Pancetta-Wrapped Peaches on the Grill

Ripe, run-down-your-chin juicy peaches, wrapped in pancetta with a basil leaf and grilled just long enough for the pork fat to melt into the peach and crisp up around the edges and the peach sugar to caramelize.

This. Is. A. Flavor. Bomb.

You put it in your mouth and take one bite and it's almost too much to be able to process. You will lose yourself for a moment. Or two. This is smack your hand on the table and moan good.

And yeah, the bed of arugula underneath makes for a perfect peppery bite in contrast to all that decadence. And there's a dressing of peach-infused white balsamic combined with basil-infused olive oil that you could drink up by itself. (I discovered the oil and vinegar at Con' Olio.)

But the warm, juicy peaches and the salty melted pork fat. Whew!

Don't make this for just anyone. Make this for someone you are serious about because they will be serious about you after one bite.

You could do these as an appetizer, with one peach half per person on a little bed of arugula. Or be gluttons, like we were, and have several on a larger salad as your dinner. Because, really, what are you going to serve after this?

Nuff said. I'm not overselling. Go and try for yourself. Quick, before the peaches are gone. (Get organic ones so you can leave the skins on. They hold together better on the grill that way.)

Tip: keep the pancetta in the fridge until you are ready to assemble, it's easier to handle when it's still cold.



Grilled Peaches with Basil and Pancetta

3-4 organic peaches
6-8 slices pancetta
one bunch basil
6-8 wooden skewers

2 tablespoons basil-infused olive oil
2 tablespoons peach-infused white balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt

vegetable oil

two large handfuls of arugula (or arugula and spinach)


Soak the skewers in water for about 30 minutes to keep them from burning on the grill. Drain and set aside.

Get your charcoal-fire or gas grill going. (We've also done this on a grill pan over the stove.)

Cut the peaches in half. One half should let go of the peach pit fairly easily. For the other clingy half, slide the point of a paring knife around the edge of the pit and just slightly under it until it releases from the pit. Do this with all of the peaches and set them on a plate.

Take one peach half, lay a basil leaf over the well in the center, and wrap a slice of pancetta around it tightly, until it overlaps. Repeat with the remaining peach halves.

Take the remaining basil, stack the leaves on top of each other and slice them or roll them up and snip into slivers with kitchen shears. Set aside for serving.

Run a skewer through the peach halves about a quarter-inch from the surface of the cut side. Repeat with one or two more peach halves on the same skewer. Push them up next to each other as close as they'll go. Brush or rub a little vegetable oil on the cut side and the back side of the peaches.

Brush or wipe the grill grate with vegetable oil.

Place the skewers on the grill with the cut side up (round side on the fire). Grill over medium-high heat for about five minutes. Flip over and grill another 2-3 minutes on the cut side. Remove from grill.

Put a large handful of arugula on each plate. Sprinkle with the leftover bits of basil.

Remove peaches from the skewers and serve over the arugula. Drizzle with the dressing and serve warm.


Serves... well, you decide how many. (We'd have this as dinner for the two of us.)

Adapted from Food & Wine.

Green Beans with Parsley, Almonds, Sesame Seeds and Goat Cheese

We've been making this green bean salad for months and just can't stop eating it. I like green beans, but they don't usually just jump out and grab my attention most of the time. I love finding recipes for dishes that seem to be more than the sum of their parts. This is one of those recipes. The fresh, bright crunch of the green beans is preserved by quickly blanching them in boiling water and immediately submerging them in ice water to stop the cooking and chill them down. They keep their gorgeous green color and snappy texture this way. And they in no way resemble the mushy, overcooked, sludge of my childhood. This recipe gives green beans their due. And something magical happens when the flavors of the toasted almonds, sesame seeds, lemon, parsley, mustard, shallots and goat cheese come together. It's bright and refreshing and the perfect summer salad. It would make a great picnic salad too in individual Mason jars.

I've been finding recipes like this over and over on the Farm+House+Table blog from Farmhouse Delivery. They work with local, organic and sustainable farmers to provide their customers with deliveries of the best local produce. And then they go a step further. Elizabeth Winslow, one of the co-founders of Farmhouse Delivery, provides recipes using that produce that open your eyes (and tastebuds) to new flavors. I've seen recipe after recipe there that I've bookmarked to try. This green bean salad was one of them. Now we can't stop making it. On her blog, Winslow says the recipe comes from Azul, a groovy little East Austin cafe that is no longer open. I liked Azul too, but don't remember this salad. I'm so glad she preserved this treasure from their menu.

Check out Farm+House+Table for more ways to make the most of the bounty of the garden, whether it's your own or a local farmer's. You'll be seduced by the flavors presented there and the incredible photography of Jody Horton.


Green Beans with Parsley, Almonds, Sesame Seeds and Goat Cheese

1 pound green beans
2 shallots, peeled and minced
2 large handfuls of Italian parsley leaves
4 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1/3 cup sliced or slivered roasted, salted almonds
1/2 cup crumbled chevre goat cheese
4 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil


Bring water to a boil in a medium-sized pan.

Fill a medium-sized bowl with ice and water. Set aside.

While the water is coming to a boil, trim ends from green beans and slice them into bite-sized pieces.

Drop the green beans into the boiling water for 30 seconds to blanch them. Immediately remove them and drop them into the bowl of ice water. Let them chill in the ice water for 10 minutes, while you put the rest of the salad together.

In a small bowl, make your dressing. Add lemon juice, vinegar, mustard and shallots. Whisk together. Slowing whisk in olive oil. Set aside.

in a large serving bowl, place almonds and parsley.

Drain green beans from ice water. I put the green beans in a dry dish cloth and rolled them around a bit to remove the excess water. This keeps the dressing from getting watered down.

Add the green beans to the serving bowl and toss with almonds and parsley. Add the dressing and toss again to coat evenly.

Sprinkle top with goat cheese crumbles and sesame seeds.

Serves 6.


Adapted from Farm+House+Table blog by Elizabeth Winslow.

Burmese Crunchy Ginger Salad

As Thanksgiving approaches and most food talk is of turkey and gravy and stuffing and pie, I find myself craving lighter and brighter flavors. We had this salad recently and couldn't stop thinking about it and wanting more afterwards. It's like hitting the reset button on your tastebuds. It's fresh and crunchy with very bright, refreshing and incredibly addictive flavors.



