Rice salads for summer

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I’m always a bit amused when friends elsewhere groan about the great unpacking of the next season’s clothes. Our clothes don’t vary much season to season here in Northern California. You’re a tourist if you don’t pack a sweatshirt or sweater any time you travel near the coast, yet my kids wear shorts to school year-round.

The changing of the seasons sneaks up on you here, but the days do lengthen, and we find ourselves migrating outside more and more. One day last weekend, my family simply didn’t come inside. Afternoon rolled into a pleasant evening, so we grilled, grabbed some plastic picnic ware and lingered until the stars came out.

Slowly but surely, summer is coming — and there’s a shift in how we eat. We want recipes that travel well, dishes that appeal in warmer weather and prepare-ahead foods that free us for fun; a number of you sent rice salad recipes that deliver on all those fronts.

Plates regular Ro Taylor relies on several rice salads to relieve the tedium of the usual summer side dishes. “They are a great change from potato and macaroni salad and can accompany anything from hot dogs to barbecue chicken or tri-tip,” she says.

Taylor’s Mexican rice salad includes all sorts of goodies — diced tomatoes, kidney beans, green bell peppers, red onions and sliced black olives — with a zippy dressing that uses green taco sauce. You also can doctor the recipe to add other Mexican flavors you enjoy, such as cumin,

cilantro or minced jalapeños.

Lisa Scott-Ponce, another longtime Plates regular, sent her favorite wild rice salad. “This is a wonderful rice salad,” she says. “The recipe was given to me years ago by Julie Plank, and it’s great for luncheons and potlucks, especially during warm weather. It can be made in advance, too.”

Cooked wild rice is tossed with celery, pineapple, grapes and chicken breasts, then combined with a dressing of mayonnaise and apricot-pineapple preserves. Add chopped cashews for crunch right before serving, but I also like Scott-Ponce’s suggestion of substituting sliced or chopped almonds.

Finally, Taylor and several other Plates readers sent a community cookbook standby, a Rice-A-Roni salad that includes the chicken-flavored pilaf, marinated artichoke hearts, olives, green onions and celery. Combine mayonnaise with the marinade from the artichoke hearts to make the dressing.

“If I’m out shopping in a new town, I always look for their local cookbook or the local church cookbook,” says Dona Dickie, of Livermore. “You know the ones: They are spiral-bound and were generally put together for a fundraising event. I have a big collection and often peruse them when I need something that sounds comforting.”

Dickie’s version of the Rice-A-Roni salad came from a Cambria cookbook and includes a can of diced water chestnuts. Barbara Nielsen, of Dublin, includes chopped green peppers and a teaspoon of curry powder in her Rice-A-Roni salad.

“You can eliminate and/or add other ingredients,” she says. “I have prepared this recipe without the green pepper and added chunks of cooked chicken. Be creative!”

But don’t tinker with one ingredient, Carole Korp cautions. “The Cara Mia brand of marinated artichokes is important, as their marinade makes a really good-tasting dressing,” Korp says.

Request line

The book club is ready for our next great recipe test session. We’re looking for your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Many of you have already sent in recipes, but if you haven’t yet, now’s the time. (And if you prefer a certain brand of chocolate chips or butter, let us know that, too.)
Contact Kim Boatman at [email protected]. Find recent Home Plates recipes online at www.mercurynews.com/home-plates.

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