Easy Grape Salad And Labor Day

Happy Labor Day! Here's a refreshing salad that's easy to make on this day of rest.

Method: To some torn red and butter (or Boston) lettuce, add an amount of chopped red onion that you'd like, halved green and red grapes, a little sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil and rice vinegar (but not too much - the brilliant flavors of the delicate lettuce and juicy grapes speak for themselves), pepper to taste. Toss and serve!

Labor Day
To many, and to us as well, Labor Day marks the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year. But Labor Day is also a day that I remember my pepere who worked as a weaver in a textile mill and reflect on the history of the labor movement.

This picture of my pepere hangs on a wall in my home and I absolutely love it. He labored hard and weaved with pride. His strong work ethic was admirable.

Here's part of a Robert Frost poem, The Lone Striker, that I also love. It was written in 1933 during the time my pepere worked as a textile weaver:

"The swinging mill bell changed its rate
To tolling like the count of fate,
And though at that the tardy ran,
One failed to make the closing gate.
There was a law of God or man
That on the one who came too late
The gate for half an hour be locked,
His time be lost, his pittance docked.
He stood rebuked and unemployed.
The straining mill began to shake.
The mill, though many-many-eyed,
Had eyes inscrutably opaque;
So that he couldn’t look inside
To see if some forlorn machine
Was standing idle for his sake.
(He couldn’t hope its heart would break.)


And yet he thought he saw the scene: The air was full of dust of wool.

A thousand yarns were under pull,

But pull so slow, with such a twist,

All day from spool to lesser spool,

It seldom overtaxed their strength;

They safely grew in slender length.

And if one broke by any chance,

The spinner saw it at a glance.

The spinner still was there to spin.

That’s where the human still came in.

Her deft hand showed with finger rings

Among the harplike spread of strings.

She caught the pieces end to end

And, with a touch that never missed,

Not so much tied as made them blend.

Man’s ingenuity was good.

He saw it plainly where he stood,

Yet found it easy to resist. . . ."

~

Labor of Love
Labor Day is also a time when my garden begins to rest after working hard all summer long. This year, some plants didn't do well, some were more challenging to maintain than others, and some, especially the zucchini and cucumbers, were very happy growers. Every year's a surprise!

Looks like this zucchini drank a little too much! We had a bumper crop of cucumbers. I harvested baskets full, shared with neighbors, and came up with creative ways to serve them. We were surprised at how wonderful this cucumber agua fresca tasted!

The watermelon almost made it but their vines weakened during tropical storm Irene and they couldn't hold on.

Heirloom tomatoes were a challenge to grow, splitting often just before harvesting, but not the roma tomatoes which are still growing strong.

The last cucumber of the season is a September surprise! Bell peppers just said their goodbyes. Eggplants are making their grand entrance.

 Everbloom strawberries are working hard to ripen for one last show.

Busy local honey bees seek out nectar in late-summer budding sedum. I think they're my friend's bees, a beekeeper a few houses away . They make me smile.

Can You Say "Watermelon Salad" In French?

"What is this! Are we in Paris?"

The things my kids say sometimes when they see different food makes me laugh. The way they say it can make it even funnier, like when my son said this in a French accent the night he sat down to eat this.

The idea of this strange dinner was still churning in his mind and a few seconds later he said, "Ohhhhh, it's meatless Monday!" Yes, it was meatless Monday and, yes, this was dinner since when ate a late lunch during a hike that day.

But it also was a humid day and the air was unusually still. The cool air that normally rises from the icey cold river nearby was no where to be found or, at least, didn't reach our back deck that night. This meal was a great way to beat the heat. It was light and refreshing!


To Make
I got the idea for this watermelon feta salad when my husband was watching Chef Terranova on his cooking segment, Cooking With Class, on Turn To Ten one morning and called me over to watch. Well, we tried it, really liked it, and it was fun to make. I guess I'm in the mood for stacking our meals lately!

Start with chopping or crumbling feta cheese. I used a block of feta in liquid because I think it's more moist than pre-crumbled feta. But either would be fine.

Then make the "salad" with the greens. Gently tear or chop fresh basil and celery leaves. Add olive oil or truffle oil and pepper to taste. I tried the truffle oil, but since it's expensive and I really didn't think it added a unique flavor, a good olive oil would work fine.

Slice watermelon into 1/2 inch thick slices. Cut each slice into disks with a 3 inch cookie cutter or a glass with the same diameter like I did. The watermelon stuck a little but easily popped out with the help of a knife. Cut the rest into chucks for a nice snack later.

Start plating with a watermelon disk, then feta, then another watermelon disk. Top with greens and a last sprinkle of crumbled feta, which we used in place of salt, pepper to taste.

So fun and so pretty!

The kids liked it. 

We had a lot of laughs.

The dogs found a cool spot by the river.

Then we went to a play.

* * *

Watermelon And Feta Salad Recipe
adapted from Chef Frank Terranova, as seen on Cooking With Class, Turn To Ten (recipe can be printed from this link)

1 small seedless cold watermelon
1 pound good quality feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn
1/4-1/2 cup celery leaves, chopped or torn (his recipe calls for 1/2 cup but I didn't have that much from my bunch of celery so I used about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup good quality olive oil/extra virgin olive oil or white truffle oil
Pepper to taste
Olive oil to drizzle over dish
Salt to taste (optional, not necessary if using feta to top off)


Feta: crumble up by either coarsely chopping or breaking up into small pieces with your hands. Set aside.


Greens: gently chop or tear basil and celery leaves. In a small bowl, mix with olive oil or truffle oil, pepper to taste.


Watermelon: Do this last since it starts to warm up and look funky if cut up first. Slice watermelon into about 1/2 inch slices. Use a large cookie cutter, or other circular item, to cut sliced watermelon into disks.


Plate: lay a watermelon disk on each dish, top each with a layer of feta cheese, another watermelon disk, then greens. I topped with a sprinkle of feta instead salt. And if you want, drizzle a little olive oil around the plate for a final touch.

Serve immediately.

Farm To Table Simple Salad

Sometimes it's just what this family needs. Nothing complicated. Simple, fresh vegetables. A salad. It's a relief. A lesson, even, in the art of simple eating.

* * *

The temperatures soared the other day. It was the second day of high 90 degree heat and very high humidity. While driving home from an Essence of Tuscany cooking class at Johnson & Wales University I thought about making something light for dinner. 

I imagined pairing the gorgeous red lettuce I had picked up at our local farmers' market with the plump luscious-looking strawberries growing in my garden. 

Kale, swiss chard from Confreda Greenhouse & Farms
Red lettuce, onions, cherry tomatoes, radishes from Oakdale Farms
See links mentioned below

As I drove home from class, I pictured the deep rich colors together, like the palette of a masterful baroque era oil painting.

Well, when I got home, my dreamy salad never turned into that beautiful painting I pictured in my mind. I went out to pick the strawberries and they were all gone! All of them. Poof! Gone. Nothing left. I guess some little creatures had the same dreamy idea.

Thank goodness I had picked up some other terrific vegetables at the farmers' market. Broccoli from Confreda Greenhouse & Farms. In addition to their red lettuce, I had cherry tomatoes from Oakdale Farms Country Barn & Garden Shop.

The cheese is also local, "Atwells Gold" from Narragansett Creamery. It felt good to make the meal from mostly local food, local businesses and farmers.

Chickpeas, while not local, are always a staple in my pantry closet and were a nice addition for a little added protein.

* * *

Purple Kohlrabi, Yellow Beet & Green Apple Salad, And The Garden

A morning of gardening

Lunch break  

The Inspiration
It was the farmer. When my friend Jayne and I asked how he cooked the kohlrabi he emphatically said, "raw!".  And he offered the same advice about the yellow beet, "raw!". With that, I decided to give it a try and make a raw kohlrabi and yellow beet salad. Although, I have the feeling he meant a pure kind of raw, as in no dressing, naked. Well, I'm not that adventurous and thought it should be dressed.

Farmers' market yellow beet and
purple kohlrabi in need of attention!

Glorious morning sun on sage

Purple Kohlrabi, Yellow Beet, And Green Apple Salad 

I just love this type of food but I do think it takes an acquired taste to enjoy this earthy salad. And sitting down with it beside my garden after a morning of hard work made this salad perfect and maybe even tastier, if only on a psychological level. Since I knew what their reaction would be, I didn't dare offer any to my family later. Which I regret now because I like to have them try new flavors. Sometimes they surprise me. 

To make this salad . . . wash and peel a yellow beet and a purple kohlrabi, and wash a green apple. Slice into thin pieces and in a bowl mix with extra virgin olive oil to coat, then apple cider vinegar, fresh juice from a whole small lemon, chopped fresh sage, salt and pepper - add all to taste as the flavor depends on the size of the vegetables and your taste. Refrigerate covered for about a half hour to let flavors build. Top it over washed red lettuce.

