Gatherer Spring Salad

While in Winter Park, Fl earlier this spring, I had lunch at The Ravenous Pig, a gastro pub that gets BIG raves online. I happened to stop in during one of the monthly pig roast Saturdays, which featured a limited menu of a mixed grill plate (two kinds of sausage, pork roast, kraut and potatoes) or salad (for the vegetarians)!

Let's just say the salad stole the show.

Called "The Gathered," per the menu, it featured: mixed baby lettuces, beets, radish, goat cheese, avocado, pistachios, herb vinaigrette.

My version, culled from what I was able to find at the indoor winter's farmers market, along with a little help from Trader Joes, featured bibb lettuce, red onion, grapefruit sections, feta cheese, avocado, pistachios and a vinaigrette made with basil oil and some extra grapefruit juice. Although my version was not as pretty, it was very tasty. And with my outdoor farmers market opening for the summer season next weekend, it's a recipe I will try again soon.

Ithaca Indoor Farmers Market

I was upstate President's Day weekend, and headed to Ithaca to enjoy a veggie bagel sandwich from Collegetown Bagels, hit the local TJ Maxx and check out the indoor farmers market. Now the outdoor market at Ithaca is pretty darn impressive so I wasn't sure what to expect from the "winter alternative."

But I was pleasantly surprised. The indoor market, which has been running since January, is located right downtown in the Womens Community Building (which also happens to be right across from the Dewitt Mall and the Moosewood).

There were a bunch of vendors stuffed into a room the size of a small gymnasium -- offering everything from baked goods to sprouts to meat to jewelry. In addition, some of the favorite prepared food vendors had turned out to tempt shoppers with samosa and tacos. Sadly, Macro Mamas was not among them. So I consoled myself by picking up a small bunch of baby leeks ($2.50), a head of napa cabbage ($3), parsnips, a pair of earrings ($5) and this really good piece of sweet almond brioche for $3 (hey, a half a veggie bagel only sticks with you so long). Since the following day was Chinese New Year (go Year of the Tiger!), I used the napa cabbage in a slaw inspired by a recipe in Eating Well (my new favorite food magazine). The recipe calls for cabbage to be combined with grated sweet potato instead of the traditional orange carrot. I fiddled with the recipe it a bit, cutting the amount of sweet potato in half, adding shredded snow peas, chopped mint and chopped cilantro plus rice wine vinegar for extra kick. Although you could not tell the orange was sweet potato, the end result was pretty tasty and a nice complement to the Chinese-themed meal my aunt prepared. If you happen to be in the Ithaca area next Saturday, be sure to check out the market. Sadly, it's only slated to run until the end of the month. Otherwise, you'll be stuck waiting for spring until the outdoor market opens again.

Autumn Salads, Rainy Weekend

The harvest may be over, and the glory days of the farmers market ending, but last week, I found a lot of good stuff at two different Westchester farmers markets -- the Wednesday night market in Irvington and the Saturday morning market in Hastings. Wednesday was my second time at the Irvington market, but my first time ever shopping at a farmers market in the pitch dark. Oh sure, some vendors had rigged up small battery-operated lanterns, but mainly I had to rely on the senses of touch and smell (and the flashlight on my key ring) to pick out shallots, chard, Keuka Gold potatoes, baby leeks and what is probably the last of the summer sweet corn. On Saturday, I avoided the prepared food temptation and picked up a few supplemental items at the Hastings market, including yams, breakfast radishes and a variety of apples. And on Sunday, it rained. So it was a perfect day for cooking, particularly as I had a friend coming over for lunch. The menu included roasted pork loin, Mark Bittman's Roasted Sweet Potato Salad (with the fresh corn), Smitten Kitchen's acorn squash with chile-lime vinaigrette and a green salad I made up on the fly.

Despite the surplus of yellow and orange in the meal (beta Carotene is all good, right?), my skin has not turned orange like an Oompa-Loompa or anything. But since I am trying enjoy the autumn produce while I still can, who knows what will happen before the season is over!

Crunchy Green Salad

I love cheese in salads, but get sick of feta or goat cheese crumbles, so Ricotta Salata is a good alternative that pairs well with the sweet flavors in this salad.

Ingredients

3 Cups mixed greens (I used the Sorrento blend from Trader Joes)

2 Scallions, sliced on an angle

5 Breakfast radishes, sliced into thin rounds

2 T. Pine nuts, toasted

2 T. Pomegranate seeds

1/4 Cup Ricotta Salata, crumbled

Olive oil

Rice wine vinegar

Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Method

Combine all ingredients and toss with olive oil, rice wine vinegar and spices to taste.

