colorful salads

 

Crunchy julienned carrots, cool seedless English cucumbers and thinly sliced spicy red radishes were tossed together with corn kernels to make this colorful well-balanced Asian-inspired side salad. The sweet yellow corn kernels were from the batch of fresh corn that I cooked the previous day. 

Springtime corn on the cob is something I always look forward to. Aside from it's peak season freshness and intense flavor, at 20 cents a piece, the price is unbeatable too :-) I think a simple vinaigrette was all it needed. Just combine seasoned rice vinegar, lime or lemon juice, some warm water, a little sugar, pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Pour the dressing just before serving time or toss it in with the salad and refrigerate for about an hour to allow the flavors to blend together. 

Honey roasted sliced almonds and dried cranberries provided the right balance to the tangy orange dressing used in this spinach salad (shown above). The zest of an orange and freshly squeezed orange juice were combined with dijon mustard, olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Parmesan cheese was shaved right on top just before serving. I like the sweet, tart and salty flavors of this salad.

This wasn't really intended to be a salad but with my husband's excellent plating skills and striking colorful presentation, I think he may just have elevated this simple meal of Thai fish cakes and colorful vegetables to another level. It also gave me the idea to create more Thai-inspired salads like this one.