Challenge accepted. (No sweating required...)

Recently I read an article about ginger beer and ginger ale cocktails at Saveur Magazine. They all looked delicious and I thought it would be fun to try a new one each week this summer. 

Join me!

We made the Pear Haymaker last weekend, and it was a hit. Here's what you'll need:

pears - the riper the better
vodka - we used Absolute Pear Vodka. YUM.
ginger simple syrup (see below)
fresh lemon juice
ginger ale

It's a pretty simple drink, and it goes something like this:** 

Muddle half a very ripe pear into a pint glass. (the link to the muddle video is well worth the watch, and quite entertaining - who knew muddling was such an art!)

Add 
2 oz vodka
1/2 oz ginger syrup
1/2 oz lemon juice

Fill the glass with ice and top with a swirl of ginger ale. 

***I 'eyeballed' all the measurements, by the way, but I'm including the amounts from the recipe so you can make it just right!)

Ginger syrup
Grate a bunch of ginger into a saucepan, (a bunch = approx. 1/2 c)
Add 1 c sugar and 1 1/2 c water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain. This will keep in the fridge for at least a couple weeks. (I use it to make ginger lemonade, inspired by Santa Cruz Lemon Ginger Echinacea juice)

Winter Citrus Salad

Oranges and tangerines are so good right now, but if you don't have any on hand, you can easily substitute a tart apple or ripe pear in this salad. You can also substitute some other soft cheese for the goat cheese - I just had that in the fridge!

Yield: approx. 1 1/2 c dressing
Prep time: 10 minutes, tops!

Ingredients:

Dressing:
4 T peach preserves 
2 T water
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp EACH salt / pepper
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove
1/3 c - 1/2 c olive oil

Place everything in a blender except for the oil....or use an immersion blender and place all these ingredients in a mason jar. I won't go on and on (again) about the wonders of the immersion blender...but once again it proves it's usefulness in this recipe! Blend all the ingredients except for the oil. Then slowly pour oil into mixture as motor is running. The amt of oil is arbitrary in this recipe because it depends on how thick you like your dressing. Taste it as you go and adjust to your preference. 

Mix the dressing with the following:

greens - any kind, I used a mixture of spinach and mixed greens
red onion - very thinly sliced
goat cheese, crumbled
tangerines, sliced
croutons, optional

This recipe can easily be doubled if you are entertaining! Enjoy!

Black-eyed Pea Croquettes

This recipe was adapted from Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet. I've recently made some vegan friends and they are challenging my assumption that all good food must include two of my favorite ingredients: butter and cheese. 

So...here goes!

Yield: ~ 30 croquettes, depending on how large you make them
Prep time: ~ 30 min, plus overnight for soaking the peas
Cook time: ~ 30 min for frying

Croquettes:
3 c black eyed peas (soaked overnight)
1/2 c fresh (if possible) herbs (combo of basil, thyme, cilantro, parsley)
2-3 T lemon juice (depending on how lemony you like things)
1 round tsp garlic powder
1 round tsp salt
1 round tsp cumin
1 T soy sauce or Braggs
Canola oil for frying

Dipping sauce:
1/2 c maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or table syrup (or a combo!)
1/4 c apple cider vinegar (or to taste, you may like it thinner, or thicker, so adjust this as you see fit)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp chili flakes (or to taste)
2 T spicy brown mustard, not the yellow stuff...
1/4 - 1/2 c chopped green onions (or to taste)

Drain the peas, put them in Cuisinart  and blend. You may need to blend in batches. With the last batch of peas, add the fresh herbs (this will save you from having to chop them!). In a large bowl, combine all the croquette ingredients. With wet hands, shape filling into egg-shaped balls. I shaped a whole cookie sheet full of them, so I could just fry them all at once. 

When you have shaped the croquettes, heat about 1/4 inch canola oil in a cast iron or nonstick skillet, when the oil is hot (but not smoking), place croquettes in pan. Keep a close eye on them and flip when browned (approx 3-5 min). 

When croquettes are browned on all sides, place them on paper towels or wire rack to drain. You will need to add more oil to the pan as you cook batches of these. 

For sauce:
Whisk all the ingredients together. As I mentioned, you can modify these tastes...like spicy? add more chilis. Like sweet? add less vinegar...you get the picture.   

