One for the books

After a long day spent running around in the sun there was nothing better sounding than fresh greens, crisp things, and ricotta cream.

A sweet pause button enjoyed at the open fronted restaurant Lea as the setting sun stretched out across the sky in bands of gold and pink beyond the street.

A deep breath in a bowl.


A means to lean back a little easier.


A feel good clean you want to eat again and again.

Within a week after this dinner my whole mouth was craving these flavors again, so I took it home, only to realize this salad wasn't as relaxing as I thought.

After tossing the ingredients together the first time I sat down to a soggy bowl of ricotta smeared greens: still flavorful but not quite right.

So of course I had to make it again.

A little research showed me that I might be using the wrong type of ricotta, but wanting to keep the fresh vibe of the salad, I wasn't convinced it's aged counterpart would do the trick.  In mixing the two together I found the cheese could form a chunk that didn't weigh the greens down, a delicious blend that was perfect.

So perfect that it took me well past daylight to get it right.  Which meant no pictures.  Which of course meant I had to make it again.

As I tossed the ingredients together for a third time I started to question if I really meant that this was a salad one could eat again and again.  With a fridge full of leftover asparagus, peas, and radish behind me I sat down finally.

I took the final first bite and it hit me again.

A pause, a deep breath, and a soul beaming with victorious glory.

Ricotta Salad

Inspired by Lea

Ingredients

• Asparagus, blanched
• Bread
• 1-2 radish, chopped
• Greens, of choice
• Mint
• White vinegar
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Snap peas, chopped
• Snow peas, chopped
• Ricotta
• Hard cheese (such as ricotta salata, parmesan, or asiago), grated

Combine
For the asparagus:

1. Fill a large mixing bowl halfway with cold water and a few ice cubes.
2. Cut the hard bottom ends off the asparagus, then cut each stem in half.
3. Add half an inch of water to a large pot with a steamer, bring the water to a boil, add the asparagus and cover the pot, steaming for 2-3 minutes until the asparagus turns bright green.
4. Dump the asparagus into a strainer, then submerge the strainer in the ice-bath for 3 minutes until the asparagus is cooled.

For the toast:

1. Toast slices of bread to liking, spread with a little ricotta cheese.
2. Slice the radish very thinly.
3. Heat a little olive oil in a small pan over medium heat.  Add the radish, cook until browned, then dump on toast.

For the salad:

1. In a large mixing bowl whisk together a little oil and a little vinegar.
2. Gently toss the greens and mint until just covered.
3. In a small mixing bowl, toss teaspoons of ricotta with parmesan.
4. Toss the ricotta, peas, asparagus, and greens gently together.
5. Enjoy!

If you offer a foodie farm fresh produce...

If you offer me farm fresh produce, chances are I'll hardly be able to turn it down.  Which is why, despite the fact that I had a fridge full of food at home, when I walked by my local greenmarket and heard the beautiful skinny green stalks of asparagus calling my name from their bin I knew I was going to end up taking them home.

It was a purchase that I almost felt guilty about, as I thought about my week and realized there was a large chance that they would go to waste before I could use them, but luckily everyone loves fresh produce.


So I decided to make something I could share, and since everyone also loves breakfast I knew the two would go hand in hand.

I envisioned crossing a frittata and quiche to make a batch of farmer's market egg cups by lining a muffin tin with little circles of dough, twirling little pieces of asparagus around each cup in the shape of little green roses, and filling the gaps with freshly whisked egg and feta.

The feat turned out easier dreamed than done.

As someone who's never made a frittata or a quiche or egg cups I ran into several unforeseeable issues.  First off, muffin tins are much smaller than you think, so the crust took up so much room and the asparagus did not exactly form into rings as I thought.  Additionally, I knew the asparagus and onions and garlic would have to be cooked slightly before putting them in the egg but the oil used to saute them robbed the dish of freshness.

I was filled with disappointment as I popped the pan into the oven, and as I cleaned up the mess I had made I started thinking of all the things I could've done differently.

