Salted Almonds

We toasted absent friends on Christmas Day with glasses of sparkling white burgundy.

We enjoyed the wine so much that tonight we'll be welcoming in the New Year with it.

It's a dry crisp, yet slightly floral bubbly. Excellent accompaniments are creamy, fruity, and salty. At Christmas we had strawberries and St. André (a triple creme French cheese that should only be eaten in small amounts) and salted almonds. Tonight we'll show more restraint and just nibble on these delicious nuts.

(Almonds are an excellent source of healthy fats -- they actually help lower cholesterol. They're also a good source of heart-friendly magnesium and potassium, which will counter-balance some of the extra salt we're adding for flavor.)

These are similar to the tamari almonds available at health food stores, but the extra salt on the outside gives them an added flavor burst. I use whole almonds and don't bother to blanch them - the skins are extra fiber, and they look pretty. Because I use an egg white to glue the salt to the outside, I store the nuts in the fridge for a week or the freezer for longer. They're quick to pull out and warm whenever a salty snack is needed.

Salted Almonds
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
10 grinds fresh pepper
1 egg white
12 oz bag almonds (scant 3 cups)

Whisk the first four ingredients together. Add the almonds and soak 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Drain into another bowl, reserving the liquid, and spread the nuts on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 250°F for 10 minutes. Stir. Drizzle the warm nuts with the reserved liquid and mix it in. Spread the nuts out again and continue baking until they're dry -- another 15 minutes or so -- turning halfway through.

Let cool before storing in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Reheat in a 200° toaster oven -- 3-4 minutes for refrigerated nuts, 6-7 for frozen -- and serve warm.

Makes 3 cups.

Baby Kohlrabi

I was planning braised turnips for Christmas lunch, but when I walked past the South Central Farmers Cooperative stall at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Christmas Eve I saw baby kohlrabis. How could I resist?

Kohlrabi is a member of the cabbage family, and has edible greens and a delicious bulbous stem that grows above ground, looking like quite the alien plant.

Usually at the market the stalks and greens are 18-inches long or so. But the ones I saw Saturday were about nine inches from bulb to leaf top.

I snagged a bunch, and then pondered how to best showcase them on the Christmas lunch table. I decided to cook the greens as wilted greens, and then toss the cooked stems in garlic butter and serve them on top of the greens.

Best dish of the day!

Baby Kohlrabi
1 bunch baby kohlrabi
2 tsp olive oil
salt, pepper, chile flakes
1/2 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic

Wash the leaves and narrow stems of the kohlrabi. Chop them into 2" pieces and put them (with water still clinging to their leaves) in a pan where the olive oil is warming over medium-low heat. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a few dried chile flakes. Toss well. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or so until they are tender, stirring occasionally.

Peel the kohlrabi bulbs so no tough fibers remain. Chop them into bite-sized pieces and cook them briefly in boiling water until they are tender. Warm the butter and garlic in a sauté pan, and toss the kohlrabi in it until well coated.

Put the warm greens on a serving dish and pour the bulbs and garlic butter over top.

Serves 3-4.

Christmas Recap

I'm listening to "One Happy Christmas" as I write this on Boxing Day (Day after Christmas to Americans), and I have to say, that's what we had.

The food happiness started on Christmas Eve with pasta, continued through Tracie and Kizzie's visit for Christmas lunch, and kept going through lunch today with leftovers.

Here's what we've been eating:

Christmas Eve
Pasta with Gorgonzola and Arugula
Homemade Baguette

Christmas Lunch
St. André cheese and strawberries, salted almonds
Stuffed Pumpkin
Brussels Sprouts
Mashed Potatoes
Brisket that Larry made
Kohlrabi greens and stems
Chocolate Truffle Tart
Port and Stilton

Boxing Day Lunch
Bubble and Squeak

The Christmas Eve baguette was made with a recipe from The Idiot's Guide to Artisan Baking. That's a whole other post.

I used penne for the pasta, and a 14oz can of diced tomatoes (drained) in place of the fresh tomatoes.

I cooked the stuffing for the pumpkin on Christmas Eve, and filled it Christmas morning after scooping out the seeds and guts. The stuffing was a delicious pilaf of cooked brown basmati rice, mushrooms and cashews sautéed in butter, onions cooked until they were dark brown, and pinquito beans. Unfortunately the pumpkin had very little flesh, and it stayed hard as it cooked (90 minutes at 350°). So we scooped out and enjoyed the filling. Next year my Mum will be here at Christmas -- she's the expert stuffed-pumpkin cook -- so hopefully we'll have a fully edible dish. (Although I have to say, serving rice pilaf in a pumpkin is a show-stopper. I got the gorgeous burnt orange color by brushing it with oil a half-hour into the cooking.)

We didn't eat dinner Christmas night - still full from a leisurely lunch.

I used the leftover mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts (in place of the raw potatoes and cabbage) in Boxing Day's bubble and squeak. Boy, I love leftovers.

Christmas Cookies

Early in our marriage, Larry told me about Sand Tarts, the thin, pale, dense Christmas cookies he loved as a child. His mother didn't have the recipe, but I found one in my 1975 edition of the Joy of Cooking, and when Larry tasted them, he said they were exactly as he remembered.

So every Christmas since then, I have performed the labor of love that is making these cookies.

The dough is very stiff and has to be rolled to 1/16". Much un-seasonal language echoes from the kitchen as the dough sticks to the table and deformed snowmen have to be patted into shape on the cookie sheet before baking.

A couple of years ago I got smart and bought a roul-pat - a large silicon mat to roll the dough on. No more sticking. Less cussing. In fact I became a little cocky at how well I had mastered these cookies.

Until this year, when I accidentally used whole wheat flour instead of white.

It was not an attempt to add nutrition and fiber to a Christmas treat. I had bought a bag of organic pastry flour, not realizing it was whole wheat. The dough was a little darker than usual, but I thought it was because I used raw sugar instead of the white bleached kind. I put it in the fridge to chill, and then pulled out my flour canister to re-fill it from the new bag. That's when I noticed how white the flour in the bottom of the canister was. Oh no. I had messed with tradition.