Herby Roasted Potatoes with Bleu Cheese

This recipe is courtesy of the abundance of fresh herbs I received in my CSA from the University this week. Fresh herbs make such a difference in a dish like this where they play a front n' center role. Yum!

Yield: 4 1/2 c
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20-25 min

4 c new potatoes, diced
1/3 c mixed (fresh) herbs (sage, thyme, chives, rosemary)
2 T olive oil
1/2 tsp each: salt, pepper
3 oz bleu cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 450. Put all ingredients (except for the cheese) in large cast iron skillet. Stir well, bake 15 minutes, rotate pan and stir, bake another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy to your liking. Crumble bleu cheese over pan of potatoes while still warm. This creates a delicious cheesy layer. Enjoy!

Springtime Strawberry Salad

Yield: approx. 15 c
Prep time: approx. 20 min - depending on how much washing your greens require
Cook time: 5 min.

Salad:
12 c roughly chopped greens (bibb, buttercrunch, romaine lettuce, spinach...pick your favorites!)
4 oz (or to taste) goat cheese, crumbled 
3/4 c glazed nuts or seeds (I used a combo of sunflower seeds and almonds)
3 c (or to taste) diced strawberries

Vinaigrette:
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 c extra virgin olive oil

Combine salad ingredients in large bowl. In another bowl, combine vinegar, salt and pepper, whisk. Slowly pour in oil while constantly whisking. Dressing will emulsify  Pour dressing over salad just before serving. 

Go-to Tofu

This is my go to tofu recipe. It's practically fool proof. The secret? An extra hot oven and extra firm tofu.

16 oz extra firm tofu (pressed, however if you can find the brand from Trader Joe's pictured below, you won't have to press it!)
2 T canola oil
2 T Braggs or 1 T soy sauce
1/2 T nutritional yeast, sometimes called torula yeast
1 T dried Italian seasoning, or a mixture of oregano, thyme, parsley, basil
1 tsp granulated garlic

Preheat oven to 550. Slice tofu in about 1/4 inch slices, lay on cookie sheet or in cast iron skillet. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour over tofu. Cook 10 minutes, flip tofu and cook another 10 minutes until crisp and brown.

This is my favorite way to enjoy tofu: in a sandwich....with cream cheese, spinach and tofu. Yum!

This is the best tofu I've found so far!

My Healthy Mac n' Cheese

The great thing about this recipe is that you can adjust the cheese sauce to suite your taste. I prefer a moderately cheesy mac n' cheese, but feel free to double or even triple the cheese sauce if you like yours very cheesy. 

Filling:
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 c diced onion
1 tsp salt
3 c diced cabbage
1 c diced carrot
2 c diced broccoli
2 c diced, packed kale
4-6 cloves minced garlic (depending on your taste)
3/4 lb rotini pasta

Cheese sauce: (if you like a very cheesy mac n' cheese, double or even triple it!)
1 1/2 T butter
1 T olive oil
3 T flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 T half n' half or heavy cream or whole milk
1 c milk
1 c cottage cheese (I used 2%)
2 c cheese (I used a mixture of extra sharp cheddar and mozzerella)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper

Topping:
1 c bread crumbs, seasoned or unseasoned, either one works

Do things in the following order and you'll have dinner ready in under 40 min:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Put pasta water on to boil, add 1 T salt
2. Pour oil in to pan (med heat) for sauteing veggies; dice onion and cabbage, when oil is hot add to pan along with salt
3. Continue to dice carrot, broccoli, kale and garlic
4. When onion and cabbage are lightly brown and wilted, add broccoli and carrot. Stir well, if mixture begins to brown too quickly or sticks to pan, add a couple tablespoons of water, when broccoli/carrot are lightly browned, add kale and garlic, cook for 2 min., stir well and remove from heat. The residual heat from the pan will lightly cook them. 
5. When pasta water boils, add pasta, stir, set timer - rotini usually takes about 11 min. Cook and drain, set aside. Noodles should be al dente
6. For cheese sauce, place butter and olive oil in a heavy skillet over med/low heat. When butter has melted, add flour and salt and whisk well (see pic). You are making a roux, so cooking the flour for a couple minutes is essential
7. Add milk and half n' half to flour mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisk well ensuring there are no lumps. Whisk in cottage cheese
8. When mixture begins to thicken a bit, add cheese and spices. The cheese sauce is done when it thickens and thoroughly coats the back of a spoon.  You want it to be thick enough that it will adhere to the noodles
9. Combine cheese sauce, noodles and veggies in a large bowl, stir to incorporate and place in an oiled 9 x 13 pan, or 14 inch cast iron skillet.
10. Top with bread crumbs (I put a large slice of bread in the blender and chopped it up like that, but if you have seasoned bread crumbs, they would be delicious)
11. Bake approx. 15-20 min until top is nicely browned. enjoy!

