved it, so I decided to post it. Thanks Joan!  

Ingredients for the salad dressing

• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup olive juice from can
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup diced black olives (I used kalamata)
• 1/2 cup diced green olives
• 1/2 cup diced marinated artichoke hearts, diced
• 1/2 cup diced celery 

Directions

In a food processor or blender, combine the garlic, vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, olive juice, lemon juice, red chili flakes, pepper and all vegetables. Pulse until pureed. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and keep in refrigerator.

Salad ingredients

• 16oz. of orzo
• 1/2 red onion, minced
• 1/2 - 1 English seedless cucumber, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 3 green onions, sliced on a diagonal
• the remainder of the black olives, sliced
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, minced
• 2-3 jars of marinated artichoke hearts
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Cook the orzo according to directions. Drain and coat with enough dressing to keep the pasta from sticking together and give it flavor. When the orzo is cool, add the vegetables and toss. Finally, add more dressing to taste and toss until well mixed. Refrigerate. You will end up with dressing left over, but it's great on greens and pasta!

Fresh Sweet Corn and Tomato Salad

There's little better in this world than fresh sweet corn and tomatoes at the end of the summer. This is my take on a recipe I saw on television one morning. It does have oil in it, but if you play with the amount of lemon juice and balsamic, you can omit the oil.

Fresh Sweet Corn and Tomato Salad

Serves 4

Dressing
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 t. olive oil
1 t. balsamic vinegar
¼ t. sea salt
¼ t. black pepper
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced


Veggies
½ C. uncooked whole wheat orzo
¼ C. red onion, diced
1 C. tomato, diced
4 ears of fresh sweet corn, kernels cut off
½ C. cucumber, diced
Italian flat-leaf parsley

Cook the orzo according to directions. While the pasta is cooking make the dressing by whisking together the ingredients. Drain the pasta and put it into a bowl. Spoon a little of the dressing over the pasta, stir to coat and set aside to cool. Prepare the vegetables. When the orzo is cool, mix the orzo, vegetables and remaining dressing together. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Orzo Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

This dish smells so good while its cooking you’ll want to pull it out early and eat it. I serve this with a steamed vegetable, like broccolini, and undressed greens. The greens taste great mixed with the sauce and stuffed mushroom. It cooks for a long time, so this dish isn’t fast, but it is easy!

Orzo Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Serves 4
30 minutes of prep
55 minutes in the oven

1 small onion chopped (1 C.)
2 garlic cloves finely minced
5 sun dried tomatoes chopped
2 T. coarsely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
¼ C. basil, chiffonade before measuring
2T. bread crumbs
1/8 t. dried oregano
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 C. organic vegetable broth
½ C. uncooked whole wheat orzo
4 large Portobello mushrooms, remove the gills
Pasta sauce – about 2 cups

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil a pot of water for the orzo and cook orzo according to directions. Simmer the onion and garlic, over low heat, in ½ C. of vegetable broth until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stop the cooking and mix in the sun dried tomatoes, parsley, basil, bread crumbs, oregano and red pepper. Add the cooked orzo to the onion mixture and spoon equal portions of the mixture on top of each mushroom. Place the mushrooms into a casserole. Pour the remaining vegetable broth into the bottom of the casserole. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes. Warm the pasta sauce and ladle up to 1/2 C. onto each plate. Place a mushroom on top of the sauce and serve.

Notes: Sometimes you have to reconstitute sun-dried tomatoes by soaking them in warm water for 30 minutes. If you have to do this, pat them dry before cutting them up. Also, I use Pacific organic vegetable broth. It comes in packages of four one cup servings. This makes it very convenient and not nearly as wasteful.