Cool and Easy Salad for a Hot Summer Day | Recipe | Wedge Salad

It was back-to-school this week and I was all ready to share a recipe for an inexpensive comfort food for college-bound kids, but the weather isn't cooperating. I've been thinking, ah, fall is in the air, time for bundling up it sweaters, anticipating the upcoming holidays, and big bowls of hot comfort foods. Or not . . . As I reveled in my thoughts of crisp fall days, the temperature soared. It has been over 100 degrees this weekend and my thoughts of ladling up some hot steaming flavorful soup have been replaced by a desire to consume massive amounts of water. I should mention that our weather is generally mild and therefore few houses in the area are equipped with air conditioners. It has been in the high 80s inside the house and I can't bring myself to discuss hot soup. Instead I offer this idea, a cool classic from the 50's and 60's - Wedge Salad.

Wedge Salad meets all my criteria for elegance on a shoestring. The main ingredients are really inexpensive and you can dress it up with a few pricier items. Traditionally, Wedge Salad has diced tomatoes. I use shredded beets on my version, but feel free to add what you like. You might try sun-dried tomatoes and percorino romano instead of bleu cheese.

I hadn't had one of these in many years when I ordered it at a fun place in L.A. It was a classic, traditional, dark-wood-paneled place, with black and white photos of the movie stars who had visited. The salad was tasty, cool, crisp and fit the atmosphere perfectly.

Do you ever get on a food kick? You find a recipe you like and can't stop making it till your family begs for mercy. That was me with the Wedge Salad. I have it only occasionally now, but I'll tell you, if the thermometer hits 100 today we will be having Wedge Salad for dinner tonight.

Too Much Fun

I have been thinking that I could have posted a "Gone Fishing" sign. Its been a while since I last sat down and wrote a message, but I'm back in the saddle again!

When we returned from our camping trip to the east side of the Sierras we turned right around and went on a sailing trip with my father-in-law. I'm thinking that I haven't written because our lovely trip to the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, California ended in a chilly and wet sail home with fog, blustery winds and ten foot swells. I prefer a bit of a breeze and lounging on the decks in the sunshine while watching dolphins swim along side the boat. Once I had just about recovered from the sail I jumped headlong into party planning!

We hosted a retirement part for fifty guests at our house this past Thursday evening. The great thing about having a party is that it is powerful incentive to do all the little things you have been meaning to get to around the house. So we spent several days tidying up and decorating. The party was great, everyone had a wonderful time. The best part was that we had everyone pitch in and bring something. There was a great assortment of hors d'oeuvres and at the end of the evening all the dishes, but the wine glasses, went home.

The next day Allegra headed off to band camp and we were left with a sparkling clean house full of pretty flower arrangements; a bunch of white gladiolas, white roses and babies breath made a lot of bouquets and looked lovely in some beachy vases that I found at a huge discount). So, of course we called our neighborhood cocktail bunch and asked if they could help us polish off the left over wine that was in our giant "wine bucket" (its a galvanized steel watering trough). Again, everyone brought an hors d'oeuvre and I am ready for a nap.

School starts on Thursday!

Family Camping Vacation

We just returned from a camping trip in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We camped at June Lake and Grover Hot Springs and spent some time at a funky "Scandanavian-style" hotel at Lake Tahoe. It was a great getaway. We crammed our camping gear into our car and headed out for some fun.

The weather was classic summer in the unpredictable Sierras - thunder clouds and warm rain one minute and hot and sunny the next. We fished and hiked, worked up our appetites and cooked easy outdoorsy food and of course we toasted marshmallows around the campfire. At June Lake we stayed at the Oh Ridge campground and were surrounded by spicy smelling sage and pine trees. At Grover Hot Springs and Tahoe woke up to the vanilla and pineapple scent of Jeffrey pines. The best part was that we talked and shared time together. Not always an easy task with a teenager. Camping is my highly recommended family vacation on a shoestring.

If you are looking for inexpensive camping gear check out eBay. Larry tested our camp stove before we left and nearly singed off his eyebrows. Plan B . . . We borrowed my parents old Winchester brand camp stove. It was great and got us to thinking. We checked it out and found some great deals on camping gear on eBay. Camping has been a shoestring activity for us. My sweet brother gave us our camping tent (it was too big for his backpacking trips). We also have a HUGE tent that we bought from one of my co-workers for $5o. Passersby have called it the "Harry Potter" tent. With three rooms and a 12x18 footprint, we could hold a convention in there. It has been a great hangout spot for kids when we camp with other families. So, be on the lookout for used camping gear. There is some great stuff out there.

If you are looking for a campsite ~ you can locate them and reserve them at www.reserveamerica.com. Some need to be booked six months ahead of time, so get ready and start planning for a great vacation. Send me an email and let me know how it goes!