The Garden Apartment

Food memories, a lack thereof {and a recipe for mixed green salad with broiled goat cheese}

"Do you remember that salad we ate when we arrived in Paris?"

A blank stare was the first response.

I prodded further, "Literally, the very first thing we ate when we got off the plane."

Still, a blank stare.

"You know, it had tomatoes, goat cheese and this wonderful herbed vinaigrette."

Finally, an answer emerged: "No, I have no memory of it."

Sometimes it's frustrating to be married to someone whose love of food does not quite level up to my very acute memory and sense of flavors. In fairness to dear husband, the salad was consumed on one occasion a full two and a half years ago while we were both exhausted from overnight traveling. 

Yet I distinctly remember the view from our outdoor table in the Latin Quarter and another patron feeding pigeons from the bread basket at her table (or is that just a Parisian stereotype?). Mostly, I remember relishing every bite of a very fresh salad with remarkable flavors. In particular, the sun-dried tomatoes were bursting with ripe sweet tomato flavor.

With spring just arriving, I am really craving fresh green things. With a little inspiration, I recreated this salad for dinner last night. The salad mixture is a blend of watercress, finely chopped Belgian endive, and some baby greens. If endive is too bitter for you, or you want to keep things simple, a spring mix would work fine. The greens are dressed in a simple vinaigrette, topped off with marinated artichokes, slow roasted tomatoes and broiled goat cheese. The tomatoes and artichokes need some time, but you could easily make them the night before and then quickly assemble this for dinner the next day.

Mixed Greens with slow roasted tomatoes, marinated artichokes, and broiled goat cheese

Serves 2 as a main course, or 4 as a first course

* Note: Roast the tomatoes and marinate the artichokes ahead of time. They will store will in the fridge for a few days, making for a quick assembly when you serve the salad.

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
• 2 TB EVOO
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 15 ounce can of artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 teaspoon of herbs de provence
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• a few turns of black pepper
• 1/4 Cup EVOO
• 1 Belgian Endive
• 1 bunch of watercress, cleaned with stems removed
• 2 Cups of baby lettuce, or spring mix
• Roasted and salted sunflower seeds, to top
• 4 ounces of fresh goat cheese
• 1/2 Cup panko 

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 medium garlic clove, finely minced
• a few dashes of dried oregano
• a pinch of sugar
• 1 TB EVOO
• salt and pepper, to taste

Roast the tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 275F. Toss the tomatoes with 2 TB of olive oil, and a little bit of salt and pepper. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet with a fresh sprig of rosemary. Slowly roast for 2-3 hours, until the skins are withered and beginning to blacken. Remove and set aside.

Marinate the artichokes

In the meantime, combine the artichokes with 1/4 Cup olive oil, the herbs de provence, red pepper flakes, and some black pepper. Refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to two days, before serving.

Assemble the salad

Preheat the broiler to High. Divide the goat cheese into four equal rounds (about 1 inch thick each). Lightly brush each round with olive oil, then coat with panko breadcrumbs. Place on an oiled piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and store in the freezer for a few minutes while assembling the other ingredients.

In a large bowl combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk until well combined. Toss with the spring mix, endive and watercress until lightly coated. Divide the lettuce between two serving bowls, then top with marinated artichokes, roasted tomatoes, and sunflower seeds.

Remove the goat cheese rounds from the freezer and place into the broiler. Broil for 2-3 minutes on each side, until nicely browned. Watch carefully, as they will brown quickly.

Place two rounds atop each salad and serve immediately.

Root vegetable salad with cranberries, pecans, and orange dressing

I know, I know. Even as I write this, I'm groaning at myself for sharing a raw root vegetable salad just two days before Christmas.

Am I out of my mind?

I mean, really, all month long it's been about desserts and sweets here at The Garden Apartment. You would think I had jumped the farmers market vegetable wagon and adopted a new diet consisting of butter and sugar. 

But folks, I am really craving salads after all the cookies and cupcakes. And I could never forget winter-time root vegetables. 

