Beets, Buckwheat, & Chevre

By Caitlin Gaylord Churchill, Perishable & Dairy Buyer and Comanager

Originally this was a recipe for roasted beets and farro, which I found on the illustrious FoodNetwork.com. I don’t find farro to be that interesting of a grain, so this is the jazzed up version. It takes a little longer to prepare, but I find that it’s more interesting. You can leave out the cheese entirely and it’s still delish.

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds small beets (I like to mix red and yellow)

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• Sea Salt and Black Pepper

• 5 sprigs thyme

• 2 cloves garlic, unpeeled

• ½ cup shelled raw pistachios

• ½ cup pitted prunes, diced

• 4 tablespoons salted butter or earth balance

• 1½ cups buckwheat kasha

• 3 cups of vegetable stock

• 4 ounces chevre or Heidi Ho vegan goat cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Cut beets into halves. Combine the beets, olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, some pepper, the thyme sprigs, and the garlic cloves on a baking sheet. Cover with foil and roast for 30 to 35 minutes, until easily pierced with a paring knife. During that time on another rack in the oven, roast the pistachios for 5 minutes. Set aside both to cool completely.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan or deep saute pan over medium heat. Add the buckwheat and stir until coated with butter and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the prunes and add 3 cups of stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and let simmer on low for 25 minutes. With a paper towel, remove the skins from the beets. Quarter the beets and add them to the bowl with the cooked buckwheat. Fold in the toasted pistachios.

Squeeze the roasted garlic into a small bowl. Mash it with a fork and season with salt and pepper, and then stir it into the salad. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine. Top with the crumbled goat cheese.

Angelica's Kitchen Potato Leek Soup with Greens

By Caitlin Gaylord Churchill, Perishable & Dairy Buyer and Comanager

When I was in my late teens and early twenties I would sometimes go into The City (you know, New York) for a weekend with friends. I had very little money, but what money I had I hoarded and then spent exclusively on restaurant food. I would walk all over and eat samosas in a basement level quicky mart with cab drivers on the lower east side, and then oysters at the cavernous Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station. One place that was frequently on the list to visit was Angelica’s Kitchen – one of the first hip vegetarian restaurants ever. Gluten Free Corn Bread – they had it before it was cool. This potato leek soup is like a free trip to that restaurant. It’s familiar and comforting but somehow also bright and healthy. It comes out a lovely green once it’s pureed. The only next level cooking tool you might need is an immersion blender – you could use a regular food processor but it would take a lot of ladling hot soup back and forth – not my favorite way to pass the time.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2 large leeks, whites only

• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled

• 4-5 cups of vegetable stock

• 1 pound yukon gold potatoes diced into ½” cubes

• 2 bunches of spinach or watercress, washed, drained and coarsely chopped (frozen is fine if defrosted)

• 1 tablespoon tarragon, leaves only

• Juice of 1 lemon, fresh

Instructions

Combine the ¼ cup oil, leeks and whole garlic cloves in a heavybottomed pot or deep sauce pan over medium heat. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes.

Add pinch of salt, lower the heat, cover and cook 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

Add the potatoes and enough stock to cover them, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Add the spinach or watercress to the soup and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes longer. Add tarragon and remaining olive oil, and then blend the soup until creamy with an immersion blender, or in a blender or food processor. Stir in lemon juice, season with salt and pepper to taste.

If the soup is too thick, thin with additional stock to desired consistency.

Best polenta, mushrooms & kale

A quick supper for an autumn weeknight, celebrating some staples of the Northwest. 

Ingredients

• About a cup of cremini mushrooms

• Butter (or substitute olive oil)

• Olive or canola oil

• 1 cup polenta (maybe some special kind, grown near you, with no GMOs! Like the kind sold at People’s Food Co-op in bulk!)

• Salt

• Kale, just a few leaves

• About 1 cup of oyster or other more unusual mushrooms

• Black pepper

• Mustard

• Beer or wine (optional)

Slice the cremini mushrooms. Put butter and a small drizzle of oil in a cast iron pan, raise the heat to high and add the mushrooms. Stir to coat, reduce the heat to medium and cook without crowding until they start to color on one side. Flip them with a spatula and cook until colored on the other side. Towards the end, turn the heat back up to high and press down on them with your spatula. The remaining water should sputter out and evaporate, and the edges should crisp just perfectly. Swiftly remove and set aside. 

