Wine Country Salad

There's really nothing more satisfying -- for me, at least -- than waking up early on a crisp, sunny morning, throwing open the windows, and ensconcing myself in my kitchen.  In those moments, it's just me and my ingredients, and it's downright zen-like.

This morning, I've been prepping my half of a picnic, as I'm meeting one of my dearest friends to do what we do best...drink wine.  She lives in Loudoun Co., so she is my resident expert on Northern Virginia wineries, but today we're going to venture to a winery neither of us has been to.  I hear it is also a horse farm, so if you hear the news tonight and there's a breaking story about a woman stealing a horse and riding off with a bottle of wine yelling, "A PONYYYYY!!!!!", yep, that'll be me.  My friend is bringing an array of charcuterie and cheeses, so I felt it was my duty to bring the produce.  I picked up some amazing strawberries while I was in getting my Crop Share yesterday, and when I saw the romaine I knew what else needed to happen...BIG...SALAD.  I only used a part of the bundle of romaine because I want to save the rest for lettuce wraps, but with the honeyed almonds, dried cherries, the peppery arugula, and the earthy splendor of the black truffle salt, I wanted to pull a lot of my favorite wine notes and put them all in one salad.

It looks like a gorgeous day, so whatever you do today, enjoy the outdoors and whip up something bright and fresh with this weeks Crop Share (someone, for my lack-of-grill-sake, please fire up a grill to sear slices of eggplant and then top them with roasted red peppers, goat cheese, and a splash of olive oil & balsamic vinegar)!

Wine Country Salad

Ingredients:
7 Romaine leaves, chopped
1 lg bag arugula (70 oz)
8 oz dried cherries
1 cup sliced almonds
2 Tbsp local honey
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white wine vinegar (Nalls carry Virginia Vinegar Works' Chardonnay White Wine Vinegar)
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp black truffle salt (I get mine at Spice & Tea Exchange in Old Town, or just use Kosher salt)
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan

In a skillet, toss almonds in honey and brown over medium heat.  As the honey heats up it will melt down to allow you to mix it up a bit better.  And stir fairly regularly to prevent any of the almonds from burning.  Once they're golden brown, remove from heat and set aside to cool.  They will cool into almond candies, so just break them apart as you're adding them to the salad.  Allow to cool completely to prevent wilting your greens.

In a large bowl, toss together greens and cherries.  Add in cooled honey almonds, and set aside while you make the dressing.

Whisk together oil, vinegar and mustard until you have a smooth emulsion with no visible streaks of oil left.  Stir in black truffle salt and taste to see if you need to adjust any flavors.  Pour as much or as little of the dressing over top as you desire and toss to fully coat.  Or drizzle some on individual portions when you're ready to eat.  Sprinkle in shaved Parmesan and give it one final toss.  Serve immediately if tossed in dressing, otherwise you can allow it to chill in the fridge until you're ready to serve.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

Wait till you see the amount of potatoes you're getting in the Crop Share this week!  Squee!  Can you tell I'm Irish by descent?  So, after you're done whipping up this Leek & Potato Soup, you're still going to have potatoes left over!  While I suggest using up some in this Potato Salad with Cucumber, Rocket Greens & Smoked Salmon (this is not your Grandma's potato salad, no mayo in sight, it is an actual salad), I've also got another "fishy" recipe below that is one of my all-time favorite preparations for salmon.  The potatoes become this wonderful crispy base, and then you'll be able to throw on some of the tangelos or any leftover citrus from last week, and snag a Meyer lemon or two while you're in the store.  Then, as I mentioned in the "spoiler" e-mail earlier today, hands down one of my favorite salads of all time is this Herbed Shrimp & White Bean salad I'll link to below.  When you see how beefy the green leaf lettuce is this week, you'll have to work to use that up too, and this entree salad will be just the ticket.  We got in fresh cherry tomatoes today, so you'll be able to snag a pint of them along with some local honey to help round out the salad ingredients.

So without further ado, I give you two of my favorite recipes that are sure to help you use up this week's bounty (titles are hyper-linked to original recipes)...

Salmon & Potato Casserole With a Citrus Herb Vinaigrette via Country Living

Herbed Shrimp & White Bean Salad via Cooking Light

Fresh Tomato Salad & Panzanella Longings

For years, panzanella has been my signature summer salad.  It's a classic Italian dish that was a way to use up stale bread as the croutons.  If I must say, my homemade croutons were AH-MAZING.  But then life has a funny way of throwing you curveballs, and mine arrived in the form of a gluten allergy.  So while I gladly trade all those delightful carbs for the ability to feel human every day, panzanella is one dish I do miss, as I've yet to find a gluten-free bread that will really fit the French bread bill needed to make the croutons.  But that hasn't stopped me from regularly turning tomatoes into a wonderful, fresh, and fragrant summer salad.  Served as a side or topped with grilled chicken, these bright flavors are the essence of summer, and for those of you growing fresh herbs, it's a great way to use up any basil that's growing like crazy.  And so no one else has to miss out on the tastebud joy that is panzanella, I'll include the extra steps and ingredients for that at the end.

