The Plucky Housewives

My Neice Anne is a fabulous cook and loves to try to take old things and make them new.   She takes combinations that you ordinarily wouldnt think of putting together and turns them into mouth-watering, just got to have more dishes.  This is a great salad that is a great accompaniment to any grill meal, or it can stand alone by adding some of that leftover grilled chicken or beef you had the night before! Annie’s Salad Romaine lettuce, washed, root end removed and rough chopped Grape or cherry tomatoes (I use 1/2 a Costco package of grape tomatoes) 3-4 cobs fresh corn, cooked and cut off the cob 2 avacados cubed 2-3 cans cannellini (white kidney) beans or great white northern beans, drained and rinsed 1 sweet onion, sliced thin Lighthouse brand Creamy Ciltrantro dressing (Taste the dressing and see if it has enough kick, if not, add more cilantro) Combine lettuce, tomatoes, corn, avocados, beans, onion in salad bowl.   Toss.   Add ...

My sister Charlene emailed the other day.  She wanted my mom's Sour Cream Cucumber Salad recipe.   Its not the first time someone has been asking for that salad lately.  Almost all the kids are home right now and everyone has put in their order for the good stuff!  So, nature is hinting that its a must on the menu tonight or tomorrow (along with a special strawberry cake for a special girl - which we will post as well). Its interesting to me that at times of stress or anxiousness, we long for the things that bring us a sense of home and family - peace and comfort.  I mean it's a duh - that's why they call it comfort food.  It's security, familiarity, all of that.  They also make us feel special.  When someone goes out of their way to make us something that is comforting a a taste of home, it brings us a feeling of being important.    I know that's what cooking with my mother Arlene brought to me.  The kitchen was a pla...

My mother, for many years, took in ESL students from all over the world.  They would come to the US from the respective countries and stay about 6 months or so, attending an English Second Language school in my home town.  They would be housed with English-speaking families, so that they could be immersed in the language with the ultimate goal of passing their TOEFL exam.  They would either then return to their home country or go on to school in the US.   While the students were in our home (most of the students, by the way, were male), my mother would require them to cook at least one meal for the family and a dish that was native to their home.  She usually asked for them to make the favorite meal that their mother’s would cook for them.  One year, we had a student from Thailand.  He was quite the character and worked for a local Thai restaurant.  We became fast friends.  He was a great cook and many evening would bring home food from ...

It's spring and asparagus abounds.  I love asparagus.  I have memories of stopping at the road side with my mother and picking wild asparagus.  She had some in the garden, but that never seemed to be enough.  All the asparagus I ever ate as a kid and young adult came from the wild or from her garden.  It wasn't until I was on my own that I actually bought asparagus in the store.  I noticed the difference right away.  So it's been my desire to scatter the asparagus seeds along the back fence of our new property.  I know, I will share it with the deer, the bunnies and the occasional cattle that roam; but there will be enough for us all, I am sure. We had a carry-in lunch at work yesterday and one of the nurses' brought in an asparagus pasta salad, which I had never had before.  It was wonderful.  Of course, that got the ideas flowing and away we went with our own version. Roasted Asparagus Pasta Salad with Lemon and Crumbled G...

I have a sister-in-law that in the summer has five salads that she makes, one for each night of the week. She serves the salad with a chunk of fresh bread and cool lemonade.   This is one of those five salads and is very good on a hot summer night! 2 pounds of pasta (bow-tie, seashell, or smaller pasta noodle) 2-4 ribs of celery, diced 1 c seedless red grapes, rinsed and cut in half 1-2 cans mandarin oranges, drained well 4 green onions, sliced fine 2-3 c of seasoned cooked chicken, cooled 1 c of cashew halves 1 bottle of T Marzetti or Kraft Coleslaw dressing 1 c mayonnaise Cook pasta until done.  Drain and rinse in cold water.  Cool complete. In a large mixing bowl add cooked pasta, celery, grapes, oranges, green onion, and chicken.  Mix well. In small bowl combine coleslaw dressing and mayonnaise.  Mix thoroughly, until smooth and creamy. Add the dressing mix to the chicken/pasta mix.  Do not add all at once, but add half and then contin...

We lived in California from 1981-1986.  During that time we had neighbors that we grew to love.  They were from Japan and had two children.  Tomaki was a fabulous cook.   She invited our family over and we had them to our house.  For one meal, she brought this salad.  It tasted so fresh and good.  We had it with hamburgers but anything you grill would be great with this salad. - Hawley Tomaki’s Bean Salad 1 pound beans, fresh, string beans 1 pkg Italian dressing (dry) 1 jar marinated mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces 1 can Green Giant niblet corn (must have this kind) Cucumber (optional) cut into bite-sized pieces Salt and pepper Vinegar Snap beans in half and take of ends. Wash well.  Boil in salted water. (Salt keeps the bright green color) Boil until almost tender about 6-8 minutes. Check to see how long you need to cook them. When done, put immediately into ice water then in the refrigerator.  When beans are cooled, put in bowl...