Green Lentils with Kale and Steamed Quinoa

We are finding gorgeous tomatoes in our Ranui Gardens CSA box this month. You could use them in this stew-like dish, but I like to savor the rarity and freshness of the heirlooms in salads, sandwiches and raw—and use canned tomatoes here. I choose quinoa as the bed underneath the vegetables—feel free to substitute rice or any other cooked grain.

Precook the kale in another saucepan and add it at the last minute to the lentils.

1 ¼  cups red or tri-color quinoa

1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 onions, chopped

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup green lentils, sorted and rinsed

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

Real Salt

1 bunch Lacinato kale, stems removed and discarded

Freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the quinoa well to wash away the saponin coating. (Saponin is a natural pesticide quinoa produces so birds won’t eat it. It doesn’t harm humans; it just makes the quinoa bitter if not rinsed well.)

Bring 2 ½ cups of water to a boil and add the quinoa. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the water is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Just as with rice, do not stir—tilt the pan to see if there is any water left. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium flame. Add the onions and cook, stirring often until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the paprika, cumin and red pepper; cook and stir for several minutes.

Add the lentils, the tomatoes and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat; cook and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding more water if needed. The lentils should be tender to the bite.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the kale leaves and simmer them until the greens are tender to your tongue, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the water and let the kale cool on a cutting board.  Chop—about 1 inch apart with your knife, in both directions to cut the leaves. Stir the kale into the lentils. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over the steamed quinoa.

Makes about 4 servings.

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Sprouted Bean Trio Salad with Grilled Zucchini and Leeks

Sprouted Bean Trio Salad

I made this salad for a neighborhood potluck dinner—using some more of the 3 pound bag of truRoots Sprouted Bean Trio that I bought months ago at Costco. It says on the bag to boil in water for 5 minutes. Don’t believe everything you read—it takes 15 minutes and then needs to stand, covered for another 10. After that you can drain the beans and finish this protein-rich salad.

1 cup sprouted beans

3 to 4 small zucchini

1 leek, white part only

1 carrot, grated

¼ cup chopped summer savory leaves

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon Real Salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Bring 3 cups water and the sprouted beans to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered for 10 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl. Refrigerate.

While the sprouted beans are cooking and standing, heat up the grill and slice the zucchini. Toss the zucchini with some extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkling of red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Cook on the grill until much of the zucchini has golden brown marks. Dump onto a cutting board and chop into 1-inch pieces. Add to the sprouted beans.

Cut the leek in half and spray the cut sides with cooking spray. Lay the leek halves face down on the grill and cook until a light char appears. Chop the charred leeks and sauté them in a bit of olive oil until soft. Add to the beans along with the grated carrot and the summer savory.

Make a dressing with the ¼ cup of olive oil,  red wine vinegar, cumin, salt and cayenne. Pour over the sprouted beans and vegetables and stir very well. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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How to sell beets to a beet hater

• Start with golden beets, they are sweeter and the earthy flavor inherent in beets is less than in the red ones.
• Roast the beets, in the oven or on the grill—the result is concentrated sweetness–much more yummy than if the beets were boiled.
• Catch the beet-hater off guard by tossing roasted golden beets into a grain salad with spicy vinaigrette.
• When you acquire beets topped with greens as gorgeous as the ones in today’s Ranui Gardens’ CSA box—wilt the greens and incorporate them into the salad.
• Add roasted chopped walnuts and a bit of feta cheese, for crunch and saltiness.
  

  Golden Beets and their Greens

Barley Salad with Golden Beets and their Greens

4 medium beets with their green tops

1 cup pearl barley, rinsed

½ teaspoon plus another ½ teaspoon Real Salt

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 cup chopped red onion

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons rice vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice

Up to 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 or 3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

Heat a grill or oven to medium-high or 350° F. Cut the tops off the beets and set them aside. Gently scrub any dirt from the beets and wrap them up in foil. Roast the beets on the grill until they are-fork-tender, 45 minutes to an hour. Let them cool until you can handle them and remove the peel with your fingers. Dice the beets into ½-inch cubes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring 3 to 4 cups of water to a boil. Stir in the barley and ½ teaspoon of the salt and return to a simmer. Cook until the barley is tender to your tooth, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Wash the beet greens. Strip away and discard the stems.  Cut the greens into ribbons, about ¼-inch thick.

