Posts tagged Fresh
Farmer's Market Salad + Creamy Parsley Dressing
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I'm a Fall and Winter kind of girl through and through. I love the boots, the scarves, the rain, the cold...

But I've got to hand it to Summer when it comes to the food.

Fresh, colorful, crunchy, flavorful... Summer produce is my favorite.

I recently took a trip to the Beaverton Farmer's Market and couldn't stop buying fresh vegetables at every tent I walked into. I think I bought something from just about every farm in Oregon!

(some girls get giddy about shoes, I get ecstatic about veggies. Ok, and shoes too)

Today's recipe is a taste of just about everything you will see at your local farmer's market right now and I can't stop eating it. It can easily be adapted and tweaked to include what you have in your fridge and what suits your palate. It can be used as a main course, a side or a refreshing lunch.

If you haven't ventured out to a local farmer's market yet this summer, I highly recommend them!

ENJOY!

Elizabeth

PS: I hope you are enjoying the fresh food to easily available to us right now as I am and I'd love to hear what you've been making in your own kitchens. Leave me a comment or tag your latest creations on Instagram with #hespeaksthekitchen.

 

FARMER'S MARKET SALAD + CREAMY PARSLEY DRESSING

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

CREAMY PARSLEY DRESSING:

(adapted from this cookbook)

1 heaping cup of chopped parsley

¼ C olive oil

¼ C real mayonnaise or veganise

3 T apple cider vinegar

2 T water

1 T honey

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp pepper

 

FARMER'S MARKET SALAD:

2 hearts of romaine - chopped

2 big handfuls of arugula – roughly chopped

1 red bell pepper – sliced

2 big handfuls of shredded carrots

4 radishes – thinly sliced

½ C green onions – chopped

½ - 1 C cherry tomatoes – cut in half or quartered

 TO MAKE:

Combine all the creamy parsley dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy.

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with desired amount of dressing.

TO SERVE:

This can be enjoyed so many ways! Here are a few ideas...

Serve as a side for salmon or burgers. I have a few recipes on the site that would pair well with and you can find them in the recipe archive.

Toss with grilled chicken.

For a vegetarian option, add garbanzo beans.

Topped with fresh parmesan cheese for a fresh lunch.

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Farmer’s Market Salad + Creamy Parsley Dressing

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS: 

 

Creamy Parsley Dressing:

(adapted from this cookbook)

1 heaping cup of chopped parsley

¼ C olive oil

¼ C real mayonnaise or veganise

3 T apple cider vinegar

2 T water

1 T honey

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp pepper

 

Farmer's Market Salad:

2 hearts of romaine - chopped

2 big handfuls of arugula – roughly chopped

1 red bell pepper – sliced

2 big handfuls of shredded carrots

4 radishes – thinly sliced

½ C green onions – chopped

½ - 1 C cherry tomatoes – cut in half or quartered

TO MAKE:

Combine all the creamy parsley dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy.

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with desired amount of dressing.

TO SERVE:

This can be enjoyed so many ways! Here are a few ideas...

Serve as a side for salmon or burgers. I have a few recipes on the site that would pair well with and you can find them in the recipe archive.

Toss with grilled chicken.

For a vegetarian option, add garbanzo beans.

Topped with fresh parmesan cheese for a fresh lunch. [/print_this]

BALSAMIC ROASTED GREEN BEANS + MAPLE SAGE CASHEWS
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THANKSGIVING MENU WEEK ONE: There is kind of a Thanksgiving code… a way most of us do Thanksgiving.

Eat whatever you want.

Eat as much as you want.

Take a nap.

Eat dessert.

We all know that we Americans go a little (or a lot) overboard when it comes to our food intake on this glorious holiday.

In fact, we even have articles and websites devoted to “stretching your stomach to accommodate more food” and “how to overcome the post-meal bloat”.

I am all for enjoying amazing food and eating to your hearts content on Thanksgiving day… but how many of us love the leftovers even more than the meal itself?

If you are anything like my family, the Thanksgiving meal is enjoyed for several consecutive days!

So, you do the math. If we make a bunch of not-so-great for you dishes for Thanksgiving, we will most likely be filling our bodies with those ingredients for several days to follow… not just one meal.