Roux example (step 6 above)

Step 9 above

(I topped mine with a fried egg and ate it for breakfast.....yum)

Warm Potato Salad with Feta

The original recipe uses goat cheese, which is so delicious and tart - but a little more expensive and harder to find than feta. Both are great. Use whatever you prefer. 

Warm Potato Salad with Feta

2 lbs new potatoes, 1/2 inch dice (approx. 5-6 c)

1 red pepper, diced*

1 c feta cheese

1 c white beans (if using canned, rinse well)

1/2 T minced garlic

2 T white wine vinegar

2 T lemon juice

1 T dried parsley

1 1/2 tsp grainy mustard

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 c plus 2 T olive oil

3/4 c (or whatever you prefer) toasted walnuts (opt.)

Steam diced potatoes in about 2 inches of water for 15 min, or until done, but still firm and not mushy, in the meantime, dice the pepper and garlic. In a jar, combine garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, parsley, mustard, pepper and oil. Shake or whisk well. When potatoes are done, add feta and pepper, stir well, add dressing and top with optional toasted walnuts. Serve warm.

*I've made this with steamed broccoli and think it would be great with steamed green beans or asparagus as well, use whatever veggie you have on hand.

My Polenta Pie

Sidenote: I have been cooking lately, but you'd never know it if judged by the lack of posts on my blog lately. During these short and dreary days I don't get home in time to cook when there is still some natural daylight remaining. And taking food pictures is so much better when the sun is shining through the windows vs. relying on overhead kitchen lights. Alas, I'm posting these pictures anyway because this recipe is just so darn good that I can't delay any longer. I hope you agree...

My Polenta Pie (Inspired by Moosewood Cookbook)

Polenta Crust
1 1/2 c cornmeal

1 1/4 c cold water

1/4 c heavy cream

1 tsp salt

2 c boiling water

2 T canola oil

Veggie Filling

10 c chopped veggies (onion, corn, broccoli, cabbage all work well)

1 c black beans, drained

10 oz enchilada sauce

3/4 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

2 c cheddar cheese, grated

Place oil in 10 inch cast iron skillet in oven, then turn oven on to 425 deg. Preheat with pan inside oven for 10-15 min to get oil very hot.

Mix cornmeal, cold water, heavy cream, and salt in bowl, stir. Bring 2 c water to a rolling boil, and add cornmeal mixture, whisking quickly. Lower to med heat and simmer until cornmeal is thick. You'll know it's ready when running a whisk through it gets a little difficult. This should take 10-15 min. Carefully take skillet out of oven, and pour in hot polenta, wear oven mitts if possible because the oil will splatter a bit. Smooth polenta out and bake for 15 min. - or until set.

While polenta is baking, gather all the veggies you can find in your fridge (I used onion, red cabbage, frozen corn, broccoli, and carrot) and saute in olive oil. You'll need about 8 c of cooked veggies, so you should start out with about 10 c - but this depends on what veggies you choose, some will cook down more than others. 

When veggies are good n' sauteed (10ish min), add beans, enchilada sauce, spices and cook  2-3 min to incorporate ingredients. Remove from heat.

When polenta is set, remove from oven and turn the oven to broil. Layer 1 c cheese on crust, spread all the veggies on top of cheese, and top with remaining cup of cheese. 

Carefully place skillet on the middle rack in oven and broil for approx. 5 min or until cheese is nice and bubbly. 

(Finished Polenta Pie)

(Polenta Crust - baked)

(Veggie Filling)

Red Lentil Chipotle Spread

It's football season, and some of you have been sitting around the TV eating chips n' salsa. Well, why not spice it up a bit? And add some protein to that snack? Try this. It's got just enough kick to clear your sinuses and not give you heartburn.

(You're going to have to trust me on this one...it's hard to make this dish look pretty)...

