Asparagus, green onion, cucumber, and herb salad

Dressing:
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:
3 pounds medium asparagus, trimmed
4 cups thinly sliced green onions
3 cups 1/4-inch cubes peeled seeded Kirby or English hothouse cucumbers
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chervil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon





For dressing:
Whisk first 5 ingredients in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature and rewhisk before using.

For salad:
Fill large bowl with lightly salted ice water; stir until salt dissolves. Cook asparagus in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain, reserving 3 cups cooking liquid. Transfer asparagus to bowl of salted ice water to cool. Place green onions in another large bowl; pour hot reserved asparagus cooking liquid over onions and let stand until cool, about 30 minutes. Drain asparagus and green onions well. Transfer onions to clean kitchen towel and squeeze dry. DO AHEAD: Asparagus and onions can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap separately in several layers of paper towels, then enclose in resealable plastic bags and refrigerate.

Combine green onions, cucumbers, and herbs in mixing bowl. Add dressing; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange asparagus on platter. Spoon cucumber mixture over and serve.

Ingredient tip: Chervil is an aromatic herb that's related to parsley. It has lacy, fern-like leaves and a mild anise flavor. Look for fresh chervil with the rest of the fresh herbs in the produce section. If you can't find individually packaged chervil, it is often one of the fresh herbs included in the packaged "seafood mix."

Strawberry or Raspberry Salad

1 24 oz container of cottage cheese
1 16 oz container of cool whip
1 big box of strawberry or raspberry jello
1-2 pounds of fresh strawberries or raspberries, cut into bite size pieces

Mix the cottage cheese and dry jello mix.
Add cool whip and stir in strawberries.
Refrigerate until cool. ENJOY!!

Fruit Pizza

Here is the fruit pizza recipe I made at the reunion. YUMMY! One batch fits nicely in a large cookie sheet.

Crust (oatmeal cookie dough)
1 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ c granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1½ c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
3 cups oatmeal

Heat Oven to 350. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well. Stir in oatmeal. Spread dough onto pizza round about 1/4 of an inch thick and bake 15-20 minutes (depends on pan, thickness, etc....check middle to see if it is still doughy). Cool completely before topping with "sauce."

Fruit Pizza "Sauce"
one pint whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla (almond extract tastes great too!)
½ cup powdered sugar
3 or 4 oz pkg of cream cheese

Whip the cream until stiff (but not buttery) and add vanilla. Soften cream cheese and whip with powdered sugar, then fold into whipped cream. Top oatmeal crust and coat completely (you will most likely have some left over).

Now top your pizza with your choice of fruit toppings! Enjoy!

(Keep refrigerated; it will get soggy after a couple of days)