Although we can’t be together this year for Hospital Fair Day, that doesn’t mean you can’t sample some great Fair Day food. Here are a few recipes to get you started. Enjoy!
Curried Red Lentil Salad
Ingredients:
VINAIGRETTE:
3 c. corn oil
1/2 c. wine vinegar
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. mace
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
SALAD:
1 lb. dried red lentils
1 c. currants
1/3 c. capers
1 1/2 c. finely chopped red onions
In large bowl, whisk together all ingredients for dressing. Set aside.
Wash lentils. Cook in boiling water 5-6 minutes or until just tender. Rinse and drain well, combine with dressing and let sit overnight. At least 2 hours before serving, add capers, currants and onions to lentils. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
I’ve never served this without being asked for the recipe – and I serve it a lot. It’s always a hit at the Fair Day Gourmet Booth!
– Andrea E. Seaton, Executive Director
Gazpacho Recipe
- Prep time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 1 bottle Spicy Hot V8 Juice (or use regular V8 if you prefer)
- 2 ripe tomatoes peeled and chopped
- 1 red or yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped
- 1 sweet red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp. Vermont maple syrup
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (omit for vegan or vegetarian option)
Combine all ingredients and chill. Can be refrigerated for 2 days before serving.
It’s a salad in a soup, and it’s best served well chilled with croutons on top!
-Andrea E. Seaton
Vermont Salad Dressing
Ingredients:
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup Sherry Vinegar
- ¼ cup Vermont (of course) maple syrup
- ¼-1/3 cup Dijon mustard
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Add shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired
Mix and pour over lettuce for a delicious green salad!
-Andrea E. Seaton
Quick and Easy Beer Bread
This is a quick way to make bread, and it’s oh-so-delicious, with a crunchy, buttery crust on top:
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of sifted flour (MUST sift; don’t use self-rising flour or, if you do, omit baking powder and salt from recipe)
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- 12-oz can or bottle of dark beer (Guinness is great for this)
- ½ cup melted butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients and beer until just mixed and everything is moistened.
Pour (or spoon – the mixture will be thick) into a greased loaf pan.
Pour melted butter over mixture.
Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes. Slice and serve. It will “disappear” incredibly fast!
-Andrea E. Seaton
Sue’s Lemonade
So this recipe will work without preparing simple syrup (which is for large quantities). Everything pretty much depends on taste, sweetness, etc.
Makes about 10 servings
Ingredients:
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups cold water
- 1 3/4 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice or bottled lemon juice such as Real Lemon green bottle
- ice for pitcher and glasses
Mix together the water, sugar, and lemon juice and pour over ice in a tall glass!
Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:
- 6 ounces dry noodles (brown rice noodles, pad thai style rice noodles, soba noodles, linguini)
- 4 cups mix of cabbage, carrots and radish, shredded or grated
- 1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
- 3 scallions, sliced
- ½ bunch cilantro, chopped (or sub basil and mint)
- 1 tablespoon (or less, or more) jalapeño, finely chopped
- ¼–½ cup roasted, crushed peanuts( garnish)
Thai Peanut Sauce: ( tip! make a double batch and save the rest for another use)
- 3 thin slices fresh ginger- cut across the grain, about the size of a quarter.
- 1 fat clove garlic
- ¼ cup peanut butter ( or substitute almond butter!)
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice ( roughly ½ an orange)
- 3 tablespoon fresh lime juice ( 1 lime)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey or agave
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- ½ –1 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( or a squirt of sriracha sauce)
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cook Noodles:Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain and chill under cold running water.
- Blend the Peanut Sauce: while noodles are cooking, blend the peanut sauce ingredients together using a blender until smooth.
- Toss: Place shredded veggies, bell pepper, scallions, cilantro and jalapeño into a serving bowl. Toss. Add the cold noodles to the serving bowl and toss again. Pour the peanut sauce over top and toss well to combine.
- Taste: Adjust the salt (to your liking), add chili flakes if you want and serve, garnishing with roasted peanuts, fresh chopped cilantro and a lime wedge.
Bok Choy Salad
Ingredients:
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 (3 ounce) packages ramen noodles including flavor packet (such as Top Ramen®)
- ½ cup sesame seeds
- 3 ounces slivered almonds
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 large heads bok choy, chopped
- 6 each green onions, chopped
Directions
- Combine canola oil, sugar, red wine vinegar, and 2 tablespoons soy sauce together in a bowl.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat; add sugar and stir until dissolved. Crumble ramen noodles; stir into butter mixture. Stir ramen seasoning packet, sesame seeds, almonds, and soy sauce into noodle mixture; cook until lightly toasted, stirring constantly to prevent burning, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Toss oil and vinegar mixture, ramen mixture, bok choy, and green onions together in a large bowl.
Diane’s Grilled Corn on the Cob
Remove a few of the outer husks, and the silk.
Soak in water for 30 -60 min.
Preheat the grill to medium-high.
Shake off excess water before placing on the grill.
Cook 15-20 min, turning occasionally.
Once done, remove from the grill and peel off the husks.
Serve with your favorite flavoring – butter, salt, paper, parmesan cheese, herbed butter, BBQ butter, etc.
Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients for Salad:
- 1 can peas
- 1 can artichoke hearts (chopped)
- 3 cups cooked orzo pasta
- 1/2 cup Pesto recipe below Parmesan to garnish
- Basil to garnish
Ingredients for Pesto:
- 2 cups basil leaves
- 3/4 cup Parmesan
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Make Pesto
Add all the Pesto ingredients to food processor and combine until smooth. Season to taste. Reserve 1/2 cup to dress salad and refrigerate any unused portion.
Make Salad
- Cook orzo as directed
- Add peas and artichokes to pasta as it’s cooking to heat
- Drain and place into serving bowl
- Add pesto and stir
- Garnish as desired
- Can be served alone or with chicken or shrimp for a tasty dinner
Yield: 3-4 servings of 1/2-3/4 cup
