Granola recipe

 

homemade granola

I started making my own granola when I realized how much money I was spending to buy it at my local natural foods store.  $8 for a little container?  Ouch!  But the price wasn’t the only deterrent.  There’s also the undesirable ingredients you find in many commercially prepared granolas — too much sugar and refined or hydrogenated oils, just for starters.  You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to make from scratch and best of all, you can make it exactly the way you want it.  Although I wouldn’t consider it to be “health food,” homemade granola beats processed cereals any day and is as “instant” as breakfast can get.    This has come in handy when daughter #1 spends much too much time straightening her hair and is late for school.  I just put a hefty scoop of whole, unsweetened yogurt in a cup and layer granola with or without fresh fruit and that’s a decent breakfast to go.

I make granola every two weeks and keep it in an airtight glass container in the pantry where it stays perfectly crispy.  We not only eat it with the obvious yogurt and fresh fruit, but we love it mixed into smoothies, on acai bowls, sprinkled on pancakes or creamy oatmeal, or as a crunchy dip for bananas rolled in nut butter.  As for me, sometimes I’m looking for something sweet without actually eating sweets and a handful of granola is a quick and satisfying snack.  I can’t tell you how many times I have opted to bring a glass jar of this granola to a friend’s house as a hostess gift instead of a candle.

The first time I made granola I burned it because I kept expecting the oat mixture to get dry and crunchy in the oven.  No, no.  The oats remain soft until they are removed from the heat and are allowed to cool at room temperature.  Judge the granola by its color, which should change to be a nice toasty, golden brown.  The key here is to mix the syrups and oil until completely blended before combining it with the oat mixture.  If you don’t, the syrups can burn.  Also note that the dried fruit is added after the oats come out of the oven.  If you bake them, they’ll harden and taste burnt (ask me how I know this.)  The wonderful thing about granola is that you can use whatever nuts, seeds and dried fruit you like.

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If my kids are reading this, what I would like is a little bowl of granola with fresh berries and sheep yogurt delivered to my bed on Sunday morning with a cup of Tulsi tea and absolutely, positively no bickering all day long.  Ahhhhhh…….  Happy Mother’s Day to all my students, readers, friends and family, and of course, to my mother-in-law and my mother.

homemade granola with yogurt and blueberries

Granola

Pamela
5 from 1 vote
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Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats not instant or quick-cooking*
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut flakes
  • 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1/3 raw sunflower seeds
  • 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds optional; sometimes I use them, sometimes I don't
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 1/4 cup melted unrefined coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup brown rice syrup or honey
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup raw almonds in California, you can buy truly raw almonds if purchased directly from the farmer, in the stores it may say "raw," but they have likely been pasteurized or steamed or walnuts or pecans or a combo
  • 1 cup unsweetened unsulphured dried fruit, chopped if necessary

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl stir together the oats, coconut flakes, seeds, cinnamon and salt.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, brown rice syrup and vanilla. It is really important to mix the oil and syrups so that everything is well blended otherwise the syrups may burn. Add the oil and syrup mixture to the oats and stir to coat well.
  • Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes (ovens vary), stirring occasionally until golden brown. The mixture will not be crunchy yet. Add the chopped nuts and dried fruit to the pan and allow to cool. Transfer granola to an airtight container and store at room temperature or freeze.

Notes

*If you use gluten-free oats, you will have a gluten-free granola.
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Avocado, jicama and mango salad recipe

Mexico is close to Southern California, right?  They share a border for goodness sake.  Dare I say Mexico is almost local?  Well, this is convincing I do with myself during April and May.  Why? Because it’s mango season in Mexico and I am MAD for mangos.  Yes, we grow mangos in Southern California, but the season is waaaaaay too short for me and the kids. So I’m basically a hypocrite for a few months to satisfy my addiction to a luscious, fleshy, sweet fruit while the other 10 months of the year I turn my nose at melons in the winter or produce from South America.  I’m downright indignant when I see Chilean plums in February.  Can’t you people wait a few measly months until they’re in season here??

