Pear, Cucumber, and Walnut Salad

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                            FOOD FUNNY
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Yikes! I hope this one from Rosemary Zwick isn't true:

Coming out of the supermarket the other day, I saw a scary sight. As a
woman loaded groceries into her trunk, her shopping cart began to roll
away. The scary part? It was heading straight for my car.

She ran after it, but was too late. The cart slammed into my driver's
side door. "How bad's the damage"? I called out, running toward her.

"Bad," she said, gathering her groceries. "I broke at least a dozen eggs."

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                            TODAY'S RECIPE
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The Mediterranean diet is characterized by the consumption of a large
number and variety of fruits and vegetables, and olive oil is the fat of
choice for most applications. This salad not only includes a fruit and a
vegetable, but walnuts also provide heart- healthy Omega-3 fatty acids
while the monounsaturated fat in olive oil helps reduce the level of LDL
("bad" cholesterol) in the blood.

Pear, Cucumber, and Walnut Salad

2 ripe pears (variety of your choice)
2 cucumbers
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped in large pieces
Small bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup basic vinaigrette dressing (see below)

Remove core and stem from pears and cut into bite-size pieces. Peel
cucumbers and slice in half lengthwise. Scoop seeds out with a spoon and
discard. Slice cucumber into 1/4-inch (1/2 cm) slices. In a bowl combine
the pears, cucumbers, walnuts, leaves of Italian parsley, and the
vinaigrette, gently tossing to mix the ingredients.
Serves 4 to 6.

Basic Vinaigrette Dressing

1 Tbs (15 ml) finely chopped shallot or onion
1 tsp (5 ml) Dijon-style mustard
1/4 cup (60 ml) red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3/4 cup (180 ml) extra virgin olive oil

Combine the shallot, mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small
mixing bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Add the oil in a thin
stream, whisking constantly. If the sauce separates before being used it
me be recombined by whisking vigorously for a few seconds.
Makes about 1 cup (250 ml).
Received on Mon Jun 7 20:57:27 2010