Greek Salad

Our tomatoes are starting to really produce. I used them in this Greek style salad the other night. Sadly our cucumbers are suffering from drought. Fortunately the organic farmers at the Hollywood Farmers Market have my back.

The key to a good Greek salad is crunchy vegetables to offset the soft tomatoes, feta and olives. I vary them depending on what's available. This is my standard recipe. If you have mint in the garden, it makes a great addition.

Greek Salad
1/2 red onion
1 tsp white vinegar
3 medium or large tomatoes
1 cucumber
1/2 green pepper
romaine lettuce
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
5 tbsp olive oil
2-3 oz feta, crumbled
2-3 tbsp chopped fresh mint
12 kalamata olives, pitted if desired

Cut onion in slivers. Place in a bowl and cover with cold water. Add the white vinegar. Let sit at least 10 minutes.

Chop the tomatoes. Peel and seed the cucumber. Cut in bite-sized pieces. Cut pepper in slivers.

Drain the onion.

Chop the lettuce and put in a large bowl. Add the drained onion, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. Whisk together the red wine vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a little more oil if desired, but it should be a sharp dressing. Toss the dressing with the vegetables.

Put the vegetables on a platter. Sprinkle the feta, mint and olives over top.

Serves 3-4

Green Bean Salad with Mustard and Tarragon

Our bean vines are producing vigorously. Fortunately, I love green bean salad. I steam the beans until tender then toss them in a simple vinaigrette. I cook a pound at a time because they last well in the fridge, ready for a quick meal.

The other day I tossed them in a mustard vinaigrette to which I added a snippet of tarragon. It's worth finding a sunny well-drained spot for this perennial because its slight anise-y flavor gives a subtle boost to mustard vinaigrettes like this one.

Green Bean Salad
1 lb green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp chopped tarragon
3/4 tsp salt
pepper
1-2 tbsp spring onion or chives of Egyptian walking onion

Steam beans until tender but still crunchy, 7-10 minutes. Plunge in an ice water bath to stop the cooking, then drain and pat them dry.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients. Add the beans and toss to coat. Chill until ready to serve.

Serves 4

Zesty Potato Salad

When we barbecued last Friday, I was concerned the black bean burgers would be dry and boring so I made this zesty potato salad to go along side.

Fortunately the burgers were fine. But this potato salad almost stole the show. It has lashings of tabasco and mustard to make it interesting. I used our homemade keffir in the dressing — plain Greek yogurt is fine if you aren't growing your own keffir.

Zesty Potato Salad

2 lbs yukon gold potatoes
1 1/4 cups kefir

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

2 tsp tabasco

1 tsp dijon

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

Scrub the potatoes well and cook them, whole, until tender all the way through. This will take 15 to 25 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes. Drain and let cool a little so you don't burn your fingers, then peel and cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces.

In a large bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients. Whisk together well.

Stir in potatoes. It will seem like a lot of dressing, but the potatoes will absorb much of it.

Cover and refrigerate to blend flavors. Add salt and pepper or more tabasco as needed.

Serves 6

Grilled Corn and Tomato Salad

The first few weeks of organic corn season, we simply cook it and munch it straight off the cob. I eat it plain. Larry uses butter, salt and pepper. Nothing fancy. We revel in sweet summer corn.

A couple of weeks in, I'm ready to start using corn in fancier preparations like this salad adapted from Elizabeth Orsini's book Garden to Grill.

I served this grilled corn and tomato salad with homemade black bean burgers on Friday night. It was a great combo — the salad was a juicy sweet contrast to the dense burgers — and the leftovers of the salad were great in my lunch the next day.

Larry grilled the corn and tomatoes, and I stirred them together with onions and lemon from the garden, romaine lettuce and feta.You can't go wrong with that.

Grilled Corn and Tomato Salad
2 medium plum tomatoes
2 ears corn
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 Egyptian walking onion stalk or scallion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp feta, crumbled into small dice
3-4 cups romaine lettuce, cut in bite-size pieces

Slice the tomatoes crosswise 1/2 inch thick. Shuck the corn. Brush all with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and grill over medium heat (hand held 6 seconds over grate). The tomatoes will take a couple of minutes on each side. The corn will take about 10 minutes — turn it occasionally.

