With green beans available year round, this green bean vegetable salad with potatoes makes for a great side dish any time of the year.

Green Bean and Potato Salad

Green beans and potatoes go together like hand and glove, and we sure do love that hot dish served in the south.

But... have you ever considered combining this classic southern mix up with a vinaigrette and serving it cold? It's actually a great combination as a cold vegetable salad, though it's also good slightly warm or at room temperature too!

Quick Small Batch Refrigerator Corn Relish

Whether you serve as a condiment alongside grilled meats, or a simple snack with tortilla or corn chips, this small batch, quick refrigerator corn relish will be a refreshing addition to the menu.

Quick Refrigerator Corn Relish

I had a craving for some corn relish, but didn't want a huge batch made for canning. I wanted more of a snack-sized, easy version to enjoy right away!

A corn salad made in the tradition of Mexican Street Corn on the Cob, with fresh cooked corn and dressed with a mayo and sour cream mixture of Cotija cheese, chili powder, cilantro, lime juice and zest. Toss in some crisp veggies, chill well and garnish with a little more cheese and cilantro before serving.

Mexican Street Corn Salad

So, I finally got around to trying a Mexican Street Corn Salad y'all and wow, am I glad I did - it is delicious!

The Cajun's idea of a salad is pretty much a head of iceberg lettuce - that's it. When I make a side salad for a meal, I'll put in other things that are hit and miss as to whether he'll eat them. Sometimes he surprises me, but mostly he picks around things like onion, shredded carrots, cucumber, tomato, radishes, things like that.

Cold Green Bean Salad - fresh green beans, blanched then shocked in cold water to retain crispness, dressed with a seasoned vinaigrette and finished with sliced cherry tomatoes.

Cold Green Bean Salad

I have a confession to make. I have been cheating on y'all!

Well, not like that... but, when it comes to posting new stuff, things were a bit slow last month. Although I have written quite a few new recipes lately (that I've yet to write up, including this one), I have primarily been using my usual, regular, repeat recipes that y'all have also already been using for years too now. I've also been using my Traeger grill and my pressure cooker quite a bit too.

Fresh asparagus, cooked to crisp tender, then marinated in an oil and vinegar seasoned dressing with pimentos and finished with sliced grape tomatoes.

Cold Marinated Asparagus Salad

I am so happy to see that spring has arrived, though, much like the rest of the country, we had a bit of a cold snap to usher in the spring season. No snow in the south, but we did get temps down in the mid-30s, even here in south Mississippi.

No worries though... won't be long before we'll all be complaining about the heat, same as our northern neighbors tire of the snow! My A/C has already been running full time, though truly, I never turned the central heat on one time this winter. The few cold snaps we did have were covered just fine by my little Duraflame fireplace heaters.

Southern Caviar - a vinaigrette dressed, festive southern vegetable salad twist on salsa, made with black-eyed peas, celery, pimentos, jalapeno, garlic, green onion and fresh tomato, and beloved on the church supper, potluck and entertaining circuits.

Southern Caviar - Black Eyed Pea Salad

I spent the weekend clearing away clutter and doing a bit of organizing. Seems like I had a pile of this and that, here and there and everywhere! Course, I've never been one of those folks who has had a "magazine" house, where it all looks beautiful and pristine, with the latest furniture and decorating trends, and not a thing out of place, as if nobody actually lived there, but... things are lookin' just a tad bit too lived-in around here lately.

Apparently I can either spend time with my grandbabies, review products, develop recipes, write columns, style and photograph food, blog, cook or clean... but not any one of them simultaneously, never mind several at the same time. (Y'all already know which one of these takes priority though, right? ::smile::) And to think... I used to be such a great multi-tasker, ha!

 

Broccoli and cauliflower combined with chopped cabbage, carrot, bell pepper and red onion, tossed with a mayonnaise and vinegar dressing to make a fresh coleslaw that will last for days, making it a perfect refrigerator salad to have on hand.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Refrigerator Salad

Whew! It is hotter than hot here in the Deep South y'all. I'm still cooking... of course, we gotta eat no matter the heat, right?