Cook the polenta in a heavy-bottomed saucepan: mix the polenta with 4 cups of water, 1 teaspoon salt and olive oil, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, stir. When it first starts to really thicken, add the cremini mushrooms and a knob of butter. When it starts to thicken dramatically, reduce the heat to as low as it’ll go and stir in another pat of butter. De-stem the kale leaves and cut them into ribbons. Stir them in, cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let the polenta rest so that the kale can steam. 

In the mushroom pan, add more butter and oil. Cook the fancier mushrooms in pulled-apart pieces on medium-high heat. Add a drop of mustard, maybe a splash of beer or wine if you are drinking any. Add some salt and a heavy cracking of black pepper. 

Serve the polenta with kale ribbons in a bowl, topped with the fancier mushrooms and a dusting of flaky salt. 

Extra ideas

This kind of dinner can also be made with delicious polenta triangles. This is an adaptation of “Erico’s Easy Polenta,” on the back of the Golden Pheasant bag. 

Ingredients

• 3 1⁄4 cups lukewarm water

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup polenta

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for frying

• 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for the dish (or use olive oil)

Butter a ceramic baking dish. Pour in the water. Stir in the salt to dissolve it. Add the polenta and olive oil, stirring to distribute the oil and avoid clumping. Bake at 350 degrees F, uncovered, for 50 minutes. Run a fork through it, spread melted butter over the top with a rubber spatula, and bake for 10 more minutes. Let cool, then cut into triangles. Fry up in oil, and top with mushrooms and kale or other delicious things. Roasted squash, roasted garlic, roasted cauliflower?  Chickpea curry? Ratatouille? 

Celeriac, Fennel & Orange Salad

Ingredients

• 1 celeriac

• 1 fennel bulb

• 3 blood oranges

• 1 lemon

• 1 large navel or cara cara orange

• olive oil

• almonds (handful)

• tarragon

• white wine vinegar

Prepare a big bowl with cold water. Drop in some lemon juice from a bottle or a fruit. 

Peel the celeriac. Drop into the lemon bath immediately. 

Trim the fennel (reserving the tops with fronds) and slice into thin boomerangs. Move them to the lemon bath. Take out the celeriac, cut it in half, put the other half back. Keep cutting the celeriac now into thin-to-medium matchsticks. Moving the finished ones to the lemon bath, then repeating with the second half of the vegetable. 

Cut the oranges into 1/4 inch rounds. Trim the peels with a paring knife. Cut little triangular pieces, removing center seeds or any remaining pith, so you have clean and beautiful jewels of citrus. 

Drain the lemon bath, add more lemon juice, a splash of tarragon white wine vinegar, and olive oil. Toss to dress. 

Chop the handful of almonds roughly, just making sure some pieces are quite small. 

Assemble each serving separately. Take the celeriac and fennel pieces, make a nice pile, add pieces of orange, toss over some almonds, drizzle over some good finishing-olive oil, crack on black pepper, toss on some finishing salt, then tear fennel fronds over the whole thing. 

Recipe courtesy of Andrew Barton, photo credits Peter Schweitzer.

Rutabaga Fries with Paprika & Caraway Ketchup

Ingredients

• About one medium rutabaga per person

• Oil, enough to cover an inch of a pot or pan

• Salt

• Paprika

• Ketchup

• A tablespoon or two of caraway seeds

Peel and trim the rutabaga. Lob off the bottoms first, so they have sturdy footing as you trim around the edges. Cut into 1/4 inch disks, then further into your desired fry-shape. 

Heat the oil in a particularly heat conductive pan; a copper bottom Revereware pan is great for this. 

In a separate, dry pan, toast plenty (a teaspoon or two) of caraway seeds over medium heat. When they are fragrant, take them off the heat and tip into a mortar or onto a cutting board. Smash or chop them up, then stir into your preferred store bought ketchup. 

When the oil is quite hot for the frying, add the pieces of rutabaga a few at a time.

Using tongs to turn the pieces and remove them, use your own judgement/preference for deepening color and crispness. Remove to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain onto. Hold in an oven set to 200º until all the fries are done. Remove the paper towel, blotting once more.

