My friend, Lynne, was telling me about the food served at a recent gathering. Somewhere in the middle of her list she mentioned ‘warm bok choy salad’. I, actually, didn’t hear anything else after that – my mind became focused on this intriguing-sounding dish. Warm salad? Bok choy? Hmmm.
Like a detective interrogating a prime suspect, I grilled her for details. What was in it? Anything else? How did she make it? My friend was becoming increasingly nervous – possibly fearing I would soon be reading her Miranda Rights. So, I let it go… and googled it.
As one would expect, there were multiple Warm Bok Choy Salad recipes. I read several, and came up with my own version. Feel free to change my recipe to suit yourself.
WARM BOK CHOY SALAD – serves 2
- 12 oz / 340g bok choy
- 3 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 3 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 3/4 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 cup carrots, shredded
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1.5 oz / 43g Feta cheese, crumbled
- 3 oz / 85g Mandarin oranges
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
Slice off and discard bottom of bok choy. Wash stems and chop into bite-sized pieces.
Heat together the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and honey. (You can use the serving bowl, if it’s microwave-proof.)
Place bok choy in a steamer basket but don’t put basket in the pan yet. Add about 1/2″ (2 cm) to the pan and bring to boil. Then place the steamer basket in pan, cover with a lid, and steam for about 1-2 minutes. (If you place the basket in before the water is boiling, you run the risk of over-steaming.)
Immediately remove basket from pan and empty bok choy into bowl with dressing. Stir in remaining ingredients and serve.
Taste for seasoning, adjusting as needed.
Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook over low heat for a total of 30 minutes. At first, stir now and then – until it’s been cooking for about 20 minutes. At this point most of the liquid will have been absorbed into the rice. Stir more often now to prevent burning. If all the liquid has been incorporated before the 30 minutes is up, turn off the heat and let the covered pot sit on the hot burner. This is to make sure the rice is completely cooked. 
Eat as is, or do something crazy (like I do) and serve as an open faced sandwich on a homemade 
When asked to attend a potluck, my Spicy Macaroni Salad is often specifically requested. Unlike the usual bland pasta salads, this recipe will wake up your mouth…in a good way!
Stir the carrots, radishes, cucumber, scallions, parsley, and dill into the dressing. Mix well and chill.
Cook pasta in salted water until just tender. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking (don’t worry, it will continue to soften when mixed with the dressing) and drain. Mix into the dressing. Chill at least an hour to allow the flavors to penetrate the pasta.
Avocado Sauce is a quick and easy topping for tacos, salads, quesadillas, or anything else you want. As opposed to guacamole, which is usually chunkier, it’s meant to pour – thus covering more territory.
Pulse until creamy – scraping down sides as needed.
Adjust seasoning to your preference.
Mexican Rice is one of those foods that can be both a side dish and an ingredient in something else. For example, Monday night you might want a side dish with a bit of a kick to perk up a main course, and then on Tuesday it can become part of a burrito or taco. One preparation, two meals! Love it!!!
Empty into a large measuring cup and add enough stock or water (both work fine) to add up to 4 cups total. Set aside.
Put uncooked rice in a sieve and rinse well to remove excess starch. 
In a saucepan, heat oil. Add rinsed rice and sauté 6 minutes. 
Stir in the tomato purée, garlic, salt, jalapeños, and tomato paste. Pour into casserole dish. 
Cover and bake at 350º F 30-40 minutes, stirring halfway through, until rice is fully cooked. (Make sure rice is fully cooked – it won’t continue to soften off-heat.) 
Add in cilantro and lime juice to taste. If you want more kick, stir in another minced jalapeño.
Apple season is upon us. While there are a plethora of pie, tart, and bread recipes made from these red beauties, I decided to try something a little different: APPLE-SWEET POTATO HASH. The combination of apples, sweet potatoes, and onions works surprisingly well.
Cover, decrease heat to low, and cook for 8 minutes. Check to see if sweet potato is easily pierced by a sharp knife. If not, cover and let cook a little longer.
When cooked, add in apples, cinnamon, salt, and dill. 
Increase heat to medium/high and sauté until browned, stirring now and then. Add in lemon juice. 
Adjust seasoning, if needed.
Picnics and potlucks nearly always have a macaroni salad or two. Often it’s store-bought and kind of a watery mush. People eat it because it’s there.
Pour into a large bowl.
Grits. Just the word has always made me want to rinse out my mouth. I could never understand why anyone would want to eat them…and like them! Until now.
Add in the 3¼ cups water, milk, hot sauce, pepper, and salt. Bring to boil.
Whisking continuously, very slowly pour in the polenta (or cornmeal). 
Decrease heat to maintain a simmer and cook, uncovered, until thickened – about 15 minutes. Stir often, taking care to get into the edges.
In a blender, pureé the corn with the remaining 1/4 cup water for about 5 seconds. 
Pour into the thickened grits, also adding the cheeses, stirring to blend. Cook another 5 minutes or so to thicken. 
Top servings with scallion green slices, more shredded cheese, and paprika, if desired.
Cooked spinach is not a looker. It wilts down from a giant amount to a small, dark green mound. On its own it tastes…okay. But doctor it up with some flavor, crunch, and color and now you’ve got something.
Place spinach in a towel to absorb excess water. 
Roughly chop. 
Heat 
Stir in the spinach and salt – sauté over medium/high about 2 minutes to evaporate excess moisture. 
Reduce heat to low and add in the water chestnuts, feta, 
Stir over low heat, just to warm everything. Add in tomatoes and serve.
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