So what's in it? You start with crispy, crunchy Napa cabbage. I'm really not a big cabbage or cole slaw eater, but the light, curly texture of Napa cabbage is the perfect vehicle for this salad. You shave the Napa cabbage easily with a sharp knife, then add toasted coconut (the big shavings, not the little withered and dried up bagged stuff that's been on the grocery store shelves for who knows how long), add some toasted nuts (the original had peanuts, we used cashews), a lot of fresh ginger in julienned sticks so you can bite into it — texture is everything here, you don't want ginger slush, fried, crunchy garlic, sesame seeds, tiny bits of a chopped jalapeño, and the secret ingredient that brings it all together... dried shrimp. Sounds weird, I know. I've had crunchy little dried shrimp bits in all kinds of Asian food, but I got intimidated when trying to buy some at the Asian market myself. I'd like to know a little more about where they come from and whether they're full of chemicals that I don't want to be eating. So we made it the first time without the dried shrimp. It was good, but not singing in the streets spectacular. A whole dimension of flavor was missing and it was the shrimp.



Then something wonderful happened. We happened to be eating dinner at our favorite Vietnamese cafe, Tam Deli, and talking to one of the owners, Tran. I love hearing her cooking tips. She mentioned that she dries her own shrimp for the restaurant. That stuck with me. I know the care she takes with everything she makes. So a few days later, we went back and asked if we could buy some of the dried shrimp from her next batch. What she delivered was gorgeous, fresh, shredded shrimp. It was soft and fluffy like peach snow. I tossed it around in a dry skillet for a few minutes to crisp it up and it was amazing in the salad. It added the savory but undefinable flavor the salad needed.

This salad is very easy, but takes a few minutes of prep. You need to toast the nuts and coconut and fry the garlic into little crunchy chips. But each of these steps can be done in the same skillet or wok. I'm ballparking the quantities here. You can put more or less of any of these ingredients, just don't skip any.

I dare you to try this and not get hooked. I could seriously eat this several times a week. And it's just the thing to balance out all that heavy turkey and stuffing coming your way next week.



Gluten-free note: I checked with the folks at Squid Brand fish sauce in Singapore and they assured me that their fish sauce is gluten-free.

Burmese Crunchy Ginger Salad

salad:
half a head of Napa cabbage
one bunch cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup julienned ginger
3/4 cup roasted and salted cashews or peanuts, chopped
3/4 cup coconut flakes
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced into the thinnest slices you can cut
1/4 cup sesame seeds
3/4 cup dried shrimp
1 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, like safflower

dressing:
juice of 2 limes
1-2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
2-3 teaspoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons honey (or more to taste)
3 tablespoons garlic safflower oil (from frying the garlic chips)

Hold a head of Napa cabbage horizontally on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut thin shavings straight down and it will make beautiful, fine, crunchy shreds. Put these in a large serving bowl.

In a dry skillet, toast the coconut flakes over low to medium-low heat, stirring continuously. Don't walk away. Stay present and keep stirring and letting it toast slowly until it's a golden brown. This will take several minutes but will be well worth it. The flavor and texture it brings out is amazing. Set aside in a bowl or on a plate to cool.

Do the same with the sesame seeds and dried shrimp, just to crisp them up.

Last, pour 3 tablespoons oil into the pan and add the garlic slices. Cook them in the oil over medium-low heat until they turn golden. This will happen quickly so stay with them. Remove them to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain (like you would with bacon). Pat the excess oil off with another paper towel and let them sit. They'll crisp as they dry.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl with the oil from the garlic. Whisk it all together and taste. Add more honey or fish sauce as needed for more sweetness or saltiness.

Combine all of the salad ingredients in either a composed salad or just toss it all together well. Drizzle with the dressing just before serving.

Serves 3-4.

Adapted from The Providers.

Fattoush Salad

This is one of my favorite summertime salads. When you have more tomatoes and cucumbers than you know what to do with, this is your go to dish. It's fast, it's refreshing and it's easy. It's basically a Middle Eastern panzanella. I've already shared with you my panzanella recipe. It is truly one of my favorite dishes ever. So it's no wonder I like fattoush as well. Both recipes consist of a vegetable salad with some form of toasty bread. In panzanella, it's crusty Italian bread used like croutons. In fattoush, it's toasty shards of pitas. Similar ideas, but a whole different palette of flavors. In panzanella, it's all about the tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. In fattoush, it's about the tomatoes, yes, but also the cooling cucumbers, the parsley and mint, and crunchy pitas.

Nigella Lawson gets all the credit for turning me on to fattoush years ago on one of her cooking shows. I've been making it ever since. You can make it as she did to accompany grilled chicken spiced with Za'atar — an Arabic blend of herbs, primarily oregano and sesame seeds. Or you can go vegetarian and serve it as we often do with Halloumi cheese crumbles on top.

If you aren't familiar with halloumi, it's amazing. It's a Middle Eastern cheese, often made with sheep or goat's milk. And it has secret powers — it has a high melting point so you can grill it or fry it without it oozing all over the place. This is great on kebobs. Halloumi's flavor is mild, similar to mozzarella, but a little saltier. I usually remove it from the wrapper and place it in a bowl of water for about five minutes. Much of the salt will come out this way. Also, it usually contains a little mint. So if you seem some tiny green flecks, no worries.

Buying tip: in Austin, I've found the best price on halloumi at Phoenicia, our Middle Eastern market. Look for it in the freezer case. I buy several blocks at once and store them in the freezer. The texture of the cheese is sturdy and it holds up just fine.

This is a fast and easy salad. Except for the dressing, which will make enough for two people, I'm not going to give you amounts. Make as big or small a salad as you like, depending on if it's a side or the main event. We usually have giant plates of it as our one-dish dinner. It's great with some creamy hummus or baba ganoush.

Fattoush Salad

romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size chunks
cherry tomatoes, halved or regular tomatoes, cut into chunks
cucumbers, sliced into half moons or rounds
sweet peppers, sliced into chunks or little rounds
halloumi cheese, crumbled
mint, shredded
parsley, shredded
green onions or chives, sliced thinly
pita chips, or toasted pitas, crumbled

lemon dressing:
zest and juice of one lemon
4-6 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced

Put your dressing ingredients into a small bowl and whisk. Alternative: put the ingredients into a small jar, attach the lid tightly and shake, shake, shake!

Assemble your salad however you like. Add the herbs, pita chips and sprinkle with lemon zest.

Drizzle dressing over top and enjoy.

Adapted from Nigella Lawson.

