Category: Salad

It Was Bound to Happen

October 11, 2011

Here was my Monday.  Up, showered, me dressed, boys dressed, me fed, boys fed, Graham’s lunch box packed.  8:45 drove Spencer to preschool, and 9:10 got Graham on the bus to his first grade class.  Sent a few emails and then 10:00 headed to Book Larder for a staff meeting.  Then worked for a few hours doing book related things.  3:30 went home to wait for Graham to get off the bus, gave him a snack, and then 4:15 drove him to an art class he recently started taking.  4:30 went to pick up Spencer at school and took him home for a snack and a few minutes of play for him and a few minutes of cooking prep for me.  5:45 got him in the car and we went to get Graham.  6:10 back to the house and started cooking.

I made bean and cheese tacos for the boys which means making guacamole for Graham to put on his.  I envisioned a miso soup with lots of vegetables for Randy and me, and also roasted some tofu because I was craving it.  And a salad – we have salad almost every night.  I had pulled a stick of butter out of the fridge early in the morning with a plan to make cookies and I resisted the urge to give up on that plan and got them going and in the oven.  So, simultaneously, I was making soup, cookies, tacos, guacamole, salad dressing, roasted onions, and roasted tofu.  After a busy day, one of these things was bound to not go right.

Fortunately, it was just the soup.  Everyone got dropped off and picked up at the right times and in the right places and we had other things to eat, so I tried to be philosophical about the soup.  It tasted fine but I did not cook the vegetables enough and crunchy is not the right adjective I like to use when describing soup.  Having something not turn out made me realize how infrequent it is in my house to have a cooking fail.  I’m not patting myself on the back here, I’m just observing.  I cook a lot.  All that practice comes in handy.

The highlight of our meal was the salad.  Last week, when I was working at Book Larder, Tara stopped in.  She mentioned that she was the lucky recipient of 20 pounds of Asian pears and did I have any ideas of how to use them.  Immediately I thought of a salad that I used to make years ago, back when Asian pears were harder to find.  I got the recipe from some magazine and, rather than trying to remember where, or even looking online, I decided to re-create it.  I’m kind of in love with this dressing.  The whole salad really.  The only downside is I only used one Asian pear so I don’t think I helped Tara with her problem.

One Year Ago:  Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie
Two Years Ago:  Holly B’s Praline Almond Scones
Three Years Ago:  Quick Olive and Cheese Bread

Arugula Salad with Asian Pear and Roasted Onions
Dana Treat Original
Serves 2 (generously)

You will have dressing left over which is a great thing.  Toss it with soba noodles, use it as a dip for vegetables or satay, or just drink it.  :)

For the Dressing and Marinade
1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
¼ cup tahini
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. chile paste
1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp. canola oil
2 tbsp. water
2 tsp. sugar

For the salad
1 medium red onion, halved, peeled and cut into thick slices
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
½ an avocado, cut into bite size chunks
1 Asian pear, cored, and cut into matchsticks
4 ounces arugula
Sea salt

Place all the ingredients for the dressing/marinade in a blender.  Blend until very smooth.

Place the onions in an oven proof baking dish, pour a couple tablespoons of the marinade over top and toss well to coat.  Set aside and allow to marinate for 30-60 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425ºF.  Place onions in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, tossing once, or onions are soft and browned in spots.

Place the grated carrot, avocado, and pear in a salad bowl then place the arugula on top.  Sprinkle the leaves with a pinch of sea salt.  Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of dressing over top (you won’t need much).  Toss and add more dressing to taste.  Serve the onions along side the salad.


Category: Dana Treat Original,Salad,Salad Dressing,Vegan
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Julie’s Salad

August 1, 2011

Let me ask you this – do you think about salad?  Do you crave it?  When you serve yourself from the salad bowl, does a small mountain of greens appear on your salad plate?

