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Author: Seth

Carrots and Seaweed

2 cups dried Hijiki, Arame, or any other not flat seaweed varieties (ask at your local health food store)
Soy Sauce or tamari
2 Tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons Grated fresh ginger
3-4 medium Carrots, julienned or run through a grater so that they end up coarse
Salt
Toasted sesame seeds

Follow the direction of cooking/preparing seaweed and toss with a tablespoon soy sauce. Heat oil in a skillet and add carrots and ginger, stir-fry until the carrots begin to color around the edges, about 2 minutes. Add the seaweed and cook 5 minutes more, tossing frequently. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce and continue cooking until the moisture is gone. Taste and season with salt. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Braised Savoy Cabbage and Apples

One savoy head, quartered, cored and sliced thinly and soaked in water
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons finely chopped onions
1 large green apple, peeled cored and sliced into matchsticks
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt salt
1 teaspoon cumin seeds.

Heat oil in a large stainless steel/non-reactive skillet. Add onions and cook until golden. Add cabbage directly from water to pan with the onions along with the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook of very medium-low heat until the cabbage is very soft, about and hour and a half, adding boiling water if needed during the process.

Tomato, Watermelon, and Feta Salad

One small watermelon
2 large tomatoes or a few medium ones. Try an heirloom for this recipe.
1 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese. (this is optional…but its so good)
Third of a cup coarsely chopped basil and cilantro tossed together
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic or white wine vinegar
Salt and fresh pepper

Slice and seed the water melon into three-quarter inch pieces. Core the tomatoes and slice into the same size pieces. Stir together lightly the toms, watermelon, herbs, oil and vinegar ( if using balsamic drizzle it over the top after mixing everything else so as not to muddy the colors). Serve with salt, fresh pepper, and cheese on top.

Simple Baked Potatoes

A few medium potatoes
Olive oil
Salt, coarse kosher works best

Preheat the oven to 425. Wash and halve the potatoes. Oil the bottom of a cookie sheet or shallow baking pan. I often use a pie pan. Oil the potatoes as well and roll the skins in salt, set the potato cut side down in the pan. Dust them with fresh pepper and slide them into the oven. Bake for 30-45 minutes –the longer the better.
Pull them out when they are golden on the bottom and the skin pulls away from the flesh.

Cool Kohlrabi Salad

One medium size Kohlrabi, peeled and jullienned
Two Tablespoons crème fraiche, sour cream or whole milk yogurt
One teaspoon to one table spoon prepared horseradish
One teaspoon Dill
Salt and fresh Pepper

Steam kohlrabi for 5-7 minutes and set in the fridge to cool for an hour. Toss remaining ingredients together with chilled kohlrabi and enjoy as a cool compliment to picnic or light dinner meals

Delicata Squash Rings

2 delicatas
1 ½ tablespoons peanut or olive oil
salt and pepper
chopped parsley
ground cumin

Peel the squash (optional), cut off the ends and halve. Cut into slices about a third of an inch thick. Heat the oil in a wide skillet and add the squash, frying over medium heat until beginning to brown (7-8 minutes). Turn and cook on the second side until tender. Add salt, pepper, parsley and cumin and toss to coat.

Cauliflower and Bread Crumbs

One medium cauliflower, broken into bite sized florets
Three Quarter cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons olive oil or butter
2 tablespoons finely grated hard cheese (parm, asiago, etc.)
Salt and fresh pepper

Steam cauliflower for 5-7 minutes. Brown bread crumbs over medium heat in oil or butter. Toss cauliflower with bread crumbs, cheese, salt and ample pepper.

New Potato Gratin with Tomatoes

2 pounds new potatoes
Salt and fresh pepper
4 medium tomatoes
¼ cup olive oil
2 onions, quartered and sliced thinly
¼ cup dried thyme
3 garlic cloves, sliced
¼ lemon, sliced thinly
1/3 cup kalamata or nicoise olives, pitted and chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400. Boil potatoes in salted water for 4 minutes and pull them out –don’t dump the water! Rinse potatoes in cold water to stop them from cooking further. Plunge tomatoes in the hot water for 20 seconds each and rinse with cold water. Peel off the skin, quarter, and remove the seeds. Coarsely chop ¾ of tomatoes and thinly slice the rest.

Heat half the oil in a skillet and add the onions, thyme and pepper. Sauté until the onions wilt completely and begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add this mixture to the bottom of a baking dish and layer in all the ingredients, finishing the top with more salt and pepper as well as the remaining oil. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and finish for another 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes and fully tender.

Baked Acorn Squash

This is the old-time classic recipe…

1 acorn squash
1 onion
1 Tablespoon nut-oil –peanut or walnut are 2 favorites
2 Tablespoons Maple syrup or 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Dash of nutmeg
Salt and fresh pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Split the squash from stem to tip and spoon out the seeds. Brush the inside and the cut edge with enough oil to just coat and lay cut side down in a baking dish. Add about half an inch of water to the dish and bake for about 30 minutes. While this is underway halve the onion and slice thinly. Sauté slowly in a pan over medium heat with the remaining oil and a pinch of salt until the onion begins to become soft and translucent. Add half of the maple or brown sugar to the pan and continue to sauté, turning regularly, until the onion softens fully and begins to brown. Add the cooked onion to the inside of the baked squash and drizzle/sprinkle with the remaining maple/sugar over the whole thing. Top with nutmeg and fresh pepper. Slide the whole thing back in the oven and broil until the squash and onion bubbles and sizzles. Serve hot.

Arugula Pesto

A great change from the basil standby…

3 cloves of garlic, boiled for 45 seconds and then run under cold water
quarter cup pine nuts or walnuts, toasted in a heavy skillet for 4-5 minutes
1 cup packed arugula leaves, crushed in your hand to bruise the leaves
1 cup packed parsley, crushed in your hand to bruise the leaves
7 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt
1 pat of soft butter (optional)
quarter cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Place all ingredients except cheese in a food processor and chop until smooth, scraping down the sides between pulses. Remove to small bowl and fold in the cheese. Flatten out the finished pesto with a spatula and cover the surface with plastic wrap or a layer of olive oil to avoid browning. Keeps in the fridge for up to five days.