Category — Salad and Soup Recipes

The other night, I got home from work around 5:15 and had dinner guests arriving at 5:30. I had this easy chicken dish planned, but very little in the way of side dishes. I knew I had some half bunches of produce here and there so thought I would quickly invent a salad on the fly based on what was laying around.

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I know the words “stew” and “prunes” are not the two sexiest food words, especially in combination, but damn–prunes and pork together, slow-cooked until they’re rich and saucy–I have to tell you, it’s an excellent combination, especially on a cold winter night.

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In San Francisco, we suffer through a cold and foggy July and August  in anticipation of the warm, sunny Indian summer days that arrive during September and October. While our East Coast counterparts are thinking about pulling out winter coats and boots, in the Bay Area we’re just breaking in our shorts and flip-flops to soak up these late-arriving rays. The heirloom tomatoes are perfectly ripe and the sun is out, so what better time to make cool, creamy gazpacho?

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This is so good that I can’t wait to share it with you- I’m still eating it as I type. It only takes about 5 minutes to make, and I think as long as watermelon is in season, I might have to eat it every day.

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Earlier today I was eating the most delicious salsa (the homemade kind which is often referred to as pico de gallo, not the supermarket jar–you know, the kind that looks like this) and I found myself wondering how I could get more of it into my piehole. And was it a vegetable? And could it be a healthy lunch if it involved tortilla chips as a vehicle? And then it dawned on me: salsa is just chunky gazpacho without the cucumbers. And gazpacho is a totally reasonable thing to eat for lunch. And cucumbers are gross. But avocadoes are good, and they sometimes go in gazpacho, right?

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I can never resist an unexplored food product I come across (tiny rice, anyone?), so when I spotted these black chickpeas last week, they were in my grocery cart before you could say “garbanzo.”

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The other night, my sister graciously invited me over for dinner and asked me to bring a salad. She told me she was making potato and chorizo tacos from this fantastic Tacolicious recipe featured in Food & Wine, and I hemmed and hawed over what kind of salad to make, since I can never figure out what salad goes with Mexican food. I decided to take a little creative license and throw a bunch of things in a blender to create something akin to a Mexican Green Goddess dressing–a tangy, creamy blend of pepitas (raw green pumpkin seeds) from the local Mexican market, coriander, cilantro, and lime.

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Want to get rid of all that skanky produce in your CSA box or bottom fridge drawer? Want to get all your vitamins and minerals in one meal? Want to shrink your muffintop? Boy, have I got good news for you. Here’s how it works:

Heat your oven to 350. Put a piece of foil or parchment on a rimmed baking sheet. Add peeled and roughly chopped root vegetables like carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, rutabagas, etc. They can be kind of gnarly and skanky and overripe–it’s OK! Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour.

Now, add softer vegetables, like onions, tomatoes, leeks, and garlic cloves. (I used way overripe, mushy, squirty, bruised tomatoes, that I would otherwise have had to throw away.) Drizzle with oil again and salt and pepper again. Roast for another 30 minutes to an hour, until vegetables are soft and starting to brown.

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I generally feel that the butternut squash is over-represented in the soup world. What’s up with all the butternut squash soup? And why is it all so boring and bland? Why don’t we do other things with butternut squash? And yet… this recipe from Running with Tweezers caught my eye. The coconut milk and ginger add a welcome twist, and the recipe has very few ingredients and is pretty simple to make. I made it for someone who can’t eat dairy products- it’s an excellent and elegant choice for the lactose-free folks in your life.

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The last of the strawberries are in season, so I thought I would share this easy and delicious summer salad with you. It’s colorful, fresh, and always a crowd pleaser! The sweet strawberries, creamy avocados, salty feta, and earthy arugula are a great combination.

I like to make my balsamic vinaigrette with a creamier texture than I can get with just a whisk or a fork. To achieve that effect, I mix the dressing ingredients in a blender. The oil emulsifies and makes the dressing thicker and creamier. Delicious!

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