Other than knowing that tacos and beer await on the other side of the Atlantic, here isn’t much about an 11-hour flight that I look forward to.

I am not one of those people who can easily fall asleep on airplanes; rather, I’m the one sitting in the dark, reading my book underneath a single beam of light while everyone else around me is dozing. I gave up on watching inflight movies awhile back, because they were too hard to see on the tiny monitors. My fancy headphones need to be either repaired or replaced; I can’t listen to music without constantly having to give the wires a jiggle.

However, there is one thing that I love about flying: the food.

Like any good road trip, an air trip isn’t complete without the right take-along snacks. Since there’s no pulling into the nearest DQ along the highway for a Butterfinger Blizzard, I’ve come up with a list of to-go treats to make the long haul more enjoyable:

1. Almonds.

2. Fruit & Form bars. I like the ones with les fruits rouges the best. They taste like crackers with homemade raspberry-blueberry jam.

3. Ritz crackers for salty cravings. They only come in small boxes in France, anyway, which makes them perfect for air travel.

4. Gaufres au miel. Waffles with honey. I discovered these oversize crunchy cookies when I first moved to France and ate an entire box on a train trip to Germany.

5. Something chocolate. I often pack a chocolate bar, but on this trip, I made my own chocolate-chocolate chip brownies, and cut them into tiny squares, so I wouldn’t eat it all at once.

6. Lunch. I always make a vegetarian something with quinoa, usually a salad with roasted veggies very much like these, but it all depends on what’s in season. The idea is to make something that’s easy to put together, and that’ll be filling, but not heavy. I always think about texture, color, and crunch and try to steer clear of anything that’ll be tricky to digest. This is the first time I’ve made this salad, and I was so happy with it, it’s going to become a regular — for trips and for staying home, too.

This may seem like a lot, and it sort of is…but I always end up sharing, which is part of the fun of eating, anyway. Wherever you happen to be.

Beet, Roasted Pumpkin and Avocado Salad

Makes 4 servings

• 2 medium beets
• about 1 pound/500 grams of whole pumpkin
• olive oil
• sea salt and pepper
• 1 cup/170 grams of quinoa
• 1 avocado
• a small handful of toasted sunflower seeds
• E-Z French vinaigrette (recipe follows)

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F/200°C.

2. Trim the ends off of the beets, give them a good rinse and dry, and wrap them with heavy duty foil. Put the foil-wrapped beets on a cookie sheet and slide them into the oven to bake for an hour, depending on the size of your beets. To check doneness, simply take them out of the oven, unwrap the foil – do this carefully so you don’t burn yourself — and slide a dinner knife into the beet. It’s done if it easily cuts through the beet. If it doesn’t, just wrap it back up, and put it back in the oven. When they’re done, let the beets completely cool in the foil before slicing – and don’t wear white when you do.

3. Turn the heat to broil, and line a cookie sheet with foil. Put the pumpkin on the cookie sheet, toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and slide into the oven. Cook until the pumpkin browns on the edges, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

4. Cook your quinoa by putting two cups of salted water onto boil, and when it boils, add the 1 cup of quinoa. Turn of the heat, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes or until the quinoa absorbs all of the water. Fluff.

5. To assemble your salad, simply put the beets, pumpkin, quinoa, avocado, and sunflower seeds in a bowl and toss with some of the EZ Dijon Vinaigrette. Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature.

Advance Planning: Roast the beets and pumpkin ahead of time and simply assemble when you’re ready.

E-Z French Vinaigrette

Makes ¾ cup

• ¼ cup/60 ml of sherry vinegar
• 1 minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• sea salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh herbs (basil, thyme, chives)
• ½ cup/120 ml of  olive oil

Put your sherry vinegar, minced shallot, mustard, a big pinch of salt and pepper and herbs in a jam jar, and shake until combined. Let rest for about 10 minutes — this softens the intensity of the shallots’ flavor and allows the salt to dissolve, then add the olive oil. Taste for seasonings.

You’d think that the last thing that I’d do when I’m procrastinating, and just not ready to jump into the day’s mountain of work, is look at recipes and cookbooks, but that’s often what I do. I have piles — piles, I tell you! — of print-outs of new recipes to try, all over my desk, in baskets, stuck onto the fridge, and stuffed into cookbooks, too. They’re all over the place.

In my procrastination, the other day, I decided that I needed to clean up the mess on my desk before I started to work (another way of actually not working), and I found a recipe from Martha Rose Shulman in The New York Times, for Spicy Quinoa, Tomato and Cucumber Salad. So I put it aside. As I continued to straighten things up, I started thumbing through Yottam Ottolenghi’s vegetarian cookbook, “Plenty,” which I sometimes do for inspiration (another guilt-free procrastination technique) – and I saw Quinoa and Grilled Sourdough Bread Salad.

I stuffed the NYT recipe into the cookbook, and kept on.

The night before, I had a soggy baguette from all of the humidity and rain we’ve been having around here, and because I was feeling quite lazy, instead of slicing the bread into neat little cubes, I just tore it up and made croutons (which I will do from now on).

I love bread salads, and I’ve also been in the mood for grains lately, because it seems like my healthy eating habits left for vacation some time ago. So I combined these two recipes, tweaked them a bit, and made this salad for dinner the other night. I enlisted X to slice the cucumber while I chopped the tomatoes and sliced the onions, and it took no time at all.

We sat outside in the garden and ate nearly all of this, even though I think that it would actually serve four people just fine.

The vinaigrette is the key to turning this classic Tuscan salad into something completely different – the cilantro and spicy chile give it a bit of heat, which reminds me of home.

The flavors, I mean, y’all. Not those 30-something days of 100-degree heat. I miss Texas, but I don’t miss that nonsense.

Quinoa and Bread Salad

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

• ½ of a stale baguette
• olive oil
• sea salt and pepper
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 large diced tomatoes
• 1 large cucumber, unpeeled
• ½ of a red onion, very thinly sliced
• about 3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice (I used the juice of 1 1/2 limes)
• 1 minced clove of garlic
• small handful of chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar
• 1 diced avocado

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F and tear up the baguette into bite-size pieces — this is my lazy, “rustic” way of making homemade croutons. Toss the croutons on a cookie sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and add a big pinch of salt and pepper and slide into the oven for about 15 minutes, or until they’re nice and crispy. You can also do this in advance, or whenever you have stale bread, and just keep them in a plastic bag in the fridge.

2. Cook the quinoa. Put 2 cups of water onto boil with a pinch of salt and when it boils, add the quinoa, cover the pot, turn the heat down to a simmer, and set the timer for 10 minutes. Let the quinoa rest, lid on, until it soaks up the rest of the water, fluff, and let cool.

3. Slice your cucumber into rounds, and then quarter them. Toss them in a large bowl along with the tomatoes, and red onion slices.

4. Make your vinaigrette by putting the lime juice, minced garlic, sherry vinegar and a pinch of salt in a jam jar and giving it a good shake. Let rest 10 minutes or so, and then add the olive oil. Taste for seasonings.

5. Right before serving, add the croutons and quinoa to your veggies and toss with the vinaigrette. You might not need all of the quinoa or all of the vinaigrette — you can save the rest of the vinaigrette in the fridge, and pop the remaining quinoa in the freezer and simply thaw and use when you’re ready.

It may sound strange to say that while I’m testing recipes for my cookbook, I don’t always think about dinner, but that’s exactly how it goes. So I told X that I needed him to pitch in, and he has.

One night he made grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, which he does quite well – he uses either a Comté or a very sharp cheddar, heaps it up on Poilane bread, and makes sure each side is evenly browned and crispy. His other specialty is this salad, which is really, really delicious.

I know. I can’t believe I’m saying this, either.

He made this for me the first time years ago, when we were still dating (and he was no doubt trying to impress me), and we were on vacation in Biarritz. It was summertime, and we’d spend days lounging in the sun, doing the crossword puzzles together in French, or going for a hike in the Pyrenees nearby. At night, we’d  usually either walk to our favorite tapas bar, Bar Jean, or we’d stay in and cook.

One night, he told me to stay out of the kitchen, because he was making dinner. Well, I love it when anyone cooks for me, so I just stayed right where I’d been most of the day, on my lounge chair right there on the patio, overlooking the waves crashing onto the oversize rocks.

I think he even made a vinaigrette. In any case, it was fresh and light, and the best part about this salad, X says, is that you can put whatever you want in the bowl. Undressed and well-covered, it’ll keep for another day, which is great in the summertime, when the last thing you want to do at the end of the day is think about dinner.

So the other week, the day after grilled cheese sandwich night, he made his salad for me again.  I was so happy that he did.

X’s Salade

This is a list of what he put in the salad (above), but these ingredients may vary, according to whim and what’s available at the stinky Franprix, which is where X likes to do his grocery shopping.

1 carton of white mushrooms, quartered

1 can of hearts of palm, sliced

2 endives, sliced

2 chicken breasts, which he cut in small pieces and sautéed in butter (he’s French, remember)

2 or 3 thick slices of good ham, cut into bite-size pieces

2 hard-boiled eggs

1 cucumber, sliced

1 baby Romaine, leaves gently torn

X usually puts cherry tomatoes in this, too, but he told me that he forgot. Chunks or crumbles of cheese of any sort would also be nice. Shrimp. Or just go veg.

For a vinaigrette, you may want to make my E-Z Dijon vinaigrette, which you can find here.

I hope it’s salad night again soon (hint, hint).

]]> http://cowgirlchef.com/2011/05/22/the-easiest-salad-in-the-world/feed/ 1 http://cowgirlchef.com/2011/03/22/end-of-winter-sidesalad/ http://cowgirlchef.com/2011/03/22/end-of-winter-sidesalad/#comments Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:13:02 +0000 epierce http://cowgirlchef.com/?p=5531

Do y’all remember my End of Summer Salad post awhile back, and how wistful I was, not wanting summer to end?

Let me assure you, that this is not the case today. I am ready to kick winter to the curb. I’m still wearing the big black puffy down coat that I’ve been wearing, oh, since sometime around the first of October, best I can recollect. (I know, I know. I once said that I loved wearing scarves and gloves and hats and bundling up in the cold blah, blah, blah, but enough is enough.)

Even more depressing is the lack of interesting produce right now. Once vibrant and hopeful, the weekly markets are stuck in that betwixt and between stage, offering the last roots, cabbages and other dark leafy things. Sadly, we’re still a few weeks away from asparagus, which is when spring – and all of the fun that comes along with it – really begins.

On Sunday, X, Rose and I drove to the forest near Versailles, and afterwards, went to the market to pick up a few things for the week. I bought what will be perhaps my last bunch of Swiss chard, a kilo of spinach, and what turned out to be a sack of subpar Brussels sprouts, which I hope to trim up and roast later this week, in hopes of coaxing out a bit of flavor.

Note to self: Do not buy from the vegetable seller that’s next to the rotisserie chicken stand and the flirty straw shopping bag man in Versailles.

The spinach wasn’t the best that I’d ever seen, either, so I picked through what I had, and cleaned it up. After I tossed out the bad leaves, I didn’t have much left, so I decided to cut up the Swiss chard, too, and add this to the mix.

I’d been wanting to try out a new grain that I found a couple of months ago, called petit épautre, which I thought could be the base to pull this all together. Turns out, this grain, grown in Provence, is an ancient form of wheat that’s been around since 16,000 B.C. or so, give or take a millennia. It’s also known as triticum monococcum, but I like petit épautre better. It’s cuter and easier to pronounce.

Either way, it’s a wonderful grain – sweet and nutty  – it has more protein than wheat, and is high in vitamin B and magnesium. It takes nearly an hour to cook (but unlike rice, isn’t fussy), and can be swapped out for rice or pasta or any other grainy thing that you might otherwise use.

If you can’t find this in the U.S., I’d suggest using barley or something with a similar texture.

The rest of the recipe is dump-and-stir: sweet white raisins to balance the slightly bitter greens; toasted almonds for crunch; red pepper flakes for a bit of zing; and creamy goat cheese because I love it so.

I loved this salad, too.

Voila, winter. Here’s your denouement.

Now, get outta here. I’m over you.

End of Winter Side/Salad

Makes 6-8 side servings or 4 larger ones

INGREDIENTS

1 cup petit épautre or barley
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 oz. spinach, washed, and stalks trimmed (and removed if the pieces are large), chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 bunch Swiss chard, well-rinsed and chopped into 1/2-inch ribbons
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
pinch nutmeg
½ teaspoon lemon zest
⅓ cup white raisins
2 oz. toasted almonds (or pine nuts or your favorite nut)
2 oz. goat cheese
pinch red pepper flakes

1. Cook the petit épautre or grain of your choice according to the directions on the package, and set aside to cool.

2. Pour the olive oil into a large skillet and turn the heat on medium. Add the spinach, Swiss chard, salt, pepper, nutmeg and lemon zest and cook only for a few minutes, or until it slightly wilts. Drain in a colander.

3. Toss the greens with the grains, and add raisins, almonds, goat cheese and red pepper flakes. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.

Cowgirl Tip: You may use any kind of greens that you like here – kale or turnip greens would be great, too.

]]> http://cowgirlchef.com/2011/03/22/end-of-winter-sidesalad/feed/ 0 http://cowgirlchef.com/2011/01/07/mandarin-orange-and-arugula-salad-with-honey-vinaigrette/ http://cowgirlchef.com/2011/01/07/mandarin-orange-and-arugula-salad-with-honey-vinaigrette/#comments Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:00:22 +0000 epierce http://cowgirlchef.com/?p=4950

Crunchy. Salty. Peppery. Nutty. Sweet.

Today, dear readers, I give you the salad that’s got it all. Right in the middle of winter, no less.

Oh how I love that.

I hope you do, too.

I’ve been mad about the little Mandarins lately – and who wouldn’t be, when they’re heaped up like bumpy orange mountains at the market, and they’re practically giving them away at 1 euro a kilo? I can’t stop buying them, can’t stop eating them, can’t stop thinking about how lovely they are, these cheerful little sunshiney orbs, in the midst of the coldest winter Paris has seen since 1969.

Or so they say.

For the record, I’m no longer going on and on about how much I love winter (I do love winter as long as it’s not too cold, and not for too long). Winter, this year, has been completely unreasonable. Like an unwanted relative, it came too soon, without so much as a phone call to warn of its arrival, and it appears that it has moved in for good.

So thank goodness for the Mandarins, which are doing a darn fine job in brightening the gloomy winter days around here.

I don’t mind telling you that I ate most of what you see in this rather large bowl for dinner the other night, and it lifted my spirits like you wouldn’t believe.

Which is why I chose this salad for our healthy, get-the-New-Year-off-to-a-good-start #LetsLunch post today. Our little group has grown and we’ve gotten to know each other bit by bit over the last – gasp – year and a half, it’s been bright, and fun, and lively all the way — it’s been a great ride so far, hasn’t it, y’all?

Can’t wait to see what 2011 brings for all of us.

Here’s what the others have posted:

Emma’s Quinoa with Veggies

Rasha’s Curried Black-eyed Peas, Brown Rice and Beer

Steff’s Story of the Good, the Bad, the Frittata

Cheryl’s Watercress Soup

Linda’s Mesquite Date Muffins

Cathy’s Avocado, Grapefruit and Shrimp Tartine

Mai’s Spicy Cauliflower

By the way, f you’re just joining in, you may also check out the goings on Twitter, by typing in the hashtag, #LetsLunch. If you’d like to be a part of the group, come on, then – the more, the merrier!

