While the great Arctic mass of frigid air made its way down South, we stayed huddled in the house, in a semi-zombie-hibernation mode. We were not at our best: wearing many layers and lumbering about our humble (and drafty) abode both clumsily and with reluctance. Hunkered over our bowls of oatmeal and potato soup like refugees from the Western Front.

We Nashvillians just don’t do 8 degrees very well.

One evening, though, I made up this cheery cold plate. This combination struck just the right notes—earthy to neutral to floral—-firm to creamy to juicy—vegetable, fruits, greens. Plus, a little dollop of goat cheese.

And color! Pretty winter pastels to brighten the dull gray of January, the dreariest of refugee mindsets. The golden beets lead the way, marvelous ringed discs capturing the light. Add in slices of avocado and ruby grapefruit and the color trio reminds me of sherbet, or some long-ago popsicle blend from the Good Humor man.

This composed salad plate is simple to make, as long as you have the right ingredients on hand: a grapefruit, an avocado, some leafy salad greens, a little goat cheese, and those beets—the only thing you’ll have to cook.

Brush the beets with a little olive oil, loosely wrap in foil and roast in a hot oven for 25-30 minutes. Once, cool enough to handle, the skin should slip off without much trouble.

The Chili-Grapefruit Vinaigrette has just the right fire to wake up the palate. Toast some crusty wheat bread, spread a little chevre, and know that this season moves as quickly as any.

Chili-Grapefruit Vinaigrette
1 Tablespoon Grapefruit Zest
3 Tablespoons Grapefruit Juice
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
pinch of salt and sugar to taste
pinch of cayenne
1/2 cup Olive Oil or Walnut Oil

In a small mixing bowl, add zest, juice, chili powder, vinegar, salt and sugar. Cayenne, too, if you like. Whisk together. Continue whisking as you add the oil; it should readily emulsify.

Spoon a little vinaigrette over leafy greens and toss until the greens are lightly coated. Mound onto plates. Add sliced beet, sliced avocado and grapefruit, goat cheese and drizzle these with the dressing too. Enjoy!

For some time now, great recipes that pair sweet watermelon with briny feta cheese have been circulating the ‘net. I offer my version, of which I am especially fond, because:

1. The sherry vinaigrette, fresh oregano, and sharp red onion bring sweet and salt together with Spanish-Mediterranean flair. (The clusters of Thai basil growing in my garden make a pretty side garnish, and a chiffonade of a few leaves add a licorice note to the salad—an optional note—but a complementary one.)

2. I use award-winning Bonnie Blue Goat Feta (no old socks pungency here.) So fresh!

3. I am now an official Grower of Delicious Watermelons, and have the misguided sense that my watermelons are the best…

Here’s our watermelon story:
My brother’s graphic design studio is located in a little house in Berry Hill, whose sunny back yard has been the decades-long site of next-door neighbor Hooper’s garden. When Mr. Hooper, alas, moved into assisted living this spring, my brother proposed that Bill and I continue the Hooper tradition. I happily agreed, but was unable to get the garden tilled and planted until late June.

Volunteer plants and seeds donated by friend Maggie comprised our plantings.
Included was a cluster of sprouted watermelon seeds that I snapped up from her compost heap. At one end of our garden, we created four large mounds of dirt, amply spaced, into which Bill placed every sprouted seed.

“Don’t you think we should thin those?” I asked.

“No,” Bill said, packing fistfuls of seedlings into the dirt hills. “This will work out fine.”

Needless to say, in short order, the garden plot became overrun with dogged watermelon vines. They bullied the zucchini, trekked up cornstalks, snaked around sunflowers, venturing past the grassy garden edge and into the driveway. No stopping them!

In watermelon world, it’s a 90 day cycle from germination to ready-to-pick. And, in that time, hidden beneath all the greenery, those vines produced plenty of mighty nice melons. Late in the season, we have begun harvesting the wiley ones..

This beauty weighed in at 17 lbs….

…and was deeply colored and sugared!

Watermelon batons, sliced red onion, and fresh oregano, just before dressing

Sherry vinegar is distinctive and full flavored.

A pinch of coarse grain mustard helps to emulsify to vinaigrette, and gives the dressing a creamy yellow-brown hue.

