June 29, 2009

What IS in Mish's Mason Jar????????

Isn't it fun to look forward to a Monday morning?? I've kept you waiting long enough so today is the day for my Mason jar reveal. It's been hotter than the dickens...what are dickens anyway?......and it really hasn't been good picnic weather here in Kansas. But it's cooling off a bit this week and I hope the humidity stays away for July 4th and Josey's birthday gatherings that we have planned.

During these hot summer months in Kansas, sometimes you just don't feel like eating. Or so I've been told......I never feel like not eating, hence the pleasantly plump figure that I sport. But something light and cold is definitely better than anything hot. So please let me introduce you to my Picnic Corn Salad in a jar.
I've read through all the comments and I found two of you that most closely matched what I put in my Mason jars. Here you are:

Lisa said...
Love your post as always. I'm going to say a salad will be going into those jars.

Happydaymom said...
Maybe you are putting a bunch of daisies in them, or lemonade or maybe even a layered salad. A fruit parfait, layered jello or ice cream sundaes. I love to make individual servings of sweet tea. The kids love to take out a jar to drink!

If you recognize your post above, please email me at stamplady@satelephone.com with your full name and snail mail address. I'll send out your hand stamped Mishie goody package and hook you up with your $20 gift certificate to Eclectic Paperie, courtesy of Daisy and Joy from Eclectic Paperie!

Another one of you were very close and guessed fruit salad....good try! And boy, did you guys give me some great ideas for what to do with canning jars. The comments on my original post made for a good read!! Thank you all for playing along, you really had your creative thinking caps on.

So let's talk about my Picnic Corn Salad. I saw the idea in a magazine to put salad in a jar....but for the life of me can't find the magazine. So I had to get creative and come up with a recipe that would be perfect. I found just that recipe in a recent Weight Watcher's cook book magazine. I tweaked a few of the ingredients and came up with a delicious salad that is perfect for my canning jars. Here's the salad packed in the jars. The corn salad part with the dressing is in the bottom. The lettuce mix is packed on top. Circles of pinked gingham make a simple decoration for the jars. And these jars pack up great too. You can pack them in a cooler of ice and transport them easily, or stack them in the frig til you're ready to serve. At your picnic, you could have a tray of ice and nestle them inside to stay cool too.
Here's the fun part. To serve the salad, you take of the lid and ring and invert the canning jar onto a serving plate.
Jiggle out the ingredients until it's all dumped out onto the plate. The lettuce greens are on the bottom and the colorful corn salad with the dressing is on top. A meal in itself! And the flavors.....oh the flavor of this salad. A simple and light dressing over fresh veggies, nothing better on a hot summer day!
I made up my salad for a *mock picnic* so that I could have photos for you guys. I had some extra salad and I really wanted my folks to try it. We love to share recipes and an actual taste test is even better, right? So I took my decorated jars of Picnic Corn Salad and packed a little lunch. I found this beat up, metal lunch box at a garage sale for $1 buck so I put it to good use.
I'm going to digress a bit but here's a little story: My dad and I were looking at this old lunch box and he started reminiscing. He told me about how he and my Aunt Betty would ride this old horse to a little school house that used to be near where we live. My grandma would pack them a sandwich, an apple and some water into a lunch box just like the one I have. Then they would tie it to the horse's rope on their way to school. Boy, have we come a long way since then. And here's a funny: My dad said *If you really want to take a picture of something vintage, take your mother out to your picnic table and take her picture.* Ha ha, my dad is so onery.
So I packed three pint sized jars into my lunch box that was lined with a patriotic cloth napkin. I stuck in some plastic forks (eek, I hate plastic utensils, shoulda sent some of my regular forks)....closed up the lid.....and sent along some extra dressing to drizzle on top.
Here's my folks pictured below as they came to pick up their lunch. No, they didn't ride their horse......they rode in what I call their *buggy*, one of those Ranger buggy things. We love the Amish and their horse and buggies so I lovingly named their vehicle *the buggy*.
They LOVED the salad and gave it two thumbs up! I also sent along a quart jar of my Easy Squeezy Cranberry Lime Cooler. They loved that too!!
Sooooo, I hope it was all worth the wait. Let me know if you try the salad, it's reallllllly good!!

