Socrates Greenmarket and Mexican Panzanella

greenmarket sign

A couple weekends ago, I visited the Socrates Greenmarket for the first time – what a great market! It’s small, but packs a punch in its offerings. There, you can find all sorts of vegetables, fruit, bread, honey, juice, and even duck.

Apart from wanting to check it out for personal reasons, I went there as part of a meetup event with the Traditional Community Kitchen, a Meetup group focused on real, whole, unprocessed and traditional foods (I’m a co-organizer with them). Members come from a wide range of backgrounds – from those that follow a Nourishing Traditions way of eating, to Paleo, to vegan and vegetarian. Our events are a lot of fun, and the meetup at the Greenmarket didn’t disappoint.

We met around 11am and proceeded to take a tour of the market with the market manager, Markella Los. She took us to each stand and talked a little bit about the farmers and the farm and what they had to offer. It was really interesting and so nice to have more insight into each market vendor.

Continue reading “Socrates Greenmarket and Mexican Panzanella”

Millet Tabbouleh

millet tabbouleh
Millet Tabbouleh

Back in July 2009, I volunteered to do some recipe testing for a new cookbook being written by Shauna and Danny Ahern. You probably know them as Gluten Free Girl and the Chef. I was sworn to secrecy at the time, but since their book is out, I can share this.

I only was able to test one recipe, but the one I tested was a total winner: millet tabbouleh.

Now, I don’t need to eat gluten-free, but I have friends who do, and it’s always interesting to work with new recipes. Millet is a delicious alternative to using bulgur wheat for tabbouleh, too. And it’s got a lot going for it: it’s high in manganese, phosphorous and magnesium. I love the taste and texture. And I always prepare this whole grain by soaking it with an acid to reduce the amount of the anti-nutrient phytic acid in it. This makes the grain more digestable and more nutritious.

I made this for an event over the weekend, and everyone loved it. The resident picky eater also loves it. I hope you do, too.

Farro and Summer Vegetable Salad

farro summer vegetable salad

I did not plan this salad.  It just sort of came to be through improvisation; I like to cook in this way.  Recipes are great, don’t get me wrong, and I enjoy using them, but it’s also nice to take what you have and come up with something delicious, which this most certainly is. Or, was – I ate it all within a 24 hour period.  It was that good.

First, though – what is farro?  Farro is an ancient whole wheat grain also known as Emmer; it’s also related to spelt.  It looks like large barley or even a bit like freekeh, and is medium brown in color.  It has a toothsome texture and mild, nutty flavor.  It has slightly less protein than quinoa, but has almost twice the fiber. You cook it like most grains – soak then simmer in a pot til the water (or stock) absorbs.  My farro comes from Cayuga Organics via my CSA.

So, Tuesday morning I decided I wanted to cook some grains.  I looked in the pantry and the first grain I spied was the farro.  So, I brought it down, put it in my soaking bowl, added water and raw vinegar and let it soak while I was at work.

That night I picked up my CSA shares – the veggie share was full of summer vegetables, and I knew their robust flavors would go well with the farro.

I took what I had – red peppers, leeks, zucchini, tomatoes – and mixed it with the cooked farro, along with some feta and lemon juice.  The salad was so delicious!  It was hearty and satisfying without weighing me down.  The flavors were sharp and clear and they all mixed together to make an excellent dish.  It was wonderfully savory.

I would make this again… in fact, I probably will make it again next week!  It was fantastic the next day, too – the flavors had married and tasted a bit deeper.  Definitely a good dish to bring as leftovers to work.

Farro and Summer Vegetable Salad

1 cup dry farro
soaking water and an acid (I used raw apple cider vinegar; lemon juice would work, too)
juice and zest of 1 lemon
kosher salt
1 leek, finely chopped
1 small red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 small zucchini, julienned, then the matchsticks cut in half to the length of an inch or so
1/4 cup feta cheese (Bulgarian feta is my favorite), crumbled
2 tablespoons pine nuts (raw or toasted)
1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, each cut in half

Put the cup of dry farro in a bowl, cover with water and a splash of acid, and let soak for 8-10 hours.  When the soaking time is up, drain the farro and put in a saucepan with 1 cup of water.  Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer until almost all the water has been absorbed, about 20-25 minutes.  Rinse and drain and set aside.

While the farro is cooking, cut up the leeks.  The way I do this is that I cut off the top fibrous green leaves, leaving the tender white parts.  Then cut off the root end.  Slice the leek in half from root to tip, and rinse the leeks in a way to be sure there is no dirt stuck between the layers.  Put the cut side down and slice thin half moons.  You’ll have a pile of cute skinny half moon leeks – then chop them until they meet your standard for finely chopped.

Add the bell pepper and zucchini.  Add the lemon zest and squeeze the lemon onto the mixture of leeks, pepper, and zucchini, sprinkle with salt (I used about 1/4 tsp) and let that macerate until the farro is ready to be added.

Add the farro and mix with the vegetable lemon combination.  Crumble your feta and add the pine nuts. Pour the olive oil over it all. Last, add the sliced-in-half tomatoes. Mix it all together.  Adjust seasonings as you like.

Serves 4-6, or two servings for some very hungry people.

