Warm Weather Salads

 This is the time for year to eat lighter. That means relying on that classic duh salad. Yet it won;t be a simple one . It's time to liven those bowls up with different ingredients for the perfect Spring salad.

Of course its starts with a base.Yet instead of Cobb or Bibb look outside the garden Dandelion greens are a different and bright addition to any salad bowl. They're full of probiotics which make for a good gut health. They are also loaded with the antioxidants that aid in liver health. Some people may be  put off by eating a "common weed"/ yet the taste is earthy and pleasantly bitter. You could add sweet ingredients to them to balance off that sharpness. Another different green is the Japanese one mizuna lettuce. The is a mustard green. The flavor is peppery like arugula. You can find in in an Asian grocery store along with the basis of a good dressing - rice wine vinegar. For something really off the menu try nettles. Yes they are those scratchy annoying fronds that sting ankles and feet during a woodland hike but their leaves are another matter. They have a state like spinach = decidedly mild and easy to pair with other ingredients.

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hat about the other ingredients and dressings? Seafood is always a tasty addition to a salad, especially a warmer weather one. Yes you could add the usual, shrimp crab or tuna. A different spin would be seared scallops. These are an easy cook.Sear in a very hot pan with a mix of oil and plant or dairy based butter. Their sweetness would pair well with dandelion greens and a simple citrus based dressing. Think orange , lemon or lime added to a light olive oil  along with a tiny drop of agave or maple syrup.If you want true luxury the think about chopped lobster tails with a mix of common and uncommon greens.To balance to out and add color add multicolored tomatoes that come in such bright hues as purple red and yellow. You could use a mayo based dressing on this, Think a creamy one with herbs to bring out the lobster's briny flavor . Another idea is a simple vinaigrette but made with a white wine vinegar base instead of a red wine one. If you;re craving poultry, then try leftover Cornish hen. Keep in mind to debone it carefully because unlike chicken or turkey , the bones are tiny and could easily wind up  amongst the greens. A nice orange based dressing would work with this.

It's salad season. Make a different kind using uncommon greens and ingredients.It'll make for a light tasty and invigorating bite.

Good Christmas Recipes

 Christmas should be a time fo feasting but also easy recipes to follow. The New York Times has a slew of them for the big day ,from a main course to sides to even a show stopping dessert. These are perfect because of their relative ease. It's not only enjoying the meal but the cooking too.

Newcomer Clare dDe Boer ,a four times James Beard nominated chef and Food writer contributed these gems to today's New York Times  Wednesday Food section.She does recommend having family and friends getting involved to make preop time easier and simpler. Her appetizers consist of grilled by guests sausages(these aren't mentioned but you can still do them either in your fireplace or set up on an outdoor grill) The main course is sliced orange duck which consists of braising duck legs with a mix of ginger, anise and orange and cooked until they're so tender the meat falls off the bone. The recipe calls for six whole duck legs (which you can get at your butcher's) and they need to be cooked in batches.One of the sides is simple boiled greens.This involves cooking dinosaur or Tuscan kale .It's boiled until it becomes a paste on the fingers and garlic is added to it. Olive oil is drizzled on top of this along with a sprinkling of sea salt

Another great side is the winter salad. This is a mix of radicchio, Castelfranco lettuce or butter lettuce, Belgian endive and watercress. The dressing is what's make these greens sing.Combine olive oil,red wine vinegar and maple syrup with garlic cloves. MMix with the greens and then adjust the taste. Of course the big side is the rice and  squash bombe, A bombe is usually a dome shaped dessert but  it's used as a savory dish here.This is a marriage of honey nut squash and basmati rice.Pita bread is used to line the bombe mold before it's baked.Pine nits and cranberries give ti color and flavor along with cumin and  slivered almonds. Shallots and crushed red peppers add some zing to it as well. It could easily rival Chef de Boer's dessert, a custardy creme brulee. This one has a tang to it thanks to the addition of creme fraiche or sour cream.It's also a rich custard with six (!!) egg yolks. Like any creme brulee it has vanilla seeds and pods.in it.It's then coated in sugar and "torched to a crispy, crunchy top.

Christmas is a time for feating. Let it be an easy feast with simple prep. It makes for a delicious meal that allows for enjoying the day and the food.

YOur Very Chill Salad Bar

Sadly the pandemic closed a lot of those all ypu can eat buffets. One of the highlights was making your own salad, It was customizing a bowl of greens and creating something tasty and refreshing. You can easily replicate this at home.

Start with greens. I bought these mixed Spring greens from Target and really love the mix of textures and flavors.

It proved to be the perfect base for a salad that was rife with these tomatoes,also bought at Target. They're Roma which makes for a sweeter and fleshier slice.

I usually add olives but these artichokes hearts,another Target brand and chickpeas looked so good. I couldn't resist.