So, please. Take it or leave it: my root vegetable salad with cranberries, toasted pecans, and orange dressing. 

This salad has the wonderful refreshing crunch of raw vegetables enhanced by the sweetness of apples. An orange-tamari dressing imparts a hint of Asian flavor. If you so desire, add some fresh pomegranate seeds and black sesame seeds for a prettier presentation.

If I do say so myself, it would make a beautiful and healthy addition to your holiday table.

Or, you can bookmark it for the new year, when everyone will be interested in healthy foods again. . . at least until Valentine's Day, anyway.

Root Vegetable Salad with cranberries, pecans, and orange dressing {Serves 4-6}

• 1/2 large celery root, sliced into batonettes
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced into batonettes
• 1 large apple, sliced into batonettes
• 1 beet (I used a golden, but red would be lovely too), peeled and sliced into batonettes
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries (dried cherries would also work)
• 1/2 orange, juiced (about 2 TB)
• 1 tsp fresh orange zest
• 1 tsp rice wine, or white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar or honey
• 3 tsp grape-seed oil (or other lightly flavored oil)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• optional: 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds 
• optional: 1/2 cup toasted pecans
• optional: black sesame seeds 

Slice the celery root, carrots, apple, and beets into batonettes. Combine with the diced onions in a large mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, orange zest, rice wine vinegar, tamari, and sugar. Slowly add the grape-seed oil, whisking the entire time. Whisk until well combined. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

Pour the dressing atop the root vegetables and mix well. Allow to flavor through for approximately ten minutes prior to serving. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve topped with pomegranate seeds, toasted pecans, and black sesame seeds.

Cooking for DJ {and apple slaw with cilantro-lime vinaigrette}

Our household has recently adopted a new member and a new, healthier diet. Read on to hear about our household goals or scroll down for my recipe for apple slaw with cilantro-lime vinaigrette.

I know, I know. Where have I been? Several of you have kindly emailed me to ask if everything is okay. And yes, everything is fine. This just seems to be the year that everyone has decided to either: 

a) get married (most of our good friends)

b) have a baby (all of our already married friends, and seemingly everybody but us)

c) move into a new house (us)

d) adopt their brother-in-law (us)

Yes, that's correct. We have adopted my brother-in-law-- if it is actually possible to adopt a 29 year old.

It was about three months ago that DJ moved in with us. Timing is a funny little thing sometimes. It just so happened that we moved out of the garden apartment right around the time John's little brother found himself facing the prospect of moving back home with his parents-- again.

John, being a caring older brother, has always wanted to help DJ through the various difficulties which persist in his life. But, until we moved into this house, our ability to help has been limited. The brother-in-law residing on the couch in a one bedroom apartment is much less appealing than the brother-in-law living in the basement of a four-bedroom house. 

He has tried to be independent, but something always seems to prevent him from having the life he wants. Sometimes it's bad luck. Sometimes it's bad decisions. Whatever the balance of luck and decision making, this August we found DJ on our doorstep. 

We knew it was important for him to tackle everything head-on, so we had a pow-wow with DJ the night he moved in. One of the biggest decisions made during that family meeting was that DJ wanted to improve his health and lose weight. His 5'5 frame was supporting 305 pounds and he could hardly walk up our street without losing his breath.

At this point in November, he has lost around 25 pounds and is actually able to jog short distances (something he claims he hadn't done since high-school). 

And of course, one of the biggest ways we are supporting DJ is by ensuring that the house is full of healthy food options. Initially, this led to silly things, like me raiding the pantry to make sure that all the snack foods with bad carbs were removed to an undisclosed location. This proved to be a bad idea when I forgot they were hidden.

Now I am finding it much more effective to just limit the snack foods, or to buy healthier options like whole grain baked pita chips. 

I created this apple slaw recipe just for DJ, as a healthy side for steamed fish I prepared during his first week here. DJ is a big fan of spicy foods (he is notorious for putting hot sauce on everything), and I thought the combination of spicy, tart, and sweet would be especially good here.

