Green Bean Salad with Mustard and Tarragon

Our bean vines are producing vigorously. Fortunately, I love green bean salad. I steam the beans until tender then toss them in a simple vinaigrette. I cook a pound at a time because they last well in the fridge, ready for a quick meal.

The other day I tossed them in a mustard vinaigrette to which I added a snippet of tarragon. It's worth finding a sunny well-drained spot for this perennial because its slight anise-y flavor gives a subtle boost to mustard vinaigrettes like this one.

Green Bean Salad
1 lb green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp chopped tarragon
3/4 tsp salt
pepper
1-2 tbsp spring onion or chives of Egyptian walking onion

Steam beans until tender but still crunchy, 7-10 minutes. Plunge in an ice water bath to stop the cooking, then drain and pat them dry.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients. Add the beans and toss to coat. Chill until ready to serve.

Serves 4

Padron Chiles

We bought some padron chiles from Finley Farm last week, and I served them up as appetizers in the same way I do shisito peppers.

I fried them in a cast-iron skillet until they were browned in places. (I didn't add olive oil this time, although sometimes I do.) Then I tipped them onto a plate and Larry sprinkled them with lemon juice and fleur de sel.

I expected them to be slightly spicy, with the occasional really hot one. That's part of the fun of eating them.

This batch, however, were all spicy!

It was an invigorating appetizer, but we didn't eat many of them. I saved the leftovers to make a Thai curry with coconut milk to tame them a little.

Simple green salad

Finley Farms has been selling beautiful romaine lettuce at the Hollywood Farmers Market recently. The crisp sweet juicy leaves chop easily into wonderful quick salads.

The other night I harvested arugula from our garden and shiitakes from our garage, and combined them with pasta for a yummy meal.

I served this simple salad on the side. The parmesan dressing went well with the pasta dish, and the crunch was a nice contrast to the meal.

Simple Green Salad
2 tbsp parmesan
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (approx)
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 very small clove of garlic (about 1/2 tsp mashed)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups washed and chopped romaine lettuce

In a small bowl, stir together the parmesan, lemon juice, oregano, garlic and a little salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Add more lemon juice or salt and pepper to taste.

Put the romaine in a salad bowl. Drizzle the dressing over it and toss well.

Serves 2

Simple Beet Salad

Winter stews and grains make delicious meals, but they can be a little boring to look at on the plate — a lot of brown is involved.

The other day I whipped up this simple beet salad to add a spark of color to our dinner plates. I took the leftovers in my lunch the next day. It's a great way to get Vitamin C, potassium, beneficial fibers, and all sorts of health benefits.

It's fast to make in the food processor — grating by hand would be very messy. I suppose you could use golden beets, but where's the fun in that?

Simple Beet Salad
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
3 medium beets, greens removed and saved for another dish

Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and olive oil. Season with a little salt and pepper.

I peeled the beets because the skin is grayish and I wanted a sparkly red salad. However the skin is perfectly edible, so leave it on if you like. If you do, make sure to scrub the beets well.

Either way, cut off the tops and bottoms and slice the beets to fit the feed tube of your food processor. Use the shredding disk to grate them.

Add the grated beets to the dressing. Toss to combine and serve.

Serves 4

Rice Salad with Eggs and Green Beans

It's been too hot to cook, so I've been relying on salads at dinner time.

This one, with eggs and rice and corn, was a truly complete meal. We ate almost all of it in one sitting, and I took the leftovers for lunch the next day. That is the sign of a good salad.

A note about the rice: Usually I make this salad with brown rice, but I had spent the early evening puttering in the garden so to get this salad on the table in a timely manner, I used white jasmati rice – an organic rice from Texas that my local independent grocery store carries. It has a great flavor, and I had dinner on the table in under 45 minutes.

Rice Salad with Eggs and Green Beans
1 red pepper
1/2 cup onion, sliced in rings
2 cups cooked rice
4 oz (large handful) green beans
1/2 cup corn (frozen is fine)
2 eggs
1 small avocado
butter lettuce
1 tbsp capers
6 olives, sliced

Dressing:
1  clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp yogurt
1/2 tsp dijon

Cut the red pepper in half. Remove the seeds and membranes. Place cut-side down in a small roasting pan. Add the onion rings. Sprinkle the onion with a little olive oil, then cook them under a broiler for 5-6 minutes until the pepper starts to blacken. Stir the onion a couple of times so it turns golden, not black. Put the pepper halves in a pot and let them steam gently. Cut the onion rings up and stir them into the rice. Put the rice on a large platter.

When the peppers are cool enough to touch, scrape off the skin (as much as you can) and cut them into thin strips.