Once you have the tomatoes and lettuce base you can add anything. Try cold shrimp or leftover roasted chicken. Use that leftover grilled steak or London broil cut up into strips. Add some baby carrots and bean sprouts. Fruit is allowed. Try a handful of blueberries or grapes for some fun sweetness. Add crunch with almonds, and pecans mixed with croutons. 

What about dressings? Again get creative.

You can go with a simple olive oil and vinegar. If you want a traditional vinaigrette go with a red wine vinegar. Add traditional seasonings like oregano and garlic.  For a fruitier one sub in apple cider vinegar mixed with crushed strawberries. I like a good homemade French dressing.It starts with one of my faves, Hellman';s vegan mayo mixed with ketchup. Olive oil and a dash of apple cider vinegar is whirled in to create a creamy texture and tangy taste.
 

It's too hot to cook. Create a fun, creative salad, using the basics and imagination. You'll come up with one cool meal.

A Late Summer Feast

The days of summer are waning.The farmer's markets will be closing within a few weeks. The barbecue closed until the Spring.Before all that happens , enjoy the fresh produce that can accompany a good cut of steak. It's the perfect weekend meal for a lazy September weekend,

The recipes come from David Tanis and Allison Roman from yesterday's New York Times Food section. Mr. Tanis writes in his City Kitchen column about a vegetable salad, good on its' own or with Ms. Roman's steak recipe.It has a variety of different beans from coco to cranberry, along with runner or Romano beans. Mixed  in with is is grilled eggplant to give it a smokey flavor along with  sliced medium and cherry tomatoes.It's a perfect marriage of cooked and raw with the tomatoes being left as is , and served at room temperature. The beans are boiled in a combination of water and olive oil, seasoned with salt and a sprig of thyme and rosemary , or bay leaf if you want a stronger flavor. The eggplant can be cooked over a hot grill,under a hot broiler or in a dry cast iron skillet. The vegetables are dressed with an anchovy vinaigrette which brings  out all the flavors.Another idea is adding anchovy filets and then using a plain vinaigrette to dress the salads. I would add the filets - which also would go well with the steak

Allison Roman's steak comes with an unusual salsa verde. The steak is a hanger cut, recommended by her butcher.With it comes the salsa verde, made with kale, mustard greens, and Swiss chard instead of the usual tomatillos, white onions, and cilantro.The steak is  cooked in a large skillet with canola oil. It's simply seasoned with salt and pepper and seared for three to four minutes on each side until it's completely golden brown..It's then laid on the greens  to "cook them." This wilts and soften the leaves, especially the kale. Ms. Roman advises to let the meat juices mingle with them to create a rich , savory sauce.She suggests serving it with salty potato chips or steak frites, but Mr. Tanis' salad can work well with it too.Hanger steak can be expensive (there's only one per animal)so you could use a thick skirt or flat iron cut. The skirt is a thin long cut of beef from the cow's stomach.It has a rich beefy flavor, that may work better with the salsa verde. The other option is the the flat iron steak, taken from the shoulder.It's a fatty piece with a lot of marbling to it, thanks to its' location. Still it's an excellent piece to pan cook or better yet , slap on the grill for a later summer barbecue.

A perfect late summer meal is a cooked steak with a tasty vegetable salad. Combine Ms. Roman's and  Mr. Tanis' recipes for a delicious meal Make it and enjoy the rich earthy flavors of both.

Can You Be Sugar Free?

One of the worst habits  we have is eating sugar. We crave cupcakes wit sweet , gooey icing puffs,  we add more of the white stuff to already candy like lattes.We even add brown sugar  to our bacon. However that may all be changing . There's a no sugar movement going on challenging sweet tooths all over the world to give up their addiction.

Sadly we are hard wired to eat sugar. Blame it on our earliest days when a sweet flavor signified non poisonous in plants and berries. If it was sugary, like a plum or an apple , then the eater could rest easy, knowing he or she wouldn't be sick or suffer dire consequences.Then humanity  fell in love with sugar cane about 10,000 years ago in New Guinea. People got their first sugar rush and loved it. Cane syrup then was used in religious rites and as a medicine. Iit then went onto the Asian mainland where the Indians were turning sugarcane into a powder,  used mostly for healing.It went to Persia and then spread throughout the Arab world. hey combined it with ground almonds to create the addictive confection marzipan. The European Crusaders got their first taste of sugar cane during their crusades and again fell hard for it. Later Columbus discovered sugar cane on Hispaniola and that began Europe's hard core addiction with sugar.It replaced the all natural sweetener . Now we are trying to undo those centuries of sugar use. It not only puts on the weight but tricks the body  into gaining weight,. Those white grains also do extensive damage to the liver as well.The liver is the only organ that processes glucose ad eating too much will result in taxing it.It also causes extensive damage to teeth as well.

