Savory Apricot Dressing

Last year in a little bookshop in Ashland, Oregon, I bought this calendar for 2012:

Obviously, this calendar and I were perfect for each other. Every month spotlights a different food, how to grow it, and offers several recipes using that food. This month, July, focuses on the first stone fruit to ripen each summer: apricots.

The author shared several great sounding ideas for using apricots, including one for a Savory Apricot Dressing. Usually I stick with my trusty and reliable vinaigrette dressing, but lately I've been a little burnt out on that standby. I even bought some store-bought dressing in a fit of boredom one day. Expanding my salad dressing repertoire struck me as an excellent idea.

And what a dressing it was! A golden color with specks of basil from my garden, the surprisingly creamy dressing had a great balance of sweet/tangy/savory and I happily used it on salads for several days in a row. It is the kind of condiment so tasty that you use it as an excuse to eat more vegetables- always a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

Savory Apricot Dressing

1/2 c. fruity olive oil

1/4 c. rice or cider vinegar

1/2 c. chopped ripe apricots

1/4 c. shredded basil

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tsp. maple syrup or honey

1 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. smoked paprika

In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients and puree until fairly smooth. Makes about 1 1/4 cups. Refrigerate leftovers in a tightly sealed jar for up to 3 days.

My First Slow Food Book Club Meeting

How do you feel about the idea of doing something that scares you in order to promote personal growth? I kind of hate that concept... But sometimes I'm glad I did the scary thing afterwards. This week, I did something that was scary to me, or at least intimidating. Pushing aside memories of being painfully shy and introverted and inarticulate, I went to a Slow Food Book Club meeting.

This was my first time ever going to a Slow Food event, or participating in a book club. The meeting was held in a 101-year-old home in downtown Sacramento, where our host for the evening lives. She owns 3000+ cookbooks and was incredibly gracious and knowledgeable about all things culinary.

This meeting was a potluck, and the food was something to behold. With all the foodies in attendance, perhaps this was to be expected, but it surpassed my expectations. Quinoa and Caprese salads, pizza with homegrown tomatoes, a fantastic cheese platter with chutney and crackers, and a Smitten Kitchen recipe for blondies were some of the dreamy offerings.



The book we discussed (which is being held up in the picture above) was written by local Davis dweller Spring Warren, who pledges to grow her own food for a year and make her diet 75% homegrown. The title is Quarter Acre Farm: How I Kept the Patio, Lost the Lawn, and Fed My Family For a Year, and it was a highly enjoyable read: funny, entertaining, informative, and never condescending to the rest of us humble folk who only dabble in gardening. There are also plenty of tasty sounding recipes.

Before going to the book club, I was afraid that others might show up with home-cured wild boar sausage and scoff at me for buying my orzo pasta at a grocery store instead of making it from scratch. In truth, all of the Slow Food friends I met were very down to earth, incredibly generous, and delightfully passionate about good food and restoring our connection to the food chain. And that's something I can absolutely get behind.

Here's the recipe for the dish I made, pictured in the bottom left corner of the photo above. It's a unique, easy-to-make alternative to a pasta salad, and perfect for bringing to a potluck or picnic. I used green onions from the garden, cut out the capers (it's plenty salty already with the kalamata olives), and used sun-dried tomato feta. Here's to doing something scary and being pleasantly surprised.

Orzo Salad with Feta, Olives and Bell Peppers
From Epicurious

12 ounces orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups crumbled seasoned feta cheese (such as basil and tomato; about 6 ounces)
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
4 green onions, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Cook orzo in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Rinse with cold water; drain well. Transfer to large bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add crumbled feta cheese, chopped bell peppers, Kalamata olives, green onions and capers.

Combine lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, mustard and cumin in small bowl. Gradually whisk in remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Add dressing to orzo mixture and toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Garnish salad with pine nuts; serve.

Layered Salad

Photo from The Pioneer Woman

In the Midwest, a layered salad like this is a potluck staple, probably because it’s a hearty dish that can feed a crowd. While the ingredients vary from cook to cook, I like the idea that everyone can make it their own. Someone might substitute blue cheese for cheddar, while another might use ham instead of bacon. This is one flexible dish.

