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Fiery Carrot Dip
A friend of ours served us this delicious dip last summer. I finally made it myself to take to a party last week, and it was a real hit. If you have any of last week's chevre left, you can sprinkle it on top in lieu of the feta. The dip truly does stand on its own; so if you don't have any cheese, don't sweat it. Pass pita chips on the side. Serves 8.
2 lbs. carrots, cut into 3 inch lengths
1/4 cup olive or sunflower oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB honey
1 TB tomato puree
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground ginger
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 TB olive or sunflower oil (optional)
1/4 lb. feta cheese crumbled
3 black olives, pitted, for garnish
Steam carrots until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain. Transfer to food processor. Add oil, vinegar, garlic, honey and spices. Process until smooth. Taste. Add additional oil, salt and pepper to taste. Process to combine. Scrape dip into a bowl. Garnish with cheese and olives. Dip can be refrigerated for 2 days. Serve at room temperature.
Beef Kabob Marinade
1/2 c. oil
1/3 c. soy sauce
2 tbsp. prepared mustard
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. pepper
Marinate beef for kabobs for several hours, turning occasionally.
Asian Cilantro Dressing for Rice, Noodles, Salads or Meats
This is a very versatile dressing. For a very simple meal, serve this over steamed spinach or sauteed pac choi, rice, and Baked Maple Ginger Tofu.
5 T vegetable oil
1/3 cup packed fresh cilantro with stems
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup tamari soy sauce
1 ounce fresh ginger (about an inch of it?), cut into six 1/4 inch slices
6 large cloves garlic
1 1/2 T ground cumin
1 small jalapeno or other chili (optional)
Combine and blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender until the chili, garlic, ginger and cilantro are finely chopped.
Shallot Vinaigrette
From Gourmet March 2001
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil (preferably French) or safflower oil
Whisk together shallot, mustard, and vinegar. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified, and season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, toss salad greens with just enough dressing to coat.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Here's a classic balsamic recipe as well.
3â„4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic
1â„4 cup balsamic vinegar
.5 tbsp. Dijon mustard
Roughly chop garlic; sprinkle with a little salt. Using the side of a knife, scrape garlic into a paste; transfer to a bowl. Add vinegar and mustard; whisk to combine. Slowly drizzle in remaining oil while whisking constantly to form a smooth vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
It should be strong flavored. If it needs more zip add a bit more garlic, or more black pepper, or more Dijon or all three.
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
3 T maple syrup
1 T Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Citrus Herb Marinade
This is the standard steak marinade in our house. The steaks that meat share members will receive tomorrow will be wonderful with this marinade - I'd be preparing it tonight! Citrus really works well to tenderize a piece of meat and this marinade never disappoints. It is quick to prepare and substitutions work out just fine. You can prepare it ahead of time and it can sit in the fridge for up to a week.
Combine and then place with steaks in a ziplock bag or other sealed container.
1/4 cup sunflower oil or olive oil
1.5 TB lemon juice
1.5 TB orange juice
1/3 c parsley (or not, we often don't have it on hand and skip)
1.5 tsp dried thyme
1 crumbled bay leaf
1 clove minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp black pepper
Raw Honey Mustard Dressing
From the Honey Gardens website. Makes about 3/4 cup of dressing.
1/3 cup raw honey
2 tsp regular yellow mustard
1/4 cup oil,
2 T any good vinegar
2 T water and a dash of salt and pepper
Add 1/4 tsp dried dill weed
1/4 tsp dried thyme
Blend well.
Garlic Scape Pesto
There are many recipes for garlic scape pesto and they are all different. That's because pesto is one dish where you can indulge your creativity and personal taste. Experiment!
1 doz. garlic scapes
1/2 cup parsley (or more or less)
1 1/2 cup walnuts (or less)
1/2 to 1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
Chop or use a food processor or blender to make smooth.
Optional ingredients:
Parmesan to taste
Substitute pine nuts (1/2 cup or more) for the walnuts
Substitute basil for the parsley
You can also make this same basic pesto and add a can of garbanzo beans for a garlic scape pesto hummus. Yum!
Scallion Pesto
Try making some scallion pesto and using it with different dishes this week. It could be used as a pasta sauce (blend in some tasty hard crumbled cheese), but would also be nice on fish, or mixed with mayo for a sandwich spread. Using less oil will result in a thicker pesto, one that can be formed as a garnish. Using more oil will result in a more sauce like pesto. I had some this week mixed with blue cheese on pasta. It was pretty darn good.
One big bunch of scallions – trimmed to remove the white bottoms (you only want the less assertive greens here)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
juice of 1-2 limes
1 clove of garlic
1/4 - 1 cup of sunflower oil (or any mild tasting oil)
Salt to taste
Chop the green onions roughly and toss into the blender along with the nuts, the garlic and the lime juice. Turn on the motor and drizzle in the oil until the desired consistency is reached. Season to taste with salt
Variations
try it with olive oil and lemon
try it with different nuts
mix it with sour cream for veggie dip
toss it on hot pasta
keep it thick and spread on toasted crusty bread sandwiches
toss it with simply steamed new potatoes
use it for a 10 minute dinner as a coating for simply broiled white fish fillets
More...
Lebneh
A simple yogurt dip or spread that's fantastic with fresh pitas or other fresh breads. This is another staple in our house. It comes and goes. We make some, can't get enough (the kids love it). Then we make it three more times in a row and binge on it. And then it gets shelved for a while only to make another overzealous return. It's worth it though and only good high quality yogurt will do.
1 quart plain yogurt (low fat OK but full fat best)
3/4 tsp salt
3 TB olive oil
1.5 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp dried mint
3/4 tsp dried thyme
Line a collander with a single layer of paper towels and place above a bowl that fits the collander nicely. Stir the salt into the yogurt and then dump the yogurt into the paper lines collander and let it drain, ideally overnight, but minimum 6-8 hours. The yogurt will be quite thick. Usually you can kind of tip the yogurt over into a fresh bowl and peel the paper towel from it.
In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds until golden brown and fragrant. Then put them into a small container with the olive oil and dried mint and thyme.
Portion out the yogurt as you intend to use it, with a drizzle of the oil, seeds, herb mixture on top. Serve with fresh breads or pitas. Rich and delicious.
Fresh Salsa
Fresh salsa is quick and easy and so delicious and it's the perfect time of year to make lots of it. There are a million recipes for salsa because everyone's preferences are different. Experiment! You can't really go wrong gradually adding ingredients. I've given a very basic recipe here with some ideas for variation.
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
1/2 cup walla walla sweet onions, diced
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, for garnish
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 jalapeno chile pepper, diced
Variations
use 2 tsp of lime juice instead of the lemon juice
add a little salt (up to 3/4 tsp)
use other hot peppers like serranos (or omit the heat altogether if perhaps there are kids involved in the eating)
add 1-s cloves of minced garlic
add 1/2 cups chopped garlic scapes
add 1 tsp of sugar or honey
add some cumin or some toasted cumin seed
chop up a fresh local peach and toss that in
add some fresh corn off the cob