Sprinkle on paprika and salt. Place until the broiler until starting to crisp. Turn over the pieces, repeat. Or simply roast in the oven for 5-10 minutes, turned up to 400º. When the fries have been re-crisped and the paprika is going dark, take them out, toss on a little more paprika and salt, then eat immediately with the caraway ketchup.

Recipe courtesy of Andrew Barton, photo credits Peter Schweitzer.

Candied Carrots with Herbs & White Pepper Sour Cream

Ingredients

• Carrots (good looking, smallish)

• Sugar (or honey, agave, or maple syrup if you prefer)

• Salt

• Oil

• Lots of herbs: mint, winter savory, rosemary, sage, oregano, parsley, or whatever you can get your hands on

For the white pepper sour cream (optional)

• Sour cream (plain yogurt would work well, too)

• White pepper

Trim the tops of the carrots and slice in half them lengthwise, all the way to the tip. Cook in boiling, salted water for about 3 minutes, until just tender. Remove to an ice bath, change the water after a minute or two. Drain when the carrots are cooled. 

In a bowl, dress the carrots with oil and a few pinches of both sugar and salt. Heat a flat, wide seasoned pan over medium-high heat. Place the carrots in the pan, cut side down. Let cook until those cut sides are starting to candy, but before any part burns. This involves very careful watching, and a lot of picking up carrots with tongs. I find this sort of thing fun, though– perhaps you do too?

Meanwhile, chop your heaping pile of herbs. 

Remove to a baking dish and place in a 300º oven (or transfer your oven-safe pan to the oven), where they will stay warm and continue to candy a bit. When all the carrots are in the baking dish, toss them with the herbs. 

When ready to serve, make up a dish of spicy sour cream. Take a few tablespoons in a bowl, add a drizzle of cold water, stir till smooth and just a bit thinner than usual. Add a full 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper, stir again, and serve. 

Recipe courtesy of Andrew Barton, photo credits Peter Schweitzer.

Timothy's 1st Place Potato Salad

Timothy's is the bottom potato salad.

On July 6th, we celebrated barbecue and picnic season with a hugely successful potato salad contest -- over 200 folks cast votes for their favorites! We had three winners, and now they are sharing their secrets for your potato salad success!

Ingredients

• 3 pounds yellow fleshed potatoes (Finn or Yukon Gold)

• a few chopped roasted peppers that have been pickled in a mixture of 2 parts white wine vinegar and 1 part sugar with a rosemary branch

• 1 bunch Italian parsley, roughly chopped

• 2 T crushed coriander seed (toasted in a pan or not)

• 1 bunch chives, chopped

• 3 T capers, rinsed and chopped

• dijon mustard

• Apple cider vinegar

• Olive oil

• Salt

• A few twists of black pepper

1. Boil the potatoes gently in a pot of salted water until a toothpick inserts with ease. Don’t overcook!

2. Let cool until able to handle and with a paring knife remove the skin. Chunk the potatoes into various sizes and place in a bowl.

3. Add the pickled peppers, chopped parsley, crushed coriander seed, chopped chives.

4. Make a vinaigrette with the mustard, cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I’ve left the quantities bland on purpose as this will be to taste. Generally I like ¼ to ⅓ vinegar to olive oil plus a generous pinch of salt and pepper.

5. Place the vinaigrette in a ball type jar and shake vigorously until somewhat emulsified.

6. Pour over the bowl of ingredients and give a gentle stir. Taste! Add more vinaigrette if needed. Same goes for the salt. Try to do this while the potatoes are still a bit warm. Let sit for a few minutes and taste again. More vinaigrette needed, more capers, more anything? Enjoy!

Avocado Cilantro Lime Sauce

I love this sauce on a Mexican quinoa bowl or as a topping for tacos. Yum!

Ingredients: 

• 1 medium avocado

• 1 cup cilantro

• 1 clove garlic

• juice of 3 limes

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• ¼ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp cumin

In a food processor or high-speed blender, add all of the ingredients except for the olive oil and blend until combined. With the blender on, add in the olive oil. Add some water to make the sauce thinner, if desired.

Recipes and photos by Natalie Bickford.

Arugula Hazelnut Pesto

This is one of my favorite pesto variations. The arugula adds a wonderful pepperiness to the pesto. Feel free to mix and match herbs, greens, and nuts!

