Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Pork

One of the perks of living in my little corner of the Pacific Northwest is the abundant diversity of world cultures. Fortunately, much of this diversity makes its way into the food chain and from there into my own kitchen. One of my most favorite cuisines is Vietnamese food. Truth be told, I love all Asian inspired dishes, and one of the first that I ever had was an uber-delicious (don't you say "uber" too? Yeah, I thought so.) rice noodle salad with flame broiled pork. It's called Bun Thit Nuong (according to the Saigon Grill's take out menu), and it is the most amazing combination of textures and flavors. It's loaded with crunchy raw veggies, al dente warm rice noodle vermicelli, hot off the grill pork, and drizzled with an Asian sweet/sour/salty/spicy dressing. I could eat it every day for the rest of my life.

Today's recipe is my attempt to recreate this delicacy at home.  Let me be up front about the prep time: it involves a LOT of chopping. Lots and lots and lots of chopping. And then more chopping. Did I mention you will spend time chopping? This is the recipe to go to when you have something you want to work out of your system, or as in my case, when you want to ponder over a situation. Since it took me a good 15 minutes to gather, peel, and chop everything (and I'm pretty good with a knife), I had a lot of time to run through various scenarios of said situation in my head. Plus, it's a good thing to get me to slow down a bit and enjoy the process, not just the end result. Ahem. But I digress. Back to the recipe. Once you have finished prepping everything, it comes together toot-sweet.

I like this recipe because it fits in with my plan to eat more veggies and less meat. Notice I said "less" meat, not "no" meat.  We are carnivores in this family.  I didn't grill the pork because it was monsooning outside. This turned out great just pan frying the meat. This is equally good with chicken as well as shrimp.

Here we go:

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Pork

1 pkg Asian Rice Noodles - thin, vermicelli style

3 boneless pork chops, 1 inch thick, sliced ultra thin against the grain
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil

5 cups chopped romaine lettuce
4 carrots, sliced matchstick thin (I used one of those serrated veggie peelers)
2 cucumbers, peeled, sliced in thin 1/2 rounds
1 cup bean sprouts
2 green onions - chopped thin
1/4 cup white onion, sliced in thin 1/2 rounds (optional)
1/4 cup cilantro - chopped
1/2 cup salted cocktail style peanuts, chopped

Dressing:
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice or lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons rice vinegar, or use cider vinegar is you don't have the rice one
6 tablespoons fish sauce (called Nouc Cham) (It's stinky, but tastes better than it smells)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 chili chopped, or 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
6 tablespoons water

On a cutting board, toss the pork strips with the soy sauce, ginger, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and oil. Let sit and marinate while you chop the bazillion veggies.

Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. If necessary, add a tablespoon of oil (like canola) and stir fry the pork strips until they are golden brown.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch. I've always wanted to say that. Plus, just wanted to see if you were still with me.  hehe  Anyway, meanwhile, prepare the rice noodles according to package directions. NOTE: The noodles cook really quickly; take care not to over cook them. Drain and keep warm.

Prepare the dressing by combining all the incredients.  Now it's time to assemble! You will need large individual serving bowls.  I used pasta bowls and they worked perfectly.  In each bowl, place a generous serving of the warm noodles. Artfully, surround the noodles with individual mounds of lettuce, carrots, bean sprouts, your choice of onions, cilantro, and meat. Drizzle with the dressing. Garnish with peanuts. (I took the pictures before adding the peanuts. Oops!)

Surprisingly, this is a hit in my family.  My daughters love this, served without the dressing.  My son ate his, but I did serve his on a large plate and didn't have the food touching salad style.  My husband ate two huge salads and rolled away from the table. An added bonus is that it's gluten free, too. Yeah!

This is an interesting salad in that it is sweet, sour, salty, and spicy.  It's also crunchy, soft, and chewy.  Let's not forget that it has warm (noodles), hot (meat), and cold (veggies) taking place, too. Somehow, and I'm not quite sure why that is, it all works together beautifully.  Plus, it's lovely to look at.  It's great all year long, but I particularly like it in the spring and summer. It's a non-traditional salad (for us that is), and I love it.