Listen, I’m no Barbara Kingsolver and in as much as I admire her quest to go truly local for a year, except for coffee, I buy plenty of goods that are outside of the 100 mile-radius from where I live.  Those foods include flours, grains and fish from Alaska.  But there are many reasons I believe in buying local produce.  In general:

  • local is fresher, which very often means better taste and higher nutritional value.
  • I like supporting local farms and local businesses.
  • local usually equates to eating seasonally which is a more healthful and more balanced way to stay in harmony with nature.  We are given exactly what we need to eat at just the right time of the year.  For example, melons and cucumbers are cooling foods and are very appropriate to eat during the summer months.  In contrast, pumpkin and butternut squash have a warming thermal nature and help us out in the winter.
  • buying local can have a lighter environmental impact versus importing produce.

But at the moment, I am buying 10 mangos every week for snacks, mixing them with yogurt, blending them in smoothies and using them in this scrumptious salad.  You know how I feel about a good dressing and this one is a favorite.  I actually like it just as much as a dip for crudite.  There is a bit of cilantro in the dressing, but I have had many cilantro-haters come over to the other side after trying this dressing.  Choose a crisp lettuce such as a romaine or butter lettuce and feel free to come up with your own creation.  Other possibilities include tomatoes, cucumbers, cooked pinto beans, grilled shrimp or chicken, toasted pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds).

While I’m coming clean about the mangos, did I mention the jicama is from Mexico, too?

Avocado, Jicama and Mango Salad

Pamela
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • Dressing:
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon raw honey
  • 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt plus more to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¾ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems lightly packed
  • ½ cup unrefined cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 head romaine lettuce thinly sliced, about 8 cups
  • 2 ripe avocados peeled, pitted, cut into ½-inch cubes
  • ½ medium jicama julienned or cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1 mango peeled, pitted and cut into ½-inch cubes
  • Crispy tortilla strips optional see below

Instructions
 

  • In a blender combine lime and lemon juices, honey, salt, pepper and cumin. Add the cilantro and blend. With the motor running, pour in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream and blend until emulsified.
  • Arrange the lettuce on a large platter and drizzle enough dressing to coat lightly. Place avocado in a bowl and gently toss with enough dressing to coat lightly. Arrange avocado on top of lettuce. Repeat with the jicama and mango. Sprinkle with crispy tortilla strips.
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CRISPY TORTILLA STRIPS

 

1 Tablespoon unrefined olive oil

3 6-inch corn tortillas

Fine grain sea salt or additive-free kosher salt

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brush the oil over both sides of the tortillas.  Stack the tortillas on top of each other and cut the stack in half.  Then cut the halves crosswise into 1/8-inch thick strips.

Spread the tortillas on a heavy, rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment if desired) and arrange them evenly.  Sprinkle with salt and bake, tossing occasionally for 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and cool.

 

Fajitas recipe

perfect chicken fajita plate

You all know my seven-year-old son, Mr. Picky.  I need to re-introduce you to Daughter #2, who just announced last night that she is now a vegetarian.  That’s Miss Vegetarian to you.  Hmmm…..She is the same child that asked to try clams and mussels when she was 3 years old and would chomp on a steak bone until it was dry.  She’s 12 now and has always been my easiest child with respect to food.  What a pleasure it has been to feed a child who willingly tries and eats anything and everything!  Not that I can take credit for her adventurous eating; she came into the world this way.  But effective today, she is no longer eating meat, fish, or eggs if they look like eggs (it’s fine if they’re baked into a cookie, of course.)

I have lots of parents in my classes who have children with dietary restrictions or predilections.  We routinely discuss how to adjust each recipe to accommodate Janie’s gluten-intolerance or Jack’s aversion to the color green.  I am convinced the universe gave me Mr. Picky and Miss Vegetarian so that I would be more understanding of the challenges my students face.  That I am.

The good news is we had fajitas last night for dinner!  The reason I say it was good news is because fajitas really lend themselves to each person customizing his or her plate.  So whereas Mr. Picky likes to load up on chicken and guacamole with one token slice of zucchini, I am happy with the reverse, choosing mostly vegetables.  I didn’t stress out about feeding Miss Vegetarian last night since we also had black beans and shredded raw cheddar cheese from the farmer’s market.  She made two lovely roll-ups with sprouted grain tortillas and all was wonderful, at least in the protein department.  (She really needs to stop borrowing her sister’s clothes without asking.)  The next great thing about fajitas is that if you have leftovers, they can go into a darn good omelet or quesadilla the next day.  Daughter #1 had some of the extra chicken and vegetables chopped up and added to some leftover green rice from my class the day before (I’ll have to give you the recipe one day) and  brought it to school in a thermos.