Of course, I have to share a recipe card with you. This one will go front and center in my recipe binder! I used JustRite Stampers' new Preserves stamp set to embellish my recipe card. I think this jar image is just the most adorable thing, don't you?
I colored it in with Copic Sketch markers to resemble my actual Picnic Corn Salad....coloring corn at the bottom and lettuce greens at the top of the jar. I used a Copic Multiliner to draw in some corn kernels. The label is paper pieced and I even made a little zig zaggy shape to resemble fabric sticking out from the jar lid. I then stamped the fun scallop border from the Preserves set onto Kraft cardstock. My circles were cut out with Spellbinder's die templates.
The patterned papers for the front and back of my recipe card are from October Afternoon. I wanted to create a look that kind of resembled county fair colors and this paper was perfect!
And here's the recipe for you to copy/print....maybe I should write a cookbook! Naaaa, I don't have too many original recipes, I'm just good at finding THE GOOD ones. ;) Enjoy it, everyone!!

Picnic Corn Salad
3 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
4 cups bagged lettuce, assorted kinds

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; toss gently. Combine oil and next 3 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over corn mixture; stir gently. Add lettuce, toss gently to coat. This is a delicious portable side salad; mound lettuce on top of the dressed salad; then toss just before serving to keep the salad crisp. For salad in a jar, layer corn salad into pint jars, top with lettuce. Invert on plate to serve. I usually double the dressing to have extra to pour on top.

Note: Fonts used for recipe card are listed on the left side bar, just scroll down a bit.

42 comments:

Katy @ Live Laugh Love Craft said...

Woo, finally we know!! :) Congrats to the winners! That salad looks soo yummy..

Shirlann said...

Salad in a jar...I would never have guessed!! I will try the recipe for my next picnic at the beach. I think your blog is just the best there is :) Happy 4th of July to you and your family... us "canucks" celebrate Canada's birthday on the 1st.

Jane said...

Your parents are so cute and how lucky are they to have a daughter so loving and creative as you! They certainly did something right!! Love it all like always and I'm making this salad!!! Thanks for always sharing!

Bevie Pearl said...

Mish, I love your ideas and I really love to read your stories. (((((HUGS))))) BTW, I think I will make this salad this week. Thanks

Deanna said...

Brilliant and the kids would have so much fun with this, they might actually eat this awesome salad!

BethieJ said...

I LOVE this idea.. the salad sounds YUMMY! I am going to make this up.. hmmmm maybe tonite! I LOVE that story about your dad! :) Now I MUST order those cute stamps!!
Have a GREAT day..

Chris said...

We've been enjoying your cranberry lime cooler in our house! Yum yum - definately will be making that all summer long! :)

Tina said...

Looks delish, gonna have to give it a try.

dolcreations said...

Congratulations to the winners! I would never of guessed!

Happy 4th of July..We are celebrating this Wednesday, July the 1st!
Your cooler drinks are the best and will be served this summer for sure!
Thanks for all the inspiration!

Unknown said...

Man, I thought maybe I had it! LOL

Congrats to those who won!

I never heard of corn salad until about two weeks ago, we ate lunch at my dh's uncle's house and we had corn salad! LOL

Debbie Fisher (debbiedee) said...

WOW! I love all your chit chat and stories along with your yummy salad recipe and awesome projects and pictures!

I can see my dad saying that same thing! In fact earlier this month my mom turned 65 and dad called us all (I have 4 brothers) to invite us to meet them at Ruby Tuesday's for a "medicare party". LOL!!

I love the Amish too and have read LOTS of Amish books. I have an Amish cookbook and had the privilege of eating at one of their homes when I lived in MI. My DH and I also visited Amish country on our honeymoon. I love their simple way of life, but need my electricity. Ü

PS: made the cranberry limeade yesterday. YUM!!! Everyone loved it here! A great drink on a HOT day! Suppose to be 80's this week, so will appreciate the cooler weather.

Babs said...

I'm definitely trying that recipe for our soccer tournaments! I know the parents will love it! I have a question, though, about the Cranberry Cooler....you mentioned Cranberry Cocktail. Is that like Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice? Thanks for the daily creative inspiration!
Barb M.
dallasfan539@yahoo.com

Devon said...

Uh...YUM!!!! I'll be trying that out quite soon... I'd also love to have the recipe for your cranberry lime cooler! That looks like it hits the spot just right!

Patricia said...

This sounds delish, but the frozen corn does not need to be cooked at all?

Sharon Harnist said...

What a great summer salad recipe, Mish -- love the packaging, too!

Kirstin said...

Thanks for sharing!! Love your blog and OMG - I want to try this right freaking now!

Tami McBeain said...

