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S    a    l    a    d    s
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T H E   S A L A D

Salads are often my favorite part of a meal. Because we
have lived in hot climates I have always enjoyed a great
salad. Sometimes, more often than not, we just stick to
a great salad as a meal in itself. I have even taken simple
salads and turned them into foods for wedding
receptions. They are the most versatile dishes that ever
come out of my kitchen.

Salads have even given me open doors to share the
Gospel. Mexican friends who had eaten at our home so
enjoyed them that they told the tales to friends and
family. I have prepared salads as one would prepare a
pie or dish of cookies as a gift for neighbors.

All too often in the American kitchen we resort to
dumping a bag of iceberg lettuce into a bowl and serve it
with a bottle of some oily excuse for dressing. No one
really enjoys this, but they present it anyway because it
seems like it should be on the table.
Salad should be elegant, or can be rustic, but it should
not be dull and predictable.
.
C H O S I N G   Y O U R   P R O D U C E

Please don?t think of salad as being just vegetables. Think of it as more of a
flower arrangement that you eat. Choose good types lettuce if you are to
make a green salad. Bagged pre-washed lettuce is o.k. I prefer not to use
iceberg, but if it is just not in your budget to use only baby exotic greens than
use iceberg, but mix it with other pretty more bitter greens. I like a good red
leaf lettuce, but from season to season you may find beautiful lettuces in other
varieties at your local market. Cabbages and spinach are also very nice and
can be mixed in or used alone.

TOMATOES

To me there is little better than a great tomato, and nothing worse than a
hothouse grown rubbery slice of orange/red goopy tomato hap-hazardly
plopped atop a bed of shredded transparent whitish/green mess smashed over
a warm patty of beef. You know what I mean, a fast food hamburger. Badly
selected lettuce and tomatoes have turned off a great many consumers from
the wonderful taste of a good slice of tomato and decent lettuce.

Mexicans, as well as Indians, have the pleasure of enjoying wonderful
tomatoes all year long. In both places we have a varity of Roma tomatoes
available on every street corner. It is incorporated into practically every dish
in Mexico. Studies have shown that the tomato is a good part of daily diet in
the Mediterranean where people have an extended life expectancy. It is said in
India to cool the body and to help bring balance to the body?s functions.

Historically I have found that the Tomato was discovered in my beloved
Mexico. The Aztecs called them ?xitomatl? (plump). I have learned that a
great many wonderful foods originated in Mexico. Including chocolate and
vanilla, but that is a different story. From Mexico it was brought back to
Europe where it was discovered not to be poisonous or strictly ornamental as
was originally supposed by European explorers. It was then cultivated and
brought by Spaniards to the Philippines where it made it?s way through Asia.

The Italians called it the ?LOVE APPLE? and thought it had love enhancing
qualities. It was a small variety of tomato that was discovered through the
Aztecs and has really evolved since that time. There are so many varieties. I
have even seen a deep purple kind.

I like to use in most of my dishes the Roma or Plumb tomato. I also like to
use small grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and yellow grape tomatoes. I find
that children tend to enjoy the tiny variety, and the mixture of them all adds
color and dimension to a dish. These are not hard to find in most cities across
America in a normal Produce Isle, I have even seen them available in Sam?s
and Wal Mart.

S E L E C T I N G   T O M A T O E S

Don?t judge a roma by the color alone. Smell it. It should have an aroma. If it
smells like nothing it will have little taste. It should, of course, have no
blemishes. It should feel heavy not light. A light tomato will have no meat to
it. It should not be refrigerated. Tomatoes should be left out in open air. To
taste their best they should be plump but firm, not too soft, not too hard. This
is why the best test is the smell.

One time while looking at fruit in a Mexican market, my friend Christina who
was a missionary in Monterrey asked an old man standing close by his
opinion of the crop. This is normal in Mexico. People who have never met
before will often converse and ask opinions and even swap recipes right there
in the market. This old man said, ?listen White Girl, the best way to see if it is
good is to simply take a bite??