If your answer is no, then this post will probably not make much sense to you.  No judgment; I understand if you say no.  Bad salad runs the gamut from agonizingly boring to downright disgusting.  In restaurants, especially in un-veg-friendly restaurants, salad is often my only choice.  I feel like I have had them all and most of them are bad.

I have always thought of myself as a good salad maker.  We eat one with our dinner several nights a week (or more) and I made endless varieties in the three years I worked as a personal chef.  But I have now met my salad match.  This recipe which, as you will see below, is one I am obsessed with.  I can’t get enough.  My dear friend and former neighbor Julie brought this over for an impromptu dinner this past spring and I have asked her to make it several times since then.  I have also started making it on my own although I never like it as much as when Julie makes it.  You might not know Julie but you probably know Ashley and this salad is originally her creation.

Each post I write suffers through several edits.  In an early version of this one, I totally geeked out.  I detailed out what Julie and I agree upon and what we do differently and where we both stray from Ashley’s original vision.  It was not, ahem, interesting reading.  So let me just streamline it for you and then offer you the recipe for how I make The Salad, which is how Julie and I refer to it.

Some musts:  Good lettuce – Julie is partial to the butter lettuce mix at Trader Joe’s, I am obsessed with the basketball size heads I find at my farmers’ market.  I buy two of those babies and they last me all week.  A high proportion of herbs to lettuce is necessary – I say 1 part herbs to 3 parts lettuce and Julie uses even more.  Dill must be in there as well as tarragon – otherwise use whatever you have growing in your garden or whatever bits and pieces are lying in your crisper drawer.  Radishes lend a wonderful bite here but if you want them to be on the mellower side, do as Julie does and slice them with a mandoline.  If you prefer more crunch and more bitterness, thinly slice them with a knife.  Yes, it makes a difference.  Yes, I am a salad geek.  Finally, once everything is in the bowl but before you dress the salad, sprinkle a healthy pinch of kosher salt over the leaves.  Lettuce is a vegetable and vegetables need salt – this step will make this or any salad taste loads better and will require less dressing.

Some options:  On our Lopez trip last weekend, I found the sweetest English peas I have ever tasted and couldn’t resist buying a huge bag of them.  I added them raw to the salad and they fit in perfectly with the mix.  I have since started adding thawed frozen peas and am kind of on the fence about whether I want them in there or not.  Since fresh peas are probably long gone from your markets, keep this step in mind for next spring.  Julie adds nubs of goat cheese to the greens and while I do love the cheese in there, I think it is equally delicious without.  Use about 2-3 ounces of the soft stuff for salad for 4.  (She also made it once with a log of herb studded goat cheese on the side so that people could serve up however much cheese they wanted onto their plate.  Genius.)  Ashley makes her dressing with a bit of crème fraîche, Julie doesn’t, I’ve tried it both ways and also with an egg yolk instead of the crème fraîche.  All good.  Just make sure your proportion of vinegar is higher than a traditional vinaigrette.  You want a lot of bite here.

So yes, I have written 692 words about salad.  You probably think I am crazy, obsessed, or just downright weird.  Try it and then decide.  You can find Ashley’s original post about this salad and much better photos here.

One Year Ago:  Grilled Summer Vegetable Soft Tacos
Two Years Ago:  Muhummara Dip
Soft Lettuces with Herbs and Avocado
Inspired by Ashley Rodriguez and Julie Hubert
Serves 4

You might spy a couple of sliced olives on my salad plate.  I had a handful left over from making the kids pizza and thought I would throw them in.  Mistake.  With the possible exception of the peas, this salad needs no embellishment from other “stuff”.  The amounts here are obviously fluid – Randy and I polish off this amount between the two of us.  Finally – finally! – Julie chops her lettuce so that the overall feel is more like a chopped salad, but I can’t bring myself to take a knife to those beautiful leaves so I tear them into big pieces.

