Fresh Broccoli Salad

Ingredients

2 heads fresh broccoli
1 red onion
1/2 pound bacon
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Directions

Place bacon in a deep skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Cool and crumble.
Cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces and cut the onion into thin bite-size slices. Combine with the bacon, raisins, your favorite nuts and mix well.
To prepare the dressing, mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together until smooth. Stir into the salad, let chill and serve.

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Asian Coleslaw

Ingredients

6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic

5 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
2 cups shredded napa cabbage
2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
2 carrots, julienned
6 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic.
In a large bowl, mix the green cabbage, red cabbage, napa cabbage, red bell peppers, carrots, green onions, and cilantro. Toss with the peanut butter mixture just before serving.

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Crispy Cucumbers and Tomatoes in Dill Dressing

Ingredients

1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill weed
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cucumbers, sliced
1 cup sliced red onion
2 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges

Directions

In a large bowl, mix the vinegar, sugar, salt, dill, pepper, and oil. Add cucumbers, onion, and tomatoes. Toss, and let stand at least 15 minutes before serving.

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Summer Corn Salad

Ingredients

6 ears corn, husked and cleaned
3 large tomatoes, diced
1 large onion, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook corn in boiling water for 7 to 10 minutes, or until desired tenderness. Drain, cool, and cut kernels off the cob with a sharp knife.
In a large bowl, toss together the corn, tomatoes, onion, basil, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Chill until serving.

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Easy Seven Layer Vegetable Salad

Ingredients

1 head lettuce, torn into small pieces
1 (10 ounce) package frozen green peas, thawed
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
12 slices bacon
1 1/2 cups small cauliflower florets
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cups mayonnaise
3 tablespoons white sugar
4 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside. In a 9x13 inch pan layer the lettuce followed by the peas, green pepper, bacon, cauliflower and celery.
In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise and the sugar. Spread mixture over salad. Sprinkle cheese over top. Cover and chill for at least 8 to 12 hours before serving.

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Marinated Vegetable Salad

Ingredients

3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, sliced into thin rings
2 cups thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery

Directions

Combine sugar, celery seeds, black pepper, vinegar, oil, and salt in a screw-top jar. Shake well to mix.
Combine vegetables in large bowl. Pour dressing over vegetables, and stir gently. Cover, and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

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Raw Vegetable Salad

Ingredients

6 slices bacon
3 cups chopped broccoli
3 cups cauliflower, chopped
3 cups chopped celery
1 (10 ounce) package frozen green peas, thawed
1 cup sweetened-dried cranberries
1 cup raw Spanish peanuts
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons grated onion
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

Directions

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, cauliflower, celery, peas and cranberries.
Wisk together the sugar, salt, vinegar, grated onion, cheese and mayonnaise. Pour dressing over the salad; add nuts and bacon and toss well.

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TIPS IN COOKING VEGETABLES

Vegetables are essential to the. We get a great deal of our daily vitamin content from vegetables. We need to make sure that how we cook them does not drain vitamin contents and benefits of consumption.

Cooking vegetables can be tricky. Over cooking can make vegetables bland and soggy. My belief is that vegetables should not be boiled. Boling not only rob us of vitamin content, it is the main culprit in turning vegetables to a lifeless, tasteless form.

If we cannot boil, how do we proceed?

First option, steaming vegetables is always a good choice. This will leave vegetables full of life. They will be crisp and colorful. It will also not deplete the vegetables of their vitamin content.

By rule of thumb, vegetables will only need a few minutes in the steam.

For those who do not have official vegetable steamers, an easy steamer can be fashioned out a of pot, a metal colander, and a pot lid. Place a small amount of water in the bottom of a given pot. Fit the metal colander into the pot. Start to boil the water. You will begin the see the steam rise. Place your vegetables into the metal colander and place the pot lid over the metal colander and pot. This collection of kitchen items will allow you to steam vegetables as good as any fancy store bought steamer.

Another good option is to cook your vegetables in a wok. The secret to the wok is that it cooks quickly at a very high temperature. Vegetables retain their flavors, textures, and colors with small amount of nutrient loss.

My favorite wok recipe for vegetables is to cook broccoli, carrots, bok choy, and snow peas in a very light garlic sauce. The vegetables remain crisp and the garlic adds just the right amount of flavoring. This combination can be served with any cut of meat.

I hope you will see that secret to cooking vegetables is not to over cook. Vegetables need to remain crisp, full of color. As you learn different tricks to bringing your vegetables to life, these will become the most requested dishes on your dinner table.

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Laing Recipe (taro leaves in coconut milk)

Ingredients:

1/2 pack or 30 pieces taro leaves or dahon ng gabi
1 small onion diced
2 pieces siling labuyo
1 thumb size ginger diced
3 cloves garlic diced
1 can coconut milk
1/4 kilo pork meat cut into small cubes
1/4 cup bagoong alamang
2 tbsp. fish sauce or patis
1 tbsp. ground pepper

Laing Cooking Instructions:

In a pan, pour in coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add garlic, onion and ginger. Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
Place in pork meat. Season with bagoong, fish sauce and pepper. Simmer over low heat until pork is tender and sauce is thickens.
Place in dried taro leaves. Soak in gently and do not stir. Simmer for few minutes until taro leaves are fully cooked.
Sprinkle with chopped chili pepper. Turn off heat, Cover and let sit with remaining heat.

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Ginataang Sitaw at Kalabasa

Ingredients:

1/2 squash peeled and cut cut in bit sizes
1 bundle sitaw or string beans cut in 3 inches long.
1/ 4 kilo pork diced (optional)
3 tbsp fish sauce or 1 tbsp shrimp paste
3 cloves garlic
1 small onion chopped
1 can coconut milk
cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste

Ginataang Sitaw at Kalabasa Cooking Instructions:

Heat cooking oil in a wok. Fry pork meat until brown.

In the same pan, saute onion and garlic until fragrant. Season with fish sauce or shrimp paste and mix well.

Pour in coconut milk and bring to a boil. Place in the squash and string beans. Simmer over low heat until vegetables are tender.

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