redacted recipes

Stacked Watermelon and Heirloom Tomato Salad

This is it. This is the perfect summer salad. Refreshing, juicy, sweet, and a little salty, the combination of heirloom tomatoes and watermelon will make your mouth sing.

Don't you just love it when you can layer simple fresh ingredients together and the outcome looks elaborate and fancy? I do.

To make the salad, alternate rounds of watermelon (you can use a biscuit cutter) with slices of ripe heirloom tomatoes and top the stack with basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper and little fleur de sel adds contrast to the sweetness of the melon and tomatoes. Serve it with a medallion of goat cheese on the side (or in the stack, if you like, though it isn't as pretty that way).

Cool as a Cucumber, Melon and Tomato Salad

In the damned dog days of summer when the air is heavy and sultry and the humidity is so high that walking down the street feels like a water aerobics class, you need food that soothes and cools-- and you definitely do NOT need to be dealing with a hot stove and oven.

My grandmother used to serve a side-dish of sliced cucumbers with ice cubes and a little vinegar. She also liked to chill melon and then serve it in large wedges with salt and pepper. Both these dishes provided instant relief from the heat in the height of summer, and they're a natural combined together.

Crunchy cukes with tomatoes and ripe, juicy melon make for a lovely cooling dish that will help you beat the heat and maybe make you feel a little bit less cranky about it all. This salad goes out to Beat the Heat, hosted by A Southern Grace.

Cool as a Cucumber, Melon and Tomato Salad

2 cups cantaloupe, cubed
1 cup cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes (or chopped tomato)
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
fresh ground black pepper,
a light sprinkle of sea salt
1/2 cup fresh mint, coarsely chopped
feta cheese, crumbled

Toss it all together and let meld for an hour or so in the refrigerator.

Grilled Lamb Salad

On Saturday we picked up our CSA shares, which come from Garden of Eve farm. Each week they considerately warn inform us ahead of time what we'll be deluged with receiving. This was actually very helpful, as it allowed us to plan ahead and to come to terms with the vast amount of salad we'd be eating all week. Our vegetable share included:

1 head red lettuce
1 head green lettuce
5 garlic scapes
1 bag arugula
1 bag mesclun lettuce
2 baby leeks
1 bunch asparagus

Additionally we signed up for an egg share (1 dozen per week); a fruit share, which included 2 quarts of strawberries and two stalks of rhubarb; and a flower share (I love getting flowers!) made up of sunflowers, snapdragons, rye, and oats.

After picking up the shares we wandered over to the Farmer's Market for rhubarb, cheeses, milk, bread, fish and meat. Then we stopped to say hello to Jessie of Cakespy, who was setting up her craft fair booth nearby, before staggering off home to start some serious greens cleaning and spinning.

And then we had lunch, which was salad. We fled the premises at dinner time to have dinner with Jessie, but we had salad for breakfast and dinner on Sunday and again for dinner Monday. Guess what we're having tonight?

This salad goes out to the current Heart of the Matter event, hosted by Ilva of Lucullian Delights. I'm very happy to be able to say that most of the ingredients were organic and locally grown/raised/produced-- I'm not willing to live without lemons, olives and olive oil, and I indulged myself with the out of season cucumber. Do drop by the HotM blog to look at the many round-ups of delicious healthy food!

Greek Salad with Grilled Lamb
serves 2

Disclaimer: I know perfectly well that real Greek salad does not ever contain lettuce, but I'm taking liberties here so that I don't have to call this dish Not Greek Salad with Grilled Lamb, and because I have a LOT of salad greens to use, okay? So please do not argue with me. THERE IS A LOT OF GREEN STUFF IN MY CRISPER.

Marinate the lamb:

1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoons dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound boneless lean lamb, cut into thin strips

Whisk together the lemon juice, oil, oregano and garlic, and add the lamb. Let it marinate for at least 6 hours (overnight is even better). Just before serving, grill the lamb strips (we like them rare).

Make the Tzatziki:

1/2 seedless cucumber, grated and water squeezed out
1/2 cup plain Greek-style yogurt
1/2 teaspoon red or white wine vinegar
1 small garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine and chill, covered, until serving, the longer the better!

