Parsley Power

Dear Friends,

Even though I am a food focused person, I get in ruts sometimes in the kitchen. So when it seems like it is the same old thing happening, I crave ideas. Recently I had this conversation with a buddy and she said she had just the cure. She raced home and returned with the Power Foods Cookbook from the editors of Whole Living Magazine. I sat on my favorite chair that night and spent two hours in pure heaven thumbing through the book and  slipping in scraps of paper on the pages that captured my taste buds.

I liked the way it was set up, the information it provided, and the combination of ingredients included in the recipes. So the next day it was off to the grocery store with the overwhelming decision of what to try out first. I was hosting Waterlily Wednesday with my good friends and wanted to treat them with something new.  I settled on two dishes that compliment each other and are alluring to the eye.

Parsley-Leaf Salad and Slivered Oranges with olives and  parsley. Parsley is a power packed food filled with the vitamins A, C, and K. Just making it I felt healthier. And it was absolutely delicious. Enjoy, you will feel the power.

Parsley-Leaf Salad with Pine Nuts, Olives, and Orange Dressing - serves 4 - 6

DRESSING

1 navel orange

1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/4 red onion sliced thin

salt and pepper

SALAD

1 TBS capers - rinsed and drained

1/4 cup Kalamata olives - pitted and sliced

3 Cups flat leaf parsley leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts - lightly toasted ( oven at 350 for about 5 minutes)

1TBS olive oil

1. With a vegetable peeler, remove long pieces of zest from orange being sure to leave white pith. Cut lengthwise into very thin strips. Squeeze juice from orange into a bowl, add vinegar, onion,and a pinch of salt/pepper. Let set to soak from anywhere of 10 minutes to 24 hours.  The longer it soaks the more flavor.

2. To orange juice mixture add  olives, parsley,pine nuts and orange zest. Toss and serve.

 Oranges with olives and parsley - serves 4 - 6

4 oranges

1/4 cup Nicoise or Kalamata olives

1/2 tsp paprika

2TBS lemon juice

1TBS EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

2TBS finely chopped flat leaf parsley

1. Slice off both ends of each orange. Carefully slice downward to remove rind and white pith. Follow the curve of the orange. Cut orange in half. Put each half face down on cutting board and slice thin pieces. Arrange on platter. Cover with olives.

2. In a small bowl combine paprika, and lemon juice. Then whisk in oil. Add chopped parsley and whisk to combine. Drizzle dressing over oranges and olives. Garnish with parsley leaves and serve.

Enjoy,

jude

Wedding Weekend in Charleston S.C.

What a weekend we had celebrating Nate and Allidah's wedding! Southern hospitality is alive and well in Charleston. People are so friendly and helpful, the food is amazing and history is alive. The wedding was perfectly executed, attention was payed to every detail. We were made to feel so welcome by family, friends and new acquaintances. 

I'll let my pictures tell the story. 

  

Our families have been attending each others weddings for four generations. This was a spectacular one to add to our history- I can't wait for the next time we get together!!!

LWC

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Poppyseed Topping

I'm a member of Eatwell Farm, an organic farm in Dixon, California with a community supported agriculture (CSA) program.  Each week we receive a box with produce grown on or around the farm.  Members are invited to events out on the farm, kept up to date on how crops are progressing, and overall, are able to foster a relationship with the people growing their food.  It's a pretty cool arrangement, and win-win for everyone.  