Terry Conlan's Pineapple & Avocado Salad

Here is the first recipe I promised you from the previous post on Terry Conlan's Mas Masa with Mushrooms cooking class. It's called Ensalada del Calle. It's a bright salad bursting with flavor from fresh pineapple, orange juice, the crunch of shredded carrots and pepitas (pumpkin seeds), a kick from a little chili pepper and garlic, and buttery richness from avocado. It's healthy and decadent tasting at the same time.

(Note: excuse the photo quality, I was shooting in the class on the fly with my iPhone.)

This makes a great salad with a Mexican meal and would be especially festive and fancy enough for the holidays or a special occasion.

In the class, Terry made his own quick pineapple vinegar. Don't skip this step. It brings out huge flavor and is very easy. Be sure to use an organic pineapple though, you don't want pesticide vinegar in your dressing! This recipe will make more vinegar than you need, but since you already have the pineapple, there's no way around it and vinegar is cheap. Besides, this is a treat to have in the fridge for next time. It would be great drizzled over other pineapple salads or Asian salads or grilled pineapple or fish or over grilled pork in a taco, now I'm thinking al pastor...) Note, this same technique will work with other fruits so try making whatever fruit vinegar you like.

Ensalada Del Calle

1 ripe organic pineapple
2 cups white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons toasted and salted pepitas
1/2 cup onion, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons fruity, extra virgin olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 seeded and minced Serrano pepper
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup carrot, peeled and shredded
2 ripe avocados
one head of butter lettuce

Take the onion slices and place them in a bowl in cold water and soak for 30 minutes to remove the harsh sulfuriness. Drain and set aside.

Peel and core the pineapple, reserving the trimmings. Cut half of the pineapple fruit into bite-sized chunks. Other half of fruit can be eaten later (chef treat).

Put the pineapple core and skin in a nonreactive (stainless steel) saucepan with the vinegar. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain. Measure out 2 tablespoons. Pour the remaining pineapple vinegar into a jar and refrigerate for future use. (This will keep for a long time.)

Combine the 2 tablespoons of pineapple vinegar, orange juice, olive oil, garlic and salt. Toss in the pineapple, onion, serrano, and cilantro. Toss to combine.

Peel and deseed the avocados. Cut into large chunks.

To serve, place a butter lettuce leaf on each plate. Top with pineapple mixture, then avocado chunks and sprinkle with pepitas.

Serves 6.

Adapted from Terry Conlan.

Roasted Corn Salad

Now that fall is in the air, or in Austin, around the corner at least, I've got comfort food on the brain. We tried La Condesa not too long ago and in addition to their tasty tacos, we had a little bowl of roasted corn soup. It was simply roasted corn kernels in a rich, buttery broth. Simple, but so good.

Ever since, I've had roasted corn cravings. This salad comes from San Francisco chef Elizabeth Falkner. It looked like a great way to use roasted corn. With arugula, avocados, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkin seeds and a fresh vinaigrette made from the sweetness of some of the puréed roasted corn, lime, sherry vinegar and a little unexpected hit of warm cinnamon, it was fantastic. The corn in the dressing really takes it to another level. This one's going into rotation with our favorite salads.



Roasted Corn Salad

5 ears of fresh corn, husks and strings removed
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup roasted, salted pumpkin seeds
3 tablespoon fresh lime juice (approximately 1 lime)
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 pounds baby arugula
2-3 ripe avocados, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 large red tomatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 large orange or yellow tomatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 hothouse cucumber, cut into quarters lengthwise and sliced
3 ounces queso fresco or ricotta salata, crumbled

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Put the ears of corn on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes – turning 2-3 times during the roasting to brown on all sides. Remove from oven and let cool. When cooled completely, cut the kernels from the cobs and set aside.

In a blender, put 1/2 cup corn kernels, lime juice, sherry vinegar, sugar, hot sauce, and cinnamon. Purée until smooth. With the machine on, slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup of olive oil and blend until emulsified. Pour the vinaigrette into a bowl.

In the bottom of a large, shallow salad bowl, make a bed of the arugula. Sprinkle with tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados and the remaining roasted corn. Sprinkle the top with the roasted pumpkin seeds and crumbled cheese. Serve with vinaigrette.

Serves approximately 6-8 as a side salad.

Adapted from Elizabeth Falkner in Food & Wine (August 2000).

Roasted Potato Salad

This is the time of year when you see a lot of thick, mayonnaise-y potato salad. It reminds me of childhood and hot summer days. There's something comforting about it when it's done right. But that form of potato salad is a little on the heavy side for me to be making these days and to be eating in the Texas heat. This version is lighter, much fresher, and a little more interesting for a grown-up palate.

You simply roast some potatoes -- I recommend the toaster oven to avoid heating up the whole kitchen -- and blanch some fresh green beans. Both are easy to find in the farmers' market nowadays. Toss those together with some parsley, Kalamata olives, and some crumbles or shards of Pecorino. (Pecorino is a hard Italian cheese made from sheep's milk. It is similiar to Parmigiano Reggiano, with a tangy, salty flavor.) You can crumble a bit of leftover bacon in there as well. Olive oil and a splash of balsamic become the dressing. The flavors here are bold, but when married with the potatoes, they compliment each other instead of competing.

Note, this potato salad is really at it's best when you can contrast the still warm and crispy roasted potatoes with the cold green beans and olives. It's still good if you wrap it up and take it to a picnic, but the potatoes will lose their crispiness so I recommend eating it immediately.


Roasted Potato Salad

2 lbs. new potatoes, cut into quarters
olive oil
coarse sea salt
2/3 - 1 lb. green beans, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, cut in half
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup shredded pecorino cheese
2-3 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled (optional)

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle with olive oil and toss on the baking sheet to coat. Sprinkle a little salt over top. (Go easy here, the olives and pecorino are also salty, so you don't want to go too far.) Roast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and give the potatoes a turn to expose their undersides. Return to oven. Roast approximately 10 more minutes until edges are golden and crispy. Remove from oven and let cool.

While the potatoes are roasting, drop the green beans into boiling water for 4-5 minutes to blanch them. They will turn bright green. You want to remove them while they still have some crunch and that bright color. Immediately drop them into an ice bath (fill a bowl with ice and water) to stop the cooking. When cold, drain well.

In a large bowl, place your drained green beans, parsley, olives, a splash of olive oil and the vinegar. Toss together. Just before serving, add the crispy potatoes, and sprinkle the top with pecorino shavings and bacon, if using.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.

Cuban Chicken Salad with Pan Con Timba

As the weather heats up, the bright, zesty flavors of a cool Cuban salad are just the thing. Mango, lime, orange, avocado and the crunch of cashews come together for some flavor mojo. You can roast a chicken breast yourself, or use store-bought or leftover roasted chicken. That makes it very fast to put together.

