Citrus-Parsley Cucumber and Tomato Salad

This is a very classic recipe that you can see all over the place. I made this as a simple and brightly flavored accompaniment to BBQ Veggie Pizza for dinner one night and we enjoyed it. Leftovers were very delicious the next day after it had sat overnight in the refrigerator.

The feta cheese is optional, but delicious. If you use the feta, do not add in salt. If you don't use feta, you might want to add a pinch or two.

Citrus-Parsley Cucumber and Tomato Salad

• 1/2 small red onion
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 cucumber
• 6-7 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1 lime
• 2-4 ounces feta cheese (optional)

Slice the red onion very thinly. Cut the tomato into reasonably sized wedges. Halve the cucumber and slice into 1/4 inch half moons. Mince the parsley. Toss it all together in a bowl. Squeeze the lime juice on the top (you'll want 2-3 tablespoons) and mix again. Let sit for about 15 minutes, then add in the feta right before serving.

Fresh, Simple, Delicious

Pesto Hummus

The other night before I went to sleep I put a bunch of chickpeas in my slow cooker to simmer overnight. I do that quite often - put a pot of beans on the cook before I go to sleep and wake up the next morning wondering what to do with them. Despite not having any lemon juice on hand, I decided to make hummus. After scouring my refrigerator and pantry for lemon juice substitutes, I decided to use some pesto sauce that was sitting in there.

I used my homemade Broccoli Pesto, a thicker pesto. It would be simply delicious if you made the Broccoli Pesto, however you can use any pesto that isn't runny and saucy. Using the pesto, you don't need any tahini or olive oil.

This time I made the Broccoli Pesto with fresh parsley instead of spinach (as in the recipe) since that is what I had on hand. To match, I added some fresh parsley to the hummus. If your pesto uses basil, add basil - etc. This makes a pretty big batch of hummus - we eat it very quickly as a spread for sandwiches and dip for crackers and veggies. Cut the recipe in half if you don't think you'll eat it all in time.

Pesto Hummus

• 2 cups chickpeas
• 6 tablespoon Broccoli Pesto
• 1 tablespoon [vegan] mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• pinch of sea salt, to taste

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until thick and creamy. Add a little bit of olive oil if it's too thick for your tastes.

Mustard Vinaigrette

This week's Farmers Market trip went very well! I got so many delicious items from so many different farms that I can't even remember where they all came from. Here's a quick rundown of items and cost:

- 1/2 pound fingerling potatoes ($3)
- 1 pound red potatoes ($3)
- 1 pound asparagus ($5)
- 4 yellow onions ($2)
- bunch 2-foot long, huge bulbed sweet green onions ($1)
- bunch collard greens ($1)
- four baby bok choi ($1)
- head Chinese (napa) cabbage ($1)
- bunch garlic chives ($1)
- bunch red radishes ($1)
- head of purple romaine lettuce ($1)
- bag of tender, light green leaf lettuce ($2)
- 5 beautiful red tomatoes ($5)
- 1 cute heirloom tomato ($1)
- box of small young zucchini and yellow squash ($4)
- absolutely HUGE cucumber ($1.75)
- couple crowns of broccoli ($4)

And some of the farms I got them from. I visited a few that I hadn't seen before and some others that I don't always buy from and I can't remember their names! I'll be sure to do so next week.
- Bryson's Farm
- Goode Acres
- Hun's Garden
- Peacock Farms

Here's the super cute heirloom tomato we got from Goode Acres. We bought it because it looks like two tomatoes kissing :)

We missed the market last week because we were camping, so we had pretty much nothing in the kitchen already except for some parsley. I whipped up a quick salad with the napa cabbage, radishes, green onions, tomatoes and parsley and made this mustard vinaigrette dressing to go over it. It's slightly sweet, tangy and delicious. Here's a tip: if you buy dressing in a glass bottle, when it's all gone wash the bottle and remove the labels. Then you have a perfect sized glass bottle with a screw top lid for your homemade dressing!

Mustard Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• sea salt and ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until well mixed. When you store this in the refrigerator, the ingredients will settle and separate and the olive oil will solidify. When you go to use the dressing, let it sit out on the counter for twenty minutes or so before you use it, then shake it very well before you pour.

Fresh Herb and Vegetable Soup

One of the things that I love most about getting my produce from the Farmer's Market every weekend is that it forces me to get creative with the ingredients I have on hand. When you do your shopping at the grocery store, you have many options when it comes to produce. At times I am at a loss for what to cook simply because there are too many choices. At the Farmer's Market, I only have certain things to choose from and when I bring them home, that's what I have to make meals with.

