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Amy Culbertson 
Tuck these salads into your picnic basket
Star-Telegram staff writer
Our request for favorite picnic recipes brought two interesting salad recipes from passionate local cooks Alice DeLeon West of Keller and Joan Winston of Mansfield.
West says her pasta salad makes a "light, fresh-tasting" side dish for barbecued chicken or grilled meats.
And Winston recalls that she picked up her fruit-salad recipe at a strawberry farm in North Carolina.
"I have to make this at least once every summer," Winston writes . "We love it."
Summer pasta salad
For a less-salty salad, West suggests, you can substitute queso fresco for feta.
Serves 8-10
12 ounces bowtie pasta, cooked in salted water and drained
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 Roma tomatoes, diced (about 2 cups)
1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, chopped (use less cilantro if you are not a fan)
1/4 small red onion, diced
1 cup sliced black olives
1 English cucumber (unpeeled), diced
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Salt and black pepper to taste
1. In a large bowl, toss drained pasta with olive oil and lemon juice. Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Chill.
2. Toss again before serving; garnish with cilantro leaves if desired.
Nutritional analysis per serving, based on 8: 292 calories, 12 grams fat, 40 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams protein, 8 milligrams cholesterol, 267 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber, 35 percent of calories from fat.
-- Alice DeLeon West, Keller
Picnic strawberry salad
Winston notes that the salad can be frozen and taken to the picnic, but she prefers it just chilled.
Serves 12
8-ounce package cream cheese (light is OK), softened
3/4 cup sugar
10-ounce container Cool Whip (use more if you like it creamier)
1 pound fresh strawberries, washed, trimmed and sliced
20-ounce can pineapple tidbits in juice, drained
2 large bananas, sliced
3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
1. Cream cheese and sugar together.
2. Fold in remaining ingredients and chill. If you make it ahead, add bananas on day of serving.
Nutritional analysis per serving: 293 calories, 16 grams fat, 34 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams protein, 21 milligrams cholesterol, 63 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber, 48 percent of calories from fat.
-- Joan Winston, Mansfield
Recipe requests
Do you have a side-dish recipe that's always a hit at backyard parties and barbecues? We'd like to share it with readers.
Reader recipe requests include a layered cherry dessert made with canned cherries, custard, whipped cream and vanilla wafers; German hard rolls called brochen or semmel; a coffeecake made with Red Hots; white bean and cabbage stew; and mushroom pie.
Send recipes and requests to Amy Culbertson: via e-mail, aculbertson@star-telegram.com with "Recipe Swap" in the subject line; or mail them to Amy Culbertson, Star-Telegram, Box 1870, Fort Worth, TX 76101, with "Recipe Swap" on the envelope.
Important: Please specify how many people the recipe serves and the size (in ounces) of any cans or packages called for. Write "Recipe Swap" on the envelope or in the e-mail subject line. Include your name, city and a daytime telephone number.