Remove the vegetables from the grill and let cool slightly. Chop the tomatoes in bite-size pieces and put in a serving dish. Cut the kernels from the cobs and add as well.

Snip the Egyptian walking onion stalk into a small bowl. Add the garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice with a little more olive oil. Whisk well and pour over the tomatoes and corn. Toss well. Add the lettuce and feta, toss again and serve.

Serves 4

Black Rice Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

We have a lovely little Meyer lemon tree that was covered with lemons this spring. They last well, so we're still enjoying the crop.

They have a more floral aroma than a regular lemon, which makes them well-suited to desserts and ice cream. But because we don't eat a lot of sweets, I experiment with using them in savory dishes. The other day I used them in a vinaigrette for this black rice salad that I served with chilled asparagus on the side. Their lightly floral yet tangy flavor really boosted the salad in a way plain lemon juice wouldn't.

I used black rice in the salad because I like to mix up the nutrients we get from our food. Brown rice, black rice and red rice all have different kinds of carotenoids and other vitamins. I think our bodies appreciate the diversity.

Plus, black rice always gets a reaction from its color alone. The cherry tomatoes and green beans really popped against it. I buy organic black rice from Lotus Foods at my local independent grocery store.

The walnuts added an earthy crunch and the Meyer lemon added a floral tone. A regular lemon could be substituted and the salad would still be good. (And it would probably be good with brown rice instead of black, but it wouldn't be as pretty!)

Black Rice Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
1 cup black rice
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp slivered red onion
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups green beans cut in 1 inch pieces

Cook rice according to packet instructions until tender, about 35-40 minutes. Drain it well and let it cool.

Lightly toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, watching closely. When they smell good, take them from the pan, let them cool a little, then chop coarsely.

Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt to taste.

Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently. Season to taste.

Serves 6 as a main course. The leftovers are good the next day too.

Tomato and Avocado Salad

Tomatoes and avocado go surprisingly well together.

The other day I diced an avocado and two tomatoes and served them with some vinaigrette I had left over from the tomato and arugula salad I served when Tracie was visiting.

It was a great side salad to a meal of beans and rice.

Oftentimes, simple is best.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

The tomatoes on the plants in our garden are still green, but Tutti Frutti has been selling beautiful heirloom tomatoes for a couple of weeks. I assume they're greenhouse grown, but they're still ripe and juicy.

However, since they don't have the acidity of field-grown tomatoes, I tossed them with a mustardy dressing and our spicy homegrown arugula to make an assertive side to our barley salad on Sunday.

Tracie thought they were the best dish of the day and kept spooning them onto her plate. She was sure there was balsamic vinegar on them, but there wasn't.

Here's the recipe so she (and you) can reproduce it at home. It will be good with non-heirloom tomatoes and less-fiery store-bought arugula as well. (Although it's worth growing arugula just to have its pretty peppery flowers as a garnish.)

Heirloom Tomato Salad

1 tsp dijon mustard

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp minced shallot

1 tbsp minced chives or Egyptian Walking Onion leaves

3 tbsp olive oil

1 lb heirloom tomatoes

1 cup arugula leaves

sprinkle of fleur de sel

Whisk together the mustard, vinegar, shallot, chives and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. This will make extra dressing that is great on romaine lettuce. It will last a couple of weeks in the fridge.

Cut the tomatoes in chunks. Add the arugula leaves, torn in pieces if large.

Sprinkle about a third of the dressing over the vegetables and toss gently. Put in a serving dish, sprinkle with some fleur de sel, and garnish with arugula flowers.

Serves 4

Bean Salad with Celery and Cilantro

Bean salads are great in bagged lunches. They are a good source of protein and they travel well. This week we've been eating this refreshing salad made with celery and cilantro.

I sometimes make it using chickpeas or kidney beans or tongue of fire beans or pinquitos. This time I used Trail of Tears because I had them in the cupboard and I thought the color contrast would be pretty.

The soft beans play against the crunch of the celery and red onion. I like the cilantro, but sometimes I use chopped gherkins instead.

The key is to toss the beans with the dressing while they are still warm. They then absorb some of the dressing as they cool down and become really flavorful.

