Zucchini and Peppers with Feta

It is so easy to make yummy and visually appealing vegetable side dishes during harvest season.

Last night I reheated a bean and rice casserole for dinner. While it was warming in the toaster oven, I made this colorful vegetable sauté.

While a little olive oil warmed in a small skillet, I chopped a small red onion and slivered a half an orange pepper I found in the salad drawer of the fridge. I added these to the oil with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and let them sauté while I chopped a zucchini and diced a half tomato left over from lunch. These went in too with a little more salt and pepper. Then I cooked it over medium heat until the zucchini skin was tender. (Late season zucchini often has tougher skin, I find.)

As a finishing touch, I sprinkled some feta over the vegetables, turned off the heat and covered the pan. I let it sit while I took the casserole from the toaster oven and set the table.

It was a colorful companion to a delicious but brown rice and bean casserole.

Greek Salad

Our tomatoes are starting to really produce. I used them in this Greek style salad the other night. Sadly our cucumbers are suffering from drought. Fortunately the organic farmers at the Hollywood Farmers Market have my back.

The key to a good Greek salad is crunchy vegetables to offset the soft tomatoes, feta and olives. I vary them depending on what's available. This is my standard recipe. If you have mint in the garden, it makes a great addition.

Greek Salad
1/2 red onion
1 tsp white vinegar
3 medium or large tomatoes
1 cucumber
1/2 green pepper
romaine lettuce
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
5 tbsp olive oil
2-3 oz feta, crumbled
2-3 tbsp chopped fresh mint
12 kalamata olives, pitted if desired

Cut onion in slivers. Place in a bowl and cover with cold water. Add the white vinegar. Let sit at least 10 minutes.

Chop the tomatoes. Peel and seed the cucumber. Cut in bite-sized pieces. Cut pepper in slivers.

Drain the onion.

Chop the lettuce and put in a large bowl. Add the drained onion, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. Whisk together the red wine vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a little more oil if desired, but it should be a sharp dressing. Toss the dressing with the vegetables.

Put the vegetables on a platter. Sprinkle the feta, mint and olives over top.

Serves 3-4

Grilled Corn and Tomato Salad

The first few weeks of organic corn season, we simply cook it and munch it straight off the cob. I eat it plain. Larry uses butter, salt and pepper. Nothing fancy. We revel in sweet summer corn.

A couple of weeks in, I'm ready to start using corn in fancier preparations like this salad adapted from Elizabeth Orsini's book Garden to Grill.

I served this grilled corn and tomato salad with homemade black bean burgers on Friday night. It was a great combo — the salad was a juicy sweet contrast to the dense burgers — and the leftovers of the salad were great in my lunch the next day.

Larry grilled the corn and tomatoes, and I stirred them together with onions and lemon from the garden, romaine lettuce and feta.You can't go wrong with that.

Grilled Corn and Tomato Salad
2 medium plum tomatoes
2 ears corn
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 Egyptian walking onion stalk or scallion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp feta, crumbled into small dice
3-4 cups romaine lettuce, cut in bite-size pieces

Slice the tomatoes crosswise 1/2 inch thick. Shuck the corn. Brush all with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and grill over medium heat (hand held 6 seconds over grate). The tomatoes will take a couple of minutes on each side. The corn will take about 10 minutes — turn it occasionally.

Remove the vegetables from the grill and let cool slightly. Chop the tomatoes in bite-size pieces and put in a serving dish. Cut the kernels from the cobs and add as well.

Snip the Egyptian walking onion stalk into a small bowl. Add the garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice with a little more olive oil. Whisk well and pour over the tomatoes and corn. Toss well. Add the lettuce and feta, toss again and serve.

Serves 4

Fusilli with Arugula and Tomatoes and Feta

Our arugula is starting to flower, so I harvested a bunch of the leaves and flowers the other night to try to encourage it to get bushy again. Once I discarded the tough stems, I had about 3 cups of peppery leaves and flowers. I tossed them with hot pasta, tomatoes and feta for a quick flavorful dinner.

It's a simple dish that can be varied in many ways. Cherry or grape tomatoes can substitute for the plum tomatoes. I used leaves from our homegrown Egyptian walking onions, but scallions are a good substitute.

