Toss Up: Cold Salads for Hot Eves

Too long gone, I see. Much has occurred in life, but not so much on the food front.

Here in Northern California we are suffering an unusual (for early May) heat wave. A few nights ago I barbecued: marinated tri-tip from Trader Joe's. Then I did a shrimp and avocado salad and a rice salad with left over rice. (I was going to make shrimp burritos but the kids said "We ALWAYS have burritos!" (not true) so I changed course.) Then tonight, a simple pasta salad with leftover beef and broccoli. I DO make a lot of pasta salad, perhaps because my older son claims it's his favorite food, although more often than not he will eat the pasta and leave the other parts in a pile on his plate for me to finish.

SHRIMP AND AVOCADO SALAD

1/2 lb cooked frozen shrimp, whole if small or chopped if large
2 small avocadoes, pitted and chopped
2 large chopped tomatoes or 1/2 cup drained canned diced tomatoes
juice from 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper
chili powder, if desired

Toss all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.

COLD RICE SALAD

2 cups cold rice
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
some kind of salad dresssing you like (Italian, Sesame Ginger, etc.)

Toss everything together with enough salad dressing to flavor.

PASTA SALAD: ENDLESS VARIATION #336 OR THEREABOUTS

12 ounces shaped pasta -- penne, tagliatele, rigatoni, etc.
leftover beef tri-tip from your Sunday barbecue (4-6 ounces), chopped into cubes
1 large stalk broccoli
4 medium tomatoes
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp. Trader Joe's Tomato Bruschetta
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1-2 tbsp. red wine

Boil water for the pasta and blanch broccoli for 2-3 minutes. Remove and chop into bite-sized florets. Cook the pasta.

Heat a large skillet. In 1 tsp olive oil, quickly toss the beef (1-2 minutes). Add the broccoli and mix. Remove from pan into your serving bowl. Return the pan to the heat and deglaze with the wine (oops, my restaurant background is showing through... deglaze just means to use a liquid to dislodge all those yummy stuck bits of stuff from the bottom of the pan). When bubbling, whisk in the mustard to blend. Add to the beef and broccoli mixture.

Drain pasta and add with remaining ingredients to the pasta bowl. Mix well. Garnish with more feta if desired and serve cold or at room temp.