Farmer's Market Friday!

On Fridays during the Fall, Bon Appetit dining services here on campus hosts a lovely Farmer's Market right in the quad outside of the Bookstore.

Being the veggie lover that I am, I usually head out and buy something; one, because I can always use it, and two, because I want to show support for their event.

Today was extra special because there were samples that I could eat. (The last few weeks had been artisan sausages and local cheese). This week was pea greens from Allen Farm in Westport, MA, a 50 acre farm run by Debbie Barrett.

Debbie's sweet delicate pea greens have become quite well known here in southern New England, and are often found in many restaurants here in Providence.

Today the new Chef de Cuisine, John, was featuring the pea greens in a colorful salad that was making my mouth water. He was even kind enough to make a small batch withOUT the cheese so that I might have a taste!

I am not sure of exact amounts, and I'm never too strict when making up a salad, but you can see all the ingredients here below:

Toss together ingredients above with a generous amount of the fresh pea greens, salt and pepper to taste, and some home made Lemon Vinaigrette.

Basic Lemon Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon agave
• Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together until well combined.

Here is my cheeseless sample on an adorable bamboo bite size plate!  I was so thrilled that Chef took a moment to make up a batch with out the cheese that I bought all the ingredients to make the salad this weekend at home.

Just look at these beautiful carrots:

Thanks again, Bon Appetit, for another great week! Keep up the good work. ^_^

*** Here is my recreation of Chef John's salad at home. This one is the undressed version still in the bowl. It looked a little better on the plate ;)))

Classic Tabbouleh - An Atypical Salad for the 4th of July

"Because nothing screams 'Fourth of July' like a big bowl of fresh, Middle Eastern parsley and grain salad..." ~My co-worker's reaction when I told her what I was planning to bring to a Fourth of July cookout.

But, I did not let that discourage me. While the rest of America was feasting of burgers, dogs, pulled pork and sausages, I had something else in mind. I was asked to bring something fresh and healthy to L's co-worker's family cook-out, to balance out meat-centric fare that was going to be served.  L mentioned something along the lines of a grain salad, so I thought this would be a great choice.



Several years ago, I attended a Vegetarian Cooking class over at Johnson & Wales University Culinary School.  This Classic Tabbouleh recipe was one of my hands-down favorites of the day.  I have never made Tabbouleh any other way since.  For this batch, I decided to add a 28 oz can of chickpeas, which I roasted for about 25-30 minutes with some olive oil and Greek rub (oregano, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon peel).

Classic Tabbouleh

Total Time: 30 mins

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Serves 10 

1 1/2 cups bulgur wheat

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 cups vegetable stock, boiling

1/2 cup scallion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups flat leaf parsley, chopped

3/4 cup mint leaf, chopped

4 tomatoes, diced

1 seedless European cucumber, diced

1/4 cup lemon juice

salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Mix bulgar wheat and 1 tbsp olive oil in a bowl.

2.  Pour boiling stock over, cover and let stand for 15-20 minutes, or until tender.

3.  Not all broth will be absorbed, so please drain bulgur well in a strainer.

4.  Toss rehydrated bulgar with remaining ingredients and remaining olive oil.

5.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

The results:  A big hit, and both the host and her good friend asked to take home leftovers, something that always makes me smile!

And there was even enough for lunch the next day!

The Benefits of Friends with Gardens: Butter Beans and Greens

I feel truly blessed that I have so many friends and colleagues who were kind enough to share the fruits of their gardens with me this Summer.

My dear friend and colleague, Elaine, brought me this gorgeous bounty from her brother's garden.  Elaine's brother's garden is his livelihood, so this is more than just a backyard patch of tilled soil with  His vegetables are featured throughout Farmer's Markets in the East Bay all Summer long, and Elaine has her pick of all vegetables, anytime.  I am so pleased that she though of me!

I have to say, these tomatoes we the most, red, ripe and luscious tomatoes I have had in a while.  Nothing like Summertime!

I made this salad above for an afternoon lunch with my dear friend, Neil.  The WHOLE salad looked spectacular, but alas, I lost the picture of the full platter on Instagram, due to an iPhone glitch.  Here are the leftovers I took to lunch the next day, which, I think, still looked good.

My folks are living in Italy for the next few months, so I was feeling a bit "Mediterranean".

Butter Beans and Greens
Here we have:
1 can of Butter Beans (cleaned out mom's pantry before her trip, thank you)!

Rinse and drain beans, then toss with:
2 chopped scallions
1 minced fresh red chili pepper, seeded (from the Farmer's Market)
2 roasted red peppers, chopped (another score from mom's pantry)
olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
Set aside

Salad:
1 organic heart of romaine, chopped
2-3 cups fresh arugula (from the Farmer's Market)
1 large cucumber, seeded and chopped (from my dear friend, Tara's garden)
2 large garden tomatoes (from Elaine's garden)
1/3 cup kalamata olives (clean out the fridge)

Dress the salad greens with some olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  Toss with remaining vegetables, and then top with the beans.

