From Chef Oonagh Williams of



Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients:

Salad

• 1 ripe but firm mango, sliced and cut into ½” dice. (You can also add fresh pineapple, nectarines or peaches when available)
• 1 large tomato, cut into small dice
• The green of 4 green onions finely scissored or chives
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• ¾ -1 lb. cooked salad shrimp – rinsed and drained. Thaw if frozen, then rinse and drain well to avoid diluting the dressing (if packaged, make sure it’s gluten-free)
• 2 stalks of celery, washed, quartered lengthwise and cut into fine dice or a Gala apple, peeled, cored and diced (optional)

Dressing

• 2 tbsp hot pepper jelly placed in small microwave safe bowl and melted in microwave (It’s best when it contains jalapeno peppers. Make sure it’s gluten-free!)
• Grated zest/rind of one lime
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
• ½ tsp salt (or more or less to taste – shrimp can still retain salt)
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp gluten-free hot pepper mustard.
• ¼ c olive oil or other oil

Directions:

1. Mix all salad ingredients together.

2. Add dressing ingredients to melted pepper jelly.

3. Stir dressing onto salad and leave in the fridge for a few hours for flavors to mingle. Salad keeps in fridge for 2 days.

4. To serve, sprinkle plate or serving glass with finely shredded lettuce or salad miz and top with salad. Finish with whole shrimp.

Tips & Alternatives: I use hot pepper jelly in the dressing because it gives a mild tingle but isn’t so hot that you can’t appreciate the flavor. You can also add hot sauce, ground chipotles or chopped hot peppers to boost the heat factor.

For variety, add shredded carrots, chunks of avocado and, just before serving, diced cucumber. The more you add, the more dressing you will also need to add. I have also made this with leftover barbecued chicken. Black beans would also give you more protein and are a wonderful contrast of color to the pink shrimp, mango, and green herbs.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Makes 4 generous portions

Ingredients:

Salad:

• 1 ½ lbs. Yukon gold, fingerling or New potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch cubes.
• ½ lb. fresh green beans, trimmed (or same quantity of fresh asparagus)
• 4 eggs
• 1 raw red bell pepper, deseeded and cut into thin strips (julienned) or a small dice (brunoised).
• 1 lb. fresh salmon fillets (I was out of tuna)
• 4 fresh tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 1 head of Boston, Bibb or Romaine lettuce, washed and well-dried.
• anchovies and olives (optional)

Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar (you can also use regular balsamic vinegar – it just gives the dressing a dark color)
• 12 large basil leaves
• 2 cups of fresh parsley
• 4 green onions or chives – use just the green part (you can also use shallots or red onions)
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely crushed with salt (optional)
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp maple syrup or sugar (add according to taste)
• Salt and pepper

Put vinaigrette ingredients in 4 cup jug and use an immersion blender to chop the herbs and make the vinaigrette thick and creamy. You can also chop the herbs by hand and then whisk together with the oil and vinegar. This can also be made without herbs if you don’t have them available.

Directions:

1. Put potatoes and eggs in pan, cover with water, add salt and cook until just tender.

2. Take eggs out after about 6 minutes of cooking. Immediately plunge eggs into very cold water, which will help prevent the black ring from forming around the yolk. Peel the eggs and cut into quarters just before serving.

3. Drain cooked potatoes, and pour about ¼ cup vinaigrette over potatoes while warm and leave to cool down before refrigerating.

4. Put fresh salmon in small skillet, cover with water and slowly bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat down to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and leave to cool down in the water. Drain and refrigerate before use.

5. Cook green beans/asparagus until degree of tenderness you prefer. Drain and immediately plunge into very cold water to stop them cooking and retain bright green color.

6. To finish: Traditionally, the ingredients are arranged on a platter in segments, not mixed together. So, take a platter and cover the base with lettuce drizzled with vinaigrette. Then arrange potatoes, green beans, olives, hard boiled eggs, red peppers, tomatoes, anchovies and salmon like the segments of a wheel around the platter. Drizzle with more vinaigrette and serve.

