Cucumber and Radish Salad with Feta, Red Wine Vinegar, and Buttermilk Dressing

This Cucumber and Radish Salad with Feta, Red Wine Vinegar, and Buttermilk Dressing is easy but delicious!

If you saw the garden update where I picked all those radishes, you might not be too surprised to see this Cucumber and Radish Salad with Feta, Red Wine Vinegar, and Buttermilk Dressing popping up here. I love radishes, especially the mild ones you get from the garden, and I've had fun trying recipes with them through the years. It took a bit of experimenting to get this recipe just right; feedback from recipe testers on the first two attempts asked for smaller pieces, more feta, and less vinegar flavor in the vinaigrette, and I thought those changes made the salad better. I used small, crisp Persian cucumbers in the final version to make the radishes and cucumbers both equally crunchy in the salad. Garden cucumbers would also be good here, but I wouldn't use large watery cucumbers with a lot of seeds. The Persian cucumbers didn't need to be salted to draw out water, and that kept the leftover salad good in a fridge for a day, so they were a perfect choice to make this.

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Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Green Onion, Basil, Thyme, and Feta

Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Green Onion, Basil, Thyme, and Feta is one of my favorite summer dishes.

I haven't always been a big fan of sweet potatoes; in fact I only started liking them after I realized they had lots of recipe possibilities besides the brown-sugar-and-marshmallow topped baked sweet potato casserole I'd known as a kid. I'm not sure where I got the idea for grilling thick slices of sweet potatoes and using them in a potato salad with vinaigrette dressing, green onions, Feta, basil and thyme, (and it took me two tries to come up with a combination that seemed just right) but this Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Green Onion, Basil, Thyme, and Feta was so good, and leftovers were tasty, even after a few days in the fridge.

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Friday Night Photos: Picking Veggies and Baby Veggies Appearing (2010 Garden Update #5)

Even if you're not a gardener, you can probably imagine how I was smiling as I picked my first garden produce of the year, radishes and one 8-Ball zucchini! Keep reading to see what other veggies are showing up in the garden this week.

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Recipe for Whole Wheat Panko and Almond Crusted Oven-Baked Fish Sticks

A few weeks ago I wrote a piece for BlogHer.com about making your own fish sticks, and I loved the idea of making fish sticks at home so you know exactly what's in them. I found a method for homemade fish sticks in Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast, but it took me two tries to get the right blend for coating the fish. For this keeper version, I combined the whole wheat panko crumbs that I'd been so excited to find, with some almond meal and a bit of Old Bay Seasoning. These crispy fish sticks served with Double Dill Tartar Sauce made a quick and tasty dinner, much better than the frozen fish sticks I remember eating as a kid!

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Recipe for Spicy Shredded Carrot Salad with Mint, Cilantro, Green Onion, Lime, and Jalapeno

An amazing salad with carrots, mint, cilantro, green onion, lime, and jalapeno!

My definition of salad has changed a lot in the time I've been focused on low-glycemic cooking and sharing the recipes on this blog. Although I still love classics like Perfect Taco Salad or Greek Salad, nowdays I've greatly expanded my mental list of salad possibilities. A few years ago I tried Carrot and Parsley Salad, and then Carrot, Parsley, and Garbanzo Salad, and that opened my mind to the idea of carrots as a main ingredient in salad. When I spotted this shredded carrot salad from Joanne Weir in Fine Cooking Magazine, it sounded like another interesting salad combination with carrots. I ramped it up a bit, adding mint, and green onions, using more herbs, and using green Tabasco sauce in the dressing to get the jalapeno flavor throughout the salad. I love this new take on carrot salad; and when my brother Rand was visiting Utah recently, he also pronounced it a keeper.

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Five Fun Things on Friday (6-18-10)

Photo of Lemon Buttermilk Popsicles from Pinch My Salt

It's Friday, the weather is finally warming up in Salt Lake, and I'm sure you want to know where to find the recipe for these drool-worthy popsicles from Pinch My Salt, so let's get started talking about fun things I've spotted around the web this week!

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Kalyn's Kitchen Picks: Green Tabasco Sauce

I'm not one of those people who likes blazing hot food that starts your mouth on fire, but I do like things with a bit of heat. If I'm adding sizzle to a recipe, my spicy sauce of choice will be either Sriracha sauce, or this jalapeno-flavored Green Tabasco sauce, no question about it. In fact, whenever a recipe calls for jalapenos, my brain just automatically substitutes this. I love green Tabasco sauce because it's so perfectly flavorful in addition to adding heat, and I've been using this slightly spicy sauce for years on eggs, on taco salad, and in numerous recipes, so it's long overdue for me to choose it as one of my Kalyn's Kitchen Picks.

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Recipe for Whole Wheat Orzo Salad with Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Feta, and Herb Vinaigrette

In the early days of summer, garden vegetables are still just a promise of things to come, so I always get a little infatuated with my herbs, which are raring to go. I'm always looking for ways to use the uncommon herbs I don't have as many recipes for, and a few years ago I was excited when my sister Sandee introduced me to Marinated Tomato Salad with Parsley and Marjoram Dressing. Of course, there are no tomatoes from the garden yet, but when I spotted this orzo salad with Marjoram Vinaigrette in the June 2003 issue of Bon Appetit, I hoped it might be another winner using marjoram, and it was! I do think you could make this with basil or fresh oregano if you don't have marjoram, but if you have marjoram in your garden that needs to get out more often, give it a try!

