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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Ranui Greens and Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese Vinaigrette

The 11-ounce roll of goat cheese from Costco in my fridge begs to be made into this dressing. Use a mixture of greens and arugula.

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

summer savory at Ranui Gardens

3 tablespoons sherry wine or red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped summer savory leaves

1/3 cup goat cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Whisk the olive oil, vinegar and savory in a bowl with a fork. Add the goat cheese, smashing and whisking it into the dressing. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

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Sesame Shiitake Vinaigrette

Beautiful Ranui salad greens every week. We will miss them this winter–salad greens from the store don’t even come close in flavor and freshness. Back in June, I wrote about my homemade version of a popular bottled dressing, sort of promising the recipe, so, to help savor these last 2 weeks of salad greens before our CSA boxes stop coming, here it follows.

I am a label reader and I make a point to not buy anything with a list of additives. Many commercial salad dressings, organic or not, include something called xanthan gum—usually the last ingredient, which means it is the smallest ingredient by percentage. Xanthan gum seems pretty harmless, a bacteria, like yogurt or blue cheese, grown on (usually corn) sugars. It’s widely used in gluten-free baking and readily available–Bob’s Red Mill is a common brand, sold in a bag with so much xanthan gum you’ll need a gluten-free baking spree to use it up. In salad dressings, xanthan gum gives viscosity, so it sticks to the food, and it acts as emulsifier, to keep the oil and vinegar from separating right away. I bought some xanthan gum, and it’s included in my recipe, though it is not a crucial component, and its thickening and emulsifying powers won’t be apparent right away. I wondered why, but if you think about it–we certainly don’t use commercial salad dressing the same day it’s made in the factory.

I also use canola oil. I’ve experimented with extra virgin olive oil, and so can you, but the result is heavier—I think this dressing should be light, less Italian, more Japanese. Taste your sesame seeds for freshness–they stale quickly—and replace older seeds that have gone rancid.

Sesame Shiitake Vinaigrette

1 dried shiitake mushroom

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

3/4 canola oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce

2 tablespoons mushroom soaking water

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum powder

Put the mushroom in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak until the mushroom is soft. Toast the sesame seeds in a small skillet, stirring until they are golden in color. Remove from the heat so they don’t burn.

When the mushroom is soft, saving 2 tablespoons of the soaking water, trim and discard the stem; chop the mushroom.

Put the oil, vinegar, soy sauce, reserved soaking water, sesame oil, the chopped mushroom and xanthan gum in a blender. Whir just until the mushroom is in tiny pieces, about 10 seconds. Add the toasted sesame seeds and blend a few seconds more.

Store in a glass jar, refrigerated. Makes about a cup—recipe can be doubled, no problem.

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Grilled Zucchini Ribbon Pasta

View of Ranui from Hoyt Peak

Our high-altitude CSA is beginning to reap the benefits of a warm summer–this being our first week for basil and second for zucchini. We are lucky that our mountain night temps are cool and will refresh a kitchen hot from baking and cooking–but outdoor grilling and simple pasta do little to heat the house in the first place. So pre-heat a grill to high and bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove.

1 or 2 zucchini, depending on size, (about 2 pounds)

Extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tabelspoons sherry wine vinegar or fresh-squeezed lemon juice

8 ounces fettuccini noodles

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts of chopped walnuts

1/4 cup fresh sweet basil, cut in 1/4-inch chiffonade

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or similar aged cheese, optional

Trim the ends from the zucchini. Slice it, lengthwise and thinly, about 1/8-inch thick. Brush the lengths with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the zucchini quickly, about a minute on each side, until it wilts into tenderness and has light grill marks. Sprinkle with the vinegar and set aside.

Add salt to the boiling water, and cook the pasta until it is tender yet still firm to the bite. Drain and toss with the zucchini, nuts, basil and cheese, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Makes about 6 servings.

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Creamy Cucumber Salad

Garlic, ripe for picking

Even with organic cucumbers, I like mine peeled. And I prefer the seeds removed; it’s a longstanding kitchen habit and I think you will appreciate the more pleasant eating too. Another detail—soak the red onions in ice water to mellow the bite of the onion.

This recipe can be varied in many ways. Add more yogurt and bump up the seasonings to make a saucy condiment—to curries or grilled meats. The full-fat Greek yogurt will be creamier, and low-fat or fat-free yogurt will make a thinner dressing. But if you are watching your calories…

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced, soaked for 10 minutes in ice water, drained

2 or 3 cucumbers

1 cup Greek-style plain yogurt or low-fat or fat-free plain yogurt

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped dill leaves, optional

2 tablespoons fresh sweet basil, 1/8-inch chiffonade

While the onion is soaking, peel the cucumbers. Cut them in half and using a spoon, gently scoop out and discard the seeds. Slice about 1/4-inch thick–or thinner or thicker, it’s your preference. Mix with the yogurt, garlic,

salt, cayenne pepper and fresh herbs. Taste and correct seasoning. Serve immediately.

Makes about 6 servings.

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