Compose the salad:

1/2 lb romaine or salad greens, torn into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 seedless cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Kalamata olives, as many as you like
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of crumbled feta
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil

Toss together in a bowl and then arrange on a dinner-sized plate, top with the hot grilled lamb and as much tzatziki as you like.

Fresh, Simple and Delicious

I love this time of year at the Greenmarket. Saturday we snagged tiny little potatoes, asparagus, a bunch of miniscule radishes and the freshest mesclun mix-- all locally grown.

Dinner was easy and mainly eaten with our hands. We layered sliced radishes on good bread with butter;  roasted the asparagus spears and those darling potatoes with olive oil, lots of fresh lemon thyme and a sprinkling of fleur de sel. The warm potatoes went on top of the baby greens with a little lemon juice. Simple and delicious.

Recently Deeba of Passionate About Baking nominated me for an Excellence Award. Thank you, Deeba for such an honor! here are my own nominations:

Tammy at FOOD ON THE FOOD for always making me smile and for influencing me to join a CSA this year with her wonderful narratives about The Farmer (and his produce).

Ann of A Chicken In Every Granny Cart for her urban observations, stunning photos, and mouth-watering creations.

Adele at Tales of The Basil Queen where the writing is so rich that photos are superfluous.

Jessie at Cakespy who knocks me out with her anthropomorphic pastries.

And finally, to the Heart of the Matter founders, Joanna, Ilva, and Michelle, for more than a year's worth of healthy recipes.

Heart of the Matter: Party Food

It was in Rome that I first tasted cannellini beans tossed with thinly sliced red onion, herbs and olive oil. I fell in love with the earthy flavor and made a point of trying the many, many variations on this dish whenever possible.

It's a dish that travels well and can be eaten at room temperature, making it perfect for potlucks and picnics. I don't think I've ever ended up with the same end result, though I always start with the same basic recipe. The salad pictured here has less tomato than called for, white onions instead or red, and the addition of radishes and baby spinach. That's the beauty of this recipe-- once you've got the basic salad made you can add whatever appeals to you. Chopped pitted Greek olives, sliced pepperoncini (small Italian peppers),  and bits of feta or smoked cheese also work very well.

You can, of course, cook your own beans, but I tend not to plan ahead that far. I always have a few cans of cannellini beans in my cupboard so that I can make this salad at a moment's notice.

Cannellini Bean Salad
adapted from The American Cancer Society's Healthy Eating Cookbook
serves 4

1 16-ounce can white beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
Splash of red wine vinegar, to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons fresh oregano

Place beans into a small bowl. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper, mixing gently. Add tomatoes, onion, and oregano and toss to mix. Add the vinegar, to taste.

This is my entry for The Heart of The Matter event 13, hosted by Ilva of Lucullian Delights.

Greens Topped with Salmon and Dill: The Heart of the Matter

Ilva of Lucillian Delights is hosting the latest Heart of the Matter blog event with the theme of quick and easy (and healthy!) meals to help us all get through the cooking and eating frenzy between now and the new year. You can find round-ups for previous HotM events here.

My go-to meal when I'm craving something simple and healthy is completely no-cook and so ridiculously easy that I'm almost embarrassed to be writing about it, yet every time I serve it to company they seem to think it's complex and fancy (my favorite kind of recipe!). My sister introduced me to this idea for a very clean-tasting salad of greens topped with thinly sliced smoked salmon, lemon juice, capers and dill. It's been a menu-regular ever since.

Greens Topped with Salmon and Dill
One package of cured/smoked salmon (I usually buy Nova Scotia) will make two very satisfying salads.

Toss your choice of greens with 1 tablespoon of good olive oil (we sometimes use a gorgeous olive oil infused with meyer lemon) and arrange them on two plates. Carefully layer the thin slices of salmon over the greens. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over each salad. Top with capers and as much fresh (roughly chopped) dill as you like. Sometimes I add a little finely chopped red onion. Season with black pepper.

Autumn Produce: Cabbage

Follow-up to Autumn Produce.

