Vegetarian Dolmas: Grape Leaves Stuffed with Spiced Lentils and Rice

Wrapped and rolled foods are the ultimate kids-in-the-kitchen activity. After preparing all of the components, allow kids to help combine the filling. Then enlist their support to do all of the wrapping and rolling. After a brief demonstration, some coaching and practice, you can probably even walk away and allow your little one to complete the job.  Share this instructional video provided by 6-year-old Emory with your child.

Vegetarian Dolmas: Grape Leaves Stuffed with Spiced Lentils and Rice

Dolmas or stuffed grape leaves are often made with a combination of gently spiced ground lamb and rice. We make a savory and satisfying plant-based version using french lentils. I also choose brown basmati rice for additional fiber, nutrients and texture. Omit the honey entirely or substitute agave nectar to make this recipe suitable for vegans.

Yield: approximately 3 dozen

I generally use jarred grape leaves. They work just fine but, of course, if you are on the west coast or are fortunate enough to have access to fresh grape leaves when they are in season, use them. Just soak fresh leaves in hot water while you prepare the filling.

What you need:

Grape leaves:

• ½ pound fresh grape leaves, soaked in hot water or 1 pound jar preserved grape leaves, rinsed and drained well, picked through with broken or ripped leaves reserved for lining the bottom of the pot

Rice:

• 2 quarts water

• 1 cinnamon stick

• ½ cup long grain brown rice

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup mint leaves, minced

• 2-4 scallions, minced

• ⅓ cup pine nuts, chopped

• ⅓ cup currants or raisins

Line the bottom of the stock pot with grape leaves to prevent your dolmas from burning or browning. Use the broken or torn leaves.

Lentils:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 small onion, small dice

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 ¾ cup cooked lentils (dark brown, green, or beluga)

• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• ½ teaspoon allspice

• 1 tablespoon dried mint (or one mint tea packet)

Simmering Liquid:

• ¼ cup lemon juice

• ½ cup olive oil

• 2 teaspoons honey (omit or agave for vegan)

• 1 cup water or vegetable broth

• ½ teaspoon salt

• freshly ground black pepper

Roll tightly, but gently, so as not to tear the leaves, pushing in the sides as you go. Walk away, and let the kids do all the rolling while you do the dishes...or take a nap.

What you do:

1. Bring 2 quarts (8 cups) water to a boil. Add cinnamon stick, rice and ¼ teaspoon salt. Reduce to a rolling boil and cook 20 minutes or until just tender. Drain and rinse in cold water.

2. Combine cooked rice with fresh mint, scallions, pine nuts, and currants.

3. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. When it shimmers, add onion and a pinch of salt. When onion is soft, add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add lentils, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, allspice, and dried mint/tea. Combine with rice mixture. Allow to cool slightly.

4. Set aside the 36 best leaves for stuffing. Line the bottom of a heavy stock pot with the remaining leaves. Stuff each with about 1 to 2 teaspoons of rice/lentil mixture. Place leaf smooth side down, with stem close to you. Trim long or thick stems. Fold stem end over rice and hold in place. Fold in sides and roll away from you. Use any broken leaves for lining the bottom of the pot. Arrange dolmas (stuffed leaves) snugly in the pot, in layers if needed.

5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, honey or agave, water or stock, salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the leaves, cover with a plate to hold dolmas down.

6. Cover, bring to a simmer, and cook 1 1/2 hours, basting occasionally.

Note: Use the "pasta method" for cooking the rice used in dolmas. Rather than steaming rice with an exact ratio of water, you will boil the rice in a large pot of salted water until al denté and then drain. You could certainly use leftover rice that was made using the standard rice cooking method but the texture may be slightly mushy in the grape leaves.

Tip 1: The simmering liquid makes a delicious soup or broth after the dolmas are done simmering in it. Use it to store dolmas in the fridge up to one week, drink it or serve as soup!

Tip 2: When I don't have fresh mint available, I just increase the amount of dried mint used. Just add all of the dried mint together to the lentil mixture to sauté before adding to the rice. I've also successfully substituted chives for the scallions in a pinch.

Shopping in your Freezer

Miso Ramen Noodle Soup with Broccoli, Edamame and Jalapeno

Every once in a while, I attempt to dig out my freezer and use up all of its contents, to save $ at the grocery store and free up space for new creations and the bounties I'm anticipating from local crops. It's my version of spring cleaning, aptly named using a term coined by my Grammie. She routinely bears gifts of clothing, fabric and housewares. When asked if she's been shopping, she says, "oh yes, shopping in my closet!" 

I've been sharing some of my recent mouth-watering creations out of goods I found stashed in my freezer, which prompted many of you to ask, how big is your freezer? How do I get that out of my freezer?

So, in response...

...my freezer is pretty standard. I live in a Brooklyn apartment, after all.

...here's a list of my tips for finding ingredients and inspiration in your own freezer. Armed with these, you too can make a quick meal, prevent waste and avoid the grocery store, but you might also discover a new family favorite, test your culinary muscles and make something out of the ordinary.

1. Organize it. Occasionally, take everything out of the freezer and sort it, consolidate similar items and return them to the freezer in an organized fashion. For example, put all animal proteins in one corner, vegetables in another, and stack ready-made meals, like soups and stews together. I also use a narrow bin for lining up my purées and sauces in their liquid storage bags (I use re-purposed breast milk storage bags I have in excess).

2. Choose wisely. Either randomly select two items, such as one protein and one vegetable to give yourself a challenge or choose two to three items you know go together well (more on that later). Better yet, have your partner, child, roommate, or sister that you're texting, choose the items for you. Set those chosen items in the fridge or out to thaw. Now you're stuck with those, Chopped style. So make it work.

3. Use formulas. Refer to a list of go-to recipe templates. The types of recipes I'm talking about are best described as "plug and play". Think of general recipes that have a base, a procedure you are familiar with, and a few interchangeable components. My templates include pasta dishes, soup, stew, muffins, quiche, pizza, risotto, grain bowls, pot pie, or stir fry.

4. Brainstorm flavor combinations. Determine which ingredients and flavors go together. Did you just take peas and ground turkey from the freezer? So ask yourself, what else do I make with peas or what spices and vegetables were in that poultry dish from my favorite restaurant? Or conduct a quick internet search for recipes by ingredient. One resource I love for brainstorming flavor and ingredient combinations is the Flavor Bible. A dear friend gave me this book years ago and I still reference it weekly. Just learned that there is a Vegetarian Flavor Bible now too.

5. Ignore measurements. It does not matter if the package is half full, or if you don't have as much sauce as you usually use. It's not an exact science. Just add more or less liquid or crunch as needed.

6. Set a time limit. Again, Chopped style. If you limit how much time you have to either think about what you are going to make with the freezer finds or actually cook dinner or both, you will force your creative side without losing too much time.

7. Re-purpose freezer finds. Turn something you don't like into something you love or that the kids and picky eaters of the world will eat. Change the texture and overall structure of the ingredient. For example, I had a purée of steamed sweet potatoes, apples and carrots that the baby suddenly turned his nose up at (after liking it for a few months). That purée just became the star ingredient in my famous sweet potato waffles. And all the rejected old bread ends that will never qualify for a BLT or PB&J make beautiful garlicky croutons for a panzanella salad.

8. Allow yourself an out. You do not have to eat your failures. If it is truly terrible, you can toss it, compost it or feed it to the dog. It's okay, you shopped in your freezer and you gave it a try. Or you might even re-purpose it to another step. We made a risotto out of crab meat, sofrito and peas. It was just okay, and there was a lot remaining, so rather than force ourselves to eat the leftovers, I thought, why not mix in some cheese, roll into balls and pan fry for arancini magic!

And many of you want to know, how do I get all of these things into my freezer to begin with? That's a topic for another day or series of posts. Stay tuned and in the meantime, see here for my chowder freezing tip.

Vegan Winter Chili

In case we weren't sure, mother nature reminded us with a swift kick that it is still winter for a couple more weeks. So warm up with a batch of hearty vegan winter chili.

This vegan chili even satisfies my carnivore husband. If you use enough of the right blend of spices, and bloom those fully in oil, your meat lovers will get the same unctuous flavor they expect from traditional chili. However, I also have a trick for making both a beef chili and meatless batch at the same time. Just cook the beef in a separate skillet with spices, while making the vegan chili in a large pot. Once all vegan ingredients are added to the pot, remove a few cupfuls and add to the beef in its separate skillet. Continue cooking both over low heat until the vegetables are cooked through.

The recipe below is for my Vegan Winter Chili. In late summer I will exchange the sweet potatoes and perhaps the carrots for bell peppers of various colors, zucchini and yellow summer squash. My summer chili also utilizes very ripe fresh tomatoes instead of or in combination with canned. Now I'm anxious for August and you can expect a Vegan Summer Chili recipe from me then.

Before the recipe, here are some tips.

Cut vegetables into a small dice to ensure quicker cooking, even distribution in each spoonful of chili, and to make them more appealing to picky eaters.

To cut vegetables into a small dice, first cut 1/4 inch thick planks, then strips, then cubes. (see steps from left to right above)

Sauté onions until they are soft before adding garlic, then spices, followed by other ingredients. If you add garlic or spices too soon, they may burn or you risk not cooking onion thoroughly.

"Bloom" or sauté spices in oil first to awaken their flavor compounds and infuse flavor throughout the chili through the cooking oil.

What you need:

Note: In this recipe post, I have not provided a photo of all of the ingredients. I even hesitate to give you an ingredients list for this and other stews and soups because the quantities and specific ingredients listed below are merely suggestions. Add more of the ingredients you love, less of those you just want a taste of and add as much liquid to get the consistency you desire. Personally, I add a lot more heat than most, but this recipe as written is at a moderate heat level.

Yield: Makes about 10 cups, or 6-8 servings

The combinations and amounts of ingredients are up to you. Add other vegetables you have on hand, swap out for different varieties of beans, amp up the heat with more jalapeños or spicier pepper varieties, or tone it down. Reduce liquid for thicker chili.

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 large red onion, diced

• sea salt or kosher salt

• 3-5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chili flakes

• ~5 cups home-cooked or canned, drained and rinsed, beans. My favorite is a combination of black beans and cranberry or pinto beans.

• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes, liquid included

• 2 large carrots, small dice

• 1-2 cups water

• 1 medium sweet potato, small dice

• 1-2 jalapeños, sliced, optional

What you do:

1. Heat a large sauce pot over medium heat. Add oil.

2. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion and a pinch of salt.

3. Once the onion has softened, add the garlic and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often for about 1 minute, careful not to burn.

4. Add the spices and a little more oil if pot is dry. Stir into a paste and cook for 30 - 60 seconds.

5. Add the beans, tomatoes, carrots and ~1 cup of water. I usually rinse the tomato can and use this water to get all of the tomato into the chili. I learned that trick from my mom, who I've watched make Italian tomato sauce for nearly 4 decades now.

6. Once the carrots are partially cooked (about 15 minutes), add the sweet potatoes and jalapeños, if using. Add water if needed. Cook on medium low, until carrots and sweet potatoes are tender, (about 1 hour) partially covered. You can simmer on lowest setting for an additional 2-3 hours to further reduce and develop flavors. If you need to continue simmering when chili is already fully reduced, keep on lowest setting and cover with a tight fitting lid. You can also add more water at this point if needed.

To serve, top with additional slices of fresh jalapeño, cilantro leaves, lime wedges, and sliced avocado. You can set up a bar with various toppings for eaters to add, including tortilla chips, chopped red onion, cheese and yogurt/sour cream. Everyone likes to enjoy chili their own way!

Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes

Our family honors Pancake Saturday. My older son has even created a song and dance to celebrate it. With a little extra time on the weekends to prepare and enjoy breakfast, and because we're all in need of a sweet treat at the end of the week, pancakes are perfect. This is also a great dish for kid kitchen assistants. My little helper measures ingredients, cracks eggs, and mixes, while repeating the mantra "we never over mix the batter." Don't over mix your pancake batter.

To save yourself even a little bit of time and a lot of mess when making weekly pancakes, mix your dry ingredients (flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt) in a large batch and store in the pantry. If you are like me and use multiple flours (I like a blend of whole wheat all purpose, white AP and cornmeal for most of my pancakes), this will allow you to just take one canister out of the pantry instead of 3 or 4! Now you have absolutely no reason to buy that packaged stuff. PLEASE don't buy that packaged stuff anymore.

