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24 • April 2016 • COAST • www.coast-magazine.com TRAILSIDE GOURMET Greens of spring Enjoy seasonal salads as fresh produce begins to arrive By Mark Bly C elebrate the coming season with some tasty salads. April is springtime in the Lower 48, and that means our grocery stores are bursting at the seams with fresh and delicious produce. There is a marked difference between what we have been receiv- ing all through the winter and what awaits us now on the shelves. A salad can be any number of things – green, potato or even an antipasto. When I make a salad there are no rules. I use what I have on hand and just dump it in. Leftover chicken, steak and seafood can jazz up any humdrum wilted leaf. Get crazy with the dressing, too. I would bet you have everything in your pantry right now to make a mouthwatering dressing. Oil, lemon, garlic, and pepper? There you go – an instant, fresh and mouth-watering dressing is as easy as four ingredients. I am a sucker for Caesar salad. This month, I present a creamy Caesar recipe. If you want to up your Caesar game then I recom- mend taking a class with the legendary Chef Van of The Marx Bros. Cafe in Anchorage. It is well worth it and will instill you with mad salad skills. Check out the super-easy green bean salad, a real hit at family gatherings. Lastly let’s have some fun with an instant ramen oriental salad. Yup, I know you have probably had this before, but it begs another visit. Celebrate the season and hang on, cause I still think we are in for another 2 feet of snow in May. — Mark J. Bly The Flying Chef Ingredients 1 head Napa cabbage 1 package instant ramen noodles, crumbled ½ cup sliced almonds 1 can mandarin orange slices, drained 1 bunch green onions, chopped A handful of sliced pickled ginger Dressing 2/3 cup oil, vegetable works best 1/3 cup of honey or agave 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar 2 teaspoons soy sauce ¼ teaspoon sesame oil A dash of both salt and black pepper Procedure Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Carefully slice the almonds in to sliv- ers. Place on cookie sheet. To that sheet crumble the dry uncooked ramen. You can throw the seasoning packet away – you won’t need it. Place ramen and almonds into oven and bake for about 7 minutes or until all crunchy bits are slightly toasted. Do not burn. Remove from oven and let cool. Rinse, drain and chop the cabbage in to bite-sizes pieces. Chop the green onion and slice the pickled ginger. Drain the mandarin orange sections. Mix all ingre- dients in a bowl. Whip up your dressing and toss the salad. Eat promptly; the ramen will get soggy if held too long. If you want to prepare the salad ahead of time wait until it is time to serve to add the dressing. Plate your pork on the mini buns and spoon on the sauce. Enjoy the heat. RAMEN ORIENTAL SALAD