chunky feta and buttermilk salad dressing

Another little piece of paper discovered in my messy "letter box" - which should be called The Compost Heap at this point.  I rarely remember to go through it a piece of paper at a time, but when I do, I find little treasures like this hastily scribbled note for a creamy, chunky salad dressing.  

While I prefer it on crunchy romaine, if it's in the fridge I'll drizzle it on a baked potato, or snuck into an omelet (just a little), along with the grated cheddar - or use it on sandwiches and cold chicken slices.  I haven't compared it to ranch dressing ( which I like when I eat out ) because I never buy it, but it's similar in creaminess and flavor.  I'm always so pleased when I see the little container of this already made when I open the fridge door:)  I'm guessing it makes about a cup of dressing, since I've already eaten half of it at this point.


Chunky, creamy Buttermilk and Feta salad dressing:

1 small peeled garlic, pressed into bowl
1/4 teaspoon salt
ground pepper
4 tablespoons mayonaise 
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill, or 1 tablespoon dried
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup buttermilk (more if mixture is too thick)
3 tablespoons mashed or crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons sliced scallions

Assemble all your ingredients in a bowl, and mash with fork or potato masher to your desired consistency. If you don't have fresh buttermilk, you can make this homemade from Emeril.  Store in the fridge in a covered container.

Lots of walks around the St. Paul neighborhood - as a New Englander the autumn colors seem more muted here - but on the other hand, it doesn't seem as chilly as it might be in New Hampshire at this time of year - which in my mind is a good thing!  Happy October and apple picking time to you all!  And take a look at these fabulous Halloween costumes inspired by books!



A year ago:  Beet salad with oregano and lemon
Two years ago:  Dorie's custardy Apple cake
Three years ago:poached apricots with cardamom cream
Four years ago: The bison burger
Five years ago:  Green garden sauce - and roasted chicken,the end of summer.

Crunchy romaine salad with garlicky buttermilk, goat cheese and fresh dill dressing

I am trying - oh, am I trying!  I joined a dieting group in January, and making every effort to watch what I'm eating.  Today it was sleeting outside, sheets of ice and snow, and every inch of me wanted to slide over to making mashed potatoes, with lots of butter- after all, it's almost St. Patrick's Day, right?  But my commitment to my fellow sufferers held true, so I made this wonderful, fresh and crunchy salad instead.

The recipe is super simple - throw 11 ingredients in a blender, slice up some really fresh romaine, and there you go.

Here's how to make it:

1/2 clove peeled garlic, sliced 
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
4 tablespoons mayonnaise - I used Hellmann's olive oil mayo
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, stems removed
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh goat cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons sliced scallions

Puree the above ingredients, pour into a small pitcher.

Scoop handfuls of sliced romaine lettuce into a big salad bowl, sprinkle with a little more goat cheese, then drizzle with the dressing.  I like to serve this with a nice hunk of rosemary bread or a roll, but this time held back, thinking of my fellow dieters.  But honestly, I wouldn't mind cheating today, thanks to Mother Nature's winter weather - yet again!

chopped salad with garlicky buttermilk, goat cheese and fresh dill dressing

I am not sure how this dressing evolved, but I do know it's a winner.  When I made a going-away dinner for my daughter a week and a half ago, she asked if I wanted more salad, and then exchanged her plate for the salad bowl.  I've been known to spoon out a little dressing from the jar in the fridge a few times a day. But when a seven and a half year old boy yells "oh, this is so GOOD!" and has a second helping, I know this is a keeper.

It's an herby, creamy sauce with just a hint of garlic, which goes beautifully with a cold, crunchy lettuce like romaine or iceberg, and I'm thinking it would make a nice potato salad as well.  And as a sauce for roasted chicken, or spread on a roast beef sandwich.  At this point, I'm thinking it goes with pretty much anything, except fruit.

Garlicky buttermilk, goat cheese, and fresh dill salad dressing:


Place in blender (mine is an ancient one, but it still works):

1/2 clove peeled garlic, sliced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons mayonnaise  (I use Hellmann's olive oil mayo)
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh dill, stems removed, loosely packed
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh goat cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons sliced scallions

Puree and serve in a pitcher or small bowl.

Serve with a big bowl of chopped romaine lettuce and a fresh loaf of good bread for sopping up the dressing.  Store leftover dressing in the fridge in a glass jar.