We make a variety of pancakes but a favorite go to for their classic Italian origin and to help fatten up our skinny baby is Lemon Ricotta. While visiting my sister last week, I was inspired to make these after cleaning out her fridge and finding a pound of ricotta cheese and fresh local Florida blueberries. In return, she documented the finished stack you see above. It's nice to have a professional photographer for a sister.

These lemon ricotta pancakes are fluffy and creamy all at once. I adapted the recipe from a few sources, but mostly from Cooking Classy.

Makes ~8 6-inch pancakes

What You Need:

• 1 1/2 cups flour (I like a blend of 1 cup white AP and 1/2 cup whole wheat AP flour)

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for brushing the pan

• 3 eggs, room temperature

• 3/4 cup whole milk

• 1 cup ricotta

• zest and juice of 1 large lemon

• 1 pint fresh blueberries, rinse and drained

What you do:

1. Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Or if you have premixed your dry ingredients, measure out 1 3/4 cups dry ingredients and add to a large bowl.

2. Melt the butter. [tip: if you’ll be using a skillet to bake the pancakes, heat the skillet and melt butter in there to save yourself a dish to wash and to grease the pan).

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, eggs, ricotta, lemon zest and lemon juice. It may curdle a little bit, but that is okay. You also do not need to break up all pieces of ricotta. It's nice to bite into that creaminess in the pancakes.

4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir a few times with a spatula just to combine. Do not over mix. Fold in the milk and blueberries just until combined.

5. Reheat the skillet over medium high heat. Brush with more butter if needed. Drop 1/3 cup of batter onto the hot pan and top with additional blueberries if desired. Flip after 2-3 minutes or when you see bubbles on top and edges are lightly browned. Cook another 2-3 minutes.

Perfect Soft Boiled Eggs

There's no mistake. Poached eggs are heavenly. Who doesn't love lazily rolling out of bed on a Sunday and strolling to brunch for a hash or hollandaise-smothered dish with a perfectly runny, bright yellow poached egg on top? But soft boiled eggs are so much more... practical. And I appreciate the practical. While poached eggs are cooked one at time in a carefully watched barely simmering pot of water, soft boiled eggs can be made by the dozen, left bubbling away on the stove, monitored by a timer, cooled, and stored for a week's worth of breakfasts on the go. If you're hosting brunch, this is a smarter option for advanced preparation. And those soft boiled eggs are easily transported as compared to their delicate poached cousins.

What you do:

For soft boiled perfection every time, follow these 6 simple steps. All you need to remember is 6 minutes. Do this just once a week for daily enjoyment.

Tip: To prevent cracking and ensure consistently cooked eggs, use room temperature eggs.

Step 1: Bring a pot of water to a boil

Step 2: Lower eggs into boiling water

Step 3: Boil uncovered for exactly 6 minutes

Step 4: Prepare an ice bath

Step 5: Transfer eggs to ice bath

Step 6: Cool eggs to stop cooking process

Peel and enjoy soft boiled eggs immediately on your favorite benedict, with a toasted bagel or over a hash like my Spicy Root Vegetable and Sausage Hash (pictured below). Store any remaining soft boiled eggs in their shells in the fridge (this makes them sturdier and prevents breaking when transporting in your lunch box). Make at least a half dozen at once so you have soft boiled eggs to add to kale salad, caesar dressing, roasted veggies, and avocado toast throughout the week.

All Hail the Stale

Make your own Breadcrumbs

When life gives you stale bread, you take that brick and turn it into breadcrumbs. Did you know that a canister of store-bought breadcrumbs contains approximately 40 different ingredients, many unpronounceable? And those sawdust particles are rarely ever made from whole grains. Compare that to just 5 or 6 ingredients found in breadcrumbs made from a loaf of your favorite local bakery or home-baked bread. Why? It's all about the shelf life - how long can that canister sit in a warehouse, 18-wheeler, grocery store, and your pantry? With those ingredients, likely through the next nuclear winter. You don't need that, though. Do you?

So make your own. They won't survive nuclear winter, but they will last at least a month or more in an airtight glass jar. It's so simple and you will feel so satisfied knowing you spared a dried out loaf from the garbage chute and now have a wholesome ingredient on hand. And your friends might refer to you as Martha Stewart. Wait, don't let that be the reason you don't try this at home. Please try this at home.

 

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How to use them:

There are so many uses for homemade breadcrumbs. Here's just a few. Please share yours and I'll add to this list.

