Cucumber Pineapple Salad

My cook in Indonesia used to make a salad similar to this for lunch at least once a week. The traditional recipe calls for adding sugar in the dressing, but I always found the Indonesian pineapple was more than sweet enough. Pineapple from the US isn't as sweet, but I still don't add sugar. It's up to you.

By the way, this is spicy! The recipe is Sumatran in nature, so chilies are required!

2 cucumbers
1 cup pineapple chunks, fresh or canned
3/4 cup chopped green onions
1 bunch cilantro, stemmed and chopped coarsely
1 tsp Sriracha hot chili sauce
Juice of a lime
2 Tbs. safflower oil
salt and white pepper to taste

Peel the cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut them in half again, lengthwise, then dice into 1/2" pieces. Put them in a medium-sized bowl. Add to that the pineapple, green onions and cilantro. In a small container, blend the Sriracha, lime juice and oil. Pour over the salad. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Mix well and refrigerate for an hour for flavors to meld.

Serves 4 to 6

Roasted Vegetable and Herb Salad

calories: 183; protein: 7g; carbohydrates: 23g; fat: 7g; fiber: 7g

I just made this for my high school reunion. It was a very large salad. The bowl was empty at the end of party! I calculated for healthy portions, so this salad will serve 12 hungry people. It's nice with some grilled chicken.

3 globe eggplant, peeled and diced into 1/2" cubes
4 medium zucchini, diced into 1/2" cubes
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced into 1/2" cubes
Olive oil
Juice of 1 or 2 lemons, depending on personal preference
1 jar Mezzetta sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbs. Greek oregano
2 handfuls arugula
2 cups curly leaf parsley, stems removed
Crumbled Feta cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Into a large bowl, toss together the eggplant and zucchini with a drizzle of olive oil and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Spread a thin layer of the vegetables onto two baking sheets. Don't let the vegetables be too crowded in the baking sheets. Roast the veggies for about an hour or until cooked and a little dry. You don't want them to be soggy. Allow the veggies to cool.

In another baking sheet, spread the potatoes, onions and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, just like the other veggies, and roast them for about an hour, until the potatoes are cooked through and a little crispy on the edges. Allow the potatoes to cool.

In a large salad bowl, toss together the arugula and parsley. Add the vegetables and potatoes. Also add the entire jar of sun-dried tomatoes and the oregano. Toss the salad well. Taste for additional seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkling of crumbled Feta cheese on top.

You could also roast some peppers to add to the salad, and also add some pitted Kalamata olives. The salad doesn't need additional dressing because of all the olive oil in the sun-dried tomatoes.