I think the traditional preparation of fajitas using skirt steak is just fine, but we don’t eat much beef here.  Regardless, you can use the same marinade for beef and it will be delicious.  You can also broil the meat, if you don’t want to grill.  But more than that, I never limit the vegetables to just bell peppers and onions.  I usually make an additional pan of sauteed zucchini and shiitake mushroom strips and find that to be my favorite, although I also love julienned carrots and sauteed spinach, too.  There is always something to please every palate!

Fajitas

Pamela
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Servings 6 -8

Ingredients
  

  • There are lots of tortillas that are more healthful than white flour tortillas. Try Rudi’s Organic Spelt or Multigrain with Flax; Food For Life Brown Rice Flour; or French Meadow Bakery's Hemp Tortillas Mr. Picky's favorite.
  • Marinade for chicken or meat:
  • 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • ½ cup fresh lime juice
  • ¼ cup unrefined cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro optional
  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets (thinner pieces cook more quickly reducing the exposure of the meat to the grill) or thighs or skirt steak
  • 2 Tablespoons unrefined cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
  • 2-3 bell peppers green and red is a good combo, sliced thin or mix it up with sliced shiitake or portabella mushrooms, julienned zucchini and/or carrots to mix with the peppers and onions
  • 1-2 red onions halved and sliced thin
  • 2 garlic cloves finely minced
  • Sea salt and black pepper to taste
  • Accompaniments: 12-16 warmed flour or rice tortillas guacamole, pico de gallo (salsa), sour cream, shredded cheese

Instructions
 

  • Combine garlic, sea salt, pepper, cumin, lime juice, oil and cilantro in a non-reactive container, such as glass. Add meat to marinade and turn to coat well. Marinate for at least 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator, turning occasionally.
  • Preheat the grill to medium heat. Remove chicken from refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling. Grill chicken a few minutes on each side until cooked through.
  • Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add peppers, onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute the mixture, stirring, for 10-12 minutes, or until softened. You can add the cooked, sliced meat to the vegetable mixture and combine everything or serve both separately.
  • Warm tortillas on both sides over medium heat on a griddle pan. Or if you are heat a large amount, wrap the entire stack in parchment paper, then aluminum foil and heat through in a 350 degree oven. Serve with desired accompaniments.

Notes

You can also broil the meat using a broiler pan.
Do Ahead Timesaving Tip: earlier in the day or the night before, marinate the meat and/or slice all the veggies. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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Mexican black beans from scratch recipe

Mexican Black Beans | Pamela Salzman

Mexican Black Beans | Pamela Salzman

When I am coming up with a menu for entertaining mixed company, e.g. kids and adults or carnivores and vegans, I steer most often towards Mexican food.  It is always a crowd pleaser, easy to prepare and I can very often employ a topping bar of sorts.  It is no surprise to me that my Mexican-themed cooking classes are my most popular of the year.  I always teach them in April so that my students have some fun, healthful recipes to use for Cinco de Mayo (May 5th.)   You know I am a sucker for themed family dinners on “holidays.”  That and I just don’t enjoy taking the kids to crowded, greasy Mexican restaurants on one of the busiest and most inebriated nights of the year for something I can easily make at home.

Black Beans

These versatile black beans are a staple in our house all year long.  They’re close to Frijoles Refritos, meaning “well-cooked beans” (as opposed to “twice-cooked beans,” which is what I thought it meant for years.)  But I’m not frying anything in lard or vegetable oil, instead cooking the beans with some onion, garlic, jalapeno and cilantro for great flavor.   We eat them simply over rice, wrapped in a burrito, as a side with fajitas or tacos, or with huevos rancheros.  Daughter #1 and her friends like to toast corn tortillas over the gas flame on the stove (they’re 14 years-old) and eat the beans like a dip.  They are a must with any Mexican meal.  The good news is that I can tell you how to easily make them from scratch (soaking dried beans) or from a can.  Even though I avoid canned food like the plague, you have a great option with Eden Foods which does not use BPA in its can liners.

