SALAD DAYS OF SUMMER

 

                Salad Days of Summer

 

          Shakespeare may have used the expression of “salad days” to describe a time in a young person’s life without worry or responsibility, but for the home cook it opens a whole summer of food termed ‘Salad’.

          Records show Greeks and Romans sprinkling oil, vinegar and herbs over layers of greens in their diet. While quite natural in warmer climates, the rest of the world took some time to adapt such practices. Salads as a menu item did not really become popular until the start of the 20^th century, with women’s diets for a svelte figure and thus were labeled as foods for abstinence. Rather than the current view of being part of a healthy diet, salads were often labeled as a “nutritional frill”. 

          Much has changed since then and we now regard the first lettuce and arugula leaves in our garden as a treasure and the simple vinaigrette dressing has expanded to include such additions as miso or soy sauce and other dressings depend on a creamy base. Granted, the initial spring enthusiasm for greens wanes when you notice your nose starts twitching and you become concerned of the potential elongation of your ears to resemble a rabbit as you view another plate of such a lunch.  Fortunately, these days salads come with a variety of ingredients in many forms, even if many are served on a few leaves of green.

          Potato salad is probably the most common since it routinely is served on summer picnics. My two favorite cold potato salad recipes follow, the oil and vinegar recipe is better suited for picnics on very hot days, since cream salads can spoil easily in heat. For the 4^th of July holliday, you may wish to make either salad with a mix or red, blue and white potatoes.

                                   Bavarian potato salad with bacon

          Cook 3 slices of lean bacon, drain on paper towels and crumble. Prepare dressing by whisking together: 3 tblsp. red wine vinegar, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper and 3 tblsp. olive oil.

Scrub 2 pounds red potatoes, quarter if large or leave whole if baby potatoes and cook in salted boiling water until firm tender 14-16 minutes. Test for doneness with a fork since you do not want them mushy. Drain potatoes, cut in bite size pieces and toss with the dressing in a large bowl.

Lightly toss the potatoes also with: 4 tblsp. finely chopped red onion, 3 tblsp. chopped parsley, 3 tblsp. chopped chives, ½ chopped dill pickle and the crumbled bacon. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Garnish with parsley.

                                                        Creamy rich potato salad

Beforehand, prepare 1 hardboiled egg (cook 12 minutes) and ½ cup blanched fresh or frozen peas (cook 3 minutes). Cool egg and peas.

Prepare dressing by whisking together: 4 tblsp. sour cream, 2 tblsp. buttermilk or yoghurt, ½ tsp. salt, 1/3 tsp. lemon-pepper, ½ tsp. dry mustard, ½ tsp. celery seed, 2 tblsp. chopped dill.

Cook white or yellow potatoes and process as for the recipe above. Toss the cooled potatoes with the dressing, 2 large scallions including green parts thinly sliced, 3 radishes halved and sliced, 1 chopped dill pickle, the cooked peas and the chopped hard-boiled egg. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving. Garnish with parsley and a radish.

                                                      Colorful cabbage salad

Hand shred white cabbage to make 4 cups and red cabbage to make 1 cup and toss together in a large bowl. Using a box grater on the coarsest setting, grate on top of the cabbage enough red onion to make 1 tblsp. 1 whole large carrot and 3 large radishes. Toss to mix. Prepare dressing in a small bowl: 4 tblsp. sour cream, 3 tblsp. white vinegar, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. dry mustard, 1 tsp. celery seed, ¼ tsp. pepper. Toss all together, refrigerate for 1-2 hours and serve.

Summer desserts tend to be watermelon and cookies. For an eye-catching simple dessert, you can’t beat this lemon cream pie with strawberries that takes advantage of premade materials.

                                            Lemon cream pie with strawberries.

Bake single 9 inch pre-made rolled pie crust (from the deli case) according to package directions and cool. Prepare instant lemon pudding with milk according to package directions and when thickened, pour into the pie crust. Refrigerate pie for at least an hour. For serving, slice fresh strawberries, arrange on top and decorate with chocolate kisses. Enjoy!