And yes, like most Southerners, I really don't have a season for the occasional treat of any of our Southern Classic recipes, even during the heat of the summer, though I do tend to lean more toward simple food on the outside grill, sandwiches and a lot of veggies and salads - in case you hadn't noticed from my summer postings this year.

 

Layered with iceberg lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, red onion, bacon and Parmesan cheese, and dressed with a vinegar and mayonnaise, mustard dressing. Shown here with my Southern Style Green Beans and Ground Beef Mac and Cheese casserole.

Next Day Salad

I seem to be on a roll here with salads! Well, it is that time of the year I suppose and I sure hope that you can bear one more, because it's a good one.

We have a family owned market (now catering and buffet restaurant) here on the Coast called Broome's Grocery. They've always been a favorite store for locals - I can remember when they were one of the very few stores to open shortly after Hurricane Katrina.

There wasn't any electricity, but they opened to sell bread and snacks and whatever non-perishables they had left on the shelf. We were all standing in the line, hot, sweaty, wore out and frankly, a little dirty from the cleanup process, none of us having water to bathe for days already, but so grateful to be able to pick up a few familiar things to eat after those first days.

I tell you what... you don't know how much you miss having running water and electricity until you don't have it anymore.

A classic, cold salad made from carrots, raisins and pineapple, sometimes coconut and peanuts, and dressed with a sweetened mayonnaise.

Classic Carrot Raisin Salad

We are still in the process of moving out of our old home, while the new house is looking more and more like we have lived here for 20 years! And the garage, oh you don't even want to know what that looks like, but as I have the energy, I bring in a box and go through it.

We are moving all of the Christmas stuff, the china from the china cabinet and have a freezer and a few pieces of furniture to go and we'll be finished... finally. The Cajun and I were so tired and hungry yesterday afternoon that we stopped by Hartz's Fried Chicken and treated ourselves to their buffet for an early supper.

A well loved salad in the South, made from fresh broccoli and cauliflower, sweet green bell pepper, red onion, celery, and a sweet and sour dressing, with just a touch of Deep South flair.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

I love this salad. I don't even mind the rawness of the broccoli that usually bothers me with broccoli salad, I guess because its offset by the addition of cauliflower. My anti-veggie hubby won't eat this his salad of course, but it keeps great for days in the fridge, so I make it up and eat on it all week where it just keeps getting better.

A marinated squash salad using summer vegetables, including squash, zucchini, vidalia onion, sweet bell pepper and jalapenos and dressed in a horseradish infused, sweet and sour "Fire and Ice" vinaigrette.

Fire 'n Ice Marinated Squash Salad

I have mentioned many times here, that like most other Southerners, I am a huge fan of the flavor of sweet and sour, most especially when it comes to salads. To that, however, I also like a little heat added too, so from pickles, to coleslaw, to one of my favorite cucumber and tomato salads, I love the "Fire 'n Ice" versions that bring in a bit of fire.

Marinated squash salads are popular here in the summer, so I thought why not bring those fire and ice elements in there too?

 

A classic vegetable salad of corn, green beans, and peas, marinated in a sweet and sour vinegar and sugar dressing.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

From Fire 'n Ice Salad, to pickles and coleslaw, to cucumber salads and creamed cucumbers, green beans to cocktails and everything in between, I'm sure a sucker for anything sweet and sour.

I just love the combination of flavors. This marinated vegetable salad, often known as "shoepeg" salad, is no exception, and it's another one of those 70s throwbacks for me - might even be older than that to be honest, but that's my first memories of it.

A heritage recipe, today's English Pea Salad is made up of frozen or canned peas, mixed, at minimum, with celery and onion, and dressed with a mayonnaise or sour cream based dressing. I've added some bacon, dill and chopped boiled eggs in mine here, but it's wide open for personalization.

