Asparagus
Asparagus Panzanella
Farro Risotto with Asparagus and Tofu
Shaved Asparagus Salad
Quinoa Spinach Salad
Happy Spring Greens!
It’s that time of year when salad greens are growing fresh everywhere and the excitement of gardening season is here. I love this short window in May where there are NO bugs and NO weeds. It won’t be long before both start to invade, but that’s okay because we live in New England and so we know how to cope. It’s part of the privilege of living in this paradise.
This recipe is for quinoa, spinach, peppers and avocado, tossed in a ginger, lime dressing. It’s got some interesting twists and some deep flavors. You can substitute the spinach for any green and add other vegetables as you like. I think it is the almonds and dressing that give it the real kick.
Enjoy your salads….enjoy your gardens…. and enjoy your spring!
Coming soon to Bring It food blog….INGREDIENT of the MONTH. Watch for it in the next post.
Ingredients
Almonds
1/2 cup raw almonds
2 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp honey
2 tsp soy sauce
Dressing
1 Tbsp minced ginger
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp tamarind paste
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
Salad
4 cups packed baby spinach
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 ripe avocado, cubed
Method
1) Preheat oven to 325. In a bowl, toss together almonds, sesame seeds, honey and soy sauce until almonds are well coated. Spread into a single layer on a parchment covered baking sheet. Roast for 12-14 minutes (check after 10 minutes to make sure they are not getting too toasty!). Once seeds start to brown, remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.
2) Combine all dressing ingredients in airtight container and shake until well mixed. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
3) To assemble the salad, combine spinach, quinoa, red pepper, and cilantro. Drizzle with salad dressing and toss. Then top with almonds and avocado.
Brussels Sprouts Chips
Want some taro fries with that? Localvore ski bums rejoice at the Mtn. Roots truck in Squawllywood.
You know you don’t get out much when your culinary discoveries come from a food truck at a ski area. Granted, this was a California ski area, and the truck was a tricked out Mystery Machine called “Mtn Roots.” But still. On a recent visit home to Squaw Valley my sister snagged “us” some crispy Brussels sprouts chips off the truck and a new addiction was born. And no, she did not get anywhere near her fair share.
That was a month ago, so I was beyond psyched when a post for these very delicacies came to me via Bevin Wallace’s Real Life Delicious blog. RLD is a great site for fuss-free healthy eating, and Bevin is in to the paleo thing now, so its all healthy and paleo, which is totally overachieving. But as long as it tastes good I’m good with it. If you live in the Denver area get on over to Bevin’s kitchen classes. If you don’t, hunker in for some Beviliciousness right now.
Brussels sprouts chips, New England style
There are a few things to love about this recipe, beyond the sheer yum factor. First Bevin tells you exactly what types of tools and containers to use. Less guesswork. More direction. All good. As you are trimming your sprouts you may be thinking, “Boy this is a lot of work for one snack,” until you realize that you are actually doing the prep work you have to do anyway for Brussels sprouts, which brings me to the next stroke of recipe brilliance here—it’s two-fer! You get ready-to-roast Brussels sprouts AND some yummy snacks out of the deal. (Who loves ya baby? I would never ever make you work too hard.)
I’d say the kids loved them but that would be overselling because only one kid was around. But he is a bit of a Russian judge of my food and I had to beg him to leave some for his Dad. (I ate them anyway because when Dad arrived he wasn’t quick enough.)
And now, here it is— Groovy California ski area food right in your own kitchen. My only suggested tweaks would be to up the temp to 375, expect them to take at least 15 minutes, and make a real effort to get those suckers in only one layer so they really crisp up. Now dig in!
Ingredients
1 bunch Brussels sprouts (about 2 lbs)
1 tbs. olive oil
Pinch of salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Start by getting out a cutting board, a bowl, and a lidded storage container. Trim the ends off the Brussels sprouts and then remove the darker-green outer leaves; some will fall off when you cut the ends, some you might need to pull off. Put the leaves in one bowl; cut the remaining sprouts in half or quarters and put them in the lidded container. When you’re done, put the container of trimmed sprouts in the fridge for later use.
Toss the leaves with the oil and salt (go easy on the salt; it’s easy to get too much) and spread them in a single later on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (you might need to do this in two batches). Bake for 10 mins. and check to see if they’re done to your liking. They should be somewhat crispy and brown on the edges. If not, rotate the pan and bake another 3-5 mins., watching closely so they don’t burn. When they’re done, lift the parchment with two hands and use it as a spout to pour the delicate chips into a bowl.
Now, try to eat just one.
