Only thing I do differently is I dice the garlic cloves. They are going to be pureed anyway so no point to leaving the cloves whole and diced gives a bit more assurance of good heat penetration. You might find that filling the jars a little less than 3/4 full works better. More liquid, especially when they haven't been fully pre-soaked, works better for me. Less drop in the liquid level in the jars leaving beans exposed. I just drain it off after opening. Dave

This is one of my favorites: Shrimp & Snap Pea Salad with Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette Serves 4 as a main course 1-1/2 pounds large shrimp (about 32-36 per pound) 2 cups snap peas (about 1/2 pound, trimmed) 3 green onions, trimmed and minced Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce 2 tablespoons white vinegar 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 1/2 teaspoon honey (my "tweak") 3 - 5 dashes hot sauce Garnishes 1/2 cup diced mango 1/2 cup chopped roasted cashews lime wedges Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add shrimp and cook 3 - 4 minutes, until they turn pink. Drain, run under cold water, peel and devein. Meanwhile, bring another pot of salted water to a boil, drop in snap peas and boil, uncovered, 2 - 3 minutes, until just tender and still bright green. Drain and rinse immediately with cold water to stop the cooking. To make vinaigrette: Whisk together olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice, ginger, honey, and hot sauce in a small bowl until well-combined. Put shrimp, snap peas, and green onions in a large bowl, add vinaigrette, and toss well. Divide the mixture among 4 plates and garnish each serving with the diced mango, chopped nuts, and lime wedges. Source: The Beach House Cookbook, copyright 2005 Lori Here is a link that might be useful: Showing newest posts for query salad. Show older posts Saturday, June 11, 2011 Rigatoni with Broccoli, Garlic & Breadcrumbs Whenever I visit New York City with my friends and family, we often visit our favorite Italian restaurant there - Carmine's. The mid-town Manhattan location is always busy, especially with the many Broadway patrons before and after shows. I've even had the opportunity to bump into some of Broadway's biggest stars (I once saw Patty Lupone!) The food is always wonderful and plentiful, just like most Italian homes, whether it's one of their wonderful salads, hot or cold appetizers, delicious meat dishes, or, of course, the many pasta dishes they offer. One of my daughter's favorites is their Rigatoni with Broccoli, Garlic & Olive Oil which comes sprinkled with toasted breadcrumbs and grated Parmegiana-Reggiano. It's a delicious non-meat entree that will satisfy even the dedicated carnivores at your dinner table. Rigatoni with Broccoli, Garlic & Breadcrumbs Serves 4 3/4 to 1 pound broccoli florets 1 pound rigatoni 5 tablespoons olive oil 1⁄3 cup dried breadcrumbs 4 - 6 cloves thinly sliced garlic 1⁄4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1⁄2 cup grated Parmigiana-Reggiano Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.Add the broccoli and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain. Set aside. Bring the water back to a boil and add the pasta.While the pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over low heat. Add the bread crumbs, stirring, until the crumbs are toasted a golden brown. Remove the breadcrumbs to a small bowl and set aside. Return the skillet to the heat and add the remaining olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes.Cook until fragrant, then stir in the broccoli. Stir to coat with the oil as the broccoli reheats, and taste for seasoning. If pasta is not yet done, keep the heat low to avoid burning the broccoli. Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the broccoli mixture.Cook over high heat for a minute or so to evaporate any water from the pasta, then stir in the bread crumbs and cheese and serve immediately. You might also like: Shrimp Tacos Gnocchi with Sage Butter Coconut Muffins LinkWithin Posted by Lori (All That Splatters) at 7:41 PM 7 comments Links to this post Labels: Pasta, Vegetables Saturday, May 21, 2011 Garlicky Chicken in Red Pepper Sauce This is another recipe I received in an email from Fine Cooking in their

This corn salad is wonderful. I came up with it after making grilled corn the way they make it in India, and having some corn left over. So the first recipe isn't the salad, but if any of y'all are looking for something different this coming corn season, it's wonderful cooked this way... Spicy Fire-Roasted Corn with Citrus 1T cayenne pepper mixed with 1 1/2 T salt. 4 ears of fresh corn (or more, if you want leftovers for roasted corn salad) One lemon and one lime cut into wedges. Fill a salt shaker with the salt and cayenne pepper.* Shuck the corn and trim ends for corn skewers if you will use them at the table. If it's your first time roasting corn this way, it's a good idea to practice on one ear before committing all to the grill. Brush your hot grill (not the corn) with a bit of oil, and using tongs, place the corn on the grill. Keep an eye on the ears, and turn them occasionally to prevent too much charring in one spot. You do want some browning and a bit of char as the carmelized bits give the corn a wonderful flavor. The corn should be done in approximately 5 minutes, depending upon the freshness and size of the ears. Serve the corn with wedges of lemon and lime and the shaker of cayenne-salt. The diners rub the wedges all over the corn and then sprinkle with the cayenne-salt to taste. * If you have children eating who might be put off by the cayenne, make a second shaker with equal parts of salt and sugar for them to use instead. Leftover Roasted Corn Salad 2 ears leftover fire-roasted corn 4 T lemon/lime juice 2 T honey 1 t salt 1/4 t black pepper 2 cups assorted grated or chopped vegetables. (I like grated carrot, chopped red bell peppers, green onions, diced cucumbers, chopped tomatoes, crunchy celery, thinly sliced radishes and frozen peas, but just use up whatever odds and ends your refrigerator or garden produces! I've even added chopped apples or pears at times!) 1/4-1/3 c toasted, roughly chopped pecans, cashews or hazelnuts* 1-2 T minced fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, tarragon or parsley) -optional- Cut leftover roasted corn from cobs into a bowl and then gently scrape the little juicy bits from the cob with the blunt side of a knife into the same bowl. Mix the lemon/lime juice, honey, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk until the honey is completely dissolved. Toss the vegetables with the dressing, and let sit at least 10 minutes for the flavors to develop. If you are adding fresh herbs, toss them in just before serving. This salad is wonderful with any simply grilled meat or fish, and pairs quite well with rice or couscous as a starch. It can also be made hours ahead, although it might soften and the colors might fade a bit if you make it the day before. Sprinkle the nuts on top of the salad before serving. *Toasting the nuts really brings out their flavor. Before chopping, put the nuts into a pan over a medium-high heat. Shake the pan gently back and forth as though you were making popcorn until the nuts darken slightly and become fragrant.

Ruthanna, that corn and shrimp salad sounds amazingly good, it will be fresh sweet corn season here in a month or so and I'm going to copy this. If it's half as good as your fish with tomato basil butter, it's a winner! Marilyn, I'm also keeping the green bean salad recipe. I have 6 rows of Royal Burgundy beans about 4 inches tall right now, another month or less and I'll have all I can eat. The salad sounds, well, "flipping awesome". LOL Here are a few of my favorites. The first two came to me in a Chef's newsletter that I receive daily, a remnant of the days when I owned a bar and grille. I don't like blue (or bleu) cheese, so I leave it off. The nuts are good enough to eat by the handful. Pear and Blue Cheese Salad with Spiced Candied Pecans and Raspberry Vinaigrette Makes 6 servings Ingredients: 6 ounces fresh spring mix salad blend Raspberry Vinaigrette (recipe follows) 2 ripe pears, sliced 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese 3/4 cup Candied Pecans (recipe follows) Preparation: In a large bowl, toss together the spring mix and the Raspberry Vinaigrette. Dress the top of the salad with the sliced pear, blue cheese and candied pecans. Serve at once. Raspberry Vinaigrette Ingredients: 2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam 1/3 cup canola oil Preparation: Blend the vinegar and the jam in a covered blender for 10 to 15 seconds, then add the oil in a slow, steady stream. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator if not using right away. Spiced Candied Pecans Ingredients: 1/8 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper pinch cayenne 1 tablespoon butter 3/4 cups pecan halves cooking spray Preparation: Mix the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, pepper and cayenne together in bowl. Melt the butter in small skillet over medium heat and add the sugar mixture and pecans. Stir constantly, until the sugar has melted and nuts are coated. Cool on a piece of aluminum foil lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Another recipe "throw back" from the days as a restaurant owner, but this can easily be halved or more easily, divided into thirds. I leave out the olives. (Yeah, I know, I'm picky) I also sub local smoked whitefish for the salmon a lot of the time and sunflower seeds or almonds usually take the place of the pinenuts because they are extremely expensive and difficult to find here in the boonies. Smoked Salmon, Olive and Wild Rice Salad Makes 24 (8 ounce) servings Ingredients: 3/4 cup white wine vinegar 3/4 cup chopped tarragon 1/2 cup (3 ounces) chopped shallots 1/3 cup lemon juice 1/3 cup olive oil 1/3 cup chopped chives, 1/4-inch 1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper 4 1/2 quarts (4 1/2 pounds) cooked long grained white rice 1 1/2 quarts (2 1/4 pounds) cooked wild rice 3 pounds hot smoked salmon, flaked into 1-inch pieces 1 1/2 quarts (1 3/4 pounds) blanched green peas 4 1/2 cups California Ripe Olives, halved 1 1/2 cups toasted pine nuts Preparation: Whisk together vinegar, tarragon, shallots, lemon juice, olive oil, chives and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add white rice, wild rice, smoked salmon, green peas, California Ripe Olives and pine nuts. Toss to evenly combine. Serve at room temperature. I love pears and have access to lots of them here in the fall. I leave the cheese out of this entirely and like to add chicken to make it a meal instead of a side dish. I usually go with the candied pecans for the nuts. My apologies, I have no idea where I got this recipe. SAUTEED PEAR SALAD Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 2-3 firm-ripe pears, cored, peeled and cut into slices 1 - 2 tablespoon honey 8 - 12 cups of salad greens and/or baby spinach leaves, rinsed and chilled 1/2 -3/4 cup each thinly sliced cucumber, carrots, and red bell peppers (optional) 4 ounces Bleu, Gorgonzola or goat cheese 1 cup chopped roasted macadamia nuts or glazed pecan pieces 1/3 cup olive oil 3 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract salt and pepper to taste Instructions Heat large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and allow to warm. Add pear slices and sauté in oil for 2 minutes on each side. Turn off heat and drizzle honey over pear slices, and gently turn pears so that it coats them on both sides. While pears are cooking, put greens and vegetables into a large salad bowl and mix well. Add warm pears, cheese, nuts and gently mix. Mix salad dressing ingredients, add juices from pan and pour over salad. Serve right away. Note: This is a great salad to prepare as a composed salad. First lay greens on plates. Add vegetables, then pear slices, then top with nuts and cheese. Drizzle salad dressing over each salad. Another fish recipe, fresh trout is easily available here through a co-worker who is also a guide fisherman. He swaps me fish for my homegrown beef, a perfect swap for both of us! Roasted Rainbow Trout and Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Vinaigrette Makes 6 servings Ingredients: 1 tablespoons ground cumin 1 tablespoons ground coriander 1 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 1/2 tsp salt 6 (4 ounces each) Rainbow Trout Fillets 3 cups corn kernels, steamed 2 cups chopped fresh tomato 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans 3/4 cups diced cucumber 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion 1/3 cup chopped cilantro 1 1/2 cups Chipotle Vinaigrette, (recipe follows) 4 1/2 cups mixed salad greens avocado slices, for garnish Preparation: Mix first 4 ingredients, reserve. Place trout fillets skin-side down on a lightly oiled sheet pan, sprinkle reserved seasoning mixture on top of fillets. Bake at 450 degrees F until just done, about 5 minutes, cool slightly. Remove and discard skin, reserve. Mix corn with next 5 ingredients. Stir in vinaigrette, reserve. Line plates with salad greens. Scatter corn mixture over salad greens. Arrange cooked trout on top, whole or broken into bite size pieces. Garnish with avocado slices. Chipotle Vinaigrette Makes 1 1/2 cups Blend until smooth: 1 peeled shallot, 2 whole canned chipotle peppers, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1/2 cup chopped green onion, 1/4 cup each balsamic and rice wine vinegar, 2 tsp grated lime zest and salt and pepper to taste. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in 3/4 cups olive oil. Source: Clear Springs Foods Finally, my favorite salad dressing: HONEY MUSTARD SALAD DRESSING 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup honey 2 tbls Grey Poupon dijon mustard Combine all ingredients and store in a covered container in the refrigerator Makes 3/4 cup Annie