Summer Salad Duo

Depending on where you live, it's either too hot to turn on your oven, or your oven won't turn on. If you live in this house, your oven won't turn on. But it looks so nice! Something electrical is wrong.  (Note: these are #fancyovenproblems) 

But for many of you, it's one point nine bajillion degrees outside and you're probably not  interested in turning on your modest functioning oven. This is where I come in.


Here are two summery salads that cover all your nutritional bases. Protein, whole grain, fiber, fruit (if you're counting tomatoes), veggies, and healthy plant fat! I might have eaten this meal with crusty bread and goat cheese. I have an addiction! Not my fault!


Cucumber Tomato and Red Onion Salad


1 large cucumber
1 medium red onion
2 large tomatoes
1 tbsp EVOO
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
S&P to taste

Peel cucumber. Slice in half lengthwise, then scoop out any extra seeds. (If you use a hot house cucumber - the kind that comes wrapped in plastic - then you can just slice in half and skip the seeding).
Slice in half moons.

Cut tomatoes in 1/8ths.

Slice onion into bite size pieces. Nobody like giant onion chunks. Or do they?

Add all produce in a bowl. Add garlic pow, basil, S&P.

Drizzle with EVOO and red wine vin. Toss and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Ten minutes is all you need to get a slight pickle going on in there. Perfect!




Shrimp, Corn, and Avocado Quinoa Salad 


2 dozen cooked shrimp (like from leftover Cajun Boil)
1/2 c. yellow corn kernels
1 large avocado
2 c. cooked quinoa
juice of 2 limes
salt to taste

Peel shrimp and cut into bite size pieces (2's or 3's)

Cut corn off of cob

In a large bowl, combine corn and shrimp with quinoa

Dice the avocado and fold into quinoa mixture

Dress with lime juice and salt and toss well to coat

This quinoa salad is even better the next day! The lime juice keeps the avo from browning. You could go veg by substituting baked tofu for the shrimp.

Stay cool! (and never change! middle school yearbooks? anyone?)

Cajun Boil

When I was a kid my family and I took a few trips to Lake Shasta and stayed on a houseboat with my aunt and uncle and other extended family members. We saw bears, tons of deer, caught some fish, and inadvertently went rafting (in a houseboat...) I was just young enough to not really remember those trips now, but I do have memories from the photographs I've seen, not to mention the trauma from the rafting incident. Just teasing, Uncle Gary!

The first time I had this meal was on one of those house boat trips. I don't remember the first meal because I was too young, but my family has had this hundreds of times since then. It's a really fun meal, especially for a group. But this isn't a fine dining sort of meal... it involves newspapers and piles of shrimp shells.

Cajun Boil
for 6


1 Zatarain's Crawfish, Shrimp, & Crab Boil in Bag
6 ears of corn
12 red potatoes
1 large bag of fresh or frozen, shell on, raw shrimp
8 spicy sausage links (like chicken andouille)
6-12 sourdough rolls, depending on your carb neediness
condiments: ketchup, horseradish, a selection of mustards and hot sauces, salt, pepper, butter

Add crab boil bag to the most giant pot you have (like industrial size huge) and fill 5" below rim with water.

You might call it a cauldron.

Prep corn by breaking into halves, or thirds, depending on your forearm strength.

Wash and scrub potatoes. Dry, pierce with a fork, and pre-cook in microwave on a plate for 12 minutes, or until cooked evenly.

Get your other ingredients ready. Rinse off shrimp (nobody likes frozen shrimp ice sauce).

And cut sausages into halves.

Water should be boiling away at this point!

Add in sausage and cook 2-3 minutes, or until just starting to plump up.

Add corn. Cook 4-5 minutes, or until a little brighter yellow.

Add shrimp. Cook about 5 minutes, or until they float and are red and opaque.

Prep your table! This is the fun part. The first layer (which you can't see) is a cut open trash bag. This protects the table from juices. Then put a few layers of newspaper, making sure you use the newspaper for placemats. Then finally, a layer of paper towels. You could use dish towels too. We make a ring of potatoes. It's kinda blair witchy.

Drain the boil!

And dump that shit on the table!

Now go be a pig and eat with your hands. Yum!