Tasty Tuesday: Summer's Coming

"Live in each season as it passes; breath the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each."
~Henry David Thoreau

I love this quote, mostly because I love the seasons.  I am so excited that it's finally spring and that summer is just around the corner.  What I love most about the seasons is the way food changes as the seasons change and I'm excited for what spring and summer will be bringing.

Sunday, at my inlaws, we tried  a new salad from the 'Pioneer Woman Cooks' website (see link on right) and it was fantastic.  It was full of fresh, light ingredients that just screamed summer to me!  It was nice to move on from the rich heaviness of fall and winter (which I also love) and  enjoy the new produce and ingredients that come along with nice weather.  Summer dishes just always seem so simple and light and full of color, and they always make you feel good.  This is one of those salads, so I thought I'd share it.

Asian Noodle Salad
adapted from Jamie Oliver

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

1 packages linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

1/2 to 1 head sliced Napa cabbage
1/2 to 1 head sliced purple cabbage
1/2 to 1 bag baby spinach
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1 orange bell pepper, sliced thin (if available)
1 small bag bean sprouts (also called “mung bean sprouts”)
3 sliced scallions
3 peeled, sliced cucumbers (I didn’t have a cucumber for the photos above, but they’re yummy in the salad)
LOTS of chopped cilantro—up to one bunch
1 can whole cashews, lightly toasted in skillet (again, I didn’t have them for the photos, but have used them before and they’re…sublime.)

DRESSING:

Juice of 1 lime
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 hot peppers or jalapenos, chopped
More chopped cilantro—LOTS

Mix together salad ingredients. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on platter.
*Dressing keeps up to three days before serving, WITHOUT cilantro.

Enjoy!

(Check out the Pioneer Woman Cooks Website for more step by step instructions and pics)

"Good food in season responds best to the simplest preperation. You really can't go wrong when you start with quality."
~French Women

"The best cook in the world can't make good food from poor ingredients; and it takes some perverse genius to turn great ingredients into bad food!"
~French Women