How many salads is enough? 101

My husband and I have been subscribers of the New York Times for nearly three years. I absolutely love everything about it. One of the things I love most is, not surprisingly, the Dining section, which runs Wednesdays. The writers are all top-notch, and I usually read it cover-to-cover. Yes, even the restaurant reviews. And no, I still haven't been to New York City (soon, I swear).

Of all the writers, my favorite is Mark Bittman. He has a column each week called the Minimalist, and it's pretty much how it sounds. Delicious meals, simply made. In fact -- another shocking discovery -- I have his amazing cookbook "How to Cook Everything" in my kitchen constantly. It's the original one -- it's a great book, and I highly recommend it (or the updated 10th anniversary edition) to anyone.

Bittman has come up with several lists of 101 different types of dishes. One was 101 meals to make in 10 minutes or less. Another was picnic dishes. All of them have been fascinating. We've tried some of his recipes from a variety of the lists, and they've mostly been delicious -- and always simple!

His newest list, 101 Simple Salads for the Season, ran in today's Times. I couldn't wait to check it out. As I read the list, I kept thinking that it was like he'd read my mind -- or at least my previous blog on ways to get more vegetables on my plate. And as I perused his ideas, a list of must-try salads quickly formed in my head. Here's three that I plan on making:

7. Grate carrots, toast some sunflower seeds, and toss with blueberries, olive oil, lemon juice and plenty of black pepper. Sweet, sour, crunchy, soft.

13. A red salad: Combine tomato wedges with halved strawberries, basil leaves, shaved Parmesan and balsamic vinegar.

99. Toss cooked quinoa with fresh sliced apricots, cherries, pecans and enough lemon and black pepper to make the whole thing savory.

So, go check it out. Now! The list is at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?_r=1.

July challenge

I've been a Weight Watchers member for about 16 months now. It's really a great plan, and I highly encourage anyone wanting to lose some extra pounds to seriously look into it. I also love the program because of my incredible leader. I've been to several meetings run by several incredible women, but Lanette truly is the best. Almost weekly, she has a new idea to keep us motivated.

For July, it's been eating more fruits and vegetables. Sounds simple, right? And it should be, especially this time of year. Surprisingly enough, it's not. I'm a picky eater (obviously) and I don't eat all vegetables. Take zucchini, for instance. It's a harmless enough veggie -- and it's probably Aaron's favorite. I, however, think it tastes like green styrofoam. There's others, such as green beans, that I'll eat if I'm served but won't choose on my own. And then there's bell peppers. I really think they smell delicious. But they make me sick as a dog if I eat them, even accidentally. That also tends to make me shy away from jalapenos and other spicy peppers.

Fruit, though, is a different story. With the exception of cantaloupe and honeydew melons, I will eat any fruit that comes my way. I'm even learning to like mango. In fact, I have a hard time keeping fruit in my house. My 4-year-old is fantastic about asking for a piece of fruit for a snack, and I find grabbing a nectarine or an orange is an easy treat to take to work.

I decided right away that I was going to take Lanette's challenge -- filling half my plate with vegetables -- seriously. My family was, too, even though they didn't know it. And for the first three or four days, we did great. We had lots of salads, and we threw some veggies (cauliflower, carrots and potatoes) on the grill another night.

But then it happened -- the inevitable downfall that usually hits me. I head back to the traditional convenient, one-dish meals that make up most of our dinner rotation. They're mostly prety healthy, but the vegetables they usually called include just a sauteed onion or a can of tomatoes or a cup or so of mushrooms. Good, but not great.

So after my meeting today, I steeled my resolve to continue filling my plate with veggies. I turned back to salads. But not just the kind with lettuce, carrots and a handful of cucumbers or radishes or whatever vegetable I have in the fridge. I tire of them much too easily. This time I found some that make other vegetables the star. I think it will make the challenge easier to accomplish.

This recipe is from the latest issue of Cook's Country magazine.

Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad

2 pints cherry (or grape) tomatoes, quartered

1/2 tsp. sugar

Salt

Black pepper

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and patted dry

1 cup chopped fresh basil

Toss tomatoes, sugar and 1/4 tsp. salt in a large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes. Transfer tomatoes and any accumulated liquid to salad spinner and spin to remove seeds and liquid. Return tomatoes to bowl. Pour tomato liquid through fine-mesh strainer set over saucepan, pressing on solids to extract juice. (You should have abut 1/2 cup liquid.)

Add vinegar and garlic to pan with tomato liquid; simmer over medium heat until reduced to 3 tbsp., about 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then whisk in oil.