Note: When you want to roast your trimmed sprouts, just toss them with some olive oil and salt, spread them on a baking sheet and pop them into a hot (400 or so) oven until they look awesomely roasty.
Who said it ain’t easy being green?
Fiddlehead Season is Here!
I’m not sure if he wants to eat them or throw them!
It is fiddlehead season in New England! Fiddleheads are the furled fronds of young ferns (say that 10 times fast!). If you don’t pick them early in their growth cycle, they grow into beautiful ferns. But if you get them before they unravel, you will have delectable vegetable to serve fresh at the start of spring!
Fiddleheads grow wild in wet areas of Northeastern North America. Foraging for fiddlehead is relatively easy. Once you find a patch, you will easily fill up bag fulls. But don’t eat them raw… they are toxic until thoroughly cooked.
To me, fiddleheads are a cross between asparagus, spinach, artichoke and maybe even a hint of mushroom. They are both grassy and nutty. Suffice it to say, there is a lot going on with the fiddlehead in terms of flavor and they are delicious! Get them before the season passes because soon the morels will be popping up and we’ll have to move on.
Below is a simple recipe for cooking fiddleheads. Happy Spring!
Ingredients
1 Tbsp. salt, plus more to taste
1 lb. fiddlehead ferns
2 tsp. grapeseed or vegetable oil
1 – 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or 1 small shallot, sliced
1/8 – 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
Method
Trim and rinse fiddleheads, removing any brown ends or mushy parts.
In a large pot bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add salt and fiddleheads. Cook 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water.
In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add fiddleheads. Cook, stirring, until they start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, if you like, and cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant and just starting to color, about 1 minute. Salt to taste. Serve immediately.
My niece foraging for dinner.
Ollie’s Trip Salsa
La Salsa. Prepared and photographed by the chef. #nofilter, #yeah…right!
Happy Ocho de Mayo! I know, I know. You thought I forgot about the annual excuse for midday margaritas. Not on your life! I merely saved it for a day more conducive to celebrating. God knows there are enough margarita recipes floating around so I’m giving you a healthier gift. In fact, I’m not even the one giving it—my son Oliver is.
Two summers ago we sent the lad into the wilderness in a canoe for three weeks, and he came back knowing how to make his own salsa. Better yet, he knew how to make it by a campfire armed with nothing but a cutting board, a can opener and a knife. And the very best part was that he came back loving his homemade salsa. This from a kid, who, though good with roasted vegetables and the occasional carrot, had never previously eaten a raw tomato or pepper. “That was pretty much the beginning of my salsa eating career,” he reflects.
I love this recipe because it is easy and infinitely tweakable for individual tastes. Some of us would add more onion and perhaps jalapeno, or maybe some additional seasonings. Others might get crazy and add mango or even jicama. But this is a great place to start, will be appreciated at any gathering, might just get your kids eating veggies and, if you keep your pantry somewhat stocked, will set you free from store bought salsa forever.
Ingredients
1 red (or any color) pepper, finely chopped
I large clove garlic, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes (preferable petite diced), lightly drained
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup (+/-) Niblets corn (it’s gotta be Niblets I’m told), drained
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh lime juice
2/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped
Method
Mix it all in a bowl. Enjoy it on chips, in burritos or by the spoonful, at home or by the closest campfire.
Note: Chop the vegetables as fine as your patience allows. Our early versions were decidedly large format, but a finer texture gives your awesome salsa more versatility.
Simply Sue’s Energy Bars
You will think you are eating a fudge brownie – swear to god!
The fun and festive highball post is a tough one to follow, but I am very excited about this energy bar post….so here goes… (and the highball post isn’t going anywhere except a little further down on the page).
I’ve been working on creating the perfect energy bar for some time now. I’ve sorted through dozens of recipes and experimented on my own. I’ve made bars that are too chalky, too crumbly, too sticky, and too blah… until this past weekend that is! These bars are decadent tasting, healthy, and (the kicker) I made them in like 5 minutes.
These bars mimic the infamous Lara Bar that you see in the “bar” aisle of the grocery store. If you are like me you stand in that aisle, staring at the enormous selection, completely overwhelmed, and walk out with nothing. That aisle can be daunting. There are so many choices, not to mention the price of some of those puppies (a bar for $2.50 -really?). This recipe promises to free you of the “bar” aisle all together. You will smugly walk past that aisle, knowing your homemade bars are far superior and far less expensive than anything they can possible stock at the grocery store.
