TOSSING TWO SALADS

Who would've thought! That's a balsamic reduction sauce on the plate.

foodphotoblog.com

Great idea--needs some red onion.

eatingoutloud.com

This is what mine looked like--needs a dash of color--basil or mint.

Healthy eating... There's no shortage of how-to's. We eat healthily sporadically, but overall I really believe it evens out. Today is a good day food-wise at our house. I make a watermelon salad for lunch and a broccoli slaw for dinner. O.K. I confess, we have burgers to go along with our dinner salad.

A couple of days ago, we bought one of those seedless, very round watermelons that have been around for just a few years. I nibble as I cut it up and am disappointed that it isn't very sweet--too early in the season maybe? This recipe is simple--watermelon chunks, red onion, and feta cheese, with fresh basil or mint optional. Amazingly when I mix the melon with the feta, the melon becomes much sweeter. And, you definitely need to add a touch of green to spike up the visual appeal.

Our European market, Joseph's, offers three kinds of feta--Greek, French, and domestic--in their deli case. We are very fortunate to have a full-scale European market with great pricing. I opt for the domestic as it looks very fresh. It turns out to be a good choice as it is milder than we usually get in those little vacuum-sealed plastic packages.

Watermelon Salad
1 seedless watermelon, trimmed and cut into 1" chunks
1/2 cup feta cheese, cut into 3/4" chunks
1/4 cup red onion, diced
5 o 6 basil leaves, julienned

Come dinner time, CA takes responsibility for the burgers and I put together the broccoli salad (after an afternoon reading an entire novel--Ian Rankin's John Rebus, again.) I absolutely hate that both of our local grocery stores are only selling green onions pre-packaged. They are always overly-mature and limp. CA reminds me that the Joseph's still sells fresh ones (but Joseph's is 10 miles/15 minutes away). I was there yesterday to get small white potatoes and sweet potatoes, but had procured the offensive green onions a day earlier locally.

Chinese Broccoli Slaw
1 pkg. broccoli slaw
1 pkg. Ramen, original or chicken flavor
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup salad oil
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1/4 cup almonds, sliced and toasted
1/4 cup almonds, sliced and toasted

Rinse broccoli slaw with cold water and drain well.
Whisk together cider vinegar, sugar, salad oil until well blended. Whisk in 1/2 - 1 packet of seasoning mix from Ramen noodle package.
Crumble Ramen noodles.
Toss broccoli slaw with vinegar and oil mixture, and green onions.
Refrigerate, or serve immediately. If you refrigerate, re-toss the ingredients with the liquids that have settled in the bottom of the bowl.
When ready to serve top with crumbled Ramen noodles and toasted almonds.