Cabbage part of the Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae) family and is derived from a leafy wild mustard plant, native to the Mediterranean region. It was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans for its medicinal properties. Cabbages keep well and were a common winter vegetable before refrigeration and long-distance shipping of produce.

There are some four hundred different varieties of cabbage to choose from these days-- varying in shape from round to conical-- with flat or curly, tight or loose leaves in green, white, red, and purple colors.

Savoy and Napa cabbage have crinkly leaves and are the most tender and sweet. The firmer texture of standard green, red, and purple cabbages is better for slaw.

I like to use Napa cabbage when I make Korean Beef on Fiery Cabbage, though of course regular green cabbage works fine.

Napa cabbage also makes a delicious salad. Once separated from the ribs, the pale green leaves  are delicate and mild. Tossed with a lemony dressing, creamy avocado, and tiny tomatoes, they make a great cold-weather salad.

Napa Cabbage, Tomato, and Avocado Salad
serves 6

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 (1-lb) Napa cabbage
1 (6- to 8-oz) firm-ripe avocado
3/4 lb cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

Whisk together the lemon zest, juice, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until smooth, then add oil in a stream, whisking until emulsified.

Tear enough cabbage leaves from ribs into bite-size pieces to measure 7 cups (don't throw away the ribs! Use them and any remaining leaves in the Fiery Cabbage recipe above).

Quarter the avocado lengthwise, then pit and peel it. Cut it into 1/2-inch pieces.

Toss the cabbage leaves, avocado, and tomatoes in a large bowl with just enough dressing to coat.

Red cabbage transforms into a terrific side-dish which goes well with baked macaroni and cheese.

Red cabbage with red wine
4 servings

⅓ cup Raisins
1 cup Ribera del Duero wine
  (or any full-bodied red wine)
¼ cup Olive oil
⅓ cup Pine nuts
1  Red cabbage head - (2 lbs); thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In an small bowl let the raisins and wine soak until raisins have plumped, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the pine nuts and saute until golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and saute briefly while tossing, about 1 minute. Add the reserved red wine and raisins, and season with salt. Reduce the heat to very low, cover the pan tightly and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Insalata Caprese with Heirloom Tomatoes

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Ah... August!

Who can resist tomatoes at this time of the year?

Salad Days

It's summer, it's hot and the oven has been declared off-limits until cooler weather. Living in a 6th floor walk-up apartment means it gets damned uncomfortable in the rooms without AC units--and the kitchen is one of those rooms. It also means no yard for a barbeque and that all the tempting recipes assuming grill and hot coals go untried unless we find a work-around-- which we have done, thanks to a stove-top grill pan. Of course we have to out up with a fair amount of smoke, but we don't mind too much.

Thai Beef Salad
from Cooking Light
serves 6 (I cut the recipe in half)

1/1 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 chopped fresh cilantro
2 tblsp brown sugar
2 tblsp Thai fish sauce
2 tblsp chili paste with garlic
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lb flank steak, trimmed
cooking spray
1 1/2 cups sliced red onion
4 plum tomatoes, each cut into 6 wedges
1 1/4 cups thinly sliced English cucumber
2 tblsp chopped fresh mint
6 cups romaine lettuce, torn into pieces

Combine first 6 ingredients, and set half of it aside. Place the flank steak into a large ziplock bag and pour half of the lime mixture over the meat. Seal and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least half an hour (I sometimes set this up in the morning and let it go all day).

When you're ready to make dinner, prepare the grill and then cook the steak for 6 minutes on each side. Let the meat stand for 5 minutes.

While the meat is resting, heat a skillet and coat with cooking spray. Add the onion and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and continue to saute for another 2 minutes. Place the onion/tomato mixture into a large bowl and toss with the lettuce and cucumber.

Cut the steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices.

Divide the salad onto plates and top each serving with the sliced steak. Drizzle each serving with 1 tblsp of the reserved lime mixture.

Per Serving: 219 cal, 21.1 g pro, 12.3 g carb, 8.6 g fat, 3.6 g sat. fat, 54 mg chol, 2.2 g fiber, 45 mg sodium