Avocado Corn Salad

I recently posted about a salad that looks, tastes, and is very healthy. However, this salad that I made today looks, tastes, and is the most delicious way to consume summer vegetables that I may ever have experienced - and, what's truly great, is that it is healthy, as well. The dressing is lime juice, after all.

The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook never ceases to amaze, and this is just another fine example of how their easy and straightforward recipes are just incredible. I was flipping through this cookbook in search of a cucumber recipe, actually, but the page landed open at this Avocado Corn Salad, and I realized that I just so happened to have all the ingredients on hand -and so I made it immediately. I suggest that you do the same.

Avocado Corn Salad

Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

Serves 2 (or one hungry person)

1 cup fresh or frozen cut corn

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 Tbsp water

1 tsp ground cumin

pinch of cayenne or red pepper flakes

1 medium avocado

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1/2 medium red bell pepper

2 Tbsp minced red onion

salt to taste

dash of hot sauce (I'm partial to Frank's)

whole or chopped cilantro leaves (optional)

In a skillet, combine the corn, oil, water, cumin, and optional cayenne or red pepper flakes. Cook, covered, on medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the corn is tender. Uncover and cook for an additional minute or two to evaporate the excess moisture. Set aside to cool.

Slice the avocado in half lengthwise, and gently twist to remove the pit. Make lengthwise and crosswise cuts in the flesh every 1/2 inch. Scoop the avocado cubes out of the shells and into a large bowl. Gently stir in the lime juice. Cut the bell pepper into 1/2 inch pieces and add to the bowl. Stir in the red onion and cooked corn. Stir. Add salt and hot sauce to taste, and top with cilantro if you like.

Serve immediately, or chill for 30 minutes and then serve.

Salads are Healthy

There's this idea that most salads are healthy. I have to admit, though, that I usually find the most delicious salads to be the ones that involve things like... steak, or blue cheese, or hard-boiled eggs, or all of the above. Those salads, however, would be just put to shame if placed in a healthy salads contest with the one I just made and ate. It was delicious, but boy-oh-boy, it was primarily healthy. If that's what you're looking for, this might be just the thing.

My grand CSA adventure continues this summer, and this recipe - Lebanese Chard & Bean Salad - was provided by the newsletter writers at Driftless Organics. They have this delightful habit of sharing recipes that include (and help to use up) some of the vegetables in the accompanying CSA veggie box. This is one of those recipes. I have no idea if this is truly a Lebanese recipe or not, but I can confirm that it's a healthy salad that looks nice and tastes good.

By the way, take a look at these Dragon Tongue Beans. They are so pretty. Once cooked, they lose their nifty purple detailing (which the CSA newsletter warned me about), so I took a picture of them prepped but pre-cooked.

Lebanese Chard & Bean Salad

4 cups chard (I used some greens - arugula and purple mizuna)

1 cup green, purple or dragon tongue beans, cut into thirds

1/2 medium onion, finely sliced

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped and toasted (I got lazy and didn't include these)

1/2 cup sweet peppers, very thinly sliced

Steam chard for a minute or two, until just wilted. Run under cold water to cool & drain. Arrange it on a serving platter. Steam beans for a couple of minutes, cool, drain, & place on top of wilted greens. Arrange onion & sweet pepper slices on top of beans. Mix yogurt, lemon juice and parsley together in a small bowl and drizzle over salad. Top with walnuts and extra parsley for garnish. Add toasted pita wedges for a complete meal!

Spectacular Potato Salad

I have recently claimed that some recipes are too good to be kept to oneself, and this potato salad is one such recipe. As many people know, the folks at America’s Test Kitchen truly know what they are up to in the kitchen. I love (love, love, love) my copy of Cook’s Country, which is chock full of the kind of recipes that grandmothers pass down, but better. They took the recipes that lots of grandmothers passed down, compared them, took the best parts of each, tested ingredients and cooking times, and recommend here the foolproof (in my experience) version with the best results. In the case of potato salad, it seems straightforward enough, right? Cook up some potatoes, cook up some eggs, mix them together with mayonnaise and some chives or something, and call it a day.

