I bought most of my ingredients at Trader Joes with the exception of the Craisins (which I shamelessly had to google to find out what they were) and the Rasberry Vinegar which I got at Bristol Farms. Since I forgot to read the part about having it chill over night for the flavors to blend in, I woke up early to make it so I can put it in the refrigerator to chill all day until dinner time!
This is a very delicious salad! I just loved the crunchiness of the sunflower seeds and flavors made from the wonderful combination of ingredients. I would definitely make this salad again! Thank you Deborah for a great choice. And thanks to Annie for the tip on not overcooking the rice. I was so tempted to leave it on longer, but listened to her tip and it came out just right.
Deborah's recipe instructions are as follows:
The recipe is very easy. It keeps well and freezes well. You can serve it both chilled or at room temperature. Great for picnics where you don't want to worry about spoilage.
1 package - uncooked wild rice (the original recipe called for wild rice blend), Deborah used only wild rice for the stronger flavor.
2 cups - frozen roasted corn nibblets (I used the Trader Joes brand as recommended)
1 cup - finely chopped celery
3/4 cup - shredded carrot
3/4 cup - craisins
2/3 cup - toasted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup - finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup - raspberry vinegar
1 tbs - olive oil
1 tbs - low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp - grated orange peel
1/2 tsp - pepper
Cook rice according to package directions: omit salt and fat. Cool. Combine rice, corn and all other ingredients in a bowl; stir well; chill overnight to blend flavors. Serve cold from fridge or bring to room temp if you prefer. This makes a pretty big batch, so you might want to halve it.
And... did you like the craisins? :) I personally prefer the ones that do not have as much sugar in them. They are great added to salads. This salad looks yummy!
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy, I'm glad you liked it too. I LOVE your plates - those are beautiful! Great photo.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great recipe - pretty simple with great flavor. I'll definitely make it again too.
The nephews and I had a blast. We spent 6 hours at the Museum of Life and Science yesterday - most of the exhibits are outside and it was perfect weather for being outdoors. And they had lots of fun playing with the cats here at my house. :)
Hope you've had a good one too!
Me, I had a large bag halfful of Craisins, which I think I bought at Costco months ago. I do love your bowl.
ReplyDeleteKathy, your salad looks great.
ReplyDeleteYou know not all dried cranberries makers call it Craisins, so no shame in not knowing what it is:)
Hi Girasoli, LOL! Yes, I did like craisins. Very fruity. I like them better than raisins. I have some extra which I'll bring to work as a snack so it is playing double duty for me! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Annie, yes I totally loved this salad. Thanks for the nice comments about my plates.
Glad you had a blast with your nephews. 6 hours at the museum sounds like fun and also it must have been a great learning experience for them. You're such a great Aunt to them. Oh and I bet they had a great time playing with Maria & Lulu. It must have been equally fun for Maria & Lulu too! Sounds like an excellent weekend! I had a great weekend playing around too! :)
Hi Marcia, I've actually grown very fond of craisins after making this salad! I think they make great snacks. Glad you liked my plate. I like it too.
Hi Candi, that's so true. I guess Ocean Spray calls it Craisins and others just call it dried cranberries. I think Sunday Salad Samplers is teaching me many things and its very enjoyable and fun learning too! :
Thanks again everyone! Hope you have a great Monday! I have today off yay!
Hi Kathy, great photo! It looks like the photos you see in the foodie magazines.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed making Deborah's salad. I don't eat wild rice very often and would have never thought of making a salad with it but it was great.
Have a fun day off!
Hi Maria, glad you like my photo! Can you believe that this was the first time I have tasted Wild Rice, let alone cook it! I agree with you, I could not imagine the combination of the wild rice and other ingredients and yet it was very delicious.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed making it and can see myself making it again too!
I'm so glad I have today off! Hope to get a lot of errands done and then start a new "trashy" book I just picked up at Costco by James Patterson! :)
Thanks Maria! Hope you have a great day today too.
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/06/09/the-new-issue-of-rolling-stone-the-liberation-of-adam-lambert/
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy, I just found out that Adam is going to be on the cover of the next issue of Rolling Stone which will also have an in-depth interview with him. There's an excerpt on the webpage plus the cover (he looks awesome!). I'm not sure when the next issue comes out but I want to buy it!
