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8 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | JULY 2017 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | JULY 2017 9 By Theresa Rossetti, Resident By now we are knee deep into the hazy, crazy, lazy days of summer. How do we stay as cool as possible while not starving to death trying to avoid cooking in this weather? The time-honored tradition of using the barbecue grill should be in full force around here for meat and fish. Think about using the grill to grill veggies and fruit as well. There are all types of gadgets that can be used to contain them while giving them a nice char on the grill. Season the veggies with olive or vegetable oil and seasonings of your choice before grilling. For the fruit, they can be brushed with a little honey and cinnamon. Or left naked. The grilling will bring out the sweetness of the fruit. There are loads of recipes online with ways to prepare them. Okay, so you've got your protein and your veggies, now what else to eat? How about salad with delicious dressing? SDV resident Carolyn Whittaker has graciously shared two salad dressing recipes that she is known for around the Island. I'll add one of my favorite salad recipes as well. By Alan Siegel, Resident Flags were flying high on Memorial Day, May 29, here at the Solera Diamond Valley Lodge organized by the Veterans and Friends Club. With lots of extra help from the club members and the volunteers from the Volunteers Committee, the club put on it's third annual Memorial Day BBQ and Chili Cook-Off. About 225 people attended the event, consuming hundreds of burgers, hot dogs and Italian sausages. There was live music all day courtesy of Mack Sanders, a veteran and musician from Menifee. Thirteen chili cooks competed for best chili at the cook-off. What a terrific time just having four or five or ten tastes. The chili cooks were Suzanne Wade, Sue Rossi, Georgeann Wellfare, Mike Latimer, Linda Bradstreet, Larry Gilles, Bobbie Foote, Sharon Desposito, Sharon Larson, Melanie Moyer, Belinda Stopa, Rick Green and Alicia Villa. The envelope please: The winners of the chili cook-off are Larry Gillis, Linda Bradstreet and Rick Green. Beside eating and drinking, there were lots of fun and games for old and young alike. The balloon toss winners were Robert and Terry Vise, Everett and Diana Carofano and Mitch Lane and Barbara Goodwin. The big raffle winners of the day were Joe Costello, Jana Main, Joe Munn, Susan H. and Charlene Bowman. The Club raised over $3,000, which will be donated to the VA Loma Linda Healthcare System. Special thanks to the local business who donated some of the food, raffle and auction items: Albertson's, Big 5, Costco, Home Depot, Lowes, Jennifer McCain, Bill & Pete Boukis (Four Star Meats), Smart & Final, Sprouts, Stater Brothers, Tractor Supply Co., Walmart, Walmart Neighborhood Market and Vons. Memorial Day BBQ & Chili Cook-Off GRILLIN' & CHILLIN' KILLER HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING Combine ¼ cup each of Honey, Dijon mustard and Miracle Whip salad dressing. Add ½ cup sour cream and a dash of lemon or lime juice. Blend well. (Keep this one refrigerated or on ice in a bowl if eating outside). KILLER VIDALIA ONION DRESSING One medium Vidalia onion 2/3 cup sugar 1 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 1 tsp celery seed 1 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup vinegar 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard Chop the onion in big pieces. Put everything in a blender and blend at HIGH speed till liquefied. BEAN SALAD (An earlier version of this was printed in Women's Day magazine in the 60s. Back then the ingredients were 1 cup each of vinegar, sugar and oil. The beans were pretty much swimming in the dressing. I reduced the proportions a lot, without any loss of yumminess.): Rinse three or four cans of beans - I use cut green and wax beans, cannellini (white) beans and red kidney beans. Mix in a bowl with ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup sugar, 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil, ½ cup chopped onion, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Let this blend together in the fridge for at least 12 hours before serving. Enjoy and stay as cool as possible!

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