Sure, sometimes that works. And sometimes the potatoes are too soft, the eggs are too smashed up, the mayonnaise becomes soupy, or the whole thing tastes like…. potatoes and eggs, sitting in mayonnaise.

Enter Cook’s Country, and their genius potato salad recipe. I made it this weekend as a barbeque contribution, and the host jokingly asked guests not to take too much, as she wanted to be sure to have leftovers. It’s that good. Follow this recipe closely and I feel that you can not go wrong.

All-American Potato Salad

2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes

salt

3 Tbsp dill pickle juice

1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickles

1 Tbsp yellow mustard

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp celery seed

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 small red onion, minced

1 celery rib, chopped fine

2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan with cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, add 1 tsp salt, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Drain the potatoes thoroughly, then spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet. Mix 2 Tbsp of the pickle juice and the mustard together in a small bowl, drizzle the pickle juice mixture over the potatoes, and toss until evenly coated. Refrigerate until cooled, about 30 minutes.

Mix the remaining 1 Tbsp pickle juice, the chopped pickles, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, celery seed, mayonnaise, sour cream, red onion, and celery in a large bowl. Toss in the cooled potatoes, cover, and refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 minutes. Gently stir in the eggs, just before serving. The salad can be refrigerated in an air tight container for up to 2 days.

Back from a long break, and full of zucchini!

Whew. It's been a LONG time since I posted. Sarah's been cooking up a storm and really keeping Ballerina Breath together. Thank goodness! I spent 6 weeks traveling and upon my return jumped into graduate school, so life has been a bit hectic. I'm cooking a fair amount again, but just haven't gotten around to putting up any posts, so here goes my concerted effort to post regularly again! I spent 2 weeks in Costa Rica at a sea turtle conservation project and hopefully I will put up a nice long post about that wonderful experience, until then, here's to hoping your garden is overflowing with zucchini and you're looking for new recipes!

After my two weeks in Costa Rica I returned home to Maine for a few weeks. My Dad's friend has zucchini taking over her garden so she has become quite inventive and I was lucky enough to taste her delightful discoveries. Upon returning to Seattle, I learned that my friend also had a garden that was being taken over by zucchini, so I took two 15" zucchinis off her hands. That's right, you heard me. They were HUGE.  The two recipes I wanted to try to remake were a cold zucchini salad and a warm, creamy zucchini soup.  They both are nice in that there's just a hint of obvious zucchini flavor, so if you're feeling overwhelmed by zucchini, this is a nice subtle use of the vegetable.

Cold Zucchini Salad

For the Dressing: 

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions: Combine the dressing ingredients and whisk well. Rinse the zucchini (2-3 small or 1-2 standard) and use a mandolin or vegetable peeler (or sharp knife and patience) to slice/shave it into thin strips. Chop 1/2 cup of fresh basil and add to the zucchini strips.  Lightly toast 1/4 cup of pine nuts or pumpkin seeds in a skillet on the stove and add to the zucchini. Pour the dressing over the salad and sprinkle shaved Parmesan or Romano cheese to taste. 

Serve with a side dish of Parmesan for people to add as they wish, and enjoy!

Warm, Creamy Zucchini Soup Serves 4-5 as an appetizer, 2-3 as an entrée.


This soup is SUPER easy, delicious and quite healthy for you (yeah there's cream, but not much!). I hope you like it as much as I do!


Ingredients: 8 cups of cubed zucchini, with seeds removed, 4 cups chicken broth, 1/3 cup of cream, dash of nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, 1/4 cup shaved or grated Parmesan.

Directions: Add the zucchini and chicken broth to a stock pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until zucchini is nice and soft. If you like, add a bay leaf to the broth while it simmers. Pour out one cup of liquid and reserve to add as you wish later. If you used a bay leaf, remove it. Use an immersion blender to puree the zucchini to the texture of your liking (I like it really smooth), let it cool just a bit, and add the cream, nutmeg, salt, pepper and cheese. Stir well and taste.  Add some of the reserved liquid if it is too thick, or more nutmeg, salt or pepper to your liking. Serve warm, with a dollop of plain yogurt on top. Enjoy!

Thanks Sarah R, for such delicious meals and your wonderful recipes!