This is fresh fast food at its best.

Fusilli with Tomatoes and Feta
8 oz fusilli or other pasta
3 tbsp olive oil plus more to drizzle
1 shallot, peeled and diced
3 Egyptian walking onion leaves, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 3/4 lb roma tomatoes
3 cups chopped arugula leaves
4 oz feta, diced

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water until it's al dente.

Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the shallot, onion leaves, garlic and tomatoes. Sauté about 7 minutes until the tomatoes soften. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and return it to its pot. Stir in the tomato mixture and arugula. Drizzle in a little extra olive oil to make it all meld together. Stir in the feta and serve.

Serves 2-4

Corn and Cherry Tomato Salad with Marjoram and Feta

I usually make this salad in the summer with fresh corn and sun-ripened tomatoes, but the knotted marjoram in our garden is about to flower and there are good cherry tomatoes at my local grocery store, organic corn in the freezer and feta in the fridge.

How could I resist making it to go with the Red Lentil Burgers we had for dinner the other night?

Marjoram adds a wonderful base note to the sweetness of the corn and the saltiness of the feta. It's worth growing this aromatic herb for this salad alone.

Corn and Cherry Tomato Salad with Marjoram and Feta

10 oz package frozen organic corn
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup diced feta
1 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram

Cook corn briefly according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool.

Whisk together olive oil and red wine vinegar. Stir in cooled corn, tomatoes, feta and marjoram.

Serves 2-3

Eggs and Peppers

When the red peppers appear at the Hollywood Farmers Market, I take some home to make into this luscious breakfast dish.

I sauté onions, peppers and tomatoes until juicy and sweet, then top them with poached or fried eggs and sprinkle a little feta on top. If we're feeling decadent, as we were a week ago, we mop up the sauce with slices of baguette.

I used to poach the eggs directly in the sauce, but then it all needs to be eaten at brunch, because the leftovers are distinctly unattractive. This time, I cooked the eggs separately so any leftover sauce could be saved and enjoyed over potatoes or with rice.

Eaten on the patio in the slanting fall sunshine, this is a seasonal feast.

Eggs and Peppers

1 small onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp hot paprika

1 small clove garlic, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

4 eggs

2 tbsp crumbled feta

Warm oil in a skillet. Add the onion and pepper and cook, covered, over moderately high heat. Stir occasionally and cook until softened, 7-8 minutes. Add paprika and garlic and cook another minute, stirring. Add tomatoes and cook, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, another 5 minutes or so.

Poach or fry the eggs.

Spoon some sauce onto each plate. Top with 2 eggs. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp feta.

Enjoy.

Serves 2 

Beet Salad

Beets make great salads. They can be cooked ahead, refrigerated, then tossed with simple ingredients to make a colorful supper.

Here's the beet salad I made the other night.

Beet Salad
1 bunch beets
1/4 cup spring onions
3 tbsp walnut oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup goat cheese
lettuce

Cut the greens from the beets and save them for another use. Scrub the roots and bake them in a covered casserole at 375° until tender when pierced with a knife. This will take 30-60 minutes depending on the size of the beets.

Let cool. Peel if desired. They can now be refrigerated a day or two before continuing with the recipe.

Whisk together the onions, oil and vinegar. Combine half with the peeled and quartered beets.

Cover a platter with lettuce. Put the dressed beets on the lettuce, and scatter the walnuts and goat cheese over top. Serve the additional dressing on the side.

Serves 2-3

Fried Eggs and Potatoes

On Sundays we usually have a leisurely brunch with the Sunday papers. Yesterday, however, I wanted to eat a quick meal before getting out to dig in the garden. I had plans.

So I made these simple fried potatoes with eggs. The potatoes mopped up the egg yolks, and the meal fortified me for a good day of work.

Fried Eggs and Potatoes
3/4 lb potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp tumeric
4 eggs
2 oz feta
sriracha or other hot sauce
1 tbsp cilantro

Scrub the potatoes, cover with cold water and a sprinkle of salt, and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Put the lid on and let them simmer until tender, about 10 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. Drain and let cool until you can touch them.

