the wonderful veggie salad!

We had several very warm days last week, not as humid as New England, but muggy enough to curl up with a book in air conditioned splendor inside.  That kind of weather keeps me far away from the oven, even with air conditioning - all I can think about are fresh fruits and salads.  So when the memory of my Veggie Salad popped up in my thoughts, I sliced, diced, and chopped willingly , ending up with a very large bowl to tuck in the fridge.

You can use up all those summer vegetables that are so fresh right now:  green cabbage, spinach, scallions, parsley, and juicy tomatoes, which is definitely a bonus.   Fill a bowl and it's lunch.  Add a heaping tablespoon to your hamburger bun and top with a hot grilled burger.  Layer over a smoked turkey sandwich, or serve as a side to fresh fish or lobster. I love the versatility of this salad for just about any meal - even breakfast.  I often add cottage cheese to the vegetable mixture, which adds a little more heft to the salad, especially if that's all you're having.

In the past, I've used the shredding cone for my KitchenAid mixer, but a part has gone missing, so I sliced everything by hand.  I wasn't able to slice it as thinly as I prefer, but it was delicious as always - I love the oregano dressing, so I made twice as much.


Veggie Salad


2 cups shredded or thinly sliced fresh green cabbage
2 cups de-stemmed thinly sliced large-leaf spinach
1-2 cups chopped tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes
6 scallions, sliced (both tops and bottoms)
4 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
1 cup cottage cheese (optional)

Place in a large bowl.


The dressing:
(you can easily double this if you like a lot of dressing)

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1-2 teaspoons dried oregano 
kosher salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste

Toss the salad well before serving.  This keeps well in the fridge in a covered container.

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One of my neighbors offered me some somewhat wild pears from a tree she has tucked in the corner of her yard - so many pears some of the branches have broken.  Not a clue what to make when they're ripe - right now they are very hard.  Ideas?

Happy After-Labor-Day!  

buttery cabbage slices

When I made supper one night for the grandchildren last winter, I was telling them about some bloggers calling these "cabbage steaks" and how ridiculous it sounded - to me a steak is a steak, right?  Wrong.  The kids and Anni were thrilled with that name, and kept asking for another "cabbage steak".  

I was just happy they loved these gently simmered cabbage slices, topped with a simple olive oil and melted butter sauce.  Quickly cooked green cabbage is sweet and fresh, but overcook it and it either dissolves or scents the air with a somewhat pungent aroma.

Directions:

Choose a very firm, fresh green cabbage, not too big.
If the outside leaves are ragged or yellowing, just remove them.
Using a large knife, cut the cabbage across into 3/4 inch circles.

In a large stainless steel skillet, heat an inch, inch and a half of water, just until it simmers.  Add a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter to the water, then use a spatula to move the slices into the skillet.

Sprinkle the cabbage slices with a little thyme and salt, cover, and cook until the cabbage is just tender when pierced with a fork - about 10 to 12 minutes.

Gently remove the cabbage to plates or a platter.  There are usually stray ribbons of cabbage that come apart from the slices - just put them into a serving dish and top with a little more butter/olive oil and thyme and toss.  Continue with the rest of the cabbage slices, adding more water if necessary.

Serve with a little extra melted butter/olive oil if desired (the kids actually were fine without any extra - but I love mine buttery:)

Chilly and damp here in New Hampshire - and everyone I talk to admits to turning on the heat for at least a half hour:)    Hope you all have a lovely week!

turkeyball soup with green cabbage and thyme

Now that we're starting to see the first fresh green cabbages at the farmer's markets, I thought this would be a good time to revist and update one of my most popular posts: turkeyball soup with fresh cabbage and thyme. Why it's been in the top ten recipes since I first published it in January of 2009, I have no idea, except it's a wonderful soup!

This is a modest update of the recipe. It's still a delightful herby broth with a little rice, thyme, parsley, and rosemary and tender meatballs of turkey - now with a little minced onion and mushroom. You can slice the fresh cabbage either thinly (bottom photo) or thicker (top). You can make huge meatballs, or little teeny ones, but the result will always be one delicious soup, perfect for the chilly evenings of September.

Makes 4 servings.

For the turkeyballs:

1 pound ground turkey

2 mushrooms, finely minced

1 T. olive oil

1 T. minced parsley

2 T. minced onion

1 1/2 t. thyme, fresh or dried

pinch kosher salt

Mix the ingredients well in a bowl, then form into small meatballs. Set aside.

For the soup:

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3 cups water

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 t. thyme

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 T. uncooked rice ( any kind)

half a green cabbage, cored and cut into thin or thick ribbons.

( about 3-4 handfuls of cabbage)

the turkey meatballs

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Heat the water, chicken broth, rice, and rosemary sprigs in a large saucepan. Turn the heat to medium low and add the thyme and cabbage. Simmer for five minutes, then carefully place the turkeyballs on top of the cabbage. Turn heat to low and cover. Cook for ten minutes, then take off heat and let sit, covered, for another 10 minutes.

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Uncover soup and gently stir, tasting to see if it needs more salt, pepper, or thyme.

Serve with a nice crusty sourdough bread and enjoy!

veggie salad with that burger, please

You see that island in the top photo? I've lived one town over from the town this is in, and never had any idea what it was used for. Fishermen, sure, but not so much for the night in a sleeping bag. I finally asked at the local store, and discovered it was used, quietly, for overnights by the younger crowd. I see them parking trucks along the highway, and lugging rowboats and canoes - and coolers.

I'm sure it's a beautiful place to get away to, and no doubt the grills and burgers come out at dark, as well as refreshments. Which gets me waxing poetic about Veggie Salad. I've mostly been eating it for years packed in a container for a brown bag lunch. But lately I've been doing the most delicious burger and veggie salad, or sauteed chicken with veggie salad ( said chicken is marinating as I write), with a nice crunchy slice of red onion. Oh my stars, is it good! Fish fry? Sure! I've changed the recipe a little in the last year, adding in even more veggies: spinach, cabbage, parsley, scallions, tomatoes, and celery. Six veggies! Hope you enjoy!

To make:

Using a shredding cone on the KitchenAid or slice thinly by hand:

3 cups fresh green cabbage

2 cups fresh spinach, destemmed

1 1/2 cups celery, washed and trimmed

Add:

1 or two large tomatoes, chopped

5 or 6 scallions, sliced thinly

5 tablespoons finely minced parsley

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Mix the vegetables in a large bowl . In a medium bowl mix:

5 T. olive oil

3 T. red wine vinegar ( or lemon juice)

1 t. dried oregano

kosher salt to taste

freshly cracked pepper to taste

Whisk well, and pour over salad, mixing in gently.

Store in fridge.

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What I'm reading:

A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas