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Summer Salads Growing up on the farm, we
always had a full garden and we ate seasonal foods in season. We eagerly
looked forward to the first tomato, the first cucumber and the first sweet
corn – and consumed them with great gusto and delight. Summer salads
are light and refreshing on a hot, muggy day and perfect for summer
entertaining. Cucumber
Salad The first of our cool
summer salads was simply sliced cucumber and thinly sliced spring onions with
vinegar. When the first cucumbers get ripe and before the spring onions get
too strong, slice up a big mixed bowl full of both. We have always peeled our
cucumbers, but it is purely a matter of preference and variety. In a separate
bowl, whisk apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper – all to
taste – and pour over to cover. We resist the temptation to add herbs
or oils to this, preferring only the clean flavors of the onions, vinegar and
cucumbers. Allow this to rest for an hour or so before serving. Summer
Salad Traditional summer salad
with tomato is like gazpacho that you can eat with a fork: Chopped tomatoes,
cucumbers (usually peeled), onions and green peppers, or whatever, mixed with
mayonnaise, or oil and vinegar, or fruit juice, or whatever, and maybe a
smattering of fresh herbs, or seasonings, or jalape–os, or whatever. As the
tomatoes ripened, we often had our traditional summer salad mixed with some
mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
(there was no high fructose corn syrup in Miracle Whip then) and salt and pepper to taste.
There were no measurements, of course. Proportions were determined by what you
liked and what you had. Many summer suppers were nothing but a bowl of salad
and about a dozen ears of sweet corn – apiece. I am talking about
fresh, young, succulent ears of homegrown sweet corn, picked and shucked only
after the water comes to a boil – not the Òhorse cornÓ that you find in
stores. Sometime in the late
1960Õs, Lin and Larry Pardey sailed into Urbanna while working their way
around the world on their small cutter, Seraffyn. She was only about 24Õ on deck, but they sailed her around
both capes, though Europe, the Mediterranean, Orient, and Pacific, and back
to their starting point in California, all without a motor. From their
webpage (www.landlpardey.com): Ò[Seraffyn is the]
smallest boat to have circumnavigated contrary to the prevailing winds around
all the great southern capes, [and the Pardeys are the] only couple to have
circumnavigated both east-about and west-about on boats they built
themselves, using traditional means of navigation and having no engine.Ó
While here, Lin and Larry lived in the Òlittle houseÓ on our farm and worked
with Joe Conboy building yachts. Larry is a master craftsman, preferring to
use chisels and hand tools to shape and finish fine cabinetry. Lin, an
accomplished gourmet cook and writer, chronicled their adventures. Their
first book, Cruising in Seraffyn, quickly became a cult classic among
sailing enthusiasts, selling over 50,000 copies in five editions and three
languages. In the book, Lin describes
a summer salad with lime juice. At that time, we were living in the old
farmhouse with no air conditioning and the lime juice version was even more
refreshing than our traditional mayonnaise version. It also has a longer
shelf life and is perfect for summer entertaining without concerns of
spoilage. Lin and Larry eventually settled in New Zealand but they keep
friends apprised of their adventures and sell their books and DVDÕs through
their website. LinÕs version of summer salad was
basically the same as ours above (diced tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers,
onions, and salt and pepper), but instead of using mayonnaise, she squeezed
fresh lime juice over it. Fresh herbs such as basil, dill and parsley add
interest and flavor. Allow this to stand at room temperature for at least one
half hour before serving. Corn Salad Angela is a Valley Girl
from California who drifted east and now manages ÒSomething DifferentÓ. Her
mother was famous for her corn salad. It was a family favorite and she made
it for any potluck dinner or picnic. When AngelaÕs older brother, Eric, was assigned
to cook at the White House, he called home to get MomÕs recipe for corn salad
and served it to the President. It was a big hit. Several months later, Mom
received a newly published White House Cookbook in the mail and found her recipe credited to son Eric! MomÕs Corn Salad,
compliments of Angela St. Peter: Mom always used frozen corn
because, after thawing, there was just the right amount of liquid and you
could use Òjust a tad bitÓ of mayonnaise. It is good made with yellow corn,
better with white corn and best with shoe-peg. We use canned shoe-peg
(drained of most liquid) for the version we make at the store, but fresh
sweet corn, blanched and cut from the cob or even frozen is definitely
better: ½ red onion, fine
dice Zucchini
Salad Sue Higgins is also an
excellent cook. She is baking the bread and helping out at the store until
she can open her own gourmet shop. Her grandmother was reared on a farm in
Alabama, then moved to Richmond and lived to be 103 years old. Sue has made
her grandmotherÕs zucchini salad for the staff several times and everybody
loves it. This summer salad only gets better with age and can last for
several weeks in the refrigerator. Before zucchini was popular, her
grandmother used yellow squash. This is one of the few ways to actually make
zucchini palatable: As Sue says Òyou can eat only so much zucchini bread!Ó Finely chop, shred or
process: (c) Dan Gill 7-08 Published
in Pleasant Living magazine July - August 2008 Previous: The Wolfe
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