Pierce the eggs with a pin and put them in a pan of boiling, salted water for 10 minutes. Drain and refresh in ice water. When cool enough to touch, peel off the shells and cut the eggs in quarters.

Cook the green beans in a little boiling water for 2 minutes, then add the corn and cook another 2 minutes. Drain and put in a bowl with the red pepper strips.

Stir together the washed and torn lettuce leaves with the peeled and diced avocado. Pile them on the rice.

Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Put about half into the bowl with the green beans and toss gently. Pile this on top of the salad.

Decorate the platter with the eggs, olives and capers.

Serve the extra dressing on the side.

Serves 3-4

Apple and Goat Cheese Salad

Even the evenings have been hot over the last week or so. Too hot to even think about barbecuing or turning on the stove for dinner.

So we've been eating a lot of main course salads. Sunday night I combined honey crisp apples, walnuts and goat cheese to make a nourishing meal that tempted our appetites despite the heat.

I added a little honey to the salad dressing, which I don't usually do. But we needed a little sweetness after the heat of the day, and it balanced the lemon and tarragon well. The dressing would be good on any green salad. It will last a few days in the fridge.

Apple and Goat Cheese Salad
5 cups torn romaine lettuce
1/2 Haas avocado
1 honey crisp apple
1 hard-boiled egg
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup toasted walnuts

Dressing:
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 olive oil
1 tbsp tarragon, chopped

Arrange the lettuce on a serving platter. Peel and slice the avocado. Core and slice the apple. Peel and quarter the egg. Arrange the avocado, apple and egg on the lettuce. Crumble the goat cheese in the center and then the toasted walnuts on top.

Whisk the lemon juice, garlic, honey, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisking constantly, add the olive oil until the mixture emulsifies. Whisk in the tarragon.

Drizzle 3/4 of the dressing over the salad and serve the extra dressing on the side.

Serves 2 as a main course.

Simple Salad

We have some blue cheese crumbles in the fridge (from Organic Valley) so I've been sprinkling them on our dinner salads. The muskiness of the blue cheese complements the crunch of the vegetables and the sweet tanginess of the dressing.

Here's a salad I made the other night. It added a nice crunch to a meal of spicy rice casserole.

Simple Salad
1 shallot minced (about 2 tbsp)
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dijon
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tsp honey
juice of 1/2 lemon
6 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
3/4 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
3/4 cup red pepper, sliced
3/4 cup radishes, halved and sliced
1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles

Whisk together shallot, vinegar, oil, mustard, chives, honey and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Toss lettuce with a little dressing. Put on a plate. Layer cucumber, red pepper and radishes on top. Pour a little dressing over all. Sprinkle crumbles on top.

Serve with remaining dressing on the side.

Serves 2-3

Lemon Tofu

I have little patience for the flexitarian moniker. Basically it means you'll eat anything - you're flexible, an omnivore. Why that needs a special name, I'm not sure.

But I've enjoyed browsing through Peter Berley's book, The Flexitarian Table, and have tried some of his techniques that were new to me. (It helps that he was the chef at a vegetarian restaurant for a while.)

This tofu recipe is one he developed while chef at that restaurant in the 1990s, and it's definitely stood the test of time.

I tried it because both my thyme bush and my lemon tree are producing vigorously. But the main seasonings are the standard balsamic vinegar and tamari, so it's a good substitute for marinated tofu in any recipe.

Lemon Tofu
12 oz package firm organic tofu
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp finely chopped thyme
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 lemon

Rinse the tofu, wrap it in a clean kitchen towel, and press it between two plates. Put a weight on the top plate (a jar of barley or can of tomatoes or heavy skillet work fine) and let it sit about 30 minutes.

Slice the tofu in 4 1/2-inch thick triangles. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Whisk together all but the tofu and lemon. Put the mixture in a  casserole large enough to hold the tofu in a single layer, and add the tofu. Turn it to coat both sides.

Roast the tofu, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Wash the lemon with a little dish soap. Dry it and slice it thinly. You'll need 1-2 slices for each tofu triangle. Take the seeds out.

Turn the tofu over, put the lemon slices on top, and baste with the small amount of marinade in the pan. Roast another 10-15 minutes until the tofu is well browned and the marinade has been absorbed.

Serves 4

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

Lemony Beet Greens

We ate leftover root vegetable gratin yesterday. I haven't posted the recipe yet, but I will, because it is both delicious and decadent. I made it with the leftover whipping cream from Christmas.

I wanted a simple and zesty green dish to contrast with the creamy root vegetables. This is what I did:

Lemony Beet Greens
1 bunch beet greens
1 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup diced onion
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

Remove the stems from the beet greens and wash the greens.