• veggie burgers (black bean, lentil walnut, kasha potato, the list goes on and on)

• stuffed mushrooms

• breading or coating for croquettes

• meatballs of all varieties (note that if you are mimicking the "Italian style" breadcrumbs used in classic meatballs, you will want to add a little dried parsley, oregano, basil and a pinch or two of salt)

• crunchy topping for a casserole like my pasta, cauliflower and cheese bake (recipe coming soon) or my vegan green been casserole

• to add texture to a salad or grain bowl

• as an alternative to croutons in caesar salad or this roasted romanesco with lemony anchovy dressing

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2 notes for the gluten free crowd:

1. The above procedure might be a lifesaver for you. Now you can make your own gluten free bread crumbs with your favorite gluten free bread or crackers and save yourself the trouble and expense of finding rare packaged gluten free breadcrumbs.

2. There are gluten free substitutes for the uses of breadcrumbs I listed here. Stay tuned for some recipes and techniques coming soon. First up: my gluten free alteration of a family classic stuffed mushroom recipe.

What you do:

Step 1: Cut

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees (or lower). Cut or tear the stale bread into roughly evenly-sized pieces.

Step 2: Dry in Oven

Spread cut bread in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes. The goal is not to toast the bread but rather to dry it out, removing all of the moisture for optimal crumb consistency and to extend shelf life.

Step 3: Cool

Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet. If you try to process before all of the steam is released (listen to that crackle), you might get a gummy mess.

Step 4: Tranfer to Food Processor

Transfer those dry and cool bread cubes to a food processor. If it doesn't all fit comfortably, process the bread cubes in batches or add cubes as you make more room.

Step 5: Pulverize

Put on the lid, turn on the food processor and pulverize the bread cubes on high speed until evenly ground into crumbs. Stop the machine occasionally to add more bread and to check the consistency.

Step 6: Check

I stop processing when my crumbs look like this. You might want yours to be smoother or more consistently ground, so in that case, keep processing. I like a mix of dust with larger crusty bits.

Step 7: Transfer to Jar

Using a funnel, transfer the crumbs to a glass jar with a tightly fitting lid. You may recognize my kitchen funnel as a re-purposed breast shield from the Medela pump. Its wider spout makes it ideal for transferring solids into jars and, it too, was spared from the bin.

Step 8: Label

Label your jar and store in your pantry for at least a month. If your crumbs are dry and crunchy and taste like bread, they're good!

Variations on Hummus

Stop rolling up to the school potluck with a store-bought tub of ordinary hummus and some crunchy carbs for dipping. Hummus is simple to make from scratch. And it does not need to be boring. You can add spices, change up the acid and even hide some vegetables in it. Here's a straightforward formula followed by various modern spins, including a colorful roasted beet hummus you can spread on your kids' sandwiches. My sweet potato black bean variation below is exactly what your Superbowl party ordered. Bonus: these spreads make great baby food too, especially to pack a smooth high protein punch for a little peanut like mine who needs to pack on some pounds.

Basic Hummus Formula

Makes about 1½ cups

What you need:

• 1-2 cloves of garlic

• 1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked legumes (chickpeas, black beans, white beans, lentils, etc.)

• 1-3 Tablespoons tahini

• 1/4 cup oil (olive, canola, avocado, etc.)

• 1-2 Tablespoons acid (lemon juice, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, etc.)

• salt & pepper to taste

• 1/2 - 1 cup cooked vegetables (optional)

• 1-3 teaspoons ground toasted spices (optional)

What you do:

Simply put all ingredients (except the acid, spices and salt) into a food processor and purée until smooth. Taste and add acid, spices, and salt gradually to get desired texture and taste. You can always add more salt, acid and liquid but it is difficult to take it away or add more of all of the other ingredients if you go overboard on, say, the lemon juice and cayenne. If your spread is too thick, add more acid (lemon juice, vinegar, etc.) or plain old H2O if you want to thin it without altering the taste too much.

Note on beans: When using canned beans, I drain them and rinse off the liquid first to get rid of any extra salt or any taste imparted by the canning process. You can also easily cook your own beans. More on that in a future post.

Try these variations:

• Add a roasted beet and toasted ground cumin, cinnamon and cloves. You could also follow my recipe for Roasted Beet Hummus.

