Amazing Celery Salad!

Wes  (my husband) had to go to the Clark Realty Annual Meeting & Potluck this morning and so I sent him off with a big bowl of Celery Salad. This recipe is adapted by one on Epicurious.com. I first tasted it when my friend Janet Montrosebrought some to a party at our house. I love the light crispy fresh salad so much that I make it often. It is best eaten immediately after making.

Here is the very easy recipe:

Celery Salad
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (I use Meyer because we can get them all year here)

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

5 teaspoons local honey (I use macadamia honey)

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

lots of freshly ground black pepper

a generous pinch of sea salt ( use smoked salt here)

1 large bunch celery with leaves

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, cored; each quarter cut into 2 wedges, then thinly sliced crosswise into triangle shapes

3/4 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped

Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

Trim celery leaves and chop. Thinly slice stalks on deep diagonal. Place celery pieces in bowl of cold water. (Vinaigrette, celery leaves, and celery pieces can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)

Drain celery; pat dry with paper towels. Combine celery, celery leaves, apples, and walnuts in large bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss to coat. Taste and season salad to taste with salt and pepper if needed.

Gremolata Topped Roasted Cauliflower

Gremolata Topped Roasted Cauliflower 

This recipe is simple and delicious and if you have someone in your household that does not like cauliflower, this may surprise them. Roasting the cauliflower, like roasting most every vegetable brings out the deep flavors of the essence of the vegetable and caramelization ads a touch of sweetness. You can use Panko Crumbs or traditional bread crumbs. I have even used crackers and potato chips to make the crumbs. Panko is ideal though. This recipe serves two as a vegetable main course, but you could probably serve 4 as a side dish. and easily double or triple it for a large group. This can also be made vegan if you omit the butter and use only olive oil for toasting the bread crumbs.

1 head (medium to large) of cauliflower
1/4 cup olive oil
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste (about a half teaspoon of each)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 cup of Panko or other bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
zest of a Meyer lemon
4 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme
a squeeze of lemon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Trim the cauliflower into florets about 1.5 inches or smaller

In a bowl, add cauliflower, olive oil, salt, pepper & red pepper flakes. Toss. Place on a Silpat covered baking sheet and put in the oven for 10 minutes, remove and stir, then 10-15 minutes more, till the edges of the cauliflower have browned a little bit.

Remove from the oven.
In a frying pan, melt butter with the olive oil and garlic and then toast the bread crumbs till golden, stirring frequently. Squeeze the lemon in. Stir. Add the herbs and remove from heat.
Put the cauliflower on a serving dish or plate and top with the Gremolata.

Celery Salad

For Easter Dinner at my friend Maria's there was quite a spread of fantastic food. I brought two dishes and Celery Salad was one of them. This is a healthy crunch salad, full of flavor, protein and fiber. This is a vegan dish that everyone loves. And to top it off, it is easy to make! Just a little mixing of the dressing, toasting of the nuts and some slicing is involved.  

Celery Salad 

Ingredients: 

Dressing

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (I use Meyer lemons when available)

1/2 cup Dijon Mustard

1/3 cup honey (or agave)

1-1 1/4 cups of extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Salad:

2 large Granny Smith Apples (Fuji also works well in this)

1 large bunch of celery

a handful of fresh mint coarsely chopped or torn

1/2 cup walnuts toasted

1/2 cup almond slivers toasted

Method: 

In a blender, add the lemon juice, mustard and honey, mix till well blended then slowly start adding olive oil until the sound changes and it starts to thicken. Taste, add salt and fresh cracked pepper. Pulse once to incorporate the seasonings. 

This can be made ahead and also makes a great dressing for arugula salads, so you may want to double this and keep some for later. 

Thinly slice the celery on a deep diagonal. Place the celery in a bowl of ice water and allow to sit in the water for up to an hour. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. 

Cut the apples into wedges, core and peel and then slice into small triangles (this needs to be done just before serving so that the apples do not brown.) 

Put the celery, apples, mint, almonds and walnuts into a large salad bowl and toss. Add dressing and toss again. 

Miang Kham : Thai leaves with condiments

Maing Kham is one of my favorite things. It is a dish which requires a great deal of prep work, chopping, roasting and making of a deliciously pungent, spicy and slightly sweet sauce full of umami. After the work is done, there is a platter full of beautiful jewel like items and slightly bitter leaves to assemble. I made this dish for a luncheon with friends and then had the leftovers last night for dinner. I have enough sauce to make it again next week and I shall. The sauce can also be used with seafood or chicken as a glaze. If you eliminate the dried shrimp and use vegetarian fish sauce ( made with soy) this dish is also Vegan. I recently shared this recipe with a friend's daughter who is vegan and I think she will like it. Every time I make this, I vary it a little. This time I had some cucumber and Mandarin oranges, so I added them. You can also add avocado, mango, mint & the list goes on.

Miang Kham Leaves with Garnishes (also spelled as Mieng Kam)

 Mandarins and Limes

This recipe requires some preparation time, but it's well worth it—especially if 

you've eaten a tasty miang kham before and have a craving. There's nothing like

it. The blend of coconut, ginger, fresh bitter leaves, peanuts, lime, herbs and 

chile is full of fantastic flavor. It is great for a party, as it is the ultimate finger food. 

 fried garlic

While the easiest way to enjoy miang kham is to have it at your local Thai 

restaurant, it takes so much effort to make that many restaurants do not offer it.

Every time I serve it people are delighted with the way the many flavors kind of

explode in bursts. 

Chiles and Ginger with a Thai Basil Flower

Fillings

·        3/4 cup grated coconut, roasted in a low-heat oven (or toasted in a dry 

     wok) until lightly brown

·        2 small limes(When tangerines or clementines are in season I add them to 

     the limes),unpeeled (try to get limes with thin skin), cut into small 

     cubes

·        6 tablespoons shallots, peeled and cut into small cubes

·        6 tablespoons roasted peanuts (rough chopped)

·        6 tablespoons small dried shrimps (optional for vegans)

·        4-5 fresh hot chile peppers, cut into slivers (I use Hawaiian peppers)

·        4 oz fresh ginger, peeled and cut into small cubes

·        9 garlic cloves slivered and friend in oil till golden brown

·        Cilantro (rough chopped)

·        Fried shallots (available in Asian markets)

·        Very small diced extra firm tofu, fried till slightly crispy

·        Additional garlic chili sauce

The Sauce

·        1 tablespoon shrimp paste roasted until fragrant (optional for Vegans)

·        2 oz fresh galangal (Thai Ginger), cut into slivers and roasted until 

     fragrant (see note below)

·        1/4 cup grated coconut, roasted in a low-heat oven or in a dry wok until 

     lightly brown

·        ¼ cup toasted peanuts, finely ground

·        4 oz small dried shrimps (optional for Vegans)

·        2 oz shallots, peeled and coarsely cut

·        1.5 teaspoons fresh ginger, sliced 

·        8 oz palm sugar (broken into small chunks)

·        2 tablespoons table sugar

·        2 Tablespoons Tom Yum concentrate (available at Asian Markets)

·        ½ cup of chipotle jelly (optional)

·        ¼ cup of fish sauce (optional for Vegan or there is Vegetarian )

 fried shallots

Method: 

Sauce

In a mortar and pestle (or small food processor), pound together the shallots and galangal until fine (note about galangal: it's ok to use dried galangal

as long as it's placed in a dish of lukewarm water for a few minutes to 

reconstitute). 

Add roasted shrimp paste, ginger, coconut, peanuts and dried shrimp, and continue pounding until smooth. Remove the mixture and place in a pot with 1.5 cups water. Add Tom Yum concentrate and jelly. Bring to a boil over medium heat, add palm 

sugar and table sugar, then reduce heat and simmer, wait until reduced to 1 cup ora bit less. Taste and adjust. It should be tart, salty, sweet and slightly tangy, I prefer to not make it too spicy and allow guests to add their own heat. Remove 

from heat and transfer to a small bowl.

Wrapping Leaves (The choice of what leaves to use is up to you. Some use

lettuce or spinach leaves due to ready availability, but to get an authentic 

flavor you can visit an Asian grocery store and try to find cha-phloo

leaves. These leaves are also known in English as Betel Leaves, or Piper 

Sermentosum. In Vietnamese language, these leaves are labeled as La Lop. You 

could also use sesame leaves or tender bok choi (this is what I use bok choi most

often. Slightly bitter leaves are best for this. 

Serving 

Spoon the roasted coconut into a serving plate. In separate small bowls, arrange 

each filling ingredient listed above. With a fresh wrapping leaf in hand,

fold it once across the bottom then sideways to form a pocket. Place about 1 

teaspoon roasted coconut in the leaf together with a small amount of each

filling to create a bite-sized quantity. Spoon the sauce on top, pop in your mouthand enjoy!

Crispy Kale Chips

This is one of my favorite snacks and something that gets immediately grabbed at my dinner parties. It is so simple to make and very healthy too. The crisp leaves of the kale have better flavor than any potato chip you will ever eat! It is also a good way to get kids or husbands/picky eaters to eat their greens. I wish I would have known about this when my kids were small, I had to rely on zucchini fries and fried green tomatoes that we called "Tomato Chips" as disguised veggies.

All you do is take some Dinosaur Kale, also known as Tuscan Kale and toss it is a bit of olive oil sprinkle with sea salt and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. I use a silpat sheet on my baking sheets, but you do not have to, you can also place baking parchment on the baking sheets. If the kale is mature, the leaves are 10-12" long and the rib in the center is quite thick, so you should cut the rib out, making two smaller leaves. If it is young kale, you can leave it in. We have several organic growers that grow the Tuscan Kale and it is available here year round at our farmer's markets.