Tuesday: Philharmonic Picnic in Central Park

One of my favorite New York City traditions is going to Central Park to hear the philharmonic perform. It's the one night of the year you feel safe in the park after dark since tens of thousands of people are crowded on the Great Lawn (and nearby areas) to eat, drink, relax...and, in some cases, actually listen to the music! While there are those that go low key -- a bottle of wine, perhaps a take out pizza -- others stage quite elaborate picnics, complete with tables, candles and an assortment of food and drink. My friends fall into the later camp.

This year, we schlepped blankets and mini coolers, along with citronella candles and a battery-powered lantern, and food...lots of food. From the standard cheese and crudités (gussied up in a Pampered Chef Chillzanne) to soppressata and tabbouleh. My contributions included mini cans of Sofia Blanc de Blanc (so cute) as well as a tuna niçoise pasta salad.

The beauty of this salad is that it's mayo-free, but still chock full of interesting flavors and textures. And although the recipe calls for some fresh ingredients, the others are easy to keep in your cupboard to have on hand when inspiration strikes...or when an impromptu picnic is on the agenda!

Tuna Niçoise Pasta Salad For this recipe, I used shallot, tomato and basil from the farmers market. The other ingredients were from, you guessed it, Trader Joes.

Ingredients

8 oz. Dried pasta (I used farfalle)

1 Can Tuna in water

1 T. Capers

3 T. Olives, quartered (if you cannot find niçoise olives, use Kalamata)

1 Med. Tomato, roughly chopped

1 C. Haricot vert, roughly chopped

1 T. Dijon mustard

1 Lemon, juiced

3 T. Olive oil

1 Shallot, minced

1/4 C. Feta cheese, crumbled

3 T. basil, Chiffonade

Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Method

Cook pasta to package directions; rinse drain and cool.

Add drained tuna with next four ingredients (capers to haricot vert).

In a small bowl, combine mustard, lemon juice, shallot and olive oil; blitz with immersion blender until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Toss dressing with tuna pasta mixture; add feta and basil.

Season with a little salt to taste (remember that capers, olives and feta are salty!) and ground pepper.

Book Club Menu: Getting Inspired by Julie and Julia

For four years now, I've belonged to a pretty dedicated book club. Each month, we take turns picking everything from chick lit to memoirs, "serious novels" to satirical comedy. It's a very easygoing group (probably why we've lasted so long). In fact, our favorite question is "who would play so-and-so in the movie version?"

But this month, we already knew the answers to that question, because our pick (well, my pick really) was Julie and Julia, soon to be part of a major motion picture directed by Nora Ephron and starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams (the movie is also partly based on the book My Life in France, which is a wonderful read and highly recommended).

I knew the general story, and even had read a few of Julie Powell's original blog posts before picking the novel. But after finishing the book, I was left a little dissatisfied. Frankly, it did not sound like any fun! And cooking should always be fun -- even if you're hot, flustered, running late and have dirtied every dish in your cupboard...which basically describes the state I was in when my friends came over for dinner this week to discuss the story.

I love a good theme dinner and took inspiration partially from Julie and Julia, but mainly Julia Child herself to put out a meal that included a range of recipes, most of which could be made in advance. The final menu featured:

Sparkling Berry Cocktails or Orangina

Julia's American-style potato salad

Chive crepes stuffed with choice of ham, Gruyere and Dijon or an Asian-style cold chicken salad

A green salad with Julia's vinaigrette

Berry gallettes

Lemon ice cream

Since our meeting was on a weeknight, I did a lot of the prep before. I made the ice cream and crepes the Sunday prior. The salads and gallette dough came together quickly the night before. And the morning of the meeting, I shredded the cheese, drained the berries and set everything up.

When I arrived home (15 minutes before my guests were due to arrive), I quickly rolled out the gallette dough and assembled the tarts, throwing them into a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes. In the meantime, I rolled the ham and cheese crepes and placed them enchilada-style in a large baking dish. When the gallettes came out, the crepes went in and after 10 minutes, dinner was served!

The only hitch in my plan was that it was 80 degrees that evening, and with the oven set at 400 degrees, my apartment was a bit toasty. In hindsight, we should have started with the ice cream! Regardless, we ate well and had fun, which when you boil it down (or when it's boiling hot), is what it should be all about.

