Simplest Carrot Salad

It’s still all about the simple around here.

This salad was so simple that I threw it together in about fifteen minutes before rushing out to a yoga class. The only part that takes any time is ribboning (is that a verb?) the carrots.

Until this week, the only carrot salad I can remember eaten was made with grated carrot and raspberry wine vinegar. It’s from a Moosewood cookbook and it’s delicious. But this one is entirely different. Since the carrots are thinly sliced – ribboned using a vegetable peeler – there is much less moisture than with grated carrots and it keeps much better in the fridge.

Again, this recipe is from 101 cookbooks. The original calls for the carrots, dressed with lemon juice and lemon zest, plus chopped fresh chile, cilantro and pumpkin seeds. Because of my lack of ingredients, my version turned out to be even simpler than the original. I’m not allowed to eat chiles, and my cilantro was slimy and brown. Too bad, because I’m sure it would be killer in this. Especially due to my intense love of cilantro. (Have I mentioned that? The fact that I can’t get enough of its earthy-yet-fresh taste, and J won’t touch it and swears it tastes like dirt? Yeah, I’m eating a lot of cilantro while he’s away this summer.)

So my plain-jane version was carrots, lemon and pumpkin seeds. I wasn’t super impressed when I first started eating it, but after it mellowed in the fridge I started to like the flavours more.  It surprised me that the recipes calls for you to quickly sauté the carrot ribbons in a frying pan with a little oil, but I think it’s an important step. Like Heidi says, it takes the edge off their rawness.

Final verdict: better than the raw sticks that filled my lunch bag for days, and easier than roasting or caramelizing in this June heat. And frankly, when you can eat as little as I can right now, you’re grateful for something cold, sweet and nutritious that you can grab from the fridge and eat by the forkful from the container. 

Also - I’m telling you this a bit late - but if you’re interested, go check out a culinary Q and A with me over at fellow food blogger Sharon’s site.

The good things I have been eating

 
I’ve been getting a lot of strange food cravings lately.

A tuna sandwich.

A carrot muffin.

French fries.

These are intense cravings that hit me suddenly in the middle of the day. No, I’m not pregnant (friends, do you really think I would let you know via my blog? Come on). I’m craving these things because I can’t eat them right now.

(To be technical, I could eat the sandwich and the muffin. It would just take some work.)

I’m on my second week of a five-week cleanse diet. I’m doing it to see if I have any food intolerances that are affecting my health, and in particular, my migraine headaches. The diet was recommended by a naturopath I visited, and there are a myriad number of things I am not supposed to eat. Rather than list all of them, let’s concentrate on the good things I have been eating: lots of fruits and vegetables, grains, beans, almond butter, fish …

I’m aware that looks like a lot of asparagus for one person – but believe me, you have to eat a lot of vegetables to feel full.  

The big plus to this diet (besides the hopeful health benefits) is that I am eating a lot of foods that I haven’t had in months because of our eat-local habits. Suddenly, bananas, avocados and mushrooms are the most wonderful foods in the world! This really helps to make the diet seem less monotonous.

But I have been sticking local with a lot of foods: Edgar Farms asparagus, chicken, cucumber, greens, wild trout, apples, rhubarb, and radishes.

I’m living on my own for the summer while my husband is going to music festivals and programs back East, so that combined with this new diet has really changed my eating habits. It’s much more of an effort to actually make supper for myself when I get home from work, so I try to keep it simple. A lot of steamed or sauteed veggies with beans and rice. To add flavour, the little container of flaky Maldon sea salt that I picked up at the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto (hopefully more on that place still to come!) has been my saviour. It is delicious sprinkled over everything.

I wanted to share with you two dishes I ate today. They seem to me like perfect foods for spring – or nearly summer.

Quinoa with chickpeas and avocado

I cooked a big pot of quinoa the other night that I figured I could turn into various meals, and this one is great. All you do is mix some cooked quinoa with cooked chickpeas, slice some avocado over the top, sprinkle on as much lime juice as you want, and season with salt and pepper. The result is an earthy mixture of toothsome and creamy with just a hint of tart juice. I love it.

Christmas Salad for Spring

I bought a bunch of radishes at the downtown market last week from Sundog Organics, just because they looked so pretty. But I haven’t radishes for years, and I find them too spicy to crunch on raw. So I turned to the internet … and it tossed up a couple of radish salad recipes that I derived this one from.

Slice a small bunch of radishes and about half a cucumber very thinly. Chop up about 1/4 cup of cilantro. Mix all together and add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

I’m surprised by how much I like this salad – I thought the lime juice might make it too sour, but it actually softens the spiciness of the radishes and creates a fresh, beautiful flavour. I think this would be really good with some fresh or dried chiles as well.

P.S. – I think I’ll be a bit late with my photo set this week because later today I’m taking my computer to get fixed. It’s been acting weird in lots of ways for a long time and something must be done. So if you don’t see me here for a few days, that’s why. Happy weekend! 

Roasted Squash Salad

I just finished a delicious supper.

It’s rare that I blog about things I’ve just eaten. Usually I’m too lazy, or too busy, and the meals get filed into my brain to use in future posts.

But tonight, despite the dirty dishes on the counter, I am relaxed. I can also sleep in tomorrow. And, I want to write about how this meal tasted before I forget.

I often buy squash at the Strathcona County Farmers’ Market from August Organics, a stall on the East side of the market, closest to the front doors. There is usually a big pile of green and orange squash on one corner of the stand, with an info sheet about which squash is which, and how they all taste. I can’t always tell from the sheet which one I’m holding, so I have to ask one of the kind people who work there. A few times I’ve been helped by an adorably precocious boy.

Last weekend I bought quite an ugly-looking specimen, but I was told that it was dry and would be good for roasting. Roasting is one of my favourite ways to make squash, because it brings out the natural sweetness.

I remembered reading something on a food blog recently about a squash salad, so I did an online search and came up with Ina Garten’s recipe for roasted squash salad with warm cider vinaigrette.

The only annoying part of this recipe was peeling and scooping out the squash. The peel was tough and the seeds and membranes were hanging on for dear life.

Tonight I was dining alone. J had a long day and was already asleep in bed when I started the recipe (quite late, I must admit. I had a long day myself). So once the squash was done roasting, I made myself a one-plate serving with the greens, squash, raisins and cheese. When I spooned on the warm dressing, the aroma of parmesan drifted up to my nose. When I took a bite, the sweetness of the squash balanced perfectly with the sharpness of the parmesan cheese, and I tasted the tanginess of the cider vinaigrette.

I adapted the recipe quite a bit because of ingredients I didn’t have, and it still turned out great. I used mixed greens from the market instead of arugula, and raisins instead of cranberries. I left out the walnuts and the shallots entirely.

My only complaint was that the dressing had too much olive oil, since the vinegar mixture isn’t as strong as plain vinegar. I would add only a quarter cup next time.

I am looking forward to lunch tomorrow.

Roasted Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

Adapted from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

One squash (butternut or any other dry variety), about 1.5 to 2 pounds, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tablespoon maple syrup
olive oil
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons dried cranberries or raisins
3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallots (optional)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
arugula or other salad greens
1/2 cup toasted walnut halves
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Toss the squash with the maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, salt and pepper. Put it in a roasting pan and roast for 20-25 minutes, until soft and browned in places. Stir once or twice during the roasting. Add the cranberries to the pan for the last five minutes (I didn’t do this, but it would probably be good).

While the squash is roasting, combine the apple cider, vinegar and shallots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup.

Off the heat, whisk in the mustard, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

If you are serving the entire salad immediately, place the arugula in a large salad bowl and add the roasted squash mixture, the walnuts, and the grated Parmesan. Spoon just enough vinaigrette over the salad to moisten, and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

If you’d like to save some salad for leftovers, simply plate each portion individually. Start with the greens, add the squash, walnuts and parmesan, and spoon on the dressing.

Salads Good and Bad

I’ve discovered that I hate green olives.

Hate is a strong word. But I use it here because I can’t actually fathom how anyone would willingly put such a vile-tasting thing into her mouth.

Of course, I’m half-kidding. I know that taste is personal, that one person’s caviar and champagne is another’s compost. I know that taste can be shaped by many things, including the way we were raised, the memories we associate with certain foods, and the  actual buds on our tongues. But. But. To me, the taste and smell of green olives doesn’t even seem related to a food. It’s like a cross between some horrid chemically cleaning product and something that comes bubbling up from the sewer.

I’ve surprised myself this year by actually learning to like black olives. I still wouldn’t eat them out of a bowl at a party, but I like their tang in salads and in sandwiches, and I’ve become a particular fan of olive paste, spread on bread with cheese and tomatoes. It seems to me that green olives are a different kind of beast altogether. Can they even be from the same plant?

Well, it turns out they are. Most of you probably already knew this, but I just found out through some vigorous research that green olives are picked from the olive tree when they are not yet ripe, and black olives stay on the branch until they are fully ripened.

Well, I say leave em’ on there! Let them hang out a little while longer and get nice and purply and juicy. Much yummier.

I came to this olive revelation last week when we made a white bean salad with green olives from Deborah Madison’s book. I took one for the team here. I tasted the salad first and proclaimed the nastiness of the olives. J wouldn’t come near it. That was the second salad of the year so far that Susan benefited from.