Despite its origins as a DJ recipe, my apple slaw has turned out to be a huge hit at every party I have thrown in our new house this fall (including baby showers for all those friends having babies). It's the perfect accompaniment to barbecued chicken and cornbread-- if you aren't watching your calories, of course. 

Apple Slaw with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette    Printer Friendly Version

Serves 4-6 as a side dish 

2 apples sliced into thin batonettes

1/4 red onion, finely diced

1 large garlic clove, finely minced

1/2 jalapeno, minced

1 tsp white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar

1 tsp maple syrup

zest of 1 lime

juice of 1 lime

2 tsp of finely minced cilantro

2 TB olive oil

Directions:

Slice the apples and set aside.

Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine. Toss the apples in the vinaigrette, allow to marinate for 15-30 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Optimism {and a winter citrus salad}

After a completely unsuccessful farmer's market trip Saturday, a little help from the south keeps me on the sunny side of life with a delicious winter citrus salad.

 

Click the photo to view it on Flickr with notes.

Optimistically, I appeared at the Old Town Alexandria Farmer's Market in Saturday morning's 13 degree weather. The flower guy, one of three vendors at market, took pity on me while I shivered waiting for a friend and advised me where to stand to absorb maximum heat from the sunlight. 

Really. It was that bad.

His advice paid off when Kate showed up and bought several bunches of flowers from him. Of course, she had to climb into his truck to make her purchase because the flowers would have frozen if they had been displayed outside.

As for myself, I had been planning to buy some Greek yogurt, apples, and honey. I struck out, 100%. And I can't blame the dairy, farmer, and beekeeper for their absence. It's cold, windy, and I doubt there are a lot of people waking up early aching to shop outdoors for local produce.

So, I had to find something else seasonal, though perhaps not so local. Luckily, this was not at all difficult.

You see, I am completely smitten with citrus right now. 

Perhaps my favorite, based on looks alone, is the Blood Orange. Must I explain the name? 

Juicy, tart, red flesh which I find completely irresistible.

The Pink Navel Orange provides more eye candy. As advertised, "pink is the new orange."

Although, it's more or less salmon. No?

Last but not least, based on taste alone, my favorite is the Temple Orange. I'm positive it's called the Temple Orange because one bite makes a believer out of you. I, for one, can testify that it's the sweetest citrus fruit I have ever tasted.

With all these new loves in mind, I dragged my husband to Whole Foods last night where I bought a bag of every available citrus. He would have been miserable, but he occupied himself with selecting several bottles of good reduced price wine.

When we got home, I put together something John refers to as a "citrus orgy." I prefer the more sophisticated "winter citrus salad."

Winter Citrus Salad  Print Friendly Version 

Serves 2

• 1/2 Cup assorted citrus fruits, peeled and sectioned off*
• 1 avocado, sliced 
• 1 lime, juiced 
• 1 lemon, juiced (if available, try the sweet tasting Meyer lemon) 
• olive oil, about 2 TB (+ more for drizzling)
• 1 Cup of mixed greens
• salt and pepper, to taste 

* I used three orange varieties, a Honeybell tangerine, and a pink grapefruit. Basically, the more variety, the better.

 
Make the Vinaigrette:

In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper. 

Assemble the Salad:

Divide the lettuce between two bowls. Place half of the avocado slices on each salad. Top off with mixed citrus fruits. Drizzle with the vinaigrette, then add salt and pepper to taste. If desired, drizzle with additional olive oil.

Variations:

* Add one minced garlic clove to the vinaigrette.

* Add thinly sliced red onions to the salad.

* Garnish with cilantro or mint.

After shopping indoors, purchasing fruit from a much warmer place, and eating this delicious salad, I can safely say I am feeling more optimistic- sunny, even- about winter. 

Don't worry, I'll be back to the farmer's market again next weekend.