I don?t think you can do that while standing in your local Albertson?s but in
Mexico and India this is a perfectly sound Method of deciding on a particular
fruit or vegetable.

You will have to rely on the squeeze and sniff method.
.
C H O S I N G   Y O U R   P R O D U C E

Please don?t think of salad as being just vegetables. Think of it as more of a
flower arrangement that you eat. Choose good types lettuce if you are to
make a green salad. Bagged pre-washed lettuce is o.k. I prefer not to use
iceberg, but if it is just not in your budget to use only baby exotic greens
than use iceberg, but mix it with other pretty more bitter greens. I like a good
red leaf lettuce, but from season to season you may find beautiful lettuces in
other varieties at your local market. Cabbages and spinach are also very nice
and can be mixed in or used alone.

TOMATOES

To me there is little better than a great tomato, and nothing worse than a
hothouse grown rubbery slice of orange/red goopy tomato hap-hazardly
plopped atop a bed of shredded transparent whitish/green mess smashed
over a warm patty of beef. You know what I mean, a fast food hamburger.
Badly selected lettuce and tomatoes have turned off a great many consumers
from the wonderful taste of a good slice of tomato and decent lettuce.

Mexicans, as well as Indians, have the pleasure of enjoying wonderful
tomatoes all year long. In both places we have a varity of Roma tomatoes
available on every street corner. It is incorporated into practically every dish
in Mexico. Studies have shown that the tomato is a good part of daily diet in
the Mediterranean where people have an extended life expectancy. It is said
in India to cool the body and to help bring balance to the body?s functions.

Historically I have found that the Tomato was discovered in my beloved
Mexico. The Aztecs called them ?xitomatl? (plump). I have learned that a
great many wonderful foods originated in Mexico. Including chocolate and
vanilla, but that is a different story. From Mexico it was brought back to
Europe where it was discovered not to be poisonous or strictly ornamental
as was originally supposed by European explorers. It was then cultivated and
brought by Spaniards to the Philippines where it made it?s way through Asia.

The Italians called it the ?LOVE APPLE? and thought it had love enhancing
qualities. It was a small variety of tomato that was discovered through the
Aztecs and has really evolved since that time. There are so many varieties. I
have even seen a deep purple kind.

I like to use in most of my dishes the Roma or Plumb tomato. I also like to
use small grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and yellow grape tomatoes. I find
that children tend to enjoy the tiny variety, and the mixture of them all adds
color and dimension to a dish. These are not hard to find in most cities
across America in a normal Produce Isle, I have even seen them available in
Sam?s and Wal Mart.

S E L E C T I N G   T O M A T O E S

Don?t judge a roma by the color alone. Smell it. It should have an aroma. If
it smells like nothing it will have little taste. It should, of course, have no
blemishes. It should feel heavy not light. A light tomato will have no meat to
it. It should not be refrigerated. Tomatoes should be left out in open air. To
taste their best they should be plump but firm, not too soft, not too hard.
This is why the best test is the smell.

One time while looking at fruit in a Mexican market, my friend Christina
who was a missionary in Monterrey asked an old man standing close by his
opinion of the crop. This is normal in Mexico. People who have never met
before will often converse and ask opinions and even swap recipes right
there in the market. This old man said, ?listen White Girl, the best way to
see if it is good is to simply take a bite??

I don?t think you can do that while standing in your local Albertson?s but in
Mexico and India this is a perfectly sound Method of deciding on a particular
fruit or vegetable.

You will have to rely on the squeeze and sniff method.
.
C H E E S E   A N D   T O M A T O

The cheese used in this dish is really a matter of taste. I grew up in NYC so
I always had a wonderfully fresh supply of fresh mozzarella cheese
available. Fresh mozzarella is a lot blander than the national block varieties.
They are less salty too.