We shall explore more vegetable salads during the rest of the summer.

I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

QUICK WEEKDAY MEALS

 

Quick Weekday Meals

           The days have definitely gotten longer as we approach midsummer, but the time allotted for weekday dinners seems to shrink disproportionately. Likely because the extended daylight allows us to cram in more activities in the evening, whether it be the local ballgame or just a lengthy chat upon a serendipitous meeting with your neighbor or a friend.

          We savor such summer activities along with the abundance of summer produce. Only to wish for easy and quick ways to also savor the variety of summer bounty with a minimum of fuss. The following samples achieve all of that, each with its own bright flavors.

                                   Spicy cabbage-pastrami Quesadillas

          Shred coarsely 4 cups cabbage, thinly slice 1 medium onion and finely chop 2 garlic cloves.  In a large pan heat 2 tblsp. grapeseed oil and sauté the vegetables for 5 minutes together with: 1 tsp. carraway seed, ½ tsp. dry mustard, ½ cup shredded kimchi. Add ½ cup water, 2 tblsp. rice vinegar and simmer covered for 15 minutes.  

          Assemble Quesadillas; layer several slices of pastrami across four 9-inch flour tortillas, cover with a slice of Swiss cheese (optional) and spread the vegetable mixture over ½ of the tortilla and fold the other half over, pressing slightly.  Fry each tortilla quickly in 1 tblsp. grapeseed oil to heat through and brown. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a side salad if desired.

                                        Pan braised chicken with artichokes

          You will need a large pan with a tight-fitting lid for this recipe. This dish can be made with skin on, ½ chicken cut in pieces or only chicken thighs and drumsticks. Cut chicken breast in half crosswise, salt and pepper all chicken pieces and cook undisturbed in 1 tblsp. olive oil on medium heat 8-10 minutes. Turn once and cook additional 7 minutes until golden brown. Remove from skillet and set aside.

          In the same pan sauté 1 large onion halved and thinly sliced, 3 chopped garlic cloves for 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned and drained), 5-6 julienned sundried tomatoes and cook for 7 minutes with stirring. Stir in ¾ cups red or white wine, 1 tsp. capers and a shake of red pepper flakes. Bring to simmer, return the chicken to the pan, cover and cook on low for 15 minutes. Stir in 1 can drained and rinsed artichoke hearts, ¼ cup pitted and sliced Kalamata olives, ¼ cup chopped parsley and thin slices of zest from one lemon. Heat and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers and gently reheat for another meal.

          Tortillas have become a staple in many households because of their versatility to adapt to an infinite variety of fillings. Large 9 inch and even Burrito sized flour tortillas are excellent for Fajitas and Quesadillas as shown above and, in a pinch, also make excellent individual pizzas. Here is one of my summer versions of a vegetable pizza.

  

                                                Colorful vegetable pizza

          Preheat oven to roast at 450 degrees. Seed ½ red and green peppers and cut in julienne slices, pit and slice Kalamata olives for ¼ cup, drain and rinse some artichoke hearts, quarter a few cherry tomatoes, and separate the rings from 2 thin red onion slices.  Arrange 2 large flour tortillas on a cookie pan, spread with 2-3 tblsp. of spaghetti sauce and scatter the assorted vegetables on top. Sprinkle generously with oregano and some red pepper flakes (optional). Scatter Mozzarella cheese on top and bake for 7-8 minutes until cheese is melted and the vegetables are slightly softened. Serve as individual pizzas and enjoy.

          “Summer is icumen in, Lhude sing cuccu” goes the Summer Cannon round in Middle English, recorded sometime in the mid 1260’s and preserved in the British museum. Now we would simply say:” Summer’s arrived, Loudly sing cuckoo!” Enjoy!

