Posts filed under ‘Salads’
June Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
It’s about time for some health food around here. The past several posts have all be scrumptious sugary goodness…and now my teeth are starting to hurt just a little bit and the thighs have really taken advantage of the “situation”. Good thing I’m working up a serious sweat every day in my gardening gig. My garden is growing gold these days. I’m harvesting beets, carrots, lettuce, all sorts of herbs, broccoli, swiss chard, and young mustard greens. But my two favorites have to be the kohlrabi and sugar snap peas.
I had a friend recently tell me he’d never even seen a kohlrabi before, let alone eaten it. Of course I made him try it offered him one to eat as soon as they came into season (about a month ago). But before he would take a bite, he wanted to know what it tasted like. I always have such a tough time with that question. Kohlrabi tastes like…um, well, sorta like broccoli. Yep. And sorta like a mild radish. Okay. And maybe even a little like an apple. What?? Well, that’s just my take on it anyway. It’s definitely very crunchy and when it’s peeled, it looks like the white crisp flesh of an apple. There is a mild sweetness to mine, but I’ve had other people tell me that’s not always the case with kohlrabi. Another friend who overheard me trying to describe this to my kohlrabi-virgin friend declared it was just like eating a giant broccoli stem. Hmmm, perhaps, though I like to give this alien-looking vegetable more credit than that.
I do believe my friend liked the kohlrabi, by the way. And I know for sure he and everyone else who’s visited my garden as of late loved these sugar snap peas. I can only tell you that if you’ve never had a sugar snap pea plucked straight off the vine and popped directly into your mouth, pod and all, then you’ve been denied one of life’s most delicious experiences. Don’t even kid yourself if you are thinking right now, “Well, maybe I haven’t been there to pick them myself, but I’ve surely had the same great taste from the fresh peas I buy at the farmers market”. Peas are the one vegetable everyone should try to grow themselves as they are never quite as good as they are those few precious minutes after they’ve been picked. Really, mine rarely make it into the kitchen as I inevitably eat them standing before the vine, dirt in the crack of my hands to boot, about mid-way through my evening of gardening when my tummy reminds me I never made it into the house to have some dinner. Obviously I made an exception to make this salad. Talk about practicing self-control!
Organic Tzatziki Dip
Whew, I’m plum played out by all the activity of the past few weeks. Gardening in the spring is a joy and a brain teaser, dancing between rain, cold and mini heat waves. Not to mention time-consuming at the moment so it’s been tough to get a lot done in the kitchen. On the plus side, with four types of lettuce, three varieties of carrots, two varieties of beets, radishes, broccoli, kohlrabi, savoy cabbage, rosemary, lavender, parsley, chives, mint, sorrel, and sage now growing happily in my garden’s tidy rows, there should be more than enough ingredients in the next month and beyond to get SFTF’s kitchen out of “sputter” mode and back into “zooming along” gear.
Today’s recipe for an Organic Tzatziki Dip is a delicious hint at the warm summer weather ahead and all the fresh flavors it encompasses. Into this particular batch went some of my last local garlic and tender fresh sprigs of mint plucked from my deck container, and it was served with the very last of my carrots that wintered over. If only cucumbers were in season too… But I couldn’t quite wait for the local cucumbers as I had a real craving for this deliciously cool Greek condiment the other day when the mercury was soaring to an unwelcome 90 degrees.
I’ve typically made tzatziki with the standard plain yogurt, but decided this time to use a container of thick tangy organic Greek yogurt I had sitting in the fridge. When I was traveling about Greece and her islands a decade back, I just couldn’t embrace this unique yogurt that’s become very popular today in the States. My foodie palette hadn’t yet developed into what it is now, and I was pretty close-minded to the idea of a yogurt that was so heavy and not the least bit sweet. Afterall, I’ve always been a vanilla kind of gal. In any case, thankfully I decided to give it another try some years later. As it does with so many savory dishes, Greek yogurt puts this particular recipe over the top and I’ll be making a point to use it every time from here on out.
On another happy note, today is the opening day for the Headhouse Farmers Market in Philadelphia. For those of you in the area, be sure to visit this outstanding market for a diverse assortment of local foods. Weavers Way Farm will be there once again, as well as yours truly on occasion, helping man their table. Also, this year the market is officially expanding to provide the same market hustle-and-bustle on Saturdays as on Sundays so you now have two days to fill up your baskets and bags. Headhouse Farmers Market is open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. near 2nd and South Streets.