And a very serious tradition it is. Larry loves these cookies with his morning coffee during the holiday season. He says that he considered having me sign a pre-nup that I would bake these every year. He doesn't need a Christmas present as long as he has sand tarts. He doesn't need the 12 Days of Christmas, just 12 Days of Sand Tarts.

So I baked only one cookie sheet-ful, and confessed the mistake to him as I put a few in his lunch bag. I told him if the whole wheat flour made them not good for Christmas, I'd freeze the rest of the dough for after the holidays, and make a new batch with white flour.

Larry tasted the cookies, and declared them delicious.

We made the remaining dough into cookies last night. I rolled and cut, Larry sugared and baked.

Maybe we've started a new holiday tradition.

Whole Wheat Sand Tarts
3/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup raw organic sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp grated lemon rind
3 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp salt
colored sugars to decorate (optional)

Beat the butter until soft. Gradually beat in the sugar and keep beating until it's creamy. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla and lemon rind.

Stir together the flour and salt, and gradually stir them into the butter mixture. You will probably have to knead the last of the flour in by hand. Form the dough into a log, wrap in wax paper and chill several hours. (At this stage you can keep it in the fridge for a couple of weeks, baking a few cookies as needed.)

Take the dough from the fridge and let it get a little soft. If your house is cool, this will a few hours. But you don't want the dough to be too soft or it becomes even harder to roll.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Roll the dough out very thin. Flour the table and rolling pin as needed. A silicon rolling pad really helps.

Cut the dough into shapes. Place on greased cookie sheets or sil-pats (re-usable silicon cookie sheet liners). Sprinkle with colored sugars if desired.

Bake 8 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, rotate the cookie sheets back to front and switch the top one with the bottom one. This helps all the cookies bake evenly.

Makes about 70 cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutters.

(Adapted from The Joy of Cooking, 1975)

Brussels Sprouts

I bought my Christmas Brussels sprouts early - I didn't want to risk the farmers running out, and they keep well in the crisper drawer in the fridge.

My favorite vegetables at childhood Christmas dinners were the Brussels sprouts, boiled then tossed with almonds that had been toasted in melted butter.

Long-time readers of this blog might remember Larry's childhood aversion to Brussels sprouts, indeed most vegetables. (You can read his post here.)

Fortunately, Larry's learned that even if he doesn't like a vegetable the first time around, after a few more test-runs he might actually start enjoying it. I think this is a really healthy attitude to food - after all, how many of us enjoyed our first sip of coffee or beer? Or the first puff of a cigarette? Yet we persevere, wanting to like these substances, and we learn to enjoy them.

If we all had the same tenacity in learning to like Brussels sprouts and leafy greens, we would be much healthier.

A common complaint with cooked Brussels sprouts is that they are mushy on the outside and hard on the inside. The key to cooking them evenly is to cut an x in the bottom of each stem before cooking. Steaming or boiling are both fine, just make sure to whisk them off the heat when a knife slides in to the center with just a little pressure.

In celebration of our Southern California lifestyle, this year's Brussels sprouts will be tossed with juice from a lemon freshly picked from our tree.

Brussels Sprouts with Lemon
1/2 lb Brussels sprouts
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

Trim any yellowed-leaves from the Brussels sprouts and cut an x in the bottom of each. Steam over boiling water until barely tender, about 8 minutes depending on their size. You can leave them like this until just before you're ready to serve.

Melt the butter in a sauté pan large enough that the sprouts are in a single layer. Toss in sprouts and cook until warmed through. Add the lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss again before serving.

Serves 2-3

Radish Green Soup

One of the great things about shopping at the farmers market is I can ask the farmers and their helpers how they cook their produce.

Some growers are one-note cooks. "Chop it up and stir it into rice," says one about pretty much everything he sells. "Toss it in olive oil and roast it in the oven," says another about his produce. Both great ideas, but they get a little boring after a while.

I keep asking though, because on occasion I get a gem of a recipe. Like this radish-top soup that I learned about at the Flora Bella stand.

I had selected a bunch of black radishes for their roots, which are turnip-sized with a radish-y zest more potent than the small red radishes but less eye-watering than horseradish. I like to peel them and add them to dishes of roasted root vegetables. As I was paying for them, I thought to ask if their leaves were edible too.

I never thought of eating radish leaves, but I've since learned that the leaves of all radishes, even the little red ones, are good eating. They are a little hairy, but cooking and puréeing them breaks them down to a smooth consistency.

When the woman working the stall gave me this soup recipe (her husband's favorite), I decided I needed a second bunch in order to make a decent amount. She dug through the pile for one with excellent leaves, and I came home to give it a try.

Larry was a little dubious when I put the green goop in his bowl, but he really enjoyed it. As did I. It's creamy and light, yet with a radishy tang. I didn't think it would be filling - no beans or potatoes - but it actually sticks to the ribs. And in smaller bowlfuls it could be an excellent appetizer soup. It would certainly intrigue your guests while giving them lots of nutrition.

You can make the soup with the tops of any radishes, including the red ones. If you don't have enough greens, you could pad it with mustard greens, chard or spinach.

And you can substitute olive oil for the butter to make this a creamy vegan soup.

Radish Green Soup
1 bulb fennel
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp butter
greens from 2 bunches of black radish (1 lb total greens)
2 cups vegetable stock

Cut the leaves and stems off the fennel and discard. Cut the bulb in half and cut off the tough bottom and core - discard these too. Chop the remaining segments into large pieces.

Warm the olive oil and butter in a saucepan and sauté the fennel, onion and garlic until softened.

Wash the radish greens and cut off the tough bottoms which are just stem. Chop the leaves and add to the pan along with the vegetable stock. Cook, covered, until the greens are very soft.

Purée in the blender.

Serve hot.

Serves 2-3.

Sautéed Parsnips

This has been a great year for parsnips. We are getting bunches weekly from Finley Farms. Larry is starting to really like them, especially sautéed in butter as in this recipe. He also appreciates the vegetable stock I make - he says it greatly enhances his beef stew, and I'm sure that's because I put a parsnip in the stock pot.

