First of the Spring Salad

I made this salad with red leaf lettuce, jicama, pears, and fennel leaves, but only because that was what was available. Violets are one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring, so to be most seasonal, strawberries would probably be the most convenient fruit to use, being one of the first spring fruits. The jicama adds texture while remaining somewhat neutral and therefore good to combine with a vast number of fruits-whatever is most convenient. This salad looks very glamorous topped with violets and some sliced fruit, but if you do not have access to edible flowers, this is a great salad anyway!


About 10 cups torn lettuce or salad greens
1/2 jicama, diced
1 c sliced pears, strawberries, or other fruit available
1 fennel bulb or handful of fennel leaves
2 lemons
1/4 c olive oil
salt/pepper
1/2 c grated or shaved parmesan cheese
1/2 c walnuts, halved
1 handful of violets
balsamic vinegar

Thoroughly combine the greens, jicama, fruit, and fennel bulb in large bowl. Measure oil into liquid measuring cup. Squeeze the juice out of both lemons, and whisk until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Pour dressing over greens and toss to combine. Sprinkle walnuts, cheese, and violets over the top. Drizzle with vinegar.

Spring Paella

The original recipe I tried from Bon Appetit for paella included zucchini and bell peppers. I have also made it with eggplant in the winter (much cheaper), but this recipe is best for spring produce. Most of the produce in this recipe will be the first vegetables of the year you will find in your garden or at a farmers market. It's not as traditional, but its just as delicious! If possible, use locally raised and processed chicken. If you cannot find a local source, look for the words pastured or grass fed. The label "natural" means only that artificial ingredients like coloring have not been added. The label "free range" only promises that the chickens had access to an outdoor pen, no matter how small. Even better would be to find locally processed sausage, although this can be tricky due to USDA regulations.

Spring Paella
(Adapted from Bon Appetit)


3 tbsp olive oil
6 fresh Cajun or hot Italian sausages
12 chicken parts with skin and bones excess fat trimmed (Or one whole chicken, carved into pieces. It may be easier to roast the chicken, then carve it. Do this by sticking in in the oven for about an hour at 400 degrees F. You will not need to cook it again when you cook the sausage.)
2 large vidalia onions, chopped (5 cups)
10 garlic cloves, chopped, plus 1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 c tomatoes, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 lb asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 lb sugar snap or snow peas (with pod), cut into 1-inch-wide strips
2 cups baby spinach
1 1/2 pounds uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined (Preferably Pacific White Shrimp, farmed Fresh-water Prawn, or Wild-caught Ocean Shrimp)
1/2 tsp saffron threads
2 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
2 teaspoons paprika

Saute sausages and sauté until cooked through, turning often, about 10 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add chicken, skin side down, to pot. Cover and cook until brown, about 7 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to bowl with sausages.

Saute onions and 10 chopped garlic cloves to pot about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves; stir 2 minutes. Stir in asparagus, pea pods, and spinach.

Toss shrimp with remaining 2 tbsp oil, 1 garlic clove and generous pinch of saffron in medium bowl.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush one 18 x 12 x 2 1/4-inch roasting pan with olive oil. Mix rice and salt into vegetable mixture. Spread rice mixture evenly in prepared pan. Cut sausages diagonally into 1-inch slices. Push sausage and chicken pieces into rice mixture.

Bring chicken broth, paprika and remaining 1/4 teaspoon saffron to boil in medium saucepan. Pour over rice mixture. Cover roasting pan tightly with foil. Bake 40 minutes.

Arrange shrimp atop rice mixture. Cover pan with foil; bake until shrimp are opaque in center, rice is tender and most of liquid in pan is absorbed, about 20 minutes longer.

Dholl Puri

Dholl Puri is a traditional food from the African island of Mauritius. Dholl is the word for legumes, like lentils, peas, or chickpeas, similar to the words for legumes in many South Asian and Middle Eastern countries (dahl, dal, etc...). Puri, a skillet-cooked flat bread, is also common in the same regions, particularly India. I added the recipes for two great condiments, a yogurt sauce and sauteed onion filling.

Dholl Puri

Dholl Puri:
2 c. white flour (plus extra for sprinkling)
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. warm water plus a few tablespoons, as needed
1 c. cooked, pureed yellow peas, lentils, or chickpeas
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Sauteed Onions:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 lg. onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. coriander
pinch of cinnamon
1 c. sweet white wine

Yogurt Sauce:
1/4 c. yogurt
1/4 c. sour cream
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
juice from 1 lemon

Combine flour, turmeric, and salt. Add water until dough is soft and supple (consistency of pizza dough). Separate dough into eight balls and let rest 1/2 hour. To roll out, flatten each ball into a disk, fill with 2 tbsp legume paste and close dough around paste. Flatten into a disk again, coat thoroughly with flour, and roll out with rolling pin until puri is as thin as possible. Brush a large skillet over medium heat with a bit of the oil, and brush the top of the puri with more oil. Cook dholl puri until edges look dry, and flip. Keep cooked puri wrapped in foil in a heated oven until ready to serve.

For onions: Heat oil over medium high heat. Add onions and saute until they begin to brown. Add garlic and spices. Cook for 1 minute. Carefully pour in wine, and simmer until no liquid is left. Let each person fill the dholl puri with onions, and serve with cilantro yogurt.

For yogurt: Combine all ingredients.

Serve dholl puri with yogurt and onions. Stack two puri, fill puri with onions, fold in half twice and dip in yogurt sauce, to eat dholl puri tradtionally.

Why Girl Scout Cookies are One of the Worst Cultural Traditions in the World.

America is well known as the “melting pot” of cultures. Sometimes it seems like America has no traditions of its own. There is a multitude of religious practices, hundreds of different ethnicities, and, especially few culinary traditions. Unfortunately, the most prominent time-honored American cuisine is doubtlessly a burger and fries. This is followed by a hotdog, and possibly an apple pie.

Compare these foods to the traditional foods of other countries. Eastern Europe can claim borscht, Japan has sushi and sashimi, Spain dominates paella, and South Africa adores bobotie. Many of these foods could be considered health foods by the McDonalds enthusiasts of America. Borscht is a vitamin packed soup made of beets. There is no store bought, pre-processed version of this soup. It is natural, healthy, and traditional. Tradition plays a huge role in the health of a culture. Every culture has developed its own cuisine that feeds the population efficiently and nutritionally. Every culture also has its special goodies, but none have such a variety of pre-processed foods as America.Take Girl Scout Cookies as an example. They are impossible to pass up, not only because they taste decent and give every eater a rush of nostalgia, but also because cute little girl scouts are selling them to earn money. Once obtained, girl scout cookies remain seemingly harmless. There are pictures of happy, healthy girl scouts playing on the boxes, and the adorable names they are given portray no sense of danger. Names like Tagalong and Samoa gives absolutly no indication of what the cookie actually consists of. Compare that to your average boxed cookie in a grocery store: names like "chocolate chunk," "vanilla wafer" and "double fudge" warn the buyer that the product is full of sugar and calories. The name Tagalong, on the other hand, gives the consumer a vision of salubrious children playing, not obesity, a more likely side effect.

You may be wondering exactly how Girl Scout cookies may affect your health. They're just cookies, right? Just like your grandma made them. Right? Absolutely not. Girl Scout cookies consist of three main ingredients: Hydrogenated oils, sugar or corn syrup, and finely processed bleached flour. Most have very little or no fiber or protein, and few vitamins and minerals. All have tons of additional additives, like preservatives, coloring, and flavor enhancers. The calories in a girl scout cookie are far more concentrated than those in a traditional homemade cookie. In just one ounce of Samoas (about two), there are 150 calories, whereas in an ounce of the average homemade chocolate chip cookie there are about 100. A typical human's insulin system will not be able to keep up with such intense amounts of glucose, which is the leading cause of type II diabetes. Furthermore, a recent Princeton study (http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07) found that rats fed a liquid consisting of high fructose corn syrup gained weight significantly more rapidly than those fed a caloric equivalent of sucrose, or table sugar.

Now consider this. Where did the argument that girl scout cookies are great for freezing come from? Girl Scout cookies have no expiration date and never stale, due to a large amount of preservatives. So why do we need to freeze them? Could it be that it is a huge marketing scam to get people to buy more cookies? For one thing, it makes people believe that they are eating real food that goes bad. For another thing, it gives people a reason to buy more cookies (Just fill your freezer! You can have them all year! You could have them all year without a freezer too. Or fill it with something else.) This is not to say that Girl Scouts are conniving little marketers with no conscience. Most little Brownies have just been told to sell cookies. And lots of them. The blame can only be put on the producers of the cookies, and the American people who demand that their cookies taste the same year after year.

Still want to support the Girl Scouts? Just make a donation, volunteer to lead or help a troop, or suggest a homemade bake sale.

British Flapjacks

Not seasonal, and certainly not pancakes, but one of the best, and simplest cookies I've ever tasted. With a caramely flavor very similar to that of Dutch Stroopwafels, they are about 1,000 times easier to make. Some people will tell you that quick cooking oats are the key, but some prefer the chewier texture obtained by using old fashioned oats.
Based upon a recipe from Bon Appetit.


British Flapjacks:
makes 16 cookies


Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup golden syrup* (if not available, use corn syrup or honey)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 1/3 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant or old-fashioned)
Pinch of salt

* A type of syrup popular in Great Britain; available at some supermarkets, specialty foods stores, and British import shops.


Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan. Combine first 4 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until butter melts, sugar dissolves, and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Add oats and salt; stir until coated. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and spread out in even layer.

Bake until top is golden (edges will be darker), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 5 minutes. Cut into 4 squares; cut each into 4 triangles (mixture will still be soft). Cool completely in pan before serving.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Butternut squash is another hearty winter food. Sage is one of the best herbs to pair with squashes and sweet potatoes. Unfortunately, its prime season is summer and early fall, while squash is great in winter. So, ideally, this butternut risotto with sage would be seasonal in fall, but fresh sage can be found in most grocery stores any time of the year.

Butternut Squash Risotto:
6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 butternut squash, halved (about 1 lb.)
2 tbsp butter
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup arborio rice
4 cups vegetable broth, heated to near boil in microwave
1 cup white wine
1 tbsp fresh sage
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Drizzle oil over rimmed cookie sheet, and place squash on sheet. Pour water into pan until it covers the bottom, about 1/4 inch high. Roast for 15 minutes, or until squash is tender, but not soft. Remove the squash from the pan and let cool before cutting it into cubes, about 1 sq. inch.

Melt butter over medium high heat in large saucepan. Add onion and saute until transparent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and nutmeg. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in arborio rice.

Add squash cubes to the pot. Pour 1 cup of broth over rice, and stir until broth is mostly absorbed by rice. Add another cup of broth, and cook until absorbed. Continue with remaining broth. Add wine and cook until all liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender and creamy.

Stir in the fresh sage, whipping cream, and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.

Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin pie

More pumpkin! The swirl in this recipe is certainly not necessary, but if you have the time, its fun to add something different to the traditional pumpkin pie.
Covering the crust edges with foil during baking is the secret to achieving a golden crust, while still baking the filling completely.

Check out the "Pie" plate. Hahahaha

Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Pie:










Crust:

1 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. frozen shortening*
2 tbs. cold butter
4-6 tbs. ice water
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbs. milk

Filling:
2 c. pumpkin-cooked until soft and pureed (or canned)
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. evaporated milk or cream
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. mace
1/2 tsp. cloves or nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt

Swirl:
3/4 c. brown sugar
4 tbs. melted butter
2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375˚.

Blend flour and salt.
Quickly cut shortening and butter into flour until the texture of very coarse sand.
Sprinkle water over mixture and toss with a fork until crumbs accumulate into small globs of dough.
Press ball of dough together into a ball and press into a disk.

Roll out dough between two floured sheets of parchment or waxed paper until it is about 2 inches wider than the pie pan on every side.
Brush with egg/milk glaze, stab bottom of crust with a fork a few times, and bake for 10 minutes.