Bean Salad with Celery and Cilantro
1 cup dried Trail of Tears beans
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3-4 tsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp chopped red onion (or more to taste)
3 tbsp olive oil

Pick over the beans, discarding any that you don't like the look of. Rinse them, then put in a pot with water to cover by 2-4 inches, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently until tender. This will take 1-3 hours depending on the age and type of bean.

(Alternatively use 2 14-oz cans of beans. Drain and rinse them then continue. But they won't taste quite as good.)

Drain the cooked beans and put in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the vinegars and some salt and pepper. Toss gently and let the beans sit at room temperature until they are cool enough to eat.

Stir in the celery, cilantro, red onion and olive oil. Toss well. Season with more salt and pepper as needed.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Serves 4-6

Cauliflower and Beet Salad

Continuing the theme of vegetable salads, this beauty showcases the contrasting colors of beets and cauliflower. Decorative hard boiled egg and fresh sprouts up the protein without making it too heavy to eat on these warm summer evenings.

If you've only ever eaten mushy canned beets, try buying fresh beets and roasting them. It will be a revelation. They are tender yet firmly hold their shape. And they have an earthy flavor that goes beautifully with zesty lemony dressings like this one.

The cauliflower and beets are cooked separately and seasoned, then arranged together on a plate with the dressing poured over.

It's a pretty and nourishing supper. Leftovers are good the next day too.

Cauliflower and Beet Salad
3 medium beets, about 3/4 lb
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 egg
1 head of cauliflower (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sliced shallot
2 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp mint
radish sprouts to garnish (opt)

If your beets came with greens, cut them off and save them for a dish of wilted greens. Scrub the roots well and bake them in a 400° oven until they are tender. This will take roughly 45 minutes to an hour depending on how big the beets are. Set them aside to cool a little, then peel if desired (not necessary but maybe prettier) and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. Toss with a couple of teaspoons each of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Pierce the thick end of the egg lightly with a pin (so it doesn't explode) then place in a small pan of boiling water and cook 10 minutes. Drain and fill the pan with cold water to let the egg cool a little. When you can handle it, crack and peel the shell off, and dice the egg finely.

Cut the cauliflower in inch-size (or slightly larger) florets. Steam until tender, about 6-8 minutes. Put in a bowl and toss with another couple of teaspoons of olive oil and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Marinate the sliced shallot in 2 tbsp red wine vinegar in a small bowl for 5 minutes. Add the parsley, mint, and 5 tbsp olive oil. Fold in the chopped egg and again season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the beets around the edges of a platter. Pile the cauliflower in the middle. Spoon the egg dressing decoratively over the salad and scatter sprouts or more herbs decoratively.

Serves 3-4

Beet Salad with Asparagus

In warm weather, a vegetable salad makes a good dinner. Vegetables are healthy, filling and pretty to look at. They make the meal interesting, even when it's too hot to have much of an appetite.

I made this colorful salad of beets, red butter lettuce, asparagus and watercress the other night. A citrus dressing added perkiness, and I puréed one of the cooked beets to make a red dressing that I served on the side. It was both delicious and colorful. I took the leftovers for my lunch the next day. I really like meals that stretch.

Beet Salad with Asparagus
4 medium-small beets
20 spears asparagus, trimmed
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup chopped shallots
1/3 cup olive oil
large handful of watercress
red butter lettuce to line the plate

Scrub the beets, place in a steamer in a large pot over medium-low heat, and steam until tender, probably about 45 minutes depending on the size of the beets. When a thin knife can pierce the center of the beets, they're cooked. Remove the steamer from the water and set aside to let them cool a little.

Cook the asparagus in a little boiling water 3-6 minutes until tender-crisp. Drain, plunge into ice water to stop the cooking, drain again and set aside.

Whisk together orange juice, vinegar and shallots. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until it's emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour half the dressing in a blender. Peel and chop one of the beets and add it to the blender. Purée into a gorgeous purple sauce. Pour into a jug.

Line a plate with the lettuce. Peel (if desired) and slice the beets and arrange around the edge of the plate. Cut the asparagus in bite-sized pieces. Toss with the watercress and some of the first dressing (the one without the beet) — enough to coat the leaves. Pile this into the center of the beets.

Drizzle the beet dressing over the salad, and serve the extra on the side.

Serves 3-4

Potato Salad

I love a good creamy yet zesty potato salad. And that's what we had Sunday with our first barbecue of the year.

I stirred together keffir and mayonnaise for the dressing, added a little red onion, and then sprinkled over some snipped Egyptian walking onion greens for color.

It was peppy and comforting at the same time.

Here's the recipe.

Potato Salad
1 1/2 lbs potatoes
1/2 cup keffir (or plain yogurt)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 small clove garlic
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 small red onion, sliced in thin strips
1 scallion or 1 leaf Egyptian walking onion or a couple of chives

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Put in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add some salt, bring to a boil, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 12-15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the keffir, mayonnaise, vinegar, garlic and lemon juice. Add the warm potatoes, stir, and let rest a while, stirring occasionally. The potatoes will absorb a lot of the dressing, which is part of what makes this salad great.

When cool, stir in the red onion. Sprinkle with chopped scallion greens, onion greens or chives.

Serves 4

Arugula Salad with Balsamic Dressing

What greens are in this salad, Larry asked. Homegrown arugula, I said. Yes, but what other greens are in it, he persisted. Just arugula, I replied. Wow, he said in a surprised tone of voice, it's really good.

I understood his amazement because our arugula is exceptionally peppery. I usually add a few leaves to a green salad as a flavor boost or cook it with other greens.

But for our Memorial Day barbecue, I tossed handfuls of the leaves with a hearty balsamic vinaigrette that complemented their heat without overpowering it. With the sweetness of tomato and grilled red onion and the salty umami of a little shaved parmesan, the salad was a huge success.

The extra dressing lasts well in the fridge, ready to be poured over grilled vegetables or hearty grain salads.

Arugula Salad with Balsamic Dressing
3 slices red onion
olive oil
1 tomato
2-3 cups arugula leaves, tough stems removed
wedge of parmesan

Push toothpicks into the slices of onion so they hold together on the grill. Brush them with olive oil and grill over a medium-hot fire until they are soft and well-browned (not black and crispy), 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from heat, remove toothpicks, and cut in quarters.

Cut the tomato into bite-sized pieces.

Toss the arugula, onion and tomato together with just enough dressing to lightly moisten. Use a potato peeler to shave a few pieces of parmesan over the salad. Serve with extra dressing on the side.

Serves 2-3


Balsamic Dressing
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup basil leaves, coarsely chopped

Purée olives, mustard and garlic in blender. With the rotors running, gradually add the olive oil until it emulsifies. Add the balsamic and basil. Purée until mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 1 1/4 cups

Corn and Cherry Tomato Salad with Marjoram and Feta

I usually make this salad in the summer with fresh corn and sun-ripened tomatoes, but the knotted marjoram in our garden is about to flower and there are good cherry tomatoes at my local grocery store, organic corn in the freezer and feta in the fridge.

How could I resist making it to go with the Red Lentil Burgers we had for dinner the other night?

Marjoram adds a wonderful base note to the sweetness of the corn and the saltiness of the feta. It's worth growing this aromatic herb for this salad alone.

Corn and Cherry Tomato Salad with Marjoram and Feta

10 oz package frozen organic corn
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup diced feta
1 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram

Cook corn briefly according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool.

Whisk together olive oil and red wine vinegar. Stir in cooled corn, tomatoes, feta and marjoram.

Serves 2-3

Salad with Parmesan and Balsamic

I don't think I've ever bought a bottle of salad dressing. When I was a student I was too cheap to spend the extra money when I could just toss olive oil and vinegar on a salad. Then I started looking at the ingredients and realized a whole lot of stabilizers and emulsifiers are needed to make commercial salad dressing. So I continue to make my own.

I always have a bottle of my homemade honey-balsamic dressing in the fridge. Larry likes it on the salads he takes for lunch. (He carries a little in a small container and adds it to his salad when he's ready to eat.)

For my favorite simple side salad I make the dressing right on the salad. The balsamic and parmesan make it great with Italian food, and I served it the other night with the Whole Wheat Linguine with Broccoli and Chickpeas. It was a great match.