The parsnips we've been getting are so fresh they still have the greens attached. I take them home for the compost, but we don't eat them, because I fear they might be poisonous like potato leaves are. Touching the leaves can cause skin irritation and sun sensitivity in some people, although fortunately not me. If you're buying your parsnips at the grocery store, it's unlikely you'll see the greens. And at the farmers market, the farmers will happily remove the greens for you if you are concerned.

Parsnips have similar nutritional values to potatoes, but they are higher in fiber and lower in calories. Of course, they don't taste like potatoes. They have an earthy sweetness that adds variety to any meal.

Plus they are dead easy to cook. Here is my latest quick and easy method.

Sautéed parsnips
1 1/2 lb parsnips (1 bunch)
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper

Peel and thinly slice the parsnip roots - less than a quarter inch is ideal.

Warm the butter over medium heat in a fry pan large enough to give the parsnips room to spread out. Add the parsnips and sauté, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 5-8 minutes.

If they're well-colored but not soft enough, lower the heat and cover the pan to let the roots steam for a couple of minutes until they're done. (Cook them to the same softness you would carrots.)

Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Serves 2-3

Comfort Food

Sometimes I just want a bowl of delicious goodness.

That's when I turn to this simple yet soul-satisfying dish.

White beans cooked with garlic, steamed greens, and a drizzle of fruity olive oil. It's a wonderful combination of flavors and soothing textures.

If you haven't cooked dried beans before, this is the recipe to start with. If you're not sure how fresh your beans are, start it early in the day. Cook until the beans are soft, then turn off the heat and let them sit on the stove until you start the greens, about 15 minutes before you're ready to eat. Reheat and serve.

If you want to use canned beans, use 2 14-oz cans. Drain off the can juice and reheat them with some vegetable stock or water along with the seasonings. It won't be quite as delicious (or cheap) but it will be good.

For the greens, I was lucky enough to get rapini and lamb's quarters from the Flora Bella stand at the Hollywood Farmers Market. You can use spinach, dandelions, chard, turnip greens, beet greens, whatever you have. If you're not used to bitter greens like dandelion, add some sweet greens like chard and spinach to tone it down. (The bitter greens are excellent for the liver, so try to use some of them.)

In the past, I have only made this recipe when Larry was out of town. I believed he would not like it. But I was wrong. I cooked it last week when I was craving some good greens, and he said he really liked it. And he ate it as leftovers too, so I believe him.

Italian Greens and Beans
1 lb white beans
1 red chile, dried or fresh
3 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
1 lb greens (or 2 bunches)
olive oil

Sort the beans and discard any dirt or stones. Rinse them and put them in a large pot with the chile and bay leaves. Peel the garlic and throw it in too. Add boiling water from the kettle to cover by 2 inches. (Use cold tap water if you don't have enough boiling.) Bring to the boil and cook, covered, until the beans are tender. I used white lima beans from Lompoc, probably harvested this year, so they only took 90 minutes to cook. Yours might take up to 4 hours. Plan accordingly. And remember, it's better to cook them early and let them sit than it is to serve crunchy beans.

(Concerned about the gassy qualities of beans? The garlic helps eliminate them.)

Wash the greens well. (In this era of plastic mulch and drip irrigation, the greens might be clean. But if it's rained they can be quite muddy. Swish them in basins of cold water until no dirt is left in the bottom.) Put them in a large pot with an inch of boiling water in the bottom. Let them cook until the stems are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain them and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Taste the beans and add salt and pepper to enhance the flavor.

Using a slotted spoon, put some beans into a shallow soup bowl. Add a little of the bean juice. Spoon some greens on top. Drizzle with a little olive oil. And enjoy.

Serves 6. (But is great reheated the next day)

Mustard Greens

Mustard greens have a zest that pairs well with creamy dishes. I served them at Thanksgiving with scalloped potatoes and barbecue beans, and they added color and texture, as well as health-promoting nutrients.

Mustard greens are cruciferous vegetables, so they have the same health benefits as broccoli and cabbage. They are high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, which makes them a great cancer preventative. Plus they're an excellent source of folic acid.

Usually I buy purple mustard greens, but I could only find the green curly kind at the market. They turned out great in this incredibly simple recipe.

Wilted Mustard Greens
1 bunch green or purple mustard greens
1 small clove garlic
3/4 tbsp butter
salt and pepper

Wash the greens, discarding any yellow leaves and chopping the brown bottom off the stems. Cook the greens in boiling salted water until they are wilted and the stems are tender, 5-8 minutes. Put them into cold water to stop the cooking, then drain them and squeeze out the extra moisture. Coarsely chop the leaves. At this point, you can set them aside at cool room temperature for a few hours before finishing the recipe.

Melt butter in sauté pan over moderately low heat. Peel and chop the garlic and cook it in the butter about 2 minutes until it is softened. Add the greens, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Serves 3-4

Ginger Green Tea

I've started making ginger green tea my morning drink.

I've heard for years about the health benefits of green tea - it's high in antioxidants that fight cancer, keep your heart and arteries healthy, balance blood sugar, and boost brain power. But I find it hard to enjoy. It's a little bland and tannic for my tastes.

But adding ginger both mellows it and gives it a zing. Ginger also has a lot of health benefits - it's good for the digestion, boosts the immune system, fights certain cancers, and is anti-inflammatory. In fact, green tea and ginger are a very healthy way to start the day.

This recipe is what I've been doing. It's warm, wet and a little tingly. The ginger masks the bitterness of the green tea. I like it mild, but you can add more ginger if you prefer, or simmer the ginger longer.

It's essential not to have the water boiling when you add the green tea or it will taste bitter. Experts say the water for brewing green tea should be at 180-190°F. I figure as long as it's not bubbling, it's close enough.

The timing is approximate too - I brew the tea while puttering around making our breakfast fruit and our lunches.

I get organic green tea leaves at Chado, a few blocks from my office in Old Pasadena. You could substitute a green tea teabag if that's what you have.

I admit to feeling virtuous while sipping this tea. The fact it tastes good is an added bonus.