For the salad
1 head soft butter lettuce, leaves washed and torn, spun dry
One cup roughly chopped herbs, such as tarragon, mint, dill, basil, chives, etc.
4 large radishes, thinly sliced
1 medium avocado, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 small handful fresh peas, optional
Kosher salt

For the dressing
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp. water
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
¼ cup Champagne vinegar
1 tsp. honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup olive oil
1 large shallot, minced

Make the dressing
Place the egg yolk, water, mustard, vinegar, honey, a large pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.  Whir to combine.  Open the feed tube and slowly add the olive oil and process until the dressing thickens.  Stop and taste adjust seasoning to your taste with more honey, salt, pepper, or vinegar.  Pour the dressing into a bowl and stir in the shallots.  (This recipe will make more dressing than you need for one salad.  Cover and store in the refrigerator.  I keep my dressing in recycled salsa or jam jar with a lid.  Good for shaking.)

Make the salad
Place the lettuce, herbs, radishes, avocado, and peas in a large bowl.  Sprinkle the whole mix with a pinch of kosher salt.  Pour on the dressing carefully (you probably won’t need much) and toss gently to combine.  Serve right away.


Category: Quick and Easy,Salad,Salad Dressing,Super Healthy
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The Salad That Got Away From Me

June 12, 2011

This is the salad that got away from me.  I mean that in a good way.  It started out as a riff on Heidi Swanson’s Mostly Not Potato Salad.  I love potato salad.  Any potato salad.  I know some people have strong feelings about mayo, as in they hate it, but I am an equal opportunity potato salad lover.  If I’m going to make a more traditional one myself, I feature mustard strongly and mix the mayo with Greek yogurt so there is more tang and bite than glop.  But whatever you want to make for me, I will eat.

Having said that, I liked the idea of a potato salad in which the potatoes were just a part of the ensemble and not the star.  I also like the idea of some things cooked and some things raw and so off I went to make it one Sunday night.  And then, two dinner guests came over and so I started adding things to it.  Having just gotten some terrific whole grain tips during my trip to the Thermador kitchen, I added some black quinoa to the mix.  (Two tips to share, add while grains in unexpected places, like potato salad, and cook up a big pot of your favorite grain, store it in the refrigerator, and use it all week.)  To bulk up my salad to feed four, I also added a bit of farmers’ market lettuce and a perfectly ripe avocado.  I had a favorite dressing already in my refrigerator and dinner was served.  I liked this so much I made it again the next night.

One Year Ago: Brown Rice with Tempeh and Tahini Sauce
Two Years Ago: Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake
Three Years Ago: Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies

My Mostly Not Potato Salad
Inspired by Heidi Swanson
Serves 4-6

You can use regular quinoa instead of the black called for here, but it won’t look as striking.  Tossing the warm vegetables with a bit of the salad dressing first will allow them to absorb more of the dressing.

For the dressing
1 small shallot, minced
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp. olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad
2 large red potatoes
1 large leek, cut in half and thinly sliced
½ bunch of very thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
½ English cucumber, seeded, cut into small pieces
2 tbsp. chopped fresh chives
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, torn
6 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into ½-inch cubes
5 large lettuce leaves, washed and torn into bite size pieces
½ cup cooked black quinoa
1 large avocado, cut into small pieces

Make the dressing
Place the shallot, mustard, vinegar, a large pinch of kosher salt, and a few grinds of pepper in a wide mouth jar.  Cover and give a vigorous shake.  Uncover and add the olive oil and cover and shake again.  Adjust the dressing to your taste with more oil, salt or pepper.

Make the salad
Place the potatoes in a small pot and cover them with cold water.  Salt the water and bring to a rapid boil, then lower the heat to a gentle boil.  Cook until a knife can be inserted easily into the center of each potato, about 15 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Place a medium sauté pan over medium heat.  Add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan and then add in the leeks.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks soften but do not allow them to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add the asparagus and sauté for another minute.  Scrape the vegetables into a large salad bowl.

Cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces and add to the bowl.  Toss the warm vegetables with just a bit of the dressing, then layer on the cucumber, herbs, tofu, lettuce, quinoa, and avocado.  Drizzle on more dressing and toss carefully.