Hope you're having a great day!
This looks like a very interesting salad. I don't know what Craisins are, but I'll try them now. I like all the ingredients in this salad. I bet it has a good texture and variation of flavors. Something new to try. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi Annie, thanks for the link to that RS article! He looks like a star doesn't he! That's a great preview of the article and I loved the video interview too! I'm so glad that he finally cleared up his sexuality thing. People were just making too big of a deal about it. Very smart of him to bring it up in his interview. Now people can start focusing on his talent. He's such a cool person and seems so genuinely nice. I remember Simon even saying on AI that Kris and Adam are genuinely nice guys and how great that they were in the final two in the competition. Of course, I'll have to add Rocker Girl Alison in the mix too. :)
ReplyDeleteHave you seen Brenda's and Nancy's post on Adam. They wrote a couple of really cool posts on him. And Brenda wrote on Twitter that he got the Young Hollywood Music Awards. She posted a great Youtube of all the photographers going crazy for him on the red carpet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kItQhlVIrbI
I'm going to have to buy me the issue so I can read the whole article. Glad to hear that he's already working on his CD! I already have 5 of his songs from AI downloaded from i-Tunes. Thanks for the tip. I hope you don't mind but I shared it on Twitter so Brenda can get a copy too! Thanks again Annie and have a great day!
Hi Barb, I found out that the craisins are dried cranberries and they are very good. They added some sweetness to the salad. I've actually had the leftovers twice already and the flavors are now really blended in to the salad and it's even more tastier now. Very delicious.
Hope you get a chance to try it too! :) Have a great day.
Hi Kathy, I agree completely, I'm glad he addressed the sexuality issue now (instead of letting the speculation drag out for years like Clay Aiken did). I liked his quote about being an entertainer not a civil rights advocate (good for him!).
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read the whole interview. He is such a cool guy!I'm glad you shared the link with Brenda too; I did see her post about him as well as Nancy's. Thanks for the link to the YouTube; I am so happy for him.
You are right, the salad does get better each day. I love things like that!
Happy Wednesday!
Hi Annie, well said about Adam! I'm really happy for him too. I just don't remember this level of popularity for other past AI contestants. Hmm, I just might have to see that AI tour after all...then I can see Adam, Alison and Anoop and Megan! :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I ate my salad the next morning I realized why Deborah's instructions said to chill over night. The flavors really came out on the second day. So good.
Happy Wednesday to you too Annie!
I'm tempted to check into the tour too. They will be playing in Greensboro, NC which is only about an hour away from me. I think it might be on a week night though; that's the only problem.
ReplyDeleteI bet they are going to sell lots of tickets to that tour!
Hi Kathy,
ReplyDeleteSomeone put a "head's up" on slow talk that Delta and Northwest are running some very low fares today. I just checked and found round trip to Venice in December for $350 (so cheap!). I haven't bought it because I'm still not sure if I want to go there or somewhere else this year, but that is less than half of what I paid last winter! Part of me wants to buy it just because it's cheap (sale goggles, LOL).
Anyway, I don't know if either of these airlines would work for you and Scotland, but wanted to let you know just in case. The person on slow talk said there are low fares in November too.
hi Annie, wow! Thanks for the heads up! Are you going to book it for Venice! That is an awesome deal. I wonderif theyhave something forScotland too? I'll read the post tonight anddo some research for offers to sctlsnd. How exciting.
ReplyDeleteI stilldon't have an itinery yet though . Been slacking in trip planning :)
I 'ok check it out tonight! Weeeee ...
.... one minute later post! So Annie did you book it? That is such a great price! Weren't you planning on London also! Have you punched in London too to see what the price is. Then you can go to two places for the price of one!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there will be more price drops? What if there won't be...hunting for good airfares is the least liked part of trip planning for me.
Thanks again for the heads up Annie! I'll be on it tonight to try what happens when I put Scotland in there.
No, I didn't buy it. I sat there and looked at it for a while but I'm still so undecided about where to go this year, and I usually don't start trip planning until August.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about London because I've got FF miles that would get me there (there's a direct flight from Raleigh to London). But I've also been thinking about going back to Rome (and I was reading a book about Rome last night and part of me really wants to go there because I was only there for 3 days before).
