Apple Pistachio Salad

I walked into the local coffee house last week and they had a red wreath on the door and Christmas music playing.  I'm all for enjoying the season, but can we at least get through Thanksgiving first?  In high school I worked at a Hallmark store and we put the Christmas ornaments out in July.  Yep, July!  I remember wondering who on earth would be out shopping for Christmas ornaments in July, but believe it or not, there were some folks.  "Folks," that's a good word for them.  My fellow colleague at the store, of similar age, used to call them the crazy crafty ladies.  I found myself admiring a few of the ornaments, and wondering (worrying) that maybe I'd turn into a crazy crafty lady myself in a few years.  Thankfully, my eclectic collection ended up being recipes, phew!  I am beginning to get into the holiday spirit with my cooking.  I ran across this recipe the other day and thought it was a nice, healthy alternative to all the high calorie food that gets served this time of year.  Of course I didn't have all the ingredients it called for, so I made some substitution.  I've included my version and the original.  I've made it both ways and found it delightful with either ingredient list.  Enjoy and happy holidays!

Adapted from the recipes at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center

Salad:
2 1/2 Cups fresh apples, chopped 1/4-1/2" chunks
1 1/2 Cup celery, diced (or use cucumber)
1/3 Cup dried currants (or use tart dried cherries)
1 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
2/3 Cup shelled pistachio nuts

Dressing:
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1-1 1/2 Tablespoons honey, slightly warmed if solid
pinch salt

Soak chopped apples in lemon water for a few minutes to prevent browning, then strain.  Combine apples, celery (or cucumber), currents (or tart dried cherries), and nuts.

Make dressing by whisking together lemon juice, vinegar, honey, and salt.

Toss salad with dressing and mint.  Serve immediately. 

Note: If you plan to let the salad set for a while before serving, wait to add pistachios to prevent them from softening. 

Fig, Arugula, and Blue Cheese Pizza

It was an El Nino year my first and last years of college.  I have memories of wading through the dining commons to get my lunch, watching my fellow students row a boat down our street, and playing mud football on the res hall lawn.  On a campus where the only way to get around was to either walk or bike, you had little choice on rainy days but to get soaked on the way to class.  These days, students wear rain boots and carry umbrellas, but in the mid-nineties, you'd rather have your Mom walking you to class than sport an umbrella.  So as you might imagine, on rainy days the campus was filled with lots of students getting very wet.  One rainy day I decided to wear flip flops.  I got lots of comments and even an offer from my boss to loan me a pair of warmer shoes.  But, wouldn't you know it, after about ten minutes inside, I was the only one with warm dry feet.  Ever since then, when I get a slightly unusual idea in my head, I stop and think, ya' know, this might just be like wearing flip flops in the rain! 


It's an interesting concept...salad on a pizza crust.  I pondered this one for awhile, not sure if I'd like it.  But we had fresh ripe home grown figs to eat, and it occurred to me that this might be the key ingredient to give this a shot.  The verdict: delicious!  The pizza crust with the sweetness of the figs, salty blue cheese and tangy vinegar, yum!  Sound odd?  Not convinced?  Hmm, maybe you should try some flip flops next time it rains...       


1 package ready made pizza dough (I used the whole wheat dough from Trader Joe's)
12 ripe figs, quartered
2-3 handfuls of arugula
1/2 Cup crumbled or diced good quality blue cheese
a little bit of very thinly sliced red onion
a few drizzles of balsamic vinegar and olive oil
freshly ground black pepper


Prepare pizza dough as directed on the package.  Brush with a little olive oil before baking.  Bake as directed, removing from the oven once crispy and lightly browned.  While dough is cooking, cut up figs, arugula, blue cheese, and red onion.  As soon as pizza crust is done, transfer onto plate and top with arugula, figs, blue cheese, and red onion.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and top off with a light dusting of freshly ground pepper.  Serve immediately. 

