Wednesday, July 1, 1992 — North Shore News

-47

Pasta salad: A great summer side dish

IN WINTER, I love our bright, sunny rooms. Even on a
gtey day, whatever light is available streams in our win-
dows. On a sultry June afternoon you could bake bread

without putting it in the oven.

If it can’t be served cold, char-
red outside or zapped, it isn’t on
the menu. My kitchen, so cheery
on a cold winter’s day is an infer-
ao. It’s lit by six spotlights, tracks
of undercounter lighting and has
no windows. I'd need a fire per-
mit to turn on the oven;
my head candied if I did.

Our gas (natural, not propane)
barbecue is a big help. It has a
side burner where I can cook any-
thing that needs a saucepan.

Ordinarily, I enjoy company for
dinner — it’s an opportunity to
experiment in the kitchen. Just

Barbara
McCreadie

I'd need oe

now, it’s an opportunity to test §

my skills at preparing meals that
won't raise the heat in here more
than one degree!

It’s not the meat the cook needs
to be concerned about. It’s the
go-alongs. I enjoy potato salad
but refuse to czack up the bumers
to cook the eggs and potatoes. An
easy alternative is a pasta salad —
I can do the pasta outside on my
gas jet.

For the pasta, | always choose
dried instead of fresh. Fresh pasta
is too tender and soaks up the
dressing. One exception is filled
pasta -— tortellini is an example.

For those who like it in salads,
fresh is the way to go.

Try the fancier shapes of dried
pasta — ditali is my favorite
(wider macaroni tubes). Medium
sea shells hold up better than very
small ones. Remember, the pasta
you choose is apt to be tossed
several times, chilled, tossed again
and often broken.

Cook your pasta quickly — toss
into boiling water and stir in

about a tablespoon of oil to keep:

it from sticking together.

. Time carefully and drain quick-
ly. I chill mine with a good blast
of cold water, drain well and add
the chilled dressing.

Refrigerate immediately.. Chop
the remaining ingredients and
refrigerate separately. Combine
just before serving ‘and gamish
with a crisp vegetable (suggestions

follow).

. 3 Each is a quantity to
dress 2 cups cooked dry pasta.
The easiest and one of the best:
One package of Uncle Dan’s
Southern Dressing mix (traditional
style) prepared- with buttermilk

Combine and chill to blend fla-
vors.

I like this best on a combination
of pasta, cubed ham, green olives
and assorted ctisp vegetables —
celery, radishes, cucumber and
green onions.

TROPICAL TOES
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6”

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Sculptured Nails,
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Chez Elle

ESTHETICS
Sz2-1395
1369 Marine Dr. West

BUDGET BEATERS

Oa and Vinegar Dressing
% ec. good quality olive of!

% c. white wine vinegar

2 tsp. dried herds (mixed, if you
like) bat consider tarragon.
(wonderfai with thin-sliced rozst
beef along witk «: <00d setection

Whisk the dressing ingredients
together and leave at room
temperature to mellow.

Lemou-Gartic Dressing
% c. olive off

WHILE CARROTS appear
very sturdy, they will start to
dehydrate if not stored at the
correct. temperature in the
. refrigerator.

If you buy carrots with the
tops on, be:sure to remove the
tops before storing. If you
don’t, the tops will draw
moisture out of the carrot,
causing it to wilt quickly.

64 It’s not the meat the cook needs
to be concerned about. It’s the go-
alongs. 99

2 cloves gartic
2 thsp. lemon juice (fresh)

Buzz in the blender uatil frothy.
Re-blend just before using. You
can keep this at room temperature
for a couple of hours. Don’t make
ahead longer than that. This Iends
itself to sharp-flavored ingredients
Greek olives,
Roma tomatoes, Feta cheese, cu-
cumbers and peppers.

~~ salami,

hi ¢ combinations:
@ Smoked s2imon, black olives
and cucumber (Creamy Dressing);
@ Mixed seafood shrimp,
steamed scallops, crab or chunks
of poached fresh salmon. Add cu-
cumber bits (English, unpeeled),
black olives and radishes or grated
carrot for color. Any of the dress-
ings will be fine;
@ Ham, green olives, celery and
radishes. Top with grated cheddar
and use a creamy dressing;
@ Roasted red peppers, peeled
and sliced with celery, black olives
and green onions. Creamy dress-

ing and plenty of cracked black ©

for carrots

Store carrots in perforated
plastic bags in-the coldest part
of the refrigerator. To prevent
bitterness which may develop
in storage, keep carrots away.
from ethylene-producing fruits
such as apples and pears.

Mature carrots can be stored
for three to four weeks in the
refrigerator, and young carrots
for two weeks.

A beautiful blend of West Coast
Pottery, Weaving and fine Crafts

pepper makes this unique.
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Yow aren’t held to a rule book
when you decide on pasta salad
combinations. Try to get a
balance of flavors, textures and
colors.

Ask yourself — what do I like
best when I order hot pasta in a
restaurant? If it's seafood, team it
with gentle flavors — celery and
cucumbers for example — that
add crunch.

I love the flavor of olives and
both green and black add color to
a salad.

Gamishes:

People write whole books about
garnishes. Frankly, I don’t want
to spend hours preparing authen-
tic Japanese-style radish bisds or

celery angels. Here are a few that
look nice, take a few minutes to
prepare and taste good.

@ Parsley: Chop it and dust on
top or make bouquets at the sides
of the bowl, centred with a cherry
tomato or a couple of olives;

@ Cucumber: Drag a fork
lengthwise along the pee) of an
English cucumber to mark it all
the way around. Cut in thin slices.
If you cut a clock-hand into the
slices you can twist them and
they'll stand around the edge. Try
alternating them with:

@ Carrot curls: Peel a big carrot.
Then, drag your peeler lengthwise
to make long thin strips. Roll up
and chill in ice water. Arrange as
you like;

@ Radishes: You might be patient .
enough to make radish roses but
I'm not. I slice them, arrange five
slices into flower petals, add a
Strip of green pepper for a stem
and a sprig of parsley for the
foliage. A piece of olive makes a
pretty flower centre;

@ Eggs: Quarter them and centre
with olives. Slice them and make
flowers out of them. Devil them
and surround them with sliced
gherkins.

. NORTH SHORE °
(CREDIT UNION

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July

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July 2nd-25th

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BLINDS FROM

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114A West 15th Street
North Vancouver

988-5621