Fruit & Veggie Salad.. with Sweet and Sour dressing

This is very light and fruity salad to perk up a summer meal. I have made this a couple of times now with different kinds of fruits .. this combination turned out to be the best. However , there is still no dearth of combination s if you are willing to be creative : apples, pears, strawberries , grapes,carrots, green onions... anyone ??


Ingredients
2 cups of pineapple chunks
1 cup peeled oranges
1 cup of cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup pitted black olives
1/2 cup pickled sweet peppers

For the dressing:
1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs of lemon juice ( or lime juice)
1/4 tsp of black pepper powder
1 tsp sugar
salt

How to go about

• In a bowl whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Please note that the measurements are variable; you could omit the pepper or sugar, tone down the lemon part for a less tangy version... just play around till you get it right for your palette.
• Toss in the fruits and veggies and mix well
  

Sit back and enjoy your salad :)

Happy weekend everyone !!

Coleslaw & A Yummy Sandwich

I just gobbled up what you are seeing in the picture .. It looks a plain-jane plate , but I must say, it IS one super-duper sandwich once you take a bite !
Coleslaw is my favorite summer-salad.. Well! I do make it in all seasons , but when I think of Coleslaw , summer BBQs comes to my mind ... and in winter I make it just to re-live those summer moments . I do make some other versions of it too , and I will post them in due course of time (... well, that is as soon as the grill is fired up next !)

Now that we are talking about this much savored salad, and if you feel like reading a bit more on who made it first , or the different variants of it , or how the name came to be... Click here;
Wiki has an entire page on it :)

In the meantime, here is the recipe:
(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:
1 cup shredded Cabbage
1/4 cup grated Carrot ( optional)
1/4 cup minced Celery
1/4 cup Alfalfa Sprouts (optional)
1/4 cup Raisins ( or dried Cranberries)
1/4 cup chopped Cashew-nuts ( or pecans , again optional... i love the crunch it gives!)

2 tbs of Mayonnaise
1 tbs of Cream Cheese
1 tsp sugar
A pinch of black-pepper powder
A pinch of salt

How to go about :

• In a medium bowl combine the Cream Cheese, Mayonnaise, Salt , Pepper and Sugar
• Toss in all the other ingredients (mentioned above) and mix well

....and Voila !!
To make the sandwich: Toast Bread , slather a lavish spoon of the slaw on one side and top with another slice of bread . Yumm... !! I have noticed that if stored in a sealed container and refrigerated , this coleslaw keeps well for at-least another day . More tips on storing coleslaw.

This salad is a great way to incorporate something as nutritious as Alfalfa Sprouts.
Please note that the nutrition data I have provided is approximate and for 1 serving, and is calculated with all the ingredients listed above.

Happy Summer Meals to you !

Cherry Tomato Snack

Spring is in the air! This year I want to try growing some tomatoes (..again!). The last couple of attempts went totally awry .. either lack of watering or too much of it, once there were bugs all over the vines and once i even blamed it on the pot ( it was retaining too much water)! On my last grocery trip, I got an issue of Martha Stewart Living in which there is an article "Tomatoes for all spaces".. so , I am all set now. I would like to tell myself that my black thumb is slowly turning green ; at-least the darkest shade of green :) So today I am off to buy some potting soil and some tomato-plants.. hoping to reap a bounty ( or in the least, a handful).
In the meantime , I would love to share with you this super-easy, healthy and beautiful salad/ snack that I had at one of the parties recently.

Ingredients:

• 1 pint Cherry tomatoes ( or any small variety of tomatoes)
• 2 tbs Sour cream
  
• 1 tbs Capers
  
• Salt to taste
  
• 1/8 tsp Crushed peppercorn or to taste
  

Procedure:

• Halve the tomatoes .
  
• In a small bowl mix the sour cream, capers, salt and crushed pepper
• Put a dollop of this mixture on to the tomato ( If you have a pastry bag and tips, you could even use that ..just make sure to use a wide-tip so that the capers can pass through.

Happy Snacking !