How's Spring in your neck of the woods?  My sorrel is up, violets are blooming, the lilacs are budding, and my chives made it through the very cold winter.  The lemon balm also made it through, but lost the tarragon and thyme.  All the more reason to visit the local garden center!

juicy turkey burgers with salmoriglio sauce

I have had this scrap of paper taped to the side of the fridge for at least a year.  I think I was in a doctor's office when it caught my eye in one of the magazines in the waiting room.  You'd be proud of me - I did NOT slide the magazine into my bag, but I neglected to write down where it was from.  This recipe seems to come close when I googled it today.  It's really a sauce for fish, but as I was cooking up fresh ground turkey burgers this morning, it flashed into my sleepy morning brain that a sauce of fresh parsley, a little garlic, lemon zest and juice, and oregano just might be the perfect topping for those somewhat bland but juicy burgers.  And oh, so it was.

I usually would stir everything together in a big bowl, as I do for turkey meatballs, but this time I spooned the pan juices over the burgers, then added a teaspoon of the salmoriglio sauce on top.  It is a very bright but pungent sauce, so a teaspoon seemed just right.  I can see this sauce in so many other dishes besides fish and turkey:  pasta for sure, whether hot or cold pasta salads or sides.  It's perfect with avocado, ramping up the buttery avocado with a little excitement.  How about stuffed broiled mushrooms?  Absolutely.  And a spoonful stirred in to any number of soups would had a zing.   I know the name is somewhat of a mouthful, but I haven't found any Italian to English translation, so we're stuck with it.


Salmoriglio Sauce

1 fat clove of garlic, peeled
about 1 cup roughly chopped Italian parsley, not packed down

2 heaping teaspoons grated lemon zest
a few pinches of kosher salt
freshly cracked pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano ( I had no fresh)
3 tablespoons good olive oil

Place the garlic and parsley in a food processor and whizz until fairly fine.
Stop the processor and add in the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and oregano .  Process briefly and scrape into a bowl, then drizzle on the olive oil and stir.

Taste test to see if it needs more salt, then use sparingly in desired dishes - a little goes a long way.  If you plan to use this on fish or meats, chicken or turkey, just use your clean fingers to coat before baking.


Spring is coming here in New Hampshire- I planted my Italian parsley seedlings yesterday!

Poached salmon with an herby Bercy sauce

Spring is here!  Most of the snow has melted, except for random patches here and there, the brook is racing (but not flooding), and the daffodils are showing buds.

And there was salmon at our local market.  I suddenly thought of a sauce I used to make when I worked in a restaurant long ago, which then became modified over the years:  rice vinegar instead of wine, since I rarely have wine around,  tarragon (no, you don't have to use it if you loathe it), and a creamy shallot and butter sauce to spoon over the poached salmon.  So it's not officially a Bercy sauce, but close enough to be cousins.

And how good?  The salmon was gone in a flash, the new potatoes and wilted spinach took perhaps ten minutes more .

Bercy sauce:

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup rice vinegar or a mild dill or tarragon vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
2 tablespoons roughly chopped Italian parsley
2 pinches kosher salt - about 1/4 teaspoon

Simmer the shallots, lemon juice,  and herbs in the vinegar until the liquid is reduced by half.

Stir in:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Keep stirring over moderate heat until the sauce is creamy and somewhat thick.
Remove from heat.

Poached salmon:

A ten inch stainless steel skillet and lid
1-2 pounds of salmon , mine were medium thickness, with the skin on

Place the salmon in the skillet and pour in enough water to come halfway up the sides of the salmon.

Place on moderate heat until water starts simmering, turn down heat and cover .
Poach for about ten minutes, remove from heat.

Use a spatula to remove individual servings to plates, then top with the sauce and serve. 

My dearest grandchildren are settling in to their new home in Minneapolis,  and there's a great silence and void around here - though yesterday I was able to Skype them , thanks to my computer-literate daughter.  What fun!    I even got a little tour of Izzie, Frankie and Noah's room, and watched them bounce on the beds.

