Fiddlehead, Asparagus, and Snow Pea Salad with Sesame Vinaigrette

Archive: June 2012

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Fiddlehead, Asparagus, and Snow Pea Salad with Sesame Vinaigrette

This salad screams Spring to me. I know it’s technically summer now, but our weather has been so bizarre and cold that it still kind of feels like Spring. At least enough to sneak this all-green Spring salad into the mix.

Fiddleheads are the tops of young ostrich ferns and can be foraged for in the wild. I bought mine at the farmer’s market, but a fun-forest-forage is definitely on my to do list. Fiddleheads will usually be pretty pricey, but the season is short and I like to think of them as a nice green treat. Plus they add some diversity to our dinner table.

They pair perfectly with asparagus, and the snow peas and sesame vinaigrette lend an Asian twist to this dish. Light, fresh, tangy. Yum!

These baby fern tops do require a bit of preparation. Rub the brown, papery coating off with your fingers and then rinse them thoroughly. Chop off the tails, leaving just an inch (less is fine, too).

A note on cooking the fiddlehead ferns: It is recommended that you boil the fiddleheads for 10-15 minutes due to some concerns over gastric upset. However, if you cook them that long they will get mushy, and the best part about them is their delicate crunch and taste. I cook them lightly, with a 5 minute boil – you can do 7 minutes if you’re concerned – and I’ve never had problems.

Also, this salad doesn’t keep well, so make half or make sure to have some hungry eaters around to finish it off!

FIDDLEHEAD, ASPARAGUS, AND SNOWPEA SALAD WITH SESAME VINAIGRETTE
serves 4

1 bunch of asparagus, ends trimmed, chopped diagonally into 2 inch sections, blanched 1 minute
1 bunch of snow peas (2 handfuls), ends trimmed, blanched 1 minute
1/2 – 1 pound fiddleheads (2 handfuls), cleaned and boiled 5 minutes
3 green onions, thinly sliced
3 tbsp sesame seeds

for the sesame vinaigrette:
3 tbsp olive or flax oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar or lemon juice
1 tbsp braggs soy seasoning
2 drops stevia or 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 drops sesame oil

Cook your asparagus, snow peas, and fiddleheads and drain them well. Pat dry with a cloth. Combine the cooked vegetables in a large bowl with the green onions and sesame seeds. Combine all ingredients for the vinaigrette and toss into the salad to coat. Enjoy!

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Grilled Vegetables with Chimichurri Sauce – The Food Matters Project

We recently bought a little barbeque from some friends who were moving out of town. As of this morning, it was still sitting on the balcony, not yet set up, just begging to be used for a summer grill. Add to that the fact that our fridge is overflowing with vegetables AND this week’s Food Matters recipe was a Mixed Grill with Chimichurri… it was time to get the little BBQ cracking!

I have been so thrilled each weekend to pick up our CSA share and our market haul. We had kohlrabi and beets lined up on the floor because there was no room left in the fridge. What better way to use them all up than a fresh summer grill?!

I’m still grilling beginner, really, so our balcony setup is majorly exciting to me.

This week, for the Food Matters Project, Lexi picked the Mixed Grill with Chimichurri and I am so glad she did! You can find the rest of the crew’s creations here.

Chimichurri is my new favourite way to pack greens into my day. I can’t get over how delicious it is – how had I not discovered it sooner?! I want to put it on everything. I can’t get enough cilantro as it is, so this sauce really does it for me. It’s so light and refreshing and can be dolloped on top of just about anything – vegetables, rice, beans, fish, meat.

Traditional chimichurri is an Argentinian herb sauce, usually made with parsley, but oh so versatile. I made mine with cilantro and mint from our garden.

Many thanks to Lexi for choosing such quick, simple, and supremely flavourful recipe that will definitely be entering our rotation!

