Grated Carrot Salad with Lime-Cumin Vinaigrette

1 pound Carrots
1 garlic clove
2 limes, grate zest and juice them
2 tablespoons chopped scallion
½ teaspoon red pepper, cayenne or fresh jalapeno
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted briefly in a hot skillet and ground or chopped
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted briefly in a hot skillet and ground or chopped
One third cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Grate, shred or julienne carrots, set aside and start a medium saucepan of salted water boiling. Finely chop garlic and combine with lime juice and zest, scallion, red pepper. Add cumin and coriander. Whisk in olive oil and add salt to taste.
Blanche carrots in boiling water briefly, 30 seconds to a minute. Remove and drain. Add to a small bowl and drizzle vinaigrette over to coat. Serve warm or chill.

Celeriac and Apple Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

This is the old world way to enjoy this great vegetable.

Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon stone ground or Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon red onion, minced
Salt and Fresh Pepper
1/3 cup Olive oil
2 tablespoons sour cream

Add vinegar, garlic, onion and salt to a bowl and let sit for 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and whisk together.

Salad
1 celery root, thickly peeled and sliced into eighth-inch rounds and then cross-ways into matchsticks (julienned)
1 large tart apple peeled, cored, and sliced thinly

Bathe celery root in boiling water for 1 minute (start counting immediately, don’t wait for reboil. Remove and rinse with cold water. Dry thoroughly and toss with remaining ingredients and vinaigrette.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

A basic and incredibly versatile Balsamic vinaigrette

Drizzle this on just about everything in the world of vegetables….the red wine vinegar cuts the sweetness of the balsamic

4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (other fruit vinegars work well too)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 shallot finely diced (1 clove of garlic can work here too for those who like full flavor)
salt and fresh pepper

5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Combine vinegars, shallot, salt and pepper and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Whisk in olive oil. Drizzle on to greens, tomatoes, green beans, whatever.

CABBAGE AND APPLE SLAW WITH BUTTER-TOASTED PECANS

1/2 apple (something sour, like Granny Smith)
1/2 small head cabbage
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup pecans
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Cut apple into 1/2-inch cubes and very thinly slice enough cabbage to measure 3 cups. In a bowl toss together apple, cabbage, lemon juice, and salt to taste.

Let sit for at least 30 minutes to let the lemon juice work its magic.
Chop pecans. In a small skillet toast pecans in butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Sprinkle sugar and salt to taste over pecans and cook, stirring frequently, until pecans are coated, about 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat and cool pecans slightly. Add pecans with butter in skillet and chives to cabbage mixture and toss to combine well. Season slaw with salt.