Heat the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mustard and cumin seeds along with the onion and and cook until the onion turns translucent. the mustard seeds will pop. Add the beet greens and cook, stirring every so often, until the greens have wilted, about 5 minutes.

Mix the beets, barley and wilted greens in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar, the remaining salt and the cayenne. (Use less cayenne if you want the salad less spicy.) Pour over the beets, barley and greens, and stir until everything is coated with the dressing. Refrigerate until the beets and barley are cold.

To serve, toss in the feta and walnuts. Taste and adjust the salt and cayenne if you determine the salad needs more seasoning.

Makes about 6 cups.

Golden Beet and Barley Salad

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Green Garlic, Basil and Edamame Salad

Bright green, freshly frozen and shucked, edamame is soybeans, right out of the bean pod. Perhaps you have enjoyed edamame in the shell as finger food, sprinkled with high quality finishing salt, at a sushi restaurant or at Deer Valley’s Royal Street Café. Edamame adds color (and protein) to any salad, and works well in any dish where you might normally use cold beans or green peas. Since we have sweet basil in our Ranui Gardens CSA box this week, it’s in this salad. Chiffonade/slice the basil leaves and add them at the last minute. Or feel free to skip the basil and substitute a different herb, such as chopped flat leaf parsley. This week’s green garlic is looking more mature than two weeks ago and more like the garlic we will see in a couple of weeks with its papery skin skin separating each clove. Now it is still very moist and maybe at the most flavorful of its cycle.

1 ½ cups frozen shelled edamame

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 stalks green garlic, trimmed and minced

2 tablespoons fresh basil, cut in chiffonade

¼ cup grated aged cheese, like Parmesan

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add some salt and the edamame. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, and then drain the edamame. Place in a bowl and stir in the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, basil and cheese. When everything is mixed, season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss again and serve over Ranui lettuce mix.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Eat your Ks and Qs

Happy Independence Day 2012. Enjoy our freedom and celebrate with this salad featuring two nutritional powerhouse ingredients, kale and quinoa, k and q.

Kale and Quinoa Salad

I took advantage of this week’s Ranui Gardens CSA assortment to incorporate as many veggies as possible—but know that this grain salad is very flexible. Just start with about 2 cups of any cooked grain, chop your own mixture of crunchy and leafy vegetables and allium (like scapes or scallions or shallots) and dress with acidic vinaigrette. For extra crunch and protein, toss in toasted affordable sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds, or splurge with pine nuts.

For today’s salad I steamed tri-color quinoa, but that is up to you. I also wilted the chopped kale, an idea from girlfriend Teri. We agree that it turns the kale more emerald in color and helps it absorb the dressing.

 Quinoa and Kale Salad

1 cup quinoa

1/2 teaspoon plus 1 teaspoon Real Salt

1 ½ cups water

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup rice vinegar, or freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

Large pinch cayenne pepper

Garlic scapes, as desired

Green shallots, as desired

1 bunch curly kale, washed

1 cup chopped pea shoots

2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley

Radishes, (or jicama or water chestnuts) cut in ½-inch dice

Rinse the quinoa well with hot water to remove the bitter saponin coating. Strain in a wire strainer.

In a saucepan, bring the water and ½ teaspoon of the salt to a boil. Add the quinoa, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the water is absorbed. (As for rice, do not stir, but check every so often by tilting the pan to the side to see if there is any water left to absorb.) When the quinoa is tender and the water is gone, let stand, covered, and allow to cool.

Make a dressing with the olive oil, rice vinegar, garlic, remaining salt and cayenne. Set aside.

Toss the garlic scapes with olive oil and salt and pepper. Cook them on a grill and chop them, or chop them and sauté in a pan until tender. Chop the green shallots and sauté with a bit of oil as well. Put these in a large bowl.

Strip and discard the stems from the kale—them chop into ¼-inch by 1-inch strips. If you wish, microwave for about 30 seconds. Add the kale to the bowl, along with the pea shoots, cilantro and radishes. If your refrigerator offers other interesting vegetables, add them as well.

Dump the cooled quinoa on top of the veggies and pour the vinaigrette on top. Toss everything well. Season to taste with more salt and cayenne. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. If you are adding nuts or seeds, toss them into the salad just before sharing with your friends and family.

Makes 8 to 10 servings, of course depending on what you put in your salad.

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Warm Chickpeas and Mizuna

I bought a new cookbook this summer that sounded right up my kitchen—Super Natural Every Day. Author Heidi Swanson blogs at 101 Cookbooks. 101 Cookbooks has a fun premise for someone like me who has a hard time resisting another cookbook—Heidi decided to cook her way through her own collection of more than 100 cookbooks and chronicle the recipes. Her site has since evolved and continues to be an exploration of recipes in her life, focusing on natural, whole foods; I imagine her writing is now famous enough that she makes a living as a blogger. And a cookbook author, because the two help support each other. At any rate, I bought her new cookbook. Heidi is a fabulous writer and when I have time I indulge myself by catching up with her blog.

In Super Natural Every Day, there is a recipe for Chickpeas and Dandelion Greens. Here is my twist, with mizuna, another green (with a bitter edge of flavor) that we find in our Ranui Gardens CSA box this week.

2 cups cooked chickpeas (otherwise known as garbanzo beans), or 1 (15-ounce can) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Real Salt

½ pound (or so) mizuna leaves

1 teaspoon sherry wine vinegar

¼ cup toasted pinenuts or walnut pieces

Put the oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and some salt in a large skillet. Heat over a low flame, stirring often, until the garlic begins to sizzle, but before it gets any brown color at all. Stir in the chickpeas. Add the mizuna to the skillet and stir as it wilts. Sprinkle on the sherry wine vinegar, stirring. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the nuts.

Makes 2 to 4 servings.

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Gazpacho Ranui

I confess that we haven’t yet emptied our fridge of last week’s Ranui Gardens CSA box—I worked late 4 evenings and so did Robbie and we didn’t have the energy to cook a “real” meal. One warm evening I sat on the deck at 8:45 and devoured nothing but a grilled ear of corn from Wednesday’s Park City Farmer’s Market. Just last night Robbie grilled the zucchini and a couple of yellow onions, filling for quicky burritos, along with black beans, cheese and salsa. I still have parsley, well preserved in a jar of water; a cucumber and most of last week’s green onions await rescue from our cold produce bin. Bring it on, this seasonal splendor, and let nothing go to waste. Tonight I am making gazpacho, to delve well into today’s new late August bounty.

Gazpacho. Usually a raw puree of fresh tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers, olive oil and an acid, like wine vinegar, gazpacho is cold summery soup. The name is Spanish, from the Andalusia area of the south of Spain, where fresh vegetables have a much longer season than we do here in the Utah mountains, but the ingredients are local and were gathered today, well except for what’s still in the fridge from last week.

As you can see, this recipe is not written in stone: I want you to feel free to change things around depending on what’s in your larder. Substitute lemon juice or Key lime juice for vinegar, add more or less of any vegetables, some in the puree, some neatly diced for texture.

Green Gazpacho with Feta Crumbles

This week mine is quite green; because I used less of the V-8 and a green heirloom tomato and added the arugula. Garnish your version with crumbled feta cheese or hard boiled egg for added protein, and toasty croutons for crunch. Try “white” gazpacho, with a cup or so of plain yogurt stirred in the puree, and the tomatoes diced, on top for color.