What's your favorite non-traditional salad? Do share!

Homeschool update:  Youngest daughter is REALLY into Science these days. Here's a shot of her latest science/art combo project.  Volcano!  In honor of the 30th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helen's (which you can easily see from the Portland area), she created her own eruption. She gave a terrific presentation on the various types of volcanos, and then performed an eruption. It was so COOL!!! Tomorrow we are off to the Mt. Hood Community College Planetarium for a field trip! I love homeschooling!

TBS: Tuna and Bean Salad!

Now that warmer weather is at long last blasting it's way through the Pacific Northwest cloud cover, it's time to initiate the summer salad routine. Here's one that I've loved for years. It's kind of peasant fare, but tends to get rave reviews as if it were made of more regal stuff.  I bet 9 out of 10 of you have the ingredients in your pantry and fridge. 

Bean and Tuna Salad 

1 6oz can tuna packed in olive oil
1 15 oz can small white beans, drained and rinsed
2 T green pepper, chopped
4 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 T red onion, small diced
2 T chopped parsley

Dressing:Whisk together:
1 small garlic clove, minced
Olive oil - 2 parts
Vinegar - 1 part
Salt
Pepper
1/2 teaspoon - dijon style mustard
favorite herbs - such as basil, oregano

In a large mixing bowl, combine tuna, beans, pepper,tomatoes, and onion. Toss with a small amount of dressing, adding more to suit your taste. Serve immediately. Keeps very well, too; the beans tend to really absorb the longer it sits.

This salad is easily a meal in and of itself. The beans have a delicate flavor that pairs wonderfully with the tuna. I've also had this with grilled tuna, and that's over-the-moon good. The peppers add a nice crunch, and the tomatoes provide sweetness. Take care with the onion ... you just want it for a nice flavor addition. The dressing, which is basically a viniagrette, is tangy and garlicy. You could punch this up with some diced jalepeno peppers if you like heat, or some olives or capers if you like those flavors. I like it all! :-)

There you have it. In about 5 minutes, you can create a yummilicous salad that's perfect for the warmer days on the horizon. This holds up very well for potlucks and picnics, and it is gluten free, too. What's your favorite tuna salad?

Bavarian Crème Jello Salad – aka Orange Jello with Peaches and Cream Dessert

Um. I’m hopeful that no one will ask me what makes this recipe “Bavarian” because I have no clue why it’s named as such. What I do know, though, is that this is a delightful refreshing jello dessert.

Coming up with uber-soft recipes for my littlest gal’s healing mouth and throat has not been all that difficult, especially when it comes to cool treats. I found this recipe on the internet, and it caught my attention right away. It’s both cool and creamy, and very pretty to behold, too.

This is super easy to make, and requires basic pantry ingredients. As written, it feeds an army filling a 9 x 13 cake pan; next time I’ll make ½ a recipe. Here it is in its entirety. Let’s give it a go, shall we?

2 6 oz boxes of orange jello
1 can slice peaches, drained
1 cup whipping cream

In a large pot, prepare the jello as directed on the box. Pour into a 9 x 13 dish and set aside to cool for about ½ hour. After it has lost most of its heat, put it in the fridge to chill and set up just a bit, let’s call it semi-set, for about an hour.

Take out of the fridge, stir it up a bit, and set aside. Puree the drained peaches in a blender. Whip the whipped cream until it forms soft peaks. FYI: I whipped it stiff and had a darn good time blending it. Learn from the error of my ways! Anyway ... fold both the pureed peaches and the whipped cream into the semi-set jello. I started off with a spoon and switched to a whisk to blend it together. Put it back in the fridge to firm up, which takes at least a couple of hours or overnight.Serve with whipped cream. I shaved some chocolate on top ‘cuz I wanted to! Don’t you want to snag that stray choc curl there?Check out the gorgeous color and texture! This is very cool and refreshing. It would be great during those hot summer months when your palate just begs for something cold and tangy. It would be great, too, to bring to a potluck. The orange, peach, and cream flavors are just lovely together, in both taste and appearance, and I think this would work well with other jello flavors, too.Here have a bite. YUM! Of course, this is gluten-free which makes it a double bonus in my household!