Sherry Vinaigrette

3 T. Sherry Vinegar
1 t. Fresh Oregano
¼ t. Coarse Grain Mustard
¼ t. Salt
pinch Red Pepper Flakes
9 T. Olive Oil

Mix the first five ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil, one tablespoon at a time, until the vinaigrette emulsifies. Taste for seasonings and adjust if needed.

Watermelon-Feta Salad

3 cups Ripe Watermelon, cut into batons
½ medium Red Onion, sliced paper-thin
½ cup Feta cheese, crumbled
a handful Fresh Oregano leaves, chopped
Fresh Thai Basil (optional) chiffonade and garnish
Salt & Black Pepper

Salad Greens

recipe of Sherry Vinaigrette

Place cut batons of melon with sliced red onion and chopped oregano into a bowl. Sprinkle with a little salt and black pepper. Let it sit for 15 minutes and drain off any excess liquid. Pour sherry vinaigrette over the mix, add crumbled feta, and gently toss.

Place onto a bed of salad greens. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve. Makes 2 large or 4 regular servings.

The feta adheres nicely to the watermelon bites. As the salad sits, there is some pooling of watermelon juice, delicious for sopping.

A fine early fall lunch on Maggie’s back porch

Sad but inevitable, about this time every year tomato fatigue sets in.

For weeks now, with markets and gardens glutted, I’ve cooked and eaten ripe, juicy tomatoes in countless delicious ways. So much so that when I look at the sea of red baskets at our farmers market or the one that happens to be sitting on my counter, brimming with those picked from my own garden, I feel……….worn out.

And maybe a wee bit guilty. I mean, in a few short weeks, the Tomato Time will be over.

For now, with plants still producing, (although less prolific, as daylight shrinks, temperatures cool) it’s time to switch to the Green.

There’s something special about fried green tomatoes that I did not come to appreciate until recent years. When fried, what appears to be firm and without flavor, softens and releases a tangy citrus essence. A surprise with bite! The salty crackle of cornmeal batter is a splendid complement.

Of course, they are tasty on their own, but if you don’t want to eat just fried food—–

Here’s a late summer salad that uses the fried green wonder as its centerpiece. It layers pungent heat from mature arugula and horseradish with the sweetness of green tomatoes and shrimp.

I had gotten peppery hot rocket leaves from Drury Farms to form the salad base. Horseradish cream sauce tops the stack of fried ‘maters, performing double duty as a foil for the lemon-poached shrimp. All the elements work together brightly to create a fresh, satisfying meal.

Without fatigue.

Sliced, these green tomatoes look very pretty.

A little flour lightens the cornmeal coating. A simple soak in buttermilk is all the slices need.

Fried Green Tomatoes
1 cup Cornmeal
¼ cup All Purpose Flour
Salt
Cayenne
Black Pepper

1 cup Buttermilk

Firm, green tomatoes, sliced 1/4 “ thick

Vegetable oil (like canola oil) for frying

Mix cornmeal well with flour and seasonings.
Dip tomato slices into buttermilk, then dredge in cornmeal mixture.
Heat skillet and add vegetable oil. Test for and fry tomato slices about 2-4 minutes per side—until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Horseradish Cream Sauce
1 cup Sour cream
½ cup Good Mayo (Hellmann’s or Duke’s)
2 heaping Tablespoons Horseradish
1 teaspoon fresh Lemon juice
½ teaspoon Louisiana Hot Sauce
½ teaspoon Salt
Pinch Cayenne

Whisk all the ingredients together until well blended. Taste for horseradish and add more if necessary. Keeps refrigerated for at least 2 weeks.

Poached Gulf Shrimp
½ lb. shrimp (this will serve 2-3, I used a 21-26ct.shrimp)

Poaching Liquid:
To 2 quarts of water add:
A few slices of Onion
1-2 sliced Garlic cloves
1 Bay Leaf
a few slices Lemon
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
½ teaspoon Celery Seed,
½ teaspoon Black Pepper
¼ teaspoon Red Pepper flakes

Bring poaching liquid to a rolling boil, plunge in shrimp. Cook for 3-4 minutes and remove from heat. Peel, devein, and chill shrimp.

