Israeli Chopped Salad

Summer is young and I can already tell it's going to be a hot one. I'm all skirts and tank tops during the week, and headed to the mountains for cooler air on the weekend. You know that saying "cool as a cucumber?" I think I know why they say that: when it's blazing hot outside, cucumbers are the best thing for cooling you down. 

Actually all of the flavors in this salad will cool you down: heirloom cherry tomatoes, freshly squeezed lemon juice, parsley, and crunchy radishes. 

Chopped Israeli Salad

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free,    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

Fresh, cooling — just the salad you need this summer.

Serves: 8   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber
• 1 pint of heirloom cherry tomatoes (regular cherry tomatoes will work as well)
• 1/4 cup parsley (Change it up: minced parsley or basil also work well)
• 5 radishes
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Wash the vegetables and dice into 1-centimeter pieces. Toss in a large salad bowl. Mince parsley.
2. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Toss to combine again. Serve.

Tuna Power Salad

Long lunch tables were puzzle-pieced together in the the Mesa Elementary cafeteria just so. They were the kind with benches attached to them, and each measured at least 14 feet long. Three of them together must’ve held something like 70 children, with ease. 

A long line would form where food was served, single-file, except for when a kid dodged to the side, trying to get a sneak peak at what was getting served that day. It was a line I barely knew—lunch was packed, just about every day, by my mom or my dad. 

The menu of the day almost always included leftovers, for me. Leftover pasta salad, leftover chicken, leftover sushi. Some people dislike eating leftovers but I never did, aside from the slight embarrassment I felt when kids asked what I was eating. Looking back they were probably just genuinely curious, but when you’re 7, explaining yourself can feel like the most painful thing in the world. Um… it’s called pomegranate. The other kids: It looks like a brain. 

Despite my fancy sack lunches, my palate could never get over the taste of canned tuna. Gross! I’d opt for salmon salad over tuna and steer far away from anyone that tried to turn it into a sandwich. Crackers were my vehicle of choice. I supposed I set myself up for being asked why my tuna salad was pink.  

I eventually learned to like tuna salad, the way everyone else learned what a pomegranate was. 

Tuna Power Salad

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free,    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

A little sweet and a little savory! Cranberries, apples and walnuts make this tuna salad a star.

Serves: 2   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the tuna:

• 2 cans of tuna
• 2 tablespoons paleo mayo or, for primal version, yogurt
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons minced onion
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• Salt & Pepper to taste

For the salad:

• 4 leafs red lettuce
• 1 cup cabbage, sliced thin
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup diced cucumber
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 apple, diced
• Optional: squeeze of lemon juice and drizzle of olive oil
• 1 apple, diced

Directions:

1. Drain water from cans of tuna and place fish in a bowl. Mash with mayo/yogurt, mustard, onion, and poppy seeds. Add salt & pepper to taste.
2. Arrange lettuce on 2 plates. Pile a scoop of tuna salad over lettuce on each plate. Arrange remaining salad ingredients around tuna salad.
3. I like to mix everything together when I eat this, which means I don’t really need a salad dressing, but if you want one, or you prefer to not mix everything together on your plate, drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Vanilla-Honey Tapioca Pudding

When people hear that I grew up as an only child, they often ask I if you liked it. They as if I know any different – or have any perspective on what it's like compared to having siblings. I want to answer--I want to have an answer- but I do not. Instead, it was just me, and as an introvert, that never bothered me much. I certainly never had to compete for the last pudding cup, which my mom would often keep in the fridge (always tapioca). 

Tapioca pudding is ridiculously easy to make. No joke, it's as easy as soak, simmer, set. Serve it with fresh berries in summer, or even a touch of homemade cranberry sauce in winter. Vanilla-Honey Tapioca Pudding!

Vanilla-Honey Tapioca Pudding

Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free,    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

Tapioca is naturally grain-free, made form tapioca root. Use small tapioca pearls to make this pudding.

Serves: 4   |    Total Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• ⅛ teaspoon salt (or 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt)
• 1/2 cup small pearl tapioca
• 1/2 cup honey (or 1/2 cup sugar, depending on preferences -- honey will lend a honey taste to the pudding)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Put the milk, cream, and tapioca pearls in a medium sized sauce pan. Allow to sit for 30 minutes for quick cooking -- or overnight (covered, in the fridge) for normal tapioca, to hydrate.
2. Place sauce pan on stove over medium-low heat. Add honey, and stir. Warm slowly until the milk is almost to a simmer, stirring frequently to avoiding tapioca sticking to the bottom, and cook until tapioca is fully hydrated (this will vary depending on type of tapioca -- quick cooking tapioca will only need 5 minutes, while regular could take up to 45).
3. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a medium sized mixing bowl. Set aside. When tapioca is hydrated, use a ladel to scoop a ladel of warm milk mixture into the egg, whisking quickly to temper eggs. Then, pour eggs into sauce pan, again stiring quickly to avoid curdling. Cook for 3-5 minutes more, until mixture thickens. Pudding should coat the back of your spoon. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Pour into airtight container and cool in fridge 2 hours or until ready to server.
4. Divide the pudding among glasses and top with fresh berries, nuts, or marmelade.