Dice the potatoes into 1/2" pieces. Warm the olive oil in a skillet, and add the potatoes, caraway and turmeric. Cook the potatoes, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown.

Turn the heat to low, move the potatoes to the edges of the pan, and crack the 4 eggs into the center. Sprinkle the feta and a drizzle of hot sauce over the top. Cover the pan and cook 5-8 minutes until the whites are cooked. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Serves 2

Grilled Eggplant Salad

I know summer is the season of barbecuing, but I actually prefer to use my grill pan. I take an electric hot plate out on the patio, put my cast iron grill pan on it, and turn out great dishes like this eggplant salad.

Feel free to barbecue the eggplant if you prefer (especially if the barbecue is lit for another reason).

The greens on top of the eggplant are a combination of spicy arugula and lemony sorrel. If you can't find either, use more basil and mint and parsley. The idea is to have a fresh zesty contrast to the soft eggplant and salty feta.

I adapted the recipe from Jeanne Kelley's decidedly non-vegetarian book, Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes. (Warning - there's at least one dead animal picture in it.) However, the vegetable flavors she puts together are really good.

Grilled Eggplant Salad
1/2 lb eggplant
olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 small clove garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup arugula
3/4 cup sorrel
1 cup mixed basil, parsley and cilantro
1 oz feta

Wash the eggplant, slice off each end and discard. Slice the rest into 1/2 inch thick circles. Brush them with oil and grill about 5 minutes per side until browned and tender. Remove from heat to a platter, and let cool to room temperature.

Whisk together the lemon, garlic, cumin and olive oil. Drizzle half over the cooled eggplant.

Add the greens to the remaining dressing and toss well. Put the greens on the eggplant, and scatter crumbled feta over the top.

Serves 2-3

Fattoush

One summer afternoon a few years back I had lunch at Cafe Santorini in Old Pasadena. On the menu was fattoush, a salad with purslane and toasted pita bread. It was bright and lemony and I loved it. I returned to have it again a few months later, and it was off the menu. Apparently purslane is not easy to come by.

So when I saw a packet of golden purslane seed at the garden center back in February, I knew I had to try it.

Purslane is a lemony-flavored edible annual succulent that grows well in warm weather and well-drained soil. I sprinkled some seed in a pot on our patio (next to the pot of watercress) and hoped for the best.

And the other day, I picked my first harvest in order to make this delicious salad.

I'm going to tell you what I did, even though I'm sure it's not a traditional recipe. But I really enjoyed it.

For the dressing, I whisked together the juice of 1/2 a lemon and the zest of 1/4 lemon, 1 small clove of garlic that I crushed but left whole, a sprinkle of salt, and 2 tbsp of olive oil. I let it rest to get garlicky, but not overly so. (I removed the clove of garlic before I added the dressing to the salad.)

Then I cut a pita in half to make 2 circles. I brushed each half with olive oil and toasted them under the grill until crisp. When they were cool, I tore one half in pieces and saved the other half for another use.

Into a bowl I put about 3 cups of home-grown golden purslane, largest stems removed, and torn into bite sized pieces. I added 1/2 cup cooked white beans, 2 tbsp chopped sweet onion, 2 tbsp cubed feta, and a heaping tablespoon of mint. I tossed it with half the dressing and the pita pieces. I let it rest a few minutes before serving with the remaining dressing on the side.

Makes 1 large serving.

Bean Salad with Beets and Feta

I like to vary the beans in my weekly bean salads. While they all taste pretty much the same, it's nice to have the different colors and shapes in my lunch bag.

This week I cooked up some Tongue of Fire beans. These are a speckled roundish heirloom bean that Finley Farms grew last year. Sadly, this week I emptied my jar. With luck they'll grow them again this year, because they really are a most appealing shape. (There are a few pictures of them in the bean slideshow in the column to the right. They are the pinkish beans with reddish patterns on them.)

I combined them with some leftover marinated beets I had in the fridge. I had roasted and peeled the beets, then tossed them in the juice of a fresh orange, a little olive oil, salt and pepper. They were a fun side dish with dinner, and the next day they made a pretty addition to my lunch salad. A little feta sprinkled on top turned it into a feast. (It looks like a lot of feta in the picture, but it's less than a tablespoon on top of a cup of beans and beets.)