Tips & Alternatives: I like making this with tuna canned in oil, and using that drained oil as the oil in the dressing. Simply drain the oil into a measuring cup, then use bottled olive oil to top it off to ½ cup.

To add more flavor to the fish, add wine, lemon rind, and parsley to the water before cooking. You can also grill the fish, potatoes and vegetables to avoid heating up the kitchen.

This is a great meal to plan in advance after a day at the beach or when friends or family are expected. If you cook the potatoes, green beans, fish and eggs in advance and make the vinaigrette, then the meal can be on the table within about 10 minutes of walking in the door.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

As many of you know, I constantly shop at Costco. One summer, on separate occasions, they had two versions of this salad. The ‘bought in’ salad was made with canned chicken breast and then Costco made their own version using leftover bbq’d chicken. One was called Cape Cod Chicken salad and the other had to be renamed to New England Chicken Salad. I read the label (as I often do both for nutrition and recipe ideas) of the ‘bought in’ salad, and it included craisins, pecans and honey with mayo. I went back to my chicken Waldorf salad and took that as the base for this salad.

Using canned chicken, it can easily be used as a sandwich filling, cracker spread, or to fill mini pastry tarts. Using fresh chicken in larger pieces, it is good as a meal-time salad or for a picnic/party etc. Making this yourself you can add as many craisins, pecans, etc., as you like and also keep them in larger recognizable pieces, rather than almost mush.

This is the proportion of ingredients we like in my home, so play with them to your taste.

Ingredients

• 12 oz. can of chicken, drained, or 12 oz. cooked chicken shredded as finely as you want
  • 12 oz. of cooked chicken is roughly 2 breasts from a ready-roasted chicken—remember to make sure store-bought chicken is gluten-free as added sauces and injected solutions can contain gluten.
• 1 cup Greek vanilla yogurt
• 1-2 Tablespoons orange juice concentrate
  • Start with 1 Tbsp., make the salad, then taste and add more if you want. You can use zest of 1 orange instead.
• 1/3 cup plain craisins
• 1/3 cup pecans
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 Tbsp. leaves from the fresh celery (optional if kids won’t eat green stuff, or you didn’t use celery)
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (optional if kids won’t eat green stuff)
• 2 Tbsp. green of green onions or chives (optional if kids won’t eat green stuff)
• 2-3 tsp. maple syrup (or honey) or to taste
• 1 tsp. honey mustard
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Toast pecans by baking at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
2. Chop vegetables; celery can be cut into 4 lengthwise and then diced into ¼ to ½ inch cubes.
3. Chop pecans.
4. Mix everything together.
5. Refrigerate for about an hour for flavors to mingle.
6. Taste and adjust seasoning to your taste.
7. Serve cold in bowls, lettuce wraps, or on sandwich bread.

Tips and Alternatives

• Instead of pecans, use peanuts, smoked almonds or cashews, etc.
• Instead of celery, try shredded carrots, chopped raw broccoli, or chopped Gala apples.
• Instead of craisins, add some curry powder/paste and pineapple.
• Spread on wraps and top with lettuce, roll up.
• Spread on gluten-free crackers or crostini and serve for shower or tea party.
• Spread into cucumber or celery boats.
• Serve as appetizer on top of half an avocado, hollow out orange or grapefruit half and use as serving container for individual portion on top of mixed salad.
• Serve in hollowed-out melon for large party. Cut edges with v-shaped cutter or knife.
• Make an Asian version with gluten-free soy sauce, honey, water chestnuts, drizzle of sesame oil, Thai basil.
• Make a Mexican version with cilantro, hot spice, bell peppers.
• Make an Italian with basil, artichokes, olives, bell peppers.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