I used red butter lettuce because it has extra carotenoids from the red pigments. However, when coated with balsamic vinegar, it looks a little brown at the edges in low light. That's okay, it tastes great.

Here is the beyond-easy recipe, no emulsifiers or stabilizers required.

Salad with Parmesan and Balsamic
Butter lettuce for 2 people
wedge of parmesan cheese
1/2 tbsp balsamic
1 tbsp olive oil

Wash the lettuce and dry it completely. Tear it into a bowl. Use a vegetable peeler to sliver 3-4 thin pieces of parmesan onto the lettuce. Sprinkle the vinegar over the lettuce along with a dash of salt. Toss well. Drizzle the olive oil over the salad and toss again.

Serves immediately.

Serves 2

Simple green salad

Finley Farms has been selling beautiful romaine lettuce at the Hollywood Farmers Market recently. The crisp sweet juicy leaves chop easily into wonderful quick salads.

The other night I harvested arugula from our garden and shiitakes from our garage, and combined them with pasta for a yummy meal.

I served this simple salad on the side. The parmesan dressing went well with the pasta dish, and the crunch was a nice contrast to the meal.

Simple Green Salad
2 tbsp parmesan
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (approx)
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 very small clove of garlic (about 1/2 tsp mashed)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups washed and chopped romaine lettuce

In a small bowl, stir together the parmesan, lemon juice, oregano, garlic and a little salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Add more lemon juice or salt and pepper to taste.

Put the romaine in a salad bowl. Drizzle the dressing over it and toss well.

Serves 2

Arugula and Orange Salad

It's nice to have a zesty salad to go with a simple plate of rice and beans. The other day I picked tender arugula leaves from our garden and combined them with oranges and red onions for a salad that definitely left the mouth tingling.

Unlike most store-bought arugula, ours is quite spicy. Although the sweet oranges provided a nice balance, a few leaves of butter lettuce would have made the salad less of an adventure in eating.

Don't let that deter you though. Just munch on an arugula leaf before you make the salad, and decide if you need to add some lettuce. There is plenty of dressing in this recipe to easily coat a few leaves of lettuce. I saved the extra dressing and used it on a green salad the next day.

Arugula and Orange Salad
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (from 1 orange)
1 very small clove garlic, minced (opt)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp canola oil
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 navel orange
1 tbsp slivered red onion
1 cup arugula leaves, washed and dried

In a small saucepan, boil the orange juice over medium heat to reduce it by half or a little more, about 5 minutes.

Pour the concentrated juice into a small bowl and whisk in the garlic, vinegar, oil and curry powder. Add a sprinkle of salt to taste.

Cut the top and bottom off the orange. Stand it on end and cut it in half. Reserve half for another use. Slice the skin and white pith off the half you will use, then cut the flesh crosswise into 1/4 inch half-moons.

Toss the arugula in the dressing and put it on a plate. Add the red onion and oranges. Drizzle a little dressing over all. (You will probably have extra dressing.)

Serves 2

Simple Beet Salad

Winter stews and grains make delicious meals, but they can be a little boring to look at on the plate — a lot of brown is involved.

The other day I whipped up this simple beet salad to add a spark of color to our dinner plates. I took the leftovers in my lunch the next day. It's a great way to get Vitamin C, potassium, beneficial fibers, and all sorts of health benefits.

It's fast to make in the food processor — grating by hand would be very messy. I suppose you could use golden beets, but where's the fun in that?

Simple Beet Salad
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
3 medium beets, greens removed and saved for another dish

Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and olive oil. Season with a little salt and pepper.

I peeled the beets because the skin is grayish and I wanted a sparkly red salad. However the skin is perfectly edible, so leave it on if you like. If you do, make sure to scrub the beets well.

Either way, cut off the tops and bottoms and slice the beets to fit the feed tube of your food processor. Use the shredding disk to grate them.

Add the grated beets to the dressing. Toss to combine and serve.

Serves 4

Orange and Cranberry Salad

I've never really warmed to cranberry sauce. My mother used to cook cranberries with orange zest and a little cardamom and they sat on the table and were returned to the kitchen untouched (at least by me). I didn't like the texture of the cooked berries. Of course, the stories of jellied cranberry sauce being slid out of the can and presented on a plate weird me out even more.