At lunch, I spooned the bean salad over a container of green salad, tossed it together, and ate a colorful pink-tinged meal - very cheerful on these grey cloudy days.

Kidney Bean Salad

Bean salads are my favorite lunch. I combine them with a green salad and an apple for a filling, protein-rich meal that travels well.

This is the bean salad I'm eating this week. (Isn't it pretty?) I cooked the beans in the evening, let them marinate overnight in the fridge, and then added the remaining ingredients in the morning. It will last 4-5 days in the fridge, easy to scoop out in the morning and pack in the lunch bag.

Kidney Bean Salad

1 cup red kidney beans or other colorful bean

4 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

2 stalks celery, diced

3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/4 - 1/2 cup feta (opt)

Pick over the kidney beans, rinse them, and cook them in boiling water until tender, about an hour. Test one. If it's at all crunchy, it's not cooked. However, you don't want them mushy either.

Drain the beans, then stir in 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and 1/4 tsp salt. Let sit until cool, then stir in 1 tbsp olive oil and refrigerate overnight. (Or just continue with the recipe.)

Stir in the celery and cherry tomatoes. Add remaining 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add more olive oil if you like.

If desired, sprinkle the crumbled feta over the salad, and serve.

Serves 4.

Easy Appetizers

Sometimes it's the simplest things that taste the best.

For Christmas lunch, I served an appetizer of roasted red peppers wrapped around feta. They were so delicious we ate them all before I thought to take a photo.

This is another of those recipes which are too simple to be written down. The key is to use sweet plump red peppers and salty pungent feta. Don't bother with tasteless cheese and winter-y peppers.

I used some red peppers I had roasted and frozen in the fall. (See how I roasted them here.) I defrosted them overnight in the fridge, and the next morning prepared the dish. 15 minutes before serving I drizzled it with olive oil and put it in the oven. I served the appetizers warm with forks to cut them with. I was concerned the cheese would be too hot, but it wasn't. If I had used smaller pieces of pepper and cheese, they could have been finger food.

Roasted Red Pepper Appetizer
3 red peppers
6 tbsp feta
olive oil

Roast, seed and peel the red peppers. (See instructions here.)

Cut them in half and lay them on a chopping board with the inside facing up.

Cut a piece of feta about an inch in size. Put it in the center of the pepper half and fold the pepper up around the cheese like a package. Place it seam side down on a lightly oiled cookie sheet.

At this point, they can rest for a couple of hours until you need them.

Drizzle a little olive oil over top the pepper packages, then place them in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes.

Serve with forks and plates. Will serve 3 but they will want more.

Greek Salad with Farro

This is a very untraditional Greek Salad. It has the requisite cucumber, olives, feta and tomatoes. But the foundation is farro -- an ancient form of hard wheat that cooks up similar to brown rice but with a firmer and nuttier texture.

It is full of fiber, magnesium and B vitamins, and its chewy texture is a good foil for the salad vegetables, and a solid counterbalance to the strong lemony-mustard dressing.

It made a wonderful dinner salad on a cooling summer evening.

Greek Salad with Farro
1 cup farro
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup packed parsley leaves
2 tsp fresh oregano leaves
2 tsp dijon mustard
4 oz spinach
1 cucumber
1/4 cup chopped red onion
8 kalamata olives, pitted
2 tbsp feta, diced or crumbled
1-2 tomatoes, seeded and diced

Cook the farro in 3 cups boiling water with 1/2 tsp salt until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

Purée the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, parsley, oregano and dijon in a blender or food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss the farro with most of the dressing.

Wash and stem the spinach and tear into bite-sized pieces. Peel the cucumber and cut it in quarters lengthwise. Cut out the seeds and membranes and discard. Chop the cucumber into bite-sized pieces.

Line a serving platter with the spinach. Pile the farro on top. Arrange the remaining ingredients decoratively on top. Sprinkle with the remaining dressing, or serve it on the side.

Serves 2-3