Category: Salad,Salad Dressing,Vegan
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Shaved Spring Vegetable Salad

May 31, 2011

If you are one of those people who plan their vacations around food, I would bookmark my most recent giveaway post.  People!  You live in places with incredible bounty and I look forward to each and every one of your packages.  Just kidding.  I really did love reading where you are from and what is delicious from your part of the world.  I think we are lucky here with the amazing produce and access to great wine, not to mention many different world markets.  But clearly, I need to get out more.

Our lovely winner, picked by a random generator is comment #81.  Melissa, in your own words, where do you live and what would you include?

I love this question! I’m a reader from Plymouth, Michigan, so I would have to include some Traverse City cherries along with cherry jam and cherry coffee, Olga bread, Macainac Island fudge, Sanders Hot Fudge and Bumpy Cake, Vernors, and some custard filled baklava from my favorite downtown bakery. And, while it is a Michigan original, I would probably leave the coney dog and out of the package :)

Melissa, send me an email and I will send you the goods!

Onward.  Salad.  A couple of weeks ago, I took a class from a local celebrity – Ethan Stowell.  Mr. Stowell has four well-regarded restaurants in our fair city – three of which I have had the pleasure of dining.  He also has a new cookbook and has just started selling his pasta in gourmet markets around town.  The class I took was all about gnocchi, something I have made before without great success.  Seeing as it is one of Randy’s all-time favorite things to eat, I thought learning from a master would be great.

I can tell you, it is wonderful to take a cooking class now and then, especially if you are a teacher.  Sometimes it is nice to just sit back and be a student.  I enjoy watching someone else’s style and there always seem to be terrific tidbits that I take home.  Like watching Ethan prepare this salad and noticing that he peeled a fennel bulb.  You know, you get a fennel bulb and the outside is all bruised and, if you are me, you take off off that outer layer, but then you are left with a much diminished bulb.   I learned, just from watching – nothing that he said – that you just take a vegetable peeler to that bruised outer layer and just make it right.  That right there was worth the price of admission.

Ethan made a version of this salad after we had already sampled ricotta and semolina gnocchi and while potato gnocchi was on the way.  In other words, something bright, fresh, and green was most welcome.  He shared that he makes salad dressing in the blender or food processor and that they use canola oil rather than olive oil at his restaurants because it is more mild.  He also said that the key to emulsifying when using an egg yolk (like in a creamy salad dressing or mayonnaise), is to add a couple of tablespoons of water.  I came right home and made this salad, inspired.  (I was inspired by the gnocchi too but just did not have the time to make any of them.  Soon Randy, I promise!)

Inexplicably I was out of canola oil so I substituted with some bright green grapeseed oil.  I’ve made salad dressing with grapeseed oil, Suzanne Goin’s amazing Green Goddess Dressing to be exact, and have been pleased.  I’m not so sure I loved it here.  We are very much a vinaigrette family and I make my dressing with a lot of bite.  Maybe the creaminess was just too much for us here – although there is no cream.  But we both loved the vegetables, such a nice departure from my old standby salad.

One Year Ago: Spicy Peanut Noodles
Two Years Ago: Individual Vegetable Tarts

Shaved Spring Vegetable Salad
Inspired by Ethan Stowell
Serves 3-4

For the dressing
1 large egg yolk
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
Pinch of kosher salt
¼ cup champagne vinegar
1 cup canola oil

For the salad
10 stalks asparagus, ends trimmed, thinly sliced on a diagonal
1 head frisée, any brown ends discarded, cut or torn into bite size pieces
1 head endive, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, bruised parts peeled, cut in half, cored, and thinly sliced
1 medium avocado, cut into 1″ pieces
1 cup herbs, such as mint, tarragon, chives, and dill
Chive blossoms as a garnish, optional

For the dressing
Put the egg yolk, water, mustard, salt, and vinegar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade.  Turn on to blend, then pour the oil in through the feed tube.  Process until the dressing is emulsified.  Taste and add more salt if necessary.