Yippee, we finally know what's in Mish's mason jar! Congrats to the smart ladies that guessed right! The recipe sounds extra yummy and refreshing, definitely going to give it a try. And as always your packaging and recipe card are over the top cute! Thanks for sharing a picture of your parents, love your Dad's comment about your Mom...teehee...they must be a fun couple!

Linda Carson said...

Well who would have a thought a salad in a jar!! too cool!

Kelly S. said...

Mish, could you also post the recipe for your Easy Peasy Cranberry Cooler...it's sooo pretty! THANKS from a cooking-impaired blog reader, hee! PS...the word verification I just had to type is "slerfi"...maybe that's what I'll call your drink mix!!!!

Kelly S. said...

Oh, just found the Slerfi recipe, I'm a little slow on the get go...!

Linda said...

Mmmmmmmm sounds yummy. I'll be making that and the lemonade. Thanks for sharing your great recipes.

Jo R. said...

Well I would never have guessed salad in a jar, but it looks so yummy! I'm definitely going to try that recipe - us Aussies can eat salad all year long!

Wendi said...

Totally worth the wait! I'm running out of words to describe you. You are amazing!!! I just love your ideas. Loved seeing the picture of your parents too. They are lucky to get to be the taste testers! Wish I lived closer. Kansas is a pretty long drive from California!
Happy Day!

Barbara said...

Mish,
What magazine is that with the cool jars in it. I cant wait to make the craberry cooler. Your recipe cards too are wonderful

Debbie Nelson said...

Can't wait to try the corn salad...looks so cool and refreshing..the salad in a jar idea is great!

carole (TruCarMa) said...

That salad looks absolutely delicious!!! And I so feel your pain -- I'm down south of you (in Oklahoma) and it's hotter than Hades these days! :) Definitely going to try this and your yummy drink. Perfect for a July 4th picnic (even if it's inside, in the airconditioning! :) )

duchess said...

What a cute idea.
Kimba sent me over & I'm thrilled she did.

Becky said...

Mish,
The salad looks divine...so crisp and cool just perfect for the super hot weather we have been having...makes me want to run to the store right NOW and get the ingredients.
When you make a card do you use PI pre-folded cards or do you cut yours from their cardstock?

Kate @ The Gaines Gang said...

Such a fabulous idea. I can not wait to use it myself. This would be great to take to a new mommy! thanks for sharing.

Charlene said...

to answer "what is a dickens" - here you go! Ha!

Etymology
Possible alteration of what the Devil.
Phrase
what the dickens?
(idiomatic) euphemism for what the Devil, used to add emphasis to "what" when beginning a question.
What the dickens is all that noise about?

Heidi said...

Congratulations to the winners! This recipe looks yummy! And it's too cute in the jars!!

Anonymous said...

mmmmmmm! Made the corn salad with corn that I grilled. It added a smokey sweetness that put this over the top...so good. Love the cranberry lime cooler too. Happy Holiday to you and yours!
Ad K.

N said...

The salad looks yummy and the Salad in a Jar idea is ... genius!

Could you please post the Easy Peasy Cranberry Lime Cooler recipe - I got thirsty just looking at it....

Debbie Olson said...

Mish, you are SO creative, my friend--you ROCK!

Janet Eyring said...

I have been sick for a long time, and some days feel good enough to check your blog. It is so inspiring and feels so much like home. I hope when I get better I can do some of your beautiful projects. Keep up the great work Mish!!

Anonymous said...

Love this salad idea! The teachers in my hall take turns bringing lunch on Fridays. I'm going to do this when we start it up again in September. Of course, I'll have to make it for myself before then.

Nice LB basket! I'm from Dresden :)

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

This is SUCH a great idea! I linnked to it at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com

Torie Chipman said...

Love this salad idea & can't wait to try it. Cuold you please send me your recipe for Easy Squeezy Cranberry Lime Cooler? Looks yummy too! My email is toriechipman@yahoo.com.

mommax3 said...

Looks so good! I can't wait to try this salad. Thanks for the recipes. I want to try the cranberry cooler also

Con said...

Never seen anything like this...I'm forwarding to some friends so they can see it. I'm going to try it! It is so fun.

Bridget Larsen said...

You tell your dad that a lady from Australia says he is mean to your mum calling her vintage,I bet he's more vintage than she is. Well I so enjoyed this post of yours and when it comes summer downunder I will certainly try it, right now it's freezing cold here, so its soups and caseroles
Hugs

rhetta said...

Today I made up some jars of your salad, complete with pinked circles of fabric for the lids, for our church's meal ministry. One of the recipients just called me to rave about the taste of the salad as well as the clever packaging. Thanks so much for the wonderful idea!

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