Anything is Salad

 The temps are rising and that means one thing - salad. Lot's of it. The one good thing about it is you don;t need a recipe.Anything can be thrown into a bowl and dressed for a tasty lunch and dinner.

salads can be made at any time of the day -even for breakfast.It's just a matter of taste if you want it thoroughly or slightly chilled.The same goes for what you want in it. There are a number of greens that work well with any veggie combination.Iceberg is good for basic salads but if you want more taste then try arugula, mixed Spring greens or spinach. These work well with  heartier salads that include proteins and other veggies. Next is thinking about what combos you have.A salad containing two kinds of tomatoes like Caprese and cherry is a fun mix. Broccoli is also a great and healthy ingredient as is cauliflower. For colors carrots add brightness and crunch. What else can you put into it? Leftover meats are great.If there's steak left over from the barbecue, cut it into bite size pieces and add it in. The same goes for chicken and even tuna. This makes for a surprisingly hearty but light summer dinner. what about dressings? For steak think a robus dressing like soy and ginger. while chicken ca used a honey based vinaigrette Fish such as Tina and shrimp can go with a simple red wine or white wine based vinaigrette.

Along with meat, cheese is another fun toss in.Feta is always great especially with Greek based salads.It has a sharp saltiness that elevates the other ingredients, It can be crumbled in small pieces or left in big chunks. A true Greek salad is made with it along with chopped onions, black olives  and red onions. Add some  anchovies which brings a  briny saltiness>If you like them toss in as much as you want.Mozzarella also makes for a great add or eve a base for a salad.Caprese salad is a wonderful mix of this Italian staple and tomatoes. You can make it with a balsamic vinegar base or just an oil based dressing.I would go with an oil based one because the tomatoes have a good amount of acidity to them. If you want to make ti heartier then add strips of prosciutto or salame to it.  A summer favorite is panzinella - Tuscan bread salad. This is a delicious mix of tomatoes and chunks of fried or air fried Italian bread. It;s actually very good with freshly torn Italian bread or rolls. You could add mozzarella balls or pieces for a kind of pizza. A Middle Eastern salad is another great way to go. Add couscous to chopped parsley along with cucumbers to a bowl of cut tomatoes.Lemon juice gives it  bright flavor but only use a squeeze of it. Serve with toasted pita bread triangles for a more exotic lunch or. dinner.

Anything can be a salad. Get creative with this classic summer dish.Its fun to eat but even more fun to create.

Veggies To The Rescue

 To say veggies are a handy ingredient is the understatement of the year. The are so useful to add to any dish of pasta, rice or polenta. Slice a few tomatoes or shred some  spinach and add them to anything and you have a great  tasty meal.

Greens in the fridge are a must. Spinach and mushrooms are my favorite go to for sauce. I made this yeasterday with half a container of baby spiinach and a pint container  baby bella mushrooms.its's just a quick saute in olive oil and butter along with a quick seasoning of  freshly groundpepper and salt.

I boiled Lidl's Co bino rotelliad ten added the sauce. It was one of the best sauces. Keep in mind that spinach can be used a salad the next day.add some feta, anchovies and dressing and you have a simple Greek salad for lunch.Baby Bella's can be used for veggie kebabs during this barbecue season.I also like them batter dipped and the air fried too for a fun dinner.

I can;t stress the important of having any produce in the kitchen. Tomatoes on their own make a good snack. Slices and salt them . serve them crushed and drizzled with olive oil. I had some leftover pasta but no sauce. I cut up a few caprese tomatoes microwaved them with the pasta after adding a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of oregano. 

It was kind of like a salsa cruda where the tomatoes are cut up and left to marinate in olive oil at room temperature.Tomatoes also great added to a few eggs along with garlic to create the favorite Piedmontese dish uovi e pomedori. I also have one or two kinds around for all sorts of cooking and snacking.

Having veggies that you can just add to any dish is a must. It could be tomatoes .It could be spinach or mushrooms. It could be anything else. These make for quick ingredients fro creating a delicious thrown together meal.

YOur Summer Go To Tari Sauce

 Barbecues can be boring. we use the same sauces seasons after season. There has to be an exciting alternative to barbecue sauce. There is! Tari sauces has some yummy Peruvian sauces that can make any cookout sing.

