Lemon Oregano Dressing

This dressing complements a salad next to Caribbean-Style Beans. At first it was intentionally tart (which gave Robert quite a shock as it looked like another salad dressing I make that isn’t!) so now I  balance it out with a little honey. Ingredients 1 very, very small clove garlic 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3 tablespoons olive oil […]

Asian-Slaw

Standing there with cabbage in hand, I was uncertain which kind of cole-slaw would complement the dish we were having – a main of spicy stir-fried rice with ginger and sesame. Somehow cole-slaw fixed with mayonnaise just didn’t cut it. After putting the question out into the open someone suggested peanuts. They remembered having a cabbage salad with […]

Orange, Olive Oil & Garlic Dressing

There’s a lovely restaurant in Groningen with a Southern Mediterranean kitchen called Moro. We were there recently nibbling on olives served marinated in what appeared to be simply olive oil, orange zest, and fresh garlic. As the flavours circulated my imagination I thought, ooh this might make a really nice salad dressing! The following week I gave […]

Sushi-style Salad with Cabbage, Apple & Celery

Cabbage is an amazing vegetable when it comes to pickling – and though this recipe is a real quick pickle, it leaves both your mouth and tummy with a lovely, fresh and long-lasting, after-glow feeling. The day I made this was the day I came face to face with a lonesome cabbage, a few sticks of celery […]

Summery Feta Cheese Salad Dressing

Oh, I love the colours of white creamy feta cheese marinated in olive oil, and laced with herbs and whole red pepper corns. Here is a salad dressing based on the same theme that we made one fine summers day. Ingredients 100 g (⅔ cup crumbled) feta cheese 175 ml (¾ cup) mild natural yogurt 3 tablespoons olive oil ½ […]

Black-Eyed Peas Salad with Tarragon

When the sun starts to shine warm and the blossoms begin to burst (finally! It’s been a long winter in these northern parts of the Netherlands.) salads start to take centre-stage rather than being shoved into the wintry shadows as an after-thought. This nutritious bean salad goes great with summery pasta dishes. Soy sauce and balsamic vinegar lend […]

Sweet & Sour Pineapple Dressing

During sesshin not so long ago, lunch was going to be Chinese-style and a complementary salad dressing just wasn’t coming to mind. Maybe because the times we’ve been in Japan and China, fresh green salads were noticeably absent from the menu and the raw vegetables that did make their appearance were either lightly blanched, used as garnish or simply served as pickles. So it was […]

Aromatic Carrot Salad

Carrots must be one of the most oft used vegetables in our kitchen. They seem to fuse with almost any dish – steamed, baked, braised, or fried; diced, slivered, sliced, or Julienned; Italian, Chinese, British, Dutch, or Japanese. And they also make wonderful salads. This is a particularly favoured one, with a nice Indian twist. In fact, the spices are […]