I made this for a recent work potluck and there weren’t any leftovers to take home. It pairs well with tomatoes or as a foil for hamburgers. It is perfect for summer picnics. I think I clipped the original recipe from Better Homes and Gardens but I’ve tweaked it a bit.
Ingredients:
2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced (break out your mandolin!)
2 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 dried chilies (optional)
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon dill
Directions:
- Combine onions and cucumbers in a large bowl.
- Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to boil and cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves.
- Pour hot vinegar over the onions and cucumbers. Toss to make sure everything is coated with the vinegar.
- Cover and chill 4 hours or overnight.
Memorial Day signals the start of summer picnic season and what goes better with picnics than pasta salad. I threw this together Memorial Day morning and it was tastylicious by lunchtime.
Ingredients
1 box chunky pasta (rotini, bowtie, etc)
1 package italian dressing mix (plus oil and vinegar)
1/2 to whole green pepper
1 can artichoke hearts
1/2 to whole can black olives
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup frozen or fresh broccoli (optional)
parmesean cheese to taste
- Boil the pasta per package directions.
- While pasta is boiling, mix italian dressing with olive oil and vinegar according to package directions.
- Slice black olives and quarter the artichoke hearts (if they aren’t already quartered).
- Drain the pasta and add the dressing, olives and artichoke hearts.
- Chop green pepper and cut tomatoes in half.
- Prepare broccoli if frozen and cut into mouth-sized pieces.
- Once the pasta has cooled for 10-15 mins, add the pepper, tomatoes and broccoli.
- Mix together well and refrigerate for an hour or more.
- Garnish with parmesean cheese and serve.
I can’t remember where I found this recipe, but it quickly became one of my favorites. It is super easy to prepare and oh so tasty to consume.
Curried Couscous
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup green onions
1 cup mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
3/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 cup couscous
- In covered saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil over low heat until soft.
- Add red peppers, peas, mushrooms, green onions and cook till nearly tender.
- Add water, salt and curry powder and bring to a boil.
- Add couscous, stir, cover and remove from heat.
- Let it sit for a few minutes and voila you are done.
Makes 8 half cup servings or 4 cup servings.
I’ve been experimenting and found you can also substitute quinoa for the couscous for a protein-packed dish.
“They’re all that’s left you.”
My earliest memories are fading like old photographs. I remember playing with Mr. Phil or do I actually remember the photograph of me sitting next to Mr. Phil’s toolbox.
What is your earliest memory?
In high school I wanted to be a teacher or a museum director. I worked in the library to pay my way through college and realized I really enjoyed it. So I stumbled into library school. I worked as a librarian for a few years, but oh the lure of internet millions was too great. I’ve been working with search and information retrieval ever since. But there is something about helping someone one-on-one find a good book or the perfect source for a homework assignment. Maybe when I grow up I’ll be a librarian again.
When I was a child I remember assigning personalities to different numbers. This only applied to the single digit numbers and any multi-digit number inherited the personalities of its parts. I’m a bit fuzzy about which number was which but I do remember that a few numbers were definite snobs. I think #8 was one of the snobby ones while #6 and #7 were good.