white bean summer salad

• 2 cans cannellini beans
• secret sauce
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• roasted asparagus, sliced into bite sized pieces
• malt vinegar

Combine all ingredients, adding vinegar and sauce to taste. Stir well to mix and serve chilled.

The dish: This dish was purely the result of using up stuff I had on hand. When I made the secret sauce it took a little adding and seasoning to get it just right, and before I knew it we had about 2 cups of the stuff, so I had to find some uses for it other than a sandwich condiment. It worked well on top of a couple of cans of beans and some leftover veggies I had, but I could have used whatever was in the fridge and I think it would have turned out just fine. Kim and I have a theory with recipes: if you like everything going into the dish, then you'll most likely enjoy the finished product. This theory works especially well in the red room where Kim and I love just about any ingredient you can think of, so as a result we wind up liking most dishes.

basic coleslaw

• 1 bag shredded coleslaw mix
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar (or more if you're not already sweet enough)
• poppy seeds (optional)

Combine the mayonnaise, lime juice, vinegar and sugar together. Pour over the cabbage mix and add poppy seeds. Toss to coat. Let mixture sit at least one hour prior to serving. When made, the mix should look a little on the dry side as it will moisten as it sits.

The dish: I'm not even that old, comfortably in the second half of Gen X, and I went to public schools, and yet I still took Latin. Six years of it. Being a dead language and all, it has limited usefulness when trying to order a drink on a different continent, but it's great for finding word derivatives. Take for example coleslaw; I can tell you that the Latin word for cabbage is colis. I think the term slaw was invented by lazy southerners who never received the memo about annunciation, but I'm certain where the first half of the word came from (I can also tell you where plumbers got their name from, but that's a different story). Latin actually turned out to be one of my favorite classes in high school, thanks to the fact that there was a small group of us taking it and we all got along pretty well and Mrs. N (anonymous to protect the innocent, et cetera- damn, more Latin!) kept class amazingly relevant and fun. So go ahead and carpe diem and try e pluibus unum the recipes from this blog. Ilia acta est on your dinner plans for tonight, just make sure to ubi sub ubi.

carrot and endive tossed salad in balsamic vinaigrette

• fresh leaf lettuce, cut into bite sized pieces
• plain or mixed carrots, cut on the bias
• endive, chopped fine
• fresh dill, chopped
• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• sugar
• croutons (I used Texas Toast garlic and herb)

Combine lettuce, endive, carrots and dill. If you cannot find mixed carrots, or don't feel like paying more for them, plain works just fine. In a separate bowl whisk together equal parts vinegar and olive oil. Add sugar to taste and continue to blend. Serve salad in bowls and drizzle dressing on top.

The dish: This is the method for a basic vinaigrette. I used balsamic, but you could use sherry or champagne or any other wacky vinegar you have on hand. Where to find such succulent sounding condiments? On close out, of course. Stores like Marshall's or TJ Maxx or Home Goods are great for finding cheap and unique provisions. I've found the ones I've mentioned as well as lemon infused olive oil, orange infused olive oil, white truffle oil, raspberry champagne vinegar, Cabernet vinegar and many others. These are bottles that originally were much more than any of us would spend, but now you can have them for around $7 or less. Good vinegars can be cooked or used raw, but good oils should be reserved for when there's very little or no cooking involved. Go ahead and get the cheapest stuff you can find to saute with, but if you're going to use it as a dip or dressing splurge and pull out the good stuff.

salmon with lentils

• 3 fresh salmon fillets, skin and bones removed (the ones I used were a little better than 1/3 of a pound each
• 3 carrots, peeled and cubed into small pieces
• 2 shallots, chopped finely
• 3 cups of vegetable stock
• fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 cups of brown lentils (or any kind- I think they all cook up about the same)
• good quality mustard (I used an even mix of Grey Poupon Dijon and spicy brown)
• unsalted butter

Saute carrot and shallots in large pot with a little olive oil over a medium high flame for about 5 minutes. Add lentils, a few sprigs of thyme, vegetable stock and about 1.5 cups of water, bring to boil and then reduce heat and simmer, adding more water as needed, for about 35 minutes or until lentils are cooked (they should be firm but tender). Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat melt about two tablespoons butter and cook salmon for about 5 minutes (or longer, I like mine done on the rare side of medium) turning once. Remove fillet from pan and place on warm plate under tin foil. In same skillet, melt just a little more butter (maybe a tablespoon depending on how much is left in the pan) and whisk in about 4 heaping tablespoons of mustard and some chopped thyme. Turn flame off and continue to whisk until sauce is thick and creamy. Serve salmon over a mound of lentils with sauce spooned over both. We had it with broccoli rabe sauteed with garlic- it basically rocked.

The dish: I think I'm about to go on a salmon kick. It is hands down my favorite cooked fish (tuna winning the raw award) and I've got about 4 or 5 really good, really easy (this is by and large the hardest) recipes that I'll be posting soon. If you haven't tried preparing it at home, I highly recommend it as it tastes great, is easy and versatile and doesn't leave your house smelling like the Fulton Fish Market. It's also packed with Vitamin D and more Omega 3 than just about any other food, just be careful not to make yourself mad as a hatter.

smashed carrots

• 3-5 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2-4 tablespoons butter

Boil carrots in unsalted water until tender, about 15 minutes, drain and transfer to large bowl. Smash carrots using potato masher until creamy with few small lumps remaining. Stir in butter to taste. Season with Kosher salt, also to taste.

The dish: I lifted the idea of serving carrots this way from a local Irish restaurant. I was amazed at how easy it is to prepare and how perfect they are alongside of a traditional corned beef dinner. At first glance it may seem like an unhealthy way to enjoy carrots, but it's actually much better for you than the popular glazed method as it uses less butter and no sugar. Go easy on the salt, it's really not too crucial here.