For more winter citrus inspiration:

The Romance of the Orange: A History of the Temple Orange

(whereas I learn that the Temple Orange is named for William Chase Temple, not any sort of religious experience)

Flaky Blood Orange Tart at Smitten Kitchen

Citrus Salad with Mint Sugar at Epicurious

 

Apple, Fennel, and Pomegranate Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

This salad features some of the season's best produce: apples, fennel, and pomegranate. The crisp textures are enhanced by tart and sweet flavors, making for a refreshing treat. You can make this salad with just the basic ingredients (apple, fennel, celery) or can enhance it with one or all of the following: pomegrantate, blue cheese, and toasted pecans.

After a Thanksgiving full of gorging ourselves on enough dishes made with butter and cream to make Paula Deen proud, John and I are trying to prevent our major arteries from failing. Thus, we've begun something of a salad campaign in our household. We figure that if we eat at least one salad a day, we will feel less guilty about indulging in the season's rich treats. 

Of course, I think this salad is a tempting treat-- not just a guilt reliever for less healthy foods. Featuring a delicious mixture of crisp textures and sweet and tart flavors, you'll feel like you've really treated yourself. The maple vinaigrette is a little reminiscent of a honey mustard dressing, and would be wonderful drizzled over plain salad greens. You can keep this salad simple by just mixing up the apples, fennel, celery and onion with the dressing. Or, you can dress it up with a antioxidant kick from some pomegranate seeds, some blue cheese crumbles, and/or some toasted pecans. 

Have I given you enough options? Now, go make yourself this salad!

Apple Fennel and Pomegranate Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

This recipe makes two large salads, or four side salads

For the vinaigrette

• 2 tsp maple syrup (pure maple syrup, preferably Grade A)
• 3/4 tsp dijon mustard 
• 1 TB apple cider vinegar 
• olive oil (about 2 TB)
• salt and pepper, to taste 

For the salad

• 1 small apple, diced (my favorite is Pink Lady; anything slightly sweet would work well) 
• 1 celery stalk, diced 
• 1/2 large bulb of fennel, sliced into small matchsticks* 
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion  
• 1 Cup mixed baby salad greens 
• salt and pepper, to taste 

* If the licorice flavor of fennel is too intense for  you, use a mandoline or a vegetable peeler to make paper thin slices. You can also reduce the amount of fennel, of course.

Optional Recommended Additions to the salad 

• 2 TB pomegranate seeds
• 2 TB crumbly blue cheese (preferably something creamy with a mild flavor)
• 1/4 Cup toasted walnuts

Directions

Make the vinaigrette

In a large bowl, whisk the maple syrup, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, and salt and pepper. Slowly add the olive oil while briskly whisking. Add olive oil until you get the consistency and flavor you prefer. This will probably be around 2 TB.  

Make the salad

Add the apples, fennel, celery, and red onion to the vinaigrette. Toss to coat.

Divide the Cup of mixed greens between two large bowls. Cover with the apple and fennel mixture.

Looks good, right? To make it even better, add some of those optional ingredients-- like the pomegranate seeds and blue cheese.

Or really indulge yourself by adding a handful of toasted pecans.

Of course, everything is best served with a glass of wine.

Enjoy this salad, and feel good about eating something healthy and delicious this holiday season.

Apple, Blueberry, and Blue Cheese Salad

Sue Bette's Feelgood Eats has been one of my favorite blogs since I first started writing "The Garden Apartment". Sue posts original recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. She also provides her readers with great resources for eating locally and sustainably. Let's just say that from the very beginning, I was in awe of her. So, imagine how honored I felt when she asked me to write a guest post! Check out my recipe for apple, blueberry, and blue cheese salad. And while you're over there, take some time to look around Feelgood Eats and Subscribe.

King Street + Penn Quarter= Crab Cakes and Corn Salad

Two weekday farmers markets trips provided the ingredients necessary for a delicious meal of crab cakes with corn salad. Read here about my market visits, or scroll down for the recipe.

Call me a farmer's market junkie if you like, but I have been taking full advantage of weekday markets. My fellow Fairfax Connector Bus commuters must think I'm a bit odd wearing high heels, carrying green laptop case along with the market bag overflowing with produce and fresh flowers multiple days this week. The new King Street Farmers Market on Wednesday is so convenient to my commute home and the Penn Quarter Fresh Farms Market on Thursday is such a nice walk from work in our current fall-like weather.

Let's begin with the King Street Market. This was the second week of this new market, and though it's small, the produce and flower selection is solid. However, if you are looking for meat, cheese, or baked goods, you will not find them at this market- though hopefully Alexandria City will be able to attract some additional vendors soon.

This week, I made a stop at Bigg Riggs Farm for some of their awesome extra-large, multi-colored peppers. I also got the first of the season's apples, which I hope to make a pie with if John doesn't eat them all first.                                                                                                                  

I spent some more time exploring the Greenfield Farms booth and their gorgeous, organically grown flowers.

The farm owner expressed excitement about participating in the King Street market. She has just started expanding her offerings this year by growing tomatoes, and was offering advice to customers on the flavors of each heirloom variety. I always like to know what the grower's favorite is, and was told to buy the one called "Tangerine," which (not surprisingly) is a cheerful orange color.

 

Greenfield Farms selection of heirloom tomatoes is displayed amongst their organically-grown flowers.

At D & S Farms a nice variety of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, peaches, nectarines, fruits, and preserved products was available.

My favorite product at D & S, however, are miniature yellow cherry tomatoes, which I have yet to find from another purveyor. They are super-sweet and excellent in salads or roasted and served warm.

I had been hoping to buy corn, but somehow spaced out and ended up with a bag full of other vegetables (all non-husked ones)- mainly those awesome huge peppers and small yellow cherry tomatoes. I decided to make roasted red pepper sauce, which I put on a homemade pizza with some roasted yellow tomatoes and other toppings. We invited our neighbors over for a fun Wednesday meal. The leftover red pepper sauce (which I left chunky, rather than pureed like the pizza sauce) will make a nice sauce over linguine tonight.

Pizza was all fine and good, but this didn't satisfy my husband's craving for corn salad. He almost seemed disappointed to hear the word pizza Wednesday, and my Thursday email inbox was filled with requests for Mexican Chicken and Corn Salad. (Can you say "spoiled"?)

A quick read of the Fresh Farms Newsletter revealed that sweet corn would indeed be available at the Penn Quarter Farmers Market. Chicken? Well, not so much. But, I had something much much better than chicken in mind.

This was my first visit to the Penn Quarter Market, and allow me to list the reasons why it will not be the last:

1. Wide variety of fruits and vegetables (a lot, a lot of heirlooms) and many organic growers
2. Fresh flowers, including potted orchids
3. CRAB CAKES! EMPANADAS! from Chris' Marketplace
4. GELATO! from Dolcezza Artisinal Gelato
5. Buffalo meat from Cibola Farms
6. Handmade soaps
7. Dairy products (fresh milk and artisinal cheeses)
8. Baked goods
9. Chef demonstrations and free recipes
10. Greenhouse grown lettuces from Endless Summer Harvest

If I haven't yet convinced you, here are some photos to tease you:

Organically grown multi-colored cherry tomatoes and blackberries from Eight Acres at Wheatland Farms

More produce from Eight Acres including Swiss Chard and peppers

A small sampling of the baked goods available at  Ovens at Quail Creek

Fresh sunflowers, zinnias and vegetables at Anchor Nursery. . .

where my camera elicited a very friendly conversation with the farmer (pictured) who wondered whether I was a professional photographer (big black cameras give off this false impression). I wish! In addition he joked with me that the colorful zinnias were the last flowers to be named- thus their letter "z" beginning. Despite their non-priority placement in a seed catalog, they captured my attention enough to purchase a bunch of ten flowers.

Okay, let's get to the heart of the market. My newfound love affair, or summer romance, with Penn Quarter's Market really begins here, at Chris' Marketplace. 

 

Truly, the smell of cooking crab cakes dominated the entire market atmosphere. I followed my nose to find the stand, which was sampling many of their products. Chris' Marketplace features lump Maryland blue crab cakes. Chris, the appropriately-named owner of Chris' Crab, wakes up early every morning to find the best purveyors of lump crab meat.  And that's the secret: a good quality main ingredient with no filler. Quite literally, these crab cakes are pure crab.  