I've also been thinking about skipping Europe this year and instead of taking one long trip, taking a couple of shorter US trips to places I haven't been like New Orleans and Vegas.
I just don't know! And part of me wants to go back to Venice (and I might be kicking myself later for not buying that ticket).
I did look at the seats for the cheap flight I found and the plane was virtually empty both going to Venice and coming back. So maybe these sales will last for a while?
Shanon put a post about the cheap Delta fares on the "Everything travel" board...she found a $400 flight from San Diego to Venice in November!
I don't know if these fares are just Italy or other places too so good luck with Scotland, that will be great if you find a deal tonight!
Hi Annie, I left work on time for a change and came straight home so I could respond to your comments at home versus my one finger approach on my phone. So much easier on a full keyboard.
ReplyDeleteI think I would've stared at that $350 price for a while too. I punched in LAX to Edinburgh for random dates in November like I traveled last year and the price was $680 and with tax it came out to $837 which is pretty good. It has a stop over in Amsterdam and the catch on the return flight there is a 23+ hour layover in Amsterdam which actually might be fun! :) I tried to check the seat availability like you did but it wasn't available. Bummer!
I do remember that you usually plan your trips late summer, so it looks like you've got a lot of time to weigh all of your options (London, Venice, Rome, New Orleans, Las Vegas or other US destination).
You've listed some really great places that you are interested in visiting this year!. Tough decision. It's always a challenge for me to decide on my travel plans each year because first I just want to go everywhere but more recently because of concerns over the economic climate that we are in. Honestly, it also crossed my mind not to travel this year too, but I just love travel way too much. Its become a necessity now more than a luxory. So then the next question becomes where to and that is always hard for me as well mainly because I want to see so many things and I also have my favorites like Venice and now Spain and eventually I'd like to get back to Prague. Come to think of it, Venice is the only city that I have seen more than two times. And let me say that if I saw a $400 fare from LA like Shannon found from San Diego I would be very tempted too. I enjoy traveling in November and I love Venice!
Each year, I think one of the things I listen to the most is my "heart"! I also like to go on instincts on what inspires me at the moment. And then I go with it. And it's funny how my decisions of where and when I make these trips just all seem to jive or work out. Without sounding too lame, it's sort of like destiny.
Scotland or Ireland was a tough choice for me and then something I saw or read on Slow Travel just made me realize that it has to be Scotland and then when I watched that movie you recommended, I just knew.
I think in the next couple of months you'll come to that point and the decision will be clear as daylight and you'll know it. And I'm looking forward to finding out what your decision turns out to be.
And BTW, if you do go to Vegas, I hope you'll let me know! I don't live that far away and it would be so cool to maybe meet up somehow! :)
Thanks again for the heads up Annie! I think I'm going to hold out and gamble a little while longer on the airfare. Meanwhile I'm reading my guidebook and learning about all these little towns in Scotland. I am so behind on my reading. I think last year I booked my flight on 4th of July weekend. I remember it because Maria actually e-mailed me some special fares. I feel so lucky to have such great blogging friends. You all are so awesome!
Have a great evening Annie!
I saw this on Candi's blog yesterday and it sounds absolutely delicious!! I think I'll take the recipe to Nfld with me. I'm not used to cooking for crowds, so this should be a perfect accompaniment to a meal!
ReplyDeleteI love craisins as a snack too :)
Kathy, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and insights (and I don't blame you a bit for waiting until you got home because one finger typing is slow and hard!).
ReplyDeleteYou are exactly right about following your heart and getting in the destiny flow. It doesn't sound lame at all! That always works for me too. :) I'm not going to fret about it because I've got plenty of time and just need to read and ponder, and I know it will come to me just like the Scotland decision came to you. And I like what you said about travel being a necessity not a luxury. So true.
Sorry you didn't find the bargain airfare of the century but you are right, you have plenty of time too and let's just hope these recession-era deals keep popping up!
I've been meaning to ask you about what you wrote on your trip planning page, about your "one stop only stop requirement" for flights. Do you mean only one change between home and the final destination? That is what I always look for too. I don't mind paying a few hundred dollars more for less hassle and changing and less time in airports and planes.