Okay, let me be clear. Not all of these salads have been bad. In fact, I’m even going to give you recipes for a few of them that were quite tasty. But I think that overall, I’m not a huge fan of bean and grain salads. I love beans. I love them in dips and spreads, soups and casseroles, cooked in a sauce atop rice and baked with molasses. But when beans are in a salad they really tend to dominate it, and when combined with a grain and a strong vinaigrette it’s just not a flavour combination I usually enjoy.

One of the ones we liked was a lentil salad – altogether different from most other beans in my opinion. And it had roasted beets in it, which for me is always guaranteed to tip the scale in a recipe’s favour.

Before Christmas we made a good salad with quinoa, mangos and curry dressing. An unlikely combination, but it works. If you’ve never eaten quinoa, please, please go buy some. It’s so incredibly flavourful and even more incredibly good for you. The Incas called it the miracle grain or something like that because it’s packed with protein and vitamins.

We’re onto pasta salads next week, which include buckwheat noodles and mung bean noodles. Also dulse leaves. I have no idea if you can even get those things in Edmonton. Well, you probably can but it may involve a lengthy bus ride to an Asian grocery. It could be worth it because the recipes look delicious. I’ll let you know how things go.

Quinoa Salad with Mangoes and Curry Dressing (from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone) serves 4

1 1/3 cups quinoa
salt
2 mangoes
3 scallions, including an inch of the greens, thinly sliced                   1 jalepeno chile, seeded and diced
1/3 cup almonds, toasted

For the curry vinaigrette:

1 garlic clove
Salt
2 Tablespoons yogourt, mayonnaise or sour cream
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
5 tablespoons light olive or sunflower seed oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

Bring three cups of water to a boil and add a half a teaspoon of salt. Stir in the quinoa, lower the heat, cover and simmer until the grains are tender, about 12-15 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the vinaigrette. Pound or mince the garlic and ¼ teaspoon salt in a mortar until smooth, or put the garlic through a press. Combine the garlic and salt with the yogourt and curry in a small bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and then slowly whisk in the oil. Sprinkle the cilantro over the vinagrette and set aside while you make the rest of the salad. Taste to see if it is tart enough or too tart, and adjust if needed.

Slice the mangoes in bite sized chunks. The easiest way to do this is to slice lengthwise through the flat center, as close to the stone as you can get. Score the half that does not have the stone in square shapes, going through to the skin but not cutting through it. Cut off the resulting cubes from the skin. Cut the second half away from the pit and repeat.

When the quinoa is done, drain it if necessary - theoretically the grains will have absorbed all the water. Toss the quinoa, onion, mango chunks and jalepeno in the vinaigrette. Sprinkle the almond slices over the top and serve warm.

If you are going to save any for leftovers, just sprinkle the almonds over your own portion so they won’t get soggy in the salad.

Green Lentils with Roasted Beets and Preserved Lemon

5 beets, about one pound

1 teaspoon olive oil

Salt and freshly milled pepper

1 cup French green lentils

1 carrot, finely diced

½ small onion, finely diced

Aromatics: 1 bay leaf, 4 parsley branches, 2 thyme sprigs

1 preserved lemon or 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Lemon Vinaigrette

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped mint, plus mint sprigs for garnish

Preheat oven to 350. Peel four of the beets and cut them into small cubes. Set the last beet aside for garnish. Toss the beets with the oil, season with salt and pepper, and bake on a sheet pan until tender, about 35 minutes, stirring once or twice. Meanwhile, put the lentils in a pan with water to cover, add the carrot, onion, aromatics, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until tender but still a little firm, about 25  minutes. Drain well.

Cut the preserved lemon into quarters and scrape off the soft pulp. Chop the pulp finely and stir two teaspoons into the dressing. Finely chop the remaining skin. (Or just zest your lemon.)

Toss the lentils with the roasted beets and the vinaigrette, the preserved lemon or lemon zest, parsley, and mint. Peel the remaining beet and finely grate it. Put the lentils on a platter (or on plates) and garnish with the grated beet and sprigs of mint.

Lemon Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest

Salt and freshly milled pepper

1 shallot, finely diced

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or to taste

Combine the first four ingredients in a small bowl and let stand for 15 minutes. Then whisk in the oil and season with pepper to taste. Taste the correct the balance, adding more oil if needed.

Winter Fruit Salad

I made two mistakes with this recipe.

The first was to completely forget about a very specific flavour, and the second was to underestimate the importance of specific ingredients.

Let me tell you what happened, from the beginning. J and I were invited to a potluck and I decided to make a recipe that I saw on Smitten Kitchen for Winter Fruit Salad. It involved a sugar syrup, dried figs, pears and pomegranates, and it sounded intriguing. I know it’s usually not wise to make a new recipe for a potluck, but I was feeling adventurous.

So I went grocery shopping, spending much more than I had anticipated on figs, vanilla beans, and star anise. I also bought garlic oil, noodles, sugar snap peas and sweet chilli sauce for the sesame peanut noodles that J was bringing. Let’s just say I gulped when I got to the cash register. For all that I love our precious Sobey’s, it can be a bit dear.

Later that night I started cooking. It was when the sugar syrup was simmering and I leaned over the pot to smell the steam that I began to realize my first mistake. It had somewhat slipped my mind that star anise has a licorice flavour, and that’s exactly what the syrup smelled like. And licorice … well, it’s not really my favourite flavour. In fact it’s one of my least favourite flavours. Oops.

I soldiered on and finished the recipe, pouring the syrup over the dried figs and apricots, slicing the pears and apples, putting the whole thing in the fridge to chill. I was hoping that I might still like it. But when J and I were riding the subway to the potluck and he opened the bowl to show me the salad, I realized my second mistake, and I pretty much knew that I wouldn’t.

I’m the queen of substitutions and it drives J nuts. Whole wheat flour instead of white (I once made a chocolate cake this way – not recommended, although I still ate it), sage instead of marjoram (big fiasco), . I am usually just trying to be resourceful and use up something we have hanging around in the fridge. It almost always turns out okay. I’ve been using self-rising cake flour in waffles recently, and they always taste great.

In the case of this fruit salad, I didn’t actually substitute a thing. In fact, I made a point of buying exactly everything that was called for, except for Turkish apricots that I couldn’t find. I just didn’t use the exact right ingredient.

The recipe calls for firm Bosc pears. When I decided to make this salad, I already had four Bosc pears sitting on our windowsill, and of course I wasn’t going to go out and buy more. It turns out I should have. Since the pears sit in the sugar syrup for about eight hours, they get a little waterlogged, and my very ripe pears just couldn’t stand it. They collapsed. They cooked. They mushed into slimy slices. It was very sad.

So this salad wasn’t a disaster. I think everybody at the potluck ate some. I didn’t hate it. But the intense licorice flavour combined with the mushy pears definitely didn’t make it a winner. And I thought I would like the figs better. I’m tempted to try it again, without the star anise and using firm pears. But I’ll be honest. It probably won’t be anytime soon.

By the way, J’s Sesame Peanut Noodles were delicious. Worth every penny. I’ve included that recipe too, because I picked it from our Nigella Express cookbook, and it proves that I don’t always make bad potluck decisions.

Winter Fruit Salad

smittenkitchen.com

3/4 cup sugar
3 star anise
1/2 of plump vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
8 dried Turkish apricots, cut in half
4 dried figs, quartered
4 2-inch long pieces lemon zest (peeled with a vegetable peeler) from a Meyer lemon if you can find one
Juice of the zest lemon
3 firm Bosc pears
1 firm tart apple
Seeds from half a pomegranate

1. Fill a medium saucepan with 4 cups water. Add the sugar, star anise, vanilla bean and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, and cook until all the sugar is dissolved. Let it cool for just a few minutes (it should still be hot) and then stir in the dried figs and apricots. Let it cool completely.

2. Meanwhile, peel and core pears and apple. Slice thinly lengthwise and place in a large bowl, and toss with the lemon juice.

3. Once the syrup with dried fruit has cooled, pour it over the apples and pears. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill it overnight in the refrigerator.

4. The next morning, using a slotted spoon, ladle the fruit into a serving bowl, sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and serve. Remove the vanilla beans (you can rinse and save what is left of them for another use) and lemon peels if you wish, or leave them in for decoration.

Do ahead Syrup can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for a day or two. Hot syrup can be poured over the dried fruit and kept in the fridge for a day or so. Prepared salad keeps in the fridge for a day or two, but is best fresh.

Sesame Peanut Noodles

from Nigella Express

This recipe is kind of annoying because it’s all in weights, so you need a scale unless you want to estimate, which you could do too.

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon garlic oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

100g smooth peanut butter

1 tablespoons lime juice

For the salad:

125g snow peas

150g beansprouts, rinsed

1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into small strips

2 green onions, finely sliced

550g ready-prepared egg noodles (or regular egg noodles, or you could probably use spaghetti or soba noodles too)

20g sesame seeds

1 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a bowl.

Put the snow peas, beansprouts, red pepper slices, sliced spring onions and noodles in a bowl.

Pour the dressing over them and mix thoroughly to coat everything well.

Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and chopped cilantro.

Serves 8.