Gazpacho Ranui

2 or 3 garlic cloves

8 to 16 ounces V-8 or Knudsen Very Veggie juice

2 cucumbers, peeled and seeded

1 or 2 small zucchini

1 green bell pepper or 1 Anaheim chili pepper

2 or 3 ripe tomatoes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar, red wine vinegar or lemon juice

Handful arugula, stems removed and discarded

Fresh chopped herbs, such as basil, thyme and/or oregano

Fresh chopped parsley or cilantro

½ cup or so sliced green onions

2 cups cold vegetable broth

Sea salt

Fresh ground pepper

With the motor of the food processor running, mince the garlic by dropping it through the feed tube. Process until it is very fine. Add the V-8 juice. Coarsely chop half of the cucumber, zucchini and bell pepper. Put that into the processor. Finely dice the other half of these vegetables and set aside for garnish. Coarsely chop the tomatoes; add them to the processor. Add the arugula. Process until smooth. Pour into a bowl and whisk in the oil, vinegar, herbs, green onions and veggie broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve very cold, chilled over an ice bath or after some time in the fridge. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

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Rice Noodle Salad

Robbie has a favorite lunch when he is working from home—miso soup with mixed veggies and brown rice noodles. He was fixing this for several months until I got on the bandwagon. It makes a light, gluten free and yummy mid-day meal. While I prepare mine a bit differently, with edamame out of the shell, finished with cut pieces of nori seaweed sheets, the bottom line is we keep plenty of Annie Chun’s rice noodles in the pantry. About 6 months ago our Park City Whole Foods stopped carrying the ¼-inch noodles. We tried the skinny rice noodles but they just don’t feel the same on the tongue, so, not to be deterred and disappointed, I found them on-line, at alice.com an Internet “marketplace” with free shipping. When Alice thinks it is time for us to order more noodles she sends us an email.

The calendar says it is summer, though the cool nights and monsoonal afternoons have us wondering. Maybe the heat in this Rice Noodle Salad will raise the thermometer, both inside and out.

Rice Noodle Salad

Rice Noodle Salad

8 ounces dry Pad Thai brown rice noodles (1/4-inch-wide noodles)

1 cup unsalted, lightly roasted peanuts or cashews

4 green onions, chopped and divided in two portions

½ cup sweet chili sauce

1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

2 tablespoon lime juice or rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Thai baked tofu

1/2 cup hot water

1 medium (8-ounce) cucumber, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced

1 carrot, shredded or cut into think half-moons

1 small zucchini, cut into matchstick lengths

1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced

¼ cup chopped fresh lemon basil

1/2 cup unsalted, lightly roasted peanuts

8 ounces Thai or teriyaki “Oriental style” baked tofu, diced, optional

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Break the rice noodles in half and add them to the water. Boil, stirring frequently, until a noodle fished from the water is just tender, 3-1/2 to 4 minutes. Be careful, another minute can easily overcook the noodles. Drain the noodles, rinse with cold water, and drain again thoroughly. Set aside.

In a food processor, pulse the nuts until they are small pieces. Add half of the green onions, along with the sweet chili sauce, grated ginger, lime juice, soy sauce and sesame oil. Puree with hot water to make a sauce to coat the noodles. In a bowl combine the remaining green onions, cucumber, carrot, zucchini and jalapeno chile. Add the noodles and toss to coat. Mix in the lemon basil and remaining peanuts and the tofu, if using. Serve cold.

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Chipotle Cilantro Salad Dressing

We are on a big social whirlwind this vacation in The Gorge. First came Laura from Twisp, bearing fresh-picked succulent strawberries and lettuce from her garden. Robbie’s Dad from Bend came the next night—they set up their travel trailer 10 feet away and hooked into our septic for their wastewater. My sisters and niece from Seattle overlapped my in-laws so we hosted a pizza-on-the-grill party. You should have seen me rolling the dough with a wine bottle.

As soon as family left us, we started the parties, getting invited or inviting. Tonight we have veggie burgers at our camp. As seems to be the norm, everyone’s lettuce is begging to be picked all at once so the salads are generous. I personally scarfed down a few servings of Spinach Salad with Curry Dressing last night. Basil is in this week’s Ranui CSA box, so enjoy every bite and squirrel some away. I am pretty sure the basil I washed this morning won’t make it back to Park City in good enough shape for pesto so save some for us.