Ginger Green Tea
3 nickel-sized slices of fresh ginger root
1 tsp green tea (or 1 teabag)

Peel the brown skin off the ginger and put the slices in a small pot with 1 1/4 cups cold water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat down and let the ginger simmer 3 minutes. Uncover and take off the heat. When it's stopped bubbling, add the green tea. Cover and let steep 3 minutes. Strain into a mug and serve.

Serves 1

Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped potatoes are not health food. However, they are incredibly easy to make, and always get rave reviews.

When Tracie came up for Thanksgiving, she told me she had never eaten scalloped potatoes that were not from a box.

You can imagine the horror on my face at the thought of boxed scalloped potatoes. That's not food. That's chemicals and processing.

So I was happy to introduce her to the real thing. Which she loved.

I was almost embarrassed to tell her how easy it was to make.

So if you're planning to serve scalloped potatoes to your family, serve the real thing, made with real potatoes and hormone-free dairy products. And serve a bunch of greens on the side to counteract the whipping cream and cheese. Everyone will love you for it.

A note on the cheese: At Thanksgiving I used a mixture of aged gruyere, smoked cheddar and jack because that's what I had in the fridge. Plain swiss or cheddar are good too, and sometimes a little blue cheese in the mix is nice.

Scalloped Potatoes
6 baking potatoes
butter for greasing dish
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups grated cheese

Preheat oven to 375°.

Peel and thinly slice potatoes and layer them in a greased 1 1/2 quart cassserole or gratin dish.

Stir together milk, cream and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Carefully pour over potatoes.

Sprinkle cheese evenly on top.

Place the dish on a baking sheet in case it bubbles over. Bake 1 hour 30 minutes until potatoes are tender and top is nicely browned. (Cover with foil part way through if necessary to keep the potatoes from getting too brown.)

Serves 6-8

Post-Thanksgiving Shopping

Thanksgiving dinner produces great leftovers, so we went to the Hollywood Farmers Market Sunday morning expecting only to buy some greens and fruit.

It started well at the Finley Farms stand with malabar spinach and snap peas. But they also had parsnips and Canadian-sized rutabagas - how could I resist? I spent years being deprived of parsnips and rutabagas because I couldn't find them organically-grown. So now I'm like an addict - snatching up organic ones whenever I see them in order to get my fix. We'll eat them mashed, sautéed, roasted, cooked in soup and baked in spice cake - and then I'll prowl the market in search of more.

Flora Bella had black radishes and smaller rutabagas, so I bought them too.

And Tutti Frutti had red peppers and poblanos - perfect for roasting and freezing.

Yes, our fridge is now tightly packed, but the roots will store well if we don't manage to eat them all this week. And with the evenings drawing in, dinners of root vegetables are just the thing to nourish body and soul.

Here's what we came home with:

1 bag malabar spinach
1 bunch red russian kale
1 bunch purple mustard greens
1 small bag snap peas
2 red peppers
8 poblanos
2 onions
3 sweet potatoes
9 small potatoes
1 celeriac
1 giant rutabaga
1 bunch small rutabagas
2 bunches parsnips
2 bunches black radish
2 bulbs fennel
4 apples
6 oz blueberries
4 pomegranates
6 grapefruit
6 small jars of St. Benoit yogurt
1 lb Oaxaca coffee from Cafecito Organico

Thanksgiving Recap

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving.

Ours was peaceful and full of food (two Thanksgiving dinners, remember?), with a little gardening thrown in for good measure.

These are a few things I learned along the way:

• St. André cheese with strawberries - excellent!
• Mashed potatoes and creamed corn are a match made in heaven, even when the creamed corn is a little salty.
• Fresh herbs make white beans delectable.
• Scalloped potatoes are the easiest way to get rave reviews.
• It's hard to screw up white bread rolls.
• The pressure cooker is great for root vegetables.
• Pink Lady apples make excellent applesauce.
• Pie takes practice - once a year is not cutting it (see last year's Thanksgiving recap).

Thanksgiving Dinner

Our Thanksgiving is a little complicated this year.

Our niece Tracie will be serving dinners at an Orange County mission, so we've invited her to have Thanksgiving with us on Friday.

Being a Canadian, I thought that left my Thursday free. I planned to dig in the garden while listening to NPR. Lynne Rosetto-Kasper's Turkey Confidential is my favorite cooking show of the year.

But I was wrong.

The Thursday Thanksgiving dinner tradition is too strong to ignore, so Larry and I will have a special dinner that day too.

Three people, two Thanksgiving dinners -- it seems a little extreme to me, but isn't that what this holiday is all about?

Here are the menus I have planned:

Thursday:
Pork something in the slow cooker (Larry's cooking and eating this)
Acorn squash with White Beans and Herbs
Brussels sprouts
Mashed potatoes
Creamed corn

Friday:
Tracie always arrives hungry, so I'll set out appetizers of salted almonds, St. André cheese, strawberries and sparkling wine
Honey-baked ham
Orange-bourbon baked beans
Scalloped potatoes
Pressure-cooked root vegetables
Mustard greens
Applesauce
Rolls
Apple-pear-cranberry pie with whipped cream and butterscotch sauce for dessert (not that we'll have room, but it will be good for breakfast on Saturday)

I hope you have a delicious and happy Thanksgiving!

Autumn Stew

If you're uncertain what to serve the vegetarians at Thanksgiving dinner, consider this lovely wild rice and squash dish that is both autumnal and protein-rich. Everyone will eat it as a side, and the vegetarians will thank you for a satisfying meal.

The vegetables can be prepped ahead, and the stew stirred together on the stove while the turkey rests.

We ate it for dinner Monday night. I pre-cooked the beans and wild rice, and diced the squash. It all sat on the counter until 30 minutes before dinner, when I stirred it together for an easy and excellent meal.

The stew is really good with parmesan shavings on it, but don't do that unless you know there are no vegans at your table (vegans don't eat eggs or dairy products). Instead, serve the parmesan on the side so people can help themselves.