Personally, I wanted to make mine a bit lighter than the traditional version, so I used low-fat sour cream and turkey bacon. I added some basil to the dressing because I love the way basil pairs with tomatoes and I had some growing on my patio. I also discovered that my large eggs were not hard cooked all the way through when I cracked one open, so I nixed the hard-boiled eggs this time - and it was still delicious.

The amounts will vary depending on the size of the bowl you use.

Layered Salad
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

1 head ice burg lettuce, shredded
2 c. baby spinach leaves
1 package bacon or turkey bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
6-8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
3-4 green onions, chopped
3-4 tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
1 package frozen green peas, thawed

Dressing:
1/2 c. low-fat sour cream
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 T. Sugar
2 T. Basil, chopped

In a clear glass bowl, layer the salad ingredients in the order given. Mix dressing ingredients together and use a spatula to spread it over the top of the salad. Cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours. Toss just before serving.

Around My French Table: A Dinner Party

I recently heard about a new trend called a Cookbook Club. A group of friends picks an interesting cookbook and each person chooses one recipe they want to make from that book. They all get together and have a party and try a sampling of great food that they otherwise probably wouldn’t have had time or money to make at the same time. I thought this sounded SO fun and a great excuse to get to make more friends!

For my first Cookbook Club event, I chose Dorie Greenspan's "Around My French Table", one of the most popular and acclaimed cookbooks to be published in quite some time. All of the guests were impressed with how simple and approachable her recipes were. It proved to us that not all French food has to be intimidating or complicated in order to be satisfying.

My friend Tiffany made a French version of Shepherd's Pie (Hachis Parmentier), which was to die for, and that spinach bacon quiche behind it was great - even for an anti-quiche guy like my husband.

There was olive-cheese bread that was moist and savory, plus that squash I grew (just because we needed more vegetables), and I also made a citrus berry terrine. Dorie talks about how the French don't turn up their noses at gelatin like Americans are sometimes prone to do, and this recipe certainly is easy to love. Plain gelatin plus orange juice forms the base, and fresh berries and citrus segments are stirred into the mixture. It's pretty stunning when you turn it out onto a platter.

My only regret? That we didn't have a dessert. I guess that's a good excuse to do it again!

Citrus Berry Terrine
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's "Around My French Table"

Segments from 1 pink grapefruit, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup cold water
2 packets unflavored gelatin
2 cups orange or grapefruit juice
1/3 cup sugar
About 3 cups mixed blueberries, raspberries and blackberries (if you want to add strawberries, look for small berries or cut larger ones into bite-sized pieces)

Place a double layer of paper towels on a cutting board and spread the citrus pieces out on the paper. Cover with another double layer of towels and set the pieces aside until you're ready for them. If the paper gets very wet, change it.

Pour the cold water in a large bowl, sprinkle over the gelatin, and let it soften.

Meanwhile, bring the juice and sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour some of the juice over the gelatin, gently stir to dissolve, and then stir in the rest of the juice. Put the gelatin mixture in the refrigerator and let it chill, stirring occasionally, until it thickens slightly, about two hours. (Mine was ready after 1.5 hours.) (You're looking for a mixture with the texture of egg whites.)

Moisten a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cold water and shake out the excess. Gently stir the reserved citrus segments and the berries into the lightly thickened gelatin mixture, and scrape everything into the pan. Jiggle the pan a little to settle the gel and chill for at least four hours or up to overnight.

When you're ready to serve the terrine, dip the pan into a bowl or sinkful of hot water for a few seconds, and run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan. Wipe the pan and unmold the terrine onto a platter.

The terrine should be served in thick slices. If you'd like, you can dress each serving with more berries, or pour over a spoonful or two of sweetened pureed raspberries.

Tabbouleh - Or, a Heat-Free Dinner in July

I recently signed up for weekly e-mails from The Splendid Table (brought to America by Public Radio). So once a week, I now receive an interesting, usually ethnic-inspired recipe developed by one Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Tonight, I made a fabulous Tabbouleh (cracked wheat salad). It was flavorful, meatless, a riot of colors, and required no use of either oven or stove. Now that the weather has soared to 100 degrees nearly daily in Sacramento, the latter virtue alone was enticing enough for me to have a go at it, and I loved the results. Leftovers made a great lunch the next day - you've got your grain, veggie, fruit, and protein all in one dish.

Tabbouleh

1-1/2 cups bulgur wheat

1 medium-large tomato, diced

1 medium cucumber or 2 pickling cucumbers, peeled and diced

1/2 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

A few pinches each of cinnamon, allspice, and cayenne

1 large clove garlic, minced

One 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained (or 1 cup cooked)

1/3 cup lightly toasted pine nuts

1/3 cup currants, soaked in water for 10 minutes and drained

1/3 cup chopped fresh spearmint

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

Put the bulgur in a large bowl and add 1-1/2 cups boiling water. Stir, cover, and let stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour. If necessary, drain excess water from the bulgur.

In a small bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic and whisk together.

Add the tomato, cucumber, onion, garbanzos, pine nuts, and currants to the bulgur. Sprinkle with the mint and parsley. Drizzle the dressing over the tabbouleh and toss well. Let the salad stand for about 30 minutes before serving and taste again for seasoning; you may need a little more oil, lemon juice, salt, or pepper.

The salad can be prepared in advance and kept at cool room temperature, or if refrigerated, allowed to come to room temperature before serving.

Beet It, Just Beet It!

A story is told by my father of a time when his father stumbled to the refrigerator in search of late-night refreshment. After taking a big gulp of what appeared to be grape juice, he gagged, and realized that it was not fruit juice at all, but leftover beet juice! Needless to say, the ruby red root was shunned in my family ever since.

However, there is hope. I have noticed that one by one, the less popular vegetables are being brought back into the limelight by trendy recipes that are shared amongst friends at potlucks and dinner groups. First, in the 90's, someone re-imagined spinach by pairing fresh leaves with sweet fruit and vinaigrette dressing. Kale chips are gaining popularity amongst health foodies, and now, even the humble beet shines like a jewel in many restaurant salads.

When contrasted against creamy soft cheese, refreshing greens, crunchy nuts, and a zesty dressing, beets are tranformed into a veggie that can hold their own against the rest. This recipe was shared with me by my friend and sister-in-law Chelsea whose blog chronicles all of the recipes she experiments with.

Beet Salad

Salad:
1 package arugula or spring mixed greens
2 beets, boiled and julienned (red or golden)
1/2 package goat or mild feta cheese, crumbled
handful of chopped walnuts

Toss together, then dress with dressing.

Dressing:
Mix together:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 TBSP lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste.

Mango Chicken Salad

Sometimes in summer, you don’t want to cook with heat. Those days, it’s nice to have a delicious, cooling salad up your sleeve so you can have a heat-free dinner. I found an Indian-inspired recipe for chicken salad in an old Cooking Light magazine which I modified using free-range rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for the spiced chicken breasts. You really can’t get much easier than this, and the secret ingredient: mango chutney! The chutney adds a touch of fruity sweetness and extra moisture, so that you can use less heavy mayo to keep the mixture moist.

We ate this salad with fresh biscuits, and the next day we ate the leftovers on slices of ciabatta bread. Leftovers make an excellent sandwich filling! My husband really liked this one. I hope you will too!

Mango Chicken Salad

1 free-range rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded
1/4 c. finely chopped red onion
½ c. sliced green grapes
1/3 c. diced celery
1/3 c. Major Grey’s Mango Chutney
1/3 c. olive-oil mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. It’s ready to go!

German Potato Salad

In my family, traditionally a BBQ means hot dogs and hamburgers. However, my co-workers last year introduced me to the beauty of a well-made sausage. This discovery prompted me to throw a German-themed grill party.

On the menu: smoked bratwursts from local authentic German deli Morant's; freshly baked rolls from the Grateful Bread bakery; mixed greens with lots of vegetables, including the first tomato from our patio garden (wonderfully sweet and delicious!!); fresh fruit platter by my friend Heidi; German potato salad; and for dessert, my friend Chelsea brought (what else?) German chocolate cake.