The Assembly
On a salad plate, place bed of mixed greens or arugula.
Stack fried green tomato slices. Dollop with Horseradish Cream.
Place shrimp on top of the horseradish sauce.
Garnish with lemon slices, and serve.

Summer is fleeting. I awoke this morning to cool, crisp air moving through the house: 59 degrees! So rare on this last day of August in Nashville Tennessee, so telling of the season to come.

These are days to savor outdoors: Clear skies, warm, steady light. There’s still a bounty coming in the garden–corn, squashes, melons, beans, tomatoes. Basil plants the size of shrubs. Today, we’ll enjoy a lunch made with some of these summer garden elements, and relish them at our backyard table.

This tortellini salad is similar to one we always served at the café years ago–with some updates. For a pleasing variety in color, taste, and texture, I recommend using both green snap and yellow wax beans, if you have them at your disposal. And, this salad is the perfect place to toss in an assortment of grape and cherry tomatoes. I used my Cherub grapes, Husky cherries and the brilliant Sungolds. In café days, I had dressed this in balsamic vinaigrette–long on flavor, but less visually appealing , with its flat brown color. With all my basil begging to be picked, I’m going for a pesto vinaigrette. It delivers the flavor, while allowing the salad to shimmer.

Summer Tortellini Salad
1/2 lb. fresh green beans
1/2 lb. fresh yellow wax beans
1/2 lb. fresh (or frozen) cheese stuffed tortellinis
1 pint cherry (or grape) tomatoes–assorted reds and sungolds
1/4 cup toasted pinenuts
1/4 cup basil chiffonade

1 cup Pesto Vinaigrette

Fill a skillet with water and bring to a boil for blanching the beans. Set up a large bowl of ice water. If you are cooking two types of beans, cook them separately. Wash and snap beans–pinching off the stem and place into boiling water. Blanche for 4 minutes. Plunge into the icy water bath to shock them—stop the cooking process. Drain well and place into a salad bowl.

In the same pot of water, cook the cheese tortellinis, about nine minutes. Drain and add to the bowl with beans. Wash, dry and cut the cherry or grape tomatoes into halves or quarters—depending on size—and add to the salad, along with the toasted pine nuts. Pour vinaigrette over all and toss well.

Garnish with a chiffonade of fresh basil.

You might enjoy this served on a bed of fresh greens, or by itself, with a piece of crusty bread to sop up the dressing.

Serves 6 generously.

Pesto Vinaigrette

1 clove fresh Garlic
1 cup Basil leaves
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
3/4 cup Fruity Olive Oil

Place the first five ingredients into a food processor fitted with the swivel blade and pulse until basil and garlic are well chopped. Then, slowly drizzle in the olive oil while processing, until well-incorporated. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Makes one cup.

One potato, two potato, three potato, four….bushels!

These days, everyone’s CSA share baskets are spud-loaded.
Baby yukon golds, fingerlings, heirloom purple caribes, butte russets…

Even our own easement guerrilla garden experiment with sprouted eyes has been productive. As the vines die back, I’ve been digging and unearthing a surprising number of red new potatoes, most the size of a golf ball, and a few the size of my fist. Miraculous, I tell you.

With all these potatoes comes the need for new recipes. And while these tubers will keep for a spell in a cool place, they are also meant to be enjoyed now!

This French Roasted Potato Salad is delicious, healthy, and simple; the pommery vinaigrette makes it. We teach this recipe in our teen cooking camp as part of a menu that includes marinated grilled flank steak and asparagus salad with lemon aioli. It’s one that’s well-loved by adults and kids alike.

The salad is tasty whether it’s served warm or room temperature. And, unlike mayo-based versions, there are no worries about the dish sitting out too long, going out of temperature, and forming enough toxins to do in your father’s side of the family at the reunion.

Take it to the picnic fearlessly.

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French Roasted Potato Salad
2-3 lbs New Potatoes, cleaned, dried, and cut into medium thick slices
(or try another potato–white, yukon gold, fingerling, or a variety)
1 medium Onion, sliced
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
fresh Rosemary–a few sprigs
1 cup pommery vinaigrette (recipe below)
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian Parsley
1 bunch Scallions, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place sliced potatoes and onions on a roasting pan and toss with olive oil until all is well coated. Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper, and chopped fresh rosemary. Roast until browned, about 25-30 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes and onions and place into a mixing bowl. Pour the pommery vinaigrette right onto the roasting pan, scraping up the browned bits and pieces of onion and potatoes as the vinaigrette deglazes the pan. Pour over the potatoes and toss well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with chopped fresh Italian parsley and scallions. Serve warm or room temperature.

