Greens with Ecstasy

I have never been so ecstatic about greens!
Between the lettuce in our garden and the wonderful greens arriving weekly in our CSA bag from Southfield Organics, we are swimming in greens!


So tender, so tasty and oh so nutritious!!!

                                                                                                                                                          Even the boys notice the difference in the fresh picked, organic leaves. This past winter, as I served up the token bits of boring salad with our root veggies; night after night, William would send his greens back to the kitchen relatively untouched.

TIP: Never assume that  kids will never like a  certain food! Keep serving the food in small amounts. Refer to blog on Sweet Potato Success.




I sounded like a broken CD (?) -
"Eat your greens, eat your greens, elbows off the table, eat your greens!"



Well, fast forward to this summer - William is stuffing them into his mouth looking like a cow chewing grass. I am so happy that I resist the urge to insist on manners, instead, I revel in watching him enjoy his greens!

TIP: Interested in CSA boxes? go to: http://acornorganic.org/cgi-bin/acorn/search

Fresh homemade vinaigrette is a must for these greens!
Check out this list of ingredients on a typical commercial salad dressings: water, corn syrup, soybean oil, vinegar, egg yolk, salt, sugar, modified food starch, garlic juice, sodium lactate, MSG, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum, artificial color, polysorbate 60, spices, parsley, lemon juice concentrate, natural flavor, Vitamin E, lactic acid, natamycin.....WOW, I don't know about you - but I do not have a lot of those ingredients in my kitchen!

And you thought that you were being virtuous eating greens! Well, I want to push you one step further to make your own dressing - make enough for the week and store in the fridge - you will never go back to commercial salad dressings again!!

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette


Put the following ingredients into a 500 ml jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake, shake, shake!

1 cup extra virgin olive oil              
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
many crushed cloves of garlic












                                                                                                                                                                                                   This is our 'house' vinaigrette, but sometimes, if we are feeling a little reckless, we will make one or two of the following adaptations:
Use apple cider vinegar instead of balsamic.
Replace some of the vinegar with a couple of tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Add some chopped fresh chives, oregano, rosemary, etc
Add a some freshly ground pepper and salt

Why not come up with your favorite house dressing!
Believe me ecstasy is just a shake away!

Salade Nicoise: Nice for Summer!

I get very sentimental over Salade Nicoise - in fact, sentimental over almost anything that reminds me of 'Nizza la Bella' - the city of Nice in Southern France : rosemary bushes, pissaladiere, pain au chocolat, pan bagnat, olives .....hmmmm lots of food related memories!


In my twenties I was fortunate to spend a few months living in Nice under the guise of studying French. I actually did become quite functional at conversational french.... though not from sitting in the classroom!

My friend, Jan and I had an adorable apartment above a boulangerie. We could never resist the smells of fresh bread and pastries and would stop daily for a Pain au Chocolat or a Chausson aux Pommes! Janet and I  backpacked very companionably to many countries as we both felt strongly that meeting locals and sampling the food was an integral part of our European odyssey.


Side Story: It was on the beach of Nice that I had a tussle with the sea . We had been swimming at the magnificent beach with other Nicoise through November. On December 1st we noticed that the locals were not swimming. Thinking that they couldn't handle the cooler temperatures like we Atlantic Canadians; we  dove into the water on that wavy day in December.
The waves certainly were formidable, but being good swimmers we were not dissuaded. I stayed in the water longer than Jan and upon trying to get out was tossed around by the waves like a little pebble. I made several attempts to get to shore and was close to panic when finally I clawed my way up the rocky slope. Minutes after this little crisis, we saw the signs that had just been erected on December 1st: " Baignade est Interdite!" -  (Swimming is Forbidden!)


Despite this misadventure, I fell in love with the city and felt very at home there. Someday I will go back with Mike .... but will not swim in December!


This is a main course salad and is a perfect meal for summer. It can be assembled like a work of art and looks gorgeous on a huge platter. It is so easy, but when asked: " What's for dinner?" You can reply:" Salade Nicoise" - Trust me, they will be impressed - Wow, she can cook and speak french!