What if we could indulge in delicious food on Thanksgiving and use real and fresh ingredients that will fuel your body of the days to come instead of inducing a weeklong food coma?

I’m not talking about eating Tofurky and boiled carrots. I’m talking about mouthwatering, delicious, flavor-packed and nutrient rich foods.

For the next few weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, I will be sharing some recipes I’ve been working on for our Thanksgiving meal this year as well as some favorites from years past and from some of my favorite food blogs.

I’d love to hear what you have planned as well! Feel free to ask questions and share ideas with all of us!

ENJOY!

Elizabeth

PS: at the bottom of this post you will also find my mom's recipe she uses every year to brine her turkey. It is the best turkey there is!

BALSAMIC ROASTED GREEN BEANS + MAPLE SAGE CASHEWS

Serves 10-12

MAPLE SAGE CASHEWS:

INGREDIENTS:

¼ C maple syrup

1 T earth balance butter (or real butter)

2 tsp finely chopped sage (lightly packed)

½ t sea salt

1/8 t cayenne pepper (more if you want a little more kick)

1 ¼ C raw cashews

TO MAKE:

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a small saucepan, heat syrup and butter on low until the butter is melted. Add chopped sage, sea salt and cayenne pepper. Stir well.

Remove from heat and stir in cashews. Coat evenly.

*there will be a little bit of excess liquid but it will absorb into the cashews when baked.

Spread cashew mixture over parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Bake for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Stirring is important so they don’t burn!

Let them cool completely before removing from the baking sheet.

*you may have to break them apart a little if they stick together after they cool.

 

BALSAMIC ROASTED GREEN BEANS:

INGREDIENTS:

8 C fresh or frozen green beans (about two pounds)

1 T olive oil

3 T  balsamic vinegar

1 T maple syrup

1 T minced garlic

3/4 t sea salt

1/3 C dried cranberries

TO MAKE:

Preheat oven to 400F

Stir together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic and salt.

Cover two baking sheets with foil and spread the green beans each sheet evenly.

*I used the organic frozen green beans from Costco but I would try fresh green beans next time for a crisper texture. Either one works great though!

Drizzle the balsamic mixture over each baking tray and stir well until the beans are evenly coated.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the edges of the green beans get a little brown.

TO SERVE:

Spread green beans on a large plate or tray and sprinkle the maple sage cashews and dried cranberries over the top.

ENJOY!

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BALSAMIC ROASTED GREEN BEANS + MAPLE SAGE CASHEWS

Serves 8 - 10

MAPLE SAGE CASHEWS:

INGREDIENTS:

  • ¼ C maple syrup
  • 1 T earth balance butter (or real butter)
  • 2 tsp finely chopped sage (lightly packed)
  • ½ t sea salt
  • 1/8 t cayenne pepper (more if you want a little more kick)
  • 1 ¼ C raw cashews

TO MAKE:

  • Preheat oven to 375F.
  • In a small saucepan, heat syrup and butter on low until the butter is melted. Add chopped sage, sea salt and cayenne pepper. Stir well.
  • Remove from heat and stir in cashews. Coat evenly.
  • *there will be a little bit of excess liquid but it will absorb into the cashews when baked.
  • Spread cashew mixture over parchment paper on a baking sheet.
  • Bake for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Stirring is important so they don’t burn!
  • Let them cool completely before removing from the baking sheet.
  • *you may have to break them apart a little if they stick together after they cool.

BALSAMIC ROASTED GREEN BEANS:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 8 C fresh or frozen green beans (about two pounds
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 3 T C balsamic vinegar
  • 1 T maple syrup
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 3/4 t sea salt
  • 1/3 C dried cranberries

TO MAKE:

  • Preheat oven to 400F
  • Stir together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic and salt.
  • Cover two baking sheets with foil and spread the green beans each sheet evenly.
  • *I used the organic frozen green beans but I would try fresh green beans next time for a crisper texture. Either one works great though!
  • Drizzle the balsamic mixture over each baking tray and stir well until the beans are evenly coated.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes or until the edges of the green beans get a little brown.

TO SERVE:

Spread green beans on a large plate or tray and sprinkle the maple sage cashews and dried cranberries over the top.

ENJOY!