• Substitute a sweet potato for the beet and roast without foil. Use cumin, cayenne, dried ground chipotle and/or smoked paprika for the spices. Substitute black beans or stick with the chickpeas.

• Instead of beet or sweet potato, use ½ cup of any cooked vegetable (skins removed, roasted, grilled, or steamed), such as broccoli, red bell peppers, carrots, or squash.

• Add ½ cup of prepared pesto and decrease the olive oil to 2 tablespoons.

• Use lime juice, apple cider vinegar, sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar in place of the lemon juice.

• Add an entire head of garlic roasted in olive oil. Decrease the olive oil to 2 tablespoons. Use chickpeas or substitute navy or cannellini beans.

Radishes 5 Ways

Recently, I've found myself answering lots of questions -- from cooking class students, fellow CSA members, and other parents -- about radishes. So I'm delivering on an overdue recipe post promise. These tightly packed peppery spheres produce passion. Previously, I was passionately opposed to radishes, which caused me to diligently leave bunches on a certain colleague's desk (you know who you are), but then I discovered how to prepare them. At this point, we generally only make them one way, because this is how a certain 5-year-old (he knows who he is) will have it. Pickled. Which, when mentioned in my house, will provoke a high-pitched squeal and the "yummy dance." I get it. But I feel like I'm cheating for my older son's vegetable appreciation because they are probably the easiest thing I make for him.

Here's what you need:

• 1 bunch of radishes

• 1 cup or so rice wine vinegar

• 1 scant teaspoon of honey

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

Here's what you do:

One bunch of radishes usually fills a half pint jar. Use this jar to measure out the vinegar, about three-fourths full. Put that in a small pot and heat it with the honey just until the honey dissolves. While this is heating, thinly slice your radishes and pack them into your jar with the spices. Pour hot liquid over the top. Put cover on and refrigerate. These are best after one day but can be eaten in one hour or kept for weeks. I've never processed them to be shelf stable because the aforementioned 5-year-old eats the entire jar in 3 days. Warning: they smell a little funky, but taste delicious and are a great addition to toast smeared with chickpea or fresh green pea hummus, or a salad, sandwich or taco.

Maybe you're not so into pickles? Try these other great applications for your radishes.

Butter Braised: Scrub radishes, remove stems and tips. Cut into quarters. Put in a small pan and cover by an inch with water. Add a few pinches of salt. On medium-high heat, cook until nearly tender and water is mostly absorbed, adding more water if needed. Add about 3 tablespoons butter for each bunch of radishes, and cook stirring frequently until radishes are tender and slightly browned. When you add butter, you can also add your choice or dried spices or finish the dish with chopped fresh chives or parsley.

Roasted: Add cleaned, trimmed and quartered or whole radishes to a roasting pan with chicken and onions. Occasionally toss the radishes with the chicken drippings.

Potato Hash: Add diced radishes to your hash along with other root vegetables. Top with runny eggs.

Slaw: Shred or julienne radishes and combined with shredded cabbage, carrots and/or cucumbers and dress with a light citrus vinaigrette.

Tip: for stable cutting of a radish or other vegetable with a rounded edge, slice off a tiny piece on one side to create a flat surface for your sphere to rest on your cutting board.

Presto Pesto

Pesto is a comforting stand by, a loyal friend that rarely lets you down. Here are 5 reasons I love to produce pesto:

1. You can assemble it in a matter of minutes.

2. You don't need a recipe or any specific ingredients. See below for the "formula" and suggested combinations. It's a great way to use up herbs you have on hand (Do you have an entire $2 bunch of cilantro remaining after your recipe called for a teaspoon minced for garnish? Are you pruning back your herb plants to promote their continued growth? Did you get bundles of herbs in your CSA bounty?)

3. It can be used immediately, saved in a jar and eaten throughout the week or frozen in batches for a February day when the herb plants have all but dried up.

4. It's kid helper-friendly. Little hands are great at plucking leaves from stems and can help blend items safely in a locked food processor.

5. Pesto has endless applications: top fish before baking it, thin it out and use as a sauce to spruce up a protein presentation, mix into a pasta, risotto or other grain dish, dress some zucchini "noodles", spread on a sandwich, mix into scrambled eggs or quiche, or top a soup.