Serves 10-12

Pommery Vinaigrette

¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Coarse Grain (pommery) Mustard
1 clove minced garlic
½ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon coarse grain black Pepper
Pinch sugar
½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Gigi is a neighbor and friend of mine who has boundless energy and a vision: She has transformed several lots along a funky stretch of Wedgewood Avenue near the fairgrounds into a stunning urban garden oasis.

She’s on a mission, too. Her Wedgewood Urban Gardens , replete with fruit, flower, and vegetable companion plantings, exist not just for beauty, or as a horticultural place of learning. Gigi is passionate about sustainability in a world of rapidly depleting resources and is creating a working, producing urban farm.

We’d been talking about community-minded things and decided that it would cool to host a once-a-month pot luck gathering of folks in our ‘hood—get a cross section of friends and acquaintances to meet, share food, and talk about what they’re growing/cooking/advocating. Nothing formal, mind you. We decided to lightly structure it—holding the pot luck on the third Thursday of each month—beyond that, guests could bring friends and whatever food and beverage of their choice.

For our launch of the “First Third Thursday” about thirty people came bearing splendid covered dishes and casseroles, cakes, salads, sangria! So fun! And, remarkably, there were no overlaps, or cop-outs. No fifteen bowls of potato salad. No limp bags of baby carrots and a tub of onion dip. Our convivial feast was heavy on fresh, local veggies—some harvested from personal gardens—with a tantalizing balance of desserts. (And, only one meat offering in the lot!)

Here are some that I recall: Watermelon gazpacho, roasted golden beet salad, grilled scallions and asparagus, grilled corn with avocado, brown rice-market veggie medley, fusilli with swiss chard, rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes and leeks, southwest bean casserole, squash gratin, mixed berry pie, pignoli-almond torte, chocolate-zucchini cake, and a Pavlova—luxurious, with its meringue shell supporting a cloud of whipped cream, strawberries, and kiwi.

I made two contributions: The first was this orange-fennel salad, using fennel bulbs from Gigi’s own Wedgewood Urban Gardens, layered with onions and lemon basil grown in my guerrilla garden (the easement across the sidewalk in front of our home.)

There’s something curious, almost comical about the look of fennel: wild-haired in the ground, I think of half-buried tribal heads emerging from earth. Once cut and cleaned they’re strange cartoon-like hands, or albino baseball gloves. At any rate, when shaved fresh for a salad, a little of these goes a long way–in a good way.

The distinctive anise flavor meshed with sweet onion, lemon basil, and orange is so refreshing to the palate, especially in this ninety-plus degree weather. Each layer has some curls of parmegiano-reggiano, and is further drenched in an orange vinaigrette, much like the one used in my Earth Day Salad.

The other dish I served was this chicken roasted with plums and peaches. Here, I have to give a shout-out to a fellow foodblogger, Zoe, a fine cook and graphic artist in the Atlanta area. This wasn’t her recipe, but her Apricot Rosemary Glazed Roast Chicken (posted June 15th), with gorgeous photos, was the inspiration.
(First, we eat with our eyes!)

On hand, I had an Au Naturel chicken, market peaches, and plums from my backyard tree. I brined the chicken overnight in an Asian-based solution—hoisin, ginger, brown sugar, red pepper, garlic—
and roasted it with sliced peaches and whole plums. Succulent and fruity.

One good idea often leads to another; whether it’s from our neighborhood feed or our on-line friends in food, sharing what we know rewards in all kinds of ways.

Layered Orange-Fennel Salad
2 Oranges: 1 1/2 to slice for salad, the other 1/2 for juice and zest
4 bulbs fennel, thinly shaved crossways
1 small sweet onion, sliced thin
1 bunch lemon basil, chopped
parmegiano reggiano—a few curls

Dressing:
1 Tablespoon Orange Zest
2 Tablespoons Orange Juice
2 teaspoons Dry Mustard
1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, except for the olive oil. While whisking, slowly drizzle the olive oil in, until it emulsifies.