Zucchini Carpaccio Salad

The things I love most about growing our own vegetables are the little "surprises" we get.  Maybe it's because we are amateurs, or maybe it's like this for all vegetable gardeners.  I'm not sure.  But we always think we know what we are planting, eagerly await the crop, and then somehow get a lot of some things and none of others.  Sadly, our vision of the crop, and the reality, do not always match.  We've had lots of luck with peas, squash, eggplant, onions, lettuce, and tomatoes, sporadic luck with beets, zucchini, herbs, and cucumbers, and absolutely no luck with peppers, broccoli, or brussel sprouts.  This year the zucchinis decided they wanted in on the 'no grow' list.  A few of them rotted and the only other one stayed little but developed an unappealing hard skin.  We did get a couple tiny ones that we ate, but nothing to brag about.  So, imagine my surprise when I looked under the enormous leaves and saw 2 medium, beautifully formed zucchinis!   I was so excited and I couldn't wait to search out a recipe.  This was a great and healthy way to enjoy the fresh zucchini and makes an excellent side dish or light dinner.  
  
Adapted slightly from Gourmet, July 2006


1 pound zucchini (about 2 large)



1 teaspoons salt


1/3 pound arugula, stems discarded and leaves cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips (4 cups)


1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, coarsely grated (on large holes of a box grater; 1/3 - 1/2 cup, or use pre-grated)


2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


Juice of one lemon


1/4 teaspoon black pepper


handful of walnuts (optional)


Special equipment: an adjustable-blade slicer (I didn't have one.  So, I just sliced my zucchinis very thin with a sharp knife.)


Cut zucchini crosswise into paper-thin slices with slicer. Toss zucchini slices with one teaspoon salt in a large colander set over a bowl and let drain 20 minutes.


Rinse zucchini slices well, then drain, pressing gently on slices to extract any excess liquid. Pat zucchini slices dry with a kitchen towel.


Put arugula greens in a large bowl. Sprinkle with half the Parmigiano-Reggiano and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Drizzle 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil over greens and toss. Arrange zucchini slices over arugula greens, then drizzle with remaining oil, lemon juice and sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano, walnuts, and pepper.

Arugula Salad with Grilled Chicken, Green Beans, Tomatoes, and Lemon-Basil Dressing

Even after five years of Andrew living in the U.S., there are still a few misunder-standings of language between us every now and again.  We talked about growing peas this year, but ended up with lima beans and green beans.  Apparently they sell pea seeds in the UK but here they are called shelling peas.  So, when Andrew first went to buy pea seeds, he couldn't find any.  From looking at the pictures on the seed packages, he came home with the afore mentioned beans.  He showed them to me, and clueless of his strife, I responded, "why didn't you get peas?"  If looks could kill, I wouldn't be writing this blog!  We did end up finding and growing peas, which were wonderful, by the way.  So good, in fact, that I have no recipes to share as we never once saved any to cook.  Our two-year old loved opening the pods and eating the raw peas.  Green beans on the other hand weren't quite as attractive.  And, I have to admit, I struggled to get very excited about them at first either.  But alas, we were eating from the garden, so I set out to find a use.  I was so pleasantly surprised.  The green beans were wonderful any way we fixed them.  Now, the vines are finally on their last legs and just about ready to be pulled out.  I figured I could get one more meal out of them, combined with the ends of our cherry tomatoes and the start of our arugula.  This salad was so delicious I would make it every week if I had the ingredients.  I hope you like it too! 

Serves two

1 Chicken breast

10-15 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 handful of green beans, trimmed

3 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, diced

2 Cups of arugula (or mix of salad greens and arugula)

little bit of lemon juice

olive oil

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

Dressing: (Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine)

1/2 Cup loosely packed basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

juice of half a small lemon

1-1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil

Turn on the barbecue or grill to medium.  Season the chicken breast, green beans, and cherry tomatoes with a little olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and fresh ground pepper.  Cook chicken until golden brown and no longer pink inside, set aside to let cool.  Spread green beans and tomatoes on a barbecue vegetable tray and roast over medium-high heat.  The beans and tomatoes cook fast so watch them carefully, remove and set aside to cool.  

To make the dressing, place basil leaves in a colander and dip into boiling water for 10 seconds.  Place into a small food processer or blender.  Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt, and pulse a couple of times.  Add olive oil and blend until smooth.  

In a large serving bowl, combine arugula, tomatoes, green beans, and mozzarella.  Top with sliced chicken and drizzle dressing over the top.  Add additional salt and pepper if desired.