Add cheese, basil and cooled dressing to bowl with tomatoes; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Cook's note: The magazine offered several suggestions on ways to vary this salad. Drop me an e-mail if you're interested in some of the others.

My mother-in-law served us this next recipe. It's incredible! It's from the latest issue of Sunset magazine.

Corn and Avocado Salad

6 ears corn
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 large avocado, cut into 1/2-in. cubes
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp. Champagne vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot of boiling water, cook corn until warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes. Rinse with cold water until cool.

Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, onion, avocado, and basil in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients to make the vinaigrette, whisking until blended.

Cut corn kernels off cobs and add to salad, then pour in vinaigrette and toss gently to combine.

Bastille Day

In the past few years, I have discovered that I like to celebrate other nations' holidays. Today, July 14, is Bastille Day. It's all about the French Revolution, and while I'm not French, I enjoy pretending to be Gallic for a day.

In addition, Bastille Day stirs up some of my favorite travel memories. To celebrate our third anniversary, Aaron and I decided to make our first trip to Europe. We spent a week in London and another five days in Paris. It was one of the best trips of my life, and it has furthered my resolve to return to the beautiful nation. I also had a wonderful time exploring many of the Paris' wonderful restaurants and culinary treasures. For instance, we had the most delectable Nutella crepes near the Eiffel Tower. And one on our last night of the trip, we had an amazing dinner at a restaurant called Leo le Lion. Plus there was the fresh pastries, the chocolates, the ice cream from Berthillon. I'm ready to go back now!

Unfortunately, real life is interfering with my daydreaming. Instead, I'll start a load of laundry before heading to work tonight. A French dinner, though, is within my reach. I originally had dreams of all these wonderful meals -- coq au vin, cassoulet, duck a l'orange -- but had almost none of the ingredients. So, to save my family a few (or more) dollars and make cooking easy on my husband, I went searching for a fast, easy recipe.

Bull's-eye.

One of my favorite Web sites, http://www.recipesource.com/, had more than 100 French recipes to choose from. The one I selected, Chicken Francaise, seemed simple. I had most of the ingredients in my freezer or pantry; Aaron only had to pick up two of them at the supermarket. Excellent! How French it is, well, I don't know. But it is easy. And delicious.

Tres bien!

This recipe is from www.recipesource.com.

Chicken Francaise

6 medium chicken breasts
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 can (10 1/2 oz.) cream of mushroom soup

3 oz. mushrooms, sliced
Paprika
1 cup sour cream

Place chicken breasts, skin side up, in baking pan; sprinkle with salt. Blend wine into soup; add mushrooms and pour over chicken.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 75 minutes. Remove chicken to platter; sprinkle with paprika. Pour sauce into saucepan; mix in sour cream and heat gently until hot. Do not boil, or sauce will separate. Serve over chicken and sauce over hot cooked rice.

Cook's notes: We used low-fat soup mix and sour cream; both worked beautifully. We also used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and reduced the cooking time by 15 to 20 minutes. You could skip sprinkling the chicken with salt; the wine and soup mixture are plenty salty without it.

Dining destinations: Minneapolis-St. Paul

Sometime late last year or earlier this year, my awesome sister told me during one of our lengthy phone calls that my niece had asked when her cousin Emma was going to come to her house to play. After the "awww, how sweet!" I actually started to think about going to visit my sister, her boyfriend and their adorable 4-year-old in the Twin Cities. Aaron and I hadn't been to the area since 2002, and with the Twins playing their final season in the Metrodome, and with my cute little niece wanting us to come for a visit, well, it seemed like our summer vacation was destined to be in Minnesota.

After checking the Twins schedule (our first step -- really!) and looking at the vacation calendar at work, we decided that the Fourth of July holiday would be ideal. And it worked out for my sister and her family, too. So we booked our tickets and looked forward to a week in the Twin Cities.

It was a great vacation. Emma and her cousin, for the most part, got along well. And my mom, one of my cousins, my half-sister and her boyfriend all were able to join us for part of the trip, which made it even more fun! As usual, I didn't want to make this trip just about fun for the kids. I wanted to find cool places for all of us to eat. Mission accomplished.

