Yummy Summer Salad

After testing a salad sample at Whole Foods yesterday,
I had to make something similar!

Yummy Summer Salad

• Romaine lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Cherry tomatoes, halved
• Olives, chopped a bit
• Goat feta
• Sunfl0wer seed

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and drizzle a bit of olive oil over it then toss.

Gumbo in the Summer

So I'm not 100% raw — more like between 80% and 90%. Since it's the weekend and my son really wanted gumbo, I decided to indulge him. How can I turn down requests for my cooking?!!
Adapting a Martha Stewart recipe I found a few years ago, I made a few changes: using lemon-herb chicken sausage, omitting the rotisserie chicken, and using fresh okra. Still turned out quite delicious, though I did heap mine with parsley for further flavor and health.

Summer Salad and Cucumber Soup

Lunch My favorite salad this summer is the one pictured above. Cut up about three leaves of romaine lettuce and add chopped tomato on top of that. Place half of an avocado, diced, in a smaller bowl and mince one clove of garlic through a press on top of that. Add the other half of the avocado if you like then stir the garlic into the avocado. Toss the avocado-garlic mix with the greens and tomato and eat up.

While perusing the fridge for more lunch eats, I noticed my leftovers from last night and decided to sandwich them in cabbage leaves. It was OK, but really left me wishing I had endive leaves or bread to make a sort of bruschetta.

Dinner

This was one of many recipes I found at Elaine Love's website, Pure Joy Planet, that sounded so good I couldn't wait to try them out.

Cucumber Soup

• 2 medium-large cucumbers
• 3 cups of spinach or another leafy green
• 1 handful basil
• 1 T. fresh ginger with skin
• juice of 1-1/2 lemons
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 small avocado, diced
  
• 1 tsp. dried dill, or 2 T. fresh

1. Place cucumber and lemon juice in a food processor. Pulse until pureed.
2. Add a handful of the greens and basil, pulsing until incorporated, and continue to do so until greens are gone.
3. Add in the salt, garlic and onion powders, avocado, and dill, pulsing until incorporated.

This recipe was pretty yummy. I added some chopped cherry tomatoes and onion on top, which was much welcomed flavor. Adding some sprouted grain bread with organic butter made it perfect.

Watermelon Cocktail Juice

Getting back into juicing has proven more delicious than I could ever have imagined! In addition the basic green lemonade that starts off my day, I'm trying out different juices — and this one is a winner!

The ingredients are pretty simple:

• 1/4 of a watermelon
• about 1 inch of ginger, as much as you like
• 1 lime

Put each ingredient through the juicer, including the rind
of the watermelon, as Sarah is doing so above.

By the end you have a voluminous amount of juice that beats anything you could buy at the store! Do note: drinking all the juice you made in one sitting could provoke your bowels. Sip it through the day or share it with a friend. Like me!

Zuccini "pasta" with Raw Marinara and Kale Salad

I'm always falling in love at the farmers market! When I went to the farmers market yesterday morning, I fell in love with this purple kale. Having recently viewed Jennifer Cornbleet's video about making a raw kale salad, I couldn't resist!

This was pretty yummy — while the marinara wasn't a perfect replica of it's cooked version, the zucchini easily mimicked the size and texture of pasta. The real test will be is my son enjoys it as much as I do.

Zuccini "pasta"

• Peel and julienne one zucchini per person.

Raw Marinara

• 2 bell peppers
• 3 to 5 tomatoes
• 5 to 8 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for a few hours
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed a bit or minced if you like
  
• basil
• oregano
• salt
• black pepper

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse till the desired consistency is achieved.
2. Toss with the zucchini and serve.

For this recipe I didn't have pine nuts or olives. Instead, I used raw sunflower seeds my mom left for us when she last visited (thanks Mom!) and didn't use olives — yes it was sad, but I plan to get some today to add to the leftovers. Very good indeed! The flavor of this salad was quite earthy — perhaps an acquired taste for some, but enjoyable! This will definitely be a recipe to replicate. The health benefits of kale abound, and I'm interested in finding out how the taste of different varietals of kale compare.

Kale Salad

• enough kale to match the size of a salad
• juice of one lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 to 1 cup olives
  

1. Chop the kale using a chiffon cut, making sure the leaves are left in bite-sized ribbons in the salad bowl.
2. Add the olive oil, lemon juice and salt.
3. Massage the leaves, rubbing them together periodically.
4. Add in the bell pepper, nuts and olives and toss.

Fall Basket - 8 November 2008

Basket items: Spinach, red leaf lettuce, head of cauliflower, arugula, red onions, yellow onions, apples, grapes, a bouquet garnit: basil, thyme, dill.

Saturday

Pomegranate juice - made two different ways. The glass in the front was made by blending the pomegranate rubies and adding grapefruit juice to it. The glass in the back was made by putting the pomegranate rubies through the juicer and then adding grapefruit juice. The juicer rendered far more juice than the blender.

Sunday

To use up some spinach, I made a spinach and herb risotto for an afternoon lunch (we're still in our jammies!), which went well with a red leaf lettuce and spinach salad with carrots. I had to add Armand in the photo because the risotto matched his pajamas. Imagine my delight when my son actually enjoyed this! NO protests whatsoever — in fact he heartily ate it up. Truly a successful recipe!

For the herbs, I used tarragon from my herb garden and a bit of basil from this week's basket. For the wine, I used what I had in my cupboard, a Night Owl chardonnay. It was pretty yummy. Maybe I'll have a glass along with leftover risotto for dinner (I should have started drinking at lunch. Of course, that may have stunted my efforts at writing my senior paper — or enhanced it!)