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DIANE'S TURKEY BRINE:

  • 16 quarts water
  • 1 ½ c kosher salt
  • 1 ½ c pure maple syrup
  • 4 T black peppercorns
  • 16 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 lemons, thinly sliced

To prepare the brine, combine all ingredients in a large stockpot, stirring until the salt dissolves.

To prepare the turkey, remove giblets and neck from the turkey. Rinse turkey with cold water; pat dry, trim excess fat.

To brine the turkey, I place it in a plastic garbage sack, which I then put in a large ice chest. Then I carefully pour the brine over the turkey until it is well covered. Tie it up tight and the leakage is minimal. Surround the bag with ice and close it up.

If you have a large enough pot, it would be easier to put the whole thing in the fridge to brine. But who has a pot big enough for a 24-pound turkey?

Allow at least 24 hours for the turkey to soak in the brine.

On Thanksgiving morning, remove the turkey from the brine; pat dry. Starting at the neck cavity, loosen the skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Rub thyme mixture under loosened skin, sprinkle inside body cavity.

At this point, I put some of my sausage stuffing into the cavities of the turkey. The stuffing will be somewhat sweet. Do not over fill the cavity. I put the rest of my stuffing into the crock-pot and add plenty of broth so it doesn’t dry out.

Roast the turkey as per directions on the wrapping. After about an hour, start to baste it with the cola/syrup mixture every so often.

I love to use the drippings to make gravy with- but its sweet, so I also usually buy good gravy at Trader Joe’s for those who prefer a more traditional gravy on their turkey and mashed potatoes.

That’s it! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

SPICE RUB:

  • 4 T minced fresh thyme
  • 2 T dried rubbed sage
  • 2 T poultry seasoning
  • 1 t black pepper
  • 8 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 4 onions, quartered (I use red onions mostly because they turn a burgundy color)

COLA SYRUP

  • 2 C cola (not sugar free! I use the stuff from Trader Joe’s, as it’s not so full of unpronounceable additives)
  • 1 C pure maple syrup

Boil cola and syrup in a small saucepan for one minute or so until it thickens up a bit.

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THE BIG RED BARN

  We live in a pretty incredible city.

I have a list a mile long of new resturaunts I want to try and places I want to visit and we finally checked two off the list!

Did you know that Portland is home to Bob's Red Mill and Dave's Killer Bread?

Did you know they each have their own store and that they are right across the street from each other?

Can you tell I'm excited about this???

We took a little family trip to Milwaulkie last week to check out the amazingness and it did not disapoint. I highly recommend you pay them both a visit!

BOB'S RED MILL

(Duke is in the left corner... extremely excited)

You may start to feel like you have taken a wrong turn as you drive through a random business park but the big red barn will ensure you that you have indeed come to the right place.

Bob's Red Mill has a restaurant and whole grain store attached to their mill. They give daily mill tours and the store is open to the public Monday - Saturday.

Their resturant has a breakfast and lunch menu full of healthy options for all dietary needs. The breakfast was delicious! Brook had the eggs and potatoes, Duke devoured the vegan french toast, I tried the 5 grain hot cereal and Scarlet took a nap.

Brook and Duke went to a grassy area to play some football while I (with sleeping Scarlet) drooling over all the fun things the store had to offer. I wanted to buy one of everything and may have gotten a bit carried away in the bulk section (their prices for the indiviual bags of flours, grains and mixes were not that great but they do have a great bulk section with a bit better pricing).

DAVE'S KILLER BREAD:

We then ventured across the street to Dave's Healthy Bread Store.

HEAVEN on earth.

They have 4 sections in the store:

Day Olds

Fresh

Imperfect

Frozen

They are all discounted but the best deal are the frozen loaves. They average about $3 a loaf (they are normally $5-$6 each in most stores) but if you buy 12 or more loaves they are about $2 a loaf.

Brook and Duke sampled bread and participated in a taste test for some new recipes they are working on developing.

I deliberated over which 12 loaves to buy.

And Scarlet kept sleeping.

They have every kind you could think of and I love them all! If you are like me and don't do too great with wheat, their Sprouted Wheat Bread is so good and a little easier to digest.

We may have gotten a bit carried away...

Overall it was a wonderful adventure and I would highly recommend you take a trip to the big red barn!

ENJOY!

Elizabeth

What are some of your favorite Bob's Red Mill and Dave's Killer Bread products and how do you use them?