You are what you eat

Chicken and pasta salad, Southwestern style

This is more of a guideline than a recipe, since I threw this together on the spur of the moment. It came about when my spouse bought cilantro instead of flat-leaf parsley by mistake (why oh why is the cilantro always right next to the parsley? I've done this myself!). I had made a very large chicken the day before, so I had lots of left-over chicken to use up, too.

We love cilantro, but many people don't. If you're in the latter group, omit cilantro and use parsley, if you want, for color and added flavor. I read recently that whether or not you like the taste of cilantro depends on genetics. For some people, cilantro has a soapy taste, while those of us who love it find it citrusy and fresh-tasting.

We prefer Barilla Plus pasta, as it has a lower glycemic index and added protein from bean flours.

This salad would also be good with diced Monetery jack cheese added--I didn't have any on hand when I made this.

Chicken and pasta salad, Southwestern style

8 oz. rotini pasta
1 1/2 to 2 cups cut-up cooked chicken
1 cup or more cooked or canned black beans, rinsed and drained well
1/2 large green bell pepper, diced
diced fresh tomato to taste
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro, or to taste (we like lots)
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion, or to taste
red pepper flakes (opt.)
juice of one large, juicy lime
1/2 cup or more olive oil, or to taste
minced garlic to taste (I used about a teaspoon)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin, or to taste (I like more)
1/4 tsp. crushed dried Mexican oregano
salt to taste

Cook the rotini according to package directions. Rinse under cold running water and drain well. Toss with the chicken, beans, bell pepper, tomato, cilantro, onion, and red pepper flakes, if you're using them.

Combine lime juice with olive oil to taste. I probably started with less than half a cup of oil and just added until the balance seemed right. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt. Whisk until thoroughly emulsified. Toss with the pasta, but don't add all the dressing at once--you may not need it all. If you don't, save the remainder, as pasta can really soak up dressing and you might need to add some before serving.

Quick vegetarian meals, part one

This post is in response to a friend who asked for some fifteen-minute vegetarian recipes. I laughed and said, "Well, maybe 30-minute recipes ..." and she replied that even that would be helpful.

I was a vegetarian for nine or ten years, and believe me, it was no hardship (except, as my friend pointed out, in restaurants, which can be a problem in that you always end up having a pasta dish or the meatless pizza or some such). At the time I didn't object to soy-based meat substitutes, but today I'd balk at that, so I'm not going to include these in my menus or recipes.

Most vegetarians depend on legumes for much of their protein. I love beans, lentils, and split peas, and I relied on them for many of our meal plans. During my vegetarian years, I didn't have a pressure cooker, which was foolish of me. A pressure cooker makes fast work of dried beans, even if they're unsoaked.

But let's start at the beginning. (I want to state right here that my friend probably knows all this, and I'm just throwing it out there for anyone who hasn't stopped to consider these points.) I'm a believer in meal planning, and I plan meals covering one to two weeks. This simplifies grocery shopping, I never have to wonder "what's for dinner," and I don't rely on those nasty processed foods. I have all the ingredients I need to make dinner on a given night. It also ensures variety and gives me the advantage of being organized, so that I know I have to soak beans on Tuesday night for Wednesday's dinner. I'm not rigid about this stuff, but having a general plan works great for me.

So, the first thing to do is to plan your meals around your schedule. A busy day followed by an evening of work or social obligations is not the time for an elaborate dinner. Save that for weekends or whenever you have the luxury of time.

Second, I can't emphasize enough how much a pressure cooker can help. I can whip up split-pea soup in under half an hour, including chopping the veggies. In the smaller of my two pressure cookers, I make risottos whose taste cannot be differentiated from the time-consuming stove-top, constant-stirring-required version. Dried beans are cooked through very quickly compared to the hours of simmering they otherwise require, and they're far superior to canned beans (cooked dried garbanzo beans, in fact, seem like an entirely different vegetable from the canned variety). Vegetable broth is done in a matter of minutes.

