hello from cape town...

in case you haven't seen it. excellent commentary about a minute into it..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdU82rFxfTM

go yanks.
dk

Anna's Strawberry Salad

Ingredients

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Strawberry-Salad-I/Detail.aspx

• 
  
• 1/2 cup fat-free creamy salad dressing (ie: Fat Free Miracle Whip TM)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/8 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together salad dressing, milk, sugar, vinegar, and poppy seeds. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Combine lettuce, onion, strawberries, pecans, and red bell pepper in a salad bowl. Toss with dressing.

Phil's Sangria recipe

Hey, here's the recipe. Two tweaks I'd recommend: use more OJ (like a

cup to cup) and less simple syrup (like 1.5 cups). Otherwise it's too
sweet. Also, when you boil the mint in the simple syrup, the mint
leaves wilt and get brown. So just drain them from the simple syrup
before mixing into the pitcher and use fresh mint leaves when you
serve.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/champagne-sangria-recipe/index.html
Champagne SangriaIngredients

  - 1 (750-ml) bottle Prosecco or French Champagne, chilled
  - 1/2 cup orange juice
  - 2 cups Mint Simple Syrup, recipe follows
  - 1 lemon, zested and thinly sliced
  - 1 lime, zested and thinly sliced
  - 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
  - 5 fresh mint sprigs
  - Crushed ice

Directions

In a large pitcher, combine the Prosecco, orange juice, Mint Simple Syrup,
lemon zest, and lime zest. Add the sliced strawberries, lemon slices, lime
slices, and mint sprigs.

Fill glasses with crushed ice and pour the sangria over the top. Serve
immediately.
Mint Simple Syrup:

  - 2 cups sugar
  - 2 cups water
  - 1 cup packed fresh mint leaves

 In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and mint over medium heat.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring
occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat
and allow the syrup to cool for 20 minutes. Strain before using.

Yield: 2 1/2 cups

-- Phil

Orzo salad

Hey everyone,

I hope bowling was fun this week. Sorry I missed it. And I'm even more sorry that it's taken me so long to send out that orzo salad recipe. Dooghan, I hope you'll forgive me and still be my friend!!!

Here goes:

-1 package (about 16 oz) of orzo pasta
-about 3/4 of a bag of spinach leaves (roughly 10 oz)
-1/2 pound crumbled feta
-1/2 red onion
-3/4 cup pine nuts
-3/4 cup dried cranberries
-1/2 cup olive oil
-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
-a little dried basil
-a little white pepper
-a dash of sea salt (optional)

Boil the orzo pasta to al dente. You can sprinkle some salt in the water. Then in a strainer spray the cooked pasta with cold water until the pasta is cold and thus has stopped cooking. Put the orzo in a giant bowl.

Finely chop the spinach leaves and the red onion and place on top of pasta in the bowl. Add the finely crumbled feta, pine nuts and cranberries. You can add more or less than the listed measurements above, depending on how much you like the ingredients. Sprinkle with some dried basil, sea salt (optional) and white pepper (regular black pepper is fine, too). Then using a big wooden spoon or spatula toss everything with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Keep the orzo salad refrigerated and serve it cold. It's best to prepare only a few hours before serving as the ingriedients lose their freshness too long after being mixed.

-- Phil