Nutty Kale Slaw

The Recipe

1 bunch kale

1 Medium onion

1/3 c. cider vinegar

1/3 c. XV olive oil

1/3 c. natural peanut butter

1-3 tsp hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c. raw walnuts

Shred the kale into strips approximately ¼”. Halve the onion and slice thin. Use a mandolin for this if available.

In separate bowl add vinegar, olive oil, peanut butter, and hot sauce and whisk to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Combine mixture, kale, and onions and mix thoroughly. Cover and chill for at least one hour.

Toast walnuts and add to slaw just before serving.

The Story

We have been getting bunches and bunches of kale from our farm share this year. Love kale though we do, we are starting to tire of the few recipes we have and are dreaming up new ones. Andrew made this up, and now the kids ask for it every time we get kale.

The dressing gets a creamy texture from the peanut butter. We always have chunky peanut butter, so that adds additional interest. 

I can't tell you how well it keeps. We eat the whole bowl every time. I bet if you let it sit overnight, the kale will soften somewhat. If you end up with leftovers, let me know how they are! 

Best Chicken Salad

The Recipe:

2 Chicken breasts, with bone & skin
4 stalkes of celery, chopped fine
2 tart apples, chopped medium fine
1 bunch scalions, chopped fine
about 3/4 cup mayonaise
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh or 1 Tbsp. dried tarragon
1/2 cup roasted almonds or walnuts, chopped up a little

Poach the chicken: put in a 3 qt. pan with water to cover. Bring up to a boil, drop to a simmer and simmer 30 min. Check the temp- internal temp of the chicken should be 165. If it's not, put back in for 5-10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and let cool until you can handle it. Pull off the skin, then remove the meat from the bone. (Bonus- add the bones & skin back to the pot with the celery trimmings, some broken bay leaves from the bottom of the bottle and any spare carrots or onion you have lying about, and simmer for a couple more hours- simple chicken stock!)

Once chicken is free from its bony prison, dice to about 1/2 inch chunks. Let cool a little (while you chop up all other ingredients) and toss everything EXCEPT THE NUTS with some salt & pepper to taste. Pop in the fridge and let the flavors meld and the salad cool off completely, at least one hour but 2 or 3 would be better.

Just before serving, mix in the chopped nuts and taste for seasoning and moisture. Some folks like their salad more mayonaise-y, so add more if you like. I love tarragon and may add more here.

Great served on croissants, in lettuce cups, or on plain ol' wheat bread. Serves 4 for dinner with leftovers for lunch for a couple days. Keeps in the fridge for 3 days max.

The Story

Y'know, I don't have much of a story here. It's kind of like a Waldorf salad, kind of like a chicken salad, and it's all good. I made it up years ago and it's a favorite summer dish around here. The kids love it.

Tarragon is one of those herbs which is cheaper to buy once in a pot and use fresh forever. I have it on my deck, a plant I put in a larger planter years ago, and it keeps coming back with enough leaves to make this dish several times a summer.

"Help! My Garden Is Exploding!" Tabbouleh Salad

The Recipe

1 cup bulgur wheat
2 cups water
1 cucumber
3 (large) - 6 (small) tomatoes
handful of chives OR 1/2 bunch scallions
1 can chickpeas, drained
bunch of flat-leaf/Italian parsley
bunch of mint
5 Tbsp. XV olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
S&P

Bring water to a boil; add bulgur. Bring back up to boil; reduce to low heat and simmer about 10-15 minutes, until water is absorbed and bulgur is tender. Turn out into bowl to cool, occasionally fluffing with a fork.

Remove some of the cucumber seeds. Chop cucumber and tomatoes either fine or medium, as you like it; set aside in a bowl. Finely chop parsley and mint; finely slice scallions or chives (I use a scissors for chives. Makes life easier.) Drain chick peas. Whisk olive oil, lemon juice and cayenne together in small bowl.

By now, the tomatoes and cukes have exuded a lot of juice; drain it off. The bulgur should have cooled, too. Toss all salad ingredients together gently, then pour dressing over and toss lightly again.

Let cool in refrigerator at least one hour before serving. Is good while still a little warmer than fridge temp, but is also fine when cold for lunch tomorrow.

Serves 4-6 as dinner, 8-10 as a side dish.

The Story

This is the first meal I ever made for my husband, who was just some guy I was dating at the time. It worked out great for me! I've changed it over the years, but he still seems to like it.

By "bunch", I mean the approximate amount of parsley sold in a grocery store bundle. If you're inclined to measure, you want at least 1/2 cup of each finely chopped herb; more is good, especially when the mint is taking over because you forgot that you should always plant mint in a pot, not in the ground.

