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Monday, 15 January 2018

Summer salad days

It is summer over here down-under in Australia. Australian's love the beach, though I don't frequent the beach in summer so much these days, except when I am on holidays. I tend to stay indoors in the summer out of the burning rays of the sun.


 And when the hot days of summer hit the last thing I feel like doing is cooking. So that's when the salads come out. I have a particular favourite which I often make when we are invited to a BBQ and are asked to "bring a salad" to share. It is common here in Australia to "bring a salad to share". Is that something that happens where you live? 



 Anyways, today I thought I would share my salad. I always receive favourable compliments. 

WALDORF COLESLAW - from the Margaret Fulton Encyclopedia of Food & Cookery - 1983


 - about half a small cabbage, finely shredded.
- 4 shallots chopped, including green tops.
- 2 sticks celery, chopped.
- about half a green capsicum, cored, seeded and chopped - though I prefer to use a red one to add a dash a colour to the salad.
- 1 Granny Smith green apple, cored and chopped, don't peel. - I often use a red apple for the added colour.
- 1/2 cup sultanas
- 1/2 cup walnut pieces 
- a couple of tablespoons mayonnaise or sour cream

 Dressing -  1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, salt & freshly ground pepper, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons olive oil. Whisk together or as I do shake together in a small crew top jar.

Combine the cabbage, shallots, celery, capsicum and apple into a salad bowl and add sultanas. Whisk together dressing ingredients. Add to the bowl and mix. 
 Cover and refrigerate for an hour or so - or however long you have before you want to serve. At serving time add mayonnaise or sour cream, sprinkle with walnuts and toss. 

 CARROT SALAD

This is a great salad for children or those who don't like "green" vegetables. I invented it some years ago for my son, and we still make it whenever we are making salads, especially if there are going to be children around. Your children could easily make this themselves as it is super easy to make.


1 grated carrot, 
about half to one cup grated cheese, 
a handful of sultanas, 
a handful of sunflower seeds, 
a bit of finely chopped red onion (optional)
I also sometimes add a few finely chopped sprouts (token green)

 Just mix all together. Easy peesy!

 Last week we took a drive down to Busselton for the day and went to the Humingbird Restaurant for lunch. Their restaurant is delightfully light and airy, perfect for a light summer lunch. 
I loved their Roast Pumpkin Quiche - roasted pumpkin, goats cheese, caramelized onion, spinach, and walnuts. With some yummy chutney on the side.


 Another great easy meal to put together is a browsing platter - don't reserve this for just when you go out. You can easily put one together at home. Ok, I didn't make this one at home.



 In the middle of the year we picked olives from a friend's property. We are just starting to eat them.  After the long soaking in the brine solution phase, I just fill a jar with olives, pour over olive oil and a few herbs. Leave in the fridge for a couple of days, and then eat. Delicious.



 If I am lucky during the summer my husband might bring home a few crayfish from a dive trip. Best eaten freshly caught and cooked and eaten straight away. Yum. 


 Thank you so much for stopping by. Do you have a favourite summer salad? Perhaps you would like to share in the comments. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

You might also like - Summer is here - Zucchini pickle & a salad recipe

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20 comments:

  1. Mary Howell Cromer16 January 2018 at 05:39

    I would so enjoy the quiches and chutney...that looks amazing. The Waldorf Coleslaw looks very good too. Olives, oh my, I adore them and have to watch how many I eat. We have a market about 15 miles from home that has an Olive bar and you can choose all kinds of them. My favorite are the large Olives stuffed with Blue cheese...Oh Yum. Now I need some. Hope that you enjoy your week my friend. Hugs~

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  2. Unknown16 January 2018 at 08:38

    It all looks stunning! You are so very talented. You have not heard from me for a long time, life is not always the way we want it to be, but I followed often what you did and I always admire it.
    Anita de Montigny Olsthoorn

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  3. Unknown16 January 2018 at 08:38

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Yogi♪♪♪16 January 2018 at 09:59

    Yep, I love summer but I have to stay under cover as much as possible. Your salads and the packed olives look great.