SALADE NICOISE
(adjust amounts to the number of people that will be eating)

lettuce greens, washed, dried and torn into bite sized pieces
small new potatoes, washed, boiled and cut in half
hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half
green beans, washed, blanched and refreshed (plunged briefly in cold water to halt cooking)
red ripe tomatoes, washed and cut into wedges
chunk tuna
black olives
anchovies (evidement optionel)
vinaigrette (perhaps just a blend of olive oil and red wine vinegar - 2:1 ratio.)


TIP:  the potatoes, beans and eggs can be prepared in advance and left to cool and marinate in a small amount of vinaigrette in the fridge.

Arrange lettuce on a large platter

Add tomato wedges and hard boiled egg halves.

Add blanched green beans, halved potato, and tuna...

Top it off with olives and a drizzle of vinaigrette. You may want to sprinkle chopped fresh basil or parsley on top and season with some freshly ground pepper and salt.

Serve with a nice baguette and a sprinkling of french words.
This is a comprehensive list of just about all of the french that I remember from my studies in Nice:
Bon Appetit!
S'il vous plait
Passez le poivre
Merci beaucoup
pas de quoi
Je voudrais un pain au chocolat
C'est delicieux!
Ou est la plage?
Baignade est interdite!

Bella is not excited about the Salade Nicoise - pauvre prives Bella!



Recommended Reading:

This is a wonderful summertime read:

Father's Day Celebration Strawberry Shortcakes

If Receiving this by e-mail; you can go the the blog homepage by clicking on the title: A Dietitian's Kitchen.

 

Is there any dessert more wonderful than the classic Strawberry Shortcake?

I know what you are thinking ..... what about 'healthy food'?

Let me explain:
Today is Father's Day; a day to celebrate our Dad's.

Side Story: A group of researchers, when studying attitudes towards food, asked a group of Americans what was the first word that came to their mind when they thought of chocolate cake.  They most often replied: guilt
When a group of french people were asked the same question, they replied: celebration!
Let's think about what we would respond to the word chocolate cake...how about YUM!

So my point is this: This dessert IS  real food, we make it from scratch with lots of love and attention...and dirty dishes!

I make strawberry shortcake at least 3 or 4 times a year when the local strawberries come out in all of their sweet, red glory. Mike is not a 'cake man', so I make it for Father's Day and his birthday in July.

The strawberries are from a roadside stand operated by a little old lady called Myrtle.
Myrtle gets up before dawn, PICKS the strawberries in the rich soils of Annapolis valley, then DRIVES 45 minutes to our area to sell them all day!


I have attempted to make healthier sorts of strawberry shortcake - whole grain biscuits instead of white, yogurt in place of whipped cream - but alas, the traditional buttery white flour biscuit and the whipped mountain of cream win out in the flavour, texture and taste department every time.


Father's Day Celebration Strawberry Shortcake:


The Biscuit:
Oven: 425


1 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
5 tbsp cold unsalted butter
3/4 cup buttermilk

Whisk the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda and baking powder together.
If desired, you could add a little lemon zest to the flour mixture.

TIP: grate the cold butter into the flour mixture instead of cutting it up into little pieces. Then work it into a mealy consistency with your fingers.

Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir in the buttermilk. Stir gently, and only until the dough is moistened.


Flatten out gently with your hands and cut into shapes.

Put the biscuits onto a parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.

The Strawberries:
Clean, hull and slice strawberries into a bowl. Add a couple of tbsp of sugar and let them 'macerate' - I know that sounds sexy, but it just means let them sit and get juicy in the sugar! Gosh, that sounds sexy too...or is it just me?? Luckily Mike comes home from a business trip tonight!

The Whipped Cream:
Whip the whipping cream until soft folds occur. Add a tablespoon of confectioners sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Do not over beat.


TIP: Have the bowl and whipping cream very cold before whipping.

The Assembly:
With great abandon, fill the biscuits with the strawberries and whipped cream and top with a good dollop of more whipped cream!
Really....do it  with great abandon!!!


