Friday, June 29, 2012

Rosie Makes Her Barley, Squash, And Zucchini Salad. And Some Other Stuff.



The Hawthornes have company coming tonight.
The Capricornicuses are in town!
Rosie is excited.

I have a few appetizers in the works.
Above is some shrimp
(I have a sinus-assaulting cocktail sauce
to accompany the shrimp.),
lettuce leaf with carnitas and salsa,
and one of my favorite summer salads -
barley with squash, zucchini, and cucumber,
dressed in a tangy mayo and herb dressing.

I cooked my Israeli Pearl Barley to perfection.
Using 1/2 cup barley,
cook according to package directions.
Let cool.

I brought a large pot of salted water to a boil
and dropped in 1 diced zucchini and 1 diced squash.
Cook for 30 seconds.
Poured into a colander
and spray cold water over top.
You want to stop that cooking.
You want your veggies al dente.
Not al mushe.


When squash and zucchini cool,
add to barley.

Peel, if needed, a cucumber,
and spoon out any seed gel.

Give cucumber a quick dice.

Add cucumber to squash, zuke, and barley.

Now, time for the dressing.
I picked parsley, tarragon, and dill.

Dressing:
1/4 cup mayo
1 TB rice vinegar
freshly ground salt and pepper to taste
fresh herbs - parsley, dill, tarragon


Mince the herbs and add to dressing.

Pour over barley mixture.


I left the salad in the fridge for about an hour,
then taste-tested.
Went back out and picked more tarragon and dill
and some basil.
This is one of my favorite summer salads.
I love it in a lettuce wrap.
Light and packed with fresh flavors,
it's herbalicious goodness at its best.

5 comments:

dh said...

THIS SALAD IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES

dh said...

THIS SALAD IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES

Lane said...

well it told me that I looked like a robot still and made me copy another string of almost illegible letters and then it posted my comment twice sooo.... somebody needs to get it together.

LISA said...

This looks great. I have some fresh squash and cucumbers from my CSA pickup yesterday and I'm soaking some quinoa now (no barley in the cupboard). I'm glad I found your website, Rosie.

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Hi Lisa, I'm glad you found me too. Enjoy!