Yay! Summer is here ... Let's have A FRESH LOOK AT SALADS

The Art of salad making lies in the arrangement of colours and shapes. A carefully tossed or arranged salad can transform the simplest meals. Try these ideas (Paul Pitchford) for your summer solstice knock-out contribution!

Arranged Salads

• A tiny amount of colour (a grated carrot or beet) can dramatise a dish of whole leafy greens
• A simple garnish (olives or toasted seed) can add remarkable flavour
• Arranging simply-cut vegetables and fruit in rainbows of colour can add a dazzling touch to a meal
• Vegetables left whole add an interesting, wholesome flair to more complicated meals
• Cut vegetables or fruit in unusual ways and arrange them on odd-shaped dishes with contrasting colours.
Examples: Arrange a handful of slivered carrots, sprinkled with nuts, on an oak leaf. On a square white plate, arrange grated beets and garnish with one carrot flower and a mint leaf
• Let the large leaves form the base of the salad. Split the center so they will lie flat
• Arrange leaves so they form a circle or a fan
• Arrange smaller vegetables or fruit so they overlap each other until they reach the centre of the ring
• Cut vegetables slightly larger than the beans for a bean salad, so it will look more harmonious
• Raw shredded zucchini or yellow squash make a beautiful bed for cooked vegetables
• Use a melon baller or two spoons to form round and oval shapes. Make a beautiful multi coloured melon salad. Scoop out balls from cooked turnips, squash, zucchinis, potatoes, and yams.
• Form elegant ovals from purees and add to salads
• Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes from thinly sliced cucumbers, turnips, and bread.
• Have fun being creative

Tossed garden salad

Use one or more leafy greens in season. Chop or leave whole.
Add radish slices, grated onion, fresh corn kernels, cauliflower or broccoli flowers, and slivered roots.
First rub the inside of a wooden bowl with a clove of peeled crushed garlic.
If you use oil, first toss the vegetables lightly with it. Next add lemon juice, vinegar, and the herbs. They will cling well to the oiled vegetables.
If you use a dressing, pour it on the bottom of the salad bowl and toss lightly from the bottom just before serving. This will prevent sogginess.

Beetroot and Carrot Grate

(From Inspiring Organics)
Beetroot has cleansing properties and grated raw is good for getting rid of worms in the intestines or, better still, preventing their occurrence.
½ cup beetroot, finely grated
½ cup carrots, coarsely grated
1 teasp Brown rice vinegar
Splash vegetables with brown rice vinegar and serve.
(Also nice with apple cider vinegar, coconut, or raisins, instead of the brown rice vinegar.)

For the Campers and Trampers ... why not have salads while you are away from it all ... following on from the recent Piko newsletter on sprouts, here is a

Simple Sprout Salad

2 cups alfalfa sprouts 2 cups mung sprouts
1 cup sunflower sprouts.
Arrange an outside ring of alfalfa sprouts on a plate. Next make a ring of mung sprouts. Place sunflower sprouts in the center. Serve with you favourite salad dressing.

Dressing Up...

Basic Salad Dressing (Vinaigrette)

Mix 1-3 parts unrefined oil to 1 part vinegar or citrus juice.
Add seasonings and choice of herbs or spices until the flavours blend well.
Shake and let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Unrefined Oils Juice
Sesame Lemon
Olive Orange
Cold-pressed flax Grapefruit
Oleic Sunflower Dry Mustard
Oleic Safflower Honey
Almond Umeboshi Vinegar
Avocado
Seasonings Vinegar
Sea Salt Rice
Soy Sauce Umeboshi Vinegar
Miso Apple Cider
Lime
Tangerine
Herbs: Basil, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, marjoram, oregano, dill, sage, mint, ginger, chives, onion, garlic.
Spices: Anise, curry, chilli, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, cumin.

Creamy Salad Dressing

Add nut butters, raw or cooked vegetables, tofu, or cooked grain to Basic Salad Dressing and blend.

Avocado Dressing

1 avocado
Juice of ½ lemon
½ cup water or broth
½ teasp dill ¼ teasp sea salt

Combine ingredients and blend until smooth. Yield: 1 ½ cups

Variations:
Dry roast 2 tablespoons rice flour in a skillet until golden brown. Add 1 ½ cups water,  stirring rapidly to prevent lumping. Simmer about ½ a minute until a thick sauce develops.
Place sauce and all dressing ingredients (except the ½ cup water) in blender, blend to a creamy consistency. To extend the dressing even further, the rice flour and water of the sauce as well as the salt can be increased up to double. The avocado, lemon, and dill flavours continue to come through strongly.

Tofu Mayonnaise

1 cake tofu 1 cup water
2 tablesp umeboshi or brown rice vinegar
2 tablesp Lemon juice
½ teasp Sea salt
¼ teasp ground coriander
1 tablesp Sesame oil (optional)

Blend ingredients until creamy. Will keep refrigerated for several days. If the mixture separates, stir well before serving.

Soy Sauce - Lemon Dressing

1-2 tablesp Soy sauce
5-6 drops lemon juice

Mix together.
Toss with salad or use as marinade.
Serves 4.

Tahini-Lemon Sauce

For 6 servings felafel. You can also serve it with sautéed vegetables - especially eggplant.
Can slightly increase the ratio of yoghurt or buttermilk to tahini and use it as a hearty salad dressing. This only takes a few minutes to prepare.

1 ½ cup tahini
1 ½ cups yoghurt or buttermilk
1 medium clove crushed garlic
½ cup fresh-squeezed lemon
¼ cup finely minced scallions
¼ cup finely minced parsley
salt to taste dash or two cayenne
dash or two paprika
½ tsp ground cumin (more to taste)
dash or two tamari

Beat well, using a whisk, wooded spoon or even electric mixer. (The more you whip it, the thicker it becomes. Follow your own personal designs.)
Serve room temperature on hot felafel or vegetables. Serve chilled on salad.
Thanks to Moosewood Cookbook
This is a great sauce to take to a barbeque with a pottle of falafel and pita bread if you are a vegetarian and in a hurry. The meat eaters may be allowed the sauce on their salad if they don't make fun of your felafel patties.

Looking for ideas for Christmas Pressies?
Piko has Coromandel lavender soap; a range of lovely creams from Weleda; Tui massage creams; Tui lip balms for the stockings; Rosy Glow chocolates; Spicy Printen Biscuits; N.Z. prize winning Organic Olive Oil for your friends with taste; mixed nuts and organic mixed fruit; recipe books, gift vouchers ...and more.

New Products:
Rapunzel goods are back in stock = organic
almond butter and other nut butters, organic
vege bouillon and herb salts and lots of
organic chocolate.

Shop Talk:
We will be closed on Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th December and Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd January. Open normal hours otherwise.
Travel safely, enjoy your loved ones and take a rest! From us all at Piko, Kiaora.
This newsletter was compiled by Shelley with the help of...

References:
Clark,David. Inspiring Organics. Penguin Books, 1994.
Pitchford, Paul. Healing with Wholefoods- Oriental Traditions and Modern Nutrition. 1993 North Atlantic Books, California.