my parents had the family over for dinner last night
{ before they headed out to the lake.. thankfully flooding has subsided }
i was asked to bring
“a salad”
i’ve been making salads for my mom since
i was old enough to stand on a chair and whack out a few carrots on her kitchen counter at
4832 Claret Street
♥
as we tucked into a lovely meal of
apple sauce ribs, beans and new potato salad (and The Birthday Cake),
my brother took a bite of my homemade salad
and exclaimed that it tasted just like
the one he’d eaten at Earl’s Restaurant the other day
♥
i laughed and said, “That’s because it is!”
i explained that all sorts of websites abound that publish “KopyKat” recipes..
recipes written to come “close to” or “close enough to”
mimic a favorite restaurant dish
♥
i know that sometimes in life
…there are people who might be perceived as
KopyKats
(yes.. she bought the same grad dress!)
but is it really copying,
or just good old “serendipity”
and similar “good taste”
i will never know
{ but we had fun pretending to be sisters for the day }
♥
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…
isn’t it?
♥
is it ok to copy someone,
as long as you give credit where it’s due?
in the world of recipes.. it’s a pretty fine line,
after all, i imagine there are an infinite number of
chocolate chip cookie recipes lovingly passed down from generation to generation
that look remarkably the same…
but i do think it’s respectful to try to give recognition to the recipe’s origin
♥
but i digress…
all you need to know is that this is my “go to” salad whenever i’m asked to bring
“a salad”
it’s a KopyKat version of
Earl’s Westcoast Prawn Salad with Citrus Honey Vinaigrette
that i found over at Epicurious
♥
on a side note… i have a new bike *ring ring*
and i’m over the moon excited!
No special clip shoes to fall over in and no fat-squeezy spandex tights required
just a helmet, every day shoes..
even a skirt will work
{ my cowboy boots… maybe not so much }
i’m getting a basket for my groceries and…
if you want to be a KopyKat and buy one
i won’t mind
that would mean fewer cars on the road
♥
Earl’s West Coast Prawn Salad with Citrus Honey Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tsp Dijon or grainy mustard
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 2-3 dashes tabasco sauce
- Mix all Vinaigrette ingredients together into a mason jar, shake vigorously to blend. Chill until serving.
- 8 cups mixed greens
- 8 cups baby spinach
- 1/2 cup raw quinoa, cooked as per package instructions and cooled
- 8-12 large strawberries, quartered
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup candied pecans (see recipe below)
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
- Optional: 20-30 grilled prawns (recipe below)
- favourite teriyaki, BBQ sauce or rub
- 1 1/2 tsp egg white
- 1/2 tsp water
- 1 cup pecan halves or pieces
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- Preheat oven to 275 F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Beat egg white and water together briskly with a fork or tiny whisk. Stir in pecans then sugar and salt (it will seem like too much sugar but it isn’t) mixing to blend. Spread on baking sheet and bake 45-55 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. May be prepared a few days in advance.
- Optional: Grilled Prawns*
- Best made just before serving. Preheat clean barbecue grill on medium high and lightly oil racks just before using.
- Toss prawns with enough favourite teriyaki, BBQ sauce or rub to lightly coat. Grill 1-2 minutes per side, turning once, until prawns are light pink and barely cooked through.
- *Prawns could easily be substituted with a nice grilled and sliced chicken breast placed on the side of the greens.
- Combine all salad ingredients together in a very large salad bowl. Pour just enough vinaigrette to coat the greens and toss. Top with prawns if using and serve immediately.
Good looking salad!
Love prawns. I bet they tasted delicious in this salad.
Oh Smidge! I adore every single word in this post. What a fun read! I just love your new bike!!!! And of course, that salad could not be any more perfect for this time of year. I have got to try it. Thanks so much for this!
Hi, Sarah.. I’m glad you enjoyed.. I can’t wait to go zooming around the neighborhood.. Baguette in the basket as they say:D
I love the photo of your graduation. Love the hair! What a great bike. And that salad – so many yummy ingredients and that dressing must be delicious. I’ve never candied nuts. I’ll have to try that. xx
Fair warning, Smidge, I’m kopying your bike! And maybe even your skirt, and for sure your salad! (…or, wait, did i already?? crimeny, I can’t keep us straight, except you make way prettier cakes!!) xoxo
Hahaha you can make anything you want spree… You’re my foodie hero and it would turn out so pretty!! And much more gourmet!! I’d love to see you do a makeover:) xoxoxo
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I’m with Spree! I wanna be just like you!! Though I haven’t been on a bike since I was about 12 years old…
Love this and your fab photo! Wow Smidge you must have given all the boys a run for their money! Beautiful!
Hahaha.. We had fun with our Farrah Fawcett hairdos:D
I love Earls (we just got one here) an this salad looks great! Congrats on the new bike, it looks like fun. I recently got a basket for my bike, and it makes those trips I the grocery store and library that much easier!
Excellent grad photo! I’m just getting ready for a high school reunion and have been doing some things with grad photos – such great hairstyles! Looking forward to making this salad! Thanks!
Hahaha.. We just loved to flip our hair back then!
I have nightmares of sleeping with curlers in all night – great BIG curlers!