Asian Spin on Chicken Salad

Unlike the traditional chicken salad made with a creamy dressing, this one is light and flavorful, which is what I wanted for an 80 degree day (despite it not really fitting with my French theme!). The sesame oil provides great flavor and helps bind the ingredients. You can assemble and dress the salad in advance, but it will get soggier as the hours progress.

Ingredients

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Water and aromatics for poaching

3 T. Sesame oil

1 T. Honey

1 t. Grated ginger

2 c. diced mixed vegetables, such as scallions, sugar snap peas or snow peas, radish, carrot, red pepper (key is to chop each vegetable into similarly sized pieces)

1 T. Soy sauce

1 T. Rice wine vinegar

Red pepper flakes, to taste

Optional extras: Chopped herbs, like cilantro, basil and/or mint; Chopped roasted peanuts

Method

Poach chicken in water with one small onion and celery leaves; chill

Cut chicken to your liking (I like a small dice, some may prefer shredding the breasts), toss with diced vegetables

In a small bowl, whisk together sesame oil, honey, ginger and red pepper flakes; toss with chicken and vegetable mixture to combine

Drizzle with soy and rice wine vinegar immediately before serving; great on crepes or in a wrap or on top of salad greens

Container Garden Update: Mint Coup d'etat Imminent

My fire escape container garden is doing fabulous. The basil plants are hanging in, but the spearmint is growing like gangbusters. The herb must really like the weather we've been having -- a series of sunny and dry days followed by a series of gloomy and damp days. To avoid a mint coup, which I know is literally part of its plant profile, I've tried to be more diligent in "pruning" the bigger leaves and cutting some of the straggly bits. The good thing is that the leaves, when wrapped in a damp paper towel and stored in the crisper, last a long time -- up to two weeks. I recently used a "crop" harvested about two weeks ago in another salad variation -- this time a slaw inspired by one published on Simply Recipes. I've never been a fan of raw green or red cabbage, but really like the mild taste of napa cabbage. And I'm not really a fan of mayo-based coleslaw, but do like this slaw, which is lightly dressed with a combination of sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, fresh lime juice and soy. In fact, the dressing also makes a great marinade if you have any chicken or steak or even shrimp to grill and serve alongside. Cool, refreshing and a good way to use some of those summer herbs and leftover vegetables lingering in your fridge.

Asian-Style Slaw

I had some wasabi oil from Trader Joes in the cupboard, so I substituted half of the wasabi oil for half of the sesame oil. If you don't have wasabi oil and still want an extra kick, add chili garlic sauce or red pepper flakes or Sriracha (basically, whatever you have around) to taste.

Ingredients

For the dressing:

1/2 c. sesame oil

2 limes, juiced

2 T. rice wine vinegar

1-2 T. low sodium soy sauce

1 t. brown sugar

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 T. fresh ginger, grated

Red pepper flakes, hot sauce, etc. to taste

For the salad:

3 lb. napa cabbage, "knife shredded"

3 scallions, chopped

1 1/2 c. snow peas, strings removed and julienned

1/4 c. shredded carrot (or 1-2 carrots, shredded)

2 T. slivered almonds, toasted

2 T. basil, chiffonade

2 T. cilantro, chiffonade

2 T. spearmint, chiffonade

Extras: diced red pepper, radish, cucumber etc.

Method

In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients. The goal is to strike the right balance of sweet, sour, spicy and salty that suits your taste, so adjust amounts accordingly.

Toss dressing with vegetables and almonds and serve.

To prepare ahead, keep dressing, vegetables and nuts separate and toss right up to an hour before serving. This salad keeps for a few hours but does get a bit soggy as time passes (particularly if you use cucumber or another watery veg!).