I like to pair this with pan con timba, basically, a Cuban grilled cheese. Some friends made this for me years ago as part of a Cuban feast. When I tell you what's in it, you'll have to take a moment to wrap your head around it. Sounds a little odd. I might not have made this just based on seeing the recipe. But I'm so glad they made it for me. From the first bite, I was hooked. It's made with buttered, French rolls toasted with guava paste on one side and Swiss cheese on the other. Sounds bizarre. But try it. The exotic, deep fruitiness of the guava paste is the perfect companion to melty, bubbly Swiss cheese. And it must be made with fresh French rolls that are flaky and crusty on the outside and soft and pillowy on the inside.

This recipe will make more dressing than you need for two salads, but I always stash the excess in the fridge and use it within a few days on another salad. It's a great fresh dressing on it's own.

Make the pan con timba first. It can be toasting while you put the salad together. You can find guava paste in most grocery stores. I usually find Goya brand in the Latin food section. It comes in a flat can. I've also seen a smaller boxed version at Fiesta in Austin. I'm not putting quantities on the pan con timba, because you'll probably want more than one, so make however many you like. They are a taste sensation. Grilled cheese and jelly!

And yes, since you asked, that is my new Heath salad bowl. Gush!

Pan Con Timba

guava paste
swiss cheese block (that you can slice yourself)
crusty French rolls
butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Split each roll and spread a little bit of softened butter on the inside of each half.

Cut thick slices of Swiss to fit one half of each roll.

Place the cheese on the bottom half of the roll.

Cut a slice out of the guava paste about the same size as the Swiss cheese. Place that on the top half of the buttered roll.

Place these on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until melted and bubbly.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Don't touch the guava at this point!! Think guava lava!! Let it cool enough to handle and eat. When you're ready, put the top and bottom halves together to form a sandwich and enjoy with your salad.



Cuban Chicken Salad

dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon freshly grated orangic orange zest
1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup
1 tablespoon soy sauce

salad:
1 small to medium mango
1 large grilled chicken breast, cut into strips or cubes
1 small to medium avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed
4 large handfuls of baby romaine or field greens
1/3 cup roasted, salted cashews
1 lime, cut into wedges

To make the dressing, whisk together all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Assemble salad. Put greens into a large bowl and drizzle half of the dressing over top. Toss together.

Arrange greens on two large plates. Place chicken cubes or slices down the center. Place mangos down one side and avocado cubes down the other side. Sprinkle cashews over top.

Serve with additional dressing and wedges of lime.

Serves 2.

Adapted from Bon Appetit, September 1997.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

More strawberries! I know, I said the last one was the last one. But then I started making this salad for dinner and realized I hadn't shared it yet, so here's one more.

This is my homemade riff on one of my favorite salads from Leaf -- hands down the best salad place in Austin. If you haven't been there, check them out. You can pick and choose from their huge selection of items for your own creation, or choose one of the combinations off their menu. Their salads are generous and you will leave there full. It's a satisfying way to eat your veggies. And even my very carnivorous husband likes their salads, so it's not just girly place.

This one combines spinach, strawberries, nuts, goat cheese and a little sprinkle of bacon to put it over the top. I still had some of the strawberry mint syrup I ordered from June Taylor Jams so I used that as a base for the dressing by adding a little balsamic, olive oil and pepper. That gave it a perfect little zing. You could use any kind of bottled raspberry balsamic or even just a straight up balsamic and olive oil vinaigrette, if you like. The balsamic really compliments the berries. (I've tried making this same dressing with white balsamic and was underwhelmed.)

This is another one of those lists that's more a steering direction than a strict recipe. Add as much or as little of the ingredients or make some swops to please yourself. I think Leaf uses pecans and sunflower seeds as well as red onions on their version. I went with almonds. I also added fresh mint. And I skipped the onions. I'm not a fan of the much-overused red onion.

Note: my husband made happy sounds when eating this that I usually only hear when he's eating a Phil's chicken sandwich or a Chipotle burrito.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

baby spinach
strawberries (organic), quartered or sliced
goat cheese, crumbled
bacon crumbles
sliced almonds, toasted
fresh mint, chopped

dressing:
(enough for 2 salads)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 tablespoons June Taylor's strawberry mint syrup
fresh black pepper to taste

According to your whim, either compose or toss the ingredients together for your salad.

Whisk together your dressing, if making from scratch.

Enjoy!

Egg Salad

Whatcha gonna do with all those boiled Easter eggs? Egg salad.

I picked up some fresh, pasture-raised eggs from Milagro Farms at the farmers' market yesterday. They are beautiful things. Easter eggs with no artificial colors! Yes, these are their natural colors. And when cooked, they have gorgeous deep yellow yolks. A perfect Easter treat.



We just received another shipment of the world's most perfect bread. Thanks, Phyllis & Ray!! So egg salad sandwiches seemed in order.

I also picked up some mache and arugula from Tecolote at the market yesterday. I used the mache in the open-faced sandwiches I made. It has a sweet, gentle green flavor. If you'd like something more peppery, go with arugula. I also recommend a lightly sweet, whole wheat bread to give your sandwich just the right balance. A honey whole wheat would do nicely if you're not lucky enough to have some of Phyllis' bread.

Here's the perfect method for boiling eggs and making egg salad, just in time for the Easter bunny.



The perfect boiled egg

Place eggs in a single layer in the bottom of your pan.

Cover with water to at least one inch above the top of the eggs.

Bring to a boil over high heat.

When the water reaches a boil, turn off heat and cover pan. Let rest for 10 minutes.

While the eggs are resting, fill a bowl with ice cubes and just enough water to cover. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of salt and stir together.

After the 10 minutes, transfer the eggs to the ice bath and let sit another 10 minutes.

Remove eggs from ice bath, roll on counter to crack evenly and then peel under cold running water.

This should give you perfectly cooked eggs with no ugly green lines and peels that slide right off.




Egg Salad

6 boiled eggs, peeled and diced

1/4 cup mayonaise

4 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste


Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir together. Chill until ready to make sandwiches.

Makes 4 sandwiches. Can be easily doubled.

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated.

Alo Salad

I'm a salad junkie. Salads have come a long way from the '70s iceberg with a flavorless tomato wedge and radish slice that we grew up with.

This salad is my attempt to recreate a really good one I had at Alo restaurant in Dallas. Alo serves "Mexican and Peruvian street food" in a contemporary setting. I've been there twice and really enjoyed it both times. I had this salad the first time and had a hard time not ordering it again the second time.

