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.

[print_this]

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]

When Brook and I first met, he didn’t like fish. Of any kind. Ever. I loved fish… but was terrible at making it.

Needless to say, for the first few years of our marriage, there was no fish being bought, prepared or consumed in our household.

Until… one summer we were invited to a ranch that some friends of ours own and they had hired a fantastic chef to cook for us all. We happened to be having salmon for dinner and Brook LOVED it.

I don’t remember what the chef used on the fish (I was too distracted by Brook’s sounds effects as he ate it) but I do remember how excited Brook was about it.

This in turn inspired me to try a bit harder to incorporate fish into our diet on a regular basis and made me determined to find ways to prepare it that Brook would like.

With some time, lots of trial and error and a very patient husband… we now eat fish several times a week and we BOTH love it.

May I encourage you to keep an “open pallet” when it comes to food? Even foods you or your family may not love initially? Just like we individually grow and change… so do our taste buds!

I am not saying make yourself eat things you hate.

There are just some things you may never like.

I want to say that I like beets. They are SO good for you and pretty! The reality is I have tried them in every shape and form and I still think they taste like dirt. Some say they have an “earthy” flavor. I beg to differ.

What I am saying is try new things every once and while and be creative with how you prepare foods.

Especially with your children! Keep trying to find ways to help them eat whole, nutrition filled foods.

I have a 2.5 year old myself and I know how hard this can be! Yet, I already see his tastes changing and as we “strongly encourage” him to at least try a bit of everything.

Today’s recipe is one way we love to eat fish. We usually use it on salmon but it would work on any kind of fish and maybe even on chicken.

ENJOY!

PS: if you like beets, maybe you can send me new recipes to help change how I feel about them! Until then… I will steer clear.

Elizabeth

SMOKED PAPRIKA RUB

Serves 2 – 3 (if you are feeding more, simply double or triple the recipe)

THE RUB:

1 T brown sugar

1 T cumin

1 ½ tsp smoked paprika

A few dashes of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

Lemon Juice

Olive oil

Salmon/Tilapia – as much as you need to fill the bellies of whom you are feeding.  Adjust quantities of the rub according to how much salmon you use. I used about 10oz of salmon to feed Brook, Duke and myself and this was the perfect amount of rub for that.

Preheat oven to 400F

In a small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Give it a good stir.

Arrange fish on a baking sheet and squeeze or drizzle lemon juice on each piece. Drizzle just a bit of olive on each piece as well. Use your hands to rub it in a bit.

Scoop the rub onto the fish and use your hands to evenly coat the top and sides of the fish.

Place baking sheet in the oven and bake until it flakes with a fork. The baking times will differ depending on what kind of fish you use.

TO SERVE:

It goes great with rice, potatoes, pasta, salad… just about anything. And a side of veggies of course!

We ate ours tonight with sweet potato fries and steamed broccoli.