In Mexico we had so many nice cheeses made by local people on ranches
and even in their own backyards. We had neighbors in Acapulco who lived a
few doors down who made a nice cheese. I could go daily to get a wheel of
it, but would have to fight them every time to receive my money for it. They
were sweet people who were constantly gifting us with cheese.

You may certainly use any mozzarella that is available to you. The key here
is to use a bland cheese that will not overpower the flavor of the dressing
and the Tomato.

8 oz. mozzarella cheese cut into ¼ in. slices
5 Roma tomatoes or 3 Creole tomatoes
Fresh basil {optional}
1 recipe of classic dressing to top it

You will want about 3 slices of cheese and 3 slices of tomato per person.
Slice your tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick. It should be a nice meaty slice of
tomato not one you can see through. Arrange on a platter alternating a slice
of cheese a slice of tomato in a circular pattern or an oval depending on your
platter size. Drizzle over some classic dressing and garnish with some fresh
Basil leaves in the center. This is a classic salad and a wonderful appetizer.
Serve it with crusty bread or roll to soak up the extra dressing on the plate.
.
C L A S S I C   D R E S S I N G

This is a dressing that I use when I can?t think of anything else. It is a basic
in my kitchen and I have failed to find the person who does not like it.

A clean jar
2 toes of fresh minced garlic
A pinch of fresh or dried parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
A tiny pinch of sugar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar

I like to use a jar to mix this recipe by shaking in place of the often-used
whisk method. Shaking it in a jar will ensure a thick consistency and good
incorporation of ingredients. For other recipes I will use a Whisk and bowl.

Smash 2 toes of garlic with a knife and remove skin then mince. There are
all sorts of gadgets that you can use to do this job. In Mexico we use a
mortar and pestle, but the flat side of a knife will do nicely. If you have a
garlic crusher then you can use that too, but please don?t use jarred minced
garlic.

I like to use curly parsley of which I keep a supply always on hand.
Seasonally this is unavailable so I dry some in my oven on a low
temperature and crush it and keep it in a jar. It is not hard to do and has a
slightly different taste than the kind you get at the grocery store. It taste very
herbal and you will use less than the kind you buy. I dry it and use a wire
strainer, forcing it against the mesh to crush it, in order to remove the stems.

Now place a nice pinch of parsley in the jar. Add a pinch of sugar, a pinch
of kosher salt and some fresh black pepper. Add Olive oil and vinegar and
shake. This can be prepared in larger batches and kept in the fridge.
Basically it is 2 parts oil to one part vinegar with salt, pepper, garlic and
parsley. This is very easy to do and will transform the every day plain bla
salad to something gourmet.
.
C E S A R   D R E S S I N G

Canned anchovies or anchovy paste
¾ -cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tsp. Of Worcestershire sauce
1 whole egg [People are often afraid to use raw eggs,
but I have never had a problem with it]
2 toes fresh garlic
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper

What you really want here is to have a large wooden bowl with plenty of
room to toss the ingredients. First you should place the garlic in the bowl and
crush it up real well with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the salt and
pepper next and keep mashing the garlic. You will want the garlic to be very
well minced, almost into a paste. Next add the oil. Now take a wire whisk
and add 1 raw egg and whisk well. It will become thick. Add a filet of
Anchovy or a about 4 inches of anchovy paste. The anchovy gets well
blended into the dressing and does not have a fishy taste. It does really add
to the flavor so if you have found that you don?t care for anchovies you
may not notice it in this dish as much as you suspect. If you omit the
anchovy paste it is no longer a Caesar Salad but just a creamy Italian salad
dressing. Now add the lemon juice and the Worcestershire sauce. It should
be about 2 lemons but that will depend on how juicy or how big the lemons
are. Ours in Mexico and in India are small size that is why I specify ¼  cup
more or less. Whisk it all together into a creamy dressing
.
C R U T O N S

In Mexico we have a small pistolette called a bolillo. Bolillos are sold in the
early morning in most towns across Mexico. In Acapulco ladies would come
door to door with great big baskets on their heads. Inside would be freshly
baked bolillos for a few cents apiece. They are great in the mornings with a
hot cup of coffee to help you get your day started. The sale would be
accompanied by a particular hawkers cry. Different sales ladies have a
different cry and different song to the way they hawked their bread. This is
how you could tell before opening your door if it was your preferred bolillo
that was awaiting you. This cry also wakes most of the neighborhood and
was not always s a welcome thing.  Most of the sales ladies had no real
concept of time so they would often come too early for my liking and wake
the whole house selling bread. Unless you live in South Texas Bolillos are
probably not available to you, a nice crusty bread or baguette will do well.

Croutons are super easy to make. The little store-bought ones in tiny cubes
are not very savory and add nothing to a salad that I enjoy. Use day old
bread, as it is always better for croutons. Cut the bread up into roughly
1-inch cubes. This is cooking not science it does not have to be perfect. You
can even tear up the bread in to small bite size chunks if you prefer. Melt a
stick of butter with a tsp. of onion powder, a tsp. of garlic powder and some
herbs. I like to use rosemary, or oregano in this. But just plain parsley will
due if it is all you have on hand. Toss in a bowl with the bread and toast in a
preheated 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes. Give a quick toss and see
if they are crisp enough, they should still be slightly soft so you should place
them back in for another 3 minutes or so. Watch them closely or they will
burn. It may sound like too much work but it is well worth it.
.
C E S A R   S A L A D

The common belief that Cesar Salad was invented in Italy and named after
the Roman Cesar is simply a misunderstanding. It does go well with Italian
foods but it is in fact a Mexican dish invented in Tijuana, Mexico, by a cook
named Cesar.

The Cesar dressing mentioned in this section
1 head Romaine Lettuce or a bagged pre-washed Romaine will due.
Big handful of fresh croutons
Shaved Parmesan cheese [not the kind sold in a shaker}

Tear the lettuce into bite size pieces and toss into salad dressing in the
wooden bowl. This should not be done in advance but right before serving it.
Toss on croutons and shave a hunk of Parmesan cheese with a vegetable
peeler.

This is a wonderful salad and can be a complete meal for 2 if you serve it
with a grilled chicken breast on top cut into slices. Sorry this is no diet food
and certainly will not qualify as being so, but it is delicious and it is healthy.
Olive oil is a good fat.
.
B L U E   C H E E S E   D R E S S I N G

2oz Crumbled blue cheese
1toe minced fresh garlic
¼ cup milk
¼ cup yogurt
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup olive oil
½ lemon squeezed for its juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix in a bowl with a fork. It will be a rich, creamy, thick dressing. I always
use low fat products. Skim milk, fat free yogurt, every little bit of fat
conserving helps. Please do not use the diet mayo. Yuck! That diet stuff is
the worst. Use normal mayo, whatever brand you like.
.
O L I V E S

I love olives. I love the expensive Gourmet kind from the Mediterranean but
they were never available to us either in India or Mexico. I had to find a way
to make normal common olives taste exceptionally good.  Even that I have
to carry in my handbag when I travel to India.

In Mexico the common black olive could often be found and the green olive
was readily available because of its Spanish roots. The common green olive
that is placed into brine and flavored with Manzanilla is the Spanish variety.
It is usually stuffed with pimento or left with the pit inside.

Olives are extremely vast in selection and taste. I have even been to olive
bars in Texas where there were literally over 100 varieties, from many
nations, Greece, Italy, France and Spain. I do not have the privilege to use
these kinds in my kitchen, as it is hard enough to stuff cans of black olives
into my luggage. My friends from Plaquemine, the Hebert?s have ferried at
least 100 lbs of Olives to me over the Years. Either Sue has brought them on
one of her trips or she has collected them under her bed for me to carry in
my own suitcase. Both ways I have no doubt that all the can s of black
olives have caused the customs officials to take a second look.
Olives are a simple ingredient that I think add color and texture like nothing
else can.
.
S P I C E Y   O L I V E   D R E S S I N G

1 jalapeño pepper Finley minced.
½ can black olives or 1 small can minced black olives
½ cup green olives without pits and with pimentos, minced
1 small red onion minced finely
1 rib sliced celery
1 toe garlic
Grated lemon zest of ¼ lemon
¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
A splash of Balsamic Vinegar
Fresh ground Black Pepper

This is a dressing best served the next day. It should have time to marinate
well in the fridge. I do not like the mushy consistency you get from making
this in a food processor. I do not personally own one, but in other people?s
kitchens I have used them. In this case I think hand chopping is the way to
go, otherwise you don?t get the nice texture of the onion and celery.
This is great to use as a condiment on a sandwich or to use tossed into a
simple green salad. Don?t forget to add a little fresh parsley for color.
.
C U C U M B E R S   A N D   T O M A T O E S

These are simple common ingredients that are often overlooked.  In both
Mexico and India they are both very inexpensive and very good so I use
them often. I enjoy the flavor as well as the versatility. For a wedding
reception I once used them as little baskets and boats to hold salads. It was
the best way to eliminate further use of tiny cocktail cups and eliminated the
need for plastic, which I dislike to use. When people finished the salad they
ate the cup.
.
T O M A T O   B A S K E T

Now this takes some patience, and some helpers. My Mexican friends were
always anxious to lend a hand with this sort of thing so if I catered a dinner I
had plenty of help. It was a social time for us where we would enjoy a cup
of coffee and talk about life. Often Steven would entertain us with a song on
the guitar and we would all sing along and pay little attention to what we
were doing. Gladly they always turned out well anyhow.
Select Roma tomatoes that are pretty much of equal sizes and shapes.
Gently slice off the top where it attaches to the vine making an even surface
for them to stand on. Do this carefully as not to cut into the vegetable and
have all the juice run out. If you do happen to cut into it save the portion
you cut and place it inside to prevent the contents from spilling out. This is
just a simple basket shape as you may do with a watermelon at a family
picnic, just in a miniature size. Now with a spoon gently hollow out the seeds
and the center pulp. Place that top portion you first sliced off inside now if
you went too deeply.
.
C U C U M B E R S

People often think of cucumbers as a vegetable that gives them gas. This is
not always the case. Growing up our Mother always bought a long slender
English Varity of cucumber. We ate them with the dark green skin on and
seeds inside. Here in India they are a very light greenish Yellow color and
small in size. While I remove the skin, most Indians do not.

In Mexico the Cucumber was enjoyed as a fruit. Not only does it have a
sweet taste but when accompanied with chili powder salt, and a squirt of
lime. It becomes more of an event. Most fruits and vegetables in Mexico are
served in the raw form with chili powder salt and Lime.

Cool as a cucumber is no myth. A freshly picked cucumber has an internal
temperature several degrees lower than the surrounding air. How is that for
Cool?
.
T O M A T O   A N D   C U C U M B E R
S A L A D

3 medium size Cucumbers
6 Roma Tomatoes

Slice cucumbers, and run the tines of a fork down it?s sides. This helps for
the dressing to stick to it. Next cut the cucumber into 4ths lengthwise. Now
simply cut out the seeds. Chop into cubes.

Remove skin from Tomatoes by slicing a cross into the tops and placing
them into boiling water for a minute. Remove from boiling water and rinse
right away. Now the skin should peel away from the flesh easily. Dice the
tomatoes.
I like this with Blue cheese dressing.
.
I T A L I A N   C U C U M B E R S
A N D   T O M A T O E S

3 medium Cucumbers
6 Roma Tomatoes
1 Thinly sliced red onion
½ can pitted ripe black olives

Slice peeled Cucumbers, into rounds. Slice Tomatoes into quarters. Add
onions, which have been thinly slices and divided into rings. Serve with
Classic Dressing in a pretty glass. I like to use a martini glass or an ice cream
cup; a Margarita glass works well too.
.
S P R I N G   S A L A D

This does not have to wait until spring to be eaten. It just has a taste of
spring to me. I have served it to guests over the years but it is really one of
Steven?s favorites.