Red Lentil Chipotle Spread

1 1/2 c diced yellow onion
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 T olive oil (I had 1 T oil leftover from roasting garlic, I used it and it was great)
4 cloves garlic, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 tsp cumin
1 c red lentils
3 1/2 veggie or chicken stock
2 T canned chipotle peppers, diced
1 T lemon juice (fresh if possible)
1 1/2 c toasted walnuts
sunflower seeds (opt.)

In a heavy bottomed pot saute onion in oil and salt on med/high heat until translucent.  Add garlic, carrot, and cumin, cook for a minute or two, just to toast the cumin. Stir in lentils, stock, and chipotle peppers and bring to a boil. Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer. Stir occasionally (every 10 min or so) to make sure the lentils are not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the lentils are cooked and the stock has been absorbed (20 - 30 min), you want the consistency to be pretty thick (think bean dip). When finished cooking, stir in lemon juice. 

Blend walnuts in Cuisinart until finely chopped. Stir into lentil mixture. Sprinkle with toasted sunflower seeds if desired. Serve with crackers, tortilla chips or baguettes. Enjoy! 

This spread is also great inside a quesadilla...

Winter Kale Salad

Winter Kale Salad, inspired by NY Times

12 c (loosely packed) kale or chard (about 1 large bunch)
2 pears, diced
1/2 c toasted sunflower seeds, or walnuts
1 c crumbled sharp cheddar, white cheddar is best, but here I used yellow Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar
1/4 c olive oil
1/8 c fresh (if possible) lemon juice
1 rounded tsp finely diced garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Finely chop greens and dice pears. Crumble cheddar and toast nuts. Put greens, pears, cheese, nuts in large bowl. Put lemon juice in small bowl or mason jar with minced garlic, salt and pepper, whisk in olive oil and emulsify. Pour over greens, let sit for 30 min (not necessary, but helps wilt the greens a little) and enjoy!

Guest Post: White Bean Soup with Cheddar & Chive Biscuits!

It was cold when I got back to Logan after spending the holidays in the Northeast. Like, negative double digits cold. When it’s that cold out, there’s only one thing to do: make soup. Still reeling a bit from all the holiday eating – particularly lots of regional microbrews and an epic five course dinner on New Years Eve – I was in the mood for a soup that was on the lighter side but wouldn’t leave me hungry a couple hours after eating. I found some inspiration in my 500 Soups cookbook, and headed out to the grocery store. While at the store I saw that cast iron Dutch ovens were on sale for almost 40% off. I’d wanted one for a while, so I quickly grabbed a box and put it in the cart. It was a sign: I was meant to make soup tonight.

Now, I’m not going to lie: even though it was cold, my real motivation for making soup traveled over 2,000 miles to get here. Tucked in my suitcase were some very special souvenirs from a quick visit to Burlington, Vermont: two 2-pound blocks of Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar cheese. Best. Cheese. Ever. It even wears Lumberjack plaid!

This really is, in my humble opinion, the best cheddar cheese out there. I miss having it in my life since moving away from the Northeast. So before heading out of town, I stopped at the City Market Co-op in Burlington (another thing I miss from VT). The cheese was all I bought. The cashier made a comment about it being a lot of cheese, but understood after I explained that I now live in Utah and can’t get this variety out there. So now, at least until this 4 pounds runs out, this wonderful, crumbly, sharp cheddar is back in my life.

All the way back to Logan all I could think of was incorporating this cheese into a batch of hot, flaky biscuits. So really, I didn’t make the biscuits to go with the soup: I made the soup to go with the biscuits. It was fun playing in the kitchen after a couple weeks away, and the soup and biscuits made the perfect dinner for this cold, snowy evening. The soup is simple but flavorful, and filling without being heavy. And the biscuits? Tender, flaky,  cheesy, and just the right bit of salty. I may never make a plain biscuit again.

White Bean Soup

2 14-oz cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups chicken stock (substitute vegetable stock for vegetarian/vegan version)

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes

1 large onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, separated

2 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

3 Tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

8 oz smoked turkey sausage, sliced (can substitute kielbasa, salami, or other smoked sausage, or omit for vegetarian version)

In 6-quart Dutch oven or large pot, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil on medium heat. Add onion and stir. Cook until onions begin to turn translucent, about 2 minutes. 