Sweet and Savory Millet Pilaf
I drafted up and made this recipe quite awhile ago, back when the days grew dark by five o’ clock and the thermostat in the house just couldn’t seem to keep up with the chill of the winter air. A big warm plate of Sweet and Savory Millet Pilaf was just the thing to have back then. It’s a shame, really, that it’s taken me this long to get the post dusted off and polished for your visit. A few cold days may still be ahead of us, but winter and her warm hearty dishes are on their way out. I know my mind is certainly drifting towards bright blue skies with cottony clouds drifting on balmy breezes, all of which I’ll deliciously enjoy while laying on my back in warm sweetly scented green grass that tickles my knees. Mmmmmm…
Not to distract from this lovely dish a second longer lest the seasons change permanently even as I type, let me tell you about this pilaf. It too, like the harbingers of spring, is full of rich aromas – heady cinnamon and nutmeg combining with bright ginger and orange. The millet is a wonderful ancient grain that really doesn’t get enough face time, both in my kitchen and in modern cooking in general. It has a nutty flavor that completes this dish in a way that rice or orzo never could.
Ah, and let’s not forget the stars of the show: carrots and cherries. The carrots are of the dwindling bunch harvested from my garden last fall. Cut into “coins”, they both brighten and lighten the final dish. The cherries, dried by and procured from a local fruit vendor at the Headhouse Market last summer, are plump and intoxicating (in taste only) once simmered in the wine, orange zest and ginger. I was so enamored with this particular combination that I later repeated it for a warm ice cream topping.
Kohlrabi & Carrot Salad
Here we are once again, standing on the doorstep of a brand-spankin’ new year. Every January there’s a sense of resolve in the air around my house. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I make resolutions. I don’t have a mind that operates in those clearly defined terms. But I do assess my current situation in life and think about where I’d like to see myself heading over the next 365 days.
I’ve never been a slender woman, although since high school I have been a fitness fanatic with a nicely toned body. Unfortunately, the chaos of changing careers, moving into our first house, taking on freelance assignments to supplement the drop in pay by going back to school, and giving up my daily bike commute, my hips have been sadly spreading over the past year. So, for the first time in years, I find myself starting this particular new year with the same misgiving about weight that so many do.
To that end, I’m on the hunt for recipes with fresh flavors but fewer calories and lower in saturated fat. This recipe for Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad is a bright colorful way to start off and tasty enough to help me keep my resolve. It’s a quick lunch, crunchy enough to make you feel full, or it’s a nice little starter to curb your appetite at the start of dinner. Kohlrabi in particular seems to me to be a great vegetable for satisfying some of the more common cravings out there: it’s got the crunch of a pretzel but the slight sweetness of an apple. Sprinkle it with a little salt and it’s surprisingly satisfying.
Fatal Attraction
I like to think it was fate that brought me to today’s recipe. One those chance encounters that really changes your perspective on life experiences. As it was, I’d always been a fan of creamy coleslaw but never really a fan of cabbage. I know there are legions of devotees to such standards as cabbage soups and sauerkraut. But, hey, I just don’t particularly like the taste of cabbage, okay? The only reason I like the creamy-style coleslaw you get at every truck stop and road-side diner is because it masks the flavor of the cabbage while still providing a good bit of crunch.
With that background info in mind, I wasn’t really looking for a new cabbage recipe. But during my last stint at the Headhouse Market around Thanksgiving, a customer practically came running over to our table when she spied the heads of crinkly-leafed Savoy cabbage we had. (Yes, that’s “savoy”, not “savory” for anyone wondering if I forgot the “r”.) Granted, these are the prettiest members of the Brassicaceae family of crops and worth some attention. But this customer was so very enthusiastic about them that I had to ask what her plans were for the two heads she bought. Turns out the NY Times had just printed a recipe for Savoy Cabbage Slaw With Applesauce Vinaigrette that she was dying to try.
Being the diligent customer service representative that I am, I made a mental note to go home and find the recipe so I could be familiar with it and recommend it to future customers if it proved worthy. After reading off the list of ingredients, my own curiosity was piqued so much that I decided to give the recipe a try with the small head of Savoy I’d brought home with me.
Holy molly, boy was I wrong about cabbage! Or, perhaps to be fair, up until this recipe I hadn’t known how to highlight its strengths. The fruity vinaigrette and the nutty walnuts along with the zing of the radishes all harmonize with – but do not mask – the cabbage’s flavor. I’m also certain using Savoy in this recipe is critical to its success since this variety of cabbage is not as poignantly “cabbagy”, and its texture is crisper than some of the standard heads (which I sometimes find almost rubbery).
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