One of the major perks (in my opinion) of being an Eatwell member are the"Strawberry Days" they hold every spring.  Members are invited out to the farm to eat and pick strawberries from the field.  This year I headed out with two friends.  It was a particularly good year - all you can pick for only $1 a pound.  My personal haul was about 17 pounds.  (Sounds like a lot but it was only two flats.)  I could have easily picked double that but my limiting factor was time - I wasn't sure I would be able to get through 35 pounds of strawberries the following day,

On Sunday, Noah and I set out to use most of our strawberries.  We made 20 jars of jam and snacked to our heart's content.  I also made, if I dare say ever so humbly, an absolutely divine strawberry rhubarb crisp. I was inspired by the use of poppyseeds in the topping of this crumble, from 101 Cookbooks.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Poppyseed Topping

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

4 cups of strawberries, hulled and quartered

3 cups of chopped rhubarb, about 1/2-1 inch pieces

2 TBL cornstarch

1 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup rolled oats

3 TBL poppy seeds

3/4 tsp salt

1 stick of butter at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Chop strawberries and rhubarb.  Mix in casserole dish (I used an 8 x 13 dish) with 1/2 cup of maple syrup and the cornstarch.
3. Combine dry ingredients - flour, oats, brown sugar, poppy seeds, and salt - and stir well.  
4. Add the remaining 1/2 cup maple syrup and 1 stick of butter.  Mix with your hands until you have a crisp-like topping.  You don't want your mixture to look totally uniform, but you also don't want lots of loose flour and oats or huge clumps of butter.
5. Spread topping evenly over the crumble.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the fruit is cooked and the topping is crisp.  Let sit for about 10-15 minutes before you eat it.  This will allow the crisp to set.  Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or by itself.

If you have very ripe, sweet strawberries, you can reduce the sugar in the recipe.  My strawberries were not quite as sweet as I usually like them - partly because they had been in the refrigerator for a day.  Also, you could halve the sugar in this recipe and have a fairly healthy breakfast crisp.  

The Full Menu - A simple but elegant luncheon -

Dear Friends,

When my son told me that his girlfriend Olivia and her family were coming up to visit, I was delighted.  I had never met her parents or her three sisters. I knew our time together would be short because they were flying here for a daughter’s college graduation and we had only several hours together. I planned accordingly. I wanted to have lunch ready and waiting for them, so as soon as they arrived, we could all relax and get to know one another over food.  Afterwards, we could tour the farmstead.

With some suggestions from my good friend Gloria, the menu seemed perfect: simple yet elegant, nutritious but tasty, colorful yet dazzling, light yet satisfying, It is important when preparing food to always accent the enjoyment and to remember the details. I had nine people to prep for and whether it is nine or ninety, the same rules apply.

My first step was to write out a list of everything I would need for the table from the salt and pepper shaker to the centerpiece. Then I focused on the food and listed every ingredient in an organized manner. After that I set myself a time schedule. This may sound like a lot of work but believe me it only takes about fifteen minutes and is worth the time.

Around one o’clock on that spectacular Saturday afternoon, the family pulled into our driveway. I was ready with the meal and they were ready to eat. We were the perfect match.

Winter and the sisters. 

 Menu

Fresh Asparagus soup
Fresh Croissants

Chicken Salad with ruby grapes, scallions, pecans, celery

Parsley/cilantro pesto with pine nuts

Spring Green Salad with cranberries and herb goat cheese

Orange, lemon, and lime slices

Lacy Swiss cheese

Vine ripened Tomato with Boston lettuce

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ginger/lemon cookies

Beverage – S. Pellegrino

                   Chilled Berkshire Spring Water

                    Tea/coffee

                   

The soup I forgot to serve.
All I did was in one pot add 10 stalks of asparagus, one onion,  4 cups vege broth, S&P, juice from one lemon. Cook until asparagus is soft and blend with soup blender. 

They matched my napkins and said "happy and fresh". Guests could add to water or squeeze on meal.

I had my favorite chef make these that morning.

So easy so good
Just mix together cooked chicken, mayo, grapes, celery, scallions or onion, pecans or walnuts, parsley.

Yes, every meal should have a salad or two.

Pesto served at room temperature. pesto

Keep a balance of formal/informal.

Setting chairs up for nine.

For the vegetarian.

More for the vegetarian.

 And of course, everyone saved room for these. What a magnificent day!

Healthy pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. muffins

 rsvp,

jude