Mix filling ingredients together until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Mix swirl ingredients until sugar is mostly dissolved.
Pour filling into pre-baked crust.
Pour swirl over filling and swirl with a fork.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until set, but still soft. (Filling should jiggle like jello before it cools)

Serve cold or at room temperature with whipped cream.

*the key to a flaky pie crust is cold, hard fat. The warmer the fat is the more likely it is to mix into the flour and create a crumby crust rather than flaky (some people prefer it that way).

Red Beans and Rice

Red Beans and Rice is a hearty autumn or winter meal. While green peppers will only be found in season around here during the late summer, the main ingredients, red beans and rice (duh), are pantry staples and legit any time of the year. (You probably wont be growing them in your garden, though...). This recipe (slightly different) was in the January issue of Cooks Illustrated. Don't forget to soak the beans the night before!

Red Beans and Rice:
5 servings

Ingredients:

3 tbsp salt
1 lb. small red beans (2 cups), rinsed
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, seeded, chopped
1 stalk of celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
3 c. chicken or vegetable broth
4 c. water
12 oz. andouille sausage, sliced
2 tsp. red wine vinegar

For rice:
2 cups jasmine rice
2 tsp. salt
3 cups water
1-2 tbsp. butter


Dissolve salt in 4 quarts cold water in large bowl. Add beans and soak for at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse before moving on.

Brown bacon over medium heat in large pot or skillet. Add onion, green pepper, and celery; cook, stirring frequently until vegetables are softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, paprika, bay leaves, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; cook 30 seconds.
In a crock pot*, add beans, broth, and water, then stir in vegetable mixture. Cook on high for 3 hours or on medium or low if you want to leave it in the crock pot all day.
When beans are tender, return mixture to the pot and add sausage and vinegar. Cook for 30 minutes.
Boil water for rice, dissolving the salt. Add rice, cover, and cook for twenty minutes. Stir in butter.
If the beans have not thickened, you can thicken them by adding corn starch, 1 teaspoon at a time (dont exceed 4 teaspoons!), until sauce is thick.

*If you do not have a crock pot, increase the water to 6 cups (total) and simmer in a large pot for 1 hour.

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

The winter months are the hardest months of all to find foods in season. In fact, it is nearly impossible in La Grande, unless you have personally stocked the pantry with canned goods, frozen foods, and produce that will keep for long periods of time. We usually manage to eat potatoes and carrots from our garden well into January, but one food that will stay around for ages is pumpkin.


Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 24 bars

Wet Ingredients:
2 c. pumpkin cooked and pureed (or substitute canned)
2 eggs
2/3 c. sour cream, or yogurt
2/3 c. vegetable oil, or unsalted melted butter
2 tsp. vanilla

Dry Ingredients:
2 c. self rising flour
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger and/or mace
1/2 tsp. nutmeg, allspice, cardamom or cloves
2-3 c. chocolate chips, raisins, or walnuts

Frosting:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese (room temp.)
6 tbs. butter (room temp.)
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ginger


Preheat oven to 350˚ and butter or grease a 13x9 pan.

Beat wet ingredients with electric mixer until creamy and fluffy in large bowl.
Combine dry ingredients in medium sized bowl.
Slowly beat dry ingredients into wet and pour into pan.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with only a crumb or two.

Beat cream cheese and butter until mixed.
Beat last three ingredients into frosting.

When cake is cooled spread frosting over the top, cut, and serve.

Background.

Flavors of the Season is based around eating local food, in season, because it is better for the consumer, and better for the environment. Recipes will be posted weekly, based upon typical Northwest seasonal foods (Should be about the same for most of the Northern U.S., as well as many other places.)

Eating locally reduces CO2 emissions by minimizing the use of planes, trucks, and ships that would typically be transporting your food. In America, the average calorie consumed takes NINE calories to produce! Wtf.

Not only is eating locally good for the environment, its good for YOU. It gets more fruits and veggies into the diet, and limits the amount of killer additives, like TBHQ (5 grams will kill you). Plus, being fresher, the food tastes much better, and it's a ton of fun to figure out what you can create with this week's CSA box, farmers market produce, or goods from the garden.