Happy Spring!

asparagus with lemon emulsion sauce on a rainy day

Rain, rain, rain.  Days and days of rain tend toward gloom.  The roses rust and droop, and the newly planted vegetable starts refuse to grow beyond their 2 inch plugs.  One day, the sun came out, and as I checked on my pots of herbs, a tiny slender baby snake slithered away.  Of course I screeched, I always do:)

I ended up grabbing a bundle of fresh asparagus at the last minute one day at the market - it was crispy and green and reminded me, yes - it really is Spring.  I usually cook asparagus quickly, then dip in melted butter with a squeeze of fresh lemon.  And I always end up with a stubborn stain on my shirt.  I suddenly remembered a sauce I used to make - ( aioli) - but it was rather heavily scented with raw garlic, so I experimented with a milder version, sans the garlic.  Sweet!

I sliced the asparagus on the diagonal, then quickly blanched it in boiling water, then drained it.    As it was cooling, I made the lemon emulsion, and drizzled it on the asparagus, then served, to some very appreciative and hungry guests:  my family!  Even Frankie the two year old ate it, and that's saying something!  I served vermicelli on the side, along with some parmesan, with fresh blueberries and strawberries I marinated in orange juice.

For the asparagus:

Trim the ends off the asparagus spears.
Cut on the slant in 2 inch pieces, set aside.
Bring water to boil in a pot, when boiling, toss in the asparagus until just barely tender, strain, and set aside to cool.

For the lemon emulsion sauce:

1 large egg yolk from a fresh farm egg
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
pinch of sea salt or to taste
a pea sized bit of dijon mustard (more would overpower the sauce)
1/2 cup mild olive oil ( not virgin or extra virgin)

Whisk the egg yolk, then add the lemon juice.
Add the salt and scrape into a food processor.
Drop in the dijon, and whiz.
Add the olive oil, a teaspoon at a time, with the machine going.  
As you add the oil, the sauce will come together in a glossy, creamy emulsion.  Do not be tempted to add the oil all at once, or the sauce will fail.

Drizzle on the asparagus and serve.

Fresh strawberry and rhubarb stir-in sauce

Oh, the pink of Spring!  Right now the pale pink magnolia trees are blooming, the hot pink azaleas, the rainbows of tulips,  and the rhubarb plants range from pale green stalks to rich, ruby red under the umbrellas of dark green leaves.

For a long time, I didn't eat rhubarb.  When I went to an organic farm school in Lake Placid as a boarder in 7th and 8th grades, rhubarb was on the menu endlessly.  When you grow your own food in a cold climate, you make use of what thrives, and that meant rhubarb.  Just cooked with a little honey, it was tart and tasty - for a while.  But it appeared as dessert and breakfast over and over.  And over.

So I avoided rhubarb for a long time, until recently.  The first fresh fruit in May is hard to not take advantage of!  But I no longer make it only rhubarb, but temper it with the sweetness of strawberries, no yet ready here, so I buy them from the store.  

Barely simmered with a little water, delicious local honey, and a spoonful of minced fresh ginger, it makes a wonderful topping for my Greek yogurt in the morning.  Roasted chicken with a dipping side of sauce for lunch.  Goat cheese on thick bread with a spoonful of this jam is a treat in the afternoon.  And rhubarb sauce on ice cream rounds out dessert.


Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce

First, wash the rhubarb and cut off the large leaves.  The leaves are toxic, so I usually toss them in the trash.  Slice into 1 to 2 inch pieces.  Trim and slice the strawberries into quarters.  Peel the ginger and mince.

2 1/2 cups sliced rhubarb
1 1/2 cups quartered strawberries
1/4 to 1/3 cup water 
3 heaping tablespoons local honey or more to taste
2 teaspoons minced, peeled fresh ginger
pinch of sea salt

Place all into a saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Stir until the rhubarb falls apart , usually about 7-10 minutes.  Take care not to scorch the fruit - some fruits are juicier than others.  If it looks dry, just add a little more water.  Set aside to cool.  Store in fridge.  This makes about 3+ cups of Springalicious sauce.

A year ago:  chilled chive and parsnip soup

roasted chicken with green garden sauce: the end of summer

Tonight the chill at 5 o'clock was obvious - summer is over, and fall is creeping in.  The last few nights have been brisk enough to start a fire in the woodstove . Instead of vibrant ( and what I call "transcendental") brilliant orange and red leaves, we have seen only the slow yellow fading of the summer greening.   The brisk weather inspired me to roast a little chicken, but instead of the tarragon chicken I usually make, I thought of my friend from Red Maple Farm, who makes a glorious adieu to her garden with a zesty, green sauce of everything from tomatillos to pinched leaves of chard and the last cucumbers.  Though lacking tomatillos, the sauce I made from bits of this, and leaves of that, I was able to come up with something that shouted a last goodbye to the garden.

First, you need a small chicken. Preheat oven to 400F. Rinse the chicken, pat it dry, then smear with unsalted butter and drizzle a little olive oil over, and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.  Squeeze a lemon all over the chicken, including the inside cavity, then put the squeezed lemon inside the chicken.  Roast for an 1/2 hour, then turn heat down to 350F.  Roast for an hour to an hour and a half, or until the legs move easily when jiggled - it depends on the size of the chicken and the temperature when it was put in the oven.

For the green sauce:

Take a stroll through your garden or herb garden ( or your fridge!) gathering mild greens in a basket.  Avoid strong-tasting herbs, as this is a mild, fresh-tasting sauce.  Avoid basil, sage, more than a pinch of oregano, garlic.

I used:

 1 cucumber, washed and partly peeled, cut up

a handful of arugula

a handful of green tomatoes

a small handful of onion/scallion tops

a handful of parsley, both Italian and frilly

a few stems and leaves of green chard

a few chives, snipped

a small handful of nasturtium leaves

sea salt and pepper

a few drizzles of olive oil

Oh how I wish I had bought some tomatillos!  They are amazing !  Tangy, spicy, delicious.  And sorry to to have forgotten to bring home some radish leaves, which are amazingly tasty in sauces, like this, or green smoothies.

Place in food processor and coarsely puree.  Taste, and correct seasonings- it usually needs more salt.  Serve on top of sliced roasted chicken, along with the last tomatoes and some fingerling potatoes.

Enjoy!

sunday pancakes with fresh blueberry sauce

For a summer with very little rain, I'm surprised that the blueberries are so bountiful!  With days running into the 90's and up, I have very little desire to hike up the mountains and even over to the pick-your-own fields of blueberries, but how can I resist the green boxes of fresh-pick at the farmer's market?  The boxes multiply in the fridge, until I finally made my favorite blueberry sauce - good not only on buttermilk pancakes, but just as tasty in my morning yogurt.


For the sauce:


1 pint fresh blueberries
1 T. fresh lemon juice
2 T. sugar
pinch of cinnamon
3 T. fresh orange juice
pinch of salt


Place the blueberries in a small saucepan set on medium-low.  Add the lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and orange juice and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until it thickens slightly.  Remove from heat and use immediately on hot pancakes, or cover and save in your fridge as a yogurt topping.
For the buttermilk pancakes:


1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup all purpose flour
3 T. melted butter or canola, coconut oil, or light olive oil
pinch of kosher salt
3 T. sugar
pinch of nutmeg
2 t. baking powder
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk, melted butter or oil, salt, sugar, nutmeg, and baking powder and flour.
The mixture will puff up - simply whisk again until it becomes more liquid.
Pour a tablespoon or two of oil or butter into a skillet, heat until melted.
Adjust heat to medium-low.


Either pour or use an ice cream scoop to scoop batter into skillet.  Let cook until you see bubbles on the sides of the pancake, then flip and cook another 4 minutes.  Remove to a plate, and repeat.


When all the batter is used up, place the plate of pancakes on the table and serve with the warm blueberry sauce and a bowl of fresh watermelon chunks or?  Personally, I think whipped cream is a little over the top, but if it appeals to you, I say go for it!


Happy August!

composed salads: salade parisienne

Today is beautiful - warm and summery with a slight breeze, so what better way to announce lunch on the terrace than this composed salad?

Composed salads ( or plated salads) are usually served chilled, or at room temperature, with small amounts of varied , swiftly blanched vegetables, a hard boiled egg, some fish, chicken, or meats, a few olives, and a few slices of tomatoes or new radishes. A vinaigrette ( in this case, dijon mustard) is drizzled on the chicken or fish or beef, and the vegetables are gently tossed in a tiny amount of the vinaigrette before serving. It's a perfect way to use up your odds and ends in the fridge, and it's a delight to those of us who are grazers - lots of choices, not too many carbs, and an unhurried meal.

*

Sauce Moutarde: Dijon mustard vinaigrette

2 T. dijon mustard

boiling water

1/3 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2 t. fresh lemon juice

1/2 t. minced fresh herbs ( I used tarragon)

Spoon the mustard into a small bowl and add the hot water in droplets slowly, whisking all the while .

Whisk in the olive oil the same way - by droplets, whisking well after each addition until it thickens and emulsifies. In the photo above, I've just added the olive oil and am about to whisk it in.

Whisk in the salt and pepper, the lemon juice, and the minced herbs.

Use a tiny amount to just barely coat cooked vegetables , or dribble a little on top of cold meats or fish.

Cover the leftover sauce and keep in the fridge.

Plate suggestions:

baby potatoes, cooked until just tender and sliced

fresh radishes

cornichon pickles

just tender green beans, cooked and quickly dipped in cold water

hard boiled eggs

olives

diced or sliced tomatoes, whole, if using cherry tomatoes

leftover salmon or chicken

tuna chunks

brocolli sprigs, cooked til barely tender, then dipped into cold water

zucchini spears or rounds, barely cooked, or zucchini ribbons, uncooked

After cooking or blanching, place a small amount of the vinaigrette in a bowl and lightly coat the vegetables you're using before plating.

Arrange the vegetables in a pleasing way around the plate and serve with a little bowl of the sauce.

Enjoy your day!

olive oil and garlic "mayonnaise" and a revelation

First, I'll tell you about my revelation. I was dithering around wondering what to make for a brunch, and suddenly remembered several blog posts that, taken together, composed a perfect meal for the day. I thought bread, and remembered Nick's focaccia, I thought dessert, and knew the coconut chocolate pudding was perfect - and once again, I made the California chicken salad, since the day was sunny and warm. Isn't it amazing how helpful a food blog can be? You might have noticed I've tried to be a little more organized re: recipes. I'd love feedback if it's helpful ( or not).

~

Speaking of blogs, I saved a post from food52 several months ago because it sounded so intriguing - they called it "milk mayonnaise", via Portugal and Brazil. Since there is very little milk, but quite a bit more canola and olive oil, I changed the name. It's a wonderful condiment that can be spread for sandwiches, or used as a dip for appetizers. As a sauce for steak and asparagus, half a spoonful in a veggie omelet - well, you get the picture. And the best part is you make it in a 2 cup glass measuring cup using only an immersion blender. And did I mention there's no eggs at all in it? Is that win-win or what?

~

You will need:

1/3 cup very cold whole milk

1 t. fresh lemon juice

1 large garlic clove, pressed

white or black pepper and a little kosher salt

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup plain olive oil ( NOT extra virgin - it makes it bitter)

Measure the olive and canola oil into a small bowl.

Place the milk, lemon juice, garlic, and pepper in a 2 cup glass measuring cup.

Using the handheld blender, blend on high until frothy. With the blender going full speed, spoon the oil, teaspoon by teaspoon, into the milk mixture. Continue until the mixture emulsifies into a thick , soft mayonnaise-looking mixture. All three times I made this , it firmed up at the very end of the recipe.

I also tried adding chopped fresh herbs in the beginning, and while it tasted good, and was a cheerful pale green color, it was somewhat thinner. I used it on cold chicken and arugula salad and it was terrific, though.

If you notice a little separation, just twirl a spoon into the "mayonnaise" and stir.

Keep chilled in fridge for up to a week.

Voila! the perfect condiment, just in time for summer!

~

What I'm reading:

The Places that Scare You by the Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron

~

You might also check out the zesty citrus marinade for grilled chicken!

roast chicken with tarragon sauce (creme a l'estragon)

I was amazed last week when my son asked for this recipe. It's always been one of those quick quasi-fancy classic dishes - but I had no idea he loved it that much.

It's gloomy , rainy, and foggy outside - the perfect day to roast a chicken, don't you think? The sauce takes about three minutes to make, so it isn't difficult - as long as you remember to buy heavy cream and tarragon.

To roast the chicken:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Take any size chicken ( this one was 3 lbs), and rinse it off. Pat it dry with a paper towel. Place it in a roasting pan and squeeze a half a lemon over it, then place the lemon inside the cavity of the chicken. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken, and a few tiny pieces of unsalted butter. Sprinkle the inside of the chicken with a teaspoon of dried tarragon.

Place in oven and reduce oven temperature to 350F.

Roast about an hour, or until chicken is browned and the juices run clear when you tip the pan. Jiggle the leg - if it jiggles freely, it is done. If it seems stiff, roast it another 20 minutes and try again.

To make the sauce:

Pour the juices from the chicken into a skillet. Using a spoon, remove as much of the fat as you can. A little is fine, but too much makes for an oily sauce.

Heat the juices until they're simmering, then add several tablespoons of heavy cream, whisking the juices and the cream together. Add another teaspoon of dried tarragon, whisk again, and taste carefully. Add salt, pepper, and more tarragon if wished.

Either serve pieces of chicken, or slices of chicken bathed in the sauce.

Obviously, the amount of sauce depends on the amount of juices - so if you have a larger chicken, it will take longer to cook, and require more cream and tarragon.

So there you go - a classic French sauce creme a l'estragon!

photo featured in photograzing : http://photograzing.seriouseats.com/2008/11/roast-chicken-with-tarragon-sauce-sauce-creme.html

And featured on Saveur online 9 November, 2009!

fast food - falafel with cucumber-dill dipping sauce

What has happened to time? I feel no sooner do I get up than I'm looking at the plants in twilight, snipping a bouquet to put beside my bed.

Yesterday and today have been especially busy, and when I finally remembered to make dinner, it was hot, humid, and there was no salmon. I had forgotten to buy it. My supermarket closed down a month ago, so I now have to travel 30 miles each way to shop - putting a dent into my usual "swing by the Stop and Shop" detour on the way home. But there are good things about this new supermarket, because it is much bigger and has more choices. And one of them was rediscovering falafel.

Falafel is a chickpea flour mixture, nicely spiced, that comes in a box. ( I buy one from Fantastic Foods, in the trendy organic and natural supermarket aisle - this is a Shaw's, btw.) It is an ancient, ancient fast food, dating back to the building of the pyramids , amazingly. You open the box, cut open the bag of dried peas and spices, cover it with boiling water - and voila! Falafel. I add chopped parsley, and my neighbor, who lived in the Middle East, adds the mix to ground chicken and turkey instead of bread crumbs - the spices liven up the poultry in a way panko crumbs do not. Best of all? It's vegan, low fat, zero saturated or transfat, high in fiber - and did I say delicious?

I serve it with a cucumber-dill dipping sauce, or as pictured above, with a dollop of sauce on top of each tiny disc of sauteed falafel. I make them small - about 1 1/2 inches, which I saute in canola or olive oil briefly, but you can make them hamburger size, or shaped into balls. The sauce is the same one I use for poached salmon, so it's ever useful.

Cucumber-Dill Sauce:

2 cucumbers, peeled and cut into chunks

Puree the cucumbers in a food processor. Set a fine sieve on top of a bowl and pour the pureed cucumber into the sieve. Drain well, reserving the cucumber juice. ( I serve the cucumber juice in shotglasses, with 3 drops of hot sauce - but chill it well)

Add 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt and mix well.

Add 4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Serve on top of the falafel discs, or on the side in a dipping glass .

on shallots - beurre bercy

I woke up to a sunny and cold morning here in New Hampshire. The delight of the pink tulips I got yesterday led me to longing for the opening of the Farmer's Market in Keene. From April to October, I shopped there twice a week, and the rhythm of those Tuesdays and Saturdays still sticks in my mind. I hope you will search out your local CSA's and Farmer's Markets and make it a habit to shop there. It's such a joy to get to know the growers, and see the subtle shifting of the seasons through the market vegetables and fruits - and flowers.

My favorite use for shallots is a beurre bercy - used on top of fish or chicken or steak, or stuffed into mushroom caps and broiled. Just a tablespoon transforms whatever it is you're serving - yum! - it is that good!

sauce bercy:

In a small pot, place about 2 cloves of crushed garlic, about 2 T. minced shallots, 1/2 t. chervil, and 1 T. minced parsley. Add dry vermouth to the mix and simmer until no liquid is left. Add salt, freshly cracked pepper, and thyme ( substitute tarragon if you're serving fish) and stir. Take off heat and , tablespoon by tablespoon, add room temperature unsalted butter until it melts into the sauce. I usually use about 6 tablespoons of butter to get the right consistancy.

Serve with meats, chicken, fish , or mushrooms - or as a sandwich spread for a wicked tangy treat.