Warm the oil in a medium skillet. Add the garlic, onions and greens. Stir to combine. Let cook 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Squeeze in the lemon juice and stir in the salt and pepper to taste. Let cook another few minutes until the onions are soft and the beets are a good consistency. Season to taste and serve.

Serves 2.

Zucchini Salad

Zucchini is a pretty bland vegetable. It is good filler in brown rice casseroles, ratatouille and grilled vegetable sandwiches. But it needs some help to take the starring role.

In this simple salad, the zucchini is marinated in lemon juice, giving it zest, and then layered with parmesan cheese, making it delicious.

Only make this if you have small zucchinis - maximum 6 inches long. Any larger and they get spongy inside and even more bland-flavored. A mixture of green and yellow is nice, but remember that yellow zucchini go bad in the fridge very quickly, so use them within a day or two of purchase.

This salad is quick to make and keeps a couple of days in the fridge. When serving it as leftovers, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the zucchini to perk it up.

Zucchini Salad
3 small yellow and green zucchini
1 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
parmesan cheese

Trim the ends off the zucchini and discard. Slice them thinly lengthwise using a mandoline. Toss with the olive oil and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and paper. Thinly shave some parmesan on top.

Serves 2-3.

Root Vegetable Salad

Move over cole slaw. You are being replaced with this healthy and beautiful grated root salad.

It's easy to make in the food processor and keeps well in the fridge, thus fulfilling the requirements for lazy summer dinners.

This is a great recipe to introduce your family to raw turnips and beets. The lemon juice cuts some of the earthy flavor, and the carrots make it sweet.

Turnips are cruciferous vegetables, so they have similar cancer-preventing substances to cabbages and broccoli. They are anti-inflammatory, good for the heart and circulatory system, and full of minerals and fiber. Beets are a good source of iron and fiber, and are great liver tonics.

Plus, just looking at the colors of this salad will make you happy!

Root Vegetable Salad
3 carrots
3 medium turnips
1 large beet
small wedge of cabbage (about 1 cup grated)
1 cup corn (thawed frozen is fine)
juice of 1 lemon

Grate the carrots, turnips, beet and cabbage in the food processor (or by hand). Tip into a bowl and stir in the corn and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I find this salad great as it is, but you can serve your favorite salad dressing on the side if you like.

Serves 4-6

Cabbage and Watercress Slaw

Leftover beans and rice are a common dinner around here - I just warm them in the oven and dinner is on.

Of course, a crunchy side dish is essential to balance the soft textures of the beans and rice. The other day this cabbage and watercress slaw fit the bill.

It's adapted from a recipe I learned years ago in a macrobiotic cooking class in Montreal. The original recipe called for grated daikon - a large white radish. I can't find it organically grown at the farmers market so I use bottled horseradish instead.

If you don't have white miso, leave it out and add a little extra salt. The miso is a good addition, though. It has the umami of fermented soybeans and the B12 that is so essential to the vegetarian diet.

The cabbage is salted to draw out excess water so it doesn't make the dressing runny. But if you have a fresh young cabbage and you're going to eat the slaw right away, you can skip this step.

Cabbage and Watercress Slaw

3 cups finely chopped cabbage

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup watercress, without the thick stems

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 tsp white (shiro) miso

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp horseradish

Mix cabbage with salt, let it sit 30 minutes, then rinse off the salt and squeeze excess water from the cabbage.

Wash the watercress. Combine with the cabbage.

Whisk together the lemon juice and miso. When miso is dissolved, whisk in the olive oil and horseradish. Season to taste with salt and pepper. It should be well-flavored, but not too tangy.

Pour the dressing over the vegetables. Toss and serve.

Serves 2-3

Spiced Lemon Quinoa

Quinoa is a high-protein grain that makes a quick main dish. The other night I served it with broiled eggplant, steamed broccoli, and baby turnips with their greens. It was a colorful meal full of good flavor.

I cooked the quinoa with Indian pilaf flavorings, and even went so far as to cook a couple of tablespoons of channa dal (yellow split peas) ahead of time to add to the authenticity of the dish. You can skip the dal if you like, but it adds a nice texture and variety.

Do not skip pouring boiling water over the uncooked quinoa. It removes the saponins, bitter chemicals that give quinoa its bad name. Without them, it's quite a tasty grain.

