Wild Rice and Cherry Salad

I realize that the days of cherries may have passed us by...but I did manage to score a lovely package of organic cherries the other day and tried this salad, inspired by a recipe from the lovely Heidi Swanson. When it's this hot outside (and by this hot I mean waaaay into the 100s), I cannot eat hot food. In fact, it's hard to eat any food at all. But I was inspired by the colors of the bright red cherries against the black wild rice. And the prospect of having plenty of leftovers for me for lunch.

It was everything I hoped for--full bodied and filling, but with a certain fresh tang from the crushed cherry dressing and arugula. I'd try it again with Santa Rosa plums which abound in the markets now. In fall, it would be excellent with dried cranberries, cherries, or fresh figs. In winter I would eat it with fresh mandarin oranges. And in the spring it would be excellent with strawberries. It's just the sort of salad that you can play around with. In fact, it may demand it. Switch out the nuts, the grain, the cheese or the greens to make it uniquely yours, and to suit the season. And guess what? It's gluten free.

Wild Rice and Cherry Salad

Printable Recipe

Loosely Adapted from Super Natural Every Day

This versatile grain salad will work in any season by simply swapping out whatever fruit is available at your farmers' market. It makes for a lovely lunch, or light main course.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Yield: serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked wild rice

4 handfuls wild arugula

2/3 cup toasted pecans or walnuts

1 1/2 cups sweet cherries, pitted

1/2 cup toasted walnut oil or extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup raspberry vinegar, or white wine vinegar

sea salt, to taste

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, or goat cheese

Preparation:

1. Rinse wild rice. Bring 4 cups of lightly salted water to a boil. Add wild rice, reduce heat, cover and simmer over low heat until rice is tender, about 40-45 minutes. Drain rice and set aside.

2. While rice is cooking mash 1/3 of the cherries in a jar with a muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon. Add walnut oil and vinegar, close lid tightly and shake until combined. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to season and taste.

3. Tear remaining cherries in half. Toss wild rice with the arugula, most of the pecans, and most of the remaining cherries until evenly combined. Add a generous splash of the dressing and toss again. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or dressing if necessary.

4. Top salad with remaining cherry halves and pecans, and crumbled cheese. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Farm to Table

Friends, it's on! Summer is here, and with that comes amazing things out of the garden. And everything, it seems, is on steroids this year. Here on the Cape, things usually get a slow start....but sunny weather and warm temperatures, coupled with a mild spring have made produce large and in charge. There are armfuls of lettuce, tomatoes the size of melons, squash (already!), and pea vines, 10 feet tall! It really is a sight to behold.

Luckily, not only do we have our own little garden out back, but we belong to a CSA (or community supported agriculture), where we get a fantastic assortment of produce that we pick up weekly from Seaweed and Codfish Herb Farm. Veronica, the owner/operator/farmer, is a total character, and the first time we met her, she was tending her farm barefoot wearing only shorts and a bra (it was a really hot day). Certainly comfortable among her many chickens, goats, ducks, vegetable beds (and in her own skin), she's one of the few farmers on Cape Cod who grow lettuces all summer, as well as many other crops. When you go to her farm, not only will she show you around so you can meet her many furry and feathered friends, she will take you out to the garden so you can get your pick of lettuce and veggies, which she pulls up and picks for you on the spot. Talk about farm to table!

This evening we picked up edible flowers, red lettuce, boston lettuce, lambs tongue lettuce, 2 pounds of snap peas, a dozen eggs, 3 zucchini, 2 not-quite-ripe tomatoes (her first), kale, cippolini onions, mint, beets (with greens attached) and an herb bundle, that had parsley with leaves so big, they looked like they came out of the Jurassic era.

So what does one do with all that fantastic produce from the CSA basket? Well, for starters, because there is little choice in what you get, you're forced to try things you never have (kohlrabi anyone?), and challenge yourself with new recipes to use up things you have been eating in (over)abundance (kale anyone?). It can be difficult to eat it all up before the next batch arrives....in fact, I still have a kohlrabi languishing in the fridge from last week. But sometime this weekend, I shall make salad or slaw!

