Asian Greens Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing

From WholeFoods.com
"A hand-crafted dressing of ginger, miso, tahini (sesame paste) and lemon adds a creamy balance to organic baby spinach, mizuna, red and green Chard and red mustard greens. Tangy daikon radish, sweet carrots and crisp scallions complete this Asian delight."

  

Dressing:

• 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons white miso
• 3 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Salad:

• 5 ounces baby Asian salad mixed greens, or larger chopped to bite size 
• 1 small daikon radish, sliced into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
• 1 carrot, cut into 2-inch-long slender sticks
• 2 green onions (white part only), chopped

For the dressing, place ginger, miso, tahini, water and lemon juice in a blender and blend until completely smooth. The consistency should be similar to cream. Strain the dressing through a fine sieve to remove ginger fiber. For the salad, divide greens among serving plates. Arrange radish and carrot on top, then sprinkle with scallions. Drizzle one to two tablespoons of dressing over each salad and serve.

 

 

 

Herbed Baby Beets with Greens

From Wheel Brook Farm

• 12 tiny beets (aka beet thinnings)
• 2 Tbs. oil
• 1 lemon juice only
• 1 green onion chopped
• 1/2 tsp. dill weed
• Salt to taste  Wash beets and leaves and remove any inedible portion. Heat oil, lemon juice, onion, and herbs in a heavy pan with a tight fitting lid. Add beets with leaves attached, and steam over medium heat. Check after 5 minutes, adding a small amount of water if necessary to prevent burning. Cook a few minutes more, until beets are fork tender.
    
  
  
  
  
  

Simply Baby Beets with Greens

Adapted from Simple Food for the Good Life by Helen Nearing (Chelsea Green, 1999).

"At the height of the depression, Helen and Scott Nearing moved to a farm in rural Vermont and began crafting a sustainable lifestyle based on simplicity and connection with the earth. This recipe is perfect example of how fresh seasonal ingredients can be cooked with practically no time or effort to yield a nutritious, delectable meal. Rich in vitamins and minerals, baby beets and greens are a fresh, healthy taste of the spring harvest." Click for more recipes from Care2 Health.com

• 12 baby beets with their greens
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Dash of cider vinegar Cut off tops to within a half-inch of their roots. Wash greens and put aside. Clean beets under running water but do not peel. Boil beets 15 minutes or until fork can pierce the beets. Slip off skins under running water. Put greens in a pot with the butter. Add beets with a dash of vinegar. Stir up together and serve when greens are wilted.
  
  Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/baby-beets-with-their-greens.html#ixzz1CZAJbULZ

Radish Pachadi

• Radishes cleaned and cut into small pieces 5 small or half cup
• Few radish leaves cut into thin shreds
• Onion diced fine 1/4 cup
• Chilies 2 or 3 finely chopped
• Ginger 1/2 tsp chopped
• coriander leaves, 1 tbsp roughly chopped
• Oil 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• Yogurt half cup or more

The method is really simple. Heat a small pan on medium heat. Add oil, crack the mustard seeds. To this add onions,ginger and chilies. Stir till it is soft and turns slightly brown (4 mins). Add radishes and leaves, cook for 2 more min and remove from fire. The radish will be just cooked and still have a bite to it. Sprinkle the coriander just before you remove it from the stove.You can let it cool or store it in the fridge if not using immediately. When ready to serve, take the sauteed ingredients andmix with yogurt. Adjust salt depending on the sourness of the yogurt. Serve immediately. If you let it sit for some time, the yogurt gets a purple hue from the radishes. It is beautiful!

"The Best Broccoli of Your Life"

From the Amateur Gourmet adapted from The Barefoot Contessa...

Normally, broccoli gets squishy when you cook it. Not this broccoli; it develops an amazing brown crust in spots. Then you toss it with lemon juice, lemon zest, and Parmesan cheese and you're in heaven. You preheat the oven to 425. Take a head of broccoli, cut into florets (but relatively big ones.) Here's the key that she doesn't mention in the recipe: dry them THOROUGHLY. That is, if you wash them. I saw an episode of Julia Child cooking with Jacques Pepin once when Pepin revealed he doesn't wash a chicken before putting it in a hot oven: "The heat kills all the germs," he said in his French accent. "If bacteria could survive that oven, it deserves to kill me." By that logic, then, I didn't wash my broccoli; I wanted it to get crispy and brown. If you're nervous, though, just wash and dry it obsessively. Now, it's easy. Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. (She says 5 Tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 tsps kosher salt, 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, but I just eyeballed it.) Now add 4 garlic cloves that are peeled and sliced and toss them in too. Roast in the oven 20 to 25 minutes, until "crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned." I shook the pan around a bit as it went, but not sure that's necessary. When it's done, take it out of the oven--and here's where it gets really good--zest a lemon over the broccoli, squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli, add 1.5 Tbs more olive oil, 3 Tbs toasted pine nuts (I left those out), and 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. She also has you add 2 Tbs julienned fresh basil, but I left that out too.

Sauteed Hon Tsai Tai

From Purcellville Community Market's Site -adapted from a Harmony Valley Farm CSA recipe

• 2 tsp olive or vegetable oil
• 2-3 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, sliced thin
• 1 bunch Hon Tsai Tai
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced Salt and ground pepper to taste.

Heat oil in a medium sauté pan over moderate heat. Saute garlic and ginger about 1 minute. Add Hon Tsai Tai and season with salt and pepper. Stir greens to wilt them down. Cover and let steam for 2-3 minutes, adding 1 tablespoon of water if there is not enough moisture from the greens. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil and serve.

Arugula Hazelnut Pesto

• 2 cups arugula, washed and dried
• 1 cup parsley, washed and dried, stems removed
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• ¼ cup lightly roasted hazelnuts
• zest and juice of half a lemon
• salt to taste
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 20 ounces linguine
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
• ½ cup grated or shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano or other hard cheese

Put arugula, parsley, garlic, hazelnuts, lemon zest, lemon juice, an ample pinch of salt, and ¼ cup olive oil in a food processor and process slowly. Gradually add the remaining olive oil until pesto reaches a uniform, creamy consistency. Cook linguine in salted water until al dente, and then drain, reserving some of the water. Toss linguine with the pesto, butter, and a little of the reserved water to thin the sauce. Serve topped with cheese.