Asian Coleslaw with miso dressing

It is the first week of my CSA and the cabbages were huge. I wanted to use the giant Napa Cabbage to make a coleslaw for a cook-out I was going to tonight, but I wanted to have some myself so it needed to be a low fat job with no dairy in it. Miso dressing seemed perfect because

1... it would make a "creamy" dressing without any dairy
2... I already had it in my fridge
3... and last but not least, I love it... so voila!

This recipe is adapted from epicurious.com... I thought their recipe was good, but a shade too sweet to my taste and I reduced the amount of oil to keep it in the "relatively low fat" department. In fact, I found that I could leave the olive oil out all together and the dressing comes out great. I particularly like it with lime juice too.

I keep a jar of "the ginger people" minced ginger in the fridge also just in case I don't have fresh ginger on hand and I need it for a recipe. It does have a little added sugar in it - for those of you worried about that - but it works perfectly in just about anything you need fresh ginger for and it keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator (right between the capers and the tube of tomato paste).

Here's a link if you want to see what the jar looks like: http://www.gingerpeople.com/pantry-essentials/minced-ginger.html
I buy mine and my miso at Whole Foods.

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Asian Coleslaw with Miso dressing

Veggies:
1 giant head Napa Cabbage, very thinly sliced (or green cabbage or a mix of green and purple)
1-2 carrot, shredded
3 scallions finely sliced or 1 small red onion thinly sliced

Dressing:
1/4 white miso
1/4 honey
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (or lime juice)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
optional (1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

sesame seeds for garnish


1. Toss veggies together in a large bowl.

2. In a blender combine all the ingredients for the dressing and blend until smooth. Pour dressing over veggies and toss to coat. A black pepper and toss.

3. Serve and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Lonely Girl Sauce

Technically, this is a recipe for a salad dressing, but I love this potent, tangy sauce so much I've been putting it on everything. I spooned it on warm linguine with fresh basil and it was delicious. It added pizzaz to steamed broccoli. Spooned over grilled fish. Oh yah, and it is great on a salad. So what's the downside? Or said another way: Why the name? Well there are only five ingredients and the first two are raw garlic and anchovies. Once you make the sauce, however you would be hard pressed to identify that anchovies were in there, but those salty little fish add heft and umami and really make it work so don't even think about leaving them out. This works best if you can get all the adults at the table - or at a minimum your significant other - to eat a lot of garlic along with you that way no one really be able to tell how strong you smell... except the mosquitos. One delightful side-effect of eating a lot of garlic in the summer: it keeps the mosquitos away.

The first time I made it I followed the directions and minced the garlic and anchovies together with my chef's knife until they were a rough paste, but now I just throw it all in the blender (more or less) and it comes out perfect with a lot less work.

Lonely Girl Sauce
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1-4 garlic cloves, minced
6 anchovy fillets
2 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
7-8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a blender, combine garlic, anchovies and lemon juice plus a pinch of salt. Puree. With blender on low speed, pour in a slow stream of olive oil. Blend on high until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. This will last several days in the refrigerator.

Daikon Salad

I've been working a lot of catering jobs this spring because budget cutbacks have reduced my hours at the library. While this may be sad for my librarian aspirations it is great news for my food blog because more catering means lots more interesting food ideas coming my way.

Here's a very healthy salad that Feast Creative Catering served at a recent Kiddish. (For the uninitiated, a Kiddish is the luncheon after a Bar or Bat Mizvah.) I loved how pretty it was with the pea sprouts and the chopped cilantro. It is also incredibly tasty and it holds up well for a few days after you make it although it is really best the day you make it. You'll notice that over time the red cabbage bleeds into the daikon and the colors get a little muddy after a day or two. Also worth noting that this is actually quite good for you, but don't let that stop you from enjoying it.

To give credit where credit is due the original recipe for this salad is from Martha Stewart's healthy collection, but I have made a few modifications (which I note). Also, I made this recipe for my big 40th birthday bash (more about that later) and I used 1 whole green cabbage and 1 whole red cabbage and, just so you know, that made enough salad for 70 people plus a gallon left over. You may want to use only a quarter of the cabbages and find some other use for them... just a thought.

And where did I find pea shoots? Trader Joe's is carrying them (sometimes) along with the sunflower sprouts. It is a real treat if you can find them because they are so attractive and have a lovely sweet flavor, but you could certainly make the salad without if you can't track them down.

Daikon Salad
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1 part purple cabbage, finely shredded
1 part green cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 part grated daikon radish
2 parts grated carrot
1 part sweet pea shoots
1 part sunflower sprouts
1 part pea shoots
1/8 part chopped cilantro leaves (or mint leaves if you prefer - or both - or mint, cilantro and thai basil)
1/4 part sesame dressing
toasted sesame seeds

1. Toss all ingredients except for cilantro, dressing and sesame seeds in a large bowl to combine.

2. Drizzle dressing over tossed vegetables and mix to thoroughly combine.

3. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cilantro.


Sesame Dressing (makes 3/4 cup)
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1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons peanut oil or canola oil (or even olive oil)
fresh ground salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon boiling water

1. In a blender or food processor combine all ingredients except for water and blend for 1 minute.

2. Add water and blend an additional minute.

Dressing will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Chicken Salad with Marcona Almonds

This isn't what I would call a real recipe, but if you assemble these key ingredients together you'll be amazed that something so simple can be so delightful.