Crunchy-licious Waldorf Salad!

Yeah! It’s Friday! Even better, my husband has the day off (or so he says). My husband works very looooong hours, but thankfully we still recognize each other when we see each other. It will be nice to tackle some of the chores waiting in the queue to finally get done, as well as get in some quality play time. Now, before you go thinking that I tax him with chores on his day off, the main thing that needs to get done is building the shed that HE wants.

After working in the hot sun that has at long last arrived in our neck of the woods, he’ll need a cool refreshing salad to go along with his lunch. Enter in the Waldorf Salad! Have you ever had a Waldorf Salad? Ooooh, you are in for a real treat with this one. There are many, many versions of this salad floating around including making some with mayo, using grapes, adding onion, etc. I like something much different, and this one with it’s cool sour cream and honey dressing is my all time favorite.

It’s so simple, yet is always a bit hit. This recipe prepares two servings, and is very easily multiplied to serve more. Talk about easy to prepare .... it’s a total snap!

Waldorf Salad (Makes 2 servings but is easily doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc.!)

1 large crisp apple, chopped or sliced into bite sized pieces. Leave the skin on. (I used a Fugi, but use whatever you’ve got)
¼ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon, heaping of honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ - 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1/3 cup sliced celeryIn a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, honey, lemon juice, and zest. Stir in the apple, walnuts, and celery. Serve immediately, or put in the fridge for up to two days. You can, if you’d like, stir in some raisins, craisins, or slice grapes. I prefer to add either raisins or craisins, as I like the contrast of the crunchy apple with chewiness of the raisins/craisins. Oh, and of course, this is gluten free!

On another note, my hubby celebrated his 48th birthday this week.Isn’t this gift box a total hoot? It’s a pop up box that you place the gift inside, and then seal it up. The recipient has pull tabs that they use to open the box. It’s from Hallmark and we loved it!My kids always make cards. I love what they put together. What about you? Do you like homemade cards or store bought ones? Some of the store bought ones are a hysterical!, but I love the stuff the kidlin’s make, too. For the cake, my husband said he wanted a chocolate cake, and so my youngest daughter really, really, REALLY wanted to decorate his cake. Did I mention that she wanted to decorate his cake? REALLY wanted to? This was her first time decorating (beyond spreading frosting), and I gave her free reign to do whatever she wanted. I showed her how to use the frosting tip to write with, and then left her alone.She called for me a short time later, her face fallen, moaning that her lettering looked bad, that she didn’t like how it turned out, and how could we fix it. I took one look at her cake and told her that I absolutely loved it and so would her daddy. Assuring her that her cake with its homemade look would mean wayyyyy more to her dad than anything that a store bought baker could produce, her frown turned upside down, and we set out the cake. When her dad came home and saw the cake, he made a big deal out of how much it meant to him that she decorated it herself. Ah, times like that make me remember why I fell in love with that man!

Happy Fourth of July wishes to you all, and best wishes that you all have a lovely and safe holiday weekend!

Listen To Your Inner Voice: Smoked Salmon Rolls and a Spinach Salad, too!

Did you ever see the Seinfeld episode when George is frantically deciding about whether to call his ex-girl friend, and Kramer tells George to listen to his inner voice, his little man. George exclaims hysterically, “My little man is an idiot!” (It's from the infamous "Christmas Card" episode!)

Well, luckily for me, my inner voice is pretty much on the mark. Unluckily for me, I chose not to listen to it today. Guess that puts me in the same category as George's inner voice. As I was preparing this recipe, my inner voice was all but jumping up and down warning me that my execution of assembly was all wrong. I admit, I did pause for a second, but then tossed the sage advice right out and kept on going. Result: A flopped recipe. Not to fear, though, I salvaged it and made peace with my inner voice.

My initial crash and burn with this recipe was that I used flaked smoked salmon and spinach on top of a cream cheese as my filling. Despite adding add’l cream cheese to hold it together, the roll fell apart when sliced. The filling was just too dry to hold together. The flavor was spot on and it would have worked great as a wrap, but not as a roll. My next blunder of ignoring my inner voice was when I chose to use that super awesome Glad Wrap and Seal plastic wrap product instead of plain old cellophane to wrap the rolls. My little voice warned, “Uh, Paula, that plastic wrap clings too tight to itself.” Did I listen? Noooooo. Nope. Nada. Strike two. That Wrap and Seal stuff is genius; it seals items completely. So much so, that, just as my little voice warned I would, I had a hard time unsticking it from itself. Argh!

Redemption time. I re-gathered the ingredients, made a quick salmon spread, reassembled, rewrapped, and voila ... success. If anything, I do learn from my mistakes. Not one to be daunted by failure, I forged ahead and came up with a save. Today’s recipe from It’s All Gouda’s kitchen is a lovely Salmon Spread Wrap accompanied by a unique Spinach Salad. It’s actually a wilted spinach salad variation, but come on ... who really wants to eat anything with the word “wilted” in the title?

For those of us abstaining from meat on Friday’s during lent, this little sweetie of a roll is quite good and super quick to make. Pair it with a salad, and you’ve got yourself a delight lunch. Here’s the right way to do it. NOTE: I didn’t put down quantities because it totally depends on how many you are making. If you need help, just let me know!

Flour tortillas
Cream Cheese with Chives
Smoked Salmon
Mayo
Fresh Spinach leaves

Lay out one flour tortilla, and spread with a thin layer of cream cheese w/chives.In a small bowl, combine the smoked salmon with enough mayo to make a spread.This is one way to purchase smoked salmon. Please ignore the freaky purple hand. My camera's batteries were getting low. Spread a couple tablespoons of salmon spread on top of the cream cheese.Layer spinach leaves on top of that, and delicately spread that with just a thin, thin layer of cream cheese. That’s the glue that will hold it together.And, yep, in case you're wondering, that is salmon salad under ye old fingernails. Hey, this is finger food, ya know! Roll up tightly, wrap in cellophane, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up the roll.Slice decoratively and serve with your favorite salad. Take a bite. Relax. Thank the good Lord for your inner voice.

Spinach Salad with Spicy Cauliflower, Toasted Pine nuts, and Creamy Avocado

2 cups Spinach leaves
2 Tablespoons pine nuts
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
½ cup of planked cauliflower (planked meaning sliced instead of flowerettes)
Couple shakes of crushed red pepper flakes
½ avocado – cubed and sprinkled with lemon juice
Basic vinaigrette

Place spinach leaves in a large salad bowl. In a small skillet, toast pine nuts over medium heat. Remove from pan to cool. In the same skillet, add the olive oil and turn the heat up to high.This is what I mean by planked. Add the planked cauliflower, sprinkle with the red pepper flakes, and quickly toast the cauliflower on both sides ... 1-2 minutes max. You don’t want to cook the cauliflower, just quickly sear it for lack of a better term.See that perfect toasted color? Pour the cauliflower and oil right onto the spinach. Add the remaining ingredients and toss. Serve immediately.See those pine nuts. YUM! This was really good, tasty and different. It certainly was pretty to look at, and I really liked the textures it held. I would definitely eat it again.

So, do you listen to your inner voice? What does it tell you to do? Join us next time, when we figure out more Lenten friendly recipes. My little voice is thinking about a lovely Asian salad with shrimp. I’m listening!

Hazy Shade of Winter - Italian Chopped Salad with Parma Crisps

Do you remember the song “Hazy Shade of Winter” by Simon and Garfunkel? Um, I may be dating myself here. For those of you who belong to the generation(s) after me, you may recognize this song as it’s been remade by other groups. Here’s the You Tube address (I couldn't get the link function to work)to hear it in its original glory http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yheo2AgNywU ... go ahead and listen ... I’ll wait. Anyway ... I grew up listening to S&G’s music, and today I’ve been humming “Hazy Shade of Winter”. It started when the familiar hazy, gray, wintery sky clouded the view out of my window.This is what the heavens looked like at sunrise, midday, and until dusk. For those of us living west of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, that shrouded sky is overhead for most of Fall and Winter.

I miss the sun. There. I said it. Growing up in the Midwest, we had annual blizzards and whiteouts, but no matter how cold the mercury dipped, the sun came out and sparkled brightly through the icicles. Here in my adopted state, we have months and months of cloudy drizzle. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Oregon. It’s amazingly, awe inspiringly beautiful, but boy do I miss the sun on my face. I think I’m one of those folks who shut down when not exposed to sunlight. Yeah, I’d be the life of the party should we ever have a solar blocking event. Of course, the planet would be a fudgecicle, but .... oh I digress. See ... I need some SUN! Anybody else out there besides me really need sunshine in their lives?

Entering to my rescue and the depression that I’m spreading, is a lovely chopped salad that will crunch your winter blues away. It certainly lifted my spirits. It’s a meal all in one, and just bursting with flavor. Ironically, this is not something from my youth. Rather, I had it at a restaurant about 15 years ago, and fell in love with it. It’s great for brunch, and would definitely fit the bill for serving to guests. Join me now as we chase away the winter blues making a lovely Italian Chopped Salad.

First, get out a brightly colored bowl. This one is actually for pasta, but I love using it for BIG salads.Add some chopped, crunchy lettuce. Hearts of romaine and other crunchy lettuce types works well here. Truly, though, you can just use whatever is your favorite.Add some shredded Mozzarella cheese. And please, for my mental health’s sake, shred your own. By now you know my mantra ... the cheese you shred yourself tastes soooo much better than the prebagged shredded stuff. Really folks, it takes like a minute to shred your own.Add some shredded parmesan. Shredded works better than grated here.Now add some meat. I’ve chosen to add some cubed leftover grilled chicken.The big flavor boost in this salad comes from the salami. Thinly slice about 4-5 slices of the yummy stuff.A little red onion always adds a nice flavor punch to salads, and this one is no exception. A little dab will do ya here.For a texture and protein boost, add some chickpeas. For this salad, I lovingly sliced each one in half because I was photographing it. To be honest, leaving them whole would work just fine. So grab a can, drain and rinse the little babies, and pile them on.Red adds such a delightful color to salads, so a few sliced grape tomatoes were added.
Now, top with your favorite vinaigrette. I made mine using this lovely oil from Hania, Crete, Greece (Hi Maria!). Of course, you could use your favorite Italian salad dressing or simply toss with oil and vinegar.

I topped them with some homemade parmesan crisps. Have you ever made those? Oh, they are super simple to do. I’ve made them in the oven in the past, but tried them on the stove today. Super, super simple and wow, my family loved them.

Simply heat a NON-stick (that’s important) pan over med-high heat. Add a teaspoon of grated parmesan cheese and kind of pat it down a bit. The cheese will start to melt and bubble up.As soon as the bubbles get smaller and the edges start to turn golden, take the pan off the stove and let sit for about 3-4 minutes.Using a spatula, scoop up the crisps and set them on parchment paper or a paper plate to crisp up ... just a few minutes.You can also wrap them around the handle of a wooden spoon as soon as you remove them and let them cool that way. They are the yummiest garnish. See how thin and crispy they are?
This works beautifully with pecorino romano cheese, too. You can leave them plain, or sprinkle with paprika (or chili powder) when done.YUM!

Now crunch the winter doldrums away with this gorgeous chopped salad with parma crisps. Take a bite and savor the flavor explosions.It will bring a smile to your face, for sure. Hello sunshine!My husband, who prefers plain, regular old dinner salads, proclaimed this to be very good, and could he please have some more. He usually refers to anything other than a dinner salad as a, and I quote, "fru-fru" salad. Today, though, he accused me to trying to starve him while I took photos before serving. he he.

Oh, and this salad is gluten free, all the way, baby!