This recipe is essentially walnuts and dates – that’s it. The add ins make it fun and you can modify based on what you have on hand. I listed many options below. Bring extra for friends as they will quickly become a hot commodity.
Ingredients
1 cup walnuts
1 1/2 cups pitted dates
1 tsp pure vanilla
4 Tbsp Dutch oven cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
Optional: chocolate chips, unsweetened coconut
Method
Blend all ingredients except any optional ingredients, in a food processor. Form into bars (I pressed into 8×8 inch square pan in order to get them to form and then cut into rectangles). If the bars are too crumbly coming out of the food processor, add a few more dates. Okay, how easy is that?
Basic Formula
1 cup nuts
1 1/2 cups dried fruit (dates work best in my opinion)
1 tsp flavoring
Pinch of salt
1 cup optional add ins
Flavor Options
Apple Pie (almonds, walnuts, dates, dried raisins and apples, cinnamon)
Banana Bread (almonds, dates, dried bananas)
Cappuccino (almonds, cashews, dates, coffee beans, scraped vanilla bean)
Coconut Cream (almonds, cashews, dates, shredded coconut, 2 Tbsp coconut oil)
Ginger Snap (almonds, pecans, dates, 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, 1 Tbsp mixed cinnamon and cloves)
Lemon (almonds, cashews, dates, zest and juice of 1 lemon)
Peanut Butter & Jelly (peanuts, dates, dried cherries)
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip (peanuts, dates, chocolate chips)
Bring It!
Wrap in plastic wrap and throw them in your backpack for any outdoor activity you are planning. Or, throw them in the refrigerator for whenever you need to grab something quick.
June
Hello Highball. It’s Derby Day!
Hats off to highballs. And hats on for the Kentucky Derby.
There’s still time! Grab your fancy hat and buy a whole load of mint because it’s the first Saturday in May, which means it’s Derby Day. Fifteen years ago I had my first son on Derby Day, when the race was won by Charismatic. Ever since then I’ve had a thing about the derby. I even went once, and have the silver glass to prove it. Why does this matter to you? Because I’ve used the occasion to take a small google course on cocktology and share this knowledge with YOU!
It all started when I saw the Spring Highball spread in Bon Appetit’s April issue. After a winter that would bring out the seasonal affective disorder in Little Mary Sunshine, it made me so happy I wanted to cry. I LOVE spring. The sun is back, the grass is greening and it’s far enough from bathing suit season that there is no cause to panic. In other words, it’s time to party.
In my extensive research I got deterred, as often happens. Pretty soon I was reading not only about highballs but about their history when to shake vs stir a cocktail and the importance of really good tonic water. There went a precious spring morning.
Fortunately, I have distilled (get it?) much of this valuable information in to one reasonably short post that includes foolproof methods that will set you free followed by some delish recipes for those who must follow one.
In case you need more selling on highballs, they are Bring It all stars because they require minimal ingredients and simple preparation. Even the crushed ice can be prepared on site at any indoor, outdoor or on water location. Plus, if you choose to utilize homemade simple syrups like the mint one below, or our ginger simple syrup they make excellent, consumable host gifts AND fun non alcoholic drinks. As a bonus, use of the words “high” and “balls” together will be a huge hit with any middle school boys at your gathering
First, what is a highball? It is a single spirit and a non-alcoholic mixer, typically assembled in the very vessel in which you’ll drink it. Think, gin and tonic, jack and ginger, rum and coke, seven and seven, vodka and blue raspberry slurpee (did I say that?). You can even get a free downloadable cheat sheet on highballogy by signing up for the ManMade newsletter, which of course I did.
Highball 101
The magic formula: 1.5 parts booze: 4 parts mixer.
The Method: Pour 1.5 oz (a jigger, a shot) into an 8 oz rocks glass, or, if you have it, a 10-oz tall narrow highball glass, designed to retain the drink’s fizz.
Fill the glass with standard ice cubes
Fill the glass with your mixer of choice. You can measure four ounces (a half cup), but chances are that with the ice and spirits you’ll be right as rain (and look like a pro).
Shaken vs Stirred
Aspiring cocktologists will want to get friendly with Erik Lombardo who, among many other contributions to society, has an excellent tutorial on when to shake vs stir a cocktail. In it you will learn about the roles that ice size, relative liquid and liquor densities, ambient temperature, acidity, etc play in your pursuit of cocktail greatness.
To paraphrase Sir Lombardo:
Stir spirits. That is, if your cocktail is all liquor, stir it. This includes the martini, Manhattan, old fashioned, negroni, and all of their variations. The ice should be a combination of very dense, large pieces and smaller chips. See tutorial above if you care.
