Had some friends over for dinner the other night, which gave me the opportunity to try two new salads and repeat one favorite salad. I used tastespotting to look for new recipes and once again, I wasnt disappointed.

TOMATO/HEARTS OF PALM SALAD (I have been making this for years..its a winner) p.s this recipe is from a friend

Ingredients

2 containers of grape tomatoes (cut in half – this is the longest step)

1 can of sliced hearts of palm

corriander

1/4 cup of red onion

Dressing – (sorry I dont have the measurements….will you forgive me?)

vegetable oil

ketchup

cayenne pepper

Preparation:

Mix the tomatoes, hearts of palm, and red onion together in a bowl. Mix the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad.

END RESULT:

SPRINGY QUINOA SALAD WITH SUGAR SNAPS, MINT AND GINGER YOGURT DRESSING

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

1/2 lb sugar snaps ( I had peas in a pod – so I used them instead)

1/4 cup sliced, toasted, almonds

1/4 cup fresh chopped mint

Dressing

3/4 cup plain yogurt

2 tsp fresh grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp honey

Preparation:

Prepare quinoa. Add almonds, mint and snap peas to the quinoa. Mix together dressing and add to the quinoa mixture.

END RESULT:

NOTE: I bet this salad could be prepared with couscous instead of quinoa or even as a pasta salad.

Mixed Greens with a Buttermilk Herb Dressing

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 mayonnaise

tarragon, chives, parsley

a bit of minced onion or minced shallot

Preparation: Put all ingredients in the Cuisinart and pulse till the herbs are chopped. Pour the dressing over mixed greens.

END RESULT:

After eating my way thru New York City  – it was time for me to, um, eat healthier. This means – cut down on eating out and make more salads at home!!

Here’s two of my favorite corn salads.

(original recipe posted on The Pioneer Woman – sadly I cant find the exact link – sorry )

4 ears of corn, cooked

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 large avocados (I used only 1)

1 jalapeno, seeded and finally diced (I only used a little)

Dressing:

juice of 1 lime

plenty of cilantro

salt

1 tbsp of vinegar

1 tsp of sugar

Preparation: Boil water in a saucepan. Then add corn. Boil till tender. Rinse. Drain. Then slice off corn from the cobb.

Dice avocado, red onion and jalapeno.

Dressing: Using a food processor, combine the cilantro, vinegar, lime juice, salt and sugar.

Assembly: Add corn to other ingredients. Pour dressing over the corn mixture. Toss. Cover and refrigerate.

END RESULT:

Barley and Corn Salad with Basil Chive Dressing

(original recipe posted on epiciurious)

2 cups water

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup barley

2 cups corn

1/3  cup oil

1/3 cup  fresh basil

3 tablespoons chives

1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp black pepper

Preparation:

Bring a large saucepan to boil – then place the corn in the boiling water till tender. Rinse. Drain. Then cut off kernels from the cobb.

Next, bring 2 cups of water with 1/4 tsp of salt to boil in another large saucepan. Stir in barley, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until barley is tender. About 10-15 minutes

For the Dressing: Pulse in a cusinart – oil, basil, chives, vinegar, sugar and pepper,  and the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt

Assembly: Slice corn of off the ears – transfer to a bowl. Add the barley. Add the dressing. Toss to combine.

END RESULT:

I love salads. Do you?

I have been making this Crunchy Green Pea Salad for over a decade as it’s easy to make and it’s delicious too. (two main criteria for me).

Here’s what you need:

Ingredients:

3 cups Green Giant Peas (thawed)

1 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced red onion

bacon bits or salad toppings (more on this later)

Dressing: mix together 1/4 cup yogurt, 1/4 mayo, 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of sugar

Instructions: Mix the first three ingredients in a bowl. Prepare dressing. Before serving, add the dressing to the pea mixture. Sprinkle with bacon bits or salad toppings. Best served chilled.

I’m not a fan of bacon bits but a long time ago (too many years to count), I discoverd SALAD TOPPINGS in the States.

Hope you enjoy this crunchy pea salad as much as I do. Other favorite salads that I will post about shortly include: Pineapple Slaw, Indonesian Rice Salad and Tomato/Hearts of Palm Salad.

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Connector Program and I receive special perks as part of the affiliation with this group. The opinion on this blog our my own.

Entertaining Made Easy…According to momwhoruns:

a) select a date and then invite the guests

b) decide on the menu. I generally do one main course, 3 sides, one dessert. The internet saves me. You can find all the recipes by clicking on the item. I’m pretty sure I found all of them on tastespotting.

c) buy groceries and begin to cook. (often I do this in stages vs. doing it all at once).

d) buy flowers and set the table.

e) ENJOY the good food and the great company.

Here’s what I served to guests a few weeks ago:

Roasted Carrot Cumin Dip

Quinoa and Smashed Herb Salad (sorry no photo – had a senior moment)

Barefoot Contessa’s Basil Mashed Potatotes

Baked Salmon with Kale and Dill with Harissa

www.tastefoodblog.com

Strawberry Raspberry Crisp. (recipe to follow in another blog post)

Another fav. part of having company over is to set the table and buy the right flowers. What do you think?

I cant wait to entertain next month.

No pun intended, but Mom Who Runs is up and running and guess what? It’s an awesome feeling.

I have been using the name @momwhoruns as a twitter handle for the last year, so it only seemed fitting that I used the name for my website too.
The first question I am asked is: “Do you run?” and I reply “well kinda….I run coz I do small triathlons”.
I am by no means a runner. I am more like a shuffler. (I am not joking)

I’m hoping this blog will be  FUN and INFORMATIVE. (with the odd spelling mistake). I like sharing information. Period. It might be about a good book, a good store, a good nail polish color, a great birthday party idea etc.

Naturally I will be blogging about food a lot, as that seems to be a big interest these days.
So be prepared for blog posts about recipes.
Don’t tell me, that I didn’t warn you.
So today is the day that I welcome you to my website.

Hope you leave commnets, forward to friends, and by all means…subscribe (see that button on the right).

Welcome!!

I love vegetables..can you tell?

More goodness…

More…

And the winning dish…Fig, Acorn, Squash and Goat Cheese Pizza.

Happy Cooking!!