Your new bike is super cool just the thing for whizzing to the shops on. I like the sound of this salad and it its so healthy – I am going to make it this weekend. xo
I seem to run out for one last ingredient all the time, so this will be handier.. Unless it’s raining.. Like it has almost every day so far:P
Loving the sound of those candied pecans – what a delicious addition to an otherwise wonderful sounding salad! Great idea – thanks for sharing Smidge 🙂
They’re my favorite part:)
This was a really fun post my friend (she copied… Flattered you by wearing the same gown ;))
Stunning salad of course!
Cheers
CCU
That’s the way I choose to think as well:D Thanks CCU!
Cool bike and you were rocking that Farrah Fawcett hair style 😉
Hahaha.. It’s funny looking back now, eh?!
What a lovely summer salad, Smidge. I hope your weather has come around and is a bit warmer, if not, let me know and I’ll send some of our hot and humid weather round to you! The bike is adorable. I had fenders put on my bike so I don’t get the splash up on my back. When you get a basket, make sure it’s not too heavy; I got a very sturdy one, but it puts about 10lbs onto my bike which makes it tough to carry up stairs.
It’s funny, I had Farrah hair too…very funny.
Oh.. So there are lighter baskets.. I’ll take a closer look at those. I will also look at getting fenders put on, that’s a great idea! Yes, the Farrah Flip.. We thought we were so stylin’:D
I have a bike quite like that — with a basket in the front! Lovely salad. Must try it soon. 🙂
So I’m copying you;) We could go for a ride… with a salad packed up front:D
I haven’t been on it this year. Truth told, I fell off it last year and made rather a mess of myself. I must work up the nerve to try again.
Yep, I think I might have to copy that bike – love it!! And the recipe, it sounds delicious. (And I adore your blast from the past picture, too.)
Definitely a blast!!
Beautiful Post and that salad looks delicious – YUM:) Have a Wonderful Day!
You too 😀
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Awesome bike, Barb! Please get streamers. You must have streamers!
This salad sounds like a winner, too. That dressing is definitely going to make an appearance here — and soon. And I’ll be making those candied pecans, too. I just don’t think many will make it to the salad bowl. Who am I kidding? None of them will.
Hahaha.. For some reason I knew you’d tell me to get streamers!! 😀
The salad looks delicious, but I love the graduation photo most of all! Matching Farrah Fawcett hair! 🙂
Nice photo, Smidge! Fantastic, hehe. Also, great salad 😀 Love strawberries in unusual places 😀
I’d love to ‘copy’ this salad – sounds like a wonderful summertime treat. And I love the throwback picture, you look fabulous!
Excellent salad and nice bicycle too 😉
This looks bright and pretty, with plenty of protein from the feta, pecans and optional prawns. I know you will enjoy your new bike. My particular vehicle fantasy is an adult tricycle, but, if I have to choose, I’d rather go back to France next year.
Oh… I saw one of those when I was out scouting for a bike! They are really cool.. And much more practical than mine.. I was worried it wouldn’t get on my bike rack to take to the lake or I would’ve chosen that one for sure! But France… Hands down that’s the best choice:)
There used to be a TV show called “Dinner and a movie” where the hosts would share a recipe and, if I am not mistaken, suggest the most enjoyable movies to watch while eating the meal, or actually show a movie with a few interludes for cooking. I am not sure which anymore, but now I am thinking “Salad and a Bicycle,” a new show by Smidge. Doesn;t it sound good?
I would love that! A video of someone (you and I?) going down a dirt path with a picnic in our bike baskets:D Ah.. It’s good to dream! xoxo
I’m in! You do the cooking though… we would not want to scare anyone with mine. 🙂
This is definitely my kind of salad. I might just have to copy you copying someone else now. 🙂 It looks delicious. Love the pecans!
This is for sure how recipes get around.. And then someone else will copy you.. And on and on:)
Ring ring… Ring Ring… Smidge is passing through. A basket is a must so that you can bring your yummy treats to the neighbors. What a fun post and a yummy interesting salad.
I’m looking at which basket to get.. Some are wicker, but I think they’d fall apart in this rain!
Yum, this sounds delicious! I love candied pecans and feta in salad. Enjoy your new bike!
Love the bike, adore the hair, and I want to make this salad (except we don´t have pecans so will have to make do with walnuts)! And yes, imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery (as long as credit is due) 🙂
…as long as credit is given…but you knew I meant to say that 😉
You make me want to eat salads !!!
What a perfect salad for a warm summer day like today. That looks delicious! And your bike looks like the opportunity for such wonderful, spontaneous fun…enjoy it, Smidge!
OMG I want your bike!
That grad picture – I think was the most sincerest form of flattery, hair and dress and shoes and all, and why not! Are we gonna see a picture of the bike with the basket for grocery? I hope so. It sounds good enough to want one! 🙂
Salad will be copied.
I just got my bike on Friday.. It took a while to pick out the right sized basket and attach it. Then I had to buy a lock.. Then a bell.. Hahaha.. I forgot about all of those things. Next.. It will just be groceries, but then I might need a back bumper basket:D
This salad sounds wonderful. I love the bike. Congrats! 🙂
That bike will suit black tie too *smile – really like the model. Can I replace quinoa with couscous in the salad? We don’t have quinoa in Sweden. Love everything about this salad. Especially with prawns or chicken ….
[…] on November 25, 2012, by admin in Lifestyle a. b. There’s nothing more charming than a pedal pusher. I love the banana seat bicycles […]
Thank you for the recipe! I had lost my copy and yours looks exactly the same. excuse me while I stuff this salad in a wrap and go to town on it lol!