GRILLED VEGETABLES WITH CHIMICHURRI SAUCE
serves 2-4

1 large kohlrabi, sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 carrots, halved lengthwise
1/2 cabbage, cut into wedges
2 bunches of beets, halved if small, quartered if large (about 8 beets)
2 zucchinis, sliced 1/2 inch thick
big bunch of garlic scapes (about 10)
bunch of green onions

for the chimichurri sauce:
2 cups cilantro
small bunch of mint (about 10 big leaves)
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper

Grill the veggies: roots and cabbage for about 8-10 minutes, zucchini for about 5 minutes, and scapes and green onions for 3-5 minutes.

Mix the cilantro, mint, garlic, and half the oil in a food processor until combined. Add the vinegar, the rest of the oil, and water to thin the sauce to your liking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spread the sauce over the grilled vegetables and enjoy!

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Cauliflower, Tomato, and Swiss Chard with White Beans

I can barely keep up with all these greens! I picked up our first CSA share this past weekend (too exciting) and though it was a small first share, there were plenty of delicious greens. Add to that all the produce from volunteering at the market and I just can’t seem to eat all of it fast enough.

In this week’s share was a great big head of lettuce, a big bag of bok choy, garlic scapes, blueberry jam from last season’s berries, buckwheat sprouts, mint, rosemary, and a big fat bunch of swiss chard.

I can’t believe I still have to use up my frozen tomatoes from last season, but I do, so I tossed them in the mix with some cauliflower, white beans, and chard for a quick and easy weeknight veggie-filled dinner.

CAULIFLOWER, TOMATO, AND SWISS CHARD WITH WHITE BEANS
serves 2-4

1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems and leaves separated, both chopped
2 cups tomatoes (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup cauliflower, cut into florets
1 can organic white/canellini beans (Eden Organic cans are BPA-free)

for the sauce:
3 drops stevia or 1 tbsp honey
splash of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 tbsp tahini
pinch salt and pepper

optional: sesame seeds and fresh basil for garnish

Simmer chard stems, cauliflower, and tomatoes in a splash of water for 7-10 minutes or until the tomatoes have broken down and the cauliflower is just about cooked. Add beans and chard leaves and simmer another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and prepare sauce. Stir in the sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with sesame seeds and fresh basil.

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Raw Chocolate Cherry Energy Bars – The Food Matters Project

I don’t know, maybe I’m crazy… but sometimes I am not a chocolate person. I understand if that sounds completely ridiculous, and I say sometimes because it really does depend. I suppose I’m just particular about the kind of chocolatey things I’ll indulge in.

This week’s Food Matters recipe selection was a Chocolate-Cherry Panini (Hop on over to Margarita’s blog to see the original recipe) and though I can’t really explain it, I was just not that excited about a chocolate-cherry grilled sandwich.

Maybe it was the combination of chocolate and cherries – two things I’ve never really enjoyed together. Maybe it was that I’m not really a sandwich person in the first place. And yes, it’s possible to not be a sandwich person.

I like to look at these kinds of things as opportunities to work something healthy into the mix. I wanted to maintain the Chocolate-Cherry combination of the original recipe, and the first thing that popped into my head was an energy bar. Loaded with fruit, nuts, seeds, and raw cacao, these guys pack a mean nutritional punch and have no added sweeteners because of the already ultra-sweet dates. Also, if you make these raw like I did, all of the enzymes from the fruits, nuts, and seeds remain intact – (r)awesome!

Now don’t get me wrong, they are still high in sugar, but it’s balanced by the protein and fat from the nuts and seeds, and I personally believe it is better to get my sweet-tooth fix from fruit rather than refined sugar. Still, when I munch on these, it’s just one at a time, and often when I’m being active and need an energy-dense kick.

They remind me of Larabars, which I totally love for their simple ingredient lists and minimal processing. A perfect snack for when you’re on the go or headed off to do something active!

Check out the creations of the other Food Matters Project folks over here.

RAW CHOCOLATE CHERRY ENERGY BARS
makes 8 bars

1 1/2-2 cups pitted dates*
1/3 cup raw cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder, which is not raw)
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup pecans
1/8 cup sunflower seeds
1/8 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup cacao nibs
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup dried cranberries

*A note on dates: If you can find fresh dates, they are the most delicious, but you might have to pit them yourself. For dried “baking” dates, you will need to soak them in just enough warm water to cover them for about 20 minutes before you use them. You can use the water to moisten your bar mixture if your food processor is having a hard time. If you buy pre-chopped dates, they will likely be coated in flour or sugar. Just do the soak and rinse them and you should be good to go.

Run the dates and cacao powder through your food processor until you have a paste. Add the almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds and pulse until thoroughly mixed.

I like to leave the mixture a little chunky, so I don’t overmix it. If it is seeming too wet, add more almonds – if it is too dry, you can add a touch of water, but be careful not to add too much, you don’t want your bars to be mushy. The dates will hold everything together nicely, so I like to work a lot of nuts and seeds into the mix. Also, this recipe really lends itself to substitution, so if you don’t have something on the list, substitute away until you have the right consistency – thick and chunky and just barely crumbly.

Now add the remaining ingredients and pulse some more until mixed in. Press into a baking dish, or roll between two sheets of parchment paper to about 1/2 inch thickness, cover and refrigerate for a few hours or until firm. I dehydrated mine for 24 hours at 105 F. They will last longer if you dehydrate them, but will be fine for 2 weeks in the fridge if you don’t have a dehydrator. Once they firm up, cut them into bars and enjoy! These will also do fine in the freezer for quite some time.

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Pearl Onions with Shiitake Mushrooms and Garlic Scapes

Sometimes I get lost in the day-to-day-ness of things. I imagine it’s a common thing for most people. Despite my best intentions of leaving plenty of time in my week for ‘me’ time and reflection, I seem to be really packing my schedule lately. And I’ve been getting a bit lost in it all.

Mixing up which day it is. Getting dressed for a shift at the gym and then realizing it’s actually a physio appointment I’m supposed to be going to. Locking the keys in the car. Planning out a day of lazing about and then seeing an alert on my phone while in line at the grocery store telling me I have to be at work in 10 minutes. Packing lunch and leaving it on the counter. Arriving at physio without my wallet (how do you get your car out of a gated parkade without your wallet? Most likely your supermom saves the day once again).

Each of these has happened within the past couple weeks, and if I listen really hard, I can hear the voice from within saying “slow down”, “be present”.

Meal time for me is like meditation. It’s my time to focus and breathe, to be in the moment, to create, and to nourish my body. From selecting fresh produce, to washing, chopping, stirring… it’s all part of a peaceful process. A process I have grown to love and cherish.

Last weekend I volunteered at one of the local Farmer’s Markets and at the end of the day I took home a bounty of fresh, local, organic goods. In the whirlwind that has been the last few days, I forgot about the lovely garlic scapes I had snagged, but once I saw them in the crisper tonight, I knew I had to whip something up with them.

I had some fresh shiitakes and pearl onions that I thought would go nicely together. The garlic scapes, tossed in at the very end, would lend a mild garlicky flavour and a slightly crunchy texture. I had never cooked pearl onions or garlic scapes, but I’d been dying to try both.

As a child, I wasn’t a fan of onions, but they’ve really grown on me in the past few years. And the sweet, buttery-smooth texture of pearl onions is pretty fantastic. If you don’t have fresh shiitakes, any mushroom will do, and you can always use regular garlic if you can’t find the scapes.

PEARL ONIONS WITH SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS AND GARLIC SCAPES
with help from Cooking Light
serves 2-4

1 (10-ounce) package of pearl onions
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 handfuls shiitake or other mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup water
2 tsp coconut sugar (or 1 tsp other sweetener)
splash white wine
6 garlic scapes coarsely chopped, or 2 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste (I used 1/2 tsp salt and 3 turns fresh ground pepper)

Cut off the root end of the onions and blanch them for 1-2 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Once blanched, the skins slide off very easily and the tips can be cut off as well.

Heat the oil in a pan on med-low (I had my heat set at 3). Toss in the onions and saute, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the mushrooms and stir to coat in the oil. Add the water and sugar, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for another 5-8 minutes. Take off the lid and add the white wine and stir. Let it cook for 2 more minutes until the liquid evaporates and then when you’re just about finished, season to taste and toss in the garlic scapes. Give them a good stir and then turn the heat off. They lose a lot of their flavour if you heat them too long, and the dish is really nice with a bit of crunch, so they really don’t need to cook for long, mostly just warmed up a little bit.