The slow cooker (crock-pot) is also extremely valuable, especially for the working person. I had forgotten this handy tool until one summer when I had so much to do out in the garden that I never felt like cooking at the end of the day. Putting dinner in the slow cooker before noon meant that we were guaranteed a decent meal after the busiest (and grimiest!) of days. And it doesn't heat up the kitchen much, either. Among other conveniences, the crock-pot cooks previously soaked dried beans overnight so that they're ready for the next day's meal.

Next, let's consider the meal itself. Your meal should include protein, so if you're having, say, spaghetti with marinara sauce, it's a good idea not only to sprinkle your pasta with parmesan, but also to have a side salad that incorporates feta and chickpeas, or whatever cheese and bean varieties you like. To simplify putting a balanced meal together, it's helpful to have the following on hand:

• Washed salad greens. Either buy pre-washed salad greens, or wash the greens, spin them dry in a salad spinner, lay them on paper towels, roll them up in the toweling, and put them in a plastic bag. Don't add juicy veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers until you put the actual salad together, as they will cause wilting and sogginess.
• Cooked dried beans, or canned beans. These can be added to salads and pasta (and pasta salads!) and soups and casseroles ... you get the idea. Having a bean salad in the fridge is even better; use two or three kinds of beans for variety, throw in some scallions, tomato, bell pepper, sliced black olives, celery, or whatever, and toss with a vinaigrette, and you've got lunch or a dish to round out a dinner. Add cooked pasta for a great main dish salad.
• Hummus, if you like it. Spread it on a pita, topped with some fresh veggies and/or sprouts and some good yogurt, and you've got an instant lunch.
• Cheeses that you like. These can be shredded into salads, rice, pita sandwiches, quesadillas (I'll get to that), refried beans, vegetarian chili, etc. to complete the protein in a meal.
• Hard-cooked eggs. These add protein to a tossed salad, fit well in many pasta salads, and are good to eat out of hand or as deviled eggs. I love egg salad, which can be used to stuff a tomato as well as serving as a sandwich filling.
• Tofu, if you like it. I don't, but I wish I did. It can be used in all manner of dishes, including salads, soups, stir-fries, breakfast eggs or shakes, etc.
• Better Than Bouillon, vegetarian or mushroom type. This is somewhat expensive, but even a little really strengthens the taste of soups and stews. You can also make a good mushroom gravy using fresh mushrooms and the Bouillon.

Of course, I never had all these things on hand at all times, but having some of them, at least, does make things easier when time is at a premium.

Other things to consider:

• When you cook dried beans, cook more than you'll need, and freeze the rest in some of the cooking liquid for another recipe down the line. Toss cooked beans into salads, rice dishes, pasta, soup, etc. for a protein boost.

• Cook more rice than you need for a recipe, and plan to use it as fried rice in the next day or two (more on this to come).

• Freeze leftover soup, or dishes like lasagna or eggplant parmesan, in amounts suitable for lunch or for another dinner. The freezer is your friend!

• Make veggie stock when you have time and freeze it in amounts you're likely to use for your favorite recipes.

• Think about how to use one recipe two ways. For example, leftover vegetarian chili is great as a burrito filling (just simmer the excess liquid away) or even an omelet filling.

Neither of the above lists exhausts the possibilities, of course, but it should give you some ideas about planning, using ingredients efficiently, and so on.

Next up, I'll post some ideas and recipes for quick meals.

In season: new potato and sugar snap salad

New potatoes are now available (in Michigan, that is) at farmer's markets, and I've been picking sugar snap peas nearly every day. Last night I made a delicious salad of the two--plus chopped shallot and mint from my herb garden--dressed with a vinaigrette.

While the recipe below serves 12, I made just a fraction of that for the two of us. I did make the entire amount of dressing, reasoning that I'll be able to use the remainder on other salads. This recipe began on some web site or other, but I've modified it (of course). I think the salad would also be good with snow peas or regular shelled peas.

We had it with grilled salmon brushed with a butter, lemon, and dill sauce. A tossed salad (of young, tender lettuces purchased at the farmer's market and some of our own cherry tomatoes) completed our light summer meal.

New potato and sugar snap salad

3 lbs. new potatoes
1 1/2 lbs. sugar snap peas, trimmed (strings removed)
2 T. white wine vinegar
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped shallot
1 cup lightly packed fresh mint, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Scrub the potatoes (gently, so as not to take the skins off completely), place in a saucepan, cover with water, and simmer until tender. With new potatoes, this won't take as long, so take care not to overcook. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to a colander to drain and cool. Return water to a boil and blanch sugar snaps until crisp-tender, about a minute. Drain the peas in a colander and refresh with cold water. Drain the peas and pat them dry with a paper towel.

Cut the potatoes into suitable size. With the ones I had, cutting them in half was fine and some were so tiny I left them whole. Combine the potatoes, peas, shallot, and mint.

In a small bowl or jar, combine the vinegar, lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper. Whip or shake to emulsify. Pour on the salad and toss gently.

You can serve this at room temperature, but I like it better chilled for at least a short time.

When it's too hot to cook ... What's for dinner?

Wouldn't you know it, our air conditioner broke down right before the recent heat wave here in Michigan. And when it's in the 90's in Michigan, it's humid as well. The thought of operating even the range under such conditions--use of the oven was right out--was repulsive.

We'd already done our cheese/fruit/bread/olives/wine dinner; we'd grilled and had a tossed salad and bread to go with the seared animal flesh; we considered pasta salad, but the thought of all that steam being created in an already hot, humid environment defeated that idea.

It's a good thing there are other ways to avoid the stove and still have an excellent meal.

One menu that works well is a Middle Eastern one that includes tabouli (also known as tabouleh or tabbouleh), a cucumber-yogurt salad, and black olives; pita wedges and hummus would make this a more substantial meal and add protein. Tabouli is made with bulgur wheat, a grain that has been parboiled, dried, and (usually) de-branned. The parboiling means that soaking, not cooking, will soften the grain and make it edible. You can find bulgur wheat at many supermarkets these days, certainly at Whole Foods and health food stores.

American versions of tabouli often reverse the ration of grain to finely chopped parsley, particularly the tabouli mix that comes in a box at the supermarket. Middle Eastern tabouli has as much or more parsley as it does bulgur. It may or may not also contain mint and other herbs and spices.

I make a very basic tabouli using parsley, bulgur, scallions, tomatoes, lemon juice, and olive oil. I sometimes add cucumber and/or black olives (the deli kind), but since I was serving those on the side, I left them out this time. The final product may be eaten using the inner leaves of Romaine lettuce as scoops, but we usually just use forks. The recipe is adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's in World of the East Vegetarian Cooking.

Tabouli

3/4 cup bulgur
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced fairly small
4 T. finely minced scallions
2 cups very finely chopped parsley
3 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
2 T. olive oil

Soak the bulgur in 4 cups of water for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the other ingredients. When the bulgur is done soaking, line a sieve or colander with a clean, lint-free kitchen towel and pour the bulgur and soaking liquid into it. Draw the towel together so it closes around the bulgur and squeeze as much water out of the bulgur as possible. Empty the bulgur into a bowl.

Add the chopped ingredients, the lemon juice, salt, and olive oil. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt and/or lemon juice if necessary. The salad should be pleasingly tart.

Yogurt and cucumber salad

I've seen versions of this in both Middle Eastern and Indian cookbooks. This salad is very refreshing on a hot day. Traditional versions use twice as much yogurt as I do, so feel free to up the amount of yogurt if the idea appeals to you. You can use cucumber alone, or finely chop other vegetables and add them to the salad. I had a lot of radishes and scallions on hand, so I minced them and tossed them in.

If the cucumber is very seedy, cut it in half and use a spoon to scoop out most of the seeds before dicing it.

My favorite yogurt at the moment is Stoneyfield Farms whole-milk yogurt, but any plain yogurt, including no-fat, works fine.

1 large cucumber, small dice
1 cup plain yogurt
2 to 4 scallions, minced
2 or 3 radishes, minced
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
2 to 3 T. minced fresh mint

Combine all the ingredients and serve.

What's for dinner?

"What's for dinner?" will be an occasional feature here on the blog that will, I hope, give you some ideas for recipes or whole meals. I'm sure the recipes (and meals) will range from simple to, well, less simple (I'm not too big on elaborate). I'd also like them to be seasonally appropriate, but I know me, and that won't always be true.

Last night's dinner, however, was very much in keeping with the season. We had warm asparagus-parmesan salad, lovage and potato soup, and freshly baked bread (part whole wheat flour, part unbromated, unbleached white flour). I had felt the need for simplicity, lightness, and a non-meat menu. We hadn't been eating as healthily as we should, so an antidote was badly needed.

Both asparagus and lovage are part of the exuberance of spring, and asparagus is now at its peak (at least in our garden). There is nothing quite like eating asparagus you have just cut. It cooks quickly and stays bright green, and the flavor is incomparable.

You can find the lovage and potato soup recipe here. The asparagus salad recipe is below. It serves four to six people.

Note: When I cut the asparagus into pieces, I set the tips aside and add them to the boiling water after the stem pieces have been cooking for two to three minutes. They take only about a minute or so longer. Take care with cooking the asparagus, testing it sooner than you think it will be done; if very fresh and placed into rapidly boiling water, the stems will be crisp-tender in just three minutes total, including the final minute during which the tips cook.

Warm asparagus-parmesan salad

2 lbs. fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
4 oz. parmesan cheese--do not grate!
4 to 6 cups mixed spring greens (depending on number of diners)

Get a large pot of salted water boiling.

Whisk together lemon juice, oil, and pepper. Taste and add more lemon juice or pepper if necessary. Set aside.

With a vegetable peeler, shave thin slices of parmesan and set them aside.

Add asparagus pieces to a large pot of boiling, salted water (see my note above). Cook until barely crisp-tender, 3-5 minutes. Rinse briefly under cold water--briefly enough that the asparagus pieces are still warm--and drain. Give the dressing a quick whisk and toss it with the asparagus.

On each serving plate, make a bed of greens, mound asparagus on top, and top each serving with the parmesan shavings. Serve immediately.

Instead of processed: salad dressing

Take a look at the label of that bottled salad dressing in your fridge. Unless the dressing is one of the few organic varieties available at supermarkets, like Annie's Naturals, the label probably lists ingredients like high fructose corn syrup (problematic in its own right), calcium disodium EDTA, sulfiting agents, and artifical colors (xanthan gum is also a common additive, even in organic products; it comes from a bacterial fermentation process, is used in very tiny quantities, and is not known to cause problems--in fact, it's used as a gluten replacement in baked goods by people with an allergy to gluten). Commercial salad dressings are also high in salt. And don't make me look at the garish color of those prepared "Italian" dressings cheap restaurants often serve ... ugh.

I should state up front that calcium disodium EDTA and sulfiting agents are probably perfectly safe for most human consumption (some people do have allergic reactions to sulfites that can be life-threatening). That does not mean, however, that I necessarily want them in my food. They are added as a stabilizer and a preservative, respectively. As with so many additives, shelf life is the reason they're there. But if you make your own salad dressing, the issue of shelf life is, of course, irrelevant.

Whipping up your own salad dressing takes hardly any time, and a generous quantity can be prepared that will last through several meals, making it just as convenient as the bottled variety. Our day-in, day-out salad dressing is vinaigrette, which is endlessly variable according to the kind of vinegar, oil, herbs, and other ingredients (lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, sesame seeds, etc.) used. I'll give you a basic recipe, and then discuss ingredients.

Don't be put off by my long-windedness in discussing ingredients. I'm just trying to pass along some of the things I learned over the years. The basic recipe below is simple, quick, and classic. You can make it in a couple of minutes. With a couple of minutes more, you can add ingredients to the recipe for variety's sake.

Basic vinaigrette recipe:

one part vinegar
two to three parts oil
smashed garlic clove (optional)
salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
sugar or honey, if desired.

Let's say you want a fair quantity of dressing. Use a half cup of vinegar and a cup of oil to start, tasting to see whether you'd prefer a bit more oil (remember, though, that you want to be able to use up all the dressing before the oil turns rancid!). Some classic French recipes call for a four to one ratio of oil to vinegar, but that's too much oil for my taste; I rarely go as far as three to one.

If you like sweetener in your vinaigrette or feel that it's necessary to balance the acidity, add a small amount and taste-test. If my salad dressing seems too acidic, I add more oil or sometimes even water, as I really dislike any sweetness in my vinaigrette.

Place the ingredients in a bowl, add salt and any other ingredients, and whisk until it's emulsified. An immersible blender also works very well. Smash a garlic clove, if using, with the side of a broad knife, remove the peel, and add to the dressing. I like to let the smashed clove sit in the dressing to infuse the dressing with its flavor. If you don't like a strong garlic flavor, remove the clove after a couple of days. I store the dressing in a tightly-capped jar or corked bottles; the emulsion will separate, so you want a container you can shake up to re-emulsify the dressing.

The oil

Olive oil is my choice for salad dressing, but the heavy, fruity, dark green variety is a bit too strong on salads for my taste. In the past I've used extra light olive oil, even though it's not cold-pressed or expeller-pressed. I've become somewhat fanatical about olive oil lately, though, and don't really want to ingest heat-treated or chemically treated oil. Oils processed in this way rob the oil of its healthful benefits. So I now buy only extra-virgin olive oil. Colavita offers an extra-virgin olive oil, carried by our Meijer, that's "first cold pressed"; the first pressing yields a more delicate oil that works well for salads. It's not cheap, though, so you may want to blend in a second, less expensive oil.  Wherever possible, opt for cold- or expeller-pressed oils. Your body will thank you.

You can use other oils to create a certain flavor. I like small amounts (a tablespoon or two per cup of dressing) of walnut or hazelnut oil, especially if I'm including nuts and/or citrus in the salad itself. Small amounts (as small as a teaspoon) of sesame oil will give your salad an oriental taste. It's nice to toast sesame seeds and mix them in, too, if you're using sesame oil. I especially like sesame with spinach salads.

The vinegar

I never use white distilled vinegar for anything but pickling and canning. For salads, I use mostly red wine vinegar, occasionally white wine vinegar. There are other vinegars that are also good for dressings, such as Champagne vinegar (really a variation of white wine vinegar), sherry vinegar, apple cider vinegar, vinegars flavored with herbs or fruit, and so on. I have a terrific Chianti vinegar and a tomato vinegar that's heavenly on tomato salads. Many people enjoy balsamic vinegar, but I use it very sparingly, as it is somewhat sweet for my taste. In a small quantity, though, it can balance out a more acidic vinegar.

It can be a challenge to find a decent red wine vinegar in a supermarket. I tend to look for those priced a little higher, although that's not always a good guide. Supermarket brands are right out. They are usually pale and virtually flavorless. Right now I'm using  French red and white wine vinegars that have 6%, rather than the usual 5%, acidity. Red wine vinegar is more robust than white; white wine vinegar is softer, not quite as tart, and is good on delicate greens like butter lettuce. Your taste must be your guide.

Other ingredients

Citrus juice: Lemon juice or lime juice can replace all or part of the vinegar in the dressing. I frequently use lemon juice, especially with white wine vinegar or on its own in the emulsion. Try one or tablespoons and taste-test before getting carried away. I sometimes use the frozen lemon juice, but I try to keep fresh lemons on hand. It does make a difference. Fresh orange juice I use in small quantities, often with a nut oil. 

Condiments: A small amount of Worcestershire sauce can be good in a robust salad. I'd start with no more than a teaspoon for a cup of dressing and taste-test. More common is mustard, particularly Dijon mustard. A tablespoon of that added to a white wine dressing really gives it some oomph, plus it helps with emulsification. Use your imagination and experiment with other condiments on hand, but take them in small amounts to begin with--helps to prevent large quantities of dressing from being thrown out!

Garlic, shallots, scallions, onions: In addition to the garlic I included in the basic recipe, other aromatics can be minced and added to the dressing. Shallots are especially nice, I think. I like them so much that we grow them, thus avoiding their high price at the supermarket. Scallions and onions are fine as well--do put some of the scallion green into your dressing, minced fine of course.

Herbs: Fresh or dried herbs really perk up a salad dressing. I like oregano, basil, parsley, thyme, mint, and tarragon, to mention a few. Tarragon will add a licorice-like taste that I find especially good on spinach salads. A tablespoon of minced fresh herbs or one-half to one teaspoon of dried per cup is a good rule of thumb. You can increase or decrease the amounts according to preference. Last year I made up quite a few infused vinegars--vinegars that have had herbs steeped in them--and have kept them on hand. It's a nice way to taste herbs in your dressing just by using the vinegar and takes one step out of the dressing preparation. (Infused vinegars will the the subject of another post, possibly not until fresh herbs are ready to harvest in my garden.)

Spices: Freshly ground black pepper is a must for me. If I want a dressing with a bit of Southwestern flavor, I'll substitute lime juice for some of the vinegar and add ground cumin. Mild curry powder can also be good in a salad dressing, particularly for a salad that calls for oranges. Half-sharp paprika and ground mustard seeds may also be added, particularly for a robust salad. Experiment to find out what you like, starting with very small amounts. I'm not especially fond of celery seeds (although I do consider them a must in cole slaw dressing), but your taste may differ. I do like poppy seeds in a lemony vinaigrette.

It takes so little time to make a vinaigrette, even when you dress it up a little, that there's really no excuse to buy that sort of salad dressing (I include commercial Italian dressing in this category). Olive oil is better for you than the polyunsaturated oils used in most commercial dressings, you won't be ingesting any high fructose corn syrup, and you can vary the dressing endlessly and to your own personal taste. Why not try it tonight?

Asparagus pasta salad

Recently, we threw a birthday party for my mother-in-law, a beautiful person who just turned 88. We had a buffet-style dinner for her. I was looking for a pasta salad recipe that would be a little different, perhaps a little more elegant, than the usual, and I found one by Rachel Ray. The following recipe is adapted from hers.

The white wine vinegar I used was some I had infused with herbs and which I keep on hand, but I'm sure ordinary white wine vinegar would result in just as tasty a salad. Or you could add dried herbs of your choice to the dressing (basil, oregano, thyme--whatever comes to mind).

I was afraid to add the vinegar ahead of time to the salad, thinking the asparagus might discolor, so I tossed the salad with oil and added the vinegar right before serving. However, the leftovers of the salad proved to be just as colorful the next day, so go ahead and mix the vinegar and oil.

This is a beautiful, colorful salad, and the ingredients will bring springtime to your table no matter what time of year it is.

1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1 pound asparagus
1/2 small red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 pound bow tie pasta (farfalle), cooked al dente, rinsed under cold water, and drained
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsely
3 T. white wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Saute chopped shallot in oil over medium-low for about five minutes. Allow the oil to cool to room temperature.

Trim asparagus by holding a spear at either end and snapping it. The spear should snap where the tender part of the stalk meets the woody part. Wash the spears carefully, looking for sand. Cut the tips of the spears off and set aside. Bring an inch of water in a skillet to a simmer and add the stalks. After two or three minutes, add the tips. Another minute or two should make everything tender (taste to test--the asparagus should be crisp-tender, not tough or soggy). The asparagus should remain bright green--don't overcook! Place under cold running water and drain. Cut the stalks at an angle into one-inch lengths.

Combine asparagus, parsley, peas, bell pepper, and cooked pasta. In a small bowl, whisk together shallot oil and vinegar, plus salt and pepper to taste. Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Spinach fattoush

Fattoush is a salad incorporating bread. This version is probably not authentic, but it tasted excellent. I added a teaspoon of zatar, a spice made of sumac, sesame seed, thyme, and salt (you can buy it at Penzey's, if you're interested).

I used probably 8 ounces of baby spinach (I have a tendency to just throw greens into a salad bowl without paying attention to amounts) for this recipe, which is based on several recipes I ran across on the web.

I never add all the dressing at once to a salad; I'd rather start with less and add more as needed so as not to drown the greens in too much dressing.

2 "loaves" pita bread (two flat breads, in other words)
baby spinach, washed and dried
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced and in rings
1 cucumber, seeded and cut into small chunks
4 sliced radishes (opt.)
1 fresh lemon, juiced (or more, to taste)
3 or 4 T. olive oil
1 tsp. zatar (opt., but nice)
freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Separate each pita into two rounds. Brush with olive oil, place on a baking sheet, and bake until golden brown. They should get brittle enough to break into bite-sized pieces.

Place spinach, onion rings, cucumber, and radishes into a bowl. Mix olive oil, lemon juice, zatar, and pepper until emulsified. Add pita pieces to spinach mixture, toss salad with dressing, and serve at once.

Potato and purslane salad

Purslane is a wild food--or, as many a gardener would say, a weed--that often grows in great abundance where we least want it to be. (Isn't that the definition of "weed," anyway?) Check out my other blog for info on this plant. If you don't know what purslane is, you may recognize it from the photo linked to, since it's a very common plant.

Here's one fine way to use purslane: in a potato salad. The original recipe is here. I thought a vinaigrette version might be good, and I was right! It's very tasty. I used sliced radishes in my salad, since we have so many right now. The crunch added texture, and the pungency did not come amiss, either.

Don't use all the salad dressing at first--pour a little on and see how much you'll need. Any that's left over will be good on pasta or tossed salad.

6 small to medium redskin potatoes, scrubbed and unpeeled
2 cups washed purslane leaves
4 scallions, sliced thin

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil
2 T. lemon juice (or more, to taste)
2 T. red wine vinegar (or more,to taste)
garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. dry tarragon
1/2 to 1 tsp. salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook the potatoes with their skins on until just tender. Drain and plunge into cold water. Let cool. Peel and cut into slices, chunks, or dice, as you prefer.

Chop purslane coarsely. Add purslane and scallions to potatoes.

Mix dressing ingredients until emulsified (I like to shake them in a jar). Pour over salad until it looks and tastes right. Chill. If the salad sits around in the fridge for a while before serving, you may need to add a little more dressing just at serving time so it's moist enough.

Lentil salad with feta and mint

This is based on a recipe in Didi Emmons's Entertaining for a Veggie Planet. The original included a couple of ingredients that just didn't sound good to me, while the ingredients listed as optional--the mint and feta--seemed essential. Also, there wasn't enough dressing to suit me. I've doubled the amounts of lemon and oil from the original recipe, but you might not need all of it, so add the dressing carefully and taste. (On the other hand, if you want more dressing, go for it.) And finally, I added minced garlic, because very few salads can't be enhanced by garlic.

I used red lentils, purchased at an Indian grocery. These cook in about 5 minutes, and they are not so much red as bright orange. They fade to a golden-yellow color after cooking but still look very pretty. If you use Indian lentils, put the raw lentils in a pot of water and pour off the water; do this repeatedly until the water runs clear. Regular lentils would taste every bit as good, but they will require about 20 to 25 minutes cooking time.

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1 cup lentils or red lentils
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Cook lentils in 2 cups water, bringing them to a boil and then simmering until the lentils are tender but still slightly chewy (a few minutes for red lentils, 20 to 25 minutes for brown). Add more water during cooking if there is a danger of scorching. Drain well.

In a medium bowl, mix lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper until emulsified. Add lentils and toss. Just before serving, add feta and mint and stir again. Taste for seasoning and for sufficiency of dressing. You can eat this salad at room temperature or chilled.