Fresh Tomato Salad (with Panzanella adaptation below)

Ingredients:

1.5 - 2 lbs tomatoes, seeded and diced (I'll often mix red and yellow tomatoes)

1/2 sweet onion, minced

2 tsp garlic, minced

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh tarragon leaves, chopped

1 tsp Kosher salt

black pepper to taste

2 cups arugula

In a large bowl, mix together tomato, onion and garlic.  Pour olive oil and lemon juice over top and toss to fully coat.  Add in chopped basil and tarragon, and season with salt and pepper, tossing to evenly blend all ingredients.  Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.  Toss with arugula and serve.

Panzanella Croutons

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter (use Earth Balance margarine or coconut oil for dairy free)

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

6 cups cubed French Bread

Kosher salt & pepper, to taste (I've also added some herbs de provence, as well)

6 Tbsp grated Parmesan (can substitute vegan parmesan for dairy free)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add breadcrumbs and toss to evenly coat.  Season with salt and pepper and pour bread out onto a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan, tossing to coat, and bake for 8 or 9 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.  Allow to cool before tossing with the rest of the salad.

Pattypan Palooza!

We all had a great time experimenting with pattypan squash this week, especially for those of us (like me!) who were completely new to this funky, cool squash.  One of our Nalls crew, Dawn, got extra creative this week and whipped up some baked pattypan, stuffed with cheesy bacony goodness.  *gasp*  I, on the other hand, got lazy after a long day and decided to just dice it up, season it, and bake it into submission.  Then I tossed it with a grilled shrimp and romaine salad, so if you've yet to use up the pattypan from last week, this is a great way to use up that along with this week's romaine lettuce.  So here's two pattypan preparations from our Nalls' Kitchen to yours...

Bacon & Cheese Stuffed Pattypan Squash

Ingredients:
6 pattypan squash
1 pack applewood cured, thick sliced bacon
1 cup diced onion
1 fresh jalapeno, finely diced
2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste
ranch dressing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring one inch of water to boil in a saucepan, over medium high heat.  Add squash, cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Drain and slice off the top of the squash.  Let cool and then carefully scoop out the center of the squash, reserving all of the meat.

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet.  Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown.  Drain on a paper towel and set aside.  Saute onions in bacon drippings, chop squash meat and add to onions, sauteing for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add jalapeno, breadcrumbs, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan.  Crumble in bacon.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.  Stuff each squash and top each with remaining cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven, cut in half and drizzle with ranch dressing.  Enjoy!

Spiced Pattypan Squash

Ingredients:
3-4 pattypan squash, cubed
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust (coming soon to our store!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place cubed pattypan on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil and spice mix to evenly coat.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, turning halfway through, until sides begin to turn golden brown.

We tossed ours into a simple salad of romaine, arugula, grilled & spiced shrimp (used Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin on these).  And then made a vinaigrette of equal parts olive oil and white balsamic vinegar.

Potato Salad With Cucumber, Rocket Greens & Smoked Salmon

With the hot and humid temperatures this week, I've been craving light and fresh salads.  But when it comes to the Mister a typical dinner salad isn't exactly his cup of tea.  However, over the winter we stumbled upon this gem of a salad that he swears he could eat every night.  Throw some potatoes in a salad and everyone is happy!  It's a quick and easy weeknight dinner, and he even whipped it up for me when I was leveled with pneumonia early in the year (photographic proof below!).  So this will be a great way for you to use up the cucumber and potatoes in this week's share.  We adapted it from Martha Stewart's Potato Salad with Celery, Cress and Bacon, so absolutely check out her version as it is equally as delicious, and well, it has bacon in it.  'Nuff said.

Potato Salad with Cucumber, Rocket Greens & Smoked Salmon

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs medium potatoes, cubed
Coarse salt & fresh ground black pepper
7 Tbsp olive oil, divided
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 packet smoked salmon, shredded into bite-sized pieces
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
3 cups rocket greens/arugula (or a spring mix)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Toss cubed potatoes in 2 Tbsp olive oil and season with salt & pepper.  Spread onto a baking sheet and bake in oven for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown and fork-tender.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 3-5 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar and remaining 5 Tbsp olive oil, and season with salt & pepper to taste.

In a large bowl, toss together salmon, cucumber and rocket greens.  Fold in potatoes and pour dressing over   top, tossing to evenly coat.  Add additional salt & pepper to taste, if desired.

Can also use celery or thinly sliced fennel in place of cucumber to let this salad carry you through the seasons.

Adapted from Martha Stewart: (http://www.marthastewart.com/904197/potato-salad-celery-cress-and-bacon)

Arugula, Glazed Walnut and Apple Salad

Arugula is hands down my favorite green to use in salads. I love it on pizza too. The natural bite it has to it pairs well with fruit and almost all cheeses. This simple salad is a great side, starter or light lunch. 

Ingredients:
5 oz wild arugula
1 apple, pear, or both cored and sliced thinly
1/4 cup store bought glazed walnuts
shaved parmesan or goat cheese crumbles
salt and pepper, to taste

To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://jinkzzkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/05/wild-arugula-glazed-walnuts-and-apple.html