Enjoy!

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Chickpea Fritters + Tomato Stew + Cilantro Yogurt Dressing – The Food Matters Project

Here we are again, my second week participating in The Food Matters Project. This week, Lena chose a Chickpea Fritter recipe (pg. 372 of The Food Matters Cookbook).

I didn’t have regular potatoes or collard greens, but I spent my Saturday volunteering at the Farmer’s Market and came away with more greens than I know what to do with – so spinach was the stand-in for collards. I also happened to have a sweet potato on hand that worked very nicely with the recipe… Here’s to using what you have and making it work!

I baked my fritters instead of deep frying. I’ve actually been shying away from using oil in my cooking as of late. I recently attended an open house of my soon-to-be school (The Institute of Holistic Nutrition) and one of the professors gave a talk about fats. Of course, there is controversy about the specifics, but regardless, the fact is that when you heat fats (oils) at very high temperatures, there is a risk of them going rancid and breaking down into free radicals which do all sorts of damage inside our bodies. Hmm. Doesn’t sound too appealing to me. There are many people who cook with the more stable fats butter, ghee, or coconut oil, which is a good idea to transition toward if you use a lot of oil in your cooking. I’ve found that I can get away with using little or no oil in my cooking in many cases, and that I can cook most of my meals on a lower heat setting. I’ve started using a splash of broth or water for sauteing… and so far so good.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against fat – our bodies need it to survive! I just see the benefits in trying to minimize the amount of fat that I consume that has been heated. I still pour flax and olive oils onto my salads and add them after cooking for their wonderful flavour.

One more thing – the fritters kind of crumbled and got all soggy once they hit the tomato sauce. They were still delicious, but I’m not sure about all the extra work to make fritters that then get mushed into the rest of the stew. I’ve made some standalone fritters before and these were not them. They were a bit bland by themselves and didn’t hold up too well. But as a whole meal, this really was delicious and nutritious!

The cilantro yogurt dressing absolutely took it over the edge for me. What otherwise feels like a somewhat heavy, more cold-weather meal is transformed (for me) with this light, tangy yogurt sauce. I would strongly suggest putting this on top of the dish in very large quantities. Mmmmmm.

CHICKPEA FRITTERS IN TOMATO STEW (WITH SWEET POTATOES AND SPINACH) + CILANTRO YOGURT DRESSING
slightly adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook
serves 4

For the tomato sauce
1 med-large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1/2 tsp each cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, paprika, cloves
salt and pepper
6 cups of tomatoes (I used frozen)
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 bunch of spinach, cut into ribbons

Cook the onion and spices until softened, add tomatoes and a few tbsp of water and simmer until they’re all broken up and soft (you might need to add more water if using fresh tomatoes). At this point I used an immersion blender to blend the sauce – I left it a little chunky. Add in the sweet potatoes and continue to simmer 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked and the sauce has thickened. Once it’s ready, turn off the heat and stir in the spinach.

For the fritters
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained (this is equal to about 3 cups cooked/canned
4 cloves garlic
1 small onion, quartered
1 cup chopped cilantro (or parsley)
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Put all the fritter ingredients in a food processor and pulse until minced, scraping down the sides as needed. You can add a bit of water if it needs it but try to keep the mixture as dry as possible. Taste it and add more salt/pepper/lemon juice if needed.

Place tbsp amounts of the mix on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on the outside, turning halfway. Serve on top of tomato veggie mixture.

For the yogurt dressing
Mix 1 cup plain full fat yogurt with 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and a splash of lemon juice. (This obviously isn’t vegan, but the entire rest of the recipe is and for a vegan option you can make a quick tahini dressing with some tahini, a bit of water, drizzle of oil, a good squeeze of lemon juice, and a bit of honey to taste. Or, you can even omit the dressing as the original recipe didn’t have any. Up to you!)

Enjoy!