Ingredients: 

• 1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts

• 1 cup arugula

• 1 cup basil

• 1 cup grated Parmesan (or sub ½ cup nutritional yeast)

• 1-2 cloves garlic

• ½ cup olive oil

• juice from 1 lemon

In a food processor or high-speed blender, add all of the ingredients except for the olive oil. Process/pulse until roughly chopped. While the blender is running, slowly add in the olive oil. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Recipes and photos by Natalie Bickford.

Chimichurri

This is an excellent staple sauce to have in the fridge and will keep for a couple of weeks. All you need are some fresh herbs and the rest you will likely have on hand in your pantry. Typically eaten with steak, but excellent on all other proteins, vegetables, and grains.

Ingredients:

• Handful of fresh parsley

• Handful of fresh cilantro

• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1-2 cloves garlic

• salt and pepper, to taste

• ¼ cup olive oil

In a food processor or high-speed blender, add all ingredients except for olive oil,. Pulse until coarsely chopped. With blender or processor on, slowly pour in the olive oil to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

Recipes and photos by Natalie Bickford.

Romesco Sauce

This sauce has a wonder smoky flavor from the roasted peppers and smoked paprika. It is very versatile, making a great topping for fish, red meat, poultry, veggies, and grains. You could pretty much put it on anything!

Ingredients:

• 1, 8 oz jar of roasted red peppers, drained

• 1-2garlic cloves

• 1-2 tsp smoked paprika

• ¼ - ½ cup roasted hazelnuts

• 1 tbsp lemon juice or sherry vinegar

• salt and pepper, to taste

• ¼ cup good olive oil

In a food processor or high-speed blender, add all of the ingredients except for the olive oil. Pulse until finely ground, then, with the blender or processor on, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until smooth. If too thick, thin out with some water. Add salt and pepper, to taste. 

Recipes and photos by Natalie Bickford.

Shaved Asparagus and Kale Socca with Leek Pesto

Socca, also known as farinata, is chickpea flour flatbread that is popular in the Ligurian Sea coast. It’s super easy to put together, inexpensive, and it provides a protein-rich, gluten-free, and vegan base that lends itself well to a variety of toppings. Any pesto and vegetable combination can be used, so feel free to experiment!

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

For the socca

• 1 cup chickpea flour

• 1 tsp sea salt

• fresh ground black pepper

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1 cup water, room temperature

For the leek pesto

• 1 medium leek, halved lengthwise and chopped

• 1 cup cashews, toasted

• 1 clove garlic

• ¼ cup grated Parmesan (optional)

• 3 tsp mellow white miso paste (I used chickpea miso)

• zest and juice from 2 lemons (about ¼ cup lemon juice)

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• salt and pepper, to taste

For the shaved asparagus and kale

• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• salt and pepper, to taste

• 5 thick stalks of asparagus, shaved

• 1 cup loosely packed kale

• 1 tbsp fresh chopped mint

• fresh grated Parmesan or Manchego cheese (optional)

Instructions

For the leek pesto, in a food processor or high-speed blender, add the leek, cashews, garlic, Parmesan (if using), miso, and lemon juice. Blend until it reaches a uniform consistency, then add in the olive oil and blend until smooth. Taste and add salt, pepper, or more lemon juice, to taste.

For the socca, preheat the oven to 450 and place your cast iron skillet in the oven. In a medium bowl, combine the chickpea flour, salt, and pepper. Add in 1 cup of room temperature water and 2 tbsp of olive oil and whisk to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes, or until it resembles a thinner pancake batter. Add water if too thick.

Remove the pan from the oven, add 1 tbsp olive oil and swirl to coat. Pour in the batter and let bake for about 15 minutes, or until the center is firm and edges begin to turn golden. Set aside and let cool while you prepare the shaved asparagus and kale salad.

For the shaved asparagus and kale, in a mason jar, combine the red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, Dijon, salt, and pepper. Shake vigorously to emulsify. Place the kale in a medium bowl and pour half of the dressing on top. Using your hands, massage the kale for about 1 minute to break it down. Add in the shaved asparagus, mint, and remaining dressing. Toss gently to combine.

To assemble, spread about ½ cup (or more) on top of the socca in an even layer. Then top with the shaved asparagus, kale salad, and fresh grated Parmesan or Manchego cheese, if desired. Slice and serve immediately! 

