Country Kitchen:
Salad Sense for Summer
By Mary Emma Allen
Summer brings the season when we often think of salads, foods that can be
prepared without heating up the kitchen. This once was a major
consideration, in the days before air-conditioning, when cooks used wood
or coal stoves for food preparation.
My mother even had Father and the hired man carry the kitchen table onto
the porch or front yard where it was cooler for dining than in the
kitchen where she had to do canning, pickling, and jelly making. Even
though farm wives were expected to prepare hearty noontime meals, she
looked for recipes that didn't take so much cooking and were refreshing
to eat.
Salads Mainly for Summer
So salads were on the menu. In those days, salads were mainly summer
fare, when the garden was in full production and salad greens, fresh
potatoes, and other vegetables were readily available.
Coleslaw was a favorite in our family and made by chopping cabbage,
carrots, and onions in the oblong wooden chopping bowl. Although I use
the basic sweet-tart recipe my mother and aunt always made, there are
many other variations of this salad.
You can have coleslaw, or cabbage salad as some call it, tart and tangy,
crisp and sweetened, or accented with the addition of various fruits and
sometimes nuts. Also, you can use green or red cabbage. Some recipes call
for a combination of the two.
Nowadays, coleslaw mix is available in the produce department of most
grocery stores. Thus you don't have to shave or chop your own cabbage as
we did years ago.
Salads of Great Variety
Salads range from main meal ones of meat, egg, poultry, seafood, and
cheese to tossed salads, cooked vegetable salads, molded salads, frozen
salads and fruit salads. Some salads, such as chicken, egg, and tuna, may
be used in sandwich rolls or between slices of bread.
Other salads include dessert salads, made of fruit, gelatin, ambrosia,
melon, and berries.
We often toss together a mixture of fruit in season - sliced
strawberries, blueberries, sliced banana, peaches, and kiwi. Serve this
with whipped topping. It makes a great dessert or a breakfast dish.
MELON BOWLS - When serving fruit salads, scoop out half a water melon,
sliced either lengthwise or crosswise. Then fill with a mixture of fruit
and melon.
You also can scoop out half a cantaloupe and fill it with mixed fruit and
melon.
PINEAPPLE SALAD for dessert: Drain 2 1/2 cups pineapple chunks. Add the
chunks to 1/4 cup walnut meats (optional) and 2 cups diced celery. Add 1
cup diced apple.
Chill the ingredients; then just before serving add enough mayonnaise or
salad dressing to moisten, with 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
You also can mix with whipped topping instead of mayonnaise, if you
prefer. Mix lightly and serve on salad greens if you're preparing
individual servings. Or you can serve in melon bowls or a scooped out
apple.
(C) 2002 Mary Emma Allen
About the Author
Mary Emma Allen has been writing her "Cooking Column" for newspapers
and online publications for 30 years and
has compiled a family cookbook. She’s currently compiling a
cookbook/story book,
"Tales From a Country Kitchen." Visit her web site for more cooking
articles. Contact her at me.allen@juno.com