Tari is my go to condiment for hot dogs. I gave a slather  t my veggie dog tonight

I used the mild to accent the hot dogs' mild flavor.It worked well with the sweetness of the potato bun too. Yet there are so many Tari sauces I can use for a ton of different  dishes/

These are the ones that came out in 2024.The Amarillo or yellow pepper is my favorite, especially on hot dogs or even sausages.I also like the rocoto pepper one too. This could be added to a dressing for a kicky flavor.

Three new flavors came out this year in2025

There's Tropical Kick ,a sweet mango flavored sauce that's perfect for chicken and shrimp kebabs. This would also make a good dipping sauce for tenders and nuggets too. The zesty verde is a spicy take on salsa verde which is great for chicken, salmon and salads. smoky and spicy would be good slathered on ribs or steaks.

Tari sauces can give summer barbecues that much needed kick. Try them with anything ,from hot dogs and hamburgers to kebabs and steaks. They add a much need jolt of taste to the summer season.

Party Tips And Tricks

 We're in the height of party season.There's graduation parties, showers and of course the upcoming Father's Day. Here's the question of the week - what 's the best party tip or trick you have to make a more memorable, more delicious gathering? Is it marinating meats and veggies over night? Individual ice buckets so everyone has a cool, drink to sip on? A must have charcuterie board?

Let us know what makes your get together's tasty. My tip would be to listen to guest requests.I make whatever they want and take it from thereThe result is a happy eater who isn't fussy and pushing food around their plate.

The Whole Tip No Tip Law

 The president does have a soft spot for restaurant servers. He wants to give our waitstaff across the country a break. What does this mean for the diners - us and the people who take out orders and bring us our food.

Regular contributor Julia Moskin explored this in yesterday's New York Times Food section president Trump may feel that he's doing people who work overtime as well as serving in eateries a break but maybe not. Many US  employed waitstaff make below the federal wage anyway so they're not taxed.This works out for only those making a decent wage of above 33,000 annually (this dips lower for single people). The tax exemption also reaches to baristas,bartenders food delivery people and anyone holding out a payment screen after selling food. There are roughly around two million tipped workers in the United States. These people will definitely have more money in their pockets and won;t have to pay anything unless a workers makes over $160,00 a year. This may go up over time. It's hard to say.. Will this affect the tip minimum wage? The federal minimum wage stays at a shockingly low $7.25 an hour (Many cities and states have higher ones). Employers have been allowed to pay their workers just $2.13 of that They can pay the lower wage only when the worker's tips bring it up to the minimum wage. Then these  ARE subject to income tax.

Many diners wonder how much of their tip goes directly to their server.That depends on the workplace and local laws. Some restaurants allow servers to keep all of their tips , while others make waitstaff put tips in a tip pool. This mean sharing with bussers, bartenders and other staff members.The bill will not change this or who gets tips.Another question I s does tipping in cash make a difference.. No.It only reduces a restaurant's credit card processing fees.It doesn't;t leave a paper trail either for employer or employee to track  which can increase the risk of tax fraud.some waiters dont; report cash tips which is a kind of tax evasion however the scale of the problem has never been determined. This is changing as more and more diners use credits cards to pay.what about kitchen works like chefs, cooks and cleaners?  What's known as back of the house employees cannot receive any tips unless they participate in a tip pool.There are federal regulations guarding tip pools and vary from state to state.Tips will also be a part of payroll, contributing to the worker's Medicare social Security or FicA and unemployment. Employers must pay taxes on this programs based on employees and wages and this includes tips.

These are just some fo the ways that the the no tip tax will impact the restaurant industry. WIll it help the workers. The answer should be yes.

Twenty-five Years of Restaurants and Reviews

 Since its' founding New York had always been a place to get good grub .The city is known for its' phenomenal dining thanks to the New York Times restaurant reviews. The review section is celebrating twenty-five years of trends and tastes.