We had a wonderful time laughing with friends and devouring our German feast and sampling a variety of root beers... But I'll have to blog about our tasting conclusions next time! I will share the recipe for the German Potato Salad, which was given to me by a sweet little German lady who is a client of the law firm where I work. Her name was Ingeborg (you gotta love a lady with a name like that!) and she shared it with one of my associates who lived in Germany as a child, who then made copies for all of us. This salad is cool and refreshing and light, very good with sausages of course, and an excellent alternative to a mayo-based salad for those who are scared of food poisoning (or just don't like mayo)! It serves 8-10 people.

P.S. I threw some green onions in for added color, then garnished with chopped red bell pepper and flat-leaf parsley.

Bavarian-style German Potato Salad
Courtesy of Ingeborg Wright

5 large potatoes (I used red potatoes)
1 small red onion
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 T. salt
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 3/4 T. distilled white vinegar
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. dill weed

Wash and clean the potatoes (do not peel). Boil potatoes in large pot until done (when they feel soft when pierced with a fork). When done, remove potatoes and set aside until cooled to lukewarm. THEN remove the potato skins (I left some on for texture) and cut potatoes into small pieces.

Dice the onion into tiny pieces. Combine with ALL the other ingredients in a container and mix well. Pour about half of the mixture over the potatoes and let soak for 20 minutes - THEN stir. Add a little of the remaining mixture and let soak for about 10-15 minutes and stir again. Repeat this procedure until the mixture is all or almost all used up. (Sometimes you will not have to use all of the mixture - do not make the potato salad too thin.)

Cover and store in refrigerator. Tastes best when allowed to soak overnight before serving. It will keep for several days when refrigerated.

Absolutely Amazing Asian Noodle Salad

A lot of my female fellow bloggers follow a cooking blog called The Pioneer Woman, and that’s where I got this recipe from... Kind of! The Pioneer Woman actually got the recipe from The Naked Chef (can you tell why I wanted to try it?!) and adapted it to her tastes, calling it her "Favorite Salad Ever". I also adapted it slightly and I have to say, this is one fantastic tasting dish. It’s fresh, it’s delicious, it's simple, and the colors are amazing. The great thing about it is that you can use whatever vegetables are in season or just the ones you like; you could substitute cashews for the peanuts, soba noodles for the udon noodles, and so on. Run, don't walk, to the kitchen to make this one!

Asian Noodle Salad (serves 2)

1 bunch of udon noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled
1/4 head sliced purple or napa cabbage
1/4 bag baby spinach
1 whole red bell pepper (or can use multi-colored orange, yellow, etc.)
½ c. bean sprouts
1-2 green onions, chopped
1 carrot, sliced thinly like matchsticks
1/4 c. chopped dry roasted peanuts
chopped cilantro (optional)

For the Dressing:
½ lime, juiced
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
4 T. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 T. Sesame oil
3 T. Brown sugar
1 T. chopped ginger
1 clove garlic, chopped
A squirt of sriracha sauce for some heat!

Mix salad ingredients together. Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve platter.

Autumn Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Autumn Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Sunday night I attended a birthday celebration for my friend and sister-in-law Heidi. We had a lovely time eating dinner together: salmon, potatoes, asparagus, and a salad that I brought. I found it in a the October 2007 Cooking Light magazine and it is an excellent salad to serve in the fall/winter season when pears and apples are ripe. Homemade vinaigrette dressing is one of my favorite things to make because it's so simple and so superior to store-bought versions. It is healthier for you too, when you use real olive oil and eliminate the added high-fructose corn syrup that most store-bought dressings contain.

I often tweak it according to what’s in season or what I have on hand. Last Sunday night, for example, I used a mixture of spring mix salad and romaine lettuce, replaced the red onion with sliced fennel (love that fresh licorice flavor!), used a red pear, Gala apple, added dried cranberries, and omitted the goat cheese. It was still great and very fresh-tasting! Here’s the recipe: tweak it as you will!

Autumn Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pinch of dried basil
Pinch of ground red pepper

5 cups mixed salad greens
4 cups torn romaine lettuce
2 1/2 cups cubed Asian pear (about 1 large)
2 cups chopped Granny Smith apple (about 1 large)
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled goat cheese

Preparation:
Combine first 9 ingredients in a bowl, stirring with a whisk.
Combine salad greens, romaine lettuce, Asian pear, apple, and red onion in a large bowl. Drizzle with vinaigrette, and toss well to coat. Sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese