Summer Salad

I am taking a break from Spain updates (though check back later to read about delicious Andalucia!) in order to celebrate the wonderful bounty of Summer produce. There's nothing I don't love about Summer: it has berries and grilling and vacations and warm, dusky evenings (if not in San Francsico, at least somewhere)... Some like to say that California has no seasons, but if that's true, then why can't it be like this all year long?

Steve and I have begun going to the Ferry Building farmer's market semi-regularly on Saturdays to buy produce, enjoy free samples, and indulge in a late-morning glass of wine. And that is where these beautiful, beautiful heirloom tomatoes came from.


I know that tomato salads have the simplest recipe in the world: Slice tomatoes. Slice mozzarella. Put on plate. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic. Salt to taste. But for this one, I tried to implement a few tips from Jamie Oliver's repetoir, beginning with mildly dehydrating the tomatoes. That is, after the tomatoes are sliced or chopped, put them into a colander and salt generously. This adds the nice salty finish that you'll eventually want on the salad anyway, and it draws out the extra water, resulting in a more concentrated and intense tomato flavor.


I also diced and added in one mild chile pepper (the red ones I wanted were out of season; thus, I went with green), most of which was tossed with some olive oil and chopped basil and into the tomatoes. Some of the diced pepper was kept aside to garnish the mozzarella rounds.


Dish up and drizzle with balsamic... The prettiest summer salad you've ever seen!

Strawberry Graduation Salad

May is rife with graduations, which culminate in a collective sigh of relief among students across the country. May also begins the abundance of Summer fruits, which makes me happy because I love fruit. Last week was Morgan's graduation party (after 18 studious years in academia), and I needed a last minute hors d'oeuvre. Being produce flush from the farmers, market, my simple solution was to throw together a strawberry and arugula salad platter:


Spread out a bed of fresh arugula across any flat dish or platter. Arrange sliced strawberries generously over the arugula. Sprinkle with crumbled feta bits (blue cheese would work also), and drizzle everything with aged balsamic vinegar (no oil needed for this dressing).

Thanks to a generous produce farmer, I was able to garnish this particular salad dish with some chocolate mint sprigs!


Also a delicious salad to make later in the Summer with watermelon in the place of strawberries. The perfect party fare!

Beets, Two Ways

Earlier in the week we had a girls' dinner night at my apartment: opening a bottle of wine and cooking up whatever is in the pantry.

For my part, I figured that it was finally an opportunity to use the beets I bought at last week's farmer's market: two red and one golden.

My first obstacle: the fact that I had never made beets before. After researching what to do with them, I spent a lazy TV evening letting them roast in the oven at 350 degrees for two hours. Thus, they were all soft enough for handling once girls' night rolled around.

My second obstacle: The fact that neither of the two other ladies particularly liked beets. At all. When asked, Kristen said, "I'm not a huge beet person. I always picture the canned jelly-like crap and the purple color just looks funny." And she's the one who likes vegetables.

With my work cut out for me, I came up with some ideas:


1. MIXED GREENS SALAD with RED BEETS, AVOCADO, TANGERINE SLICES and A SIMPLE OLIVE-OIL BALSAMIC DRESSING.

2. PITA FLAT BREADS with PARMESAN CHEESE, GOLDEN BEETS and FRIED SAGE.

FLAT BREAD INGREDIENTS

- 3 Pita bread flats
- 1/4cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 golden beet, thinly sliced
- 1/3-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 12 fresh sage leaves
- Coarsely grated salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven on 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat; dissolve honey into olive oil. You may need a whisk to stir the honey into oil if they separate. Lightly brush olive oil/honey onto the top of each pita.

Wash sage and drop into any remaining hot oil for flavor and fried texture.

Sprinkle pitas with a thin later of Parmesan (you don't need full coverage). Layer 3-4 golden beet slices on each pita. Place 3-4 sage leaves on each pita. Bake on 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until pita edges and cheese start to brown.

The verdict? Kristen says: "I like them!"

Cran-Winter Salad

Ok, so it's not specifically a winter salad, as all of the ingredients can be easily procured year-round, but there's something about the nutty/cheesy/dried fruit combination that evokes the bleaker months for me. On the other hand, this could also be an excellent summer salad with some avocado tossed in the mix.

CRAN-WINTER SALAD INGREDIENTS:

- red-leaf lettuce (or preferred mixed greens)
- pecans (toasted on top of the stove or in oven and coarsely chopped)
- manchego cheese (thinly sliced/slivered)

CRANBERRY VINAIGRETTE INGREDIENTS:

- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/8 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

TO MAKE THE VINAIGRETTE:

In a small saucepan, bring water, honey and dried cranberries to a simmer over low heat. Add a dash of salt and pepper (about 1/8-1/4 tsp. each). Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid begins to turn rose in color. Add the white wine vinegar, and continue to simmer another 5 minutes. Remove from heat.


In a separate bowl, combine olive oil with the juice of 1/2 lemon. Add the liquid from the saucepan to bowl (leave cranberries aside; they will be added to salad separately). Whisk together. Add salt and pepper to taste. At this point, one can add more lemon juice, vinegar, or olive oil depending on the desired ration of sweet:acidic:oily.

I prefer to plate the salads individually rather than toss in a large bowl to avoid all of the "goodies" sifting to the bottom, but this may depend on the number of people being served.