He offers two types: lump crab ($5 each) and jumbo lump crab ($9 each). He described the difference to me, "The lump crab is like eating a burger, and the jumbo lump crab is like steak." Given that I like both burgers and steak, I reasoned that it was smart to start with the burger. I bought two lump crab cakes and was given the following fool-proof instructions: bake in the broiler for 5-7 minutes with no butter or oil; do not turn over. It sounded like a job for the hubby.

Crabs in hand, I was now on a mission to find some corn. This was quite easy, actually, and I found the winners at Toigo Orchards, advertised as "Super Sweet." And there could not be a better way to describe their corn, which truly is the most super-sweet I have tasted yet this season. I have to have more of their corn-- very soon.

With no further ado, here is my recipe for Corn Salsa, with Crab Cakes of course.

Corn Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 ears of fresh sweet corn, husked and removed from the cob
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced into small pieces
• 1/4 cup red pepper, diced into small pieces
• 1/2 cup mixed heirloom tomatoes, diced into small pieces
• 1 lime, juiced
• 3 TB fresh cilantro, torn
• 1 TB fresh arugula
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1-2 tsp jalapeno pepper, diced (to your liking)
• 2 TB grapeseed oil (or other light flavored oil)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Combine the main ingredients

Begin by combining the corn, onion, red pepper, tomatoes, and 1 TB cilantro in a large bowl. Set aside.

Make dressing for the salad

In a food processor (or a mini prep like a Magic Bullet) combine lime juice, grapeseed oil, 2 TB cilantro, arugula, jalapeno, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Pulse a few times until all the ingredients are nicely integrated.

Pour the dressing over the corn salad and refrigerate for about 15 minutes (you may not want to use all of it, depending on which flavors you want to emphasize).

If you are serving with crab cakes, prepare the crab cakes at this time. Place fresh arugula leaves on each plate, cover with corn salad, and serve the crab cake on the top. We also enjoyed a dollop of guacamole with this meal.

The leftover corn salad can be enjoyed as a salsa with tortilla chips the following day.

After trying the "burger," we're looking forward to a "steak" upgrade next Thursday. Based on the quality of this meal, I don't think we will be at all disappointed.

I submitted this market di(sh)patch to the Farmer's Market Report at To Every Meal. Check it out!

Summer Salad Di(sh)patch

After being out of town for a week, I really anticipated Wednesday's Foggy Bottom market. My fridge was empty and I knew that July would bring a wider variety of produce selections.

D & S Farms had ripe peaches, delicious nectarines, raspberries, and enormous blackberries.

Freshly dug red, white, and blue potatoes from Quaker Valley Orchards. They also had delicious ripe bing cherries.

A new favorite vendor is Long Meadow Farms. One of the major appeals is that the produce is organic (non-certified, but they will happily talk to you about their practices). The farmer, Marvin, is usually at the booth with his sister. He's very friendly, helpful with recipe ideas, and seems to enjoy joking around with customers. For example:

Customer: What's the best way to take care of this basil?

Marvin: Use it all up and come back next week to buy some more.

He, of course, answered the question properly after his joke. I've found that their booth has interesting  variety, including heirloom varieties of tomatoes, various types of squash, and yellow pole beans (which have a more buttery flavor than green beans).

As usual, I was drawn to the Sunnyside Farms and Orchards stand. The folks there always have a good selection, meaning that my arms are overflowing with produce by the time I check out. I found two varieties of green beans: regular old green beans and their expensive sister haricots verts (which were about 5 times the price!). I bought the same cost value of both beans, meaning my bag of regular folks style green beans was much fuller. In addition they had tomatoes, onions, broccoli, cabbage, and much more. They also placed a very helpful warning by their blueberries: "Last Week for Blueberries!" Although my bag was too heavy for any more purchases at this point, their warning has inspired me to buy large quantities of blueberries for freezing this weekend.