Shake citrus: The major difference between shaking and stirring is texture, because when you shake properly (that is, violently for 8-10 seconds) the ice cubes (five standard sizes ones ought to do it) are shattering into miniscule shards and adding tiny bubbles to your drink. When you’re using citrus as an ingredient, shaking makes it light and refreshing vs acidic and intense.
Stirring = icy, dense, and silky cocktail. Shaking = frothy, light, and crisp cocktail. Shake for citrus, stir for spirits. Ba da bing
Ice Ice Baby
You’re also going to need crushed ice at some point in your education, and you’ll find instructions and videos on the many methods here . The most reasonable is the whack method, #5, which can easily be facilitated at a picnic with a clean towel and a large rock, though I am intrigued by the simplicity and volume of the frozen soda bottle, #9.
And now, finally, here are the nuts and bolts of Bon Appetit’s five steps to…
Crafting the perfect Highball:
1. Get the right glass: A proper highball is tall and narrow, with a hefty bottom.
2. Stir, don’t shake: Add all liquids—except the bubbly one—to your glass and give them a quick stir.
3. Don’t have a meltdown:Fill the glass with ice. (Nobody likes a watery highball.)
4. Mind your own fizzness: Top off with the carbonated ingredient—use more or less, depending on desired strength.
5. Finish with a flourish: For a drink this simple, garnish matters.
The article includes a slideshow of six highballs for spring which all warrant extensive testing. However, I’m simplifying your cinco de mayo prep by offering easiest, most refreshing one that happens to be tequila based and is also known as the “working man’s margarita.” It just sounds right!
The Paloma
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- Grapefruit slice
- 2oz. tequila reposado (as ever, love the one you’ve got)
- ½oz. fresh lime juice
- Grapefruit soda (preferably San Pellegrino Pompelmo)
Method:
Pour some salt on a plate. Rub rim of a highball glass with grapefruit slice; dip rim of glass in salt. Combine tequila and lime juice in glass. Fill glass with ice, then top off with soda. Garnish with grapefruit slice.
And finally, its totally worth checking out Erik Lombardo’s most entertaining version of the drink of the day, the Mint Julep here that calls for an “irresponsible amount of mint tops” into which you bury your nose, and cautions you against hypothermia while drinking. It also calls for mint syrup which, while awesome, may not be a reality for you at this late date. Instead, I give you the following version of the mint julep utilizing Woodford Reserve, the official bourbon of the derby.
The Mint Julep
Ingredients:
2 oz Woodford Reserve Bourbon Whiskey
1 oz water
1 tspor cube white sugar
4 fresh mint sprig
Method:
Muddle 3 mint sprigs, sugar and water in bottom of Julep cup or highball glass and fill with crushed ice. Fill with bourbon, stir. Dust 4th mint sprig with powdered sugar for garnish. Serve with straw.
Bonus: If you thought ahead and went long on mint, here is the recipe for Erik Lombardo’s mint syrup. You’ll be wanting this for mojito season anyway.
Mint Syrup:
Heat 2 parts by volume sugar with 1 part by volume water until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is just simmering. Throw in as many mint leaves as will fit in the pan (it isn’t expensive, don’t be cheap) and turn off the heat. Stir to mix in the leaves, then allow to cool to room temp, a couple of hours. Strain the syrup off the leaves into a clean jar — it will keep in the fridge for a few weeks (if it lasts that long).
Garam Masala Roasted Chickpeas
It’s chickpeas. It’s feta. It’s olives. It’s a Mediterranean feast!
This is mean. I probably shouldn’t admit it, but this was supposed to be a fun post about highballs. The drinks, that is. All was going swimmingly until my research detected a procedural discrepancy on the shaken vs. stirred question (which has little place in a discussion of highballs, but nonetheless opened up a gushing artery of doubt). On top of that my R&D was a little challenging so early in the week. So the good news is, there is a fabulous highball post in your near future (perhaps in time for Derby Day). The even better new is….
We’ve got chickpeas! Oh yeah baby, hold me back. Honestly, I have been experimenting with roasted chickpea recipes off and on for several years. My quest for the perfect, crunchy chickpea snack started in a crockpot, moved to a pot of oil and then settled on a roasting pan. The results were always ok, but texturally not quite right. Too moist and underdone, or dryly overdone. Nevertheless, my kids ate them by the handful whenever I did make them so I was inspired to continue.