Autumn Stew
1/3 cup dry lima or cannellini beans (or 1 can, drained)
3/4 cup wild rice
1/2 oz dried mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, halved or quartered
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 1/2 tsp dried)
3 cups vegetable broth
1 lb butternut squash
1 tsp salt
4 large chard leaves
parmesan

Cook the beans in plenty of boiling water until tender. This will take 2-3 hours depending on the freshness of the beans. Make sure they're cooked all the way through before you drain them.

Cook the wild rice in plenty of salted boiling water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh. Peel off the skin, and dice the squash in 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces.

Cover the dried mushrooms with 1 cup boiling water and let steep 10 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the soaking liquid, make sure they have no grit on them, and chop them coarsely. Strain any grit from the soaking liquid and keep it separate.

Warm olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté onion, mushrooms, pepper and thyme, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.

Add the broth, cooked wild rice, cooked beans, squash and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, until the squash is tender when pierced with a thin knife, 12-15 minutes.

Add mushrooms and their soaking liquid.

Rinse the chard leaves and chop them, including their stems. Add to the pot, cover, and let cook until stems are tender, about 10 minutes. Season to taste.

Serve with parmesan shavings.

Serves 6 as a main course, more as a side dish.

Peeling Pomegranates

I really like the sweet-tart crunch of pomegranate seeds. I sprinkle them on our breakfast fruit, add them to salads, and use them as a garnish on anything that needs a little color.

The whole pomegranates last a couple of weeks in the fridge. The seeds will last a few days in a covered container.

Organic pomegranates are easy to find at this time of year. I was even given some from a friend's tree. Here is how I prepared them:


The challenge of a pomegranate is the red juice that sprays from the seeds with the slightest provocation. I've found the key to containing it is to do all the prep work under water. It doesn't alter the taste of the seeds, and it keeps my hands and clothes clean.

I first score the skin of the pomegranate with a paring knife, dividing it into quadrants.




Then I pull at the white pith, dividing the pomegranate into large pieces. The jewel-like seeds nestle in clusters and are easily pried free.




It takes a little patience, but with practice you'll be able to do this in under 5 minutes.



The small pieces of pith float on the surface. I skim them off with a small strainer, then drain the water off the seeds.



The result: a bowl of crunchy juicy seeds that will add flavor and color to any dish. Even better, they're full of heart-healthy, cholesterol-lowering, cancer-fighting nutrients. Enjoy them often during their short season.

Stir-fried Spaghetti Squash

Usually I serve spaghetti squash with a chunky tomato sauce - playing on its spaghetti-like appearance.

However, the squash does not have the taste or texture of pasta, as Larry points out to me regularly. Thinking about it, I realized it's more like Asian cellophane noodles, with a bit of a crunch to it. So the other day I stir-fried it with ginger, garlic and sesame. It was a revelation - who knew that spaghetti squash was the perfect foil for a stir-fry?

I even enjoyed the leftovers cold as a salad the next day.

I used red pepper and asparagus, but you could use whatever vegetables you prefer. Snow peas, spring onions, pea shoots, green beans - all would be good. And whatever you choose, this is a filling yet low-calorie dish. Perfect as we head into the holiday season.

(Spaghetti squash is an oval, yellow winter squash. Choose one that is firm and heavy.)

Stir-fried Spaghetti Squash
1 spaghetti squash (2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lbs)
2 tsp sesame seeds
3/4 lb asparagus
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp minced gingerroot
1 cup thinly sliced red pepper
2 tbsp roasted sesame oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. Rinse the squash and place it in the oven. Let it bake 45 minutes or so until it feels tender when you squeeze it.

Let the squash cool a little, then cut it in half lengthwise and discard the seeds and slimy pulp. The firmer part of the squash will separate into spaghetti-like strands. Scrape them with a fork into a large bowl and set aside.

Toast the sesame seeds in a heavy pan on the stove until fragrant, about one minute.

Cut asparagus into bite-sized pieces and steam until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes.

Stir-fry olive oil, ginger and garlic in a large hot skillet until sizzling, under a minute. Add asparagus, squash strands and red pepper. Stir gently, lightly tossing the squash, until it's hot, about 5 minutes. Toss with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour into a serving bowl and drizzle with the roasted sesame oil and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Serves 6

Egg Salad Sandwich

For too long, eggs have had a bad rap. People wrongly believed they were too high in fat and dietary cholesterol to be part of a healthy diet.

Fortunately people are now realizing that eggs are a healthy food.

Of course, it depends on the eggs you eat. We eat eggs from chickens that live in an apple orchard: eating bugs, scratching in the dirt, nibbling on weeds, eating a little grain to supplement their diet. I bet these are really healthy eggs. Most so-called free-range or organic eggs are from chickens whose diet is mainly soy and corn. Not as natural, but at least they're not eating ground-up chicken feathers like factory-farmed chickens do.

Anyway, no matter what kind of egg you can find, eat the whole thing. The yolks are the richest source of choline known. Choline is essential for brain health, and for brain and memory development in the fetus (attention pregnant and nursing moms).

Eggs are also anti-inflammatory, and they have compounds that break homocysteine down so they're good for the heart too.

To set the cholesterol myth to rest, a recent study in northern Mexico found that eating eggs can actually improve cholesterol levels, even when combined with a high intake of fatty foods like hydrogenated oils.

This egg salad sandwich is not traditional - it includes fresh herbs and mushrooms - but it is scrumptious. I served it on homemade white bread because it's nice to have squishy bread to hold the sandwich together. But feel free to use nutritious whole grain bread instead.

I adapted the recipe from Season to Taste, an accomplished book on herbs and spices in American cooking that Jeannette Ferrary and Louise Fiszer wrote in 1988. I've dipped into it regularly over the years, and always learn something new and get a good recipe. (Rosemary garlic bread - mmm!)

Egg Salad Sandwich
1 tbsp butter
1 spring onion, chopped
1/4 lb mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp fresh marjoram leaves, chopped (or 1/4 tsp dried)
2 eggs, hardboiled and shelled
2 tbsp mayonnaise
red onion rings
baby spinach or butter lettuce
4 slices bread

Sauté onion and mushrooms in butter in a small skillet for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice and stir in marjoram. Allow to cool slightly.