In the five minutes it took me to wash the dishes I had thought of so many delicious changes, like how it would be easier to circle the asparagus if I used a pie pan instead of a muffin tin, how the crust would be better if it could be butterless, and herbed, and maybe even gluten free, and how the dish would feel fresher if the onions were soaked and asparagus flash steamed instead of sauteed, that I knew I had to make it again.

So back to the farmer's market for more asparagus I went!

Farmer's Market Frittata

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2 T cornstarch
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1 T dried herbs of choice (I used basil)
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 c Greek yogurt
• 2 T coconut oil

For the filling:

• 1 bunch of skinny asparagus
• 1/2 Vidalia onion, very thinly sliced
• Balsamic vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• White vinegar
• Feta, thinly sliced and crumbled
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika if desired
• 6 eggs

Combine:

1. Slice the onion as thinly as possible, place in a bowl, and cover with balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
2. Place the garlic in a second dish and cover with white vinegar and a pinch of salt.  Set aside.
3. Use a food processor to mix the dry ingredients for the crust, add the oil and pulse until crumbly, then add the Greek yogurt and pulse again.  Pulse a few more times until the crumbs come together in a large chunks or one ball.
4. Take the dough out of the processor, roll it into a ball, wrap in plastic, and set in the freezer.
5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and line a pie pan with parchment paper.
6. Cut the hard ends off the asparagus, cut the stalks in half, and rinse very well. Place a steamer in a large pot, add an inch or two of water, bring to a boil, then add the asparagus and steam for 1-2 minutes until bright green and just barely softened.
7. Take the dough out of the freezer, place the ball between 2 sheets of Saran Wrap, roll into a disc the same size as the bottom of the pie pan, and roughly 1/4 of an inch thick, yes I used a wine bottle for this.
8. Place asparagus spears around the pan in a circle, fill the gaps loosely with onion slices, then top with another layer of asparagus. Note: I tried to use more ends for the bottom layer and more tips for the top layer so you can see the pretty tips of the asparagus.
9. Strain the vinegar off of the garlic and whisk the garlic into the eggs with a pinch of salt, pepper, and paprika, then slowly and evenly pour the egg over the asparagus.
10. Sprinkle with crumbled feta and freshly cracked pepper.
11. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the center is just set but still moist looking.
12. Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing and enjoy!

Glazed

Weekdays are seriously hard enough already without having to also stress about how to put together a tasty, nutritious, filling, dinner.

Usually when I tell my friends what I made for dinner their first question is "how long did that take you though?"  The answer: not that long!

Slaving away in the kitchen is overrated regardless of whether or not you've had a long day; here is a fool proof recipe and some tips on how to get it on the table!

I usually toss my protein in the fridge then put everything else I need on the counter.  Start by prepping your cooking utensils, in this case turn on the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper/foil.  It's super inconvenient to do this at the last second so doing it first gets it out of the way.

Next I prep my spices.  In this case you are whisking together your glaze and  keeping some oil, salt, and pepper handy.

For this dinner I chose a side of asparagus, beets, and an arugula salad.  Grab a cutting board, a knife, and a veggie peeler.  First rinse and peel your beets, then slice them up, pour a little olive oil into your hands then hand toss the beets over your cutting board.  Scatter them around the edges of baking sheet and give them a 5 minute head start in the oven.

Meanwhile, rinse your asparagus, then chop off the woody end parts, and hand toss them in olive oil. Scatter your asparagus around the edges of the same baking sheet - its okay that they will over lap the beets.

Place your salmon in the center of the baking sheet and cover generously with glaze.  Bake for 15-20 more minutes depending on the size of your salmon and how cooked you prefer it.

While you wait for the salmon to cook toss your side salad in a dressing of choice: I usually make a quick and dirty balsamic by tossing some Dijon with balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Use a meat thermometer to check the temp on your salmon then plate up and enjoy!

