Fare Exchange: Cool salads for those warm summer days ahead

Good morning, readers. This will be a salad day, fit for the winding-down days of May. But first, as always, the challenges: How to make dark-chocolate-covered espresso beans, ceviche, Pad Thai and any other favorite Thai dishes, and how to preserve chopped garlic like the jars found in grocery stories.

The chocolate-covered espresso beans and seafood ceviche requests are repeats, but the new Thai requests came from an anonymous shopper.

"I was in line behind a young man this week who was checking out with a huge stash of Asian groceries. He gave me a few ideas as he stood in line, but basically he is a big fan of Thai food and buys ingredients in this local Asian market to make daily and special-occasion dishes. We discussed Pad Thai, and he showed me the large stalks of chives/leeks that he had just purchased and would use along with small eggplants in his dishes. Since I don't know his name, I hope he or someone else who is an expert will give me ideas for Thai cooking."

Anne S. has a large braid of garlic cloves and wants to preserve the garlic for future use. She asked, "How can it be preserved in a jar or frozen?"

Longtime Fare Exchange friend Mrs. Nicholas Aspen garners her recipes from many sources, then adapts them to her own kitchen expertise. This week she wrote that: "This one came from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, but I am changing it up a bit, leaving out the shrimp she called for."

Orzo Salad

Kosher salt

Splash of olive oil

3/4 pound orzo pasta

1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley

1 hothouse cucumber (or 2 small ones) unpeeled, seeded, medium diced

1/2 cup small diced red onions

1/2 to 1 cup good feta cheese, large diced

Dressing (Recipe follows)

2 pounds or less roasted shrimp (Recipe follows; you may substitute cubed, cooked chicken.)

Fill a large pot with water, add salt and a splash of oil, and bring water to boil.

Add orzo and simmer 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked al dente.

Drain and pour into large bowl. Make Dressing and pour over hot pasta and stir well. Add scallions, dill, parsley cucumber, red onions, feta and roasted shrimp or chopped cooked chicken. Toss and serve.

Dressing

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Whisk together lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Pour over hot pasta and stir well.

Roasted Shrimp

Up to 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined

Drizzle of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put shrimp on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until shrimp are opaque.

Red Bank Reader clipped this recipe from the 2011 Local Fare magazine insert. It was attributed to "Seasoned to Taste," the cookbook of the Chattanooga Junior League. This recipe gives you the dressing recipe first, and the salad comes second. It answers your request for a salad that may or may not be meatless.

Porch Party Pasta Salad

Dijon Tarragon Vinaigrette

3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup tarragon vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 small clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Whisk olive oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder and sugar in a small bowl until smooth.

Salad

2 cups cooked, chopped chicken breast

1 pound rotini pasta, cooked and drained

8 ounces bacon, crisp-cooked and chopped

1 bunch fresh spinach, cut in long, thin strips

1/2 cup black olives

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Combine chicken, pasta, bacon, spinach, olives, Monterey Jack cheese and blue cheese in a large bowl and mix well. Drizzle half the vinaigrette over the pasta mixture and toss to coat. Add remaining vinaigrette to taste.

Just a Dash ...

Before we end with today's Just a Dash, we do implore you to keep sending not just recipes but hints for making kitchen and dining life easier. We are counting on your wisdom and your kindness in passing it on, as always.

Today's bright ideas come in the short form from two men who are occasional cooks. We will call them (because this is what they are) Pop and Son. Usually there is somebody cooking for both of them, but when they are on their own, this is what they do.

Pop has a stash of shiny packages of Mahatma red beans and rice in the kitchen. "No other brand works as well," says he. "I garnish the red beans and rice with generous portions of canned asparagus spears and carve a fresh pineapple for dessert."

Son specializes in breakfast, a green and a yellow part. "I serve a green drink like the ones sold by Bolthouse Farms or Naked brands and a plate of eggs scrambled with onions and tomatoes. I chop the onions in the skillet with a couple of pats of butter, cook them a little while and then add chopped tomatoes. When the tomatoes begin to sizzle, I add eggs that I have beaten by hand with a little cream and Cavender's Greek seasoning. I cook gently until the eggs are no longer shiny, and eat at once. No bread; I am trying to quit. This is meal enough."

For lunch, the two slice smoked sausage and brown in a skillet. When sausage is browned, they add sauerkraut from the refrigerator section of the grocery, heat and serve alongside sliced tomatoes.

Do remember that we are hoping to get from many of you contributions to our new Just a Dash ending. What ideas and hints and easy menus and how-to's are making your kitchen life tastier and easier?