California Waldorf Salad

I'm a little tired and a little hungry, but I really want to tell you about the wonderful salad I made yesterday. It's the California Waldorf Salad, one of the four variations in the New Moosewood Cookbook. The dressing was a combination of yogurt, avocado, lemon zest, lemon juice, and a drizzle of honey. The dressing was blended up and poured over the salad components: tart apples, sections of orange, minced celery, and golden raisins. The top was carefully decorated with slices of mango.

I miss California. This salad didn't exactly take me there, though it was delicious ... even better the next day, in fact! Hopefully I can go back to California soon.  In the meantime I am going to make this pasta salad and sleep!

Other variations of Waldorf I have made:
Waldorf Deluxe
Fruit &Vegetable Waldorf Salad

Only one more to complete the set!

Nachos Sauce, Mango Salsa, and Guacamole

Three fresh and tasty dips... Nachos Sauce, Mango Salsa, and Guacamole! I made these dips in advance so that the salsa and guacamole had enough time to chill. They paired exceptionally well with tortilla chips... though I might argue that anything tastes divine with a tortilla (cinnamon, pesto, peanut butter... I could go on and on!)

Nachos Sauce was a blend of peppers and onion, cooked slowly over low heat. A room temperature can of beer was added and then lots of grated, mild, white cheese. The sauce has an obvious, but not overpowering, beer flavor with lots of cheesy goodness!

Mango Salsa was by far my favorite of the three dips! Fresh, ripe mango slices, softened red onion, cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice, and some salt! It's like diving into the crisp, bright blue waters of Lake Chelan... refreshing and blissful!

Guacamole was a little too over spiced for me. I added the optional cumin and chili powder to the avocado, lime juice, garlic, and salt, but it was simply too spicy. It took away from the smooth, cooling flavor of avocado and just tasted like mushy chili. Not a winner, but worth trying again with less optional additons.

Caribbean Dream Pie

The weather in Seattle today has been dreary; lots of rainy and strong winds and gloomy skies. A perfect day to transport yourself to a warm, tropical place with Caribbean Dream Pie.

I started by making a crust with graham crackers, pecans, coconut flakes, and butter. Then I assembled the pie filling by slicing mango and bananas. Then I combined sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and lime rind, and whisked this until it was thick. After the crust baked in the oven and cooled, I layered the fruit and poured the lime mixture on top. There was a little extra crumb crust, so this was sprinkled over the whole thing.


After letting the pie chill for about an hour, it was time to give it a taste. All in all, the pie was a little too sweet for me. I loved the lime flavor though!