Down the street, I sit here typing, with a view from the bluff overlooking the Columbia River, and the kiters and windsurfers enjoying the waves. A barge is going through them all right now. I have a direct shot of Hood River and Mount Hood, if I just move my eyes a foot above the screen. There’s also an internet connection, a washer and dryer and great salad recipes in Andy’s journal—and I am taking advantage of it all. Andy says this recipe comes from Nordstrom’s. Sure enough, upon Googling, I found they serve this dressing tossed with mixed greens, sliced chicken breast, corn kernels, and cubes of jack cheese, tomato wedges and toasted pumpkin seeds. I’ll skip the chicken but I have all the salad greens I want.

Chipotle Cilantro Salad Dressing

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

¼ cup fresh-squeezed lime juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons chipotle chiles en adobo, chopped

2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar

½ teaspoon Real Salt

¾ cup canola oil

1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and stems

Blend the vinegar, lime juice, garlic, chiles, honey and salt in a blender. Then, slowly drizzle in the canola oil until it is incorporated, followed by the cilantro, stems and all.

Makes about 2 cups dressing.

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Lentil and Quinoa Salad

"camping" in Underwood

I am going to miss our CSA box this week, as we are “camping” on our lot in Underwood Washington, a sleepy town near the bluff overlooking the Columbia River and 5 minutes from the Hood River Bridge that crosses the river. Everyone says we arrived just in time, as it has been June-uary and even Feb-july until 2 days ago.

I was so busy working and packing until Sunday morning that I didn’t have time to cook—and use up the scapes, summer savory and tarragon from last week’s box, not to mention all the chive blossoms from the week before. But all those herbs were preserved in the jars in the fridge until we loaded the ice chest, so they were perfectly ready to go into last night’s salad, our contribution to a patriotic potluck party in our Underwood neighborhood.

This is a big salad, and even though there were close to 50 guests at the party, I took home enough leftovers for lunch today. You could easily cut the amounts in half and serve 8 to 10—or 25 if there are 20 other salad choices like last night. Slice the radishes in this week’s box and toss them in as well.

Tri Color Quinoa

Lentil and Quinoa Salad

2 cups tiny green lentils, rinsed and picked over

1 cup quinoa (I used half red quinoa and half regular)

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2/3 cup red wine vinegar

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons Real Salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup finely chopped summer savory (the leaves of one bunch)

1/3 cup finely chopped tarragon leaves (from one bunch)

2 cucumbers, peeled and seeds removed, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 red pepper, cut into ½-inch pieces

½ to 1 cups scapes

½ cup or so of chive blossom florets, separated from the blossom

Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add a shake of salt (1/4 teaspoon or so) along with the lentils and cook until tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain, place in a large bowl, drizzle with some olive oil and set aside to cool.

Rinse the quinoa and drain in a fine-mesh sieve. (Quinoa has a natural coating called saponin that repels insects and birds and can create a bitter taste. Rinsing with warm water removes the saponin.)

In another saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add another shake of salt and the rinsed quinoa. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cook about 15 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Add the cooked quinoa to the bowl of cooked lentils.

Mix the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the lentils and quinoa. Stir in the savory and tarragon. (Be sure to use plenty of herbs because they provide dazzle.) Toss in the cucumbers and red pepper, and season to taste. Chill in the refrigerator to let the flavors meld.

You have the option of grilling the scapes or sautéing them in some oil until they are tender. When I went to grill the scapes last night, the propane tank was empty. Instead of switching to another tank, I just cut them into the ½-lengths beforehand and pan-sauteed them. Either way, season the scapes with salt and pepper. When they are tender, toss them into the salad with the chive florets. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper seasoning. Refrigerate until you leave for the party.

Lentil and Quinoa Salad on a bed of Ranui lettuce

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