Category Archives: Salads

TOMATO, CUCUMBER, AND ONION SALAD

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This month Tag Sale Tastes is 12 years old.  12 years is also how many years ago my mother died.  I was sitting in a Leisure Learning class called “Blogging for Dollars” (don’t need to tell you how that turned out, do I?), and had turned off my phone.  When the class ended I saw I had 5 or 6 messages from my sister — she’d been trying to call to tell me our mother was in the hospital.  She stayed there about a week with an undetermined stomach ailment, until she died after her colon perforated in the hospital and she became septic.  Two weeks later I lost my job at the law firm I did not like, where I’d stuck it out for almost a dozen years.  Good people.  With time on my hands, I was able to get Tag Sale Tastes up and running.  The blog still serves the same two purposes I originally intended it to serve — (1) it motivates me to cook, and (2) it provides a creative outlet, in contrast to the more formal legal writing I do at my day job.  I do not earn any money from the blog, which is partly why you will never see the words “jump to recipe” or “Comment “RECIPE” for the recipe” on my blog (admit it — you hate those too).

I appreciate all of my readers — those that subscribe to the blog via email, those that leave a kind comment, those that tell me they made a recipe from the blog, those that follow me on Facebook, and those that are quiet lurkers.

To celebrate 12 years of Tag Sale Tastes, I am challenging myself to post a salad recipe every day in July.  My summer cooking goal is to get in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible, using as few heat-generating appliances as possible, and salads are often the key to achieving that goal.  I hope you’ll be inspired to try one or two.  UPDATE:  Salad month came to an abrupt halt on July 8 due to circumstances beyond my control including:  (1) Hurricane Beryl on July 8, (2) taking in my mother-in-law with advanced dementia and her caretakers after she lost power for 7 days after the hurricane, (3) my dad died on July 12, (4) travel to and from Florida for his funeral July 14-15, (5) loss of internet, and (6) Covid.  In short, July kicked our butts.

I’m starting off with an easy recipe, one we tend to make at least once a week in the summer.  No cooking required, just cool, fresh produce and a simple oil and vinegar dressing.  This colorful and flavorful side salad takes just a few minutes to prepare, making it a summer salad superstar in my book, perfect for those living under a heat dome and the “hottest summer on record.”

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TOMATO, CUCUMBER, AND ONION SALAD
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • NOTE: All vegetable amounts are approximate (you do you)
  • ½ pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise (mixed colors are especially nice)
  • ½ English cucumber, sliced lengthwise and then cut crosswise into ¼" slices
  • ½ of a small sweet onion, thinly sliced (Vidalia, Persian Sweets, 1014, etc.)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Place tomatoes, cucumber, and onion in a medium bowl, and toss to combine. Pour olive oil and vinegars over oil, stirring to distribute dressing. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

 

Eat the rainbow

GRAPEFRUIT, AVOCADO, AND RADISH CRUDO

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I found this Wedgwood plate at an estate sale:

The United States Supreme Court, number 4 in a series of 4.  I bet you, like me, won’t be able to sleep until you know what the other three in the series are.  Mystery solved — I found a complete set listed on eBay, which also includes the Capitol, the White House, and a panorama of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.  Whew — now we can all sleep at night.

I’ve never had a case go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, although we tried once when I was a new lawyer working in NY.  The partner I was working with sent me to D.C. to file our hopeful little petition for certiorari in person.  He put me in a cab with a trial bag filled with our 40 copies, and in no time I was on the Trump Shuttle, (which flew hourly between NY and D.C.).  In case you are wondering, this is what a trial bag looks like:

Unfortunately, the oversized trial bag was awkward to carry and the petitions kept shifting in the bag, and as I was navigating the aircraft’s aisle, a critical button popped off of my dress.  I buttoned my heavy winter coat up and tried not to think about it.  But it was no longer cold out, and by the time I got to the Court I was hot, sweaty, cranky, and looking a wee bit crazy.  I announced that I was there to file a petition for certiorari, and the clerk looked at me said “Are you filing in forma pauperis?” which basically means “are you a poor person who can’t afford the filing fee?”  Defeated, I said, “I knew you were going to ask me that,” and explained about the missing button on my dress, which was probably TMI.  He assured me that he asks everyone that, but I didn’t believe him.  He gave me a safety pin for my dress and accepted my 40 (unsuccessful) petitions for filing.  In case you are wondering, this is what the safety pin looked like:

The honorable plate and memories of my one and only trip to the United States Supreme Court, the highest court in the U.S., is the inspiration for this recipe for Grapefruit Crudo, adapted from Bon Appetit, with its pretty grapefruit supremes and virbrant colors.

Supreming grapefruits (or any citrus) is easy, and makes them so much nicer to eat.  Cut the top and bottom off the grapefruit, then cut off the rind, trying not to take too much of the flesh with it.

Then slide your knife between the membranes to release the individual segments:

This salad (or crudo) is interesting, beautiful, and delicious.  It looked especially pretty on my green platter — I’d suggest laying some little gem or Boston lettuce leaves on your platter before assembling the salad to achieve a similar look.

5 from 1 reviews
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GRAPEFRUIT, AVOCADO, AND RADISH CRUDO
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 2 large grapefruits, supremed (cut into segments)
  • ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 large watermelon radish, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoons honey
  • 1 tablespoons roasted and salted cashes, chopped
  • 1 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 Fresno or other red Chile, thinly sliced
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together fish sauce, lime juice, and honey.
  2. Shortly before serving, arrange radish slices around edge of serving platter.. Arrange avocado slices inside watermelon radishes. Mound grapefruit and red onion in center of platter. Drizzle fish sauce mixture over salad, garnish with cashews and Fresno chile slices, and serve.

Beautiful!

Like an Iron Chef, your cuisine will reign supreme