Fennel, Celeriac, Parsley and Red Onion Salad

I'm spoiled. I live in New York City, surrounded by wonderful supermarkets (I have three to choose from everyday, not to mention the two that I choose not to frequent because there are better options) and one to two Greenmarkets within walking distance as well as countless others a short subway ride away. I can get fresh vegetables (in and out of season) and, while I try to eat seasonally to keep costs down and quality up, I don't fret about it too much if one of us has a hankering for eggplant or tomatoes in the middle of February.

As for how this affects my cooking, unless we're having company over, I try not to buy too many ingredients for any one meal (another side of keeping costs and waste down). So I take for granted that I'll have flavorful ingredients that don't need much to make them vibrant and tasty.

But this salad brought all these facts starkly into relief. A simple winter salad, it's a delightful mix of fennel, celeriac and parsley, all tied together with a simple olive oil and lemon juice dressing and sprinkled with toasted pumpkin seeds. Sounds perfect, no? Well, it was good but neither my celeriac nor my fennel was anywhere near as flavorful as it should have been. So, while it was tasty, it wasn't fantastic. As the vegetarian put it, "The flavors are all good but they're so quiet!"

So why, you might ask, am I even sharing this with you? Because it is good. And it's a winter salad (which is exceedingly rare. And, if you make it with exceptionally fresh ingredients (like from a garden if you're lucky enough to have one), it will be phenomenal.

I'm entering this in Raw Foods Thursday on Gluten-Free Cat. Join us!

Fennel, Celery Root, Parsley and Red Onion Salad
adapted from the Washington Post

• 2 tablespoons raw (preferably sprouted), unsalted pumpkin seeds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 bulb celeriac, peeled and cut into long thin strips
• 1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• leaves from 1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
• 1 avocado, cubed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss pumpkin seeds with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Roast 6 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

In a large bowl, toss together celeriac, fennel, onion and parsley. Add oil, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper and mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Serve, sprinkling each portion with pumpkin seeds and avocado. Bon appetit!

Additions? If you want to add some protein, a can of tuna is a delicious addition. This also works nicely on a sandwich with some sliced turkey.

Drink? A glass of Riesling.

Links:

• Fennel, Celery Root, Parsley and Red Onion Salad from Washington Post
• Fennel, Celery Root, Parsley & Red Onion Salad from My Haus
• Fennel, Celeriac, Parsley and More from Delicious Dialogues
• Fennel, Celery Root, Parsley & Red Onion Salad with Lemon & Olive Oil from Svelte Gourmand
• Fennel, Celery Root, Parsley and Red Onion Salad from ZipList.com

Red Quinoa, Roasted Celery, Brussels Sprouts, Cippolini Onions and Dulse Salad with Pumpkin Seeds and Lemon Juice

Most kids, when asked for their least favorite food, immediately say "Brussels sprouts"! When I talk to adults about Brussels sprouts, however, they usually tell me how pleasantly surprised they were to find like Brussels sprouts because of their bad rep (although spinach was always one of my favorite foods and Mom would have to make an extra batch of it just for me because I had no desire to share). I don't really remember them being a regular feature on our dinner table though, if they were ever served, I'm share I ate them because I ate everything. Except sun-dried tomatoes. But more on that another time.

One thing I know is that they're actually quite tasty! For me, I think I assumed that I didn't particularly

The first time I really remember getting into Brussels sprouts was where I got into most foods and cooking in general -- while I was living in Paris. I wish I could say that I fell in love with Brussels sprouts because of some incredible French chef at a little bistro that I stopped into but, really, I first had them because I saw a big bin of them at my local produce store and they were by far the cheapest green vegetable available for sale on that cold winter day. I had gone to the store with a French friend who said "Choux de Bruxelles? Vraiment?? But I thought Americans hate them!"

"I'm a good cook and they're cheap," I replied. "How bad could they be?" He responded that I was finally a vraie parisienne.

I don't really remember how I made them that night, but they were probably simply cooked with butter and lardons and really what could be bad with those two additions? After that night, however, they became a regular addition to my table, to the relief of both my stomach and my wallet.

Because not everyone (including the vegetarian) is such a fan of Brussels sprouts, for this recipe I shredded them and mixed them with quinoa, onions and other goodies. Bon appetit!


Red Quinoa, Roasted Celery, Brussels Sprouts, Cippolini Onions and Dulse Salad with Pumpkin Seeds and Lemon Juice
inspired by Eat to Live Cookbook

• 2/3 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup cippolini onions, peeled and halved
• 1 1/2 cups celery, diced
• 1 1/2 cups Brussels sprouts, shredded
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• dash gourmet pepper
• 1 pinch dulse
• 1/2 cup goji berries
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped

Rinse quinoa to remove bitter coating. Drain. In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes. When cooked, remove from heat (it will have absorbed the water) and let sit until you've finished the vegetables.

Heat a large saute pan over high heat. When very hot, reduce to medium and add onions. Sear for no more than 5 minutes and remove to a bowl.

Add celery and Brussels sprouts and saute 5 minutes. Add garlic, pepper, dulse, goji berries and pumpkin seeds and saute 1 more minute. Add onions back into the pan along with lemon juice. Saute, scraping up any browned bits that are sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add black pepper, reduce heat to medium-low and cover, cooking another 5 minutes or until vegetables are as tender as you like them.

Add thyme, parsley and quinoa and toss together until herbs are evenly distributed and quinoa is warmed. Excellent served either warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Links:

• 118 Guacamole from The Daniel Plan
• Greek Wowie Salad from Mystery Lovers' Kitchen
• Roasted Halloumi, Bacon and Tomato Salad from The Bacon Show
• Pininyahang Manok -- Pineapple Chicken from Deaghaidh Recipes
• Hunter's-Style Chicken from Last Night's Dinner

BED: Raw Blackberry Chia Jam

My favorite part of summer has always been the berries. Don't get me wrong -- not having to wear a coat or socks are fantastic but what always gets me most excited is seeing the farmer's markets flooded with berries. One May, when I was living in Paris, my friend Davey visited me. There, we discovered fraises gariguettes -- a special variety of strawberry that's absolutely out of this world. We bought two cartons a day -- one to eat on the way home and the other to have for dessert. They were so good that we didn't need to do anything to them; just ate them right out of the carton!

Sadly, the gariguettes are only a memory now and I no longer have the time to go to the market every day. And, while he does eat berries, the vegetarian doesn't get nearly excited enough about them to ever warrant getting more than one carton. Truth be told, he prefers his fruit mixed with wine to make sangria!

But berries are one of the few sour fruits allowed on the body ecology diet and so I knew I needed to celebrate summer by having some. But I wanted to do something more interesting than just eating them raw and it was too hot to cook them. I also didn't really want to make a dessert. Truthfully, the best time of day to have fruit is in the morning and I wanted something I could eat for breakfast. Luckily I found a recipe for Raw Blackberry Chia Jam. The really exciting thing about this jam is that it's made with chia seeds, a superfood that's very high in omega-3's and that, when combined with liquids, absorbs them to form a jelly. Cool! I've been having the jam for breakfast with buckwheat cakes (like rice cakes but made with buckwheat) that I found at a little Russian market near us. I bet you could also swirl some into vanilla ice cream for dessert. Bon appetit!

Raw Blackberry Chia Jam
adapted from Instructables

• 1 cup blackberries
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• 10-15 drops stevia extract
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Mash blackberries. Mix together everything else. Place in a covered container and set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Keeps for about 1 week. Enjoy!

Edible Inspirations:

• Raw Blackberry Chia Jam from Instructables
• Blackberry Chia Jam from Utterly Yummy!
• Easy Strawberry Chia Seed Jam from Eating Bird Food
• Triple Almond Cherry Crumble Squares from Oh She Glows
• Berry Chia Pudding from Vegan Yack Attack