Crusted Salmon with Wilted Dandelions

Bob harvested a large amount of organic dandelions from the garden yesterday.

This evening I wilted and dished them with a drizzle of butter infused with crushed garlic, shallots, and lemon zest and served them atop crusted salmon.

Dandelion greens are high in calcium, one cup of chopped dandelion greens contain 103 mg, or 10% of the recommended daily amount. They are rich in iron, one cup contains 1.7 mg of iron. These greens are low in calories, one cup of chopped has only 25 calories. The leaves are high in Vitamin A in the form of antioxidant carotenoid (beta-carotene) and vitamin C, which helps facilitate iron absorption. The greens detoxify and cleanse the liver, kidneys, spleen and pancreas. Besides calcium and iron, they are a good source of copper, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. Dandelions have more protein per serving than spinach. The greens themselves are 14% protein and contain all essential amino acids so it’s a complete protein. One chopped cup contains 1.5 grams of protein. Besides vitamin A as beta-carotene  and vitamin C, each cup of chopped dandelion greens are also good sources of vitamins B1,  B2, and B6, vitamin E and K (535%!). The nutrients in dandelion greens may help reduce the risk of cancer, multiple sclerosis, cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and stroke. They also contain anti-inflammatory properties which may help those with asthma and other inflammatory diseases.

Vitamin A is important in fighting cancers of epithelial tissue, including mouth and lung. Potassium rich foods, particularly in balance with magnesium, helps keep blood pressure down and reduces risks of strokes. Fiber fights diabetes, lowers cholesterol, reduces cancer and heart disease risks, and assists in weight loss. High fiber vegetables like dandelions take up lots of room, are low in calories, and slow down digestion so the food stays in the stomach longer and you feel full longer. Calcium in high concentrations can build strong bones and can lower blood pressure. B vitamins help reduce stress. Spring greens help rescue your body from the inadequacies of a winter diet. I highly recommend introducing dandelions, ramps, chives, asparagus, broccoli rabe, stinging nettles (steam takes the sting out!), and fava leaves into your Spring diet.

USDA Facts on Dandelions

Flu Bustin' Hummus, Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever

My family is finally over the flu and what did I make to help kill off the last of the Influenza Virus? Flu Bustin' Hummus!

This recipe can be made at the volume suggested and then split into four tupperware-like containers, one for now, three to freeze or share, or you can divide the recipe to your liking prior to blending the batch.

It can be very spicy! With 20 cloves of garlic, I guarantee it will knock not only your nose askew, but those viruses as well!

20 cloves of Organic garlic
1 1/2 cups of Organic baby spinach
1/4 to 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
4 cups of Organic chickpeas
1 cup of plain Organic Greek yogurt
2 freshly squeezed Organic lemons
4 tbls Organic tahini

Blend in batches and mix well together and then pour into the containers.

For some odd reason it looks like Dr. Seuss's Oobleck, but who cares, it is Duh-licious!

Nasi Goreng: Indonesian One Pot Supper

Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian fried rice. Cooked in one pot, the vegetables and meat (usually some kind of fowl) are added to prepared rice and wok fried all together.

We had a ridiculously large turkey this year that I had done in butter and Old Bay Seasonings and it sat staring at me every time I opened the fridge. What a perfect way to use up the leftovers.

I used Jasmine rice, green beans, slivered red sweet peppers, slivered carrots, and yellow and green zucchini. The whole of it was seasoned with minced tomatoes and onions, sesame oil, minced coriander, slivered garlic, turmeric, salt, cumin seeds and powder, slivered ginger, clove powder, 1 tsp of chili paste and a lemon juiced.

No Mayonnaise Potato Salad - No Eggs!

Two Saturdays ago, while visiting the Bidwell Farmers Market, I stopped at the Lexington Co-op's tent and tried out their Potato Salad.

Potato salad usually makes me very sad. All those delicious potatoes coated in mayonnaise. Damn you allergy! You suck!

But these have nary a dollop of mayo, vegan or egg. And taste divine!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds red-skinned potatoes
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1⁄3 cup olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 cup basil leaves, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wash and chop the potatoes (skin on) into bite-sized chunks, place them in a large bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the salt and pepper. 

Place the potatoes on a sheet pan and roast until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

While the potatoes are baking, place the lemon juice, mustard, parmesan cheese and minced garlic together in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to emulsify, then add the fresh basil and mix well. Pour the dressing over the cooled potatoes and mix well. 

I served this with patty pan squash, grilled cauliflower and a blue cheeseburger wrap.

This gets better the following day so I recommend that if you're planning on taking this to a party, prep and refrigerate over night.

Lemon Garlic Chicken, Wilted Ruby Swiss Chard and Arugula Wild Herb Salad

Most of the herbs in the garden have come in thick enough to start harvesting regularly. The arugula has come in all wild and woodsy and covered in flowers.

It's sharp astringent, nut flavor is an excellent addition to our herb salads. The chard too is coming in fast, so that we have to harvest handfuls every week.

My youngest can't get enough of it's bright flavor. Marinated organic chicken breast from Wegmans. Bake, with 5 tbls of water, covered, at 400 degrees for 15 min. Internal temp. should read 165 degrees.