So I struggle to serve cranberries at Thanksgiving.

This year, however, I served them in a salad, and they were great. This is not the jello salad of the '70s with cranberries, tinned mandarin orange slices and miniature marshmallows. This is a healthy yet delicious updated version. No jello (not vegetarian) required.

 I combined chopped cranberries with crisp celery and sweet juicy oranges and served them on a bed of greens. The oranges provided sweetness without jammy-ness, and the lightly-sweetened cranberries were pleasantly tart but not overpowering. The salad provided a nice contrast to the creamed corn and scalloped potatoes.

I added a few home-grown arugula and nasturtium leaves to the butter lettuce for a little variety. Salad mix would be fine too. The mint adds a really nice perk, but if you don't have any, the salad will still be good. Also, olive oil can substitute for the walnut oil if needed.

Orange and Cranberry Salad
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
2 oranges
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
2 tbsp chopped red onion
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated ginger root
butter lettuce
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tbsp walnut oil

Pulse cranberries in food processor 5 times to coarsely chop. Transfer to a bowl.

Cut the tops and bottoms from the oranges. Cut the peel and white pith from them, then hold them over the bowl and cut the sections from the membranes, letting juice and fruit fall into the bowl. Stir in celery, onion, sugar, lemon juice and ginger root. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour, or up to 2 days.

Toss lettuce and mint leaves with oil. Place on a serving platter. Top with the cranberry mixture.

Serves 4

Green Beans with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

I love green beans. Lightly cooked and served on the side, they add a welcome green simplicity to any meal.

At Thanksgiving, however, nothing is plain, so I dressed them up with a simple mustardy vinaigrette. Mustard goes well with ham, I figured, so it was a good match.

I confess that I do not steam my green beans. I throw them in a pot of boiling water for 8 minutes, then drain them. Served like this, they are delicious. A pat of butter and a little salt and pepper gilds the lily.

Of course, if you have really young fresh beans, like the ones I hope to be harvesting this winter, steam them for a mere 3-5 minutes to keep their tender taste. The organic green beans I've been buying at the Hollywood Farmers Market are more mature and benefit from a good boil.

Green beans in vinaigrette make a nice room temperature side, and can also be chopped up and added to cooked rice or salads. Leftover lemon mustard dressing is also good on green salads or bean salads, or poured over any cooked vegetable.

On Thanksgiving, I strolled through the garden picking a lemon and some tarragon to garnish the beans. If you don't have fresh tarragon, use any herb you like  – dried is fine, just use 1/4 tsp to start and then add more to taste.

Green Beans with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette
1 lb green beans, ends trimmed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp minced red onion
1 clove garlic, minced (opt)
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
3/4 tsp salt
pepper

Cook beans. Either steam until tender, or cook in boiling water about 8 minutes until tender. Drain, refresh in cold water, and pat dry. Arrange on a platter.

Make the vinaigrette by whisking together the remaining ingredients.

Pour the vinaigrette over the beans, and serve.

Serves 4

Green Salad with Peaches and Pistachios

When we barbecue in peach season, as we did Sunday night, I like to serve this simple salad dressed with orange juice and scattered with pistachios. It makes a sweet juicy foil to whatever the grilled entrée is, and I can make it ahead and then just toss the salad with the dressing right before serving it. That's my kind of easy summer eating.

Green Salad with Peaches and Pistachios
2 tbsp pistachios
juice of 1 orange (about 1/2 cup)
juice of 1 lime (about 2 tsp)
1/2 tbsp olive oil
red butter lettuce, torn (about 4 cups)
1 ripe peach

Toast the pistachios in a small heavy skillet until fragrant and very lightly toasted. Set them aside to cool.

Pour the orange juice into the hot skillet and let it bubble down until it reduces to about a tablespoon of juice, about 10 minutes. Pour the juice into a heat-resistant bowl and set aside to cool.

Whisk the lime juice and olive oil into the cool orange juice and season with a little salt and pepper.

Just before eating, line a plate with the lettuce. Half the peach and take out the pit. Cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle the pistachios on top.

Either toss the dressing with the salad, or serve it on the side so everyone can add their own.

Serves 2