How do we curb our addictions and go sugar free? The obvious answer is give up baked goods, soda and candy. These are the easiest because the sugar in them is obvious.We can easily substitute cookies and sweets with with fresh fruit and 90 percent good for you dark chocolate. Soda can be replaced with flavored sparkling water. Hot tea and even coffee can be sweetened with honey or agave syrup.  , instead of white refined sugar . The problem is that sugar is everywhere, even in the most savory of foods.They lurk in our condiments.Ketchup has it to balance out the spices as does mayo, steak sauces and even mustard.The best bet is use spices  or herbs to flavor meats and vegetables.Salad dressing is a culprit too. It can turn a healthy bowl of greens into a sundae. Stick to a simple vinaigrette, possibly spiked with oregano or parsley.Yogurt, that much touted health food has a whopping forty-seven grams of sugar.if fruit is added Try to cut down on it or stick to plain Greek yogurt and add your own fruit. Bread is another culprit, with some of  us eating it as much as twice a day everyday. Try to sub in pita bread which has very little sugar in it. Another idea is wrapping up meats and cheeses in lettuce wraps. As for toast for breakfast, think oatmeal with a trickle of honey and cinnamon .


We can go sugar free. It's a hard task but will become easier as we distance ourselves further and further away from it. The end result is worth it.  - a healthy body.

Thanksgiving wishes

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers around the world. Hopefully by now you are well stuffed with turkey , dressing and a few healthy green sides. Enjoy the day and the leftovers tonight.
Remember to be thankful for the food o the table and the people who make it possible for it to be there, form the farmers who raised he crops to the home chef who made the taters the way you like them.Be thankful you have plenty in a time of need and that you'll never know hunger pangs.

Be thankful.Be thoughtful..Be good.

Making The Classics Healthy

The classic dishes are always the best. There's nothing like fried chicken and greens or English muffin pizzas, However most of these delicious meals and treats can be high in all sorts of bad things from refined flours to fats to salts to heaven only knows what else.Yet our faves can be redeemed by subbing in healthy ingredients and cooking techniques.

As much as we loved fried food, we know that frying is bad for us. The grease used for frying is usually bad for our cholesterol (especially if it's corn oil).Try baking instead. Baked "fried" chicken  has all the flavor and crunch if its' deep fried cousin. The crunch comes in the form of corn flakes and you can also add flax seeds for additional flavor and texture. As for the greens, stick with them, but you can saute them in olive oil and garlic for a tasty side or bake too. Burgers can also be baked or roasted in an oven.This eliminates the fat and grease.

What about those faves that everyone likes - English muffin pizzas? For one, use the whole wheat version instead of the regular kind. Also use a low fat mozzarella along with healthy toppings. Think broccoli and onions as opposed to sausage and pepperoni. An extra dollop of pizza sauce is also good because even processed tomatoes are loaded with antioxidants. You can also do the same with homemade pizza crust, using brown flour instead of white. Baked mac and cheese can be made healthier with using spelt or whole wheat macaroni and low fat cheddar. Use skim milk instead of whole, nix the bacon and add a topping of flax or pumpkin seeds for crunch.

Classic comfort food is always tasty yet it's not always healthy. Change that by using healthier cooking techniques or ingredients. You can still have enjoyable food but now it's good for you.

Secret Ingredients

Every chef and baker has an arsenal f secret ingredients. These are what makes dishes snap and sweets pop. They add more than just flavor, they bring out the other flavors as well. What are they though? Some special culinary fairy dust or potion that's just sprinkled in? No. They're just everyday foodstuffs that manage to give extra fillip to dishes.

Sometimes the sneaked in stuff is good for you. That was the premise of a cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld, Jerry's wife. She managed to sneak healthy greens into brownies and cookies making them not only tasty but finally nutritional as well. This idea is great for moms of picky eaters. For more a more grown up version you can sneak healthier greens along with veggies in a nice grilled chicken or Cobb salad. Sometimes it's not to make a food better for you but better tasting. Melissa Clark of the Times Dining section swears by anchovies. Slip one into saucepan and you have a better than ever dish. the anchovy fillet melts and then creates a more improved taste for the dish.

if you don't want to experiment whole hog as it were you can start off with spices. tarragon is a wonderful addition to eggs or any chicken salad. It rescues the dish from the chicken's sometimes blandness, giving it a spark. Celery seed is a flavor enhancer too. Just sprinkle some in to any pork dish and it creates a wonderful and fresh taste. Cumin is also good in a dry rub mix for steaks and chops. it gives an exotic air to ordinary barbecued meat. You could also add spices to baked goodas a swell. Some bakers add saffron to yellow cake recipes to give the cake color and taste. Candied ginger is great not only in muffins and cookies but also amps up butter cream icicng.

Secret ingredients are what makes recipes pop. They give dishes that special taste that makes them unique. Add a little something here and there to your next meal for surprising yet fun results!