As many of you know, I constantly shop in Costco. One summer on separate occasions they had two versions of this salad. The ‘bought in’ salad was made with canned chicken breast and then Costco made their own version using left over barbecued chicken. One was called Cape Cod Chicken Salad and the other had to be renamed to New England Chicken Salad or vice versa. I read the label (as I often do both for nutrition and recipe ideas) of the ‘bought in’ salad and it included Craisins, pecans and honey with mayonnaise. I went back to my Chicken Waldorf Salad and took that as the base for this salad. Using canned chicken, it can also be used as a sandwich filling or cracker spread. It is good as a meal time salad or for a picnic/party if you use fresh chicken cut in larger pieces. By making this yourself, you can add as many Craisins, pecans, etc. as you like. Keep the Craisins, pecans etc. in larger recognizable pieces, rather than almost “mush.” This way, you are not adding all the preservatives and chemicals present in store-bought versions of this salad.

Many of this style of salad uses 100% mayonnaise. We find we are quite happy with 100% yogurt (over measuring one day and we liked it) or 75% yogurt and 25% mayo. Far less fat, calories and it gives it a creamier, lighter flavor. 1 Tbsp. of light mayo has 35 calories and 1 Tbsp. of low-fat vanilla Greek Yogurt.

This is the proportion of ingredients we like, but play with them to your taste.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. can chicken, drained or 12 oz. cooked chicken shredded as finely as you want or need it. (This is roughly 2 breasts from a Supermarket ready roasted chicken. Remember to check store-bought chicken to ensure it is gluten-free, as injected solutions can contain gluten).
• 1 cup low fat Greek vanilla yogurt or whole, plain organic yogurt.
• 1-2 Tbsp. orange juice concentrate (Start with one Tbsp., make salad, then taste and add more if you want. Or use zest of orange instead. I decant a good frozen orange juice concentrate into a sandwich bag and freeze it flat (it is spoon-able when frozen.)
• 1/3 cup plain Craisins
• 1/3 chopped, toasted pecans. (Toast at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.) You can cheat and chop peanuts, smoked almonds, cashews, etc. instead.
• 2 stalks of celery, washed, cut into 4 lengthwise and cut into ¼ to ½ inch dices.
• 1 Gala/Fuji/Braeburn apple, washed, not peeled and cut into small dices. Apples don’t discolor and stay crisp in yogurt mix.
• 2-3 tsp. maple syrup (or honey) or to taste
• 1 tsp. gluten-free honey mustard
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (optional if kids won’t eat green stuff)
• 2 Tbsp. green of green onions or chives (optional if kids won’t eat green stuff)
• 1 Tbsp. leaves from the fresh celery (optional if kids won’t eat green stuff, or you didn’t use celery)
• Some freshly ground pepper. I don’t find I need to add salt – your decision.

Directions:

1. Mix everything together, refrigerate for about an hour for flavors to mingle, taste and adjust seasoning, maple syrup, more herbs etc. to your taste.

Other ideas:

• Serve as an appetizer on top of an avocado half
• Hollow out orange or grapefruit half and use as serving container for individual portions on top of mixed salad. Cut edges with v-shaped cutter or knife
• Serve in hollowed out melon for large party
• Spread a canned version into cucumber or celery boats
• Spread on wraps and top with lettuce, roll up
• Spread on crackers or crostini and serve for shower or tea party
• Add some curry powder/paste and pineapple instead of Craisins
• Gluten-free soy sauce, honey, water chestnuts, drizzle of sesame oil, Thai basil
• Mexican with cilantro, hot spice, bell peppers.
• Italian with basil, artichokes, olives, bell peppers.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Quinoa and Fruit Salad

With fresh fruits coming into season, now is the time to enjoy a savory salad with some fruit. This is great as a side dish with any grilled meat or fish. You can even prepare the quinoa with dressing the day before, but be sure to only add the fruit a short while before serving.

Ingredients

• ½ cup raw quinoa
• 1 cup water or chicken or vegetable stock
• 6 large strawberries, rinsed and sliced
• 2 slices of fresh pineapple, cut into small pieces
• 1 Gala, Fuji or Braeburn apple, rinsed and cut into small pieces. No need to peel.
  • If you’re not a fan of apples, substitute nectarines, grapes, or celery instead for crunch
• 1 batch of poppy seed dressing (see recipe below)

Instructions

1. Put raw quinoa and cold water/stock in small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, turn down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
2. After 10 minutes, turn heat off but leave pan sitting on hot burner for 5 minutes. After these 5 minutes, remove lid and allow quinoa to cool.
3. Stir about half of the dressing into quinoa.
4. Let cool.
5. Once cold, add fruit to quinoa.
6. Add more dressing to taste and serve!

Poppy Seed Dressing

This also goes well over mixed greens with strawberries, goat cheese or feta cheese, and some nuts.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds (if you’d prefer to skip the sesame seeds, double the amount of poppy seeds.)
• ½ Tablespoon poppy seeds
• ¾ teaspoon minced onion
• 1/8 teaspoon gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 2 Tablespoon cider vinegar
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Blend all the ingredients together.

From Anne Lee, MSEd, RD, LD, Director of Nutritional Services, Dr. Schar USA

Serves 4 as a side dish.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup quinoa
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice, or more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons minced scallions
• 1-½ cups cooked black beans (15 oz can, drained)
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 cup diced bell peppers (red, green, yellow, or a mixture)
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh green chilies
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• Lemon or lime wedges

Directions:

1. Rinse the quinoa well in a sieve under cool running water.

2. In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil; add the quinoa, cover, and simmer on low heat, until all of the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, combine the oil, lime juice, cumin, coriander, cilantro, and scallions. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, and chilies.

4. Add the cooled quinoa, and salt and pepper to taste, and combine thoroughly.

5. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with lemon or lime wedges.

From Oonagh Williams of



Royal Temptations Catering

My friend Allyson gave me the original recipe, which used fresh jalapeño peppers and raw bell peppers. I don’t like the bite of raw hot peppers, so I prefer to use my own Mexican salad dressing based on hot pepper jelly, as it has a richer, more rounded flavor. I’ve also added celery or crisp apple for more crunch. Carrots, chunks of avocado, diced cucumber and halved grape tomatoes are also fine additions. The more you add, the more dressing you will also need to add. I have also made this with leftover barbecued chicken or grilled steak. Black beans are used for a wonderful contrast of color with the pink shrimp, mango and green herbs, as well as being an additional protein. Feel free to use cannellini beans or chickpeas if you prefer the taste.

For a video clip of this recipe: http://www.wmur.com/video/23844740/detail.html

Ingredients:

Salad

• 1 15 oz. can of black beans, thoroughly rinsed and drained
• 1 ripe but firm mango, peeled and diced. You can also use fresh pineapple, nectarines or peaches. Seedless watermelon works well since it both produces juice and soaks up flavor of dressing.
• The green part of 4 green onions, finely scissored
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)
• ¾ -1 lb. cooked shrimp, rinsed and drained
• 2 stalks of celery, washed, quartered lengthwise and cut into fine dice (optional)
• Cashews or peanuts to garnish – optional

Dressing

• 2 tbsp hot pepper jelly, warmed in the microwave (To boost the heat factor, add gluten-free hot sauce, ground chipotles or chopped hot peppers)
• Grated zest/rind of half a lime
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice (about half a lime)
• ½ tsp salt (or more or less to taste – shrimp can retain salt, and so can beans, so tread carefully)
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp. mustard
• 1/3 cup olive oil or other oil
• Pinch of garlic powder, or add crushed raw garlic if you like the taste

Directions:

1. Mix all salad ingredients together.

2. Add dressing ingredients to melted pepper jelly and stir well until dressing looks thicker and is well-mixed. It takes some stirring to get oil and other ingredients to blend together. You will see it happen, rather than oil just sitting there.

3. Stir dressing onto salad and leave in fridge for a few hours for flavors to mingle. The salad will keep in a fridge for 2 days. Serve over romaine or other green leaves, with gluten-free bread or warm gluten-free tortillas.