This soup started out as a "throw it all in the pot" type of thing and ended up being one of the most delicious meals I have ever made!! I was skeptical the whole way through until I finally tasted it. WOW!! This is also the very first time I have ever made my own homemade stock. I have been saving the scraps of my onions, carrots, celery, herbs, peppers and other vegetables for months now and finally got enough to make a stock. It has a rich, deep flavor that is not comparable to anything store-bought. I can't wait to make more soups with this stock!!

Some of you may be thinking - soup in the spring?! Well, it's still rather chilly and very rainy and cloudy around here so soup is perfect. Also, this is made with spring ingredients. It's hearty and filling but refreshing at the same time, and full of flavor. We've already eaten the entire pot of this soup, it was that good. It didn't even make it until the next day!

For the mixed herbs, I used a combination of mostly watercress with some parsley, cilantro, spinach, and the green parts of the garlic plants I got at the market on Saturday. You can use whatever you have on hand to shape the taste. You might want to add a clove or two of garlic if you don't have garlic greens. For the potatoes, I used purple potatoes - they're my favorite. Yukon golds or red-skinned would work just as well.

We ate this soup ladled over some leftover cooked brown rice with slices of Bread of Life Bakery's spinach asiago bread on the side for a hearty and filling dinner.

I am sending this post to Weekend Herb Blogging, guest hosted this week by Honest Vanilla.

Fresh Herb and Vegetable Soup

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, sliced thin
• 2 small potatoes, chopped into small cubes
• 2 cups finely minced herbs - watercress, parsley, cilantro, garlic greens, basil, whatever you have
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• olive oil
• sea salt

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion with a pinch of salt until soft and translucent, about five minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor and add in half of the tomato and one cup of stock. Puree until smooth. Return to the pan and add the carrots, potatoes and remaining five cups of stock. Cover, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the carrots and potatoes are tender - about fifteen minutes. Stir in the herbs and remaining tomato and season to taste with sea salt.

red - purple - orange - green - for all your nutrition needs! 

Double Green Curry Salad

I made this salad tonight and immediately wanted to post it on here. I came up with this combination after staring at this week's farmer's market merchandise for a few minutes. It has a crispy, fresh crunch; pleasing green, orange, red and white colors and plenty of bright flavors from the citrus. If you like things spicy, use more curry paste, or you can tone it down a little.

We ate this salad as a meal along with some roasted fingerling potatoes. I melted some butter, tossed the raw potatoes in it and spread them out on a baking dish. Then I covered them with sea salt, ground black pepper and four or five cloves of chopped garlic - baked at 450°F until they were done. I love to do fingerlings this way - in fact I often put down my fork to just pick them up and eat them like fries! The skins get nice and crispy and the insides stay creamy and moist. Deeelicious.

Double Green Curry Salad

• 1/2-3/4 pound fresh green beans
• 6 red radishes, sliced
• 1-2 carrots, shredded
• 1/4 cup tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon Bragg liquid aminos or low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon (or more or less) green curry paste
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup fresh minced parsley or cilantro

Bring a pot of lightly water to a rolling boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice and cold water. Trim the straggly ends off the beans and cut them in half if they are very long. Boil the beans until they are bright green but still crispy, about three or four minutes. Drain and plunge into the bowl of ice water.
Combine the olive oil, lime juice, liquid aminos or soy sauce and green curry paste in a small container with a tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously until well mixed and smooth.

Drain the green beans and pat dry. If you have a salad spinner, you could give them a whirl in that to make sure they're really dry. In a large bowl, toss the beans, radishes and dressing until combined. Garnish with the sliced almonds and minced herbs. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Pasta e Fagioli

I got some fabulous dried cannellini beans from Carollo's Italian Grocery this weekend and the first thing I did when I woke up on Monday was put them into my crock pot to simmer all day so they would be ready to eat at dinnertime. Cannellini beans are some of my favorites, but it's sometimes difficult to find them dried rather than in cans.

Pasta e fagioli is a classic Italian soup, often made with parmesan cheese and day-old bread. I didn't quite feel like soup, so I made it as a pasta dish. Cannellinis are soft beans, so when they're well cooked they start to mash when mixed in with the pasta, giving the whole dish a creamy and rich texture. We ate this with locally baked flat bread covered with garlic butter and minced parsley and some Sicilian black olives.

I would like to dedicate this fabulous dish to my mother, who taught me everything I need to know about pasta.

Pasta e Fagioli

• 2 cups cooked cannellini beans
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed, roughly chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup peas
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 bay leaf
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup plus a couple tablespoons of olive oil
• about 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• about 1/2 cup sliced green onions
• about 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 8 ounces of short pasta
• sea salt, ground black pepper, crushed red pepper

Bring plenty of water to a rolling boil and cook the pasta until it is done. Various shapes and types (whole wheat, semolina, fresh, quinoa, etc) have different cooking times so check your package. Drain when finished.

Meanwhile, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. Saute the onion until it starts becoming translucent, about ten minutes. Add in the garlic, tomatoes, carrots, kale, oregano, thyme, basil and bay leaf. Cook and stir until the kale begins to wilt and you can smell the fragrant spices and garlic.

Mix in the cooked pasta, beans, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil. Stir until combined and season liberally with salt, black pepper and crushed red peppers. Garnish each individual serving with almonds, green onions and parsley.

Sending this to Presto Pasta Nights, guest hosted by Three Cookies

Bright and Fresh Chickpea Salad

It's growing season again! Every Saturday morning from here until winter will be spent at the Kansas City Farmer's Market, where I will buy produce from my favorite farmers! See the "Food Sources" page to see links to my favorite stalls and farms. There isn't too much available just yet, and a lot of my favorite stalls (such as Hun's Garden) were still only selling plants, but I did come out with some good buys! Here's the loot I came home with this week!


Bryson's Farm:
- 4 red, juicy tomatoes
- 2 lovely bunches of asparagus
- 1/2 pound of creamy fingerling potatoes
- 3 exquisite heads of garlic
- 1 bunch of crisp red radishes


Goode Acres:
- 1 bag of crunchy baby romaine lettuce
- 1 bag of delicious curly green kale

I saw a stall I had never seen before, drawn in by the signs declaring "RAWSOME DELIGHTS." They were selling two different kinds of raw cacao treats! One was a coconut chocolate truffle and the other had dates and pecans. I went for the dates! Ingredients:
coconut, pecans, cashews, cacao, walnuts, dates, agave, coconut oil, sea salt
All organic. $3.50 for three treats - we haven't eaten any yet. I think I'll save them for late at night ;)

Carollo's Gourmet Grocery is a fantastic little Italian deli and shop in the farmer's market area. From there I brought home:
- about a pound of mixed olives: Sicilian green, Greek black and Gaeta olives
- (what I was really excited about!!) THREE POUNDS of dried cannellini beans!!!! I can hardly ever find these anywhere... so when I saw them, I bought three pounds! I'll be giving some to my mom. I'll probably be making a pasta fagioli soup with the kale from Goode Acres very soon :)

Another part of Market Saturdays is coming home and making lunch out of all the produce left in the kitchen from last week. I must use the old stuff before touching the new! I had a lot leftover this week and managed to make a very delicious salad from it.

This salad is light, fresh tasting, crunchy and nutritious. The dressing is slightly spicy and dances on your tongue. My husband says he is going to use the leftovers to make a pita sandwich for dinner this evening. I used leftover white basmati rice, but I can imagine that any sort of rice will be great, or even another grain like quinoa or kamut that you may have sitting around.

I hope some of you get as excited for growing season as I do. Here's to months and months of farmer's market Saturdays! CHEERS :)

Bright and Fresh Chickpea Salad

• 2 cups cold, cooked chickpeas
• 1 cup cold, cooked rice
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 a zucchini
• 1/2 tomato
• 1/2 bunch green onion
• 1-2 romaine lettuce leaves
• 1/2 a jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons or so of fresh parsley leaves
• small chunk of fresh ginger, skin removed
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 teaspoon stone ground or dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Chop the carrot and zucchini into very small pieces. Dice the green onions and tomato and tear the romaine lettuce into bite size pieces. Toss in a bowl along with the chickpeas and rice.

Roughly chop the jalapeno, garlic cloves, parsley and ginger and add to a food processor. Pulse a couple of times, then add in the lime juice, dijon mustard and olive oil. Combine until they form a thick, creamy dressing.

Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix thoroughly. Let sit at room temperature or in the refrigerator for about fifteen minutes before enjoying.

(P.S. I know my pictures are never exactly professional - haha - but lately I've just been using my camera phone. So believe me, this salad is much brighter and delicious looking than the pictures allow for :)

Wild Hummus

I attempted making hummus quite a few times in my blender. Each time it was.... okay. Edible. Alright on sandwiches but not really on its own as a dip. I got a food processor for Christmas and I can't believe I hadn't tried to make hummus until yesterday (in March!!)

I went a little out on a limb here. This hummus has a long, but not complicated, list of ingredients - thus I have dubbed it "wild hummus." I looked at a bunch of recipes and took an element from each. The result is absolutely delicious. I immediately ate some with corn tortilla chips, and then used some more for pita sandwiches stuffed with tomato, zucchini, alfalfa sprouts and mushrooms.

Notice the recipe calls for two cups of chickpeas, not two cans. I never used canned beans. See my "tricks and tips" page for information about how I make dried beans easy to use.

To warn you, this makes a pretty big batch - we go through it pretty quickly around here. Halve everything if you don't think you can eat it all quickly enough (4-5 days).

