Kick the Bread to the Curb- Italian Sub Salad

Something big big big is happening in our little house!! Love is in the air and a wedding is right around the corner. That's right, The Chef and The Baker are tying the knot. I've been waiting for this day forever, it seems. Our life has been quite an adventure so far and I just know the best years are yet to come. The planning has been in the works for some time and we're now closing in on the last couple months before the Big Day and still have lots to do. We're not going over the top, we are going to keep everything simple and casual. No fluffy white wedding gown, no tuxes, no limos, no expensive reception halls and fancy catered meals, we just want a relaxed get together with close friends and family to celebrate the beginning of our new life together. 

The Chef has had tons of experience as a caterer with different restaurants that he has worked at over the years. He has seen the easy to please couples and the bridezillas. He and I have both been to plenty of weddings, some have been simple church ceremonies followed by cake and punch at the church. Others have been private ceremonies followed by HUGE and lavish receptions at some pretty incredible locations- one couple even renting the entire zoo for their reception. As guests we had the entire zoo to ourselves, so we could enjoy cocktails while mingling with fellow guests and some really amazing wildlife. Iowa is a state blessed with some beautiful vineyards and wineries, and those are always popular locations for weddings and receptions. My son and his wife were married on the lakeshore at dusk out at the lake where our former Little Lake House is located. It was lovely with the changing colors of the setting sun sparkling off the water. He and I have both experienced weddings that offered a simple cake and punch service, to an appetizer buffet and keg of beer, to an elaborate multi-course sit down dinner with full service cocktail bar. Between the two of us, and our incredibly gifted friends and family, I'm sure we will have no trouble finding a menu that works perfectly for our plans.

Now all this wedding and reception talk has worked up an appetite! Since it's still blazing hot outside, I don't really want to fire up the stove and cook, but I'm hungry for something that's a bit more substantial that the typical salad. I'm not much of a cold sandwich person either, but there just has go to be a way to get the best of both, right? Today's recipe is a playful salad that's a fun twist on the sub sandwich shop classic- the Italian Sub. Crunchy Romaine lettuce replaces the sad shredded iceberg and adds more nutrition. Julienne bites of the best Italian sausages and Provolone cheese make the salad a filling and substantial entree with lots of the same veggie toppings you might add to your sandwich. Drizzled with a vinaigrette instead of heavy mayo helps lighten up the dish and instead of a big loaf of bread, a sprinkling of homemade garlicky croutons brings it all together. The croutons and dressing are made with Sinful Food infused olive oils for that extra bit of flavor. Give your salad a healthy sprinkle of the Signature Seasoning too, just like in the sandwich shops.

I also added some chopped baby herbs from our garden.
Fresh herbs add soooo much flavor.

You can get your Sinful Food olive oils and Signature Seasoning by clicking HERE.

Italian Sub Salad

1 head romaine lettuce

salami

pepperoni

capicola or ham

sliced provolone

3-4 Roma tomatoes

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1 large bell pepper, chopped

1 red onion cut into julienne strips

half a day old baguette

1/4 cup Sinful Food garlic olive oil

1/3 cup Sinful Food Italian Herb olive oil

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Sinful Food Signature Seasoning
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano, or a big pinch dried

Chop the Romaine lettuce and add to a big bowl.

City the salami, pepperoni, and capicola into julienne strips and add to bowl. 

I found this package of three meats but you can use
whichever types you like.

Do the same with the sliced Provolone cheese. Add the vegetables and toss to combine.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the day old bread into cubes. Place in a large bowl and drizzle the olive oil over evenly, tossing to coat all the cubes. Spread out onto a baking sheet and place in the oven. Toast, shaking the pan every few minutes,until browned and crisp. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

I employed The Chef as the Crouton Maker

Make the vinaigrette by combining the Italian Herb olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano and Signature Seasoning in small jar. Shake to combine.

You can add any herbs and spices you like to the basic
vinaigrette recipe.

Add croutons to taste to the salad, drizzle with dressing. Toss to coat, sprinkle with Signature Seasoning and serve immediately.  

You can use any fresh veggies you like in this salad- whatever you might like on you sandwich! It's really delicious with some sliced pepperoncini too. I love those peppers, they add a little bit of bite with no real "heat" like hot peppers. I have a jar of pickled shishito peppers in the fridge, so I slice up a few and tossed them in the bowl- delicious!