Mexican Black Beans | Pamela Salzman

Beans are an incredible source of low-fat protein and fiber, especially soluble fiber which has been shown to help lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar levels.  Black, red and pinto beans are crazy high in anti-oxidants, too.   Another bonus is that they are rather inexpensive, especially if you buy them dried and cook them yourself.  1 pound of dried beans might cost you about $1.00.  One pound dried equates to approximately 3 15-ounce cans of black beans at about $2.19 per can for Eden Organic in my natural foods store (other brands are much less, but you’re also getting that pesky BPA.)  You can also buy the cans by the case from Amazon and save some money (12 cans for $16.60 at the time of this post.)  Making beans from scratch is as easy as boiling water, but you need to plan at least 6 hours in advance to soak them and an hour and a half to cook them.  Or just make a ton over the weekend and freeze them.  Love that!

Over the next week and a half, I’ll be posting some of my favorite Mexican-inspired dishes to wow your family and friends without letting your healthful eating take a siesta!

Mexican Black Beans | Pamela Salzman

Mexican Black Beans

Pamela
5 from 4 votes
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound dried black beans aka turtle beans, picked over for stones or foreign objects, and rinsed*
  • 1 2- to 3-inch piece kombu**(optional)
  • 2-3 Tablespoons unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1 jalapeno chile minced (take the seeds out if you want to cut the heat)
  • 1 Tablespoon sea salt or kosher salt
  • 1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro
  • Fresh lime juice optional

Instructions
 

  • Place the beans and the kombu in a large glass bowl or pot. Add enough cold water to cover the beans by at least 3 inches. Let stand overnight or at least 6 hours. (If the weather is warm, put the beans in the refrigerator to soak.)
  • Drain and rinse the beans, reserving the kombu. Place the beans and kombu in a large, heavy pot with enough water to cover by 3 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming the foam that rises to the top. Lower the heat to low and simmer gently, covered, for 1 hour.
  • Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté gently until tender, about 10 minutes. You can cover the skillet with a lid to soften the onions and garlic without allowing them to brown. Add the jalapeno and cook 1 minute, until tender.
  • Remove the kombu from the beans and discard. Add the sautéed onion mixture, sea salt and cilantro to the beans and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, or until very tender.
  • Drain the beans and reserve 2 cups of cooking liquid. Pour 1 cup of liquid back into the beans and mash the beans with the back of a spoon until you have the desired consistency. Add more liquid, if necessary. Taste for seasoning and squeeze some fresh lime juice on top, if desired.

Notes

*Or you can use 3 15-ounce cans of cooked black beans, undrained. Follow along here:
Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a medium saucepan until softened.
Add jalapeno and cook for 1 minute.
Add beans and liquid from the can (usually about 1/3 cup liquid per can) plus 2-3 teaspoons sea salt, 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
You can serve the beans as is or I like to mash them up a bit so they’re nice and creamy. Squeeze a little lime on top if you like.
**Kombu is a sea vegetable which helps tenderize the beans and improves their digestibility. It is also rich in many vitamins and minerals.
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Seared wild salmon with beet, blood orange and spinach salad recipe

Seared Wild Salmon Salad with Beets, Blood Oranges and Spinach | Pamela Salzman

Don’t let the fancy name fool you.  This recipe is as easy as it is beautiful and it’s absolutely delicious.  All of this is in season right now — from the wild salmon and spinach to the blood oranges and beets — and it comes just in time for the last Friday of Lent.

This dish reminds me of a nutrition lesson I taught to some elementary school students one year about “eating the colors of the rainbow.”  Nature provides us with a beautiful spectrum of colors from which to choose and those colors represent different phytonutrients — compounds found in plant foods which help protect the plants from viruses and bacteria, but also support our health, as well.

There are thousands of phytonutrients which are classified by family.  But teaching the classification of phytonutrients to fifth graders (or adults) is overwhelming and confusing. All we really need to know is that each color (including white) represents an important set of different health benefits.  In order to maximize our exposure to all these health benefits, we need to eat  a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables everyday in as many colors as possible…..like the colors of the rainbow.

This salad may not cover every color, but it sure gives you a solid start.  One colorful addition to the salad which does not contain phytonutrients, but is loaded with anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fatty acids is wild salmon.  If you don’t eat fish, the salad is fantastic without it, but if you do eat fish I strongly encourage you to find a good source for wild salmon which is one of the richest sources of Omega-3s that you can find.  Unfortunately the typical American is both lacking in Omega-3s and out of balance in the Omega 3 – Omega 6 ratio, resulting in a highly inflammatory diet.  I bought this lovely piece of sockeye from Vital Choice because I need a consistent source of high quality fish for my classes, but occasionally I can find what I’m looking for in my local markets, including the farmer’s market.

Although I don’t get too worked up about the presentation of my food (I’m much more concerned with how it tastes and its nutritional benefits), it is always nice to eat something that looks as beautiful as it tastes.

To all my students and readers who celebrate Easter, have a lovely holiday!

 

Seared Wild Salmon with Beet, Blood Orange and Spinach Salad

Pamela
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 bunch medium beets
  • 5 medium blood oranges or regular oranges
  • 2 Tablespoons finely diced shallot
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons raw honey
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • ½ cup cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8 ounces baby spinach leaves or arugula washed and dried
  • 6 filets wild Alaskan salmon 5 to 6 ounces each
  • zest of one blood orange optional
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season the fish
  • 4 Tablespoons cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  • Cut the greens off the beets, leaving about ½ inch of the stems still attached. Save the greens for another time. Wash the beets well and place them in a roasting pan with a 1/2-inch layer of water on the bottom. Cover tightly with foil (if the foil touches the beets, cover first with parchment, then with foil.) Roast about 50 minutes (or longer for larger beets). When the beets are done, carefully remove the foil. Allow them to cool, and then peel them by slipping off the skins with your fingers. Cut them into ½-inch wedges.
  • Slice the stem and bottom ends from the blood oranges. Stand the oranges on one end and, following the contour of the fruit with a very sharp knife, remove the peel and white pith. Work from top to bottom, rotating the fruit as you go. Then hold each orange over a bowl and carefully slice between the membranes and the fruit to release the segments in between. Squeeze any juice left in the remaining membrane into a measuring cup. Add any juice from the bowl of blood orange segments to the measuring cup. (Or if you're pressed for time, just slice the oranges into rounds.)
  • Combine the diced shallot, lemon juice, ¼ cup blood orange juice (if you didn’t reserve enough, you can add regular freshly squeezed orange juice), honey and ¾ teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil slowly. Add black pepper and additional sea salt to taste.
  • Remove the salmon from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking to bring it to room temperature. Season the salmon with the zest, sea salt, and ground pepper.
  • Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add the oil to the pan and allow to heat up for 1 minute, until very warm, but not smoking. Lay the fish in the pan, seasoned side down, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until it is lightly browned. Turn the fish over, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook a few minutes more, until it is almost cooked through. Do your best not to overcook the salmon. When it is done, the fish will begin to flake and separate a little, and the center will be slightly rare. The salmon will continue to cook a bit more while it sits.
  • Place the spinach in a bowl and toss lightly with some dressing. Transfer to a serving platter. Place the salmon on top of the spinach.
  • Place the beets and blood oranges in the bowl and toss lightly with some dressing. Arrange the beets and blood oranges around the perimeter of the platter. Drizzle the salmon with additional dressing, if desired.

Notes

Blood oranges are little more tart than regular oranges, so if you are not using blood orange juice in the dressing, you can balance the acidity with a little extra lemon juice or some rice vinegar.
Do-ahead suggestions: You can prepare your beets, oranges, greens and dressing up to 2 days before.
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Asparagus salad with feta, walnuts and mint vinaigrette recipe

 

A great salad is part perfectly fresh and delicious ingredients and part winner dressing.  And the simpler the better.  But salad monogamy is not something I believe in.  There shouldn’t be exclusivity with salad combinations and dressings.  A good vinaigrette should be able to play the field.  And let me tell you, the mint vinaigrette in this recipe sees a lot of action in my kitchen.  

Does it look familiar to you?  If you took my class last July, you had it with a Farro, Golden Beet and Cucumber Salad.  If you saw the feature in ELLE Magazine of my class at Jenni Kayne’s and looked up the recipes, you saw it there, too.  But what you don’t know is that I have been using this dressing for years on lots of things and you will too!

Why do I love this dressing?  Mint is one of my favorite herbs in both savory and sweet dishes.  Combined with rice vinegar and red onion, it is fresh and tangy and I could drink this dressing with a straw, I love it so much.  It is just perfect with asparagus, peas, cucumber, beets, carrots, potatoes and green beans.  Here I’ve shown you this asparagus salad prepared two ways – either sliced and mixed with butter lettuce or whole spears drizzled with dressing.  Easter is just around the corner and I think this would make a lovely light salad for brunch or a perfect complement to roast lamb for dinner.

Don’t forget about how nutritious asparagus is.  Asparagus is loaded with potassium, Vitamin C and folic acid, which is critical for proper cellular division (especially if you’re pregnant.)  It also contains inulin which we don’t digest, but the good bacteria in our gut do.  We want to promote the growth and activity of friendly bacteria so that they make it more difficult for unfriendly bacteria to take over our intestinal tract.  Asparagus is also rich in vitamin K, calcium and magnesium, all helpful in building bone strength.  I guess you could call this salad a win-win!

 

Asparagus Salad with Feta, Walnuts and Mint Vinaigrette

Pamela
4 from 1 vote
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Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ pounds asparagus medium thickness, tough ends trimmed
  • 6 ounces butter lettuce torn into bite size pieces (optional)
  • ½ cup fresh mint leaves about half of a 3/4 ounce package
  • 1 clove minced garlic or 1 teaspoon, chopped
  • ¼ cup diced red onion
  • 3 Tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon raw honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or more if you don't use the feta
  • a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup raw walnuts chopped
  • 3-4 ounces feta preferably goat, crumbled

Instructions
 

  • Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the asparagus spears for 3 minutes for medium thick spears (less for thinner). Remove asparagus with tongs and immediately submerge in the ice water. Once cool, remove asparagus to dry.
  • To prepare the dressing: place the mint leaves, garlic, rice vinegar, honey, diced onions, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor. Begin to blend and with the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow stream. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.
  • Place lettuce on a platter and toss with enough dressing just to coat. Dry asparagus well and cut on the diagonal into fourths. Toss with a little dressing and add to lettuce. Scatter feta and walnuts all over salad and add more dressing if necessary.

Notes

The second photo shows how I store asparagus. When you bring it home from the market, trim the ends of the asparagus and store in a container with an inch of water at the base. Keep refrigerated. The asparagus will stay fresher for longer. When trimming asparagus to cook, bend the asparagus back close to the bottom and find the natural break in the stalk. Prepare as desired.
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Lemon ice torte recipe

I went to my first Passover seder when I was in college in Philadelphia.  I was dating a nice Jewish boy from California who had some relatives living outside the city.  Aunt Lulu and Uncle Stanley invited us over for the holiday and I knew it was special for my boyfriend to be with family and to be able to participate in the ritual meal.  When I saw that the otherwise cantankerous Uncle Stan had a stack of food magazines, I knew we would be fast friends.  Not surprisingly, he did most of the cooking that night and he did it with love.

My first Passover meal did not disappoint.  Everything was delicious, and not just because I was a college student who wasn’t eating homemade meals very often.  I enjoyed my first brisket and charoset, the traditional chunky paste made from apples, dried fruit and nuts.  I was putting it on everything, from matzoh to asparagus (even my oatmeal the next morning.)  The showstopper was the Lemon Ice Torte that was served for dessert.  It was featured in Bon Appetit that month (April 1991) and my boyfriend went crazy for it.  The torte was an almond crust filled with a lemon sorbet and served with a strawberry-rhubarb sauce on the side.  It was simple, but delicious, refreshing and apparently a welcome change from the ubiquitous brick of a honey cake that is usually served.  I went out right away to buy a copy of the magazine (no internet yet, people) and my first springform pan so I could make it again.

I can’t find the lipstick I bought last week, but I still have the same magazine and the same pan 20 years later.  The boyfriend is still in the picture and I was lucky enough to marry him.  Every year for 20 years, I have made that lemon ice torte for Passover with the same springform pan, but every few years I have added a new twist.  I started making my own lemon sherbet when I moved to California.  Wouldn’t you with all those amazing lemons?  I dropped the layer of preserves from the original recipe and substituted fresh berries for the fruit sauce.  More recently I experimented with sucanat instead of granulated sugar and coconut oil for butter.  Sometimes, I’ll even surprise my family by filling the nut crust with homemade frozen yogurt on a day that’s not a holiday.

Uncle Stanley passed away last year, but I think he would be happy to know his grand finale that evening was the beginning of a new tradition carried on lovingly by a nice Italian girl from New York.  Although I think I can hear him saying, “what the #!@ is sucanat?!”

 

 
 
 

 
 
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To all my Jewish students and readers, have a beautiful holiday and remember ~ it’s never too late to start a tradition.

Lemon Ice Torte

Adapted from Bon Appetit and The Silver Palate Goodtimes Cookbook
5 from 1 vote
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Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • Crust:
  • 12 ounces blanched* almonds either slivered or whole, toasted**
  • ½ cup sucanat dehydrated cane juice or cane sugar (I'm sure maple sugar or coconut sugar would work, but I haven't tried them)
  • 5 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter or coconut oil
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 pints lemon ice or sorbet, sherbet or frozen yogurt of your choice
  • Fresh berries
  • __________________________
  • Lemon Sherbet makes 6 cups:
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
  • Zest of 3 lemons
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions
 

  • If the bottom of your springform pan is not attractive and you want to remove the torte to serve on a pretty cake dish, brush the bottom of a 9-inch-diameter springform pan with melted butter or oil. Line with parchment paper. If you don't care what the torte is served on, skip this step.
  • To make the crust: Combine almonds and sugar in food processor and chop finely. Transfer to a medium bowl.
  • Add melted butter or coconut oil and cinnamon to almond mixture and combine well.
  • Transfer to the springform pan. Press almond mixture firmly 1 ½ inches up sides and over the bottom of the pan. (A metal dry measuring cup can help do this.) Freeze 15 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pan with crust on cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes. If crust sides slip, press back in place with back of a fork. Transfer pan to rack and cool completely.
  • To make lemon sherbet: combine the water, sugar and two-thirds of the lemon zest in a saucepan and heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining lemon zest and lemon juice and allow to cool to room temperature.
  • Whisk the cream into the mixture and refrigerate it until chilled, at least 2 hours.
  • Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.
  • Soften lemon ice very slightly and spread over crust. Freeze until firm. When ready to serve, unmold sides of springform pan. If you lined the pan with parchment, you will be able to transfer (carefully) the torte to another serving platter. Garnish with berries on top and serve extra on the side, if desired.

Notes

*To blanche your own almonds, place raw whole almonds in a heat-proof bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let sit for 2 minutes, but not longer or they will get soggy. Drain in a colander. The skins will slip off very easily.
**To toast the almonds, place them on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree F oven until lightly golden. Toasting freshly blanched whole almonds takes longer than slivered almonds out of a bag. The process can take anywhere from 8 to 20 minutes, depending. Watch them closely! Nuts can go from toasted to burned in seconds.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

lemon ice torte

adapted from Bon Appetit

serves 8

Crust

12 ounces blanched* almonds (either slivered or whole), toasted**

½ cup sucanat (dehydrated cane juice) or cane sugar (I’m sure maple sugar or coconut sugar would work, but I haven’t tried them)

5 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter or coconut oil

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

3 pints lemon ice (or sorbet, sherbet or frozen yogurt of your choice)

Fresh berries

  1. If the bottom of your springform pan is not attractive and you want to remove the torte to serve on a pretty cake dish, brush the bottom of a 9-inch-diameter springform pan with melted butter or oil.  Line with parchment paper.  If you don’t care what the torte is served on, skip this step.
  2. To make the crust:  Combine almonds and sugar in food processor and chop finely.  Transfer to a medium bowl.
  3. Add melted butter or coconut oil and cinnamon to almond mixture and combine well.
  4. Transfer to the springform pan.  Press almond mixture firmly 1 ½ inches up sides and over the bottom of the pan.  (A metal dry measuring cup can help do this.)  Freeze 15 minutes.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Place pan with crust on cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes.  If crust slides slip, press back in place with back of a fork.  Transfer pan to rack and cool completely.
  6. Soften lemon ice very slightly and spread over crust.  Freeze until firm.  When ready to serve, unmold sides of springform pan.  If you lined the pan with parchment, you will be able to transfer (carefully) the torte to another serving platter.  Garnish with berries on top and serve extra on the side, if desired.

 

*To blanche your own almonds, place raw whole almonds in a heat-proof bowl and add boiling water to cover.  Let sit for 2 minutes, but not longer or they will get soggy.  Drain in a colander.  The skins will slip off very easily.

**To toast the almonds, place them on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven until lightly golden.   Toasting freshly blanched whole almonds takes longer than slivered almonds out of a bag.  The process can take anywhere from 8 to 20 minutes, depending.  Watch them closely!  Nuts can go from toasted to burned in seconds.

lemon sherbet

(not dairy-free) adapted from The Silver Palate Goodtimes Cookbook

makes 6 cups

4 cups water

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

Zest of 3 lemons

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup heavy cream (I use raw cream from Organic Pastures)

  1. Combine the water, sugar and two-thirds of the lemon zest in a saucepan and heat to a simmer.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in the remaining lemon zest and lemon juice and allow to cool to room temperature.
  2. Whisk the cream into the mixture and refrigerate it until chilled, at least 2 hours.
  3. Freeze in an ice cream maker according the manufacturer’s directions.

Chocolate coconut macaroons recipe

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

If I am going to eat dessert, it better be good.  It better be worth falling off the wagon for.  Usually Passover desserts do nothing to tempt me from my sugar abstinence and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  But I cannot in good conscience be the bringer of a sticky, heavy honey nut cake or one of those Maneschewitz Passover cakes from a mix.  I want to share a dessert that I would be happy to eat any time of the year, not just on this 8-day hiatus from flour and other ingredients crucial to baking.  Enter coconut macaroons!

I have tried more coconut macaroon recipes than I care to admit (about 5 pounds worth on the hips and thighs), but this is truly the best.  This recipe is adapted slightly from pastry chef and cookbook author, David Lebovitz.  It is exactly what I want in a macaroon — toasted on the outside, dense and chewy on the inside, but not so sweet that it will make your teeth ache (probably because I cut the sugar a bit.)  I use almond meal instead of flour so that they are Passover-ready and gluten-free, because these days everyone knows someone who is not eating gluten.  I have a news flash — don’t be put off by the use of almond meal.  It’s nothing more than blanched almonds ground up (in the food processor, if you wish) to a fine meal.  My natural foods supermarket even sells almond meal in the bulk bins.

I happen to love coconut and I am a believer in all the health benefits that coconut has to offer.  It is rich in good fats, especially lauric acid which is an immune-boosting fat otherwise only found in breast milk.  The key is to start with unsweetened, shredded coconut which you can find in the bulk bins at the natural foods supermarket or in bags.  I try my hardest to use unrefined sweeteners whenever possible, but only if it makes for the best result.  In this case, granulated sugar is best here, so let’s make these cookies small, ok?

If you would like to bake these for Passover, or for your child’s mock Seder in religious school this week, then you can start cooking lickety-split.  You all know how I love a do-ahead!  You can make the macaroon batter a week ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator or even freeze it.  The cookies can be baked a few days in advance and kept in an airtight container far away from recovering sugar addicts, especially if they’re dipped in dark chocolate.  Stay tuned for another fabulous Passover-appropriate or all-around yummy dessert later this week!

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

Pamela, adapted from David Lebovitz
5 from 1 vote
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Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ cups unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon raw honey or Grade A maple syrup
  • ¼ cup almond meal or flour
  • ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 4 large egg whites
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (optional)

Instructions
 

  • In a large skillet combine coconut, sugar, honey, almond meal, salt, and egg whites. Please do as I say and COMBINE everything BEFORE placing over heat, otherwise you will end up with a coconut frittata. I'll give you one guess how I know this. Place over medium-low heat on the stove, stirring constantly. When the mixture just begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, almost about to scorch, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. You are going for sticky, not dry and pasty.
  • Transfer to a bowl to cool to room temperature. You can refrigerate the dough for up to one week or freeze up to one month.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  • Using a small ice cream scoop, form the dough into little mounds and space them evenly on the prepared sheet pans. Shape them into little pyramids, if desired.
  • Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  • If desired, melt chocolate in a heat -proof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, aka a double boiler. Dip cooled macaroons in chocolate (wherever you like -- tops, bottoms, sides) and allow to cool completely on cooling rack or on a parchment-lined baking sheet if you dipped the bottoms. If history repeats and you need to make like an Isrealite, stick the chocolate covered macaroons in the fridge to harden the chocolate quickety-quick.

Notes

You can also add some mini-chocolate chips to the cooled macaroon batter, then shape and bake.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!