A layover in Amsterdam would be fun! I loved that city and it's on my "want to return and spend more time" list.
Last night I was reading about Rome and they mentioned the traffic and smog and noise, and part of me went "eek" - one of the reasons I've been going to Venice over and over is that the whole "no cars" thing is just so nice!
And yes, a Vegas GTG would be a blast! I can't believe I've never been there; it's one of those places that I definitely want to visit at least once. I think it would be lots of fun to take photos there (and I read that some of the hotels are offering recession-rate deals this year). I'd even like to see that fake Venice they've got there!
Anyway, thanks so much and have a great Thursday!
Hi Anne, it’s a great salad that will (as Deborah mentioned) keep well. And it was very easy to make. I actually cooked a nice salmon filet the next day to have with the left overs and the combination was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI finished off the last of my extra craisins too! Very good! :)
Thanks for your comments Anne and I’m looking forward to learning more about your summer trip coming up!
Hi Annie, you know just for the heck of it, I checked Delta again before I left for work and it was still at 680 this morning! Still the cheapest flight available that I know of. I would snag it, but I haven’t decidied yet if I need a RT to Edinburgh or if I can fly out of another City to save travel time. But I have a lot of time too, so I’m not worried about the lost opportunity. I think there will be more sales. Your airfare bargain alert, did inspire me to do a little more research last night. I found something pretty interesting. I’ll have to update my website on it. I can go from Edinburgh by train to this town called Malaig (sp?) located on the edge of the highlands and from there can go to Skye. There’s this historic route or drive where you can see animals, landscapes and beautiful sunsets. If that town has an airport or if there is another closer airport for me to depart from then I will have my in and out cities and will be ready to snag any future sales. But I have all summer to decide, plenty of time!
ReplyDeleteYou are correct, the one stop only requirement that I referred to is the layover to change planes. Since I’m very prone to motion sickness and have to take Dramamine (only thing that works for me), it would be too hard for me to have a long travel time so I avoid layovers with a passion. I too am willing to pay extra to avoid more than one layover. Plus, I just want to get there and back and spend as little time traveling as possible.
The layover in Amsterdam seems cool to me too. I went there years ago and always regretted choosing the cheese and Windmill tour over the Anne Franks House tour! What was I thinking! If I have a stop over there I may be able to zip over to see it. I liked it there too. Some of the friendliest people.
Rome has so much history and so many great things to see too. I know what you mean about the no cars appeal of Venice. I remember when I did my day trip to Treviso from Venice, I got so used to no cars that when I saw them in Treviso, I sort of hightailed it back to Venice after only half a day there! Still, I also like Rome too, but I love Venice.
Vegas isn’t for everyone but if you have never been, the first time is kind of exciting and fun. Definitely lots of things to photograph. And yes there are many “fake” things in Vegas. Fake Venice, fake Paris, fake Bellagio and fake Prince! :) I’m pretty amazed at how they try to duplicate things and make it as realistic as possible. It’s pure entertainment and fun to see. I did hear that Vegas is struggling a bit. When I went in March I got a great casino deal for $137 for three nights at the Hilton. The casino deals (rather than the hotel room reservation deals) are better because they want to attract gamblers. I’m not a big gambler but I still got the deal. :) They don’t really check. A Vegas GTG would definitely be a blast!
I'm looking forward to hearing what you decide on later in the summer! I always find it interesting and enjoy hearing how everyone decides on where they want to go.
Thanks again for that airfare alert Annie! If I happen across any deals I’ll pass it on to you too!
Have a great evening! And tomorrow is Friday! Yay!
Hey Kathy, just wanted to give you a head's up that Adam Lambert is going to be interviewed on the show 20/20 tonight. That's on ABC and comes on at 10 pm here on the East Coast, not sure what time it comes on for you. But anyway, I want to watch it (if I can stay awake that late, LOL).
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked your sheep! And have a great weekend, Annie
hi Annie, cool! Thanks for the tip on Adam's interview. I'll try to stay up for it too.
ReplyDeleteLOL yes I totally liked my sheep! :)
And thank you so much again for posting that adorable baby cow! I still giggle thinking about your post and along side that perfect photo is just too cute! I think your baby cow is even more cuter than the sheep. I just love that photo!
Have a great weekend too Annie!