It's been so warm, I've been thinking about salads a lot lately. I love the sound of this dressing. GREEK PASTA SALAD (The Perfect Pantry) For the dressing: 1 garlic clove 7 sun-dried or slow-roasted tomato halves, roughly chopped 2 Tbsp plain nonfat yogurt 1 tsp Greek seasoning 1/4 cup white wine vinegar 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1-1/2 tsp agave nectar (or honey, or sugar substitute) 5-6 tsp water For the salad: 8 oz rotini or other twisty pasta (I use Dreamfields) 1-1/2 cup diced fresh tomatoes, any type 1 cup diced cucumber (I use seedless English cucumber) 1/2 medium green bell pepper, diced 1/2 cup pitted large black olives, sliced in half 3 Tbsp chopped fresh dill 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, or more to taste In a blender, combine all dressing ingredients, and blend on high speed until smooth. If you'd like the dressing thinner, add a bit more water. Set aside. Bring 4 quarts of water to the boil in a large pot. Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain and add to a large mixing bowl. Combine all remaining ingredients in the mixing bowl along with as much of the dressing as you like. Garnish with some extra dill fronds, and serve at room temperature.

This is a steak and asparagus salad. The reviews all gave it 5 stars. You can use whatever greens you have on hand, and the Asian vinaigrette would be delicious on other Asian salads and as a marinade. Grilled Steak and Asparagus Salad (Fine Cooking) 1/2 Tbs. black peppercorns 1 tsp. coriander seeds 1 tsp. fennel seed Kosher salt 1 lb. thick-cut New York strip steak 1-1/2 Tbs. olive oil 1 lb. thick asparagus, trimmed Freshly ground black pepper For the vinaigrette 3 Tbs. lower-salt chicken broth; more as needed 2-1/2 Tbs. hoisin sauce 2 Tbs. olive oil 2 Tbs. white wine vinegar 1-1/2 tsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce 2 tsp. minced fresh ginger 1 tsp. Dijon or Chinese mustard 1 tsp. minced garlic Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste For the salad 4 cups upland cress or watercress 1 large mango, peeled and slivered into thin wedges, or 2 large navel oranges, peeled and sliced into thick rounds 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced and soaked briefly in ice water Daikon or radish sprouts for garnish (optional) Prepare the steak and asparagus Put the peppercorns, coriander, fennel, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Coat the steak with 1/2 Tbs. of the olive oil and then the peppercorn mixture. Set aside for at least 30 minutes and up to 1-1/2 hours. Toss the asparagus with the remaining 1 Tbs. of olive oil and season with salt and pepper; set aside. Make the vinaigrette In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse 2 or 3 times to mix, adding more broth if necessary to achieve a silky consistency. Prepare a high gas or charcoal grill fire. Grill the steak until nice grill marks form, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook the steak on the second side until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the steak reads 125F for rare, about 4 minutes. Remove the steak from the grill and put on a cutting board. Tent with foil to keep warm. Let the meat rest while you grill the asparagus. Spread out the asparagus on the grill and cook, turning a couple of times, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Arrange the asparagus, cress, and mango on 4 plates or a platter. Thinly slice the steak across the grain and arrange over the salad. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and garnish with the red onion and daikon sprouts (if using).

Red Velvet Devil's Cake SECRET INGREDIENT: tomato juice Think of this as a red velvet cake crossed with a rich devils food cake. The secret to the cakes moist crumb is nothing other than tomato juice. The acidity of the tomato balances the deep flavor of the chocolate. Quick look prep 25 min cook 22 min serves 12 Ingredients CAKE 1 1/2 cups cake flour 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 large eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon red food coloring 1 cup tomato juice FROSTING3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3 cups confectioners sugar How to make it 47 minutes Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat two round 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray then lightly dust with some flour. For cake, sift together, twice, the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at time, scraping down the bowl in between. Beat in the vanilla and food coloring until well-combined. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the flour mixture and the tomato juice in three alternating additions until well-combined. Divide the batter between the two baking pans. Bake on the center rack of the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the wire rack and cool completely, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, for frosting, combine the butter and cream cheese in a medium bowl. With an electric mixer, beat on high speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the vanilla and the confectioners sugar until smooth. To assemble, place one cake layer, flat side up, on a platter. Spread 1 cup of the frosting over the top of the cake. Top with the second cake layer, flat side down. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Cut into 12 wedges and serve. Save time This easy cake can be made up to 2 days before serving if wrapped with plastic and stored in the refrigerator. To keep the frosting from sticking, use a few toothpicks inserted into the top and sides of the cake to keep the plastic wrap away from the cake. Let the cake stand for 1 hour to come to room temperature before serving. Sue

This is going to be on our dinner plates tonight, except I'm subbing boneless pork chops. Orange-Ginger Pork Medallions 2 pork tenderloins (1 lb each) 1 cup fresh orange juice 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots 2 tbsp minced ginger 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp unsalted butter Cut each tenderloin crosswise into 6 slices and set aside. In a small bowl stir together 2 tbsp orange juice and cornstarch until smooth; set aside. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot, ginger garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently until shallots are light golden, 3 minutes. Add remaining orange juice, chicken broth, soy sauce. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1 cup. Whisk in cornstarch mixture and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Flatten pork slices slightly with your hand to make medallions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a 12" nonstick skillet melt butter with remaining 1 tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook in batches until browned and cooked through., 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter. Add sauce to skillet with drippings and bring to a boil stirring to scrape any brown bits. Stir in juices from the pork; remove from heat; add pork to skillet, turning to coat with sauce.