Spiced Lemon Quinoa
2 tbsp yellow split peas or channa dal
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 serrano chile, seeded and diced
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp salt
5 oz loosely packed spinach (6 cups)
1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)

Cook split peas in boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Put quinoa in a sieve and pour boiling water over it a couple of times to remove the saponins. Cook in 4 cups boiling water with 1/2 tsp salt until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cover the pan, and cook until they pop, 1 minute. Stir in cumin and cook until sizzling. Stir in split peas, chile, tumeric and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook, stirring often, until split peas start to turn golden brown. (If not using the split peas, cook until spices are fragrant.) Scrape into a bowl.

Add spinach to hot skillet, increase heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring, until wilted, just a few minutes. Drain any liquid. Stir in cooked quinoa, split pea mixture, and 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice. Toss to mix. Season with salt and more lemon juice to taste. Scatter cilantro on top and serve.

Serves 4

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

This was our Thanksgiving day menu:

Halftime appetizer:
Pumpkin empanadas with cilantro-mint dipping sauce

Dinner:
Honey-baked ham (for Larry and Trace)
Homemade bread with honey butter
Green bean and mushroom casserole
Baked kabocha squash
Spicy brown rice with mushrooms and chipotles
Kohlrabi greens and roots with garlic
Beets with mint
Salad with persimmons and pomegranate seeds

Dessert:
Lemon pudding cake with cranberry syrup

Mmmm beets

I know, most people don't say mmmmm when they think of beets.

But they should. Because they are a gorgeous color and a nutritional powerhouse (anti-tumor, good for eyes, high in fiber, etc.)

Plus, they don't really taste of anything but the earth, so they are great foils for other flavors.

Here I tossed them with lemon juice, mint and cilantro to make a sprightly side salad.

I steamed the beets instead of roasting them. Partially because I roasted beets when I was staying at my mum's house in July and she is still trying to clean the pan. Steaming is much less messy. Also, it's just too darned hot to turn on the toaster oven. But feel free to roast (recipe here) and then use the cooked beets in the dressing.

Beet Salad with Lemon and Herbs
1 lb beets
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp diced red onion
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped mint leaves
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
3 tbsp olive oil

Trim the greens from the beets and use them in wilted greens. (The raw greens will last a couple of days in the fridge if you are not ready to cook them.)

Scrub the roots, and steam them until tender, 20-40 minutes depending on the size and age of the beets. Pierce a beet with a slender knife - you want it to be tender but not too soft.

Remove the beets from the steamer. When they are cool enough to handle, peel off their skins and cut off the thick stem end and the root end.

Cut the beets in bite-sized pieces.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients and season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn the beets into the dressing, then taste a beet to check for seasoning.

Good at room temperature or chilled.

Serves 3-4.

Arugula and Figs

There was beautiful arugula at the farmers market on Sunday. I brought some home and paired it with sweet figs - our first harvest of the year - and salty parmesan for a fun and zesty salad.

Arugula and Figs
1 bunch arugula, heavy stems removed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 figs, quartered
a few shavings of parmesan
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Toss the arugula with the olive oil and lemon juice. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Pile the arugula on a platter, arrange the figs around the edges and sprinkle the parmesan shavings (made by running a vegetable peeler over a block of parmesan) and fresh rosemary over the top.

Serves 2-3

Zucchini and Carrot Salad

Zucchini and basil are thriving now. Why not combine them in this easy summer salad?

Basil protects chromosomes from radiation damage and protects the whole body from unwanted bacteria. We should probably eat it daily in the summer.

Zucchini helps lower cholesterol, and has beneficial fiber that protects against forms of cancer. Walnuts are good for the cardiovascular system. Carrots are great for the eyes.

Yes, this is a healthy salad. But it actually tastes good too. It's a great accompaniment to a sandwich or bean burger. Combined with a green salad it makes a nice light meal when appetites are suffering from the heat. I adapted it from Season to Taste by Jeannette Ferrary and Louise Fiszer. I hope you enjoy it.

Zucchini and Carrot Salad
1 zucchini
1 carrot
2 tbsp basil, packed
2 tbsp walnuts
2 tsp capers
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp dijon
salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor (or on a grater if you prefer) shred the zucchini and carrot. Turn out into a bowl.

Shred the basil. Toast the walnuts lightly in a heavy frypan for 4-5 minutes until they are fragrant. Chop them coarsely. Add the basil and walnuts to the bowl, along with the drained capers.

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and dijon. Season to taste. Pour over the salad and toss well.

Serves 2

Memorial Day Cookout

We invited Tracie to join us for a cookout on Memorial Day. I wrestled the barbecue away from Larry and instead of the traditional burgers, beans and potato salad, I served up a Mediterranean-inspired lunch.

I grilled tomatoes, garlic, zucchini, onions, peppers, fennel, asparagus, mushrooms - everything I could get my hands on.