To Assemble:
Mix the onion and fennel together and lightly dress.
Place a layer of thinly sliced oranges on a platter.
Layer with fennel-onion mix,
Top with chopped lemon basil and curls of parmegianno-reggianno.
Repeat: Orange slice, then fennel-onion, then lemon basil, then parmegianno, until you’ve built a stacked fennel pyramid!
Drizzle with remaining dressing. Garnish with lemon basil and serve.

Asian Roast Chicken with Plums and Peaches
brine:
1 gallon water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Ginger
1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup sliced peaches/plums
1 cup Rice Wine Vinegar

1 Good Chicken
several plums and peaches

Mix up brine, and place cleaned chicken into a tub of it. Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Remove chicken from brine, drain, and lay into a baking pan. Surround with sliced peaches, whole and halved plums. Sprinkle with paprika. Truss.
Bake uncovered for 60-70 minutes.

The inspiration for this salad comes from the tallest member of the Bill and Nancy Belmont Farmette–Anethum graveolens —Dillweed. A gift from Tally May, this plant was maybe five inches tall when I put it in the ground eight short weeks ago, and now it’s in its glory: almost five feet of aromatic feathery leaves and whorls of pinpoint blooms–a kind of fireworks display in yellow.

The ancient Greeks regarded Dill as the plant of prosperity, its very presence indicated wealth.
So, I feel mightily blessed to have my one-and-only gracing the garden front.

It’s early June, and temperatures are already creeping up into the 90’s. My garden mesclun greens are plentiful, but in danger of turning bitter. With heat and greens and billowy dill, I ‘ve got the makings for a summery salad for dinner, no time to lose!

What other good things to build the salad?
Look to the season’s offerings, I remind myself: they all play well together.
So, we’ve got
Cucumbers, new potatoes, and sugar snap peas……
Plus,
some shrimp coated with dillweed and lemon zest, quickly seared in the pan.

Composing a salad—-laying out all the elements in mandala-like fashion on a plate—is a simple way to make a stunning presentation. It also gives it structure, a place for each ingredient to be.

This salad is delicious served chilled or at room temperature. It doesn’t take long to make and I find that combining chilled things (sugar snaps, greens, cukes) with warm things (shrimp, new potatoes) in the dish enhances flavors. For vegetarians like Bill, I substitute chevre for the shrimp.
Give it all a good drizzle of of the lemony-dijon-dill dressing. Enjoy! These garden lettuces and herbs are fleeting things.

Dilled Shrimp and Sugar Snap Salad
10 pieces Peeled and Deveined Raw Shrimp
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
Fresh Dillweed–a few stems
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
Sugar Snap Peas—a handful, maybe 12-15 pieces
Cucumber—just a piece (less than half of one)
4-5 roasted Baby New Potatoes
Mixed Salad Greens, washed and dried

Place shrimp in a bowl and toss with olive oil, lemon zest, and sea salt. Wrap each shrimp with a sprig of dill.
Blanche Sugar Snaps in a skillet of boiling water for less than a minute–forty five seconds. Remove and chill.
Slice cucumbers and new potatoes.
Heat a skillet and drop in shrimp to sear for a minute one one side–then flip and sear on the other. Remove from heat and let the shrimp sit in the skillet.
Arrange lettuces on the plate.Add a ring of slice cucumbers and new potatoes, then sugar snaps.
Top with cooked shrimp. Drizzle with lemon-dill aioli and garnish with a few dill sprigs and lemon slice.

serves 2

Lemon-Dill Aioli
1 clove roasted Garlic
3 Tablespoons fresh Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 heaping Tablespoon chopped Dillweed
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
6 Tablespoons Olive Oil

In a small bowl, mash the roasted garlic with a fork and mix in the lemon juice, dijon, dillweed, and salt. Mix into a paste. Add in the olive oil, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is emulsified. Taste for seasoning and acidity—add more lemon if you like.

Here’s hoping this noble plant will reseed and return next spring!

Use what you’ve got.

Sometimes you don’t have what is called for, but chances are you’ve got something else that would serve just as well.