One evening early in our trip, my sister suggested we take a trip to Izzy's Ice Cream in St. Paul. The line was out the door, but five of us, including two not-so-patient 4-year-olds, waited 20 or so minutes. I quickly figured out why the line was so long. Not only was the ice cream delicious, but it was nearly impossible to choose which yummy flavor to have. I went for a single scoop of hot brown sugar, with a tiny "Izzy scoop" of Italian strawberry. They were excellent. The hot brown sugar was a caramel ice cream spiked with lots(!!!) of cinnamon and nutmeg and a little cayenne, I think, and some spiced pecans. It was the spiciest ice cream I've ever had. For me, though, the Izzy scoop was even better. It was made of strawberries stewed in balsamic vinegar, then mixed into an ice cream base. Amazing! A few days later, Aaron and I stopped by to get a birthday cake for my half-sister. We each decided to get another little scoop for ourselves. That day I went for the cake batter. Again, it was fantastic. This shop is at the top of our list for places to check out again the next time we return to the area.

On the evening of the Fourth, my sister and her boyfriend suggested we go get pizza before heading down to the banks of the Mississippi to see some fireworks. We went back to St. Paul again for dinner at Pizza Luce. Before we even ordered, Aaron and I liked the place. It had a fun, funky college vibe, and lots of cool selections on the menu. Ultimately, we each opted for the salad with grilled pears. It was delicious -- spinach, dried cranberries, pecans, goat cheese and those delicious grilled pears tossed in a fantastic raspberry vinaigrette. We also ordered the Ruby Rae pizza, which the restaurant calls an "upside-down pie." The sauce was on the top, with spinach, tomatoes, Italian sausage and cheese below. It was even better than the salad! On our way out, Aaron and I agreed that we would love a hip dining spot like this in our neighborhood.

The next evening, we took our ice cream cake from Izzy's and had a big group dinner to celebrate my half-sister's birthday. Our restaurant of choice: Joe's Garage in Minneapolis. We were looking forward to this. My sister and her boyfriend had spoken so highly of it, and how that if we took our two 4-year-olds on the rooftop patio, no one would complain about the noise. It was a good, if just short of great, dinner for me. I had an SWG salad -- mixed greens tossed with strawberries, walnuts and gorgonzola cheese in a balsamic vinaigrette. It was, hands down, the best thing I had to eat on our trip. However, I went for an appetizer for my entree: the lamb meatballs in a tomato sauce with feta cheese. This is where I was disappointed. The sauce was great, but despite a great flavor the meatballs were tough. My half-sister, a chef, told me the problem was that they probably sat under a heat lamp while everyone else's meals were prepared. Oh well. Next time I'll know to send them back.

We certainly had lots of other great things to eat along the way (at the Hard Rock Cafe, Tony Roma's and especially the Moroccan chicken salad at California Pizza Kitchen), plus some good ballpark eats at the Metrodome.

The three games we took in (one just Aaron and me!) at the Metrodome were incredibly important to me. I've been a Twins fan since I was 8 years old, and I went to my first Major League Baseball game there when I was 10. So saying farewell to a facility that I've actually liked was truly important to me, and I'm glad I had a chance to go one last time.

Before leaving, I had to stock up on two of my favorite delicacies from Minnesota. I stopped at a grocery store to bring home two jars of Gedney pickles. I've never found any that can match "the Minnesota pickle." I've even converted my California-born husband and daughter to my way of thinking on that, too! I also brought home two Nut Goodie candy bars -- one for me, and one for a colleague who grew up in Minnesota. It's a fun tradition that started a few years ago in our newsroom amongst the few of us in the Upper Midwest. Now that it's just the two of us (that I know of), it's fun to keep it alive.

We arrived back in California last night. It's always good to be home. But it's even harder saying goodbye after a great trip. So thanks again Jaci, Kyle, Charlee, Grandma Joyce, Taylor, Dana and Kyle. We had a really excellent trip. Let's do it again soon -- next time for hockey!

I wanted to include a recipe featuring a favorite Minnesota ingredient: wild rice. This recipe isn't great for summer, but it's certainly delicious on those cold winter nights, wherever you live. It's from a great book I got from my mom a few years ago, "A Cook's Tour of Minnesota," by Ann L. Burckhardt.

Byerly's Wild Rice Soup

6 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. minced onion
1/2 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked wild rice
1/3 cup minced ham
1/2 cup finely grated carrots
3 tbsp. chopped slivered almonds
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup half-and-half
2 tbsp. dry sherry (optional)

Melt butter in saucepan; stir-fry onion until tender. Blend in flour; gradually add broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil; boil 1 minute. Stir in rice, ham, carrots, almonds and salt; simmer about 5 minutes. Blend in half-and-half. Add sherry, if using. Heat to serving temperature. Garnish with chives or parsley, if desired.

Cook's notes: Cooked chicken is a delicious alternative to the ham. If you want to add more vegetables, some celery and/or sauteed mushrooms would be delicious.