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  5. Rambling Tart16 January 2018 at 11:04

    I love summer salads too! We had a feast with friends last weekend and salads were the order of the day. My favourite at the moment is green bean salad with dijon dressing and feta cheese. Yum! :-)

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  6. Joyful16 January 2018 at 12:45

    Oh my, all the food you are sharing look so tasty. We don't have such hot weather except for a short time in summer. But we have a tradition of pot luck meals so you will often be asked to bring an appy, main course or dessert when invited to a big crowd for dinner.

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  7. Kathy Marris16 January 2018 at 14:53

    It's definitely summer salad days here in Queensland! Although I might BBQ some meat for dinner, I mostly serve the meat with a salad. My go to salad is a simple greek salad with red ripe tomatoes, olives and creamy feta cheese. But my husband enjoys my potato salad made with pieces of bacon (or prosciutto) and a dressing with sour cream and mayonnaise mixed together.

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  8. Jo ~ Lifestyle Fifty and ZigaZag16 January 2018 at 14:57

    Your salads look Yummy! And that Roast Pumpkin quiche looks quite delish! I love putting together a graze plate too, and we often do one for just the two of us at home.

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  9. Maggie16 January 2018 at 18:43

    Love that first beach photo, Jill, it encapsulates everything that a summer holiday should be. Thanks for the super salad ideas will file them away for later in the year. The roast pumpkin quiche looks amazing, I'd love to try it so might have a try at making one of those too, thanks for sharing summer down under with the MM crowd this week.

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  10. carol l mckenna17 January 2018 at 01:31

    Awesome beach photo! So inviting ~ especially from New England USA where winter prevails! Great foodie shots too!

    Happy Week to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  11. molly17 January 2018 at 02:03

    I can't wait for summer salad days to be here again and that beach looks so inviting

    Mollyx

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  12. Anonymous17 January 2018 at 04:03

    When we have summer here, all we eat are salads and veggies. My recipe stack for salads is huge:) and I'll add your coleslaw! This quiche looks delicious! Thank you for sharing this to All Seasons:)
    Thank you for your comments, I always like - Oh, I understand, in summer we only walk in places with a lot of shade, like Yosemite (waterfall) and the botanical garden (last pic).
    Have a cool week!

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  13. Angie17 January 2018 at 12:27

    Jill - every item looks scrumptious, but my eyes were most drawn to the Roast Pumpkin Quiche - what a creative combo! My favorite summer salad is one made by my hubby with arugula, blue cheese, prosciutto, melon and nectarines. Light and flavorful. Enjoy your summer!

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  14. Lorrie17 January 2018 at 13:40

    How I love seeing the bright sunshine and sunny colours of your salads while we have rain and very grey skies. It's lovely that it's always summer somewhere. I love all kinds of salads; one of our favourites is a broccoli salad with dried apricots, apples, and other yummy things. Happy Summer days to you!

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  15. Pieni Lintu18 January 2018 at 04:04

    Mmmm..everything looks so delicious!

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  16. Polly18 January 2018 at 06:31

    Mmm my mouth is watering. I can’t wait for summer and tasty salads. All your food looks gorgeous, beautiful colours. I love quiches and savoury tarts with caramalised onion chutney.

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  17. Buckeroomama18 January 2018 at 14:49

    Lovely food pics! I might try to make the Waldorf coleslaw; thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  18. Jackie and Joel Smith19 January 2018 at 10:57

    We'll be heading into spring when we return to Greece so I'll keep these recipes and ideas tagged for future use! And next week I'll try to remember to link up with the Wednesday party!

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  19. likeschocolate19 January 2018 at 17:43

    All the food looks incredible! Yummy! Have a great weekend!

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  20. Jo Tracey20 January 2018 at 04:39

    Oh how I love a grazing platter - and yours looks lovely. We put one together most Saturdays after visiting the markets. My go to salad at the moment is a bruised cucumber and radish one. Light, with a tang of vinegar, and perfect with poached chicken.

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