Call it an adage or philosophy–this way of thinking brings together creativity, practicality, and economy, and can be most useful in problem solving. I had to remind myself of this when it came time to prepare for a cooking demonstration for this year’s Earth Day Celebration.

I had been asked to feature things that I’ve been growing in my tiny urban farmette. Figuring I’d have an abundance of mesclun, scallions, garlic, fresh herbs, I had envisioned presenting a variety of vinaigrettes, tossing them on the myriad greens, passing out samples of sumptuous salads.

But, Mother Nature and my seeds did not cooperate with this vision. Our burst of warmth in late February-early March gave way to cooler temperatures and wetter weather. My seedlings, which eagerly sprouted up in my window box greenhouse, remained inert, post-transplant.

They stood in the ground, I believe, and shivered.

It was plain in my two-days-before-the-event assessment that I would have plenty of chives and Italian parsley, but only four scallions of size and a handful of petite greens—slim pickings for a food demo and tasting.

Time to play my “what’s-in-the-pantry game”; surely it held some wonderful things to pair with my local garden offerings.
And, indeed there were: I found quite the assortment of white beans and peas, all in almost-empty bags and boxes.
Time to put these dribs and drabs to good use.

I chose black-eyed peas, yellow-eyed peas, navy beans, great northern beans, baby limas and flageolets—visually, a pleasing look—variants of white—and all similarly sized to throw into the pot together. In my fridge, I had celery, carrots, and an orange.
An idea began to form:
A light, nutritious white bean medley salad, with crunchy bits of celery, carrot, and scallion, dressed in a refreshing vinaigrette of orange, Italian parsley, and chives.

It was well-enjoyed by the Earth Day cooking demo attendees, but because our intention was to not use paper at the festival, I had no recipe cards to share.
So, here for all of you who kindly attended and all of you, dear readers, is the appropriately renamed for its use-what-you’ve-got sensibility:
my Earth Day Salad.

White Bean Medley
1 cup assorted White Beans and Peas
2 T. Olive Oil
1 medium Onion, small dice
3 cloves Garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon Salt
pinch Red Pepper flakes
1 Bay Leaf

Soak the beans and peas for at least four hours. Rinse.
Heat a 2 quart saucepan. Add olive oil. Sauté onions until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes. Continue sautéing for another 2 minutes. Add beans/peas, stirring so that all are coated. Add 4 cups water. Stir. Cover and cook on medium heart for at least one hour, stirring occasionally. Add more liquid if necessary.
Remove from liquid and cool. Remove bay leaf. Taste for seasoning.

Orange-Herb Vinaigrette

6 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 heaping Tablespoon Orange Zest
¼ teaspoon Salt (or more, to taste)
a few grindings of fresh cracked Black Pepper
pinch Red Pepper flakes
1 Tabelspoon Orange Juice
2 Tablespoons White Balsamic Vinegar
1 heaping Tablespoon Italian Parsley, chopped
4-6 sprigs Garlic Chives, or Chives, snipped into small pieces

Start with the olive oil in the bottom of the salad bowl. Add the zest and allow to infuse for a few minutes. Then add salt, black and red peppers, orange juice, vinegar, parsley, and chives. Stir together well, and then proceed to the next step:
Creating the Salad
3 large Scallions, including green tops, chopped
3 ribs and leaves Celery, finely chopped
3 Carrots, finely chopped
cooked Bean-Pea Medley
4-6 pieces Red leaf lettuce, coarse chiffonade

Add carrots, celery, and scallions to the salad bowl. Stir so that all the ingredients are well coated.
Next, add the bean-pea medley. Fold these into the mixture, again so that everything is well coated with the vinaigrette. Fold gently so you don’t break up the beans. Finally, fold in the shreds of lettuce.
Taste for seasonings–adjust for salt, top with a little more zest and black pepper.
Serves 8

Cooks Notes:
Serve the salad room temperature. The longer it sits in the vinaigrette, the more pronounced the fresh flavors become.
The salad is vegan, but lends itself readily to other ingredients.
Try adding these:
Soft Goat Cheese
Crumbled Feta
Toasted Walnuts or Pinenuts

In this composed salad, the earthy sweetness of beets pairs with honeyed tang of clementines—and their colors are riotously brilliant together, kind of like Mardi Gras.

Those colors can almost get out of control, especially where the beets are concerned. I’ve had numerous bouts of magenta-stained fingertips and countertops to show for it. (Thank goodness that’s only temporary!) In her work, my foodstylist friend promotes golden beets for that reason. And while I do love those golden ones, I think that the traditional deep reds taste a tetch sweeter.

Last week, when another friend served a lively tossed green salad that included shredded beets, she lamented their pervasive staining power.
Do you know about roasting? I asked her. Roasting the beets contains that somewhat, and there’s the benefit of intensified flavor.

It is simple to do: after cleaning the beets, trim the tops (save those beet greens to sauté in a little olive oil, and minced garlic), brush with oil, then lightly salt, and place on a baking pan. Roast in a hot (400-425 degree oven) for about 25 minutes. After cooling, their skins peel right off. Chill them whole, then slice later for the salad.

Yes, there’s still some pooling of color. Gorgeous. It makes me want to pick up a brush and paint.

Composed Roasted Beet-Clementine Salad
1 head Leaf Lettuce, broken into leaves, washed, spun dry
1/2 lb. Beets, roasted, chilled, and sliced
2 Clementines, peeled and sectioned
2-3 oz. Goat Cheese, broken into small pieces
1 batch Clementine Vinaigrette

Place lettuce leaves onto chilled salad plates. Fan out slices of beets and
clementine sections and paint (or squeeze from a squirt bottle) the vinaigrette onto them.
Dust with crumbled goat cheese. Serves 4.

Clementine Vinaigrette
2 Tablespoons White Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Clementine juice
1 Tablespoon chopped Chives
1 teaspoon Clementine zest
½ teaspoon Black Pepper
¼ teaspoon Dry Mustard
pinch Salt
8 Tablespoons Walnut Oil

Place all ingredients except Walnut Oil into food processor that has been outfitted with the swivel blade. Process, adding walnut oil one tablespoon at a time. (If you don’t have a food processor, whisk the ingredients together in a bowl, adding the walnut oil last. The dry mustard acts as an emulsifier.)

Tips: You can readily substitute any favorite citrus
(grapefruit/orange/lime/tangerine…) and use its juice and zest in the vinaigrette.
If you are unable to locate White Balsamic Vinegar, which I found at
Trader Joe’s, then use White Wine or Champagne Vinegar.
The viscosity and subtle flavor of the walnut oil distinguish this dressing.

What a line up, eh?

Presenting, from left to right, we’ve got sweet Golden Delicious, tart Granny Smith, festive newcomer Pinata, bold Virginia Gold, and spicy Arkansas Black. Such beauties, and but a fraction of the 2500 varieties grown in the United States. (7,500 worldwide!) So, you could eat a different apple every day for the next eighteen, no nineteen years…well, you can do the math.

Before we got caught up in all the holiday hooplah of parties and feasts, Mark and I gave a healthy foods workshop at Glencliff High School to a group of their culinary arts students, as part of their Live It! program. Our presentation was all about Apples. We brought in a dozen varieties from our farmer’s market for the students to sample and rate. An Apple Tasting!

When brushing up on my apple facts, I realized I hadn’t given apples the full appreciation they are due. They’re packed with powerful anti-oxidants, rich with vitamins C and K, and there’s not a trace of sodium, fat, or cholesterol to boot. Eating just 2 a week reduces the risk of asthma and type 2 diabetes. Plus, so many cooking possibilities with all the varieties.

Now that I’m in the post-holiday-whoa-too-much-was-consumed mode, I know it’s time to heed my own lesson. Here’s the recipe that we did with the kids: it’s a healthy redux of waldorf that’s as easy to make as it is satisfying to eat.

HEALTHY WALDORF SALAD
1 cup Plain Lowfat Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Honey
Pinch salt
A few grindings of Black Pepper
1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
4 Apples—use an assortment, if you like—chopped medium size
2 stalks Celery, finely chopped
1 Carrot, shredded
½ cup toasted chopped Walnuts
½ cup Raisins

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, honey, salt, pepper, and zest. In a separate bowl, toss the apples, celery, carrots, walnuts, and raisins together. Coat with yogurt dressing. Chill and serve on a bed of lettuce greens. Serves 6-8