We enjoyed this with a fresh baguette, and some pasta with roasted zucchini, eggplant and sweet peppers (pictured above) and tomatoes.  Buon Appetito ^_^

Chilis from the Farmer's Market - the one I used was right in the middle :)

Black Bean & Corn Salad

I'm almost ashamed to say this, but I got the idea for this recipe from Guy Fieri's cooking show on Food Network. Being vegan, I can't say that I take too much inspiration from his show, but sometimes I'll put Foot Network on the television while I do other things, and this recipe really caught my eye. I did make a few changes to suit my style and taste. 

What a wonderful mix of flavors this was. The first time I made this, I left out the jalapeños, because they didn't have ANY at the store, and because one of my guests did not like spicy food. BUT, I will most certainly add them back the next time I make this. I also used agave syrup in place of honey, to keep it vegan. 

Black Bean & Corn Salad
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed 
1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained 
1 large red bell pepper, diced 
1/4 cup red onion, diced 
1/4 cup green onion, diced 
1/4 cup pineapple, diced 
1 tablespoon cilantro leaf, chopped 
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced 
3 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar 
1/2 lime, juiced 
3 tablespoons agave nectar  
1 tablespoon salt 
1 teaspoon black pepper 
1 pinch ground cumin (or more to taste)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.



**FYI, Jalapeños do not make this too spicy at all! In fact, the second and third times I've made this the "heat sensitive" people did not even notice they were there! I think they balance the sweet and tanginess of the dressing quite nicely**


I usually make this in the Summer, when corn is fresh and on every corner.  I made it again yesterday to accompany some enchilada casserole, and cilantro-lime rice (Viva Vegan).  My folks are leaving for a four month trip to Italy soon, and I know that Mexican/South West food probably won't be around much over there!  I did not use jalapeño, but rather used a tiny little green bell pepper from Uncle B's garden. ^_^

Liquid Sunshine!

Start your morning off with some Liquid Sunshine:  
Pineapple, Mango, Carrot, Apple & Ginger 

~For a moment, I thought I had left the bowels of good ol' Woonsocket, RI and was instantly beamed to a remote and breezy tropical get-away...  Well, not quite... but it was pretty close.

If you'd like to re-create this luscious experience at home, I invite you to give this juice combo a shot!

Liquid Sunshine
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
1 mango, peeled and cut away from the seed (tips for cutting mango here)
3 carrots
1 small apple
1" piece of ginger

I used a lot of Soft Fruits in the particular blend, which tend to get a bit foamy in our juicer's juicing screen, so I cut my carrots and apple up into 2" chunks, and alternated them between the pineapple and mango.  This worked quite well, and kept the fruit foam to a minimum.

Now, I usually try and go a bit more heavy on the vegetables for juicing.  However, the day prior, I had made a batch of fruit salsa for my buddy, Scott's birthday, and still had quite a bit of pineapple and mango leftover...  

Great stuff, recipe here

So as my sugar began to spike, I decided to read about some of the awesome health benefits of mangos.

Some nutritional highlights: 

• Prevents cancer: the antioxidant compounds found in mangos have been found to protect against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers
• Lowers cholesterol:  thanks to their high fiber, pectin and vitamin C
• Clears the skin: As their color suggests, mangos contain beta-carotene, which is converted by the body into vitamin A.  Pair that with vitamin C, and you have some serious skin repair power.
  
• Healthy for the eyes: 25% daily needed value of vitamin A
• Alkalizes the whole body: Tartaric acid, malice acid and trace citric acid
• Improves digestion: Enzymes
• Boosts the immune system: vitamins A and C in mangos keep your immune system healthy and strong.

Sounds pretty good to me!  And they taste like paradise, so how can you possibly go wrong? ^_^

Better Than V8

Don't let the slightly murky color of this photo fool you. This fresh, raw, vitamin packed, NO-salt added vegetable juice beats V8 any day!

L wanted me to write this one down, before I forgot:

Better-Than-V8 Salsa Fresca Juice
(serves two)
5 plum tomatoes
4 celery stalks
1 medium cucumber
1 jalapeño, seeded
1/8th of a large yellow onion
1 leaf of kale
1 small handful cilantro leaves, (my hands are small)
juice of 1/2 lime
juice of 1/4 lemon

Not quite spicy, maybe just a hint.  Perhaps I'll leave a wee bit of the rib from the jalapeño in next time.  I would like to work on the color a bit, because once you add "Green" to anything "RED" you get sorta blehhhh...

Perhaps, I will sneak a bit of beet in next time... shhhh, don't tell L!