summer kitchen sink salads

One of my favorite vendors at our farmers' markets is a young couple, just graduated from college. They grow interesting and heirloom varieties of all crops, and I always stop by their stand first. For the past month, their table has been filled with head lettuces of all textures, colors, and sizes. From crunchy Ice Queen (a flavorful and crisp iceberg style lettuce) to frilly Lolla Rosa, to baby romaine, all of the lettuces are delicious, and provide a perfect bed for "kitchen sink" style salads.

Every Saturday, I buy three or four heads, and come home and wash, de-slug, and spin the tender leaves. Every weekday at lunchtime, I haul out the salad spinner and fill a small serving bowl with lettuce before contemplating my next toppings. I've let the farmers' market offerings guide my toppings, which means I've been incorporating strawberries, cherries, sugar snap peas, scallions, carrots, and radishes into the salads. I've added avocado, various cheeses, pecans, chickpeas, and/or pan fried tofu for protein and complexity.

I always make my own dressings, a single serving at a time. With a variety of vinegars, several olive oils, citrus, and sweeteners to choose from, I craft tangy, light, and satisfying vinaigrettes.

vinaigrette fixins from Michigan, Italy, and Wisconsin

Here are a few particularly winning combinations for inspiration. Let your fridge and pantry, as well as your taste and cravings, guide you:

Strawberry-Avocado-Carrot-Cucumber-Sugar Snap Pea-Scallion-Pecan-Bel Gioso Four Cheese Blend with Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

 [no photo of this one. sorry!]

Cherry-Avocado-Feta-Pecan-Carrot-Scallion-Chickpea with Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Juicy Michigan cherries are the star of this salad. 

Sugar Snap Pea-Carrot-Scallion-Tofu with Spicy Peanut Dressing

A glamour shot of Ice Queen lettuce, which holds up particularly well to this heavier spicy peanut dressing in this Thai-influenced salad.

These salads make lunch different and delicious everyday. Filled with several servings of fruits and vegetables, and lean protein, these salads are nutritional powerhouses...that taste decadent, and provide lasting satisfaction and fullness, especially when paired with a homemade roll or buttered honey whole wheat toast. 

daily bliss: black bean couscous salad

I love summer: streaming sunshine, sapphire skies, sparkling lakes, colorful blossoms, fresh produce, and more time to cook, dream, and play.

Fresh produce is still in short supply in Wisconsin--we're in the midst of asparagus season, with a smattering of rhubarb. Yet, I've been craving cold bean and grain salads. Departing from the local, seasonal mantra I usually espouse, I made this salad for Memorial Day weekend celebrations and again last night. You can adjust the recipe in size and in ingredients--add the seasonings and southwest veggies you most like. I suppose you could 'sconnie it up by adding cheese, but the clean flavors of the salad shine without hunks of cheddar. 

Black Bean Couscous Salad

salad:

Combine the following ingredients into a large bowl. You can adjust the quantities according to your preferences. This salad keeps about a day or two in the refrigerator before becoming too watery. 

whole wheat couscous, prepared

corn, sauteed with garlic, onion, cumin, salt, pepper, and ground chipotle powder

diced bell peppers

diced avocado

grape tomatoes, quartered

black beans, rinsed and drained

lime cilantro vinaigrette, to taste

lime cilantro vinaigrette:

Combine the following ingredients in a jar or small pitcher. I like a more vinegary dressing, so my proportions of oil to vinegar are usually 1 to 3. 

olive oil

white balsamic vinegar

maple syrup, honey, or sugar, to taste

lime juice

cilantro, finely chopped

spinach ricotta gnocchi

What to do with 50 quarts of spinach?

Besides blanch and freeze, start cooking up delicious dishes that require lots of this delicious, nutritious power food.

Tonight I made spinach and ricotta gnocchi baked in a simple tomato sauce. The gnocchi sound more daunting to make than they really are--they're fast and simple to craft, and require straightforward ingredients. As such, use the best ingredients you can find, say handpicked spinach and ricotta from the local Italian restaurant:)

These gnocchi are sometimes called gnudi--naked ravioli. Hee.



Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi
adapted from The Bon Appéit Cookbook
(this is half of the original recipe, and it makes four servings)

12 oz. spinach
1 c. whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Wilt the spinach, drain, squeeze out the excess water, and chop. Mix with remaining ingredients until a sticky dough forms.

Flour a work surface and your hands, and roll out the dough into ropes. Cut the ropes into one inch pieces, and gently roll them into ovals.

Cook small batches of pasta in boiling, salted water for four minutes. Drain.

Serve as desired.

Quick Tomato Sauce
1 TBS olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 large can of whole San Marzano tomatoes
red pepper flakes to taste
Italian herb mix to taste
handful of fresh basil, chopped

Heat olive oil and garlic in medium sauce pan over medium heat until garlic is just starting to soften.

Meanwhile, process the tomatoes in a food processor until you reach desired chunkiness level. (i like mine smooth).

Add tomatoes to garlic, toss in dried herbs. Allow to come to a gentle boil over medium heat, and then lower the heat and simmer. Right before serving, add the fresh basil.

Baked Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce
Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a baking dish. Add gnocchi, top with sauce, and extra parmesan cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the sauce and cheese are bubbling and deliciousness permeates your kitchen.