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a "sponsored post." As a Brand Ambassador, the company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift or something of value. Regardless,  I only recommend products or services I believe are of good quality and safe. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Radish Slaw with Apple and Mint

Spring is just around the corner, and here in the city I have amazing access to all kinds of beautiful fresh produce. That's a good thing, because I absolutely love vegetables, especially when I can eat them raw in salads. We're talking way beyond lettuce, folks, all kinds of delicious and crunchy things find their way into my salad bowl. Today we're going to focus on radishes. Poor radishes. They are the orphans of the relish tray, always left behind after the olives, broccoli and baby carrots are all nibbled up. They just sit there, looking forlorn. People don't give radishes the love they should. There is so much more to the world of radishes than the everyday red globe roots we are used to seeing. Indeed, radishes come in a rainbow of colors and a variety of "pepperyness." You know what I mean, radishes can have quite a peppery bite to them, like white radishes- they are often quite hot. Not hot like peppers but.......hot like radishes!

I grew up with a veggie crisper full of radishes. My dad always grew them in the garden. They were always the first harvest and one of the last things in the cool fall garden. My mom always made relish trays for get-togethers and always sliced up a small pile for salad. We ate radishes all the time. We even ate them like the French- halved and smeared with a teeny bit of butter and dipped in salt. Fresh radishes are crunchy and juicy and it's true, different varieties taste totally different. Watermelon radishes, have a white to green outer skin and interior flesh that's bright pink- hence the name. They have a sweet flavor with just a slight hint of the peppery note of the common radish.

Icicle radishes are white fleshed and look a lot like little carrots. Most white radishes have quite a bit more bite than red radishes. Black radishes are black on the outside and creamy white inside with an intense peppery flavor. Radishes come in just about every color. They look absolutely beautiful together, roasted briefly to bring out the sweetness, or sliced and made into quick pickles, or even just added to a salad. Today we're going to hit the store and see what kinds of radishes we can find, and we're going to make them into a crunchy and fresh slaw with apple and cucumber and lots of fresh mint for an Asian twist. Sinful Food basil olive oil is going to bring our dressing into the spotlight with its fresh basil flavor and aroma and Signature Seasoning bumps the flavor up several notches over plain salt and pepper. Let's go shopping!

One of my favorite places to shop, especially for produce, is Gateway Market. We shop here all the time, and have shared a shopping trip or two with you before, so I won't repeat all the many incredible things you can pick up here, most notably the mile long (not really but practically) olive bar that gets me in more trouble with The Chef.... We'll concentrate on produce. I found during my quest for watermelon radishes that they are not easy to find in February in Des Moines, even though they are in season. I had to contact a produce distributor for help, and when that failed, I contacted Gateway Market for help. Their produce guy, Brian, was super helpful and walked me through requesting special produce. Super easy and one email later he let me know when the radishes would be in- so here I am, at Gateway, browsing the rest of the fresh goodies, and that super naughty olive bar that gets me into trouble every time.

I got up bright and early on Radish Day, even long before my alarm. You could say I was a little excited. Gateway Market is just west of downtown Des Moines in a historic area of the city called Sherman Hill. Surrounded by lovely Victorian homes and ultra-modern lofts Gateway is such an amazing store. Since we've visited Gateway before let's just skip ahead to the good stuff- the produce. At first I had trouble finding the watermelon radishes. I expected them to be either sold in bunches with greens attached or packaged in bags. I did not expect the produce guy to bring me a giant case of loose radishes and allow me to pick the exact ones I wanted. I was very surprised to see how big they were. The radishes in the case ranged from golf ball size to baseball size. I really didn't have a preference as to size, since we will be cutting them into matchsticks anyway so I just grabbed a bag and made my selection. 

I always spend most of my time in the store in the produce section and today was no different. I was looking for a few other items for the rest of our meals for the weekend so I picked up some really nice organic baby potatoes, organic baby rainbow carrots and a nice box of big cherry tomatoes. These veggies I planned on roasting and serving with my beef roast for dinner tonight. I also snapped up an organic cucumber, some crisp and fresh scallions for the radish slaw, as well as a couple Granny Smith apples, and as I was making a last scan over the vegetables something bright and green and beautiful caught my eye. I think my eyes might have bugged out too and I think I actually squealed out loud when I reached out and picked up the one thing I have been searching and searching for and certainly did not expect to find on this trip- a Romanesco cauliflower! Laugh all you want, you ought to know by now, I am a total vegetable nerd. Anyway, my list of foodie resolutions for 2016 included tracking this beauty of a veg down and cooking it and I never did find one. Suddenly, here it was, in my hand, and I was soooooo thrilled to have it, I didn't even remember to go the olive bar...........

