#MEwx Near freezing, clouds and a Summertime Pickled Vegetable Salad

Good Morning Augusta

This morning we have mostly cloudy skies with a slight chance for snow.  Highs in the lower 30s with East Northeast winds around 10 mph.

Tonight we'll have cloudy skies with lows in the mid 20s. Winds will be north around 10 mph.

The readings from my weather instruments are:

Our outdoor temperature is 25.0°F, the humidity is 91% the Dew point  is 22.6°F with a wind chill of 25.0°F.

The wind direction is East Northeast between 2.5 MPH and 5.2 MPH.

The Relative pressure is 29.96, the Absolute pressure is 29.76 and rising with a weather graphic indicating Sun and clouds.

If you want to see real-time instrument readings from my personal weather station click Here. That will take you directly to my weather station.

Visibility is 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers with mostly cloudy skies.

The UV rating is  0 out of 16, The moon is 70.6% illuminated, the moon phase is      waning gibbous, Sunrise is 7:14 am↑ 122° Southeast, sunset is 4:13 pm↑ 238° Southwest, Moonrise is 10:22 pm↑ 83° East, Moonset is 10:50 am↑ 281° West and we'll have 8 hours 59 minutes of daylight today.

We didn't receive any rain or snow here over the past 24 hour4s.

Yesterday there was a chicken recipe, so today it's a salad. "Think thin."

summertime pickled vegetable salad

Ingredients

For the Pickled Red Onions:

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced from tip to tip

½ cup apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons coriander seeds (optional)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

 

For the Salad:

2 large celery stalks, trimmed and thinly sliced on a sharp angle

2 medium carrots, peeled and very thinly sliced lengthwise using a mandoline or thinly sliced diagonally

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest and 2 tablespoons juice (from 1 lemon), or 2 tablespoons vinegar

8 cups torn butter lettuce or romaine hearts (6 to 8 ounces)

3 small radishes, very thinly sliced (optional)

⅔ cup torn or chopped mixed fresh herbs (any combination of parsley, dill, basil, mint or chives) 

2 to 4 teaspoons coarse or Dijon mustard, to taste

Preparation

1.            Prepare the pickled onions: Set the sliced onion in a small heatproof bowl. Combine the vinegar, sugar, coriander seeds (if using), salt and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high, then pour over onions. Stir to combine, let cool, then transfer onions and brine to a lidded container. Refrigerate until chilled. (Makes about 2/3 cup drained onions. Onions will keep up to 3 weeks.)

2.            Prepare the salad: In a medium bowl, combine the celery, carrots, olive oil, lemon zest and juice. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

3.            When ready to serve, add the lettuce, radishes (if using) and herbs to a large bowl, season lightly with salt and pepper and gently toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the celery and carrots to the vegetables in the large bowl, leaving the vinaigrette behind in the medium bowl.

4.            To the vinaigrette, add the mustard, 1/4 cup drained pickled red onions and 4 teaspoons of the pickled red onion brine and stir to combine; season to taste. Add vinaigrette to salad, toss to coat and season. Serve immediately.

Tip

If you don't have fresh herbs, you can add 1 teaspoon dried herbs (such as mint, tarragon, chives, parsley, herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning) to the dressing.