Kale salad

If you remember a few weeks ago, I visited the Berry Patch Farms in Nevada, Iowa, to see how they grow lettuce in greenhouses during the winter. Well, they let me take home a bag of red kale to sample, and I loved it so much, I had to find more.

You can find Berry Patch Farm's lettuce and kale at Wheatsfield Co-op in Ames.  It will only be available in the winter months, however, because they switch over to growing tomatoes and zucchini in their greenhouses in the summer.

Anyhow, back on topic, what I love about the red kale is that it's extra tender, and very pretty, with feathering leaves.  I knew just the recipe I wanted to try with this beautiful kale, Luann's Kale Salad from Iowa Girl Eats.  And the salad is excellent!  Very bright tasting, and it's fun to "massage" the kale to make it even more tender.

I apologize, but I didn't get a photo of the finished salad, because I accidentally dumped about 1 Tablespoon of pepper on top of the salad right before taking a photo. (We have issues with our pepper shaker.)  I managed to salvage the salad by discarding the pepper-covered leaves, but there wasn't much left to photograph.  So please visit Iowa Girl Eats for her beautiful photos of Luann's Kale Salad.

Broccoli salad

My husband and I haven't given up on our efforts to eat more vegetables. We enjoy a good broccoli salad, but I always felt a little bad about serving it, especially because of all the sugar in the church cookbook recipes I've found.  So I was happy to discover this slightly healthier version of broccoli salad from Our Best Bites.  

Yes, the recipe still has bacon in it! But it also has a lot less sugar.  I've tweaked the recipe a bit for my taste; I add raisins instead of dried cranberries, skip the sunflower seeds and broccoli slaw; and use honey mustard instead of coarse-grain, because that's what we have in our fridge.

I find that I like broccoli more if I cut it up into small pieces, and trim the stems off a little.

And here's the finished broccoli salad. Not so pretty in this close-up photo, but it's very good.

Give this salad a try if you have "non-broccoli" eaters in your house.  I bet the bacon will win them over!

Iowa recipes: Summer salad

My husband and I are trying to eat a little healthier, so I've been making big salads on the weekends when I have more time to cook.  One of my favorites is this summer pasta salad.  I found the recipe in one of my favorite church cookbooks.  I always make the mistake of adding too much pasta; I never take the time to actually measure the pasta out and just dump it in.  But I love how colorful this salad is. The recipe does make a large batch of salad, so it's perfect for summer picnics.  Enjoy!

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Summer Salad

• 2 (7 oz.) boxes macaroni rings (I used spiral noodles), cooked
• 2 C. cucumbers, diced
• 2 C. carrots, diced
• 1 C. celery, diced
• 1 C. onion, diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced

Dressing for salad:

• 1/2 C. Miracle Whip
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1-1/2 C. sugar
• 1/2 C. vinegar

Cook and drain macaroni. Add vegetables and mix. Combine dressing ingredients, mixing well. Pour over vegetables and macaroni. Stir to coat. Cover and chill until time to serve.

Iowa recipes: Three bean salad

I realize this salad is a bit of a departure from my usual Cookie Friday recipes. But it's definitely worth sharing.

My husband and I are trying to eat more vegetables (or "green things" as he likes to say). I saw this recipe for Three Bean Salad in a local ag newspaper and decided to give it a try just to see if my husband would like it.  According to the newspaper article, this salad is one of the most popular items offered at a family-owned diner in central Iowa.

Overall, I think this salad was excellent. My husband's only complaint was that he still isn't that fond of kidney beans. But I think the kidney beans add a lot to the texture and color. So next time, I'll probably only put half a can of kidney beans in the salad.  This would be an excellent salad to take to a potluck or picnic because it doesn't include any mayo. You can find the recipe below, if you want to give it a try. Recipes don't get much easier than this!

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Three Bean Salad

• 1 (14.5-oz.) can cut green beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can wax beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, diced
• Dash of salt and pepper
• 1 C. sugar
• 1/2 C. vinegar
• 1/4 C. vegetable oil
• 1/4 C. water

Combine all beans, onion, green pepper, salt and pepper in a bowl. Combine sugar, vinegar, oil and water, and mix with beans.