           

 



God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,

He called it ... Dad

~~Author Unknown

Landlord in a Stew about Rhubarb Coloured Apartment

The pink and green of rhubarb brings back wonderful memories of my first apartment.
I shared this apartment with two great girls - all three of us -  20 years old and fresh St. Francis Xavier University graduates. I had lived at home during university, so I was over the top excited about the new pad!

The connection to pink and green comes in when we asked the landlord to flip for the paint so we could 'freshen up the place'. Mr. Hayman said 'sure - just keep it neutral'.
Well...neutral to a middle aged businessman is not the same as neutral to three 20 year olds .

We skipped off to the paint store and picked up cans of bubblegum pink, pistachio green and passionate purple. Pink walls, green cupboards, pink living room, purple bedroom.......neutral, right?
Wow, it was great! And what fun we had that year!
I don't believe we got our damage deposit back though -

                            The Three Roommates - circa 1986, Halifax

Neutral .... one thing we should never be neutral about is our health!
Without good health - we have nothing. We need to take great care of our bodies with unprocessed, real food, physical activity, good rest, and balance.

Most people are not neutral about rhubarb - either they really like it or they can't stand it.
Rhubarb is a great vegetable - yes, botanically it is a vegetable! It is known to be a cleanser, a stimulant for the liver and digestive system, and a good source of Vitamin A, Potassium and Calcium.

Rhubarb crisps, pies, muffins - love them all - but most of all good old fashioned stewed rhubarb.

STEWED RHUBARB

Wash and cut the rhubarb stems into 1 inch pieces -
Put 6 cups of diced rhubarb into a medium saucepan.

TIP: Put the rest of the diced rhubarb into freezer bags and freeze for up to 6 months.

Add about 2 tbsp of water and about 3 tbsp of sugar to the saucepan.
(Now, I like my stewed rhubarb to be tart so that my lips pucker a little when I take a bite - you may want it a little sweeter...but wait till it has stewed, then taste it and adjust sweetening at that time.)

TIP: You can also use honey, or other fruit such as apple or strawberries as a sweetener in stewed rhubarb.

Add a little grated ginger or some grated orange peel if desired.

Stir the rhubarb occasionally as it cooks, uncovered, over medium heat until it softens - oooohhh about 10 minutes. When it has softened, cover, lower heat and let it cook a few minutes longer.

Taste and adjust sweetening to suit your taste.
Can be enjoyed warm or cold. Store covered in the fridge.

I love stewed rhubarb with plain yogurt and homemade granola for breakfast! (I have come up with a great granola recipe - would you like me to blog on that?)

I wonder if Mr. Hayman likes rhubarb?? Or perhaps the pink and greenness makes him shudder.....

                                     Elaine and Edie 25 years later!
                            (Third roomie, Deirdre lives in Ontario)

Simple Saturday Supper starring Baby Bok Choy

When Saturdays start with a trip to the Hubbard's Market - you know it is going to be a wonderful day!

This market is such a special place - one meets old friends and makes new ones on every visit. The vendor behind the table grows, bakes, roasts or creates the product they are selling.

All of the usual marketer vendors were out - so nice to see they made it through the winter.
Music and laughter filled the air.  Happy customers lined up for coffee from The Laughing Whale Roaster and for artisanal breads at Julien's Boulangerie.



I told myself that I would stick to purchasing veggies and breads - and I did my best - HOWEVER,  it was not easy! I had to pass on adorable jewellery made from buttons and handmade lotions for my poor suffering gardening hands...oh, I almost forgot - I did buy some beeswax taper candles from Mike Bienstock - perfect hand dipped taper candles with the smell of honey wax. He looked at me with these innocent big blue eyes.... what could I do??
And one needs light, right?!

My bounty included a red lettuce, baby beet greens , baby bok choy, kale and basil to plant in my garden, a loaf of pumpernickel bread from Julien's , a roll for Will from Kirstens Kitchen - my bloggy buddy that I met for the first time face-to-face!

Ooooh, those button bracelets were so cute! The perfect gift for a friend or as a conversation starter on your wrist! Maybe she will be there next week! Restraint is not my middle name!

Lucky for me, restraint is not necessary regarding enjoying the gorgeous view on the way home!



The road home winds along the shore of beautiful St. Margaret's  Bay - we always stop at one of the many beaches.




                                                                                

Beach Baby Bella!


















 Will and Bella

When we returned home I grabbed my wagon and ran up the street to my neighbour buddies perennial and heirloom vegetable sale!


 These ladies are incredible gardeners! I didn't realize, until Niki moved into the neighbourhood, how much we could grow in our rocky and sometimes wet St Margaret's Bay!  Niki is a horticulturist with a radio show, magazine articles and a book in the making.



When I saw her garden photos in a local newspaper I couldn't  .......actually didn't........ , believe that this was grown three homes away from mine until I saw it with my own eyes!
That was the end of any excuses I had for not being able to grow veggies in my backyard!!


I didn't realize how many plants I bought until I returned home and had to create a couple of new spots to plant tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Restraint....not my middle name! Do you get overzealous when shopping for plants?

Finally, onto the raison d'etre for this blog....a recipe for Stir Fried Baby Bok Choy! ( Sounds like a good name for a rap star! )

Baby Bok Choy is rich in calcium, vitamins A and C. It is best cooked lightly to keep its nice crisp texture. Alternatively to this recipe, it is also delish stir-fried with sesame oil and tossed with a little soy sauce and sesame seeds!

Stir Fried Baby Bok Choy




Trim off the ends so that leaves separate for cleaning

Cut the stems from the leaves, keeping them separate, cut into bite- size pieces.

Heat a glug of EVOO in a pan, add minced garlic and grated fresh ginger. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

TIP: Tip the pan and pool the oil when you add the garlic and ginger...that way they will swim in the oil and release more of their gorgeous flavour.

TIP: keep a hand of ginger in the freezer. Peel off a little skin at a time and grate or slice off what you need - no more little shriveled hands of ginger at the bottom of your produce drawer!

Add the Bok Choy stems and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the leaves and cook for about 2 minutes.




Sprinkle with a little apple cider vinegar and freshly ground salt and pepper.

We had the bok choy with a couple of hard boiled eggs and the great pumpernickel bread.

A simple saturday supper on the sun porch!!



Life is good!!!

From Mush to Delicious

Mike and I recently celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary! The word 'wedding' may seem redundant in that sentence, but when you meet a man like Mike, you celebrate the day you met him, the day he proposed, etc. I know, I know - this is just too MUSHY....now stop putting your finger down your throat like that! Seriously, when you meet the person you want to be with forever, it is like magic, like a wonderful dream, like...like a recipe that works out just as you had hoped and will file in your 'forever and ever' recipe binder!

And believe you me, I have tried my fair share of recipes that have NOT worked out!
I aim to blog at least one new recipe a week, but was sent into a bit of a foodie funk after a disappointing encounter with a tofu burger.

Recently I have tried several recipes from a cook book that I have had for a few years, Moosewood Restaurant New Classics. Two were winners and will be added to my 'forever and ever' binder - but the tofu burgers were a complete flop.

The introduction sounded great -  "popular, yummy"  - so with optimism and naivete I jumped headfirst right into the recipe - even took photos to blog. To my dismay, the result was a bland and boring burger. I quickly realized this recipe was not a keeper when the boys resorted to soy sauce, ketchup and other 'flavor enhancers' to make them tolerable. What a sinking feeling when you give so much time and loving care to a recipe only to have it fail. Well, it is the past and I am over it... really.

After the recent flop I knew I had to 'get back out there'  again and start trying some new recipes. Luckily my nature is to not hold back -  to jump headfirst in again. Even if it turned out to be a rebound recipe, I knew I had to give it my best try!
So, I have always loved fish cakes such as crab and salmon cakes, but have not been able to reproduce the tastes that I have enjoyed in restaurants... until Moosewood's Salmon Cakes.

Everyone loved them and wanted more - no flavor enhancers requested!
Yes! I found another recipe for my 'forever and ever' binder!