For tonight, we whipped up one dozen farm-fresh eggs and poured them over some of the freshly-picked veggies which were sauteed briefly in olive oil. It was a frittata of sorts (sounds so much fancier than baked eggs, doesn't it?), that was simple and perfect and even kind of elegant, especially when topped with a Jurassic parsley leaf. This could also double as an appetizer when cut into small squares and served at room temperature.








Farm Egg and Veggie Frittata

This simple yet elegant dish works well with just about any vegetable you have on hand. Try it with asparagus, or crook-neck squash, add crumbled cooked sausages or peppers...have fun and don't be afraid to experiment! Because eggs are the main ingredient, make sure they are the freshest possible.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: serves 6 as a main course

Ingredients:

1 dozen eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream, half and half, or milk
1/2 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
2 zucchini, sliced into half moons
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 large handfuls of arugula, spinach or chopped young chard
1 tablespoon olive oil
Minced parsley

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Set aside.

2. Beat the eggs, with salt, pepper and cream in a large mixing bowl until combined. Set aside.

3. Heat olive oil over medium heat in large skillet. Add zucchini, and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini becomes tender and onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the arugula (or whatever tender green you are using) and cook for 1-2 minutes more, or until it just begins to wilt.

4. Spread the veggies evenly out in the prepared 9x13 inch dish. Sprinkle over the cheese and then pour over the egg mixture.

5. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until puffed slightly and cooked though in the middle.

6. Garnish with minced parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.

Happy Autumn and a New Salad!

We toasted to memories of our amazing summer, and to the prospect of a blessed new season. The signs of autumn are all around us...though here, in southern California, we sometimes have to look closely. Fall brings the Santa Anas, and fires. Fall brings more heat and dry air. Leaves and mountainsides turn brown and tinder dry. Seed pods rattle in the breeze, and palm fronds tumble to the ground. The light is changing, and the sun comes in at a different angle--dusk comes sooner too.

In the markets winter squash and pumpkins are making their appearance, and grapes, apples, pears and pomegranates are slowly edging out peaches and plums. Tomatoes still abound, and melons and corn are available, though time is running out.

So on this first day of autumn, the equinox, we dined al fresco, by candlelight. We feasted on our favorite tastes of summer--corn, watermelon, and big, juicy, grilled steaks. We reminisced about our trip east and back, and talked about all the exciting things that are just around the bend...there are so many!

I tried a new salad too...a recipe I've seen many times, but been a bit afraid to make. The ingredients on their own, I adore. Watermelon? Yes! Tomatoes? The best! Feta cheese? Yummy! Cilantro? Heaven! But all together? I just wasn't sure. So tonight I bit the bullet and gave it a go. And you know what? It's a like a chorus of flavors in the mouth. Maybe even a symphony. It's that good.




The crisp and sweet watermelon plays splendidly against the tender, juicy tomatoes and the tangy, salty cheese. And the grassy, herbaceousness of the cilantro makes for a spectacular top note. It's the kind of taste that is so surprising upon first bite, that you have to immediately take another one, just to be sure it was for real. And the ease with which this salad was thrown together, tells me that this could become a late summer standby, even a main course, on those sweltering nights when it is simply too hot to cook or eat much of anything at all.

We enjoyed our evening so much, knowing full well, that it is an awfully long wait until summer produce comes 'round again. And we're going to milk every last bit of it...I hope you do too.

Watermelon, Tomato and Feta Salad

serves 4

1/2 a smallish seedless watermelon (that weighs around 6 pounds), peeled and cubed

8 ounces feta cheese in brine, cubed

2 medium ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped

handful of cilantro, chopped

drizzle of red wine vinegar

drizzle of olive oil

Toss watermelon, feta, and tomatoes together in a salad bowl. Drizzle with vinegar and oil. Top with cilantro. Serve immediately, or chill up to one hour.