Recipe and photo by Natalie Bickford

Rhubarb/Raspberry Crumble

My garden has a rhubarb hill, long-established raspberry canes and a redcurrant bush. One time, around the beginning of July, I had these leftover, half-broken Italian wafer cookies lying around. This crumble then materialized, as if it was suggested by the people who had the garden long ago and by my friend who forgot the cookies at the event she had brought them to.

I hope you can come to a similar equation with whatever fruit you have access to, and either make this crumble or a very different one in the same spirit.

fruit

• 4 or 5 stalks of rhubarb

• 2 large handfuls of raspberries (frozen works just fine! This is a great way to get rid of hoarded fruit from the previous year before the new batch comes in)

• 1 normal handful of redcurrants, top & tailed (optional/only really possible in July. It will work well with with small strawberries or cherries, in May and June)

crumble

• 100g butter (I first got this from recipes in English cookbooks that often have 100g of butter in crumble tops. This is like 5/6s of a stick. Take the part you slice off, break it into bits, and tuck it in around the fruit.)

• oats

• flour (any kind! Your favorite GF flour will work great!)

• almond meal or almonds you grind yourself

• sugar

• a few crumbled wafer-y cookies (another opportunity for your favorite GF alternative!)

• cold water

and more

• sugar—about 1/4 cup on the inside, plus more for serving

• lyle's golden syrup, honey, agave, something like that—a healthy drizzle

Cut, wash and trim the rhubarb. If you are making this recipe at the height of the season, when all three of these fruits can be fresh, your rhubarb has likely been around for awhile. If the outside is tough, peel it with a vegetable peeler. Place the pieces of rhubarb, cut to about 4 inches long each, in your baking dish. Really, with a crumble, precise measurements are unnecessary. Just choose a dish you want to make it in, and include enough fruit to fill it.

Take one handful of raspberries, and crush them in your hand. Scrape the berries off with a rubber spatula, and onto the rhubarb.

Scatter the sugar around the edges and on top. Drizzle the syrup on as well. Tuck in the small pieces of butter.

In a food processor, assemble: butter (cut into pieces) oats, flour, sugar, almond meal (or almonds) and wafer cookies (saving one for the top). Pulse a few times until the butter is cut up and pebbles have formed. Add a tablespoon or two of cold water and shake the mixture until pebbles really form.

Tip the mixture from the food processor over the fruit. Take the second handful of raspberries and scatter them throughout the crumble. This will cause them to burst appetizingly into the crust. Crack the final pizzelle over the top of the crumble.

Bake at 350º for 50 minutes.

If the crumble isn't browning, take another slice of butter and break it up over the top. Return the pan to the oven for about 10-15 more minutes, until the rhubarb has started to bubble up around the edges.

Drop the raw red currants around the crisped-up wafer cookie pieces. Serve at the table with extra sugar. Keeping the crumble nice and tart, but having the option to sweeten up some bites, is a more enjoyable eating experience than all-tart or all-sweet. Pretend you are a child at the breakfast table, adding sugar to the top of a cut grapefruit.

Recipe courtesy of Andrew Barton, photo credits Peter Schweitzer.

Vegan Lemon Bars

Servings: 9 bars

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 cup gluten free oats

• 1 cup almonds

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 2 tbsp coconut sugar

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• 4-5 tbsp coconut oil, melted

For the filling:

• 1 cup raw cashews

• 1 cup coconut cream* (the hardened portion at the top of full fat coconut milk)

• 2 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch

• 1/2 cup lemon juice (~2 large lemons)

• 1 heaping tbsp lemon zest (~1 large lemon)

• Pinch sea salt

• 1/4 cup maple syrup, plus more to taste

Instructions

1. Add the raw cashews to a medium bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 1 hour uncovered, then drain.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 F and line an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper.

3. In a food processor or high-speed blender, add the oats, almonds, sea salt, and coconut sugar and pulse until you get a fine meal. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the maple syrup and coconut oil (starting with 4 tbsp coconut oil and adding more if too dry). Mix to combine until a uniform, loose dough is formed. Mixture shouldn’t crumble when you squeeze it between your fingers. If too dry, add more coconut oil.

4. Pour the crust into the parchment lined baking dish and, using your hands, press the crust into the dish, making it as level and compact as you can. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and you notice light browning on the surface. Remove from oven to let cool slightly.

5. For the filling, place the soaked and drained cashews, coconut cream, arrowroot starch or cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and maple syrup in a high-speed blender or food processor. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust, adding more maple syrup or lemon zest/juice if desired.

6. Pour the filling over the pre-baked crust and spread into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until edges look slightly dry and center is giggly, but not liquidy. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then place in fridge (uncovered) for at least 4 hours or overnight.

7. Slice and top with powdered sugar or shredded coconut, if you’d like. Store in airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 4 days.

Recipe and photo by Natalie Bickford

Buckwheat Ginger Molasses Granola Clusters

Makes about 5 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats

• 1 ½ cups raw buckwheat groats

• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

• ½ cup raisins, currants, or other dried fruit

• ¾ cup shredded unsweetened coconut

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tbsp ground cardamom

• ¼ tsp pink Himalayan salt

• ½ cup blackstrap molasses

• ¼ cup maple syrup or honey

• ½ cup coconut oil, melted

• ¼ cup tahini

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, add the oats, buckwheat, pumpkin seeds, raisins, coconut, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Mix to combine.

In a medium bowl, combine the molasses, maple syrup or honey, coconut oil, tahini, vanilla, and ginger. Whisk until it all comes together into a uniform liquid.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to until everything is mixed well together and evenly distributed. Bake in the oven for about 30-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Granola is done when buckwheat and pumpkin seeds are slightly toasted brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Once cooled, break the granola up into clusters and store in an airtight container. 

Recipe courtesy of Natalie Bickford.

Spiced Spaetzle with Dandelion Greens and Caraway/Black Pepper Soured Cream

Ingredients

the spaetzle:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons toasted and roughly-ground caraway seeds

• lots of cracked black pepper

• 7 large eggs

• 1/4 cup milk

the sauce:

• 1 tbsp butter

• 2 tbsp flour

• 1 cup whole milk

• 1 1/2 cups of soft white cheese, grated

• smudge of mustard

• salt

the greens:

• 1 bunch dandelion greens

• olive oil

the soured cream:

• store-bought short tub of sour cream (or make your own—combine 1 cup cream with 1 tbsp buttermilk; leave out, covered, for 2 1/2 days. creme fraiche on the tangier side)

• 1 tbsp toasted and roughly-ground caraway seeds

• generous cracking of black pepper

To make the spaetzle

Start with the flour in a mixing bowl, incorporate the caraway seeds and black pepper, then make a well in the center. Crack all the eggs in a separate bowl, mix thoroughly (but don't beat heavily) with a fork, then pour into the well. Start to mix with a spatula, then pour in the milk as you go to make a smooth batter. If it seems to get too gummy or thick, thin out with a little water or more milk.  The consistency should really be rather like pancake batter.

In a third mixing bowl (your largest), get an ice bath ready to receive the cooked spaetzle. 

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Take a small scoop (less than a ladle will hold) of the batter and put it in your colander with holes big enough for batter to drop through in little dots. With a flexible spatula, push and scrape the dough over the bottom of the colander so that tiny nubbins of dough fall through and into the water. When your scoop of batter has gone through (you may have to pause once or twice to stir the pot of spaetzle so they don't stick together), after one a half to three minutes of cooking time (you will know when they are ready), remove with a spider strainer. Drop into the ice bath. Stir lightly, and let them settle. 

When all the dough has been used and you have an ice bath full of spaetzle, pass through another colander like you've finished making packaged spaghetti, discarding the ice water and getting as much moisture off the spaetzle as you can. Place into a buttered baking dish and let rest.

Make the sauce

Take a tablespoon of butter, melt it in a small saucepan, toss in 2 tablespoons of flour, whisk together, lower heat and cook till the roux starts to color slightly.  Add one cup of whole milk and whisk again to incorporate the flour/butter. Continue whisking at medium high heat until the mixture starts to thicken, then return to low. Add approximately 1 1/2 cups of soft white cheese (havarti, swedish farmer’s cheese, fontina, something like that). Stir until melted/incorporated into the sauce. Season with a little mustard and salt. 

Pour the sauce over the spaetzle, tossing to coat. Top with another cheese of your choosing in patterns over the dish. Bake at 350° until it resembles a finished dish of macaroni and cheese (approx 30-45 minutes). 

When the spaetzle is all ready to serve, wash a bunch of dandelion greens under the sink, then toss directly into a wok, large cast iron, or small soup pot.  Cook on medium-high until the color has intensified and they've wilted. Break some of them up if you like and toss with a mild oil to help them glisten and not stick together. 

In a bowl, artfully arrange the dandelion greens, add some spaetzle, throw in a bit of flaky salt (and maybe a small dollop of fine mustard), then top with a large serving of the caraway seed and black pepper soured cream. 

Recipe courtesy of Andrew Barton, photo credits Peter Schweitzer.

Celeriac, fennel & orange salad

Ingredients

• 1 celeriac

• 1 fennel bulb

• 3 blood oranges

• 1 large navel or cara cara orange

• olive oil

• almonds, a handful

• almond oil (if you have it)

• white wine vinegar

1. Prepare a big bowl with cold water. Drop in some lemon juice from a bottle or a fruit.

2. Peel the celeriac. Drop into the lemon bath immediately.

3. Trim the fennel (reserving the tops with fronds) and slice into thin boomerangs. Move them to the lemon bath. Take out the celeriac, cut it in half, put the other half back. Keep cutting the celeriac now, first into 1/4 inch discs, returning to the lemon bath each time, then into thin-to-medium matchsticks. Move the finished pieces right back to the lemon bath, then repeat with the other half.

4. Cut the oranges into 1/4 inch rounds. Trim off the peels with a paring knife. Cut little triangular pieces, removing center seeds and any remaining pith so you have clean and beautiful jewels of citrus.

5. Drain the lemon bath, add more lemon juice, a splash of white wine vinegar and almond (or olive) oil. Toss to dress.

6. Chop the handful of almonds roughly, just making sure some pieces are quite small.

7. Assemble each serving separately. Take the celeriac and fennel pieces, make a nice pile, add pieces of orange, sprinkle with some almonds and drizzle with some good olive oil. Crack on black pepper, toss on some finishing salt, then tear fennel fronds over the whole thing.

Recipe courtesy of Andrew Barton, photo credits Peter Schweitzer.

Quinoa Veggie Bowl with Cheez Sauce

These bowls are very adaptable, feel free to use any grain and any combination of seasonal veggies. 

Ingredients

For the Cheez Sauce

• ½ cup almond milk

• ¼ cup nutritional yeast

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 tsp tamari

• fresh ground black pepper

• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

• ¼ tsp cumin (optional)

For the bowl

• ½ cup quinoa, cooked

• ½ cup grated carrot (about 2 medium)

• 2 cups roughly chopped kale, steamed

• 1 avocado, thinly sliced

• handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

• ½ cup roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

 

For the cheez sauce, add all ingredients into a small pot. Turn the heat to low and whisk the ingredients together until combined. Remove from heat and set aside.

Divide the quinoa into two bowls. Assemble the remaining ingredients on top of the quinoa and finished with a generous amount of cheez sauce. Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Natalie Bickford.

Squash and Red Lentil Curry

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups onion

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp fresh ginger

• 2 teaspoons (or more) curry powder and garam masala

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed

• 1 cup red lentils

• 1 cup fresh tomato or 1, 15 oz canned tomatoes drained

• 1 can coconut milk

• Salt

• Olive oil

• 4 cups water

• Lime wedges

• Cilantro

Directions

Saute onion, garlic, ginger and spices in olive oil. Add squash, lentils, tomato and salt. Then add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, stirring until the squash is tender for about 20 minutes. Stir in coconut milkand simmer until heated through, about 1 minute. Serve with lime wedges and cilantro and enjoy as this dish makes you comfy cozy.

Chewy Teff Ginger Molasses Cookies

Makes 32 small cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups teff flour

• ½ cup buckwheat flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp ground cloves

• ½ tsp mustard powder

• ½ cup creamy unsalted almond butter

• ¼ cup coconut oil, melted

• 2 tsp tamari

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger

• ½ cup maple syrup

• ½ cup blackstrap molasses

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Add the teff flour, buckwheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and mustard powder to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the butter, coconut oil, tamari, vanilla extract, ginger, maple syrup, and molasses to another bowl and stir to combine.  

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Try not to over mix. Using a tablespoon, scoop the batter and drop onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until brown on the bottom. Remove from oven and place onto a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Clean Food by Terry Walters. Photo and adaptation by Natalie Bickford.