Chop eggs coarsely. Combine with mushrooms and mayonnaise. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spread the egg mixture on two slices of bread. Top with red onion rings and spinach leaves. Top with other two slices of bread.

Makes 2 sandwiches.

Eggplant with Peanut Sauce

Our eggplants have been challenged this year -- possums kept digging the plants up and looking underneath for grubs. You can only replant an eggplant so many times before it gives up.

But the Japanese eggplant is finally producing, so I picked a couple for dinner the other day. I grilled them and served them with peanut sauce because I wanted Larry to really enjoy our home-grown produce. Eggplant is not his favorite food, but I'm pretty sure peanut butter is in his top ten.

There are as many variations of peanut sauce as there are people. The basics are a little salt and a little sour added to the peanut butter. Some people add sweet too, but you've probably already discerned my anti-sugar bias.

I've previously posted a peanut sauce with yogurt and orange juice, which is really good.

The one I served the other night was flavored with soy sauce and lime juice, which nicely complemented the grilled eggplant.

Japanese eggplants are the slender kind. If you have the heftier Italian kind, slice it crosswise in 1/2" rounds.

We ate baked sweet potato fries and Indian cabbage with the eggplant, making an unusual but enjoyable meal.


Grilled Eggplant with Peanut Sauce
2 slender Japanese eggplants
olive oil
1 tsp roasted sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced
dash red pepper flakes
2 heaping tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
1 tsp tamari soy sauce
1 tsp lime juice
1-2 tbsp water

Cut the caps off the eggplants and discard. Slice the eggplants in half lengthwise, and smear a little olive oil on the cut sides. Grill in a cast iron grill pan on the stove (or directly on the barbecue grill) until soft.

In a small pan, heat the sesame oil, garlic and red pepper flakes for about a minute. With a fork or a whisk, stir in the peanut butter, soy sauce and lime juice. Add enough water to make a thickish sauce. Keep warm until the eggplants are cooked.

Put a dollop of sauce on each eggplant half and serve.

Serves 2

Sunday Morning Shopping

It was a cold wet morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market. We warmed our hands with a cup of coffee from Cafecito Organico and my shopping list disintegrated in the rain.

This is what we came home with:

1 bunch turnips
1 bunch parsnips
1 bunch rutabagas
7 potatoes
1 ginger root
1 large bunch broccoli
1 cabbage
1 bag malabar spinach
1 red sails lettuce
1 bunch purple mustard greens
1 bunch asparagus
1 leek
4 mushrooms
9 grapefruit
2 persimmons
2 pineapple guavas
2 plums
3 apples
6-oz box blueberries
12-oz bag shelled pistachios
4 small jars of St. Benoit yogurt: 2 meyer lemon, 1 plum, 1 honey
4 oz feta

Vegetable Sides Day Seven

Last night was cabbage and potato night.

To spice it up a little, I added Spanish paprika to the cabbage and rutabagas to the potatoes. They complimented the freezer bean stew nicely.

You can find the potatoes and rutabagas recipe in my post on bashed neeps. It is the lightest, most delicious mashed potatoes you'll ever taste. And no cream or milk. Just a little butter added to the mashed roots.

The cabbage was a simple sauté with sherry and smoked paprika for flavor. Good flavors for a cool fall evening.

Sautéed Cabbage Paprika
1 1/2 lbs cabbage (1 small), sliced thin
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp sherry
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 to 1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika

Warm the butter and sherry in a skillet over medium-high heat, along with 1/3 cup water. Add cabbage, onion, salt and pepper. Stir and cover. Let cook 10 minutes on medium heat until the cabbage is tender. Stir in paprika to taste.

Serves 4

Rutabagas from Flora Bella Farm

Vegetable Sides Day Six

Last night we had corn on the cob, probably the last of the season. It was great while it lasted.

I also cooked broccoli and cauliflower the way I did on Sunday.

It's important to eat cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower etc.) at least once a week because they support healthy estrogen pathways (meaning fewer hormonal cancers) and they are the best food out there for the colon.

I chopped the broccoli stems a little smaller, and cooked them with the cauliflower for a couple of minutes before adding the broccoli florets. I find cauliflower florets take longer to cook than broccoli florets.

I served them all plain, with salt and pepper and butter on the side. Click here to read my post on the health benefits of butter.

As a side note, I tried turning the potato gratin leftovers into mashed potatoes. Not really successful. The crusty parts of the gratin wouldn't mash, so it was lumpy. Next time I need to mess with leftover gratin, I will turn it into potato soup. That would have been excellent.

Vegetable Sides Day Five

Last night we had Italian beans in tomato sauce for dinner.

(I pulled them from the freezer after I got home from work, and then I headed into the garden to enjoy the waning daylight.)

When I came in from digging and pruning and feeding, I quickly made two Italian-style vegetable dishes to go with the beans. The first was chard and yellow peppers sautéed with onions, garlic and chile peppers. The second was zucchini with red onion, garlic and chile peppers.

(Health benefits: zucchini is full of anti-oxidants, cholesterol-lowerers, cancer-preventatives, and prostate helpers. Chard is good for blood pressure and blood sugar.)

Add the dried red chile peppers to your taste, or omit them completely. They add a warmth and zest to the meal, but are not essential.

The flavors of each dish are similar, but the textures are different enough that they are a pleasant contrast.

Chard with Yellow Peppers
1 bunch chard
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic
sprinkle red chiles
1/2 yellow pepper, slivered

Chop the brown bits off the chard stems and discard any wilted leaves. Wash well. Then slice the stems from the leaves and chop the stems in 1/2" pieces. Chop the leaves in 1" ribbons.

Warm the olive oil in a deep pan. Add the onion and sauté until softened. Add the garlic, chiles, yellow pepper and chard stems, sprinkle with salt, and stir another two minutes or so until the stems are tender. Stir in the leaves with the water from washing them still clinging to the leaves, and sprinkle with salt. Stir, then cover the pot and let cook five minutes. Stir again, cover and cook until tender.