Learning to Love Lentils: French-style Lentil Salad

Although I have limited food storage, I somehow find lots of places to stockpile groceries (what can I say? I have a weakness for the latest and greatest from Whole Foods and Trader Joes.). But I’ve been making a conscious effort to try to use up what I have before I buy something new. And that includes the three varieties of lentils stacked on top of my microwave (hey – space is at a premium). I bought the red ones for soup, I bough the brown ones because the red ones get too mushy in this stew and I bought the green ones because of all of the lentil salad recipes I’ve been reading lately. The weather is warming up, so eating lentil salad is sounding more and more appealing. And based on what I've read, the dish can take a little improvisation, which makes it my kind of meal. Earlier this week, I tossed a cup of green French lentils (product of Canada, per the label. Perhaps they are Québécois?!) in a pot with some chopped celery and carrot (leftover from an aborted soup making endeavor), a piece of red bell pepper (roughly chopped) that was going slimy, a small white onion (halved), a clove of garlic and a bay leaf. I dumped in about two cups of chicken broth (leftover from takeout Won Ton soup) and simmered for about 45 minutes. While the lentils bubbled away, I minced a shallot, and threw it in a bowl with some red wine vinegar, a spoonful of Dijon mustard and olive oil. Once the lentil mixture was tender, I drained it briefly and tossed the lentil mixture in the vinaigrette. A few grinds of black pepper and it was done. There was enough to bring to work for three consecutive days -- served over baby spinach with some chopped cucumber, grape tomatoes and a sprinkle of goat cheese crumbles for added interest. Not too bad as a way to clean the cupboard and the crisper.

“Leftovers” Lentil Salad Feel free to improvise with this recipe. Throw in whatever vegetables you have, fresh herbs, etc. Some people suggest sautéing the vegetables first/separately, but I was lazy and just cooked them with the lentils. Ingredients 1 cup French lentils (ideally du Puy) 2 cup water or broth 1 clove of garlic, peeled and halved 1 small onion, peeled and halved ½ cup carrot, chopped 2 ribs celery, chopped ¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped 1 Bay leaf 1 small shallot, finely minced 1 t. of Dijon mustard 1 T. red wine vinegar 3 T. olive oil Ground black pepper Method Rinse and pick over the lentils (there sometimes can be small stones). Add lentils, water or broth, onion, garlic, carrot, celery, red pepper and Bay leaf, to pot. Simmer on low for approximately 45 minutes. In a separate bowl whisk together shallot, mustard and vinegar; stream in olive oil while continuing to whisk. When lentils are tender, drain and discard Bay leaf (and onion and garlic, if you wish); combined drained lentils and vegetables with vinaigrette. Serve warm or chill.

Summertime in the City: Urban Gardening

Perhaps it was a little overly optimistic of me, but I planted a container herb garden this weekend. Union Square's Saturday market was awash with plants of all kinds, so I figured now was a good time. And figured weekend temperatures in the 80s and 90s couldn't hurt either.

With full-sun Southern exposure, I have had great success growing herbs in the past. I typically stick with those that "keep on giving," like basil, mint and chives as opposed to things like cilantro and parsley, which don't tend to keep growing new leaves throughout the season (at least in my container). My other tip? Miracle-Gro (I use the kind formulated for tomatoes). I always buy a mint plant, since they are apparently harder to grow from seed. And although I was tempted to try growing basil from seed this year (and even purchased a packet), by buying two $2 plants at the green market, I also got instant gratification: a small handful of the bigger leaves perfect for rounding out an Asian-style noodle salad. Now if those smaller leaves would just start growing... In this heat, I could really use a mojito or basil-infused cocktail.

Peanut Noodle Salad

This is a nice variation of the standard summertime pasta or macaroni salad and goes great with all types of protein - chicken, shrimp, steak, tofu. Feel free to make the dressing in advance but don't toss with the noodles more than a few hours ahead as the acid will sometimes break down the pasta.

Ingredients For the dressing .5 c. Lime juice 1 T. Peanut butter (creamy or chunky is fine) 2 T. Sesame oil 2 cloves of Garlic, peeled and roughly chopped 1 t. of Ginger (fresh grated or fresh from a jar, not powdered) 1 T. Low sodium soy sauce 1 T. Tomato paste (or sauce or whatever tomato product you have around 1 packet Splenda or 1 t. brown sugar* Hot sauce or Sriracha (to taste) *Depending on how acidic the dressing tastes, and what kind of tomato product you used, you may want to add a bit of sweetness for balance For the salad 8 oz. Soba or whole wheat spaghetti, prepared to packaged directions, drained and cooled .5 c. Snow peas or sugar snap peas, julienned .5 c. Zucchini, shredded and drained/water squeezed out .24 c. Carrots, shredded .5 Red bell pepper, julienned 2 Scallions, thinly sliced .25 c. Unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped 2 T. of Basil leaves and Spearmint leaves, cut into long thin strips (chiffonade) Method For the dressing, using a standard or immersion blender, blitz the first seven ingredients (lime juice through tomato paste). Sample and add sweeter and hot sauce to taste. For the salad, combine pasta and vegetables. Toss with dressing a few hours before serving. Serve chilled with hot grilled chicken, shrimp, beef or tofu.