Baby Spinach washed and dried. The bagged variety will work here.
1Granny Smith apple cored and sliced thin
5 slices of bacon crumbled
A handful Toasted Pecans
Honey mustard dressing (recipe to follow)

Make a bed of Spinach and add sliced apple on top. Then add hot honey
mustard dressing just before serving and top with chopped toasted Pecans
and Crispy bacon pieces.
.
H O T   B A C O N   H O N E Y
M U S T A R D   D R E S S I N G

1 chopped green onion
1 tbs. Dijon mustard
1 tbs.  honey
½ cup red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Fry bacon in skillet, and remove bacon for topping later on. With bacon fat
fry chopped green onion until onion is transparent. Add to it 1 tbs. Dijon
mustard, 1 tbs. honey, and ½ cup red wine vinegar. Whisk with a wire
whisk. Add salt and pepper.
.
A S P A R A G A S   S A L A D

1 bag baby salad greens
1 bunch fresh green asparagus

I love fresh asparagus and feel it truly captures the taste of springtime. In the
U.S. they don?t give those spears away, so I think it is best used in a dish
where it can be truly tasted and highlighted. I hope this Salad will prove that
to be certain.

Use a nice baby green mixture. One of the bagged varieties will do well in
this case. This is best dished up in single plate servings. Use a nice handful
of greens per plate.

In a skillet heat 1 tbs. olive oil adding some crushed Garlic to ?bless the oil?
and remove it before browning. Now once it is good and smoking add
asparagus spears that have been washed, dried and had the ends removed.
The bottom 2 inches of the asparagus are woody so it is best to chop them
off. Quickly sauté them in the skillet for about 4 minutes until the color has
reached a nice bright green. Remove and place on a flat plate to cool. If you
wish, you can rinse under cool water to stop the cooking process. I do not
because I want that olive oil residue.

Here In India we have stainless Steel dinner plates. I keep one in the freezer
and when I am done sautéing the asparagus I place them on the cold plate.
This works for me. You may use a pie tin to accomplish the same task.
Serve over a tossed green salad with vinaigrette. (Recipe to Follow)
.
L E M O N   D I J O N   V I N A G A R E T T E

Juice of ½ lemon
1cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. sugar
½ cup white wine vinegar

Whisk lemon juice and vinegar and mustard in a bowl. Add the Olive Oil in
slowly as you whisk. It will begin to emulsify and make a creamy
consistency. You can add a fresh herb if you like. I like Tarragon with this,
but parsley is good. It is more for color than anything.
.
Y O G U R T   D R E S S I N G
W I T H   C U C U M B E R   S A L A D

Here in India Yogurt is an integral part of the Indian Diet. It is believed to
cool the body and settle the tummy. Indeed after a spicy curry or masla it is
a very welcome condiment.  It is made on virtually every street corner.
Sometimes it is thick and sometimes thin. In villages and rural India it is
made in small clay pots. Still to this day if you travel by Indian Rail your
yogurt will come in a small disposable clay pot. Unlike American yogurt it is
not often served sweet or flavored with fruit. It is often served with
vegetables or a grain called bohndi and called raita. I like a pineapple Raita,
or one served with cucumbers and onions. It makes a good accompaniment
to spicy dishes.
This is my slant on it although not served true to Indian form and their
brands are in no way fat free.

1 cup plain Fat free yogurt
2 toes minced fine garlic
Juice of ¼ lemon
1tbs. fresh herbs (dill is best, but parsley, cilantro or chives are nice too)

Mix well and toss with fresh sliced cucumbers and thinly sliced red onion.
.
CEVICHE

In normal Mexican kitchens no one would be skittish about this dish, but
since most Americans are nervous about raw fish I will use an altered recipe
more for the American pallet but still true to it?s Mexican roots.

