The heat is definitely on here.
What are some of your Summer favorite Pasta, potato, and macaroni salads?
Pasta, variation on cold noodle salad with peanut sauce. These days we fix it with prepared whole wheat spaghetti, diced scallions, thinly sliced carrots, celery, bak choy, and baby corns. Chopped toasted peanuts, black sesame seeds and the dressing is PB2 powder, water to thin, splash of low sod. soy, grated garlic and ginger and if needed a splash of rice vinegar.
Potato, we are big fans of the Roseann Cash version that uses red potatoes, hard boiled egg and diced pickles. The recipe is all over the web.
Macaroni, usually happy with a bowtie or orzo with a dozen diff roasted vegetables tossed in O&V.
In the summer, salad on a stick is something we do quite often when its just the two of us. We tend to save the one bowl salads for a larger crowd so we dont over do or see good ingredients go flat.
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I have posted before that you can use dry large lima beans, slightly overcooked, in place of potato for fauxtato salad. Close your eyes and you’ll think they are spuds. Any recipe you like, for extra fiber and protein. Large dry limas=butter beans, NOT green limas.
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I’m on the lookout for butter beans! Your recommendation is on my frig👍
Sounds interesting. I’ve heard of cauliflower potato salad. I’m thinking some horseradish might amp up the flavor a little.
A few weeks ago, I made a dish inspired by Kristen Kish, it was a charred green bean salad with a mustard vinaigrette topped with fried shallots.
Basically, you char 1.75 lbs of haricot verts, then pour a mustard vinaigrette over it. The vinaigrette is as follows: 1 tsp garlic, 1 T oregano, 1 tsp thyme, 1/4 apple cidar vinegar, 2 T EVOO, 1 tsp whole grain mustard, salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Chill for at least an hour.
Optional: top with fried shallots (I didn’t do this), I’d imagine the canned french-fried onion strings would work just as well. 
If you need better instructions, just ask, I hate recipe writing.
We make our own Giardiniera & I make a pasta salad from it. Boil & drain 1 # tricolor rotini (or your choice of pasta) while hot add 1 jar (16 oz) Giardiniera & the brine. Add 1 or 2 jars marinated artichoke hearts & some olives of whatever variety you prefer. Add fresh Basil - I usually chiffonade it or some dried Basil is fine also.
Options - Grilled Chicken, Grilled Tuna or smoked Mussels (the kind where you put the whole Mussel with shell on a hot CI Skillet).
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I just realized you didn’t ask for “bean” salad! Sorry. Although you could mix in some sliced boiled potato into my above recipe and it’d still work.
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This is a genius idea. And if you are feeling splurgy these Royal Coronas are the most amazing large white beans I have ever eaten.
I placed my first order with Rancho Gordo and order these beans along with 3 others. What an interesting company.
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FYI, earlier this year, The New Yorker had a long piece on Steve Sando, the Rancho Gordo honcho.
I ordered their spendy beans several years ago, and didn’t think they were worth it. Could be my tastebuds aren’t finely tuned enough, but I thought RG’s taste descriptions were a gustatory version of the emperor’s ǹew clothes. More variety than in the supermarket, but same flavor. The dry beans are pretty, but as we know, bean colors dissipate during cooking.
I will let you know after I give this a try. Spendy beans…clever.
With no immediate plans to join a bean club, I enjoyed the article.
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My order arrived. The product is beautifully packaged and the beans are gorgeous (never said those words before). Next week I plan to dig in. We’ll see.
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First timer, The Royal Corona beans are really delicious. I had a busy morning in the kitchen but yesterday I decided to soak these overnight. This morning I cooked them in enough fresh water to the point of a toothie bite then drained and transferred to a simmering pot of red pepper soup thinned with veg stock, splash of olive oil and a few pcs of roasted garlic. For lunch I had a bowl full, topped with grated parm and dried oregano flakes. Super tasty. I saved half the plain cooked beans for another purpose and have at least two more portions from the sauced batch. Money well spent.
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I like the rancho gordo royal corona for chicken soup
Guests says it taste like there is mushroom although I do not use mushroom as my son does not eat mushroom.
Good idea re chicken soup. I dont get a mushroomy flavor although they are very meaty for a bean in a great way. More like high quality limas on steriods. Either way I am really glad I gave them and RGordo a try.
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