Trader Joe's has started carrying thick sliced roast chicken breast - exactly like what you would make at home. I do roast a chicken often - once every week or two - but I don't always have extra meat left over so it is handy to be able to pick this up all ready to go into my salad.

When I see the words "Chicken Salad" the first thought that pops into my head is mayonnaise and I'm not a big fan of mayo so I'm kind of turned off before I even got going. My preferred dressing for chicken in a salad is a balsamic vinaigrette. Make your own - it is so easy to do and, in my opinion, so much better than anything you can buy.

The Marcona Almonds from Trader Joe's really make this dish. Regular Marcona almonds are roasted in olive oil and they are rich and oily and delicious, but Trader Joe's sells theirs not merely roasted but also seasoned with coarse sea salt and rosemary which is amazing and does wonders combined with these other ingredients.

I like my vinaigrette quite acidic so I make it with equal parts oil and vinegar. Feel free to reduce the vinegar if you find it too strong for your tastes.

The combination of textures and flavors is so bright and exciting - the apple is crisp and sour/sweet, the dressing is bright and acidic, the almonds are nutty and fragrant with rosemary and the chicken gives it some meatiness and heft. Ooooh it is so good I'm going to have to go make up another batch right away.

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Chicken Salad with Marcona Almonds

1/4 pound thick sliced roast chicken breast, cubed
1 Macoun apple, peeled and cubed (a fuji, or granny smith would be okay if Macoun's are not available)
a handful (or more if desired) roasted and salted Marcona Almonds with rosemary
balsamic vinaigrette to taste (see below for recipe)

Combine the first three ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle dressing over. Toss. Taste and add more dressing if desired.
Eat!

Serves 1


Sara's Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 part good extra virgin olive oil
1 part balsamic vinegar
1-2 teaspoons dijon mustard

Combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting screw on cap or lid (a Ball canning jar works well). Shake vigourously until ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Your dressing is ready to use.

My Avocado Tricks

I love avocados. Guacamole reigns supreme… sliced avocado’s in a maki roll are the best… avocado on a salad (sigh) – heaven. For a long time I would pick up a few Haas Avocados and feel like I was taking a gamble – would they be brown and spotted on the inside when I cut them open or would they be pristine green. Then I learned that if I bought them rock hard and let them ripen up at home they were almost guaranteed to be perfect.

A lot of people avoid avocados because they contain high levels of fat, but that is a mistake. Avocados are high in fat, but it is the “good” kind that helps lower your LDL and raise your HDL levels. I’m not advocating going on an all avocado diet or anything, but if you find yourself avoiding them all together for health reasons, maybe you want to do a little more research and rethink that plan.

I started buying them in mesh bags from Trader Joe’s or from Costco and hanging up the bags on a hook in my kitchen until they were perfectly ripe. The only problem I had was that all four or six would be ripe at the same time and we would have to rush to get them all eaten up before they went downhill.

Then I learned something that has really changed my life: once avocados are ripe you can store them in the fridge where they will keep in their perfectly ripe state for a long long time. This new discovery blew me away. Now, I could have perfectly ripened avocados on hand all the time.

So to reiterate:

#1 – buy your Haas Avocados rock hard

#2 – hang them up in a mesh bag until they are ripe (I determine ripeness by pressing gently around the stem end – if it is soft and yielding the avocado is ripe)

#3 – once they are ripe, put them in the fridge and use them one at a time as needed for up to a week.


Jill’s Orange County Quick Guacamole
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My friend Jill taught me this quick and easy guacamole recipe. She always tasted her guacamole on a corn chip to judge if the seasoning was right – since the chip itself adds some salt I thought this was a sensible notion plus it made for some tasty snacking in the kitchen for the chef.

2 ripe Haas Avocados
your favorite salsa (I like Green Mountain mild, but give me a break I’m from New England)
salt and pepper, to taste
juice of 1/2 a lime if you have it
chopped cilantro (optional)
finely sliced scallion (optional)

1. Peel 1 avocado and mash with a fork in a medium bowl.
2. Peel the 2nd avocado and cut into small cubes and add to mashed avocado.
3. Mix in 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa and lime juice (if using) until well combined.
4. Taste and adjust seasonings.
5. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and scallions if using.
Serve

Celery Root Remoulade

I've been missing-in-action with my blog of late - lots of food related crises in my life, but more about that later.

This week the pressing food issue is what to do with all the Celery Root - also known as celeriac - I've been given as part of my weekly CSA share. I'm partial to a very French salad using celery root with a remoulade sauce and so I made it and it was wonderful. Don't be turned off by the brown nobbly appearance of your celery root, wash them, cut off the exterior and you will find a pristine creamy white interior. This salad is served at almost every bistro and cafe in Paris and once you try it you'll realize why - it is the more elegant cousin of our cole slaw.

The recipe calls for white pepper. Feel free to substitue black pepper if that's all you have.

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Celery Root Remoulade

1/4 cup high quality mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar or 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon drained capers, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
a pinch of dried tarrago, crumbled
salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
4-6 small celery roots (about 1 1/2 pounds total), peeled and cut into matchstick pieces or shredded coarse.

In a small bowl stir together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, capers, mustard, tarragon and salt and pepper to taste until combined well.

In a large saucepan of salted boiling water cook celery root 2 minutes. Drain celery root in a sieve and refresh under cold water. Dry celery root completely. Add celery root to sauce and stir together. Chill salad until ready to serve.

Variation: add 2 Tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream, 2 cornichons (sour gherkins), minced and 1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves to the sauce.