Add beans, chicken stock, tomatoes (with liquid), celery, carrots, tomato paste, 1/3 cup olive oil, oregano, and sausage to pot. Add ground pepper and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer about 45 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serves 6-8.

Biscuit Recipe HERE!

Guest Post: Cheddar and Chive Biscuits!

Cheddar and Chive Biscuits (adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

3 ½ tsp baking powder (4 ½ if at lower altitude)

¾ tsp cream of tartar

¾ tsp salt

¾ cup cold buttermilk, plus more for topping

1 egg

¾ cups cheddar cheese, crumbled or cut into small cubes*

4 Tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped

¾ cups (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes

Coarse sea salt for topping

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt.

In small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg.

Add butter to flour mixture. With pastry blender or your fingers, work the butter into the flour, breaking up the small cubes into smaller bits. Once the butter is well incorporated into the flour mixture, the flour will resemble coarse meal. Some chunks will be the size of small pebbles, other will be the size of oat flakes.

Add chives and cheese to flour mixture and toss with a fork. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the buttermilk-egg mixture. Toss together with a fork, making sure all the flour bits are moistened by the buttermilk. Mixture will be shaggy.

Dump the biscuit dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead for about 3 to 5 minutes, bringing it together into a 1 ½ inch thick circle. Cut biscuits into squares or use a 2 ½ inch circle biscuit cutter to cut rounds. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, a glass also works – just don’t get your dough stuck!

Gather dough scraps, knead lightly, and cut out more biscuits until dough is gone. Place biscuits on prepared baking sheet, brush with buttermilk, and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Biscuits are best the day they are made (especially hot out of the oven!), but can be wrapped, stored at room temperature, and served the next day as well.

*(Best cheese ever...try to find this one, if unavailable, substitute an extra sharp white cheddar)

This soup goes very well with White Bean Soup

BBQ Black Bean Burgers

2 T olive oil
1 c EACH chopped onion, bell pepper (whatever color you like)
4 garlic cloves, or to taste, diced
2 c. cooked black beans (if you use canned, be sure to drain and rinse)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp jalapeno, or to taste, diced
1/2 c BBQ sauce
1/2 c (rounded) cooked rice (I used brown rice, whatever you have on hand is fine)
1 1/2 c (approx.) bread crumbs, unseasoned

cook onion, bell pepper in oil until translucent, add garlic cloves, when garlic is soft, add the rest of ingredients (except bread crumbs), heat through and dump into heatproof bowl, or Cuisinart (when cool a bit). Use whatever method you prefer, but you need to mash up the mixture. I preferred to put it all in a bowl and use the bottom of a glass to smash everything together. When incorporated, add 1 c of the bread crumbs to the mixture. 

The goal is to form the mixture into patties, if it seems too dry, add a splash more of BBQ sauce, if it seems too wet, sprinkle in some more bread crumbs. This will all depend on how wet your beans were when you added them, the consistency of your BBQ sauce...etc. Just approximate....

When you have the consistency right, place patties on a cookie sheet. If you want to cook them later, you can freeze them like this and place them into zip-loc baggies when they are frozen. If you are eating them the same day, be sure to use a good, nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet.
To cook:
Heat 2 T canola oil on med. in skillet, when hot, place 2-3 patties in pan, they should sizzle, when you have a good crust on that side, flip and place a slice of cheese on the top if you like. (I highly recommend this...). Cook for a couple minutes longer and enjoy. yum.

Me-So-Hungry-Miso-Soup

This recipe is easily adaptable to whatever veggies you have in your refrigerator. 

2 T canola oil
2 rounded cups, chopped onion
1/4 c chopped garlic, reduce if you like
1 big carrot, sliced
1 c sliced mushrooms
2 big handfulls chopped greens, I used kale
4 c veggie stock
2 T soy sauce
2 T white miso, dissolved in 1/2 c hot, not boiling water
1 block pressed, cubed firm tofu

saute onion in oil until golden and beginning to brown, add garlic, carrot, mushroom and saute until soft, if veggies dry out and begin to stick, add a splash of water. when all the veggies are soft, add stock, soy sauce, greens, miso and tofu. lower the heat. continue to cook on med/low for about 10 minutes to soften the greens.

enjoy!

creamy coconut carrot soup

Do you have a plethora of carrots and squash lying around? I've got the recipe for you!