SALMON BURGERS: adapted from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics
Warning: there is a lot of mush in this recipe

Put 2 cups peeled, diced potatoes, 1 cup chopped onion, and 1 cup peeled, chopped carrots in a large saucepan with water to cover them. Put the lid on and bring this to a boil. Then simmer for about 10 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Then add 2-3 fillets (about 1 pound) of skinned, 1 inch pieces of salmon to the pot. Cook for another 7 minutes and drain in a colander.

Transfer this to a bowl and mash it into mush. Fun!

To this mushy mixture, add 1 egg, 1 tbsp mayo, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1-2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp salt, some freshly ground pepper, and 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs.
Mix well - but not too well!
Heat up a small glug of olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Shape the mushy mixture in your clean hands and sprinkle with a little bread crumbs before carefully placing it in the heated pan.
Fry for approximately 4 minutes on each side - until crisp and golden.
Try serving these with a nice green salad dressed with some of the leftover lemon juice and olive oil - keeping the side simple so that the cakes can take center stage!

So you see; a little  MUSH can be delicious!

BTW - Mike and I celebrated by going to the Trellis Cafe in Hubbards, a little seaside village 25 minutes from here. It was a delicious meal of haddock, crab cakes, greens, wine, really fine coffee and homemade chocolate cake. Adding to the fun and ambiance were live music and a friendly crowd with many familiar faces.

Foraged Fiddleheads are Finger Food!

Yet another reason to love Nova Scotia - fiddleheads!
But fiddleheads as an appetizer?
Appetizers are not my forte - I usually do a no-cook item like grapes, cheese, olives, and bread. If I am hosting, I save my energies for the main events - main course and dessert -  and just rely on good wine and conversation to lead up to dinner...hoping no one will notice the absence of h'ors d'oeuvres.

Last week my fun, foodie friends asked me to bring an appetizer to a dinner party so
when I saw the baskets at the Halifax Farmers' Market filled with fiddleheads - I knew we had to have them! But Fiddleheads as an appetizer?...as a finger food?

Fiddleheads  are the tight little frond of an Ostrich Fern before the sun coaxes them to relax and open up. Reminds me of the fable about the wind and the sun - do you know it?  Real life lesson here people! Listen up!
The wind challenges the sun to a contest: " I bet I can get that man to take off his coat faster than you". The wind starts to blow and blow -but the man just holds onto his coat tighter and tighter. Now the sun's turn - All the sun had to do is beam her sweet face down on the man and, sure enough, he takes off his coat! Just for fun - if you know the moral of the story, please write in a comment.....

Back to fiddleheads - thus named because they look like the scroll of a violin - or fiddle. They are only available for a few weeks in early spring in Atlantic Canada and the Eastern States.
They are not farmed; but foraged. If you decide to go fiddlehead foraging, make sure it is the Ostrich Fern - some ferns can be toxic!

Fiddlehead Finger Food:
 
Wash your Fiddleheads very well - changing the water at least 3 times to remove all of the outer filmy brown skin. It is important that they are clean, but also the rinsing will improve the taste by removing some tannins that may lend a bitter taste. Then trim off any brown on the stem.

I didn't want to bother my host for a pan, butter etc..but they needed to be made on the spot...and be served hot, hot, hot! So I took my own pan with butter in it - the fiddleheads already cleaned and prepped.

Put the fiddleheads into a saucepan of boiling water and simmer for about 7-8 minutes - until they are bright green and tender crisp. Don't be alarmed by the residue of brown that may appear - it is just some tannin and plant matter.

Drain the water off, add the butter and saute for 3-4 minutes - I was lucky that Diana (host) had some lovely Fleur de Sel directly from France to sprinkle on top.
Now, I am going bold here - serve right away!

I really feel that it is important to keep it simple with fiddleheads -  no sauces or strong spices - so that you can enjoy the true taste of the new fern that just sprung up from the earth. A little garlic may enhance though.

Now... I think that the Fiddlehead can be classified in etiquette rules as a finger food in this circumstance. Similar to a whole stalk of asparagus in a casual setting. What do you think?
Here is my buddy, Brian enjoying - in fact - loving the fiddleheads. But using a fork?
Next time Brian - try it with fingers.
Hard to imagine, but they taste even better when popped into one's mouth with your fingers!

-