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Warm Kale Salad with Sweet Tahini Dressing

This was the kale dish that converted my Dad to a kale lover. A pretty serious feat if you know the guy. He was adamant this green veggie was not for him.

Now he praises the goodness of kale to all who will listen! How fantastic!

He often makes it without the dressing, relying on the natural sweetness of the apples to sweeten the dish, but I love to add some creamy, sweet tahini dressing.

This is one of the easiest side dishes ever. Promise. It also happens to be mega nutritious. I’ve been known to sprinkle in some pecans and call it dinner.

WARM KALE SALAD WITH SWEET TAHINI DRESSING
serves 4

1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch kale, washed and sliced into thin ribbons (I leave the stem in for this recipe)
1/2 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 apple, quatered, cored, and sliced (something crispy and sweet like a honeycrisp or cameo)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

for the dressing:
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp honey to taste (or maple syrup or sweetener of choice if vegan)
1-2 tbsp water, add more depending on consistency

sesame seeds for garnish

Cook onions in a large pan at medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Add kale, cabbage, balsamic vinegar, and 2 tbsp of water and give it a good stir to coat the kale. Cook on med-low for 10 minutes or until the kale leaves have reduced and softened. Toss in the apples, stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the dressing and stir some more (lots of stirring!). Taste it and if it needs more zing, add some more balsamic. Enjoy!

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Heirloom Tomato Soup with Roasted Garlic – The Food Matters Project

If you haven’t heard of these two books by Mark Bittman – Food Matters and The Food Matters Cookbook – you should definitely check them out. The philosophy is simple, and aligned with my own: eat more plants and less processed foods for our own health and the health of the planet.

I dig it.

The Food Matters Project is a special little corner of the internet where bloggers come together to share their own versions of recipes from Bittman’s cookbook. Each week, a different recipe is chosen and everybody posts their creations. This week, Nicole from The Giving Table chose a Savory Tomato Crisp (pg 423 of The Food Matters Cookbook).

Here’s where I ran into a little problem. Our tomato season hasn’t quite started yet, thanks to this cold, wet Spring we’ve been graced with. I could have used some organic cherry tomatoes from California or Mexico, but it’s so close to tomato time at the Farmer’s Market that I really couldn’t justify it.

That and we have a HUGE bag of heirloom tomatoes from last season in the freezer. I use them in soups, sauces, and stews throughout the winter – they provide that explosive tomato flavour that makes a supermarket tomato seriously envious.

Since the tomatoes don’t hold up well once they’ve been frozen, I decided to make a soup this week instead of the crisp. I blended in a bulb of roasted garlic and baked up some quick Romano crisps to crumble over the soup – totally optional if you don’t do cheese, but a tasty treat if you do indulge.


 

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SOUP WITH ROASTED GARLIC
serves 4

2 pounds of tomatoes (I used about 8 cups of frozen tomatoes, fresh works too)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
2-3 tsps Italian herb blend (I used oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary)
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp arrowroot starch
1 bulb of garlic, top cut off and roasted covered in foil for 20-30 mins at 350F

optional garnish: Romano crisps – sprinkle tbsp heaps of grated romano onto parchment-lined baking sheet and bake 3-5 minutes at 350F

Preheat oven to 350F and pop the garlic in for 20-30 mins (first cut the tips of the cloves off and wrap in tin foil).

Heat tomatoes in water in a large pot. I heated my frozen tomatoes gently til they thawed enough that they were breaking up. Bring it to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and stir in the salt and spices. Simmer until all the tomatoes are broken up, about 15-20 minutes. In a small dish, stir the coconut oil and arrowroot starch (this is my replacement for a roux, and it makes the soup really thick and ‘creamy’) until combined and then add to the soup. It should just melt and dissolve into the soup, but stir it well anyway. Then add your roasted garlic – you should be able to easily peel it or just squeeze it out of the skins.

Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender. Garnish with romano (or parmesan) crisps or ribbons of fresh basil. Enjoy!

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The Goodness Life is all about eating well to feel your best. Here you'll find easy and delicious recipes, nutrition tidbits, and all sorts of other info. I hope you enjoy reading about my journey towards living a life full of goodness!

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