The last time I made this, I used a combo of red and yellow tomatoes, and it looked very pretty. Use what you have. I don't like to peel my cucumbers, but this is up to you. The salad will still have lots of green color without it, if you should feel it necessary to peel.

The chickpeas add a small element of texture as well as nutrition. If you want, a cooked chicken breast can be substituted; chop it up and mix with an extra 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Keep in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the salad, then toss in at the end. You can skip 'em both and just have a nice side salad.

In my grocery store, bulgur is both with the Latin American foods (Goya brand) and near the rice. You can use couscous if you can't find or don't like bulgur. Personally, I don't like couscous; but as always, it's your dinner and you should enjoy it.

Green and White Bean Salad

The Recipe:

1/2 to 3/4 lb. string beans; green, yellow, wax- whatever's fresh
1 can small white beans or cannelini beans, drained
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. XV Olive Oil
1 tsp. brown mustard
8 or 10 fresh sage leaves, shreded or chopped

Blanch string beans in boiling water for 1 min; rinse immediately in cold water. Toss with the drained white beans.

Whisk mustard and vinegar together; whisk in oil slowly to form emusion. Add sage and S&P to taste. Pour over beans and let chill in the fridge at least 1 hour, preferably 2 or 3.

The Story:

I make this all summer, as the bush beans and wax beans pour out of my garden. (Am making it for a picnic tonight, as a matter of fact.) It's easy, and barely needs a recipe, but I like the proportion of vinegar to oil to be higher than a classic vinagrette, so I keep track.

Some people like tomatoes in their bean salad, or some onion. Add what you'd like, but I prefer to leave it pretty simple. The fresh sage shines more that way.

The cut beans will darken at the edges as they sit in the dressing overnight. It's fine to eat that way but much less pretty.

Crab Remoulade Mesclun Salad

The Recipe

Croutons:

1 sourdough or french bread baguette, sliced into 30 very thin slices
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 Tbsp. Creole seasoning- recipe follows

Drizzle oil over bread slices in bowl, or brush a little onto each slice. Toss bread gently with seasoning, bake at 375 until crisp at the edges, 4-5 minutes.

Creole Seasoning:

4 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. Onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. thyme leaves
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. celery seed

Mix thoroughly in small bowl.

Remoulade Sauce:

2 cups mayonnaise
2 tsp. white wine vinegar
2/3 cup creole mustard or good brown mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. finely chopped capers, drained well
2 tsp. prepared horseradish
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper or TT
2/3 cup finely chopped scallions
1/3 cup finely diced celery
3 Tbsp. finely minced red bell pepper
3 Tbsp. minced parsley
S&P TT

Mix everything in bowl. Let sit at least 1 hour or up to one day for flavors to blend.

Salad and final assembly:

3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. White wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. creole mustard
pinch of s & p
1 lb mesclun (baby leaf) salad
20 oz. lump crabmeat, well picked over

Quickly mix dressing ingredients; dress greens lightly. Divide mesclun between 10 cold plates. Mix crabmeat with ½ of remoulade. Top each plate with an even amount. Decoratively drizzle remaining remoulade over edge of plate; add three croutons to each plate.

Serves 10 as a first course or about 5 or 6 as a main dish

The Story

This is nowhere near the pain in the neck to make that it sounds like. And it's good, very good.

The creole seasoning can be made well in advance. It makes much more than you need- which is lucky, because you will end up dreaming about the croutons and making them just for snacks. Trust me, you will, they're that good.

This recipe so easily scales up and down for more or fewer guests. It makes a great main course or as a plated first course.

Black Bean Salad

The Recipe:

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed- save the can as a measuring device
1 red pepper, diced small
3 or 4 scallions, sliced very thinly, white and as much green as is good
1 can (see? I told you to save the can to measure!) frozen corn kernels, defrosted or not
1 jalapeno, seeded & ribs removed, minced finely
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped finely, or to taste
juice of 1 lime
2 T. olive oil or corn oil
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cumin

Lightly mix the beans, red pepper, jalapeno, cilantro and the frozen corn kernels in a lidded bowl. Whisk the lime juice, oil and spices; pour dressing over the salad, toss lightly. Let sit 1 hour in the fridge for flavors to meld and corn to defrost.

Makes enough for a side dish for 4 with leftovers for lunch, or a meal for 3. Easily doubled for a crowd.

The Story:

I made this up as a side dish years ago and we just love it. Very summery and really colorful. It's great as something to take to a picnic or a potluck, so you know there'll be something healthy.

If you don't like cilantro or you have to use up some leftover, whatever amount you want is fine, of course. It's your food and you get to play with it.

This will get progressively spicier as it sits; leftovers eaten as lunch the next day will be too hot for the kids.