If you would like this to be vegan, use a flavorless vegan yogurt, vegan mayonnaise or vegan sour cream.

Wild Hummus

• 2 cups chickpeas
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 3 tablespoons parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until completely smooth. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl often. The longer you blend, the smoother the hummus will be - once everything was initially mixed, I let it go for five minutes or so on its own. If you'd like a creamier hummus, add more yogurt or olive oil.

Sweet Chili Noodles

I love making stir-fried noodles loaded with vegetables and covered in delicious, tasty sauce. I have experimented with many combinations of ingredients to make sauces that are sweet, spicy or salty, with different noodle shapes and various vegetables.

This dish is sweet and slightly spicy, loaded with delicate but filling vegetables. Even though this is an Asian-style dish, I used whole wheat spaghetti pasta - simply because that's what I had on hand. Udon, rice, egg or any other grain-noodle would work well.

I first came across sweet chili sauce as a topping for plain grilled tofu from the prepared foods area of Whole Foods Market. It tastes exactly how it is named: slightly spicy but mostly sweet with a bright red color and thick texture. I get it in a bottle at Whole Foods Market, and it will definitely be at any Asian food store or maybe even the supermarket (be sure to watch out for funky ingredients). I would love to one day make my own sweet chili sauce!

The leftovers for this, I imagine, would be delicious eaten cold. I don't know for sure though because we didn't have leftovers :)

Sweet Chili Noodles

• 12-14 ounces noodles
• 4 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 3/4 cup sweet chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 4 cups shredded cabbage
• 6-8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup peas
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup minced fresh parsley
• olive oil
• Sriracha hot sauce for garnish

Cook the noodles according to the package directions and drain.

Combine the liquid aminos, sesame oil, chili sauce, garlic and ginger in a small bowl with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously until well combined. Toss with the noodles in a large bowl and set aside.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook for about five minutes or so. Add in the cabbage and balsamic vinegar, stir and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, then add in the mushrooms and peas. Continue cooking and stirring until the vegetables are cooked to your liking, an additional 2-10 minutes depending on how crunchy you like things.

Pour the vegetables over the top of the noodles and add in the minced parsley. Toss to combine everything together and serve with Sriracha if you'd like more heat.

Little Bit o Everything Salad

I sure do love a good salad! Well, sometimes. I go through phases. Sometimes I'll eat two salads a day for a week, sometimes the thought of a salad will repulse me. Salads are seriously the best way to get your vitamins and nutrients because the vegetables are all raw, but I can definitely sympathize with not always wanting cold, raw, crunchy vegetables. But, for when you do, this salad is one of my favorites!

For the best tasting salad, use organic produce! The chemical sprays and irradiation used on conventional produce greatly effects the taste and nutritional content. The skins of conventional produce are often tough, thick and very tasteless. This is unfortunate because the vast majority of the nutrients are located in or just below the skin. That is why I recommend to not peel the carrot, simply to wash it very well. The only thing you should be washing off your produce is dirt!!

This salad contains a little bit of every nutrient you could possibly need in a meal! To round it out, add a serving of a carbohydrate (half of a pita, a slice of whole grain bread, whole grain croutons) and have a serving of fresh fruit for dessert. The walnuts and chickpeas have a bit of protein but if you want more, add some baked boneless, skinless chicken or broiled shrimp!

Also, play around with the greens. I like to use one crunchy green (such as romaine) and one that's more tender, such as spinach, leaf lettuce or spring greens. If you have some access to frisee, endive or radicchio, throw that in!


Little Bit o Everything Salad

• 3 leaves romaine lettuce
• 1 cup loosely packed baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1 carrot
• 1 inch section cucumber
• 2-3 florets fresh broccoli
• 1 mushroom
• ¼ red pepper
• 2 heaping tablespoons cooked chickpeas
• 3 heaping tablespoons walnut pieces
• 1 tablespoon raisins, dried cranberries or currants
• 2 tablespoons vinaigrette dressing, such as balsamic

Chop the romaine lettuce and spinach into smaller pieces. If they are not pre-washed, wash in cold water and dry in a salad spinner or with a clean kitchen towel. Place into a bowl and top with the parsley.

Thoroughly wash the carrot (preferably with Veggie Wash). Use a vegetable peeler to peel long strips of carrot on top of the lettuces. Use about 25 strips. Eat the rest of the carrot, serve it on the side, or reserve for another use.

Cut the broccoli florets up into smaller pieces, if desired. Thinly slice the mushroom and dice the red pepper. Thinly slice the cucumber and then halve into half-moon shapes. Add all to the bowl. Top with the chickpeas, raisins and walnut pieces.

Just before serving, drizzle the dressing around the top of the salad. Toss and enjoy!

Colorful - Beautiful - Textures - Nutrients