Early summer salads, lighter foods for a brighter summer

Easy summer salads, lighter foods for a brighter summer
by: mark brading

Easy summer salads are the way to go, now that the winter blues are fading into the distance and salad days are here. The best salads are light, bright and easy to prepare.

After all who wants to spend hours slaving away in the kitchen when friends are round for lunch, the garden is in bloom and the wine is chilled and ready to pour. But before you start to cook you save a lot of energy by buying the right ingredients for a simple salad.

That way you don’t need the heavy bottled sauces and dressings to make a great flavor Do you really want to take a beautiful crisp summer salad and soak it in a mixture of fat, sugar, salt and chemicals?

If you start off with great food and don’t do too much to it you don’t need all these strong tastes as you still have great food. All you need is to combine it well so that the flavors work together, have a nice crunchy texture and add a little light dressing to set it all off, and let the taste buds do the rest Freshness is, as in all cooking, the way to a good salad.

Don’t take what the supermarkets give you. Although it’s easier to pick up the ready packed tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, bell peppers etc. To make sure you get the best, take a minute or two and pick over the vegetables, choose what is firm ripe and ready to use.

The same of course applies with meat and fish. There is a reason why supermarkets prepackage, and it’s not always convenience. So choose well, cook quickly and simply and your friends won’t have finished the wine by the time you get there!

Enjoy a little bit of summer now with this easy poached chicken salad.

Easy poached chicken salad

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts (skinless)
1 finely sliced red onion
1 whole half onion
4 good ripe tomatoes sliced thickly
250 grams/4ozs salad leaves mixed
4ozs raisins soaked in hot water for ten minutes
1 half lemon
2 fresh or dry bay leaves
1-teaspoon peppercorns black
1 small French, stick loaf or similar sliced into 1/2 slices

For the dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
1clove garlic crushed
1/2 dessert spoon Dijon or other mild mustard
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

To make the dressing, whisk the vinegar and mustard together with the garlic, slowly add the olive oil while whisking and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring a pan of water to the boil with the bay leaves, 1/2 white onion, lemon and peppercorns. Carefully add the chicken and simmer gently until cooked, if you unsure it is worth investing a few dollars in a meat thermometer.

The temperature should be at least 75 celcius/167 Fahrenheit, put the sliced bread on a baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt.

Bake in a medium oven until crisp but soft in the middle. Mix the leaves together with the onions and raisins. Turn in the salad dressing and put into 4 good-sized bowls.

Place slices of tomato and bread around the edge. Slice the warm chicken at an angle and put attractively on top off the salad. Sit back, enjoy and get someone else to do the washing up. http://www.nearlyhealthy.com

About the author:"http://nearlyhealthy.com" is a new quality easy recipe, cookery tips and information site, for great tasting food that is also easy to cook. Cooking should be a joy not a chore. Using the best ingredients and keeping it simple means your food tastes good with the minimum of fuss. . Cookery book reviews, we choose the best in current and classic recipe books and food travel writers. Also product and good food suppliers. Need to know the best food processor we take the time to choose so you don't have to. Need to know where to find the best organic pork? We bring you the best suppliers and information. We have started small but will add more and more content over the coming weeks so do keep checking back. We look forward to seeing you and listening to your comments and feedback. "http://www.nearlyhealthy.com"

Menu Planning

Frugal Menu Planning--Getting Started
by: Cyndi Roberts

Getting started making a plan for a week's worth of meals can surely be a bit daunting at first. It need not be complicated--though a little bit of time spent planning will be well worth it! A good way to start is by looking at what you already have on hand -- sort of taking a visual inventory. Next,it's helpful to list on a piece of paper, all the meals for the coming week.

For example, list all the days, then Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, etc. On this list of meals, write down a main dish and a couple of side dishes that you want to make, keeping in mind what staples are on hand in the cupboard and in the freezer.

Try to come up with as many meals as you can with what you have on hand. Remember to write down some of the extras you think you might like to make during the coming week -- such as cookies, snacks or desserts.

Always keep the ads from the local grocery store handy and plan meals around the weekly specials, if possible. Don't just think about main dishes; if bananas are on sale, make banana bread for snacks, or lunches, for example. While you are making your menu plan, think about what will be happening in the next week.

Is Friday night Football Game Night? Plan to have a supper that is quick to fix. Is Wednesday your day off? That is the day you might want to try out a new recipe that takes a little longer to prepare. Whatever your schedule, plan your menus around it. And be flexible! If it snows on

Tuesday, and you hadn't planned to make chili until Thursday, you can just switch the menus around. Keep your lists, so that in weeks to come, you can be reminded of some meals your family especially liked (or disliked!).

After a few weeks, you will end up with a set of weekly menus that you can use over and over. With your plan in hand, you won't be tempted to go for takeout because you just can't think of anything to make for supper. And you won't get caught without that "one ingredient" you need to make tonight's supper, so no more last minute trips to the grocery store!

About the author:Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another" bi-weekly newsletter and founder of the website of the same name. Visit http://www.cynroberts.com/to find creative tips, articles, and a free e-cooking book. Subscribe to the newsletter and receive the free e-course "Taming the Monster Grocery Bill".

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