Presto Pesto - A Formula
Once you have this basic formula for pesto, you can make all types with whatever leaves you have.
 
Here's what you need:

the measurements are guidelines, not requirements

• 2 cups of aromatic leaves (basil, mint, cilantro, parsley, arugula, even carrot and radish greens)

• 2-4 cloves of garlic (or garlic scapes or green garlic)

• 1/4 cup lightly toasted nuts or seeds (pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds)

• 1/2 cup oil

• 1/4 cup grated cheese (parmesan, pecorino romano or another hard cheese, optional, see note)

• salt and pepper to taste

 
Here's what you do:

Put all that stuff in a food processor (like one of these), and just let it go. If you want to be more technical, purée the leaves, garlic and nuts first until ground, evenly sized, and well combined. Scrape down the sides, replace the lid, and then process again while streaming the olive oil into the mixture slowly. Add cheese, salt, and pepper at the end to taste and process again until evenly incorporated.

Some recipes suggest adding lemon juice or zest which provides a nice balance of flavor. However, be careful with the acid. It will turn your greens to a less appetizing olive color. If at all, only add right before serving and not if you plan to store your pesto for any length of time.
 
*Note: you can also go vegan and omit the cheese entirely or replace it with a tablespoon or so of miso paste or a teaspoon of umeboshi paste to get that umami flavor you expect in a pesto. We often omit the cheese for a certain member of the family who is cheese-phobic. (I know. Eye roll, plus incredulous look that says, "how is it possible that an adult human does not like cheese?" Don't get me started. You will read many other posts from me about avoiding & replacing cheese, so you are in luck if you cook for a lactose intolerant or simply cheese intolerant person.)
 
Here are some of my favorite combinations:

• basil + pine nuts + olive oil + garlic scapes - garlic cloves

• parsley + walnuts + walnut oil

• arugula + pine nut + olive oil

• mint + almond + canola oil

• oregano + hazelnuts + hazelnut oil

• mint + pistachio + garlic + olive oil

• cilantro + coconut meat + coconut oil - cheese (technically not a nut, but it fits the formula)

• radish greens + pistachios + parmesan + olive oil

• beet greens + walnuts + ginger - garlic

You can also mix and match herbs and nuts. Play around with it. There are few rules in pesto. What tastes good to you? What combinations do you use?
 

Herb Garlic Butter

I attempted to grow a few things this summer. Overall it was a big flop. Between the lingering spring frost, weeds, rodents, and gnats, my garden was doomed. So I decided to focus on what I could control and invested some time and research into growing my herbs. For the first time, I actually re-planted my herb plants into spaces big enough to accommodate their sprawl. I took it to the gnats, inserting glue traps in all of my indoor pots, and re-potting them in clean fresh soil after shaking off the gnat infested soil. I spent hours one Sunday watching countless youtube videos about harvesting my herbs and then practiced, scissors in hand checking the computer screen over my shoulder. I'm so glad I did. This year, all of my herb plants inside and out, even those most difficult to grow for me, like cilantro and sage, flourished. So, now, per the instructions on all those youtube videos, I'm pruning my herb plants like crazy to encourage their continued growth. Since we can't really predict when this river of herbs might suddenly dry up, my plan is to preserve as much as I can in as many ways as possible for later.

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Here's that same sage plant just a few weeks later.

This recipe for herb butter is versatile and freezable. The measurements are just suggestions.

For best results, make sure your herb leaves are completely dry. In fact, if I'm using herbs cut from my own plants, I don't even wash them. If you must wash the herbs, be sure to shake off the excess water and dry them thoroughly on a clean kitchen towel before mincing.

This herb butter is perfect for making garlic bread, seasoning a whole chicken to roast, or topping some freshly steamed green beans. What will you use it for? Please share in the comments.

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces salted butter, at room temperature (I have a particular preference for Vermont Creamery's cultured butter for this recipe)

• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon parsley leaves, minced

• 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, minced

• 2 teaspoons thyme leaves

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

With a wooden spoon, thoroughly mix garlic, herbs, pepper and salt into the butter. Stir until evenly combined.

Transfer to a glass jar to store herb butter in your fridge for about 2 weeks or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 6 months. I used to freeze this butter in small silicone or plastic containers, but learned the hard way that the garlic flavor never really washed out afterwards, so I've switched to storing in plastic wrap.