Then yesterday, just when my highball mission seemed irretrievably stymied, I came across this recipe that I had torn out of Sunset magazine way back and never tried. It turns out the secret lies in—here’s a shocker—plenty of olive oil. These are the closest I have gotten to chickpea perfection and they make your house smell really good. And they’re easy. And cheap. And if you make them now you’ll have something healthy to go with your highballs this weekend.
Roasted Chickpeas with Garam Masala
From Sunset Magazine
Makes 3 cups
Ingredients
4 cans (15 oz. each) chickpeas (garbanzos), rinsed and drained well
6 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp garam masala
About 1 tsp fine sea salt
Method
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Gently roll chickpeas in batches between clean kitchen towels to blot dry and slough off papery skins; discard skins. (Edie note: rubbing off the skins is good, and dries the chickpeas, but if you don’t feel like picking through for the skins just roast them up too.) Divide chickpeas between 2 rimmed baking sheets. To each pan, add 3 tbsp. oil, 1 tsp. garam masala, and 1/2 tsp. salt and mix well to coat. Spread in an even layer.
2. Bake, stirring occasionally, until chickpeas are crisp all the way through, 75 to 80 minutes. Add more salt to taste if you like. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: These are also great on salads or as a component of lunch deconstructed.
Bring It
Store up to 1 week, chilled airtight. (Edie here again. Chill shmill. Just put them in a Tupperware and leave them within easy reach of your kids.)
Spring Roll Salad
Eli showing us how it’s done at the Coop Cooking class
I was inspired to make this spring roll salad after taking a cooking class at my local food Coop. The class was so fun and the instructor was terrific. I highly recommend taking a class there if you haven’t done so already. Above is a photo of our instructor, Eli Sunrise Morse, in his element, teaching our class. For more information on the cooking classes, click here.
After this class I thought I’d start my spring posts with this light and refreshing Spring Roll Salad. This noodle salad can be served as a main meal or a side dish, either cold or at room temperature (very versatile!). It has all the ingredients of a spring roll but you use rice noodles instead of rice papers, and you eat it with a fork or chopsticks (depending on your chop stick prowess). The great thing about a spring roll salad is that you won’t need to worry about dipping the spring roll in the sauce and losing all the ingredients into the sauce bowl (don’t you hate when the contents of the spring roll end up in the sauce and then you have to fish them out).
This spring roll salad is fully loaded with roasted shallots, roasted shiitake mushrooms, peanut sauce, and a tamarind dipping sauce. If you are short on time, I’d skip this recipe and go right to one of our other salads such as the jicama slaw or the edamame citrus salad. However, if you have time, it will be time well spent. The shiitake mushrooms are the real clincher to this whole deal. They taste like bacon and even non-mushroom lovers were scarfing them down.
Ingredients
1 lb fresh shiitake mushrooms
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp shoyu
12 oz fettuccine style rice noodles
3 carrots, sliced into matchsticks
3 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
Roasted shallot peanut sauce (recipe follows)
Tamarind dipping sauce (recipe follows)
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped, for garnish
Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut stems of shiitake mushrooms and discard or save for another use (stock). Thinly slice the mushroom caps for a total of 5 cups sliced. Toss shiitakes in a bowl with olive oil and shoyu. Spread mushrooms on baking sheet and place in oven. Roast, stirring twice, until mushrooms are bacon-like (what is bacon-like…. believe me, you will know it when you see it and taste it!). Place mushrooms in a small bowl and set aside.
Bring pot of water to rolling boil. Cook rice noodles according to package (I waited until sauces were done to cook the noodles because you are going to want to toss the sauces on immediate to make sure the noodles don’t stick).
Ingredients Roasted Shallot Peanut Sauce
3 medium shallots
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 Tbsp shoyu
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place shallots on parchment covered baking sheet and roast until they are very tender and juices have started to ooze out, about 30-35 minutes. Let shallots cool and then squeeze pulp out of skins. Place shallot pulp and all other ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. The sauce will keep, covered and refrigerated for up to one week. Warm before serving.
Ingredients Tamarind Dipping Sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
1 Tbsp shoyu
1 tsp fresh chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp slivered seeded serrano chili or Thai Bird chili
(*note I used jalapeno because that is what I had on hand)
Method
Combine sugar and water in small sauce pan and warm over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from pan and mix in lime juice, tamarind, shoyu. Stir until smooth. Let mixture cool slightly then add cilantro, garlic, and chili. This sauce will also keep covered and refrigerated for up to one week.
Final Prep
Toss noodles, carrots, and herbs. Then add both sauces and mix until well blended. Sprinkle with bacon, I mean mushrooms, and peanuts to top it off.
So darn good….