The finished dish was wonderful--the gnocchi delicate and tender, the flavors of spinach and ricotta clear and simple. The tomato sauce (and a glass of Italian Red) was the perfect acidic compliment to all that creaminess.

impromptu ravioli

Yesterday's cool, drizzly, foggy weather put me in mind of soups and heartier fare, and I decided it was time to finally use the last butternut squash sitting on my kitchen counter. I dug through the mysterious packets in my tiny freezer space and found a disk of pasta dough, and set about making my favorite ravioli. However, upon slicing into the squash, I realized it was tinged with mold around the stem area, and the neck was spongy. My mind, however, was already on ravioli, so I considered the ingredients at hand and decided to experiment.

Here's my ravioli filling:
caramelized Vidalia onions (the first of the season!)
roasted garlic
sauteed Swiss chard
pan-toasted walnuts
dried cherries
Wisconsin Parmesan
salt and pepper
a white wine deglaze



And the finished ravioli:
served over wilted spinach, with walnuts, parm, and walnut oil

They were delicious, but missing a little something--I'm not sure what. I do, however, love the combination of flavors in the filling and will definitely experiment again.

recipe: almond and michigan dried cherry biscotti

At long last, here is my favorite biscotti recipe. My best friend S's cousin J shared it with me after serving these rich, flavorful treats one summer morning. This recipe makes enough biscotti to send to far flung friends...or you can halve it and have enough biscotti to share with your family and/or co-workers. Enjoy!

3 3/4 c. all purpose flour (I use King Arthur, unbleached)
2 1/2 c sugar
4 eggs + 2 egg yolks
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract (I use Penzeys)
2 c. raw almonds, roughly chopped and toasted
3/4 c. softened butter
1/2 c. dried cherries or cranberries (I generally use more so the biscotti are chock full of fruity goodness)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a baking sheet or two. I use parchment paper; you could use a silpat or butter and flour the sheet.

Place flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; make a well in the center of the bowl.

Place eggs, yolks, butter, and flavorings into the well; combine into a sticky dough.

Work in the almonds until the dough is smooth; add the cherries. Knead for 5 minutes.

Roll dough into logs 2 1/2 inches wide and 10 inches long. If you like larger biscotti, make the logs wider. I usually flatten the logs a bit before baking.

Bake the logs for 40 minutes; remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees. Cut the logs diagonally. Place cookies on their sides, and return to the oven for 15 minutes. Cool.

Enjoy with your favorite mug of rich, dark coffee.

mojitos and men on mountaintops

photo of the Keyhole on Longs Peak, from wikipedia, taken by J. Benjamin Wildeboer

In some circles, I'm known as Martha, after Martha Stewart, for my cooking craft, and in other circles I'm known for making a mean mojito. One relative-of-a-relative actually calls me Mojito Martha. Last night I made the first mojitos of the summer with some gorgeous, fragrant mint from the farmer's market...this time I actually went to the little trouble of making a mint syrup, but you can just as easily muddle the mint and sugar in the bottom of a glass. Add a shot of golden rum, juice of one lime, ice cubes, and top off with club soda for a refreshing, painless drink. Painless until you realize you've downed two of them and these days one drink is enough to provoke tipsy laughter and true confessions. Have another drink and who knows what might happen...

So I've placed Sam, my RN hero, on a mountaintop. Cliche? Perhaps. But I realized I needed something BIG to provoke his romantic "come to Jesus" moment. Losing his job didn't do the trick, neither had moving back to his hometown. I drew on my own experience climbing Longs Peak, a "fourteener" in Rocky Mountain NP, for Sam's big moment.

Long's Peak can be climbed non-technically--that is, without ropes, harnesses, all of the trappings of "real" rock climbing. In 2001, I spent about six weeks working at Shadowcliff lodge in Grand Lake, CO, and planned a climb with my co-workers. In typical dharmagirl fashion, I read everything I could about the climb, and prepared physically and mentally. The books made the climb sound challenging but not difficult (if that contradiction even makes sense). In reality, the climb was grueling, a 14 hour event that saw several missteps, including losing my footing on a particularly steep portion of the climb, just yards away from the summit. Thank goodness for my friend N, the British bloke who pushed me back up and kept me from sliding into a rocky abyss. This climb was transformative--a testament to my resilience in the face of challenges, and a certain tenacity that isn't always apparent when I feel muddled with insecurity and uncertainty.

So what better experience to give to Sam, who needs something larger than life, larger than himself to propel him back to Lily? I have him stop his climb at the Keyhole, a definitive moment that all the guidebooks say is where most people who fail to summit turn around, as the immensity of the mountain becomes apparent. You have to step through a keyhole shaped opening in the rock to a narrow ledge on the other side to wind up closer to the summit. And this is all at 6.2 miles into the 8 mile hike to the summit...turning around when you're that close takes a certain emotional truth that I want Sam to realize and to redirect.

berried bliss

... a recipe to celebrate the eve of the summer solstice...

WASH and pat dry fresh, local strawberries at the height of ripeness...
MELT, in a small saucepan, over low heat, chocolate (any combination will do. I used a handful of ghiradelli dark chocolate chips and a smidgen of an *insane* 99% michel cluizel bar)...
POUR melted chocolate in a small bowl...
DIP berries into chocolate and savor while looking out the window at the fireflies cavorting in the blue-black night, which will likely cause the chocolate to drip all over the place, but pay no attention...
FORAGE other tasty morsels, like whole raw almonds or organic pretzel sticks to twirl in the cooling chocolate when strawberries are gone...
SMILE. FORGET that you're supposed to be reading Pierre Bourdieu, and instead rest up for the longest day of the year.