Radish Slaw with Apple and Mint

1/2 lb radishes, multi colored if available

1 medium cucumber
2 Granny Smith apples

1 bunch fresh mint

2-3 scallions

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons Sinful Food basil oil
3/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon Sinful Food Signature Seasoning

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Cut the radishes into matchsticks, along with the cucumber. Place in large bowl. Slice the scallions including the green tops and add to bowl. Cut the apple into matchsticks but leave the peel on, add to the bowl.

Pull the mint leaves off the stems and give them a rough chop. Add to the vegetables in the bowl.

I was unable to get fresh mint, so I subbed fresh parsley. You
can substitute parsley or basil if you don't like mint.

In a jar with a lid combine the vinegar, lemon juice, both oils, mustard and seasoning. Screw the lid on and shake vigorously to combine. Pour dressing over the vegetables, starting with about half the dressing. Toss to coat. Add the almonds, toss again, and add more dressing to taste.

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a "sponsored post." As a Brand Ambassador, the company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift or something of value. Regardless,  I only recommend products or services I believe are of good quality and safe. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Getting My Summer Tomato Fix

Summer is in full swing at The Little Lake House. The garden is growing well and loving the rain and warm temperatures. We are enjoying our second round of radishes, lots of lettuce and herbs, and patiently waiting for the real joys of summer gardening- peppers and tomatoes. Although the first tomatoes of the garden haven't ripened just yet, heirlooms are available at farmers markets all over. Of course I had to get some.

Since returning to work I thought I'd miss out on most of the farmers markets around. It's a long haul back home to my neck of the woods on farmers market day just to find all the good stuff has been sold. I had no idea that the farmers market would come to me- but that's exactly what has happened. The company I work for is very focused on creating a positive and healthy environment for employees and they have organized a farmers market on the campus every week. I just couldn't be more thrilled. Beautiful fresh produce is such a huge part of our diet, especially in the summer months, and fit perfectly into tonight's dinner.

I mentioned tomatoes. This year in the garden we have an interesting variety or heirloom tomatoes growing. Almost all of them are cherry type, or small tomatoes. Chocolate cherry tomatoes, Gold Nugget, Indigo Rose and Indigo Blue Berries are all new to us. Yellow pear berries and good old red cherry tomatoes complete our tomato crop. I chose these tomatoes because of their colors and flavors. What an interesting pico de gallo, salad and salsa they will make, not to mention great eating off the plant while enjoying breezy evenings on the deck. 

I'm a firm believer in salads as a main course. You don't need a heavy dinner every night, don't need meat or dairy products like cheese. A big bowl of fresh vegetables sprinkled with a light dressing and not overloaded with pasta or grain is exactly the kind of salad I'm looking for. I am all about vinaigrettes. It's hard to beat this dressing for maximum flavor and minimal fat. Get rid of that ranch and commercial dressing- make your own in seconds with ingredients you probably have in the cupboard.

Summertime Cous Cous Salad

1 1/2 cups cous cous (I used Trader Joe's whole wheat cous cous)

1 1/2 cups water

pinch of salt

1 medium bell pepper, chopped (I used half yellow and half orange)

6 scallions, sliced

2 cups mixed small tomatoes, halved or quartered

1/4 cup chopped mixed olives

handful Italian parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons vinegar (I used my own chive infused- use whatever kind you like)

6 tablespoons olive oil

juice of one half lemon

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring the water to boil in a small saucepan. Add the cous cous, stir, cover and let sit off the heat for 5 minutes.

Combine the vegetables in a large salad bowl. In a jar combine the mustard, vinegar, oil and lemon juice. Shake well to combine. Set aside.

When the cous cous has absorbed all the water, fluff with a fork and toss with the vegetables. Drizzle half the dressing over; toss well. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Toss again. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

You don't need meat to get your fill with a salad like that! Fill up on colors with all those veg- and switch it up every time you make it and it's like a new dish each time. Use what's in season and fresh and you'll never go wrong. Later in the summer when I make this again I'll add a little bit of fresh hot hot hot pepper to add a kick and warm things up.