Salad Days

It looks like it’s going to be at least 90 degrees for the next few days. In this weather, I’m not hankering for rich, heavy, meat-filled meals. Rather, my thoughts turn to salads, and lighter foods. Luckily, we have a couple of fabulous organic markets with tempting arrays of fresh organic fruits and vegetables right in town. They are: Nature's Temptations (a member of the Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce) (32 Prospect Street, Ridgefield—203-438-5443, http://naturestemptations.com/) and Ridgefield Organics & Specialty Market (109 Danbury Road, Ridgefield—203-894-8102, http://ez-landingpage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46:welcome-to-ridgefield-organic-a-specialty-market).

Ridgefield Organics & Specialty Market is in The Marketplace at Copps Hill. They have lovely, juicy tomatoes, and arugula to die for. A salad of arugula, radicchio, and endive, with a light lemon vinaigrette will be a feature on my table every day. And a fruit salad composed of their mangos, canteloupe, grapes, and honeydew melon will be the perfect finish to any meal.

Here’s a terrific salad recipe, using ingredients from Ridgefield Organics, combining vegetables (avocado and onion), and fruit (mango and lime juice). This is with a shout out to my friend, Ann, who served this delicious dish at a summer dinner.





Mango and Avocado Salad:
2 avocados diced
2 mangos, diced
1–2 limes (need 2 tablespoons of juice)
½ red onion thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Place in bowl, toss, serve. Do not make too far ahead, as avocado tends to discolor.

Natures Temptations has a deli counter full of delicious, healthful salads. My particular favorites are the quinoa salad, faro salad, beet salad, and roasted tofu salad. They have lots of other yummy healthful prepared foods, and also an impressive array of organic fruits and vegetables.

If they don’t happen to have the quinoa salad, below is a great recipe for making your own version. Quinoa is actually a seed, but it looks like couscous. It is high in protein, and is a great source of fiber, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium. It’s also gluten-free (I’m going to do a post very soon on all the restaurants and food markets in the area that have gluten-free dishes). At Natures Temptations, you can bag your own quinoa, in whatever amount you prefer, from their handy dispensers. Without further ado, here is the quinoa salad recipe (with a big shout out to my sister, from whom I got this recipe):

Quinoa Salad:
Ingredients: 2 cups quinoa, rinsed well
3 ½ cups water
1 cup chopped parsley
1 pound plum tomatoes, seeded, diced small
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 small cloves garlic, minced (1 ½ teaspoons)
1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh mint
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Place the quinoa into a fine-mesh colander, and rinse under cold running water. Drain well.

Place quinoa and water in a saucepan and cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, until quinoa is tender and liquid is absorbed. Fluff the quinoa with a fork, and spread the grains out evenly on a plate (I use a cookie sheet) and chill completely before mixing with the remaining ingredients.

Combine the cooked quinoa, parsley, tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and mint. Season with salt and pepper.

If you have this in your fridge overnight, and the flavor is not as intense the next day, I find adding a little more lemon juice, salt, and pepper brings it right back.

Do you have a favorite warm weather salad dish, or favorite salad ingredients from one of our local markets? Please feel free to add to this blog!