After a quick stop for the necessary meat component at Smith Family Farms, and the corresponding bread from Atwaters, I headed home.

Here's (some of) what I brought home with me:

I wanted to do something simple after a long workday, so I put John to work recreating our sliders from a few weeks ago. With the intention of making something healthy to counterbalance the meat and cheese, I put together a summer salad.  You could do this with any variety of vegetables. Peppers or roasted eggplant would be a delicious addition/ replacement later in the summer. Here's what I did:

Summer Salad with an Herb Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup mixed pole beans (I used haricots verts and yellow pole beans), washed and steamed for 1-2 minutes
• 1 cup diced potatoes, boiled until just tender and immediately chilled (I used my multicolored variety)
• 1 cup tomato, cut into large sections (I used red and yellow tomatoes)
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 TB fresh basil, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh oregano
• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 TB red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk olive oil, vinegar, shallots, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Add vegetables to the bowl and stir to mix. If desired, you can refrigerate the salad for 15-30 minutes prior to eating. It will help the flavors to marinate. Otherwise, serve immediately.

This made for a fairly healthy and light compliment to the less healthy sliders. However, when comparing the two side by side, my husband felt that the sliders had an unfair advantage of meat, cheese, and bread. I had to agree, but still enjoyed this colorful and tasty salad very much.

Mileage for this meal:

• Potatoes- Quaker Valley Orchards, 91.2 miles  
• Red tomato, scallion, and haricots verts- Sunnyside Farm and Orchard, 71 miles
• Yellow tomatoes and yellow pole beans- Long Meadow Farms, 90 miles
• Garlic- Sunnyside Farm and Orchard, 71 miles
• Basil and Oregano- my garden, 0 miles
• Not Local: oil, salt, pepper, vinegar

Kohlrabi Two Ways: chips and slaw salad

I love to try new things. Recently, a vegetable I had never even heard of-- kohlrabi-- has been popping up in local farmers markets. In this post, I will describe two ways to prepare kohlrabi: kohlrabi chips and the featured recipe: an Asian slaw salad.

Shortly after seeing kohlrabi at the Foggy Bottom market a week ago, I received an email from one of my former professors with the following note: "I got kohlrabi in my CSA box this week. What do I do with it?!!"

Intrigued, I set off to find the answer for her. What exactly is this curious little vegetable kohlrabi? According to my semi-reliable source (Wikipedia) the kohl is German for "cabbage" plus rube (rabi) is German-Swiss for "turnip." Though a member of the cabbage family, kohlrabi's bulbs contain a lot of tender and crisp flesh and only a thin layer of skin. They're healthy: just one cup served raw meets 100 percent of your daily need for Vitamin C.

The real issue was whether or not they would be tasty, especially after eating sliders the previous night. I wonderered and worried, "Am I setting myself and my husband up for a disappointment?"

As I researched how to serve these, the simple idea of making them into baked chips emerged, which sounded easy enough to try. In addition, Epicurious had a recipe for Asian slaw salad. The Asian slaw reminded me of a recipe I made with purple cabbage last Fall, which I have recreated here using this new vegetable.

A Snack: Kohlrabi Chips

It couldn't be easier. Simply slice the kohlrabi into thin pieces. Toss with olive oil and Kosher salt. Bake in the oven at 350 F for about 20- 25 minutes until they start to brown.

As for the taste, I don't think this is the best way to serve them. The chips were a bit on the bitter side. However, they do make a unique and healthy snack. They may be improved if served with a yogurt dip. I plan to try them again with a sweet potato chip mix this Fall. I think the combination of sweet and bitter would be very complementary.

Asian Slaw Salad

Vegetable ingredients:

• 2 small kohlrabi bulbs (any variety is fine), peeled and julienned
• 1 large radish, julienned
• 3/4- 1 Cup of sugar snap peas; peas and pods separated, pods thinly sliced
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced

Other vegetables that would be nice to try with this recipe: red cabbage, carrots, red bell pepper, bok choy, or snow peas.  Anything crisp and crunchy would result in a refreshing and satisfying salad.