English sage leaves. Some for our salad and some left out to dry. Will be making more sage ghee later this week.

Wooly oregano, drying on the counter. Will be used in meat balls and an Italian meatloaf I'll be making on Tuesday.

The salad was a blend of arugula, wild herbs, romaine, avocado, fruit salad and heirloom tomatoes.

This was served with a very tasty Santa Cruz Raspberry Lemonade and crusty Lexi co-op bread.

Apple Gallette

Dough:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tbls unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2″ pieces
3 1/2 tbls chilled water

Filling:
2 pounds (Granny Smith or Crispin) apples  peeled, cored and sliced
3 tbls sugar

Glaze:
Lemon sugar

Cream

Make the dough first: sift together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter cubes with two knives. Make sure that you do this rather quickly, you want to keep the butter as cold as possible to insure a light, flaky pastry dough. Cut it in until the biggest pieces are about the size of large peas.

Add the chilled water one tbls at a time, stirring until the dough just holds together (you may not need all the water, depends on your flour and the humidity of your kitchen).

Dump the dough out on lightly floured counter and pat into a circle about 1.5″ inches thick. Double-wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).

After the chilling period, take the dough out and let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes; this allows the dough to soften slightly so that when you roll it out, it won’t break into slivers or pieces.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured counter. Carefully transfer the dough to a greased baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. To fill the tart, overlap the sliced apples on top of the dough in a ring 2 inches from the edge and continue towards the center. To complete the tart, fold over the edges of the dough. It doesn’t have to look perfect, the beauty of a galette lies in its rusticity.


Wipe the crust and exposed apples with cream and sprinkle lemon sugar on top. 

Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake the galette for 30 minutes, or until the apples are soft and have slightly browned edges. Try to rotate the tart every 15 minutes to ensure even browning of the crust.

When the tart is done baking, remove from the oven and slide it off the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack. Let it cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.


I picked up these crispin apples this morning at the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmer's Market and their tart juiciness were just what was needed in this pastry!

Lemon sugar and candied peels

Strip cut the peel off of an organic lemon, leaving some of the fruit on the rind.

Slice the fruit, remove the seeds and set aside.

Lay the peels in a bowl with fine cane sugar.

Squeeze some juice over the top.

Cover with more sugar and smooth flat. Cover with a salad plate, not plastic wrap.

Let sit in a cool cupboard for three or four days.

Separate the peels from the sugar and slice thinly.

Store wrapped in wax or butcher paper, never a plastic bag.

Stir up the sugar and store in a tightly sealed plastic container.


Great for sprinkling on top of sugar cookies, sweet breads and scones.

Lemon, Orange and Pineapple Sorbet

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups of orange and pineapple juice
1/3 cup lemon juice from 2 to 3 squeezed lemons
4 to 5 tsps grated lemon rind

In medium saucepan, combine sugar and water. Over medium heat bring to a boil. Boil for five minutes, continually stirring. Chill the syrup.

In a bowl using a mixer or in an ice cream maker, add the remaining ingredients to the sugar syrup. Mix ingredients for five minutes with a mixer or 15 minutes in the machine.

Then pour into a 1 quart storage container, cover and freeze for about 5 hours.

This is delicious with minced sweet strawberries as a topping.

Vegan Panzanella and Vegan Classic Louisiana Remoulade Celeriac

Liberal splashes of olive oil and vinegar 

on large cubes of stale bread.

Add basil leaves to bread and stir.

Dice all vegetables.

Cook on low in olive oil, lidded,
for no more than 20 minutes.

Add to the croutons and stir.

Remove outer layer and wash well.

Vegan Remoulade: Veganaise, Curry, Tobasco Garlic Hot Sauce, Lemon Juice. Blend smoothly and layer on top of the celeriac (celery root).

Add a small amount of cheese of your choice.

 Layer homemade croutons on top and bake covered
with tin foil at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

Vegetarian/ Vegan Glazed Apple Jelly Turnovers

2 cups flour
14 tbls chilled unsalted butter or vegan spread, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten (or 1/4 cup applesauce)
2 tbls sugar
1 tbls chilled heavy cream (or a blend of 3/4 cup Silk vegan soymilk, vanilla 1/4 tsp, 1/8 cup vanilla soy powder, 1 tbls rice syrup, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp coconut extract, 1/2 cup oil, 1 tbls lemon juice)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt

In a large bowl, mix together with a beater, the flour, butter, egg (applesauce), sugar, cream, lemon juice, and salt and pulse until the dough starts gathering together in big clumps. Turn the dough out onto a counter and gather it together. Shape the dough as directed in the recipe you’re making.

The Apple Jelly recipe can be found here, though you can use any jelly or fruit preserve that has a very thick consistency. Bake at 380 degrees until lightly golden on the bottom.

Mix until smooth, one cup powdered sugar and five tsp of fresh lemon juice. Dribble on top of each turnover until daintily glazed. Avoid drowning them in the glaze or you will loose the flavor of the fruit inside the pastry.