For the salad
Put all the vegetables in a large bowl.  Toss with just a bit of dressing, adding more as necessary.


Category: Dana Treat Original,Salad,Salad Dressing
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Tips for a Good Greek Salad

April 24, 2011


Just a warning.  I have been baking much more than cooking these days.  Sometimes it just works out that way.  Between parties I have cooked for, nights out, nights alone with the boys, classes, recipe testing, and all the other things that make up our busy lives, there hasn’t been a lot of dinner cooked here in the Dana Treat household.  I know some of you visit here for the treats – you’ll be getting plenty.  Those of you who visit for healthy fare, I’ll do my best to throw some things your way too.  If nothing else this week, I have salad for you.

I wondered whether to post this.  It is not rocket science and do I need to share a recipe that you have probably made on your own?  But then I made it for friends and it got devoured as it always does.  Every time.  I realized that, having made about a million Green salads over the years, I have learned a couple of things and it is the tips that I want to share with you as much as the recipe.  You can make the recipe your own, obviously, but here are the tips.

Tomatoes – Use cherry tomatoes unless it is summer and you live in a state where that means tomato season.  (I’m looking at you New Jersey.)  We get a brand of cherry tomatoes here in Seattle called Nature Sweet Cherubs.  I find those to be reliably pretty good.  Taste your tomatoes and if they aren’t great, put them on a baking sheet with a drizzle of oil and a pinch each of kosher salt and pepper.  Roast at 400º for about 20 minutes and allow to cool.  The texture will be different than a traditional Greek salad but at least the tomatoes will taste good.

Cucumber – Use an English, sometimes called “seedless” cucumber.  I find these to be sweeter, less watery, and best of all – you don’t have to peel them.  I love the color and flavor that the peel brings.  If you can only find regular old cukes, do peel them and seed them, otherwise you will have tough skin and a watery salad.

Olives – Someone once told me that olives that have been pitted for you have less flavor than the ones that still have their pit.  I am here to tell you it is true.  I keep a jar of pitted olives on hand for recipes where a tiny dip in flavor won’t be noticed but for this salad, you want the best.  Many grocery stores have an olive bar these days and that is where I look for mine.  Use something nice and plump – it doesn’t have to be Kalamata.  To pit an olive, use the flat side of a large chef’s knife to press down on it and then simply peel the flesh away from the pit with your fingers.

Feta Cheese – Please do not use something that comes in a tub.  Those types of feta cheese taste like sawdust to me.  I can always find Mt. Vikos feta cheese at my grocery store and I really like the flavor and texture.  If you have a Greek or Mediterranean market near you, or a great cheesemonger, ask for the best.  It does make a difference.  Finally, cut the cheese (sorry) into small cubes.  I find if you crumble it in, it tends to turn the whole salad white.  Also, I prefer not to have cheese with every bite.  With cubes, you can pick and choose.

Oil and Vinegar – This salad does not need a dressing.  Use a drizzle of your best olive oil and another drizzle of red wine vinegar.  I used to use balsamic vinegar but now I think the sweetness is not welcome here and it also colors the salad an unattractive shade of brown.

One Year Ago:  Leek Frittata
Two Years Ago:  Ricotta Calzones with (veg) Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Greek Salad
Dana Treat Original
Serves 4-6

Sometimes I make this without the lettuce but when I need to bulk it up a bit, I use the romaine.  Truthfully, I like it better this way.

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small or ½ a large English cucumber
15 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
1 heart of romaine
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
6 ounces best-quality feta cheese

Place the tomatoes, cucumber, olives and lettuce in a large salad bowl.  Drizzle with approximately equal amounts of olive oil and red wine vinegar.  Toss well.  Add the cheese and very carefully, trying not to break up the cheese too much, toss again.


Category: Dana Treat Original,Salad
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