Simply slice each vegetable and mix together.

Making the sauce:

• 2-3 TB soy sauce
• 1 1/2 TB rice wine
• 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp of olive oil (use a citrusy olive oil or try grapeseed oil instead)
• black pepper, to taste

Whisk all of the ingredients together and combine with the vegetables. Top with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.

The results: an amazingly satisfied and relieved Tiffany and John. The salad was so light, refreshing, and delicious. We ate it all in one sitting.

PS. My former professor reports that her kohlrabi was delicious simply stir fried with garlic.

The Last of the Lettuce Di(sh)patch: Locally Inspired Greek Salad

We are really big lettuce eaters in my house, so when I heard that this weekend marked the end of the local lettuce season, I knew I would need to buy a large quantity to satisfy my craving. This di(sh)patch pays tribute to lettuce with a recipe for a delicious locally inspired (with a little bit of help from the Mediterranean) Greek Salad. Read here about my trip to the farmer's market, or simply scroll down for the recipe and recipe adaptations.

It was wonderful to wake up early Saturday morning, embrace the beautiful day, and head straight to the Old Town Alexandria market with my friend. I've come to know the Old Town Market well, which is comforting, since I know which farmers and producers I can trust.

Most notably, this weekend marked the end of the lettuce season. It has gotten warmer over the last few weeks, and lettuce does not grow well in high temperatures. Spring Valley Farm and Orchards was selling large containers of a lovely lettuce mix, so I grabbed one as quickly as I could. 

In addition, they had lovely zucchinis and.  . . . 

. . . a variety of different beets.  I purchased the light red Chioggia beets.

I wandered off to the Blue Ridge Dairy Co. where I expanded my horizons beyond the buffalo style mozzarella and purchased a block of feta cheese. I also purchased two cartons of yogurt: one plain for a homemade cucumber dill dressing, and one "Honey Yo Fresh" yogurt which is great as a breakfast yogurt served with fresh fruit.

Finally, I stopped by to see my friends at Bigg Riggs Farm and bought two cartons of juicy cherries.

I have to pat myself on the back for just a moment and say that I really did a good job with managing the market this week, meaning that this was about all I needed to provide for a few days worth of good eating. I still had lovely baby yellow tomatoes, half of an Ugly tomato, fresh garlic, and scallions all hanging around in my kitchen. Combined with my market cucumber, lettuce, and feta cheese, all added up to one possibility: my favorite Greek Salad.

As much as I try to eat locally, there are simply some things I cannot and will not give up when it comes to food. At the top of the list are olives: joyous, delicious olives. Let's face it: a Greek Salad is not a Greek Salad without olives.

When John and I got married last summer, one of the best gifts we received was the Williams Sonoma Salads book. We have enjoyed countless recipes from this collection.  I have felt little need to change this, though I do sometimes adjust it for the ingredients that I have available. Following is a link to this recipe. 

Greek Salad Recipe Here

Here are my suggestions for using this recipe:

• Don't feel confined to the vegetables listed. I had no bell peppers to use since they are not in season yet. Instead I used two types of tomatoes: a red Mr. Ugly tomato, and several sweet yellow baby tomatoes. In the past, I've enjoyed chopping up a fennel bulb and adding it to the mixture. I've also enjoyed eating the mixture without lettuce.
• Use a quality olive oil. You won't regret it. I used Olav Organic which had a light citrus flavor which really complimented this salad.
• Marinate the vegetables in the dressing. After whisking the salad dressing, I always let the vegetable mixture soak up the flavors for at least 30 minutes. Then, I dump it on top of the lettuce and add the cheese. 
• Add fresh herbs into the lettuce mixture. I always add fresh dill and oregano into the lettuce leaves.
• Buy a block of feta and crumble it yourself. There's a big difference between this and the pre-crumbled stuff. It's fresher, has more moisture, and (in my experience), a much better flavor. Plus, you can make the chunks as huge as you want them!
  

        

  Mmm. . . now that's a satisfying salad.