Raisin Waldorf Salad
1/2 cup Sun-Maid Natural California Raisins
4 ounces diced lean ham
2 apples, diced
1/3 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise or plain yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts, optional
4 small (6-inch) flour tortillas, optional
Instructions: Combine salad ingredients. Serve as a salad or make into sandwich rollups. For rollups, divide filling equally among tortillas and roll up, folding in the ends. Wrap in plastic wrap or aluminum foil until ready to eat.
Serves: 4
Nutrition Information per Serving: calories:188, total fat:5.7g, saturated fat:2.0g, % of calories from fat:27%, % of calories from saturated fat:10%, protein:9g, carbohydrates:28g, cholesterol:28mg, dietary fiber:3g, sodium:148mg
Recipe is courtesy of the Produce for Better Health Foundation. All PBH endorsed recipes meet the nutrition standards that maintain fruits and vegetables as a healthy food.
Carrot Tuna Vegetable Dip
Fresh vegetables and dip arranged on a tray makes a beautiful presentation.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
4 cups assorted snacking vegetables* such as: baby carrots, celery, cucumbers, cauliflower and/or broccoli flowerets, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms
1 celery stalk, chopped
½ cup chopped carrots
6 oz. can water-packed tuna, drained
¼ cup nonfat mayonnaise or creamy-style salad dressing
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 teaspoons basil, crushed if dried, chopped if fresh
1 large egg, hard-boiled and chopped
Select desired vegetables, wash, prepare,* and place in groups on serving platter, surrounding a small serving bowl. Cover all with plastic wrap and chill until ready to use. To prepare dip: place chopped celery and carrots in blender container and, using the pulse setting, chop until very fine.
Add drained tuna, mayonnaise, horseradish, salt and pepper, and hot pepper sauce and blend on MEDIUM and then HIGH speed until smooth. Stop blender and scrape sides if needed. Remove to serving bowl and stir in basil and chopped hard-boiled egg. Adjust seasonings if desired. Chill for 15 minutes and serve.
*Chef’s Note: Most raw vegetables, such as carrots, celery, broccoli, zucchini, and cauliflower, slowly dry out on vegetable trays. Tomatoes, mushrooms, and cucumbers are a few that need no special attention. To enhance color and help prevent drying during service, try blanching the firmer vegetables. Simply place each color group, working light to dark, in active boiling water for 5 to 15 seconds, being careful not to cook the vegetables, and then plunge directly into cold, icy water. When fully cooled, drain well and arrange on serving platter. The blanched vegetables will remain crisp and brilliant in color.
Serves: 4
1 Cup of Vegetables per Serving
Fruit and/or Veggie Colors: Orange, Green, White, Red
Nutrition Information per Serving: calories:118, total fat:2.5g, saturated fat:0.7g, % of calories from fat:19%, % of calories from saturated fat:5%, protein:14g, carbohydrates:10g, cholesterol:67mg, dietary fiber:3g, sodium:438mg
Each serving provides: An excellent source of vitamins A and C, and a good source of folate, potassium and fiber
Recipe was developed for Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) by Chef Carmen I. Jones, CCP. This recipe meets PBH and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) nutrition standards that maintain fruits and vegetables as healthy foods.
Summer Soups
Soup has been around since cooking began – in olden days when food wasn’t abundant putting lots of vegetables into a pot with water and waiting for it to cook was filling, cheap and vegetable soup could feed and nourish a family. Poor people ate these soups as their main meal whereas the more wealthy folk would eat soup to begin a meal. Delicate soups like consomme and broth debuted in Paris in the 18th century and were called ‘restoratifs’ – which later became the now globally used term for an eating place – ‘restaurant’.
In the summertime cold soups can be refreshing on a very hot day – the more robust hot, packed with potatoes, gravy and root vegetable soups being more suited to warm people up during the winter.
The most popular and well-known of cold vegetable soup is Gazpacho, originally from Andalucia, southern Spain it evolved through Moorish and Roman cuisines. Consisting of Olive oil, garlic, stale bread, vinegar, ground almonds it was called white gazpacho. Once tomatoes and peppers were imported to the New World from Spain they were added to the vegetable soup and there are a multitude of varieties today some soups made with with avocados and tropical fruits and occasionally watermelon.
Another simple but classic vegetable soup is Vichyssoise. Louis Diat, a French chef at New York’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel in 1927 was the creator of this ubiquitous vegetable soup. It is made with leeks and potatoes which are pureed, seasoned and then finished with a daub of cream before serving. Vichyssoise is also delicious when served cold and easy and fast to prepare.
Tomato soup is legendary too and a safe and good way to start a meal. Chop tomatoes, onions and garlic and a little flour and thyme along with a little tomato paste, when cooked the soup can either be blended or left until cold and garnished with a basil leaf. Served with crusty bread tomato soup is hard to beat and also versatile. If you wish to make it crunchy you can add chickpeas, or if you prefer it creamier – just add some cream.
For a perfect summer vegetable soup the three stock items i.e. olive oil, onion and garlic should first be added to the pan followed by tomatoes, vegetable stock, a red and green pepper, celery, zucchini, seasoning and fresh basil. Cook all ingredients and stock until tender and either blend or serve chunky – or half and half. Delicious.
Garlic, olive oil, onion and celery and stock should form the base of all your vegetable soup recipes and seasoning is crucial as is garnishing with fresh herbs. During the summer the seasonal produce which is abundant can be used for your vegetable soup so you can savour the season’s freshest and best – asparagus, zucchini, artichokes, green beans, peas – pea and mint soup is another simple and refreshing summer soup.
Lettuce soup can also make a delicious vegetable soup – if you find a wilting, sad lettuce lurking in your refrigerator, don’t throw it away, it can be made into a spicy lettuce soup by using the base (see above). Add a diced potato, some spices to taste and chopped basil. Chop up the lettuce and introduce spices – when tender blend and serve.
Buon appetit!
Richard S Mongiovi jr.
My web site is a soup recipe site This site gives many recipes for different types of soups including cream, vegetable, seafood soups etc you can find my site at http://www.best-made-soups.com
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