The First Salad of the Season

By Lori Powell

The fresh air of spring has arrived and with it are thoughts of bathing suits, the ocean, vacations, spring cleaning and fresh produce. With the advent of fresh produce comes inspiration for lovely salads for dinner and for lunch, hopefully resulting in a couple of pounds and inches off my frame.

My first salad of the season is a pickled shrimp and red onion concoction with cucumber. You make a simple pickling liquid which uses seasoned rice vinegar, agave, star anise and a pinch of heat from red pepper flakes. The star anise is optional but adds nice dimension to the pickling liquid.

Star anise can be found in the spice section of the supermarket. This spice is shaped like a star about one inch in diameter and has eight dark-brown spokes. It is grown in China and Japan, similar to licorice and anise, and is one of the spices in five-spice powder.

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Chill out with an Apricot Piña Colada

By Sandy Hu

Summer is a time for fruity drinks – preferably gussied up with a fancy garnish and sipped through a straw. If you have a blender, it’s easy to whip up delicious, Fresh Apricot Piña Coladas in minutes. Serve each drink immediately because the ingredients will separate upon standing.

Fruits are not uniformly sweet, so you may have to adjust the recipe with more simple syrup, depending on the quality of your fruit. Use simple syrup Instead of sugar to sweeten because sugar will not dissolve readily in cold liquids.

To make simple syrup, just combine equal parts of sugar and water and boil gently for a minute or two until sugar is dissolved. Store any leftovers in a glass jar, refrigerated, up to a month. You can use simple syrup to sweeten iced tea, sangria, lemonade and other cold drinks.

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Baby, It’s Cold Outside…Time For Ice Cream?

By Katie Barreira

I know, I know, but I just can’t help myself. Every year, when that frosty nip hits the air (you Northeasterners know the brand of cold that makes your ears ache and your skin feel like it’s a size too small for your hands), I always get this crazy craving for ice cream. Apparently I’m not the only one, since supermarket ice cream sales are at their peak during the winter months.

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