Steamed Okra

Insert steamer into a pot.  Add water, making sure that the water level is below the bottom of the steamer.

Put fresh okra into the steamer and cover.  Steam only a few minutes, because overcooked okra is slippery stuff!
  Okra should be tender and still bright green.

Serve steamed okra hot, with butter.

Or serve it cold, with just a bit of vinegar and salt.

Dress with vinegar or lemon juice, oil, and salt and store okra in the refrigerator for a good addition to any salad.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Chicken and Egg Salad

Chicken and Egg Salad

3 cups coarsely chopped boiled chicken
3 stalks celery, diced
1 large dill pickle, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
 3 hard boiled eggs, diced
Mix all together, gently.
Salt to taste
Add mayonnaise to taste - 1/4 cup or more.
*Mayonnaise can be thinned with lemon juice for more flavor and less fat.

Chicken and egg salad is good in sandwiches, on crackers, in hollowed-out bell pepper, mounded onto tomato slices, and in a bowl all by itself.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This recipe is #83 in Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown

Chicken and Olive Salad

Chicken and Olive Salad

4 cups diced chicken
3 stalks diced celery
1/3 cup diced bell pepper
1 cup Italian olive salad

Mix gently and serve on lettuce as a salad or as a sandwich in a crunchy roll.

Olive salad is a New Orleans favorite.  A similar blend, giardiniera, hotter and with less olive flavor, is eaten in Chicago. Either would be fine, as would some third thing that is available wherever you live.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This recipe is #84 in Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown

Chicken Salad with Pecans

Chicken Salad with Pecans

Baked chicken, cold, cut up, about 3 cups
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces
Salt if needed
Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
large pinch coriander
1/2 tsp orange extract
Stir together, then toss into salad

Serve over lettuce and rice cake. Garnish with Dijonnaise.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This recipe is #85 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown

Chicken Apple Salad

Another good chicken salad made from boiled chicken left after making stock.

Chicken Apple Salad

2 cups cut-up boiled chicken

1 apple, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped
salt

Dress with:

1/4 c. mayonnaise
2 Tb honey
Juice 1/2 large lemon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

mix and pour over.

Serve with hard-boiled egg slices, lettuce, and tomato. Or whatever you like!

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This recipe is #86 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown

White Bean Salad

Marinate great northern beans in lemon juice, crushed garlic, onion, and olive oil.  Salt to taste.

Salad of marinated great northern beans heaped into a bell pepper

Spoon beans into a fresh bell pepper halved lengthwise.  Garnish with tomato and egg slices. Add a simple side, such as brown rice, for a quick and nutritious lunch.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.    (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This dish is # 97 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown

Two-Bean Salad

A Russian-style layered salad filled with substantial
stick-to-the-ribs ingredients.

Two-bean Salad with chopped egg

We collected these ingredients:

Black beans
Sweet peas
Carrot
Celery
Tomato
Green onion
Spinach leaves
Lemon juice
Hard-boiled egg

Then we layered them:

Start with spinach leaves in a small bowl.

Add ingredients; do not stir.  We did it in this order:

Spinach
Black Beans
Diced celery
Diced tomato (salt and pepper the tomato layer)
Canned sweet peas
Mayonnaise, spread across the peas
Diced carrot
Diced green onion
Diced egg
Lemon juice
... and vegetable oil drizzled around the top.

Refrigerate for a time.

Garnish with lemon slices and the last bit of green onion

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This recipe is #88 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown.

Dinner Salad with Potatoes

I learned to make this salad from my children's grandmother, who grew up in the Balkans. She liked to use endive for salad greens. Here I've used romaine lettuce. Dressed with oil and lemon juice it needs no other salad dressing.

Into a small bowl put:

3 cups of still-warm cooked potatoes,  peeled and sliced or diced.
1/2 cup diced onion
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Drizzle olive oil over all

Mix gently, then set in refrigerator to cool and to marinate
for an hour or more.

Begin with a bed of salad greens. Mound the potatoes at the center.
Add cheese (I used sharp cheddar and swiss) and tomatoes. Garnish
with bell pepper slices and red onion slices. Voila!

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This recipe is #89 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown.