Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad

Recipe from Everyday Food Magazine and Husband-Tested in Alice's Kitchen
Serves 4

This one-bowl Asian meal made my husband's tummy "purr." He loved it! The secret's in the sauce, made from fragrant kitchen standbys. I loved the different textures with crisp carrots and cucumber, tender noodles, and crunchy peanuts. The basil and mint added great flavor and the dish was quite lovely. This recipe is definitely company worthy! All of the ingredients can be found at Lost River Market & Deli.


Spicy Asian Dressing (See easy make-ahead recipe below)
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced crosswise
Coarse salt
3 1/2 ounces Chinese rice noodles, broken in half if long
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
2 carrots, sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 cup fresh basil, torn
Bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, fresh mint leaves, red-pepper flakes, and sliced scallion greens, for garnish (optional)

Spicy Asian Dressing: 4 thinly sliced scallion whites; 2 minced garlic cloves; 1/2 cup soy sauce; 1/2 cup rice vinegar; 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar; 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice; 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste (or 1 minced canned anchovy); 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients.

Place chicken and half of dressing in a resealable plastic bag (reserve remaining dressing). Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes (or refrigerate up to overnight).
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until tender. Drain, and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Transfer to a platter.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Working in batches, cook chicken (do not crowd skillet) until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to platter on top of noodles.
Top with carrots, cucumber, and basil. Drizzle with reserved dressing, and sprinkle with garnishes, if desired.

Carol’s Curried Cucumbers

Recipe from the kitchen of Carol Anderson 
Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
Serves 6

My dear friend, Janabai, hosted a ladies tea party to celebrate my recent birthday. My mother and many of my best buddies came. Everyone contributed to the tea party and everything was just lovely!! We all especially liked this salad that Carol brought. I could’ve eaten the whole dish all by myself, but, alas, that would have been impolite to do so at a tea party! All of the ingredients can be found at Lost River Market & Deli.

Salad:2 lbs. cucumbers, seeded and cut into half moons
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
Several sliced green onions (scallions)
1 small jalapeno, minced (optional)

Dressing:
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
¼ cup oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon or more curry powder (Carol used a sweet curry - also good with hot curry powder)
Add chopped peanuts before serving.

Salad with Beets, Goat-Cheese and Orange Shallot Dressing

Recipe from Martha Stewart FOOD EVERYDAY

Adapted and Husband-Tested in Alice's Kitchen

This is just the tastiest and prettiest salad and one I make on a regular basis. It's a cinch to make plus most of the ingredients can be found in the fridge or your pantry so it can made anytime you're in the mood for something delicious. The sweetness of the orange juice and beets balances perfectly with the red wine vinegar and goat cheese. Toasting the walnuts gives a nice crunch to the salad. All of the ingredients can be found at Lost River Market & Deli.

1 large shallot*, minced (See below for information about shallots.)

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 can (15 oz.) sliced beets, drained (not pickled)

1/2 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped

6 oz. soft goat cheese, room temperature (feta cheese is a good substitute)

6-8 cups spring salad greens

In a small bowl, whisk together the shallot, vinegar, orange juice and oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place beets in a small bowl and pour just a bit of the dressing over the beets; toss to coat. (Salad dressing and beets can be made ahead to this point.)

Place green in a large bowl. Drizzle greens with remaining dressing, and toss. Top with the beets. Sprinkle salad with toasted walnuts and goat cheese. (or check out the "fancy" version written below using the same ingredients for when you have company.)

"Fancy" Version:

Place walnuts in a shallow dish. With your hands, form goat cheese into 12 equal balls. Roll balls in walnuts, turn to coat completely, then flatten into disks.

Place green in a large bowl. Drizzle greens with remaining dressing, and toss. Divide among plates, and top each serving with some of the sliced beets and the goat cheese disks.

Shallot [SHAL-uht, shuh-LOT] Shallots are formed more like garlic than onions, with a head composed of multiple cloves, each covered with a thin, papery skin. The skin color can vary from pale brown to pale gray to rose, and the off-white flesh is usually barely tinged with green or purple. Fresh green shallots are available in the spring, but as with garlic and onions, dry shallots (i.e., with dry skins and moist flesh) are available year-round. Choose dry-skinned shallots that are plump and firm; there should be no sign of wrinkling or sprouting. Refrigerate fresh shallots for up to a week. Store dry shallots in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place for up to a month. Shallots are favored for their mild onion flavor and can be used in the same manner as onions.

Curried Millet, Shiitake, and Corn Salad

Recipe from Gourmet Magazine January 1996 and Tested in Alice's Kitchen

Serves 4 to 6


Jim and I had never eaten millet before. After several customers at Lost River Market & Deli asked us what to do with it, I decided I'd better do some homework. Millet is a small round golden whole grain that has a high vitamin and mineral content. Although millet is unfamiliar to most people in this country, it is a staple throughout Africa, India, and Asia. I found tons of information about the benefits of eating millet on the internet and there are many recipes as well to be found. For the recipe below, I used corn that I had bought (and then froze) from Steve Hays last summer at the Orange County HomeGrown Farmers Market. If you don't have corn in your freezer, you can buy it, of course, at Lost River Market & Deli. Some time in the past few years, Jim developed an allergy to shiitake mushrooms. He eats just one and gets a rash all over his body! So, for this recipe, I substituted the baby bella mushrooms from the produce department.
Right now millet is only 99¢ a lb. and can be found in the bulk section at Lost River Market & Deli.

4 tablespoons vegetables oil

1 cup millet

2 cups water

1/2 onion, chopped fine

1/4 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 cups fresh corn (cut from about 4 ears), or frozen, thawed

1/2 teaspoon curry powder (I used hot curry powder.)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice-wine vinegar

1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves, washed well, spun dry, and chopped fine



In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderately high heat and cook millet, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes, or until it makes popping sounds and begins to turn golden. Remove skillet from heat.
In a small saucepan bring water to a boil and stir in millet. Cook millet, covered, over low heat 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Transfer millet to a large bowl and fluff with a fork.
In cleaned skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté onion, stirring, until softened. Add shiitake and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add corn and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Still in curry powder, soy sauce, vinegar, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste and add to millet.