The salad combines "pulled" turkey, dried cherries, apples, toasted walnuts, white cheddar and a lime-mustard vinaigrette. I subbed dried cranberries for the cherries, just because I like them better. And since it was St. Patty's, I used an Irish cheddar. I like to use a veggie peeler to get bigger shards of the cheese.

It's a good end-of-winter/early spring salad because it has the bright flavors you crave, but uses easily accessible apples and dried fruits available this time of year.

This makes a great full meal salad for lunch or dinner.

This is more of a guideline than a recipe. How much you want of each ingredient depends on you and how many you're feeding. One small apple and a handful of cranberries and nuts per person is about right. I roasted a 2.25 pound bone-in turkey breast and had enough for 4 salads and several sandwiches too. I am listing specific amounts for the dressing just to give you a sense of proportion. It should make enough to dress four salads.

Alo Salad

salad:
dried cranberries
Granny Smith apples
toasted walnuts
grated white cheddar
Romaine hearts or spring mix greens
meat from roasted turkey breast, pulled into shreds

dressing:
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons agave or honey
salt and pepper

Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.

On individual plates, layer greens, apples, shredded turkey, walnuts, cranberries and cheddar. Drizzle with dressing and serve immediately.

Soba Noodle Salad

Monday, Jan. 26th, is Chinese or Lunar New Year. There are many foods you can eat for a feast on Lunar New Year that are supposed to bring good luck. My next post will tell you about several of them. But I wanted to share this noodle dish first.

For luck, serve noodles uncut, as long as possible, to represent long life.

This is definitely our favorite noodle dish. I learned this recipe in a cooking class with Lake Austin Spa's chef, Terry Conlan. The class focused on Asian grilling. He served this soba noodle salad alongside grilled lamb with a hoisin barbecue sauce. It's fabulous that way. But we have adapted it to make a main dish salad out of it. It's fresh and full of healthy veggies and bright flavors. It's light, but addictive and full of flavor.

The ingredient list for the dressing may seem a bit daunting if you don't have a lot of Asian staples in your pantry. But know that once you try these noodles, you'll want to try more of these kinds of flavors. It's worth the investment. And if you get most of these bottles at the Asian market, it's much cheaper.



I also added fried tofu from the Asian market to this recipe for protein. I'm not usually a big fried food eater, but this gives the tofu a firmer texture and a nice crust. You can find the cubes already freshly prepared in Asian markets. We get them in Austin at the Hong Kong Market. They have regular, lemongrass and chile, and mushroom flavors. These cubes are great in curries or sliced into strips for these noodles.

I always buy organic veggies when they're available, but I've had trouble finding organic boy choy, except when we grow it in our own garden. Most Asian markets don't carry organics, but I've noticed that the baby boy choy at Hong Kong Market is not only a great deal -- you can get a package of a dozen baby bok choy for $1.09, it's also usually pristine. In most other markets, the bok choy is usually pretty beat up. So if you're stopping in for the tofu and dressing ingredients anyway, be sure to get your bok choy too.



Another tip: I also used a julienning peeler to make fast work of the carrots. It's like a normal peeler, but cuts the carrots into fine strips like confetti.

Whether you eat them for luck or nutrition, these noodles will help you achieve long life.


Soba Noodle Salad

dressing:
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
4 tablespoons soy sauce (we like Yamasa low-sodium)
4 tablespoons honey or agave
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 teaspoons mirin
4 teaspoons peeled and grated ginger
2 teaspoons roasted sesame oil
1/2 - 2/3 cup canola oil

salad:
9 ounce package soba noodles
12 ounces fried tofu cubes, cut into strips
2 bell peppers: orange, red and/or yellow, cut into bite-sized chunks
3-4 heads of baby boy choy, rinsed well and cut into slivers
2 large carrots, peeled and then julienned
one bunch cilantro, chopped
one bunch mint leaves
one bunch basil leaves, chopped
one small bunch chives, chopped

Put on a medium-sized pot of water to boil the soba noodles.

While the water is heating up, make the dressing: Combine ingredients in a bowl and whisk together to combine. Set aside.

Boil soba noodles for 2-3 minutes until tender and drain. Place immediately in a large bowl and pour half the dressing over the noodles. Toss them with tongs to distribute the dressing over all the noodles.

Add salad ingredients to noodles: tofu strips, bell peppers, bok choy, carrots and herbs. Toss together again with tongs to combine. Pour over the rest of the dressing and toss again.

Can be prepared and refrigerated until ready to serve, no longer than 2 hours.

Serves 6-8.

Google Grain Salad

I picked up a new cookbook the other day, Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google. I read cookbooks like other people read novels. I devour them. I enjoy them. But I haven't gotten this excited about a cookbook in a long time.

So far, I've made two of the recipes I've earmarked. But there are many more pages with turned down corners to look forward to.

I'll have to post more later on why I'm so excited about this cookbook. It rocks! But for now, here's a recipe to introduce you to it. This recipe represents the book well. It's healthy, it keeps you going, it has ingredients you're familiar with but probably don't use that often, and they are combined in a really novel and delicious way. See what you think.

The recipe as written calls for wheat berries, kamut grains, millet grains and farro grains. After looking at two different granola-type markets, I could only find the millet and wheat berries. So I used those and combined them with a rice blend I found recently at the Japanese market. It has 6 different kinds of wild rice. The cooking times were all the same, so it worked.

This is a great autumn or holiday salad. It's pretty enough for your Thanksgiving table and would go well as a side with any roasted meats. The candied ginger and cinnamon give it warmth while the kale makes it healthy and tasty. It's rounded out with white balsamic vinegar, but rice wine vinegar or champagne vinegar would work too.

One note, I don't know if the rice plumped up more than the all grain mixture would have, but my version ended up needing more of the flavors to balance out all the rice and grains. So I doubled the ginger, cranberries, and dressing (including cinnamon). Try it and see what you think. It's easy to toss in more of whatever you like most as you assemble the salad. The amounts I'm using here are the way I made it. Cut them back down, if you like.

Also, I was pleasantly surprised by how filling this is. A small bowl powered me through an afternoon and evening right past dinner. This one's going into our fall favorites rotation.

Google Grain Salad

1 cup wheat berries
1/2 cup kamut grains
1/4 cup millet grains
1/4 cup farro grains

or

1 cup wheat berries
1/4 cup millet grains
3/4 cup wild rice blend

added to:

1 head dinosaur kale, coarsely shredded
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
4 tablespoons chopped candied ginger, sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper

Put a medium-large saucepan of water on to boil. Drop in the grains/rice and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. During the last 2 minutes of cooking, drop the kale into the pot to blanch it. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool. Drain again.

