California Salad

Thanks to the Moosewood Cookbook, I've got a new favorite dinner salad - The California Dream Salad.
Get your best kitchen knife, collander (salad spinner if you got it), and cutting board out for this. A few chops, and you'll have dinner in no time.

This is mostly Moosewood but a little Caroline:

Ingredients:
Romaine and/or Boston lettuce
red cabbage or radicchio
watercress or spinach
brocco sprouts
avocado
tomato
carrots and/or beets
fresh green peas, snow peas, and/or green beans
toasted sesame and/or sunflower seeds
1 can chickpeas
red onion or scallions (if you like 'em raw. I used them and regret it - red onions on a salad are too strong for me!)

Basically, go to the market and get whatever you think looks delicious. Use the ingredients list as a guide - follow it completely, somewhat, or not at all. Whatever you do, buy what you like. I challenge you to also buy one salad ingredient you've never tried and throw that in. With all of the good stuff in there, if you don't like the new veg, you can just pick it out - no big loss.

1. Clean and dry the lettuce, cabbage, and watercress (or whatever greens you chose)
2. Roughly chop or tear the lettuce and put in a big salad bowl
3. Peel off the outer layer of cabbage and cut into quarters. Cut off the stem in each quarter. Rinse in between the leaves and slice thinly to shred. (I only used 1/4 of my cabbage for the salad). Mix with the lettuce.
4. Roughly chop the watercress or spinach and toss it into the bowl.
5. Fluff the brocco sprouts on top.
6. Cut the avocado and tomato into bite size pieces and add on top.
7. Add the shredded carrots and slice up the beets. Throw 'em on top.
8. Cut the beans into bite-size pieces and add to the bowl.
9. Top the salad with toasted seeds and chick peas.
10. Serve with dressing and a big glass of water with lemon for a healthy dinner!

As for the dressing. I'm going to give you the recipe because you may like really tart, tangy tomato dressing. Some people do. I, apparently, do not.


Tomato Herb Dressing
from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home
3/4 cup canned plum tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice or cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black peper
1 dash of Tobasco or pinch of cayenne (optional)

Put all of the ingredients in a blender (or use an immersion blender!) and blend until smooth. Store chilled in a covered jar for up to 2 weeks.

Behind the Scenes at America's Test Kitchen

Hello from America's Test Kitchen!

This morning, I took a tour of America's Test Kitchen. It's public television's most watched cooking show! They also put out tons of cookbooks (around 80 since they started) and two magazines (Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country). You can check out all the cool things they do here.

Here are some photos of what goes on in their small-town, totally unassuming from the outside, studio:

They have lots of everything. Here's a glimpse of their cookware:

Oh and all their napkins and dishcloths....

And then of course, there's their cookbook library, which takes up the walls of an enormous rectangular room with a long wooden table in the middle for tastings.

Then the test kitchen and studio...talk about a lot of cooks in the kitchen - and everyone is completely focused on their task.

You can see they have some camera and lighting equipment set up for the show:

Lots and lots of dishware...wrapped in plastic to make sure nothing breaks or gets dusty:

Potato Leek Soup (non-dairy)

Potatoes and Leeks are like Bert and Ernie. They're fine on their own, but more fun when they're together.

The frigid New England weather got me craving a hearty soup to warm me up from the inside out. Of course, the day I go to the market for said cozy soup ingredients, it randomly hits 65 degrees farenheit. But it's ok. I enjoyed a bowl for dinner tonight and I'll freeze the rest for a snowy day.

This soup is built on vegetables, and veggies alone. You really don't need to add high-fat dairy because pureed potatoes and leeks are rich and creamy on their own. If you've gotta have that extra bit of decadence, swirl it in at the end while you're pureeing.

You can serve it up with softened hunks of Yukon golds and thin snips of leek floating around in a broth, or puree it with a blender if you like it creamy. I am a huge fan of my immersion blender - you just put it in the pot, press a button, and 15 seconds later, you've got creamy soup.

Note: don't buy the teeny yellow potatoes that say "creamy yukon golds." They sound great don't they? And they're so teensy and adorable! FAIL. You wind up having to peel a million of them, nearly slicing off your finger each time. Avoid at all costs and buy the bigger ones.

Potato Leek Soup (adapted from Judith Barrett's Saved By Soup)

(6 servings)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium-size leeks

2 pounds yellow boiling potatoes like Yukon Gold

4 cups vegetable broth

salt and pepper

1. Cut off and toss the green parts of the leek, leaving only the white stalk. Slice the stalk in half lengthwise, and rinse between each layer. Thinly slice, widthwise.

2. Peel the potatoes and cut into thin slices.

3. Heat the oil in a heavy 4-qt saucepan.

4. Add the leeks and cook until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Stir so they don't stick and burn.

5. Stir in the potatoes and broth and crank up the heat until it boils.

6. Cover the saucepan and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 25 minutes until the veggies are tender.

7. Season with salt and pepper to taste

8. Optional: Using a blender or immersion blender, puree the soup. A nice trick is to remove half of the soup and just puree the half in the pot. Then add the removed portion back in so the soup has a nice texture. It's up to you! I have pictures below that show it two different ways.