Spicy Zucchini
2 zucchini
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
sprinkle red chiles

Top and tail the zucchini, and slice in 1/4 inch rounds. Warm the olive oil. Add the onion and cook a couple of minutes until softened. Add the garlic and chiles and cook one minute. Stir in the zucchini, sprinkle with salt, cover and cook 5 minutes. Stir again. Cover and cook until tender, another 4-5 minutes.

Vegetable Sides Day Four

Last night Larry and I went to our favorite bistro for dinner.

I had a side salad, and Larry's dish came with four steamed carrot spears and two brussels sprouts.

The upside of eating out: I don't have to cook.

The downside of eating out: Not enough vegetables.

Vegetable Sides Day Three

Tonight as sides we had a creamy potato-celeriac gratin and some spicy mustard greens to balance the richness.

Celeriac is a brown lumpy hairy root from a kind of celery that looks like the regular kind, but the stalks are more fibrous and better suited to the stock pot than the lunch box. I bought it at Finley Farms with the stalks attached. You will most likely find it without the stems at the grocery store. It tastes similar to celery, but earthier.

Don't bother trying to scrub it. Just pare off all the hairy and brown parts, down to the white part within. I sliced it thinly and put a layer of it in the center of a potato gratin. It was delicious. If you have a potato gratin recipe you like, I recommend you do the same thing. The celeriac has a similar texture to the potato, and adds a savory flavor. I would share my recipe with you, but I added too much liquid so it was too saucy. We had to spoon the potatoes and celeriac out of the sauce. They tasted good, so I'll mash the leftovers into a creamy dish later in the week.

Celeriac is a good source of the soluble fiber that helps lower cholesterol. Mustard greens are high in antioxidants and are powerful anti-inflammatories.

I wanted the mustard greens to hold their zip so I cooked them quickly with garlic and chiles. I cut out the stems, washed the leaves, and cut them in 1" ribbons. I put a scant tablespoon of olive oil in a warm pan, and when it rippled I added a cup of chopped onion. When it had softened, I stirred in a chopped clove of garlic and a sprinkling of crushed chiles. After a minute or so I added the mustard greens and a splash of water, stirred well, and covered the pot. I stirred after 5 minutes, and kept cooking, covered, until slightly browned, less than 10 minutes total.

With two interesting side dishes like this, the main dish becomes the side note.

Vegetable Sides Day Two

Tonight we had chili for dinner, so I thought root vegetables and snap peas would complete the meal nicely.

Snap peas are quick to prepare. Unlike shelling peas, you eat the whole thing. The only prep is to top and tail them with a paring knife, and pull off the string down one side. Then I rinse them and cook them quickly (about 5 minutes depending on the size) in a covered pot with an inch of boiling water in the bottom. I eat my snap peas plain so I can enjoy the sweetness and the slight crunch, but I put butter and salt and pepper on the table in case Larry wants seasoning.

I had beautiful baby beets and turnips in the fridge. We had eaten the greens last week, so just the roots remained. The four beets were about 2" in diameter. I scrubbed them well, cut off the top and tail, and pared off any rough parts of skin. I could have peeled them, but I think the fiber in the skin is good for us. I then cut each beet into eighths.

The 10 turnips were quite tiny. I prepped them like the beets, cutting them into 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces.

I tossed the beets and turnips separately in about a 1/2 tsp olive oil - enough to coat them - and sprinkled on some salt and pepper. I put them in a covered casserole and baked them at 400°F for 20 minutes, until they were tender when I poked them with a slender knife. Add extra salt and pepper to taste.

They were great side dishes to the chili, and I have a small container of leftovers that I will eat for lunch tomorrow. I love vegetables.

Vegetable Sides Day One

Sunday nights are pretty casual at our house.

I call my mum in Montreal before dinner. Then we sit by the fire and eat a simple meal, usually a stew from the slow cooker.

Last night Larry ate brisket he had cooked in the slow cooker (grass-fed organic beef from Rocky Canyon Farms at the Hollywood Farmers Market) and I ate leftovers. I love leftovers. I put wilted greens (made with collards and beet greens) in the bottom of a small casserole and layered barbecue beans over them. I covered the casserole and reheated it in the oven -- excellent.

We had mashed potatoes too -- apparently potatoes are necessary with brisket.

As the side dish, I cooked broccoli and carrots using a technique I learned years ago when I was eating macrobiotic. Put an inch of water in the bottom of a pan, bring it to a boil, then add the vegetables and let them cook, covered, until done. The heavier vegetables go in the bottom and the lightest on top where they will just steam. When they're cooked, you drain off the small amount of water.

I cut the broccoli florets into large pieces. Then I chopped the tough bottom inch off the broccoli stem, and peeled the remainder down to the tender green part. I cut this in half lengthwise and then into 2-3" lengths. I cut the carrots in 1/2" thick rounds.

I brought an inch of water to boil in a deep pan. I added a little salt and then put the broccoli stems and carrots in to cook, covered, for about 5 minutes. When they were tender on the outside but still tough on the inside (I poked with a slender knife to find out), I added the broccoli florets, covered the pan, and cooked until all was tender. I drained off the water and put the vegetables in a bowl to serve.

Years ago when I first fed Larry broccoli, he asked for lemon pepper to season it. I didn't know what lemon pepper was. Now I put a jar on the table, but he says that farmers market broccoli does not require lemon pepper. It tastes really good all by itself.

A week of vegetables

Many vegetarians do not eat enough vegetables. I know that sounds weird, but it's easier to fill up on beans and rice than it is to buy and cook vegetables.

Yet study after study shows the correlation between good health and large vegetable intake.

So I try to serve vegetables as side dishes -- the traditional meal of meat and 2 veg except with a vegetarian entree in place of the meat.

I think variety is important, so I buy as wide a selection of vegetables each week as I can. Shopping at the Hollywood Farmers Market makes this easy.

This week I bought corn on the cob, celeriac, carrots, spaghetti squash, chard, mustard greens, sugar snap peas, potatoes, rutabagas and cauliflower. (This is in addition to the salad fixings.)

We had broccoli, beets, turnips, cabbage, celery and zucchini in the fridge, and a sweet potato in the pantry.

This week, I plan to post daily about our side-dish vegetables.

The rules are: onions and white potatoes don't count. Only one of the two vegetables can be starchy. And I'll aim for a pretty color combination.

Let's see how well I do.

Sweet Potato Fries

Want something orange to serve at dinner on Halloween? I recommend these sweet potato fries. Baked in the oven until they are slightly blackened, they are colorful and just a little sweet.

When I cooked them last week, Larry (not a sweet potato fan) said they were delicious.

Of course, they're also really healthy. Sweet potatoes are rich in beta carotene and other antioxidants. They contain compounds which help reduce the risk of heavy metal residues in the body. And, despite their sweetness, they actually improve blood sugar regulation.

A sweet Halloween treat that tastes good and is good for you - what could be better?


Sweet Potato Fries
2 sweet potatoes
olive oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them lengthwise in 1/4" pieces. Then cut each piece lengthwise into 1/4" french fry shapes.

Toss them in about a teaspoon of olive oil - easiest to do with your hands. Make sure all the slices have oil on them. Then sprinkle them with a little salt.

Put them on a lightly-oiled rimmed baking sheet, and bake 15 minutes. Flip the fries and cook another 15 minutes.

Sprinkle hot fries with salt if desired.

Serves 2.

Fall Vegetable Stew in Coconut Milk

The harvest markets are abundant with corn, peppers, zucchini and herbs. I combine them with tofu and coconut milk to make this creamy, delectable stew.

If you can't find fresh organic corn, the frozen kind works fine. Vary the hot pepper to suit your taste - the coconut milk mellows out the flavor considerably. This is a slightly Thai-influenced dish, so use Thai basil if you can find it. If not, the more common Italian kind works fine.

Serve the stew over brown rice for wonderful fall comfort food. It's also great as is, served in a bowl as a combination soup / stew.

Fall Vegetable Stew in Coconut Milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
14-oz firm tofu
2 small zucchini, diced
4 large ears of corn or 2 cups frozen
1 jalapeno pepper
1 heaping tbsp cilantro (optional)
1 bunch scallions
1 heaping tbsp fresh basil
3/4 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp soy sauce

Drain the tofu and dice into 3/4 inch cubes. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise, and then into 1/2 inch half-moons.

Warm the oil over medium-high heat and sauté the tofu and zucchini 10 minutes, sprinkling with 1/4 tsp salt and shaking the pan occasionally, until the tofu is a little browned.

Cut the kernels off the corn cobs, or defrost the frozen corn. Seed the jalapeno and mince it finely with the cilantro and basil. Slice the scallions into 1/2 inch lengths, including the firm greens. Add all to the pen. Pour in coconut milk and rinse out the cup measure with 1/3 cup water and stir into pan. (Freeze or refrigerate the remaining coconut milk in the can for later use.)

Stir in soy sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper to taste. Cook 5 minutes until the corn is heated through.

Serves 4-5

Orange juice

I was raving to Jorge about his oranges the other day and how much we enjoy the juice with Sunday brunch. I stop at his stand (across from McGrath, next to the dried beans from Lompoc) every week to load up on grapefruits, oranges, and whatever else he has in season: pomelos, tangelos, limes, blood oranges - all flavorful and organic.

Jorge told me he went to a local restaurant where they used to serve fresh orange juice but the other day they gave him the pre-packaged stuff. The waitress insisted it was fresh juice, but then went into the kitchen and discovered the carton. She said Jorge was the only customer who'd tasted the difference.

Well of course he noticed - he's a citrus afficionado.

But I'm not surprised other people don't. Our niece Tracie swore that her Florida Naturals o.j. tasted just like fresh juice, until she tasted Uncle Larry's fresh-squeezed version.

But the manufacturers of mass-produced orange juice work hard to make their denatured juice taste as real as possible.

First they remove the oxygen so the juice will last for up to a year. Because this process removes the flavor as well, they then add packets of orange flavoring to make it taste like juice again.

According to Food Renegade, these flavorings don't appear on the label because technically they are derived from orange essence and orange oil. However, the food scientists take a natural product like orange oil, break it down into its constituent chemicals, and then use just one or two of these chemicals to create the flavor or aroma they want.

"The packs added to juice earmarked for the North American market tend to contain high amounts of ethyl butyrate, a chemical in the fragrance of fresh squeezed orange juice that, juice companies have discovered, Americans favor. Mexicans and Brazilians have a different palate. Flavor packs fabricated for juice geared to these markets therefore highlight different chemicals."

This shouldn't surprise anyone who enjoys a certain brand of o.j. and expects it to always taste the same. Nature is not consistent. Sometimes the juice Larry makes is tarter, sometimes more full-bodied, sometimes very sweet. If you find a food that always tastes the same, suspect some chemical trickery.

Are these chemicals harmful? I don't know. But I do know they're not food.

Grated Beet Salad

I'm reading a lovely cookbook called Everyday Cooking with Organic Produce. It's put out by Melissa's, a distributor of specialty fruits and vegetables. You've probably seen their produce at Whole Foods and higher-end supermarkets.

This is the second cookbook Cathy Thomas has written for them, and it's a gem. Each of the more than 50 types of fruit and vegetables merits a section describing how to store and prepare it, a few quick serving suggestions, and a couple more complete recipes.

I made a quick beet salad for dinner Monday night which Larry said was possibly the best beets he'd ever had. So I had to share the recipe with you.

I served the salad with a Spanish tortilla (potato omelet) and some wilted greens. It was a colorful, healthy and delicious meal.

Grated Beet Salad
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp dijon
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
3 medium beets
1 tbsp minced fresh basil leaves

Whisk together the first 4 ingredients and salt and pepper.

Peel the beets and cut off the tops and bottoms. Slice them to fit the feed tube of your food processor. Use the shredding disk to grate them.

Add the grated beets to the dressing. Toss in the basil and stir to combine.

Serves 3-4