Old Fashioned Cold English Pea Salad

Cold Pea Salad is another holiday dish you may remember from your grandma's kitchen during the major holidays. Called English Pea Salad, it's more widely known these days as simply Cold Pea Salad, and is a long held holiday favorite, though it's really a great side dish for anytime of the year.

Old Fashioned Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Pecans

Old fashioned broccoli salad, made with red onion, celery, carrots, raisins, nuts and bacon, and a mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar dressing. Serve as is, over spoon over leaves of romaine lettuce.

Old Fashioned Broccoli Salad

This poor ole broccoli salad has been languishing around for me to showcase it on the blog forever. Very patience little green veggie. Truth is, while The Cajun won't even give it a fair run, broccoli is one of my favorite veggies. I love to eat it most just simply steamed to be honest, though I've been known to fry it on occasion too. What can I say?

Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad

Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad - A refreshing salad made with cabbage or broccoli slaw and crunchy oven toasted ramen noodles, bathed in a vinegar and oil marinade long enough to soften the veggies and noodles, but still leave a nice bite. Add in leftover beef, chicken, pork or shrimp to match the flavor packets and you have a great main dish salad!

Ramen Noodle Salad

Poor ole ramen noodles - they get a bad rap, because like most pre-packaged products, they tend to have high levels of sodium and flavor enhancements like MSG, but... how many of you will confess to having at least a couple of packets of them hanging around in your pantry right now?

I'll be the first because I pretty much always have a couple of packets in my pantry. They are a quick and easy meal that still rates better nutritionally than a pass through the fast food burger or chicken joint. So yes, while of course I don't eat them everyday, I do enjoy them guilt-free on occasion.

Copper Pennies Carrot Salad - Sweet and Sour Carrots

Copper Pennies, an old fashioned chilled carrot salad, made with thinly sliced carrots, sweet onion and sweet bell pepper, soaked in a sweet and sour vinegar marinade made with canned tomato soup.

Copper Pennies Carrot Salad

Just like pineapple, we southerners also love our sweet and sour dishes.

From salads, to green beans, to pickles, that combination of flavor has long been a southern favorite and Copper Penny Carrots are another dish that falls into that category. Named so because they resemble pennies, it is a cold marinated salad of thinly sliced vegetables - carrots, sweet onion and sweet bell pepper - tossed and left to marinade in a hot, sweet and sour mixture of tomato, vinegar and seasonings.

Also known as bronze pennies, they are as fabulous as a holiday side as they are at a barbecue, and perfect for the Easter table.

Garden fresh corn, sweet bell peppers, tomatoes and some red onion, combine with a sweet and sour vinegar and oil dressing for a wonderful summer salad!

Marinated Corn Salad with Tomatoes

As far as fresh veggies go, I've sure been enjoying my garden tomatoes This is the first year that I've not had an abundance of fresh green beans and fresh peppers though.

The peppers are way behind thanks to those pesky aphids, and while a couple of them do have some blossoms, the heat is pretty rough on them here lately. Maybe now that July is here we'll start getting some more regular rain to help with that. I guess the trade off is that this year, unlike last year, I have had a lot of tomatoes and cucumbers, so I'm happy about that! Right now is the perfect time of the year to find some great super sweet corn at the farmer's market, or at the very least, in the grocery store, so by all means, although canned works great, use fresh if you've got it!

Grilled or Roasted Vegetable Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

Seasonal vegetables, roasted or grilled, make a perfect spinach salad when served with a warm bacon dressing.

Roasted Vegetable Spinach Salad

This is the other salad I promised you the back when I posted those summer salads recently, and boy was it worth the wait. With the weather being so hot, I have been in the salad mode and was thinking that I had not posted a spinach salad.

Then I thought... why not take some of the great summer vegetables that are beginning to come in right now - summer squash, corn, asparagus, peppers, green beans, and tomatoes, to name a few - and incorporate them into a classic-style spinach salad!

And then, I thought... one of the best ways to bring out the flavors of vegetables is to roast them, and well, this salad was born. And, it did not disappoint.