Mandarin Orange and Arugula Salad with Honey Vinaigrette

Makes 4 small or 2 large-ish servings

INGREDIENTS

1 shallot, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
¼ cup sherry vinegar
½ cup grapeseed oil
sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1 shallot, thinly sliced
6 oz. arugula
4-5 Mandarin oranges, peeled, sectioned and big pieces of pith removed
2 oz. sliced almonds, toasted
2 oz. Roquefort, crumbled

1. Make the vinaigrette. Put the minced shallot, Dijon mustard, honey and sherry vinegar in a jam jar and give it a shake. Let it rest for 10 minutes, at least, before you add the rest. Then, add the grapeseed oil, and a pinch of sea salt and pepper, and give it a taste. If you need to add more salt or pepper, now’s the time.

2. Assemble the salad. In a large serving bowl, put the arugula, orange pieces, almonds, Roquefort, and thin slices of shallot. At the very last moment before serving, drizzle about one-third of the dressing, gently toss, and taste.

Serve immediately. 
The leftover dressing will keep in the fridge for a few days.

]]> http://cowgirlchef.com/2011/01/07/mandarin-orange-and-arugula-salad-with-honey-vinaigrette/feed/ 13 http://cowgirlchef.com/2010/12/10/mushroom-leek-quinoa-salad/ http://cowgirlchef.com/2010/12/10/mushroom-leek-quinoa-salad/#comments Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:49:25 +0000 epierce http://cowgirlchef.com/?p=4682

Like so many things around here, this little salad was born from a mistake — a half-pound of button mushrooms cooked to that just-brown -around-the-edges-crispy-perfection that I thought would work in a savory tart, but didn’t. I’d already promised X mushroom something for dinner, and I didn’t want to waste them, either.

I wasn’t leaving the house again. Not even to the stinky Franprix down the street. It had snowed. Then it rained. It was still below freezing, and I was tired of leaving the apartment dry, and then coming home wet and cold. So whatever I made, it would be with what I had on hand.

I had leeks, already roasted, also in the fridge – some would be for the tart, I decided, and the rest, for this — a great, nutty side that’s super-protein packed with both red and regular-colored quinoa.

So we had our tart for dinner and I served up this salad, too — and got rave reviews from X, the mushroom fanatic. Now that I’ve easily put this salad together completely by accident, I think that I’ll make it a fall-winter regular.

I don’t know about y’all, but this happens to me all the time. I start out in one direction, something unexpected happens, and I take a different route altogether, and end up in a much more interesting place then I’d imagined.

Let the spirit of adventure – in the kitchen and otherwise – take us into the holiday season and into the new year.

And of culinary camaraderie, too — this is my offering for this Friday’s “Let’s Lunch” gang of food bloggers across the globe. Cheers, y’all!

Today’s assignment: a holiday side (but I think that I’m going to make this whenever the mood strikes).

Come join us! Just type in the hashtag, #letslunch, on Twitter, or check out the links below.

Hot Curries & Cold Beer’s Green Beans with a Taste of Bengal

The Kitchen Trials’ Parker House Rolls with Molasses Butter

A Tiger in the Kitchen’s Spicy Pickled Beets

Free Range Cookies’ Green Bean Casserole

Cooking in the Fruit Bowl’s Kimchi Risotto Bake

Geofooding’s Side Dish of Life

Bon Vivant’s Leek Gratin

Dreaming of Pots and Pans’ Dave’s Peasant Bread

Mushroom, Leek and Quinoa Salad

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

½ pound button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, sliced (white parts only)
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
½ cup regular quinoa
½ cup red quinoa*
zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon fresh thyme
Preheat oven to broil.

1. While the oven’s heating, cook the mushrooms. In a large skillet, drizzle the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and turn the heat on medium. When the skillet’s hot, add the mushrooms, a bit of salt and freshly ground pepper, and cook until they’re crispy and brown. (Cowgirl Tip: Be sure and give the mushrooms plenty of room. A crowded skillet makes for soggy ’shrooms.)

2. Put the leeks on a foil-lined cookie sheet and toss with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a bit of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Slide into the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until they begin to brown on the edges.

3. Cook the quinoa. Remember, it’s always 2:1/water to quinoa. Put 2 cups of water onto boil, and add a pinch or two of salt. When the water boils, stir in both the regular and red quinoa, cover, and turn off the heat. Set the timer for 10 minutes. When it buzzes, it’s done.

4. Assemble the salad. Simply fluff up the quinoa and put in a large bowl, add the cooked mushrooms, the leeks, the lemon juice, zest, and thyme. Taste for additional seasonings.

*If you can’t find red quinoa, no worries. Simply use 1 cup of regular quinoa.

Cue the singing angels: the stinky stinky Franprix down the street is now open on Sunday. (Gosh, it’s almost — dare I say it? — like America! A grocery store — albeit a small one and with rotting vegetables — open seven days a week!)

When this big announcement was made with much fanfare  awhile back, I knew that my life in Paris had taken a change for the better, and that I’d have one less thing to complain about — but remember y’all, “open on Sunday” doesn’t mean open all day, or even anything close. It means open from 9 am until 1 pm, which, for some reason, I can’t seem to remember.

So there I was on Sunday, dashing out of the apartment with my hemp Whole Foods/London bag slung over my shoulder, at 1:55, with a short list of items to buy for dinner. I arrived at the Franprix, out of breath, only to see the two surly cashiers on the other side of the locked-tight automatic doors, standing there, waiting — for me, perhaps? —  so they could have a good laugh.

Heh, heh, heh. Tant pis, les Americains! Hmmphf! Thees is not le 7-11! Heh, heh.

Deflated, my empty sack and I returned to the apartment, and ducked into the kitchen, without a clue about what to make for dinner.

But the little cherry tomatoes and the hunk of country bread that X had bought a couple of days before had other ideas. My dinner plan soon turned into eat-up-what’s-about-to-go-bad.

Which is how I came up with what I’m calling “Sunday Tuna Salad,” something that’s so good, I’ll make again and again, any night of the week.

This is also a bit summery (I told you I wasn’t ready to say goodbye), and it’s a riff on panzanella, the Tuscan stale bread salad that’s made with bread, tomatoes, cukes, and onions, and a few other things — only this version isn’t soggy; in fact, with crispy garlic and olive oil croutons, it’s just the opposite.

The key here is using olive oil-packed tuna, which I really recommend. Yes, yes, I know, it’s a bit more expensive, but it makes this quickie salad special. Other than that, a couple of hard-boiled eggs, Kalamata olives, capers, and some basil, and that’s pretty much it.

I’m really, really happy that the Franprix was closed.

Sunday Tuna Salad

INGREDIENTS

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (you can use more or less here, depending on what you’ve got on hand)
1 160 gram/6 oz can tuna packed in olive oil, drained
12 Kalamata olives, split in half and pits removed
2 tablespoons capers, drained
4 leaves fresh basil, roughly torn
4 thick slices country bread (or you may use any leftover stale bread)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
Basil-lime oil, recipe follows
2 large eggs

1. In a large bowl, put the halved tomatoes, tuna, capers, Kalamata olives, and 2 leaves of the torn basil.

2. Cut the bread into 1 to 2-inch chunks, depending on how you like your croutons (I like ‘em big). Drizzle the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, deep skillet, add the minced garlic, and turn the heat on medium-low. Let the oil and garlic warm just a bit and add the bread cubes. Watch these carefully as they cook and turn the croutons so all sides get a bit of the oil and garlic, and have the chance to get a bit crispy. When cooked, spread the croutons on a cookie sheet so they’ll stay crisp as they cool.

3. Boil the eggs. Put the two eggs in a saucepan, cover with cold water, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. When the water boils, turn heat down to a simmer and set the timer for 10 minutes. When the buzzer goes off, put the saucepan in the sink, run cold water over it, and take out the eggs. Peel and roughly chop.

4. When ready to serve, add the chopped eggs to the large bowl, and the cooled croutons, too. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of basil oil on top, and taste for salt and pepper.

Basil-Lime Oil

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon basil, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
zest of one lime
⅓ cup olive oil
sea salt
pepper

Put first 4 ingredients in a jam jar, and shake. Salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for an hour, at least, before using. Will keep for a week or two in the fridge.

Truth is, I’m not ready to write this post. For summer to be in my rear view mirror, getting smaller by the minute. (Rhubarb, we spent so little time together. You left without saying a proper goodbye, which I must tell you, I felt was quite rude. Strawberries, cherries, peas, tiny girolles, for God’s sake, DON’T GO! Not yet. Please. I’m begging y’all.)

Last week, at President Wilson Market, I bought nectarines and peaches, and paid dearly for them, too –8 euros — for two of each. I know what this means. It’s over for them, too.

Sigh.

So, I must let go. Let go and let fall, well, fall upon us.

In the spirit of saying au revoir to what has been my juiciest, fruitiest and veggiest summer ever, I threw together this little salad the other night. One overpriced peach, a couple of beautiful tomatoes, an avocado, along with some of the cute goat cheese man’s wonderful chevre, and, voila, I had salade. With each bite, I said goodbye – until next year.

Today, I’m off to the market in anticipation of returning with a full lime green wheely cart of the goodies that I’ll find. I know that the beautiful, oh-so-sweet Reine Claudes are here, and so are the lovely yellow mirabelles..and I saw the first potimarrons and cepes the other day, which I’m very excited about. Also, figs. I think that I’ll find some lovely figs today.

Oh how I love figs!

End of Summer Salad

INGREDIENTS

1 large avocado
2 medium tomatoes (I used one red and one green zebra)
1 large peach
125 grams/4.5 oz fresh chevre
6-8 leaves fresh basil, torn
appx 2 tablespoons almonds, toasted
splash sherry vinegar
drizzle olive oil
pinch sea salt
pinch pepper

Chop the avocado, tomatoes, and peach into pieces roughly the same size and put in a medium bowl. Add just a splash of sherry vinegar and olive oil, the pinch of salt and of pepper and very gently toss. Taste for seasonings and when ready to serve, add the chevre, toasted almonds, and torn pieces of basil. Looks so much prettier that way.

]]> http://cowgirlchef.com/2010/09/01/end-of-summer-salad/feed/ 6 http://cowgirlchef.com/2010/08/27/salmon-lentil-salad/ http://cowgirlchef.com/2010/08/27/salmon-lentil-salad/#comments Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:29:43 +0000 epierce http://cowgirlchef.com/?p=3263

Continuing this summer’s theme of keeping the oven in “OFF” position as much as possible, I came up with this little number, a super-simple, tres Frenchy way to eat salmon.

Here’s what happened: I’d made the lentils a day before, and they were hanging out in the fridge, just waiting for something to come along and jazz them up. Enter salmon — I consider myself lucky to have a fish guy that sets up at the St. Didier market every Saturday, and sells super-fresh fish, and at a reasonable price, which is always a bonus in my Birkin/Goyard totin’ quartier. (Remember, I’m the one in beat-up cowboy boots, with a hemp Whole Foods/London bag slung over my shoulder.)

All I did was cook up the salmon, let it cool, and make the dressing. About 15 minutes, tops.

Despite the heat that we’ve had around here, I’m really enjoying the challenge of cooking in a different way. Without the benefit of an A/C, I’m constantly thinking of what sorts of foods will be cool, light, and tasty, too. This scores high in all three categories — or as X likes to say when he takes a bite of something new and likes it instantly, “Winner!”

Salmon-Lentil Salad

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
2 pieces of appx 130gram/4.5 oz salmon filets, with skin
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
680 grams/3 cups cooked lentils du Puy, recipe follows
125 grams/4.5 oz fresh brebis or chevre
1 medium tomato, chopped in large chunks
4 leaves basil
2 ounces toasted pine nuts (for garnish; optional)
Noisette vinaigrette, recipe follows

Preheat oven to broil.

1. Rinse and pat dry the salmon, and put about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on each, making sure to evenly coat (and include the skin). Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, salt and pepper, and slide into the oven. Watch this carefully — it’ll only take 7-10 minutes to cook, depending on the thickness of your salmon. When it’s cooked, just let it cool, with a little foil tent on top if you’d like for it to stay a bit warm.

2. Assemble the salad. Spoon 1 1/2 cups lentils in a shallow bowl. Flake the salmon on top of the lentils, then add pieces of the brebis or chevre, the tomatoes, the basil and the pine nuts. Drizzle a bit of the vinaigrette over it all and serve.

Note: I like this best cold, as a summer dish, but you could serve it warm, too.

Lentils

INGREDIENTS

500 grams (1 pound) lentils du Puy, rinsed
½ medium white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
32 oz water
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Drizzle olive oil in a medium stockpot, add the chopped onion and minced garlic, and turn the heat onto medium and cook until the onion becomes translucent, 5-10 minutes. Add the lentils and water and cook until it boils. Cover, and cook for 45 minutes, or until the lentils become soft, but not mushy. Be sure to check the lentils every now and then as they cook – you may need to add a bit more water as they cook.

2. When the lentils are cooked, let them cool and then put in a container in the fridge until you’re ready to eat them.

Noisette Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS

⅓ cup sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced shallots
pinch sea salt
pinch pepper
⅓ cup olive oil
⅓ cup noisette (hazelnut) oil

1. Put everything but the olive oil and noisette oil in a jar (I always use old jam jars for my dressings) and shake until combined.

2. Add oil, shake again, taste, and adjust for seasonings if necessary.

I didn’t have any grand notions when putting this salad together, other than using up the big ol’ cucumber that I had in the fridge drawer and the two ripe tomatoes leftover from my trip to the market a few days ago (from Joel Thiebault’s “Summer Collection/2010″ – and at a price of 9 euros a kilo, I expected them to come in monogrammed felt drawstring sacks). I thought that it would be okay, but really wasn’t too focused on this other than being, you know, a side. It was almost an afterthought, I’m embarrassed to admit.

Which just goes to show you. Good, simple produce speaks for itself, and is never dull, never boring, and always fantastic. In this case, the combo of cukes and tomatoes, with basil and fresh chevre from the tres cute cheese man at the market was sublime. I just added a splash of sherry vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil, and that was it.

X ate plateful after plateful and went on about how these tomatoes reminded him of his summer vacations in Nice and in Greece. I told him that my summers were more of the Port Aransas, Texas variety, which meant beach picnic lunches of Fritos and bean dip, and sandwiches made with New Braunfels sausage and German-style mustard.

Sometimes (often) I complain about the high price of some things (everything) here, but when it comes to food, I just open my wallet until it’s empty. Sure, it’s crazy to think that tomatoes could cost so much, but if they can evoke such great memories, then, in my book, they’re priceless.

Note: For two other great ways to use cucumbers this summer — Cucumber-Avocado Gazpacho and Cucumber-Fennel Slaw — please check out my recent column for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS

1 large cucumber, peeled and seeded
2 large tomatoes
few leaves basil
splash sherry vinegar
splash olive oil
sea salt
pepper
125 grams/4.5 oz fresh chevre

Cut the cucumber and tomatoes in nice bite-size pieces of about 1-inch. Put in a bowl, add salt and pepper, and let this sit for about a half hour or so. Before serving, add a bit of sherry vinegar and olive oil, toss and taste. If the flavors are balanced, then go ahead and top with the fresh chevre and basil, and serve.

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