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

IT"S STRAWBERRY TIME

 

It’s Strawberry Time

           Strawberries appear each year at this time, the most delicious and romantic of berries, that are the true messengers of summer to come. In ancient Rome wild strawberries were considered to represent the goddess of love and in Medieval times they denoted purity, passion and healing in both paintings and literature. Strawberry leaves were even the insignia of princes and higher nobility in 17^th century England.

          Our large, cultivated strawberries came from adjacent fields of strawberries grown in Brittany France in 1750. Amazingly, two different species of plants had been imported from north America and Chile, and by their hybridization gave us the now predominant source of commercial strawberries. Strawberries are prized for their juicy sweetness and aroma, but to savor their true delicious aroma you need wild strawberries or at least locally grown berries found in farmers markets.

          Strawberries are delicious fresh or cooked in pies, compotes or jam and absolutely decadent when dipped in chocolate. Most commonly they are served at this time in a strawberry shortcake, which is a combination of a biscuit or cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.  Here are two recipes for biscuits and scones, each of which makes a tasty basis for a strawberry shortcake.

                                       Quick biscuits

          Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Sift together: 2 cups all purpose flour, 3 tsp. baking powder and ½ tsp. salt.  Cut 1/3 cup butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or two knives until rice sized particles.

          Make a well in the mix, pour in 7/8 cup milk (1 cup less 2 tblsp.) and blend with a fork until it forms a soft dough. The dough should be sticky, or the biscuits will not be delicate. Pour it on a floured pastry cloth, wax paper or board and quickly knead 6-8 times only.

To make large drop biscuits for a shortcake, drop heaping tablespoons of dough on the pan and slightly flatten the top of each biscuit, brush with cream and bake 15-17 minutes until lightly browned. Cool slightly before cutting apart and filling with berries.

                                                      Ginger-apricot scones

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment. Dice dried apricots to make ½ cup and crystallized ginger to make 1/3 cup diced fruit.

In a Cuisinart pulse together 3 cups all purpose flour with 2 tblsp. sugar, 1 tblsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. baking soda.

Cut 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter in tablespoon sized pieces and toss lightly in the flour blend. Then pulse Cuisinart until the butter yields rice sized pieces. Instead of Cuisinart for these first steps, you can use the methods described above for the biscuit recipe. Transfer the flour mix to a bowl and toss thoroughly with the dried fruit. Make a well in the center.

In a small bowl stir together 1 cup plus 1 ½ tablespoons buttermilk with 1 tsp. vanilla and lemon flavoring plus 1 inch peeled grated fresh ginger. Pour buttermilk mix into the well and quickly mix the dough as above. Divide the sticky dough in half and form two flattened adjacent rounds on the prepared pan. Using a sharp knife divide each round in 6 wedges, brush with buttermilk and sprinkle lightly with Demerara sugar (optional). Bake about 20 minutes until lightly browned. Scones can also be reheated and served with butter or jam.

                                                          Strawberry shortcake

Wash, hull and slice the strawberries, toss with a tablespoon of sugar and allow to sit for 30 minutes before serving. Cut off the top of each biscuit or scone, spoon a generous amount of sliced strawberries on the bottom and replace the top. Decorate with whipped cream on top and serve.

                           Rhubarb sabayon with strawberries

This is an adaptation of an old Gourmet recipe, using two spring seasonal fruits. Bring 1 cup chopped fresh rhubarb, ½ cup sugar and 1 cup orange Muscat wine (or Marsala) to simmer in a saucepan with stirring until the sugar is melted. Continue to simmer for about 5 minutes until the rhubarb starts to fall apart. Cool slightly and purée in a blender.

Divide 1-quart sliced strawberries in 6 glasses.  Beat 2 eggs in a metal bowl with a hand mixer for 1 minute. Then add hot rhubarb in a stream and continue beating constantly while placing the bowl over a simmering water pan. Beat for about 6 minutes until the mixture becomes thick and is tripled in volume. Spoon the sabayon over strawberries and serve immediately.

Ah, it’s June, the aroma and flavor of strawberries in all their variations!

 (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)