This was what the New York Times Wednesday Food section covered and devoted a good amount of the section to it. has NYC dining changed in quarter of a century? Sort of.  As always it's the birthplace and hot bed  of trends.  it was the city that birthed the cronut  - the croissant doughnut hybrid now eaten all over the world.it The chef Daniel Boulud set the standard when he created the very expensive and very much copied  Russian nesting doll of a hamburger made from ground sirloin wrapped around short rib then foie gras then truffles.Thanks to the mayor of the time Mike Bloomberg banned cooking with  transfats in 2007 .long before any other city did.Manhattan is also a hub for trendy vegetarian and vegan restaurants. Dirt Candy provided diners with healthy meat free eating as did eleven Madison Park. Diners were treated not to a fancy dish of duck but beets dressed like it.On the more decadent side Milk Bar remade ice cream to taste like the leftover cereal milk from New Yorker's childhoods

Twenty-five years does involve history and quite a lot of it.There was 9/11 2001. even though most of the restaurants tweren't hit directly , they worked 24-7 to provide hot comfort foods and support. There was one amazing restaurant that was lost in the attacks - windows On The world. it was the place to go to for special dates and anniversaries. It was renown for its' amazing food too. Another loss was that the restaurant scene around the Battery. The map of New York restaurants changed for good. Two years later the Midtown French giants, Lutece, La Caravelle and La Cote Basque closed for good. These represented the lush and decadent meals of the Seventies and Eighties.. New York's dining scene was not immune to the Me too movement that happened after Harvey Weinstein was outed as a molester. The famed So Ho  restaurant .The Spotted Pig also had its' share of misogyny. despite its famed Roquefort burger that drew celebs and civilians alike, it was also known for its' abuse and mistreatment of workers ,especially the female ones.Happily pizza rat with her determined drag  made New Yorkers and the world happy. It was so cute seeing this You Tube cutie drag a spice for pizza through the New York subway steps.

Twenty-five years of food  and history. The New York Times has covered it all. what a tasty way to cover the last quarter century!

Summer Food To Go

 Summer is the time to head to the beach, lake or park. What goes with those trips? Quick and tasty dishes and desserts. it doesn;t have to be fast food.It does have to be food that is a fast make though.

The Sunday new York Times added this section .It's a great mini recipe book that covers everything from salads to sweets. Another plus is that any of these are also perfect for a barbecue too. This si a keeper that can well take home chefs into tailgate season this fall.Yes there are snacks. what picnic doesn;t have them? The must try isa dill pickle tzatzki.Its the classic Greek dip married to the current dill pickle craze. There's also a caprese antipasto and watermelon chaat to name a few.every picnic needs a salad of some kind and this NYT section delivers.Of course there's macaroni and potato, The first veers off from th usual mayonnaise glopped kind. This has greens, from pickles to freshly chopped parsley and capers.Dijon mustard and lemon juice give it zing and color while a teaspoon of granulated sugar gives counteracts the vinegar Is the potato salad traditional? Yes save for the bite of lemon added. For something. different make the spicy cucumber, heated up with Fresno and Thai chilis. Instead of the usual three bean ,try a blakceyed pea one or a tomato and farro one.

There is a mouth watering hero, seen here on the cover.

It's a salute to Italian cold cuts >Try it for mortadella or prosciutto for Avery flavorful hero. There are also pickled in red wine vinegar onions along with any kind of pepper for bite. Iceberg lettuce and olive oil are added to the onions. You could add mayo or mustard but that may be a bit too much.There's also tomato and pimento cheese sandwiches for a Southern twist. Other may prefer grilled harissa shrimp on skewers or veggie kebabs.There's also salmon onigiri, a form of sushi with rice and nori or black seasweed. and chicken skewers  loaded with cumin and ginger and then butter basted.for something different.Yes there are sweets to end this fun meal. There are strawberry jam bars that can also be made with any red fruit jam like current or raspberry.Rice Krispie treats get elevated with the add of butter fried black sesame seeds and sesame oil. Blondies are a fun addition to any picnic basket and these get amped up with cardamon and white chcocolate chips. They're frosted with an untypical cream cheese frosting. saffron makes it more interesting while a scattering of chopped pistacchios give them a nice nuttiness.

It's picnic weather1! make these dishes for a fun day out. They 're tasty , delicious and different!