Pour the drained rice/grains into a large serving bowl. Stir in the almonds, ginger, and cranberries.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, and cinnamon. Pour over the salad and toss together. Season with salt and pepper as you like. Serve room temperature.

Serves 4

Adapted from Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google.

Thai Noodle Salad with Shrimp and Pork

In my recent post about the opening of Thai Fresh, I promised a recipe that I learned in one of Jam's classes that has become a favorite in our house. It's fast, easy, has those big, bright Thai flavors we love, but is also very comforting. It's a noodle dish made with shrimp and pork on bean thread noodles, sometimes called glass noodles.

Bean thread noodles are made from mung beans. They are flavorless alone, but will take on any flavors you add to them. Since they aren't made with wheat, they're great for folks who eat gluten-free. I love their translucence and slippery texture.

This is a light dish. We've sometimes added a few red bell peppers strips and carrots strips to make a light meal of it. But it's also great served as part of a Thai dinner with some soup and spring rolls.

Note: Jam suggested you could substitute tofu and mushrooms for the pork and shrimp and make this a veggie dish. Also, we throw in the shallots with the meat to gentle them a bit. You can toss them in raw, if you want a little sharper flavor and more crunch.

Thai Noodle Salad with Shrimp and Pork

noodles:
4 tablespoons canola oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and minced plus
4 medium - large whole shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce
one package bean thread noodles (approximately 14 ounces)
one bunch cilantro, chopped with stems, one handful set aside for garnish
2-4 shallots, sliced

dressing:
3 Thai chiles
6 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons palm sugar
1 cup lime juice
1/2 cup fish sauce or soy sauce

First, soak the noodles for 30 minutes in a large bowl of warm water. While the noodles are soaking, put on a pot of water large enough to hold the noodles. Boil the noodles for 1 minute (after soaking). Strain and then rinse with cold water to cool. Set aside. (Jam taught us that soaking and then briefly boiling the noodles gives them the correct texture.)

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan, add the garlic and sauté until golden and fragrant. Add the shallots, pork, minced shrimp and whole shrimp and cook through, about 2-3 minutes. Add soy sauce to taste. Set aside the whole shrimp.

Put the cooled and drained noodles into a large bowl. Add the meat and cilantro and toss together.

In a small food processor (or mortar and pestle, if you're feeling hands on), whiz (or pound) together the dressing ingredients.

Add the dressing to the noodle mixture in small increments while tasting to get it just where you want it. You may not need all of the dressing. See how you like it.

Top each serving with a whole shrimp and some cilantro.

Serves 4.

Adapted from Jam Sanitchat. Check out her Thai cooking classes at Thai Fresh.

Fregula

Ever tried fregula? It's another variation on couscous – a toasted semolina pasta from Sardinia. I was interested in finding out if the toasting really made an impact on its flavor, and it does. It has a nutty quality that gives it a nice depth, especially in combination with roasted veggies and nuts.

I caught Efisio Farris, author of Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey, the Mediterranean Flavors of Sardinia, on Martha recently. He made a recipe from his book using fregula. I bookmarked his web site to consider ordering some, but then ran across it at Central Market. At around $8/pound, it's a little pricey, but we really enjoyed the flavor. So try it sometime for a special treat.

I paired it here with some roasted zucchini, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts and goat cheese. We eat zucchini all the time. It's incredibly versatile. But it can be a bit watery sometimes. I learned a little trick recently that I'll share. Slice the zucchini, then salt it liberally and let sit in a colander for 15-30 minutes. The salt will sweat the excess liquid right out. Give them a quick rinse and then you can roast them without them becoming steamy mush. Makes them much more flavorful too. You get more zucchini flavor and less juice.

This is a really loose recipe. You could make it any way you like and with as much or as little or any particular ingredient, depending on how many you'd like to serve.




Fregula Salad

fregula
zucchini, sliced at an angle
salt
cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
pine nuts, toasted
goat cheese, crumbled
basil, cut into slivers
zest of one lemon (organic)
olive oil

After you've sliced your zucchini, place it in a colander and sprinkle all over with salt. Let sit in the colander in the sink for at least 15 minutes. Lightly rinse off the salt and let drain.

Roast the zucchini in a 400 degree oven on an oiled sheet pan until it starts to color and becomes lightly browned along the edges. (I did this in the toaster oven to avoid heating up the whole kitchen.) Watch it closely, it only takes a few minutes.

While the zucchini is roasting, put water on to boil for the fregula. You can use equal parts water and fregula. Boil the fregula for 12-15 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water to cool and drain again.

Pour the cooled fregula in a large serving bowl. Add olive oil, lemon zest and salt and pepper. Toss together. Then add the roasted zucchini, tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, crumbles of goat cheese, slivered basil and toss together.


Want more? Farris has more recipes on his web site like this one for fregula with asparagus and gorgonzola.

Israeli Couscous Salad

Lest you think we've just been eating ice cream around here, here's a little something more savory with shiny green veggies in it.

I clipped this recipe from Everyday Food magazine (a Martha publication) recently. I have to admit, I clipped it for my food styling inspiration file, not my recipe file. But then I seriously looked at the recipe and got seduced by the combination of flavors: green beans, feta, cucumber, pistachios, and golden raisins on a bed of Israeli couscous. Wrap your head around that one. Cool, a little crunchy, a little sweet, a little salty. And with big fat Israeli couscous.

Do you know about Israeli couscous? Most people think couscous are a grain. They look like a grain. But are actually a kind of pasta. Israeli couscous are larger than regular or Moroccan couscous, about the size of peppercorns. If your kids are into bubble tea, these are their perfect savory counterpart. Bubble pasta.

The Everyday Food recipe called for a red wine vinegar dressing. I tried that but it seemed really sharp to me. Admittedly, I'm not a big red wine vinegar fan. It seemed to separate the ingredients instead of bringing them together. So I experimented with a dressing of brown rice vinegar (you might sub rice wine or champagne vinegar, if you don't have brown rice vinegar) and agave with a little olive oil. The agave brought out the sweetness of the golden raisins and the softer tang of the brown rice vinegar had all those ingredients rounded up, holding hands and singing together in no time.

The recipe also calls for English cucumbers. Sometimes you'll also see "hothouse" cucumbers. They are thinner-skinned, usually smaller and skinnier than those fat daddies you see in the summer, have fewer seeds and are milder. I like them because you don't have to peel them. They're easier and and more gently flavored.

This is cool, refreshing and unexpected. Makes a great lunch or picnic food too. The kind of thing you'd want to eat at the beach. And it's pretty. Did I mention that?


Israeli Couscous Salad

1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous
1/2 pound - 3/4 pound green beans, ends trimmed off, cut into bite-size pieces
1 English or hothouse cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced into bite-size pieces
1 cup (4 ounces) feta, crumbled
1 cup pistachios, toasted
2/3 cup golden raisins
4 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1 tablespoon agave syrup (or to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Cook the couscous in a large pot of boiling water for about 4 minutes.

While you're waiting on this, combine the brown rice vinegar, agave and olive oil in a small bowl and whisk together. Add a shot of salt and pepper and whisk again. Set aside.

After the couscous have been boiling for 4 minutes, add the green beans and cook another 2 minutes until the green beans are tender but still crisp. Drain into a colander and rinse with cold water to cool.

In a large bowl, pour your cooled and drained green beans and couscous.

Add the cucumber chunks, feta, pistachios and raisins. Toss together. Add your dressing and toss again. Taste it. Adjust with another shot of vinegar, agave, salt or pepper to your liking.

Serves 4.

Adapted from Everyday Food magazine.

Fresh Corn Salad with Tomatoes and Basil

This is another fast, easy, taste-of-summer kind of salad. And best of all, it requires no cooking. We've been making it for years in all kinds of variations and it's always good. It's a great side with grilled foods or you can make it dinner by adding some grilled chicken chunks right into the salad.

I have to confess, I started making this salad because it was so easy and blessedly, in this Texas summer heat, required no cooking whatsoever. But now I've grown to prefer the corn raw in its sweet, cool, crunchy natural form. You could certainly make it with roasted, grilled or steamed corn too.

The original recipe calls for arugula. We eat a lot of arugula so I've taken to making it this way without the greens, but do as you like. I sometimes top it with arugula sprouts instead. It's great with any kind of cherry tomatoes, but we like to use our Sun Golds fresh out of the garden as well as some little red cherry tomatoes. The color variation is nice.

The champagne vinegar may be an exotic ingredient to some. It's worth seeking out. It's not expensive and adds a much lighter, softer acid balance that's really nice with the sweetness of the corn. Once you have it, you'll find yourself wanting to use it in all kinds of dressings.





Fresh Corn Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1 medium-sized shallot, minced
salt and pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
6-8 large ears fresh corn, shucked
4 handfuls of baby arugula (or one handful arugula sprouts), optional
3 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 bunch basil

Make the dressing: combine the vinegar, shallots and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Whisk together. Add olive oil and whisk again. Set aside.

Cut the kernels from the corn. Place end of corn cob in a deep bowl and shave the kernels off with a very sharp knife. The deep bowl should catch the flyaway kernels.

Add the tomatoes and arugula (if using) to the corn kernels. Toss together to combine. Whisk the dressing again and then sprinkle over the top of the salad. Toss again. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Stack the basil leaves in piles of 5-8 leaves. Roll them up lengthwise and cut them into ribbons with a knife or kitchen shears. Toss into salad.

To fancy it up, sprinkle the top with arugula sprouts or organic nasturtiums.

Serves 6-8

Adapted from Food & Wine.

Want some more ideas for corn salads?
Here's an Italian variation from Michael Chiarello using a citrus vinaigrette and pecorino.

Here's a delicious looking one from Elise using grilled corn.

Grilled Peach Salad

This is my favorite peach salad recipe. It pairs grilled peaches with arugula, walnuts and Spanish cheese. Makes for a tantalizing, bright flavored summer salad.

You'll need fresh, ripe peaches, which we have thanks to a friend who brought us a basket from Stonewall. Thanks, D! And some tangy Spanish cheese, like Cabrales or Valdeon. Cabrales is a strong, spicy blue cheese made from cow, sheep and goat's milk. It is semi-soft and has a somewhat grainy, crumbly texture. It's for true blue cheese lovers. Valdeon is a rich, creamy cow and goat's milk blue cheese. It's milder than Cabrales and has fewer veins.

I've made this salad with both and prefer the Valdeon. It still has the little bit of bite and contrast that you want with the sweetness of the peaches, but isn't overwhelming.

I couldn't find any Valdeon this time, so I tried something new, Murcia Curado. It's a semi-hard Spanish goat cheese. It had a wonderful flavor, a little tangy, but still mild and buttery. I'd love to try it again with fruit. But with this salad, it wasn't quite strong enough. The salad seemed a little flat without the tang of the stronger cheese. Next time, I'll stick with the Valdeon or Cabrales.

One note, I'm usually not a big fan of walnuts because of their bitter skin. But if you toast them briefly and then crumble them, the skins will slide right off, like hazelnuts, but much easier. Without their skins, the bitterness is gone and they have a wonderful warm, nutty flavor which is great in this salad.

We had this as dinner with some roasted chicken. If you want to have it as a small salad, you could probably serve four instead of two.


Grilled Peach Salad

1/3 cup walnuts, toasted, crumbled and skins removed
6 freestone peaches, peeled (if not organic), halved and pitted
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar
salt and pepper
4 ounces arugula
2-3 ounces Spanish blue cheese (Cabrales or Valdeon), crumbled

Brush the peaches with one tablespoon olive oil and grill (fire grill or grill pan) for 2-3 minutes on each side. You want them slightly softened and lightly browned. Let cool and set aside. Cut into slices, if you have large peaches.

In a large bowl, combine sherry vinegar, two tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper. (Keep in mind, the cheese is salty.) Whisk together.

Add arugula to bowl and toss to coat evenly with dressing.

Divide arugula among serving plates. Top with peaches and walnuts. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Serves 2 generously.

Adapted from Food & Wine.

Panzanella

You know how some foods just represent? Whether it's an occasion, a family favorite, a holiday memory or just the season they come from...some dishes can become a touchstone. This panzanella represents summer to me. Hands down, it is my favorite summer dish. This is the one I wait for. I wait for the perfect tomatoes, the sweet little Sun Golds; the fat, ripe, Cherokee Purples. It's hard to wait, but it's worth it.

Last year, we were overrun with tomatoes in the garden. But this summer's early heat wave (we're already busting records for numbers of days over 100 and it's only June) seems to be slowing things down. Finally, at the Sunset Valley Farmers' Market, I spotted a few Cherokee Purples this weekend. I've been waiting to share the recipe with you until I knew they were out there.

