gorgonzola and watermelon salad

This salad was a complete accident. I often combine gorgonzola and strawberries in a spinach salad, but when I pulled out the spinach it had gone icky overnight. Pulled out the green leaf lettuce and spied the chunk of seedless watermelon........the rest is history. Well, modest history.

I made a little more lemon and dill dressing, beefing up the lemon juice to counteract the sweetness of the watermelon, and added a few slivers of garlic. YUM!

Hope you enjoy this soon - it is delicious!

For each plate or bowl you will need:

a handful of clean, torn green leaf lettuce

1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola

1 cup seedless watermelon, cut in chunks ( not too small)

2 basil leaves, sliced thinly ( chiffonade)

2 T. lemon-dill dressing

Lemon-Dill dressing:

2 T. good olive oil

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1 T. herb vinegar

1 t. fresh or dried dill

1 garlic clove, cut in slivers

salt

freshly ground pepper

Mix well and keep in fridge, covered.

Assemble salad and drizzle with dressing. Serve and enjoy!

salade nicoise with smoked salmon for a hot day

Suddenly, our weather has gone from the 40's to the 80's - and I couldn't be happier! After sweeping the terrace and potting up the geraniums and a few herbs, I decided to celebrate summer with a Salade Nicoise - but made with smoked salmon instead of the usual tuna.

Salade Nicoise is such fun to compose - you basically check your vegetable drawer and go from there. I like a mixture of spears ( the potatoes and sugar snaps) and rounds ( the zucchini, a few olives, grape tomatoes) and the oval of the hard boiled egg. I also charred a few scallions, which sadly went limp and not crispy, but not a huge problem. You can obviously make this in any amount - this recipe was for two.

First, I made the lemon-herb dressing:

2 T. olive oil

1 t. herb vinegar

1 t. lemon juice, fresh

pinch dill ( I only had dried)

salt and freshly cracked pepper

one basil leaf, chiffonade ( sliced thinly)

1 red skinned potato, cut in wedges and parboiled til just barely tender.

1 hard boiled egg, peeled and halved

a handful of sugar snap peas, just barely cooked and popped into cold water and drained

a few grape tomatoes

one zucchini, sliced thickly, parboiled and drained

a few pitted olives

a few trimmed scallions ( green onions)

2 wedges lemon

several pieces of smoked salmon, rolled loosely

Place the potato wedges, the scallions, and the zucchini in a heat proof pan . Brush with a little dressing and place under broiler , cooking til they are just charring or browning.

Arrange either a large platter or individual bowls or plates with your salade makings, drizzle with dressing, and serve.

Dessert was just as easy - fresh strawberries drizzled with honey and sprinkled with mint!

Ah, summer.

Enjoy your day!

Featured on Photograzing!

veggie salad

Yesterday I made the first batch of veggie salad in ages . Now that the weather is a little warmer, I'll make this at least once a week. It's healthy, delicious, and versatile - I use it in omelets, stuffed into pita pockets with tuna or thinly sliced chicken, on pizzas. And it's easy to pack for picnics, as well.

I now use the little grape tomatoes thrown in, instead of diced fresh tomatoes, so people who don't like tomatoes can easily pick them out. I also make a variation with low fat cottage cheese, but I leave that out if the weather is really warm, or if I'm serving it to the non-dairy folk.

How to make:

2 cups thinly sliced or shredded fresh cabbage ( I use the Kitchenaid shredder cone)

2 cups thinly sliced, de-stemmed spinach

a handful or two of grape tomatoes, whole or halved

6 scallions, trimmed and sliced thinly

4 tablespoons or more finely chopped parsley

1 cup low fat cottage cheese ( optional)

The dressing:

I find sometimes I need to add a little more olive oil, or more vinegar after the salad is dressed - it depends on the cabbage, I think, which changes from batch to batch.

3 T. red wine or herbal vinegar

4. T. olive oil

1 t. oregano or basil

several turns of the peppermill

kosher or vegetable salt to taste

Toss gently and serve. This also packs well for brown-bag lunches. It should keep well for about 5 days, properly refrigerated.

Enjoy Mother Earth Day!

the last of the jam

I finally have a free day - a day to knock around, putter, garden, and finish at least a few of that long list of unfinished things "to do".

This morning I decided to simply have rolls and jam, so I made a batch of my favorite rolls, and rummaged around the back of the fridge for my jars of strawberry jam. Gasp! Could this be the very last tablespoon of the last pot of jam?

I opened it, inhaled its summer scent of fresh strawberries, and will now be counting the days until it is strawberry season here again. The jam is an English style, no pectin jam - somewhat soft and perfect for spreading over a butter-slathered roll or muffin. It's only cooked a short time, so it retains the perfume of fresh berries.

So I'll enjoy the last spoonful , and wait for the seasonal calendar to flip over to strawberry picking time - a little impatiently, but with eagerness.

spring tonic - bitter greens soup

As a longtime student of herbs, both culinary and medicinal, as soon as the snow melts and the herbs start peeping up, thoughts turn to the spring ritual of tonics and bitter greens. I usually make a thin soup of two or three kinds of bitter greens and puree it, pour it in a mug, and sit outside looking up at the sky and the trees. Pute contentment. You can FEEL your body waking up and shedding the heaviness of winter!

If you feel adventurous, you can snip your own dandelion greens, or new nettles ( wear gloves!) but I opted for a mix of fresh rapini and watercress, with a little parsley for detoxification. After a few sips, I thought a spoonful of my garlicy homemade herb cheese would add a little pizazz, so in it went. Just delicious!

To make the soup:

A homemade chicken stock is the best. Simmer some chicken thighs and legs along with a bay leaf or two and strain it. Reduce it down a little and proceed.

3 cups homemade chicken stock

salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

3 cups chopped rapini ( no stems)

3 cups chopped watercress ( stems ok)

1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley ( stems ok)

Bring the stock to a simmer and add the greens. Cook for ten minutes, then take off heat.

Using an immersion blender, puree soup. Pour into mugs or bowls and serve with a heaping soupspoonful of herb cheese, stirring it into the soup as you sip it.

Happy Spring!

dropkick scones: the easiest, best scone yet

Okay, so these were previously known as the quick "drop" scones, which soon became the Dropkick Scones. After fiddling around with a scone recipe for a friend, this morning it became that magical moment - a fast, easy, quick scone recipe that could have multiple variations, all delicious. You can throw it together, shove it in the hot oven, take a shower, and come back 25 minutes later to the perfect, buttermelting scone you've ever had, with hints of fresh lemon zest and nutmeg, plump with raisins, golden and lumpy, just right for a smear of unsalted butter and marmalade.

Here's how to do it:

Preheat oven to 375F.

Fit a baking sheet with foil or parchment.

6 T. cold butter, cut in small pieces

1/4 cup King Arthur whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

pinch nutmeg, or 8 scrapings from a whole nutmeg

1/4 t. freshly grated lemon zest

pinch salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup raisins

Place flours and cold butter pieces into a mixer bowl and mix until incorporated. It should look crumbly.

Add the nutmeg, baking powder, lemon zest and salt.

Mix well.

Pour in the buttermilk and raisins and mix until it just holds together.

Using a normal size ice cream scoop, scoop batter out onto the baking sheet. This should make 8 scones. Sprinkle with a little sugar, if desired.

Place in oven for 25 minutes - they should be golden and craggy looking.

Remove to cool on cooling rack.

Serve with soft, sweet butter and marmalade or jam, as you wish. Delicious alone, too.

These freeze well, if you have any left over!

You can add snipped apricots, figs, peaches, etc. instead of the raisins.

Enjoy!

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quick drop scones with lemon and nutmeg

This was a successful experiment for a friend who requested a drop scone . He didn't want any dried fruit, or anything too sweet, so I simply added a little nutmeg and lemon zest for a little interest. He wanted "nooks and crannies" for slowly melting butter and this scone certainly has them! Quick and easy, too.

To make:

Preheat oven to 375F.

Fit a cookie sheet with foil or parchment.

6 T. cold butter, cut into tiny cubes

1/4 cup whole wheat flour, King Arthur

1 1/2 cups King Arthur all purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

pinch fresh nutmeg

1/4 t. fresh grated lemon zest

pinch of salt

1 cup buttermilk

Place flours and cold butter pieces in a mixer bowl and mix until incorporated.

Add the baking powder, nutmeg, and lemon zest and salt.

Mix well.

Pour in the buttermilk and just mix until it holds together.

Take a large tablespoon and scoop a spoonful of dough onto the cookie sheet, continuing until dough is used up. This recipe makes 8 scones.

Sprinkle scones lightly with a little sugar.

Place in preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. They should brown very slightly.

Serve with soft butter and jams.

Enjoy!

Featured in TasteSpotting, where they love a little butter.