Fresh Green Bean Salad

My daughter gave me a bag of fresh green beans the last time I visited. Lucky me! I feel like if I have home grown green beans I should do something a little different with them. And, since it's summer, why not something cold? This marinated tomato and bean salad was just right and so easy to make. Make it early in the day to let all the flavors have time to blend together and soak in. Hubby loved it!  He said he'd eat it any time I made it. That's a pretty good recommendation. Here's what you'll need:

  • 1 lb fresh green beans, ends trimmed
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, grated
  • 1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan
  • 6 TBL olive oil
  • 2 TBL wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijaon Mustard
  • 1/4 tsp cracked pepper
  • salt to taste

Start by cooking the green beans in boiling, salted water. You just want to cook them until they begin to soften, but not too much because you want them to stay crisp. Drain them and shock them in cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.


In a large bowl, make the dressing by combining the oil, vinegar,  Dijon, pepper, shallot, garlic, and parmesan and mixing well.

Add the cooked green beans and the halved cherry tomatoes and toss to coat. It might look a little thick, but once you pour it over the beans and add the tomatoes it's just right. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Lynn

            Fresh Green Bean Salad

 

  • 1 lb fresh green beans, ends trimmed
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, grated
  • 1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan
  • 6 TBL olive oil
  • 2 TBL wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijaon Mustard
  • 1/4 tsp cracked pepper
  • salt to taste

Cook the green beans in salted, boiling water until crisp/tender, about 5-7 minutes. Drain and add to ice water to stop cooking process.

In a large bowl, add the oil, vinegar, and Dijon and whisk to combine. Add the shallot and garlic and stir together. Add the parmesan and season with salt and pepper. 

Once the green beans are cool, add them to the dressing and toss to coat. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and toss.

Refrigerate.

Crab Salad

It's that time of year when I start looking for much lighter meals for dinner. Even though we've had a mild summer so far, I still don't feel like sitting down to a heavy dinner. The only problem I have is that if it's too light, I'll want to eat again before bed. Not good. This crab salad is cool and refreshing and it fills me up. Tonight I served it on a layer of sliced avocado, but it's great with crackers. made into a sandwich, or a bed of lettuce. And really, what says summer more than a big pile of lump crab meat? Here's what you'll need:

  • 1 lb lump crab, picked over to remove any bits of shell
  • 2 TBL finely chopped shallot
  • 4 TBL finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 TBL fresh lime juice
  • zest of 1 lime, about 1 tsp
  • 1 tsp horseradish sauce
  • 1 TBL Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
  • 2 TBL mayonnaise
  • pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine the shallots, cilantro, lime zest and lime juice.

Now add the horseradish sauce, dijon mustard, mayonnaise and Old Bay, stirring until well incorporated.

Drain the crab meat and gently fold it into the dressing mixture until all the meat is coated. Season with freshly ground pepper. Because of the natural saltiness of the crab, I don't ad any extra salt, but this is the time to taste it and adjust the seasonings to your personal preference.

Today I served this crab salad over sliced avocado. Cut an avocado in half and remove the seed. Make thin slices while still in the skin, then scoop out the sliced flesh and place it on your serving platter. Season the avocado with salt and pepper and top with the crab salad.

Light, delicious, healthy & pretty!

Enjoy!

Lynn

Crab Salad

  • 1 lb lump crab, picked over to remove any bits of shell
  • 2 TBL finely chopped shallot
  • 4 TBL finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 TBL fresh lime juice
  • zest of 1 lime, about 1 tsp
  • 1 tsp horseradish sauce
  • 1 TBL Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
  • 2 TBL mayonnaise
  • pepper to taste

Combine the shallot, cilantro, lime juice, lime zest, horseradish sauce, Dijon mustard, Old Bay Seasoning, and mayonnaise in a bowl, stirring until well combined.

Drain the crab and gently fold into the dressing. Season with pepper.

Serve over sliced avocado or a bed of lettuce, with crackers, or in a sandwich.

Fried Oyster Salad and/or PoBoys

I know I lost a lot of you with "oyster", but for those of us who like them, this salad is a winner. Whenever oysters are available, I buy several pints and throw them in the freezer to use whenever I get a craving. That is exactly what happened today. The only thing I had to decide was how I wanted to serve them. I had lots of lettuce, so a salad was the obvious choice. I don't usually use bottled salad dressing because it's so easy to make, but this was in my refrigerator after we let our house be used for a weekend retreat, so I didn't want to waste it. It was actually quite good! I added and avocado and some crunchy bacon bits and dinner was ready. I served Hubby's on a Hawaiian bun as a sandwich and he loved it. I ate mine just as it was and enjoyed avery bite. Here's what you'll need:

  • 1 pint oysters, drained
  • cornmeal for dredging the oysters
  • bacon bits
  • avocado
  • romaine
  • parmesan cheese
  • salad dressing of your choice
  • peanut oil for frying 

Start by frying the bacon. I like to have bacon bits in the freezer, so I cut up the whole pound and fry it until crisp. Then I used what I needed and put the rest in the freezer in a zip top bag and keep it in the freezer until I need some.

Heat the oil in a pan to fry the oysters. You want the oil to be about 350 degrees.

While the oil is heating, put the corn meal in a bowl and season it to taste. I used roasted garlic salt and Old Bay. Stir to combine. After you have drained the oysters well. pat dry with a paper towel. Hot oil and water do not mix. Dredge an oyster in the seasoned corn meal, shake off the excess and gently place in the hot oil. Repeat with the remaining oysters, but don't add them all to the oil at once. I fry about 3 at a time. Any more than that and the oil dolls too quickly and the crust doesn't get a golden, crunchy brown. When they are done, drain on a paper towel and season with a little salt. Cook all the oysters.

In a big bowl, toss the lettuce with dressing until it is evenly distributed.

Dice the avocado and add it to the bowl.

Now sprinkle on the bacon bits.

Add the fried oysters.

Now it's ready. Beautiful, right? I love all the different textures and flavors.

And here it is made into a sandwich.