Oh, boy, do I hear you. For some reason, I've never been good at salads. I hear people talking about how much they enjoy chopping up the vegetables -- not me! Ruthanna, I'm going to try that lemon spinach salad. It sounds great. Here is the salad that changed my life, salad-wise. It's delicious, a little special, and unlike any other leafy salad I can think of, the leftovers keep nicely. I love to eat it with breakfast, too. I got it from Betty Rosbottom's "For the Gourmet" column in the Columbus Dispatch a couple of years ago and we have eaten it many times since. I even started growing kale, we like it so much! KALE SALAD WITH PINE NUTS AND GOLDEN RAISINS Makes 4 servings (sez she; I think more) 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 teaspoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Scant 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 6 to 8 ounces kale (I use more; there's plenty of dressing) 1/4 cup golden raisins 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, syrup, mustard, salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper in a nonreactive bowl. (The dressing can be prepared 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before using.) Remove and discard the tough stems and center veins from the kale leaves. Then cut the leaves crosswise into 1/2 inch-wide strips to yield 6 cups well-packed kale. (I often just chop up the leaves rather than worry about pretty strips; it's a LOT quicker.) Place the dressing in a salad bowl and whisk well. Add the kale and toss to coat greens thoroughly with dressing. Divide salad evenly and mound on 4 salad plates. Garnish each serving with raisins and pine nuts. (I like to serve it in a big bowl instead of on individual plates, so I just put the raisins and nuts on top and eventually it all gets tossed together.)

I usually make those colored devilled eggs for Easter, I think Marilyn first posted the instructions here. I boil the eggs, peel and cut in half, remove the yolk. Make dye according to the instructions on the back of the food coloring box, and just put the egg white halves in until they're the color I want. Mash up the yolks, make your filling and fill the newly colored whites. I've made different colors for Easter, pink/blue/yellow/green/ lavender. Very colorful, LOL. These might also be good for your hubby's brunch, they're easy to eat, aren't too messy, recipe makes a lot and they have corned beef and rye. My family loves them, but I usually add sauerkraut to the filling mix to make them more like Reubens. I also use low fat mayo and cream cheese and sour cream but to make up for that the girls like shredded swiss cheese added to the mix. Can't make 'em low fat you know. (grin) Darned if I know where the recipe came from, I've been making them for years, since that era in time when I was dedicated to making a good cream puff. They aren't that hard but for some reason I had a block about how difficult it was to make that dough! Reuben/Rye Puffs Makes approximately 4 dozen 1 cup water 1/2 cup butter, cubed 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup rye flour 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 eggs Caraway seeds FILLING: 2 eight ounce packages cream cheese, softened 4 oz. thinly sliced leftover or deli corned beef, chopped 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use low fat) 1/4 cup sour cream (I use low fat) 2 tablespoons minced chives 2 tablespoons diced onion 1 teaspoon spicy brown or horseradish mustard (I like the horseradish best) In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flours, parsley, garlic powder and salt all at once; stir until a smooth balls forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat until smooth. Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with caraway. Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire racks. Immediately cut a slit in each puff to allow steam to escape; cool. In a large bowl, combine filling ingredients. Split puffs and fill. Refrigerate or serve immediately. As for that bean salad, I just make a traditional three bean marinated salad, but Elery likes the addition of a can of quartered artichokes. If you left out the kidney beans it would be more "green" in color. Kind of. Or use canellini instead of red kidney beans... Three Bean Salad 1/3 cup cider vinegar 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup honey 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 can artichoke quarters, rinsed and drained 1 can (15 ounces) green beans, rinsed and drained 1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained 1 can (15 ounces) yellow beans, rinsed and drained 1 medium onion, chopped 1 medium green pepper, chopped In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, oil, honey, savory and salt until blended. Add the beans, onion and green pepper; stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with a slotted spoon. Yield: 8 servings. have fun! Annie

Per the Panera Bread Cookbook, which I borrowed from my local library today, it's 3/4 cup canola or vegetable oil, not 1/4 cup. Ginger St. John's posted recipe is otherwise correct, Peter Reinhart wrote the forward but the cookbook was written by the Panera Bread team. I make a cobbled version which has essentially the same ingredients, except I add about 1/2 cup water which lightens the dressing. It's still quite good, but not so heavy and calorie laden.

I’m taking a Weight Watchers salad to Easter dinner. I made it a couple years ago and was requested to bring it again. Balsamic Asparagus and Cherry Tomato Salad 1 1/2 pound(s) uncooked asparagus (I used less and didn't measure and used some fresh green beans) 1 cup(s) fresh cherry tomato(es), cut in half (I used grape tomatoes) 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 tsp unsweetened orange juice 1/4 tsp minced garlic 2 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese, fresh, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano 1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste Snap tough ends off asparagus. I cut into 11/2 inch pieces. Cut green beans can also be used. Boil asparagus just until tender, about 3 minutes. Original recipe says 4-6 minutes. Plunge asparagus into a large bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking or just rinse with cold water. drain and place on a serving platter. Sprinkle tomatoes over top. In a cup, stir together vinegar, orange juice and garlic; season to taste. Spoon dressing over asparagus and tomatoes; toss, sprinkle with cheese and serve. I used less veg but the whole dressing recipe.