Spinach & Herb Risotto

For the spinach & herb pesto

• 3/4 cup densely packed stemmed spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup mixed flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, and tarragon leaves
• 1/4 cup chicken stock, as needed

For the risotto

• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock; more if needed
• 3 Tbs. butter
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Salt to taste
• 2 Tbs. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1. Put the spinach and herbs in a food processor or a blender. Process, adding a little stock to loosen if needed, until well combined. The pesto should resemble a very thick soup. Set aside.
2. Bring the stock to a boil; reduce to a simmer. In a medium, heavy-gauge saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 2 Tbs. of the butter. Stir in the rice, toasting just until it starts to sizzle and pop, about 1 min. It should not color. Add the onion, stirring constantly, and cook until translucent, 1 to 2 min. Stir in the wine.
3. When almost all the liquid has disappeared, after about 1 min., add just enough hot stock to cover the rice. Lower the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer; stir occasionally. When the stock is almost gone, again add enough stock to cover the rice, along with a pinch of salt. Check the risotto every 3 or 4 min., giving an occasional stir to make sure it isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan, adding just enough stock to cover the rice when the liquid has almost disappeared.
4. Continue this way until the rice is just al dente, about 20 min. total cooking time. Bite into a grain; you should see a white pin-dot in the center. Take the risotto off the heat. Add the remaining 1 Tbs. butter. Stir in half of the herb pesto (freeze the rest for another time) and the cheese. Stir vigorously for a few seconds. The risotto should be moist and creamy, not runny. Add more stock to loosen the risotto if you like, and more salt to taste, if needed. Serve immediately.

Monday

I decided it was time to use up the cauliflower we had, so I used a recipe provided on the Abundant Harvest newsletter. Except I didn't have garlic and didn't slice and toast almonds, so it was more like Roasted Cauliflower instead — but it was really good! Never before had I tried cauliflower cooked, and I was pleased with the results. So was Armand. He particularly enjoyed the charred bits.

Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic with Toasted Almonds

• 1 head cauliflower trimmed and separated into florets
• 1 head garlic, separated into unpeeled cloves, pointed ends trimmed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Postition a rack in upper third of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees.
2. Place the cauliflower and garlic cloves on a large rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, cumin and pepper. Drizzle the seasoned oil over cauliflower and garlic. Toss to coat.
3. Spread the vegetables in a single layer and roast until the cauliflower is tender and lightly charred, about 25 minutes.
4. Let cool slightly, then using your fingers, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins into a large bowl, discarding skins. Add the roasted cauliflower and almonds to the garlic and toss.

Tuesday

This was a quick and easy recipe I put whipped up all on my own. I must say, Abundant Harvest has really got me back into the kitchen. With the weather going colder each evening, it's been fun to try new soups and stews.

Chicken with bok choy soup
Chicken sauteed in olive oil and placed in a bowl

• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 2 baby bok choy stalks, chopped
  
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 3 cups broth

1. Saute the onion for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and ginger continuing to saute for about 2 to 4 minutes longer.
2. Add in the broth and heat through, then stir in bok choy and carrots.

Wednesday

To use up the other half of the chicken purchased for the bok choy soup, I found this Martha Stewart recipe to try. However, I couldn't find okra anywhere. I should have just used green beans, and next time I will. Still, it was a satisfying stew.


Chicken and sausage gumbo

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 red bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen cut okra
• 8 ounces smoked (precooked) andouille sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced 1 inch thick
• 1 rotisserie chicken (about 2 1/2 pounds), skin and bones removed, meat shredded (about 4 cups)

1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium. Add flour, and cook, whisking constantly, until pale golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in bell peppers, onion, garlic, and oregano; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Add 4 cups water; stir in okra and sausage. Bring to a boil. Stir in shredded chicken, and warm through, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; if desired, serve with cornbread.

Fall Basket - 1 November 2008

Bakset items: 1 head of cauliflower; 1 head of red leaf lettuce; 1 bunch of spinach; potatoes; bok choy; 2 pears; 5 carrots; leeks; grapes; 5 persimmons; 2 yellow onions; 2 red onions.

Sunday

My sister, Emily, picked up my basket for me since Armand and I were out of town for Halloween festivities.

Tuesday

At lunch I had a radish sandwich on whole-wheat English muffins with a salad consisting of romaine, carrots, and radishes from Abundant Harvest and tomatoes from the store.

Dinner included more of the same salad from lunch and cod with leeks and cherry tomatoes from a recipe I saw in the May/June 2003 issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. Maybe using lime instead of lemon (or lime juice with lemon zest) would be even tastier!

Cod With Leeks and Tomatoes
• 2 medium leeks, white and light-green parts only, thinly sliced, rinsed well, and patted dry
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 3 sprigs thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 4 cod fillets, each 6-8 ounces and 3/4- to 1 inch thick

1. Preheat oven to 450º. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, toss together leeks, lemon juice, oil, lemon zest, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover with foil and bake until leeks just begin to soften, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Remove baking dish from oven. Add tomatoes, and toss to combine. Season both sides of cod fillets with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; place on top of vegetables.
3. Cover the dish and bake until the fish is opaque throughout, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Wednesday

Salad: red leaf lettuce, cucumber, carrot, scallion. Potatoes sautéed in butter with yellow and red onions, a dash of rosemary and 1 teaspoon of time.