black bean and corn salad

• 3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 bag of frozen corn, thawed
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• green onions, chopped
• sherry vinegar
• olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Whisk together vinegar, oil and lemon juice, add a small pinch of sugar if desired, set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl, pour dressing over the top and toss to coat.

The dish: Another variation on the bean salad theme, and as I look at it, very close to the confetti salad that was posted awhile back. Truthfully, I like the confetti salad better, but that has more to do with my preference of kidney beans over black beans. Both are tasty and easy to prepare and are a great source of all kinds of good stuff, so now that's summer's here try a salad that has a base of something virtuous like beans and isn't drenched in mayonnaise.

salmon and mixed greens pita

• leftover salmon cakes
• leftover tarragon sauce
• mixed greens
• whole wheat pita

Crumble salmon cakes with a fork. Combine salmon bits and greens in pita, drizzle with sauce.

The dish: Leftovers are great, "planned overs" are even better. Getting two meals from cooking once is never bad, but if they can be two different meals then that's all the better. This particular dish requires a bit of finesse as it's very difficult to have a condo full of people and be able to hide extras of a dish that everyone likes. Let's just say that Kim and I worked on our parental distractions (Wii) in advance and a few extra cakes were able to find their way into a Tupperware (It's not disrespecting the trademark if you use the real deal) in the fridge before anyone knew there were any left. Before you give me a hard time about being a bad host, remember, this was an appetizer, followed by a salad before the meal even began. Anyway, with the 1,000 or so milliliters of pinot griogio that was floating around no one seemed to mind too much of anything.

spinach and cannellini bean salad

• 3 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 1 orange pepper, diced
• 1 bag baby spinach
• fresh parsley, chopped fine
• white wine vinegar
• olive oil
• 1 lemon

Combine juice of lemon with a equal parts olive oil and vinegar, whisk until combined, set aside. Combine all other ingredients in large bowl, pour dressing over salad and toss to coat.

The dish: This is basically a variation on the theme of bean salads. They all start off with a base of beans with a few other veggies mixed in for good measure, and then they get topped with a oil and vinegar dressing. Even though this salad is only 1 or 2 ingredients different than a few others I've posted, each one tastes pretty distinctive and we haven't gotten bored of eating any of them. Beans and veggies are a great thing to load up on and these salads are an easy and tasty way to do just that. I suggest trying one for yourself, I think you'll be surprised at how much you like it.

London broil sandwich

• sliced London broil (leftover works great)
• horseradish sauce
• shredded lettuce
• whole wheat rolls

Spread a little sauce on both sides of cut roll. Place meat on bottom and cover with a generous amount of shredded lettuce.

The dish: I wasn't planning on blogging this sandwich made with leftovers I didn't even cook, but it came out so tasty I felt I had to. I love the flavor combination of horseradish sauce and steak on a sandwich, it's so rich that there's no need for cheese or much of anything else. Using leftover meat gives a great flavor that can't be had when you buy that shady stuff at the deli counter. The London Broil was made by my sister-in-law in celebration of Mother's day and it was delicious both the first and second go around.

orzo and chickpea salad

• 1lb orzo
• 4 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• fresh dill, chopped
• juice of one large lemon
• high quality extra virgin olive oil
• honey
• adobo

Cook orzo according to package, then drain and rinse with cool water. In a separate bowl whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and honey. Combine orzo, chickpeas and dill to taste (I used a lot). Toss salad with dressing, season to taste with adobo or salt. Serve chilled.

The dish: Orzo is basically rice shaped pasta, and it works perfectly alongside the chickpeas. The flavor of the dressing is dependent on plenty of fresh lemon juice. Remember, in a dish this simple, using lemon juice out of the bottle (or plastic lemon shaped thing) will yield less than desirable results. To get the most out of each lemon, use them at room temperature and roll them a little under your palm before you slice it. I squeeze the juice before I add any of the other ingredients so that if I get a seed I can easily pick it out.

udon and vegetable salad

• udon noodles
• snap peas
• broccoli florets
• baby corn
• shredded cabbage
• 1 large yellow pepper, cut into matchsticks
• 1 large orange pepper, cut into matchsticks
• green onion, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoon mirin
• 1/2 lemon

Combine juice of lemon, with mirin, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil. Mix well, set aside. Cook udon noodles (available in the Asian section of the supermarket) according to package. Drain cooked noodles and rinse with cool water and combine with vegetables and dressing. Serve cool.

The dish: Successful cooking begins with keen shopping and a well stocked pantry. If you want to cook your own Asian dishes you first have to build your Asian pantry. I suggest starting with keeping these basics on hand:

• a good quality light soy sauce
• sesame oil (if adding to anything hot, put it in at the last minute as it's a very delicate oil)
• wok oil (flavorless oil with a high smoke point)
• rice vinegar

Don't be afraid to keep these on hand as they will keep forever and your Asian dishes will improve so much that you'll use them often. If you'd like to branch out from there, I suggest:

• mirin (sweetened sake- use sparingly as it's 8% alcohol)
• Chinese 5 spice (never use more than a tiny pinch)
• black sesame seeds

Keeping this stuff on hand will open you up to a whole new selection of dishes that you can easily prepare. I've had great luck with the sushi chef and house of Tsang brands, and both are available in most supermarkets.

egg salad

• 8 eggs, hard-boiled
• 3 tablespoons low fat ricotta cheese
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 slices bacon (optional- or for ease you can just rock bacon bits)

Cook the bacon until just barely crispy. Blot with paper towels, chop into small pieces. Peel and chop the eggs. Combine all ingredients in large bowl. We enjoyed it on 12 grain bread (Hannaford makes a great one) with some spinach.

The dish: Making a great egg salad is highly dependent upon properly hard-boiled eggs. Eggs peel easier when boiled in salted water, so always add a pinch. Place eggs in water that covers them and cook over a high flame. When water reaches a roaring boil, turn off the burner and let eggs sit in water until cooled. The result will be perfectly cooked eggs that retain distinctive yolk and white texture as opposed to just becoming one big yellow mushy mess.

insider tuna

• 3 cans of tuna, drained
• 1/3 cup of bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• adobo, I prefer the con pimienta variety
• dried dill
• old bay seasoning

Combine drained tuna with other ingredients and blend well. If mixture appears to have too much mayonnaise, add more breadcrumbs for balance. If mixture appears too dry, then add more mayonnaise. Use just a little old bay seasoning, with a healthy shake of the adobo and 2 healthy shakes of the dill. Serve on your favorite bread with spinach for extra flavor.

The dish: If you've ever ordered a tuna sandwich at a deli and thought, "why doesn't my tuna come out like this", the answer is in three parts: 1. the original idea was to cut costs, but adding breadcrumbs to the mixture totally enhances the flavor. 2. Always drain your tuna before you do anything with it, the funk in the can doesn't bring anything to the party. 3. The deli only makes tuna once, maybe twice a week. The longer all these flavors sit together (within reason, of course) the better they all become. If you happen to have a ripe avocado, which I did not at time of writing this, a few slices on top turns this sandwich into a superstar.