The Best Chicken Salad

chicken salad on csa lettuce

Earlier this spring, I rediscovered chicken salad; I’m not actually sure why I had forgotten about it.  I used to love chicken salad sandwiches I’d eat from the deli while at grad school (the bread was always a little stale), but I wonder now what exactly was in those sandwiches…

I’ve made this particular chicken salad a half dozen times since May already.  It is just so good.  The list of ingredients isn’t extensive, which is probably why it works so well for my taste.  I’ve made a few adjustments, including making the mayonnaise from scratch.

mayo

I used the mayonnaise recipe from Nourishing Traditions and I love it!  I didn’t have any whey handy, so this mayo will only last a couple of weeks; I have plans to make lacto-fermented mayo soon.  I used a combination of extra virgin olive oil and expeller pressed organic sunflower oil, which are much better fats than the canola and soybean oil you’ll often find in commercial mayo.  I once made mayonnaise with all olive oil and didn’t really like it – it was too intense for me and didn’t taste much like mayo.

The mayo is also a wonderful yellow color, thanks to the excellent pastured eggs I have access to.

One of the predominate flavors in this chicken salad is tarragon, an herb I never paid much attention to.  I was never a real fan of it, but since I’ve been making this salad, I’ve become its champion.  I got a beautiful bunch of it in the first week’s CSA share, and was happy to use it in the chicken salad.  In fact, I pumped up the amount of tarragon, I love it so much.

I also switched out the original cranberries for apples.  I think the apples are so perfect in this salad, giving a level of sweetness that I think is absolutely delicious.  Apples and walnuts are a classic pairing, too.

topped with mayo

Chicken breasts work well in this salad (I poach them) but really any leftover chicken will do, be it roasted, grilled, or whatever.

chicken salad

Apple-Walnut Chicken Salad
Adapted from smitten kitchen, who adapted it quite loosely from Gourmet

4 cups cubed (1/2 inch) cooked chicken (about 1 3/4 lb), pastured if possible
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 celery rib, diced into small bits (1 cup)
2 or more tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1 apple, cored and cubed (no need to peel it)
2/3 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise (homemade is best)
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Toss together all ingredients in a large bowl until combined well.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

This post is participating in Fight Back Friday hosted by Food Renegade.

Radish, Orange, and Mint Salad

radishes

Usually, I am not a big fan of radishes – they are bitter-spicy and taste a little like dirt.  I’ve always wanted to enjoy them, mostly because my grandma loves them and I love my grandma; she will eat them raw, out of hand, like tiny apples.

So, I’m happy to say that I’ve found a way to enjoy these round red radishes – finally!

orange

These radishes star in a salad I first tasted at an underground supper club called The Sunday Night Dinner, run by my friend Tamara.  The whole meal was fabulous, but this salad stuck out in my memory as spectacular.  It presented an amazing combination of flavors – earthy, sweet, bright, perfumed.  It was made with minimal ingredients: oranges, radishes, mint, and orange flower water.  The combination is simply amazing.  And addictive.  I had three servings that night.

orange blossom water

As I was planning out my meals for the week, this salad came to mind, and I knew I had to make it.  I searched the internet for it and came across a recipe from Saveur that resulted in this same salad I loved from that original dinner.  The orange juice really ameliorates the spicy nature of the radishes without breaking their spirit, and the mint is another refreshing touch.  The orange flower water perfumes it all beautifully.

This will be the primary way I eat radishes from now on, I expect.

radish, orange, mint

Radish, Orange, and Mint Salad
adapted from a recipe by Saveur

1 to 2 bunches red radishes, about 1/2 lb., washed and trimmed
1 1/2 tbsp. unrefined sugar – rapadura or sucanat work well
1 tsp. orange flower water
1 1/2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. fresh orange juice
salt
1 seedless orange
4 sprigs fresh mint, chopped

Shred radishes or slice thinly and julienne. Place in a small bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Stir and set aside to macerate for 15 minutes. Drain off excess liquid, if any. Cover and refrigerate, about 20 minutes, until well chilled.

Whisk together orange flower water, lemon juice, and orange juice in a small bowl, and season to taste with salt. Pour dressing over radishes and lightly toss.

Peel and section orange. Add to radishes.

Chop the mint and add it, mixing everything together.

Serves 2-4.

Larb

larb plated

So, I’ve had a package of ground pastured pork in my freezer for a while and I’ve been itching to use it. It’s delicious stuff, from pigs raised by Alan and Nancy Brown at Lewis Waite farm. I could have made burger with it, but I wanted larb. Larb!

What is larb? It’s a Southeast Asian ground meat salad that can be made with pork, beef, chicken and other poultry, or fish. In Laos, it’s made with a bit of ground toasted rice, but the recipe I used didn’t specify that. The version I made was basically meat and some seasonings, served over lettuce with cucumber.

It was delicious, and had that wonderful mix of tangy-salty-fresh-and spicy flavors that I love so much in Southeast Asian food.  It was also well-received by our resident picky eater, so I see that as a good sign.  It would be an excellent summer dish, perhaps paired with some fresh spring rolls, or perhaps just with a side of papaya salad.  Fresh fruit would be perfect for dessert.  I expect to make it again.

larb

This post is participating in Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays.