Garden Salad

Garden Salad was just the antidote for our diet on a long car trip! Boo and Guy pulled the dish together, artfully arranging the leaves of lettuce layered with bright, crunchy, fresh vegetables. Topped with a dash of raspberry vinegar, and grated Parmesan cheese, it was delightful to see and surprising to taste!


Recipe:

Shred some lettuce, or pour pre-cut lettuce from the plastic bag onto the salad plates or into a large salad bowl.

Top with a variety of sliced vegetables such as mushrooms, red peppers, cucumbers.

Add a couple of olives or banana peppers for variety.

Sprinkle lightly with raspberry vinegar.

Grate some fresh Parmesan cheese over the salad and serve.

Eat with pleasant conversation.



Review:

5 forks for healthy, colorful, tasty, and timely

chicken gumbo from a can

The other night we had a curiosity manufactured by Campbell Soup Company: Chicken Gumbo Soup. It was spicy, but definitely thin and watery. A brothy soup delicately filling a bowl rather than a thick and hearty gumbo covering a heap of rice. However, it made a good appetizer for the light and delicate main course: Garden Salad.

Review:

2 forks for being too salty

eggplant curiousity

Why is the eggplant called an eggplant? Our familiar North American oblong. deep-violet vegetable bears no resemblance to an egg in shape, color, or taste.

A little research enlightened me.

The eggplant is a vegetable in multitudinous variations of color and shape per this picture. The word eggplant describes only one of the "looks" of the vegetable.

For those of you who are curious about the name aubergine in French which equals eggplant in English (and how that came to be) check out the etymology.

ramen ramen revolution

The story of the instant ramen noodle is amazing!

At the end of World War 2, hunger was a serious problem in Japan. Observing lines 20 or 30 people deep, waiting to buy ramen noodles at vendors' stalls, Momofuku Ando started experimenting, looking for a way to make the popular and nutritious ramen noodle safe and easy to eat, cook, and store.

In 1958, Momofuku Ando started Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. of Japan. In 1972, instant ramen was introduced to the USA. Members of the International Ramen Manufacturers Association now feed outrageous quantities of instant noodles to the world, including supplying large quantities of instant ramen to victims of natural disasters.

In a survey taken on the eve of the new millenium, Ramen noodles were conclusively voted the #1 most influential item manufactured in Japan in the 20th century!

If you should ever happen to be in Japan, be sure to visit the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum in Ikeda City, Osaka Prefecture.

Momofuku Ando died at the age of 96 in 2007. His New York Times obituary is at this link.

boring Chinese noodles

These easy to fix noodles look bland, but don't be fooled by appearances!

Guy came up with this concoction:

Cook 3 packages Ramen noodles according to package directions.

Drain water thoroughly and add one well-drained can of Chinese bean sprouts.

Add 1 and 1/2 packages of Ramen noodle powdered seasoning (pre-packaged with the dry noodles).

Top with 2 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper.

Stir mixture gently to heat through.

Serve immediately -- with something cool to drink!

spicy lentils with tomatoes and onions

Don't be fooled by the simple title! This is one outrageously superb recipe!

Mimi made this recipe practically from thin air:

For one big Dutch kettle of lentils:

Saute 1/2 diced white onion in enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the Dutch kettle.

When the onions are soft and translucent,
pour in one, 1-pound package of dried lentils.

Cover with water to a depth of about 2 inches of water above the top of the lentils and onions. (If the water is absorbed before the lentils are done, add more water.)

Simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, depending on your preferences.

When the water is mostly absorbed and the lentils are cooked through, add one can of cooked, diced tomatoes.

Add your choice of fresh seasonings to taste from the following list:

curry powder
coriander
turmeric
cumin
fenugreek
ginger
garlic
fennel seed
red pepper
black pepper
salt

***

Review:

5 forks for flavor
5 forks for presentation

"A twist of different flavors!"

"Looks sensational!"

"Looks like chili!"

fruiting cocoa tree

One of the most exciting plants at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, MI is the cocoa tree. It is strikingly tall and skinny. This tree grows in the understorey of the taller trees.

I probably wouldn't have noticed it at all if it weren't for the cocoa tree's peculiar habit of sprouting flowers from its trunk. (If you look closely at the photo, you can see many little flowers hanging down from all heights of the tree trunk.)

A volunteer at Meijer Gardens pointed out the green pod forming where a flower had formerly been, high up on the trunk. (Half-hidden by the right-hand half of the "y" shaped branching.) It is the first cocoa tree fruit/pod at Meijer Gardens! When ripe, it will be about the size of a football.

More facts about the cocoa tree's growth, uses, and history can be found at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii. Good photos of the cocoa tree are at this site, too.


According to the National Confectioners Association, US chocolate manufacturers use 3.5 million pounds of whole milk every day to make chocolate. Visit the National Confectioners Association website to learn more about the history of manufacturing chocolate goods from cocoa seeds.