And I am proud to say that unlike most barbecued vegetables, these were not burned on the outside and raw on the inside.

Instead, they were delectably juicy and smoky.

The key to barbecuing vegetables is to boost their fat content with marinades and basting sauces. It's the fat in meat that makes it cook so well. (Compare the shoe-leather quality of  extra-lean hamburger to the juiciness of fattier meat.)

Because vegetables are naturally fat-free, they need a little help.

Also, because some vegetables are crunchy, I parboiled them ahead of time and then marinated them so they would cook quickly over high heat. (I measure heat by holding my hand 5 inches over the coals. If I can keep it there 4-6 seconds, it's medium heat. 2-3 seconds is hot - the best for getting grill marks and smokiness.)

In my experience, barbecuing does not stick to a rigid timetable. So I planned a leisurely meal with non-barbecue appetizers to sustain us while the vegetables cooked to perfection. A raw vegetable platter, some good organic mixed olives, and a piece of rosemary-olive oil infused asiago cheese eased the hunger pangs, which grew more intense as the aroma of roasting garlic wafted through the air.

The main course was grilled vegetables served as they came off the grill, a roasted tomato and white bean salad, a green salad with citrus dressing, and a fresh foccaccia (way too easy to make, could become addictive).

Everyone groaned when I brought out dessert - strawberry shortcake complete with fresh blueberries from our garden. It was great for breakfast the next day.

Here's what I barbecued and how. The basic marinade is olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. It should be oily but also tangy. Toss the vegetables in and leave for a couple of hours before cooking so they soak up some oil and flavor.

Garlic: I sprinkled a head of garlic with olive oil, then wrapped it in foil and tucked it among the flames for 15-20 minutes. When it was squishy when I squeezed it with the tongs, I passed it to Trace to peel. Hot and messy. But wow, it was great in a salad of white beans and barbecued tomatoes.

Asparagus: blanched for 3 minutes in boiling water, then plunged into ice water. Tossed in the marinade and refrigerated for a couple of hours. Barbecued for 2 minutes over high heat.

Fennel: blanched until tender, about 10 minutes, then plunged into ice water and drained. Marinated a couple of hours. Barbecued 8-10 minutes on high until soft.

Zucchini: Cut lengthwise into 2-3 pieces each. Marinated a couple of hours. Cooked 10-12 minutes on medium or high.

Portobello mushrooms: cleaned and stemmed (so they balance better on the barbecue). Marinated in a mixture of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and a little dry sherry stirred into a base of olive oil. Let stand one hour before cooking. Basted while cooking 10-12 minutes on medium-high. I sliced these into wedges before serving.

Onion: Sliced crosswise in thick rings. Brushed with leftover marinade while cooking 8-10 minutes over high heat.

Tomatoes: Placed whole on the coals. Cooked about 10 minutes with the cover on. Let cool a little before peeling. They were very mushy, which was fine because I put them in a white bean salad along with the mushy roasted garlic and some fresh basil.

Peppers: Cut in half and removed cores and seeds. Brushed with marinade and cooked 6-8 minutes on high. Cut in wedges to serve.

Smashed Zucchini Spread

We had a great full moon dinner by the fireplace last weekend, starting with this smashed zucchini spread on fresh baguette.

I had found green garlic at the farmers market. It looks just like green onions, but the leaves are flat whereas the leaves of green onions (scallions) are round. (I know this because the farmer pointed it out to me when I picked up a bunch of garlic thinking it was onions.)

The green garlic is a little milder than the regular kind, and has not formed into cloves. I used a whole bulb of the garlic in place of a clove of the regular dried kind.

I consider this spread healthy because it is mostly zucchini with a little spicy kick from the chiles and mint. Cut back on the chiles for a milder spread.

I made it a few hours ahead and let it sit on the counter until dinner time. The top got a little dried-out looking, but I stirred it in and it tasted fine. It would have been good served warm out of the pan as well.

Smashed Zucchini Dip
1 scant tbsp olive oil
1 bulb green garlic or 1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried red chili flakes
1/2 lb zucchini, sliced (2 small)
salt and pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
squeeze lemon juice

Green garlic and green onions

Warm garlic and chiles in oil over moderately high heat, stirring until garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in zucchini. Cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until very tender, about 25 minutes. It will stick on the bottom, but the brown bits add to the flavor, and the steam will release them from the bottom. Use a potato masher to smash it into a lumpy spread. A little texture adds character. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the mint and lemon juice, and season to taste.

Serve warm or at room temperature with sliced baguette. Drizzle with a little olive oil and garnish with mint if desired.

Serves 2 hungry people.