Apricot Glazed Salmon

Ingredients

For the Asparagus and Beets

• Asparagus spears, rinsed
• 1 medium beet, rinsed, peeled, sliced
• 2 T olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Salmon

• 1 1/2 T all natural, unsweetend Apricot preserves
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 1 t pure onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Salad

• 1 handful fresh Arugula
• 1-2 t dijon
• blue cheese crumbles

Combine

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degree.
2. Whisk the apricot preserves, balsamic, onion powder, salt and pepper together.  Taste the glaze and adjust the spices to your liking.
3. Toss the beets in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and spread around the edges of a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving a space in the center where you will place the salmon.  Give these a baking head-start while you prep the asparagus and salmon.
4. Chop the root-ends of the asparagus off then toss the spears in the rest of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Set aside.
5. Spread the asparagus around the edges of the baking sheet on top of the beets.
6. Place the salmon in the center of the sheet and spoon the glaze all over the top of the salmon.
7. Bake everything for 15-25 minutes until cooked throughout.
8. While you wait for the salmon, toss arugula with a few teaspoons of dijon and top with crumbled blue cheese.
9. Enjoy!

The 9 o'clock salmon dinner

More often than not I start my days at 6:30 in the morning but don't see them end until 8:00 at night.  And I don't mean I spent 14 hours having the time of my life, I'm talking about the days we spend 14 hours dragging ourselves around.

Waking up, commuting to work, being at work, going to the gym, running errands, etc, etc.

To do lists seem like they make time evaporate and the most exhausting part is crossing every task off only to realize you don't even have enough energy left to unwind.

In these moments I am often tempted to go home and eat a PB&J or bowl of cereal accompanied by a bottle of red wine before dragging my butt to bed, but I have found that ditching the late night sammy for a great dinner like this one not only matches the wine much better but also helps dramatically when you know you have to wake up in 8 hours to start dragging again.

Weeknight dinners should be super, super easy and good enough to make the day's weight on your shoulders melt right off.  This salmon takes about 10 minutes to throw together and all you need is a cutting board, a knife, and a baking sheet.

I always start by turning on the oven and getting my cooking supplies ready, in this case I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper then left it out of the way on top of the stove.  The things I prep first are the most annoying: peel and chop your garlic before you do anything else unless you want the stupid paper-skin-stuff to get stuck all over your hands!  A great way to get this done is to peel off the excess skin then place the clove on a cutting board, use your palm to crush the flat side of a knife against it, pick off the rest of the skin, then chop it up.

Rinse the garlic off your hands and wash the asparagus off while you're at it.  Chop the tough root ends off the spears, pour a drizzle of olive oil into your palm, then rub the spears thoroughly with oil before scattering them along the outer edges of the baking sheet and sprinkling with salt and pepper.

Unwrap the salmon and place it in the center of the sheet.  Sprinkle or brush with a little balsamic, so the salmon is just coated but not drenched and overflowing.  Rub the minced garlic, a healthy sprinkle of garlic powder and pepper, and a small sprinkle of salt on the salmon then toss in the oven. 

Pop open a bottle of wine while you wait for the timer to ring and stir some dill, horseradish, and feta into greek yogurt.  Fifteen minutes and one glass of wine later, your fancy weeknight dinner is ready to be enjoyed!

Garlic Salmon with Asparagus and Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

For the Salmon

• 8 ounces of salmon
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
• 1/4 - 1/2 t pure garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• asparagus spears
• 1 T olive oil

For the Yogurt Sauce

• 2 T Greek yogurt
• 1 t horseradish
• 1 t dill, dried
• 1 t feta

Combine

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Coat the asparagus spears with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Spread around the edges of the baking sheet leaving a space for the salmon.
3. Place the salmon in the center of the sheet and slowly drizzle balsamic on the fillet, coating it completely.  Sprinkle the fillet with the garlic powder, salt and pepper, then cover the top with the fresh garlic.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the salmon is cooked throughout.
5. Whisk together the ingredients for the yogurt sauce and spoon onto the asparagus before enjoying!