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Recipe for Mujadarra (Middle Eastern Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions)

Mujadarra (pronounced moo-jha-druh and also spelled Mujadara, Mujaddara, Mujadarah, and Mujadarrah) is a humble middle eastern dish of lentils, rice, and caramelized onions. This is a recipe where the flavor becomes much more than you'd expect from the simple ingredients used. Years ago I started ordering Mujadarra at a now-closed Salt Lake restaurant which served it with Middle Eastern Tomato Salad around the the plate, the perfect way to eat it if you have tomatoes and fresh herbs on hand. Then that restaurant closed, and I never found another place in Utah where I liked it as much. Recently I decided to get serious about making Mujadarra myself, starting with a recipe from Paula Wolfert's The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean, in which she cautions not to reduce the amount of olive oil because "the dish will lack a certain richness." That sounded like a good start to me, but after a few tries, I couldn't manage to cook the lentils and rice together without one or the other getting overcooked. What worked for me was to cook the rice separately and mix it into the cooked lentils and caramelized onions. After waiting years to re-create a version of this dish I was happy with, I loved how this turned out, and I'm sure it's something I'm going to be making over and over again.

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Friday Night Photos: Flowers in and Out of the Garden (2010 Garden Update #4)

If you follow my Garden Updates, you know how much I love growing vegetables and herbs, but I do love growing flowers too. For a few years now I've been investing in a few more perennials every year, with a goal of having flowers from spring to fall! I'm not there yet, but my flower beds are looking a bit better every year. This gorgeous hot pink flower is called English Daisy, one of the earliest flowers that pops out along the edge of my vegetable garden, and one of the first perennials I bought when I decided to start investing in them.

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Recipe for Frittata with Canadian Bacon, Green Onions, and Cheese

The first time I made this frittata with Canadian bacon, green onions, and cheese, I was just making something for breakfast and not necessarily planning to post it on the blog. After I had eaten some though, I liked this flavor combination so much, I made it again and took photos. Canadian bacon is lean, tasty, and South Beach Diet friendly, and I'm not sure why I haven't cooked with it more often. If you're looking for a new breakfast meat option, give it a try and I bet you'll like it too.

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Recipe for Grilled Pork Kabobs with Spicy Peanut Butter, Sesame, and Soy Sauce Marinade

Delicious pork kabobs marinated in a spicy peanut butter, sesame, and soy sauce marinade.

A few weeks ago my nephew Jacob and his girlfriend Aubrey came to my house for dinner, and these spicy pork kabobs flavored with red wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame, garlic, peanut butter, and red pepper flakes were one of the things we cooked. I was intrigued by this marinade when I spotted it in Costco Connection magazine, and the marinade recipe, which can be used on beef, pork, or chicken, was originally from Cooking for Dads. Using a marinade like this helps keep lean pork moist when you're grilling it, and everyone agreed that the flavor in these kabobs was fantastic. I increased the amount of peanut butter, and we wanted a bit more spice, so I'm upping the red pepper flakes in the recipe I'm sharing, but you can decide how spicy you'd like it when you make them.

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Friday Night Garden Photos and Recipes Using Garden Vegetables: 2010 Garden Update #3

In the last garden update I showed the herbs in my garden, so this time I'm going to focus on the vegetables, most of which are doing well even though Salt Lake did have a late-season snowstorm that killed a few of my plants. I've been adding garden spaces and having raised beds built for the last few years, and this year I'm really happy with how my garden has turned out. Above is my first tomato of the year, on an heirloom Brandywine Tomato plant that was started in a greenhouse by my brother-in-law Clayton. (If you're a gardener who's feeling envious, let me confess that plant already had that tomato on it when Clayton gave it to me!) Brandywines are one of my favorite tomatoes, and I'm looking forward to having some early ones this year.

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Recipe for Spicy Pinto Bean and Tuna Salad with Peperoncini, Tomatoes, and Parsley

I love this Spicy Pinto Bean and Tuna Salad with Peperoncini, Tomatoes, and Parsley.

Before I tell you about this new Spicy Pinto Bean and Tuna Salad with Peperoncini, Tomatoes, and Parsley, take a peek up at the url address line at the top of your screen and admire my new favicon. Thanks to Rand for creating and Bradley for installing the letter K to make the web address for my little corner of the web a bit more personalized.

A few years ago I fell madly in love with Italian Tuna packed in olive oil. White Bean and Tuna Salad with Parsley is something I've made over and over again the last few years, and if you can't imagine the flavor combination of beans, tuna, and parsley, let me assure you that it's a winner. Recently I've been experimenting with spicy peperoncini, which inspired this kicked up version of the bean, tuna, and parsley salad. I added some peperoncini juice and a bit of green Tobasco sauce to the dressing, and used pinto beans and added tomatoes for a more Southwest feeling. If you like tuna and appreciate spicy flavors, I think you'll really like this salad!

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South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Round-Up for May 2010 (Low-Glycemic Recipes)

Kalyn's favorite Phase One recipe for May 2010 was
Baked White Fish with Pine Nut,Parmesan, and Basil Pesto Crust.

Another month has ended, so it's time for the monthly round-up of South Beach Diet Phase One recipes I've posted this month or spotted on other blogs. If you over-indulged a bit on Memorial Day, these recipes can help you get back on track, but even if you're not dieting, I bet you'll see something in this list that looks appealing. Welcome to June, one of my favorite months because I love cooking with herbs from the garden, and much thanks to my talented brother Rand for the charming new herb-focused blog header!

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