* * *

Crisp Cauliflower, Pear and Radicchio Salad With Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette

Well, I didn't hold a hosting party for TEDx Manhattan's live webcast yesterday of "Changing the Way We Eat", but I had a lot of fun playing with my food while watching it.  

The Salad

There was really nothing to making this salad except tearing up a few radicchio leaves, breaking up a few cauliflower florets, slicing an Anjou pear and topping it with delicious Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette.

My palette of gorgeous colors:

Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette

1 small shallot

1 tbs grated fresh ginger

2 tbs tahini

1/4 cup toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup organic brown rice vinegar

1/4 cup organic canola oil

1 tbs freshly squeezed orange or lime juice (I used orange)

2 tbs toasted hulled sesame seeds (I omitted for this recipe)

Place all ingredients except sesame seeds in bowl and emulsify with handheld blender (I made it in a small food processor).  Stir in sesame seeds.  Makes about 1 cup.  Recipe from Clean Food cookbook.

The Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette, oh so fresh.

Here's just a picture that looks so fresh and pretty.

Makes a nutritious snack.  Cauliflower is not only an anti-inflammatory food, but is loaded with antioxidants and is a very good source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Squeeze a little lemon over the pears to keep them fresh looking if packaging leftovers for later.

Hearts of Palm Salad and My Conscience

What are hearts of palm anyway? I never see anything in cooking magazines or my cookbooks about them. Well, maybe I just haven't noticed. My curiosity got the best of me and I finally bought a can the other day. This salad seemed the simplest way to taste and present them to my family. But writing about them was not so simple.

While writing this post I researched hearts of palm and got upset when I read that harvesting them is bad for the environment. When harvested, the palm tree dies (i.e., unsustainable) and demand has led to poaching and deforestation of the rainforest in South America. (Hmmm, is this why I never see recipes with them?) After further research, I learned they are now mostly harvested from agricultural farms and usually from the peach palm  (which doesn't die because it has multiple shoots to harvest from) or other domesticated species. However, the World Rainforest Movement claims (April 2000) the growing cultivation of Palmetto palms to be a threat to Equador's biodiversity. Hawaii is now home to a large sustainable farm using the peach palm.  

I have to admit that unless I am positive the hearts of palm I'm buying are sustainable, I'll probably avoid them. I could drive myself crazy wondering where my food comes from, but I think it's important to be aware. I bought my hearts of palm from Whole Foods and I hope they are buying from companies who are buying from sustainable farms. 

Historical Tidbit

Hearts of palm in Florida were originally called swamp cabbage because it was a staple of the poor then changed to millionaires' salad when it became a popular delicacy among chefs.  Harvesting is now restricted, http://www.soupsong.com/fheartso.html.  

Hearts of Palm and Black Olive Salad

1 can hearts of palm, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs white wine vinegar

1 tbs chopped fresh parsley

          

1 can black olives, or other favorite olive

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 ts dried Italian spices

Romaine lettuce, rinsed and trimmed

Pepper to taste

The key is to not over season their delicate flavor.  

Slice hearts of palm into discs, marinate with extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, parsley, I omitted salt because they were already salty, add pepper to taste and refrigerate at least 1 hour, can marinate overnight (not slicing too thin and being gentle so as to not dislodge or mush the delicate meat in the middle):

Roughly chop black olives (or, if you like, substitute green olives).  I used canned black olives instead of calamata or other olive because I wanted to keep sodium levels low.  Santa Barbara Olives have lower sodium than most.  Drizzle with oil olive, about one tablespoon, season with Italian spices, about 1 teaspoon.  Refrigerate also (separate from hearts of palm).

When the rest of your meal is ready, put all ingredients together, drizzle remaining dressing over lettuce  and enjoy with your family. 

Nutritional information:  very good source of fiber, vitamin C, folate, calcium and other minerals, and a good source of protein, riboflavin and potassium.  

Source:

My inspiration for this salad came from, http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/hearts-of-palm-salad/Detail.aspx

• 3 (14.25 oz) cans hearts of palm, drained and sliced
• 2 (7 oz) packages dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
• 1/2 cup white wine or champagne vinegar
• 6 tbs water
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 8 oz jar green olives, sliced
• 1 6 oz can sliced black olives
• 2 tbs bacon bits

1. Whisk dressing mix, vinegar, and water together until well blended. Whisk in olive oil. Add hearts of palm and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
2. Before serving, sprinkle the salad with green and black olives and bacon bits.