7 c carrots, diced (unpeeled)
2 c onion, diced
2 c apple, any kind, diced (skin on)
2 tsp baking soda (yes, you heard me right)
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 T olive oil
1 1/2 T butter
1 1/2 T grated fresh ginger (freeze it, it's much easier to grate when it's frozen)
4 cloves (or to taste) garlic
1 1/2 T curry powder
approx. 1 - 2 quarts veggie stock (you can use chicken stock)
1 cooked acorn squash (approx. 2 - 3 c)
1 c milk, any kind
1 can coconut milk

First, cook the squash. Halve the squash, place face down in pan, cook on 400 deg. with about 1/2 inch of water in the pan until soft. approx. 30 minutes.

saute carrots, onion, apple in olive oil and butter for 10 minutes. add salt and baking soda, cover and continue cooking for about 5 - 10 minutes longer on med heat. the carrots etc. will be very soft. 

at this point, add ginger, garlic, curry and veggie stock to cover, bring to a simmer. you can let this simmer for about 15 minutes, but if the squash has a lot longer to cook, just turn the heat off and once the squash is done, you can continue cooking.

after squash is done, scrape out flesh, add to soup along with milk(s)*. bring to a simmer, use immersion blender and blend soup. 

*If the soup seems too thick, add more stock, if it seems too thin, add less milk. enjoy!

Caesar Salad

  Caesar salad with a homemade bagel after a nice bike ride. Sounds like a good day to me.... 
1 T fresh chopped garlic
1 egg
1 tsp anchovy paste
1/2 T mustard seed, any color (you can sub plain ole' mustard, I recommend a grainy mustard, not your typical French's mustard)
3 T lemon juice
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp EACH salt and pepper
3/4 c olive oil
parmesan cheese

If you have an immersion blender, use it...I have this one and it has changed my life... OK well that might be a slight exaggeration, but it's totally awesome and makes blending hot soups or making salad dressings so much easier than using a blender...

blend everything but the oil, when it is all mixed well, slowly pour in the olive oil. taste and adjust seasoning. mix with romaine lettuce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. this will keep for at least 1 week in your refrigerator. enjoy!

Roasted Roots Salad

It's been really hot here, and I couldn't bear turn the oven on, so I fired up the grill, charred some veggies, made a simple dressing and enjoyed the Sunday evening with friends. The house cooled down to 73 degrees last night, (that's good!) I imagine it wouldn't have been able to cool so much if I'd roasted the veggies in the oven...I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!


Roasted Roots Salad (adapted from this recipe)


Dressing:
1/4 c EACH: fresh lemon juice, red wine vinegar
1/8 c mustard, I used spicy brown
1/2 T toasted, ground cumin (toast in a dry skillet over med. heat for a couple minutes)
scant 1/2 c olive oil
salt and pepper
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in mason jar and shake, can be made ahead of time. 


Roots:
8-10 carrots (approx.) - depending on size, peeled and chopped into large enough pieces so as to not fall through grill
5-7 beets (approx.) (follow directions for carrots)
2-3 T. canola oil


1/2 c feta cheese
1/2 c chopped Italian parsley


Directions:
steam beets and carrots for approx. 8-10 min, cook until still quite firm when poked with knife, you want to cook them about 1/2 way and finish on the grill


spread veggies on cookie sheet, sprinkle generously with s + p and canola oil 


spread veggies over med/hi coals, flip a couple times and cook until you have a nice char on them. remove from grill, place in bowl, dress to your liking with the dressing, sprinkle on cheese and parsley and enjoy!

Arugula Basil Pesto

(back from vacation!...)The garden has doubled in size, and I was only gone for 10 days! Better get to work preserving...if your garden is blowing up like ours, try this recipe and adjust the arugula content to your liking. I find it a little bitter, so the basil addition cuts that sharp taste...

1 1/2 c toasted walnuts or toasted almonds

1 T kosher salt

1/2 c peeled garlic

2 T lemon juice

1 c veggie stock

8 c arugula

3 c basil

1 c olive oil

2 c parm. cheese

in Cuisinart blend nuts, salt, garlic and lemon juice. After this is blended, add half the arugula and basil and all the veggie stock, blend well. When this breaks down there will be room for the rest of the ingredients - add the rest of arugula and basil, olive oil and cheese. blend. adjust the salt. freeze in Ziploc bags and enjoy! (freeze flat to save freezer space:)