Making Subway-like salads at home w/ zero work

Question

I often buy salads at Subway because I'm lazy. However, I'm also cheap, and Subway's markup on salads is quite high.

I want to buy items at a supermarket and simply mix them together to make a salad without having to do anything else. Which of these can I get:

• Pre-chopped cold cuts (has to go beyond sliced, since full slices in a salad don't work well), including pepperoni and salami.

• Pre-chopped onions and pre-sliced tomatoes (and other similar chopped veggies).

I know I can get bags of lettuce, pickled jalapenos, shredded cheese, black olives, and dressing, so if I can get the above, I'm good to go.

Asked by barrycarter

Answer

Fast home made salads are possible with a few different but just as tasty ingredients. Some things to try that you can buy pre-prepared

• You can buy catering bags of ham and salami pre-chopped for pizza making purposes. Freeze in small portion bags suitable for a few days, and take one out of the freezer and put in fridge every few days as required
• Roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds (substitute for cold cuts)
• Anchovies or sardines
• Sprouts
• Sun dried tomatoes, some suppliers have pre-chopped (they keep fine in fridge)
• You can buy pre-sliced onions, but usually only in 5Kg+ catering sized bags, They do freeze OK
• Many other veges are available pre-chopped and frozen for cooking purposes, many of these will be great in a salad

If you make the salad in the morning to take to work the frozen parts would keep it fresh for a while, so no need to defrost them. Sort of like an internal, edible ice pack :-)

Answered by TFD

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What fruits have a low sugar content?

Question

I like to make fruit salads for desert. However, a few people I know can't eat that much sugar, so I would like to create a fruit salad which has a low sugar content.

Typically, as a base for the salad, I use a splash of water, lemon/lime juice, sugar/honey and Port. Obviously, I would have to consider changing this base. The fruits I typically use are: apples, oranges, bananas, kiwi, mango, papaya, strawberry and pomegranate.

However, I don't know what is the sugar content of these fruits. Therefore I ask, which fruits have the least amount of sugar (compared to a base weight, that is) and which fruit combinations would still make a good salad? I am not looking for anything fancy or incredibly tasty, just a regular fruit salad.

My grocer has a wide diversity of fruits, so fruit suggestions are also appreciated.

Asked by MobileCushion

Answer

As a metric, if you are concerned about cutting back on sugar you might consider fruits and sugars with a lower glycemic load index (GI; higher causes spikes in blood sugar) as a metric for seeking more ingredients.

Sugars with low glycemic load indices are agave nectar (GI: 15) and brown rice syrup (GI: 25), relative to white sugar and honey.

Fruits with low glycemic indices are

Food | GI Value

Cherries 22

Grapefruit 25

Prunes 29

Apricots, dried 30

Apple 38

Peach, canned in juice 38

Pear, fresh 38

Plum 39

Strawberries 40

Orange, Navel 42

Peach, fresh 42

Pear, canned 43

Grapes 46

For more references and ingredients, here are two lists.

Answered by mfg

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What is the critical ratio of eggs to potatoes between an egg salad and a potato salad?

Question

It's probably not a one to one ratio. Do you have any suggestions?

Answer

1 potato to three eggs for egg salad with potato in. Reverse for potato salad with egg in.

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What fruit pair well with spinach?

Question

What fruit pair well with spinach? This is for a cold spinach-based salad rather than cooked spinach, but I'd be interested in warm spinach too.

Answer

You might consider citrus or other tart fruit with citrus -- mandarin oranges segments are fairly common to pair with spinich; even if you didn't use whole fruit, consider making a vinagrette using orange juice.

I've also seen recipes for spinich salads with strawberries or cranberries; I've also had a pineappe and avocado salad before that might work well with spinish instead of romaine.

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Fruit salad with tomatoes

Question

In a recent trip to my local supermarket with the intention of purchasing items for a fruit salad, I picked up some oranges, bananas, lemons, grapefruit, and a few other select fruits. This got me thinking, what's stopping me from including tomatoes, since they are in fact a fruit? Are they just considered in practice to also be a vegetable, similar to wave-particle duality in that a photon exhibits properties of a wave and a particle?

If I were to make a fruit salad including tomatoes, what considerations should I use when determining how to go about it? Would it make sense to use the fruit ingredients I listed, and if so why or why not? Are there other fruits that particularly complement the flavors of tomatoes or are complimented by them?

Answer

I have eaten a salad that included watermelon, tomatoes, feta and black olives. I thought it was... ok, not earth shattering. Also I made this Cherry/Tomato bite, which is in that genre, and certainly was interesting from a taste perspective. There are no rules, you can do whatever you like, you just have to determine if it will taste good. Personally I don't think I'd like tomatoes in a "standard" fruit salad.

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Salads that are made of tomatoes, onion, chilli, coriander, salt and lemon?

Question

Recently I've been making salads that are made of tomatoes, onion, chilli, coriander, salt and lemon. Then, I eat them with bread. I have no idea where this recipe is coming from. Any suggestions to make recipes with these ingredients?

How can I improve this recipe or make variations?

Answer

So, you're making a pico de gallo salad?

Throw some fresh garlic and fresh lime juice in there. It's delicious and will prevent salmonella poisoning, which is surprisingly common with uncooked salsas.

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How can I cook the perfect potato for a potato salad?

Question

I have never managed to cook the perfect potato when making a potato salad.

The potato tends to either be too mushy or it is too crunchy depending on if I over cook or under cook. I never seem to be able to find the perfect balance.

How can I cook the perfect potato?

Answer

First, potato is not the same as potato. Conventionally, potato salad is always made with waxy potatoes, because mealy potatoes' outer layers disintegrate when tossed with the sauce, much like making risotto. They are also less creamy in texture. But there is also the school of using mealy potatoes, because they absorb more seasoning, and also because some people like the soft texture. If you decide to go with mealy, use an acid in the cooking water (depending on your seasoning, choose vinegar, citric acid, or the neutral tasting cream of tartar). This will firm the potatoes. It isn't necessary for waxy potatoes.

Second, the cooking time depends strongly on size. You must cut them very evenly. Else you will have both undercooked and overcooked potatoes in the pot at any given moment (up to the time when you only have overcooked ones). Smaller pieces are easier to work with.

Third, you want to heat them as gently as possible. Start them in cold water, and cook them at a simmer, not at a boil.

There is no way to predict when the potatoes will be ready. Even if you cut them to the same size every time, the sort and the age of the potatoes will result in varying cooking times. When the time is near, you must look after them and try them constantly. Take out a piece, cut it in half, cool it in cold water, and chomp on the exact center. If it isn't crunchy, stop the cooking immediately and remove the water. The time window in which they are just right is quite short. Season them while they are hot, they will then absorb the sauce instead of just swimming in it the way cold potatoes do.

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How do I incorporate cucumbers into cole slaw?

Question

I am entertaining the idea of making a spicy (apple cidar vinegar, sriracha,etc) cole slaw and am looking to temper the heat a bit with cucumber. Is the best option to slice in long strips? Is so, should I keep, discard, or otherwise incorporate the skin and the seed pulp?

Answer

If you want to match the texture of the shredded cabbage you could use a peeler to get thin, long strips of the cucumber. If you want to contrast the texture you could cut it into chunks or slices.

I would discard the seed pulp to cut down on the amount of water that will fall to the bottom of the bowl.

The skin is completely personal preference. If it's thin and tender I like to leave at least strips of it on for color contrast. Otherwise I get rid of it to avoid the tough, chewiness it can bring.

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