2 lbs. frozen cocktail tiny shrimp
A can of chopped Rotel
1 Bunch of chopped cilantro
Juice of 3 limes.
A dash of Worcestershire sauce
½ cup tomato Ketchup
½ cup sliced green olives
A splash of extra virgin olive oil
Avocado peeled and quartered
Saltine crackers

This Spicy salad is really good and every family had their own version.
Normally we use raw seafood but for the reasons stated above we will use
cooked. The end result is about the same. Except that the limejuice does in
it?s own way cook the seafood weather we use fish, shrimp or octopus. This
should be prepared a few hours ahead of serving as it is best served after it
has had a chance to marinate a bit.

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl except for the avocados and crackers.
When ready to serve, slice the avocados. Place a tall glass like a margarita
glass on a saucer or salad plate. Add the Ceviche and place a slice of the
Avocado on top. Add crackers on to the plate and serve with Tabasco. This
should be spicy. If Avocados are in season and of a good price then you can
serve this ladled over a half of pitted avocado on a salad plate.

I have served this dish countless times to guests and at our soup kitchens.
We even used to serve it under our church tent after church as refreshment
after services. We always had to have plenty of cold limeade on the side, it is
a perfect compliment to this dish.
.
G U A C A M O L E

Now, is this a salad or a dip or a relish? It can be all 3 if you like. Whatever
its classification is it is just plain good. In Mexico avocados are very
abundant. They are the Hass variety that we use for this unless you just
happen to have another variety growing in your backyard. The most
common available in the market places are the Hass. That is the smaller
blackish green alligator skin variety.

First choose a very ripe avocado, one that gives a little when squeezed.
I like to use a whole avocado per person. So if you are preparing this for 4
people 4 avocados will work nice.

4 avocados
1 small white onion
2 toes minced garlic
1 diced ripe roma tomato
1 minced jalapeño pepper
1 bunch cilantro roughly chopped.
½ cup sour cream
Juice of 1 small lime

Mix gently in a bowl and serve on a leaf of red leaf lettuce, and tortilla chips
on the side.
.
C O C T A I L   T O M A T O E S
I N  C L A S S I C   D R E S S I N G

The simplest tomato salad I do is this one with lots of color that people like.
I do not leave the tomatoes whole because I don?t like to bite into a squirting
tomato. Besides, it never goes easily onto the fork. If you take the time to
slice them, then it allows the dressing to seep into all the crevasses.

1 pint yellow tomatoes cocktail size
1 pint red grape tomatoes
1 recipe classic dressing mentioned in this section
Combine in a salad bowl, toss and chill.
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A S I A N   C A B B A G E   S A L A D

I really love oriental flavors. For this cabbage salad I will include a sesame
dressing. I like some of the funkier tastes but most American pallets cannot
get past the smell. Lots of Asian dressings use fish sauce, shrimp paste and
fermented black bean. They have strong rich flavors but not flavors the
American is well adapted to. I will clean this up for you a little and make it
more suitable to American likes.

1 head shredded Napa cabbage
½ small head shredded white cabbage
2 carrots peeled and shredded
½ cup roasted peanuts
1 recipe sesame dressing
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S E S A M E   D R E S S I N G

Peanut oil or canola oil is best here
1cup oil
1tbs. Sesame oil
½ cup rice wine vinegar
1 tbs. sugar
1 tbs. soy sauce
1 tbs. orange juice
2 toes garlic
½ tsp. of freshly grated ginger or 1tsp. dried ginger powder
2 thinly sliced green onions
Red pepper flakes

Place rice wine vinegar in a bowl with orange juice, soy sauce, and sugar.
Whisk together briskly adding crushed, minced garlic and ginger. Now slowly
add oils. Sesame oil is very strong and you will only use this small amount.
Add green onions and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Toss over cabbage and
allow to rest at least an hour before serving. Garnish with roasted chopped
peanuts.