I know, I know, everyone's freaking about tomatoes just now. I don't want to get on a rant here, so suffice it to say, stay away from the giant agribusiness supermarket and fast food tomatoes. Eat local from your farmers' market or your own backyard and you'll be fine. (Here's the fine print on the tomato situation from the FDA and locally, the Austin Chronicle.)

Of all the things I've made and shared with friends, this is probably the most talked about. "That salad" they sometimes say, since no one seems to remember the name. Panzanella is basically a way to use up stale bread. It can be made anytime with whatever is seasonal. But for me, it's all about the tomatoes. This is desert-island food. One of my top ten, have it on a desert island for the rest of your life kind of things.

The recipe I'm going to give you is very loose. It's just our version. Put in it whatever you like that sounds good. It's very flexible. There is only one law of summer panzanella...do not, I repeat, do NOT use anything other than fresh from the garden or farmers' market tomatoes. No supermarket slushy stand-ins. Don't bother with those. It's not worth your time. To be transcendent, you need the real thing. That's my only rule.

Here's how we make it, and as I said, folks seem to really like it this way. The quantities below are pretty loose. I measured the ingredients here for the first time just to give you a guideline. But it's the kind of thing I make by tossing things into a giant bowl and it always comes together.

One tip: use a serrated knife to cut the tomatoes to avoid bruising them.





Summer Tomato Panzanella

First, cut a loaf of ciabatta bread into chunks. Spread the chunks out on a cookie sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and toast in a 400 degree oven til lightly golden and crispy.

While the bread is toasting, cut up as many tomatoes as you can get your hands on, in as many colors and varieties as you can find: Cherokee Purples, Green Zebras, Sun Golds, Yellow Pear, Sweet 100s... Cut the large ones into bite-sized chunks and the little ones in half; be sure to get the juice into the bowl too. This is very important. Toss them all into the biggest bowl you have.

Using kitchen shears or just tearing in half with your hands, toss in as much baby arugula as you'd like. The peppery green it adds is really nice.

Chop yellow, orange and/or red bell peppers into chunks and toss 'em in the bowl.

Add 1/3 lb. Kalamata olives, pitted and cut in half.

Add 1/2 lb. fresh buffalo mozzarella, drained and cut into quarter size chunks.

Zest one organic lemon over the bowl. Then cut the lemon in half and juice half of it into the bowl. (The organic lemons I find are usually huge, so I only use half the juice. If yours are smaller, use all the juice, about 2-3 tablespoons.)

Drizzle in several good glugs of olive oil, about 4 tablespoons.

Next drizzle in some balsamic vinegar, about 3 tablespoons.

Sprinkle liberally with good sea salt and some fresh pepper.

Strip all the leaves off of a whole bunch of basil. Stack them 4-6 leaves at a time neatly on top of each other. Roll them up lengthwise, and the using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut them into ribbons over the bowl.

Toss it all together. Note, all the liquid will sink to the bottom, so stir that up in there too.

If you like, toast some (about 1/4 cup) pine nuts and set those aside to sprinkle on top for serving.

Plate it, fancy: toss a couple of handfuls of the toasted ciabatta cubes in the bottom of your individual bowls or plates. Place salad mixture on top. Sprinkle with pine nuts and arugula sprouts, if available.

Plate it, wolfish: toss all the toasted ciabatta cubes into the huge bowl with the salad. Toss together well, getting some of the bread down in there to soak up the tomato juices and dressing. This is what it's all about. Sprinkle the top with the pine nuts and some arugula sprouts. Grab some forks and dig in, straight out of the bowl. Granted, this isn't great for a dinner party. But when there's just two of us, we can sit down and polish off a huge bowl of this stuff. Feels good to gorge on produce.

Happy summer!


P.S. Want more ideas for panzanella?

101 Cookbooks has a beautiful spring version with asparagus and peas.

Michael Chiarello has several including this one for autumn with mushrooms and a breakfast version called panzanola.

Exotic Carrot Salad

There's been quite a lot of sugar around here lately, what with that yeast roll dough beckoning from the fridge to be made into all manner of sweet delights. So for a little balance, here's a savory dish that's a refreshing and tantalizing way to eat your vegetables.

The recipe comes from Padma Laksmi's Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet. I bookmarked this recipe early on to try, because it, like many of the recipes in this book, was just so intriguing. Wrap your head around this combination: carrots, balsamic, lime, orange oil, cilantro, sesame seeds, chiles, dried cranberries and za'atar. Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend made with oregano, thyme, sesame seeds and sumac. I was first introduced to it in a Nigella recipe for za'atar chicken on fatoush salad. Will make that one for you soon. You could make your own blend, or find it in Austin at Phoenicia. It adds another dimension of flavor to this recipe, but if you want to try it without it, I think you'll still be quite satisfied.

The other ingredient you'll probably have to go looking for is orange oil. Don't make this salad without it. It's the key ingredient. Look for the tiny orange oil bottles near the extracts at Central Market, Whole Foods, gourmet shops and online.

I love carrots, but don't usually make carrot-heavy dishes, because my husband, who will eat just about any crazy thing I want to try, hates carrots. But this was just so intriguing a combination, I had to try even if it meant eating it all myself. But get this, he liked it! Said he'd be happy to add it to the rotation of our favorites.

This would be a great side with roasted fish or chicken or added to an Indian or Middle Eastern feast. I think it would also be a great potluck dish. I'm always intimidated by potlucks. You just know you're going to bring the same thing as everyone else and there you all sit, looking at three bowls of tabbouli and four pasta salads. Nobody else will be bringing this one, but I bet they'll ask for the recipe after trying it. Give it a shot and see what you think.

Note: I saw some beautiful red carrots at the farmers' market. I used one pound of those and another pound of regular orange carrots. They're all orange inside and taste the same. I just couldn't pass up the chance to photograph those red beauties.




Exotic Carrot Salad

dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon pure orange oil

salad:
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks or shredded
2 1/2 cups cilantro leaves
1/4 cup white sesame seeds, toasted
2 green chiles, minced
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 teaspoon za'atar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

assembly:
Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a large salad bowl.

Add all the rest of the salad ingredients except the za'atar and salt. Toss together.

Sprinkle the top with za'atar and salt just before serving.

Refrigerate if not serving immediately. Best served same day or the dressing will start pickling the salad. (My husband liked it even better the next day when the carrots were softened by the pickling, but I liked it better fresh with a little more snap.)

Serves 6 or more generously.

Adapted from Padma Lakshmi's Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet.