The Perfect Salad

From the country…

Lately we have been enjoying greens with our meals. After a long monotonous winter of storage vegetables (potatoes, squash, potatoes, turnip, potatoes, beets and more potatoes) a fresh bowl of anything green is more than welcomed. Most of the greens in this salad however, are grown indoors without the help of Mother Nature. The greenhouse hasn’t started pumping out the lettuce and the cold frames (although seeded) are just sitting around waiting for that lovely warmth to come back.

Our springish salad consists of baby raddichio (over wintered in the cold frames), pea shoots, sunflower greens, rapini sprouts, arugula sprouts, China rose radish sprouts, red clover sprouts and lettuce micro greens (all grown in house). The combination of different tastes and textures make for a tasty, crisp mix. The sunflower sprouts have a nutty edge to them, the raddichio has a slight bitterness, the pea shoots are so tender with a really fresh pea taste, the arugula gives the salad some edge, rapini adds a cabbage zing and the radish brings the kick.

For the salad in the picture(below) I made a raspberry vinaigrette. Salad dressings are fairly easy to make and once you start, buying salad dressing will be a thing of the past.

Raspberry Vinaigrette.

So the thing with this recipe is I really don’t measure. Just slap stuff together until it tastes good. Start with some good quality olive oil in a mason jar(jar size depends on how much you are making), add some white (or black) balsamic vinegar (more olive oil, less viniger), Add some raspberries (I thawed out some frozen ones, fresh would do fine too) and honey for sweetness. Now the trick to a really voluminous dressing is a submersion (or stick) blender. Place the blender in the jar and blend away. Now taste the science experiment and add any more of the above ingredients until you reach your dressing nirvana. Some may like it sweeter, while others may like it a bit more tart. Enjoy!

Sprouts, sprouts and more sprouts!

From the country...

As a project for the off-season I have been sprouting micro greens/sprouts for market and CSA customers (through Kawartha Ecological Growers which is a multi farm CSA, check out the website kawarthaecologicalgrowers.com). Trying to make a buck on the farm especially in the winter can be a daunting task. So instead of sourcing an off farm job I am sprouting anything I can (and cleaning my Mother’s house for cash- thanks Mom!)

I have been experimenting with sunflower, broccoli raab, arugula, various pulses, radish etc and sprouting both in soil and in a bucket. It has been good for the farmer in me to continue growing through the winter BUT not as nice as spending the day early spring in a warm greenhouse. The growing I currently am doing is of course inside under fluorescent lights (although one day a heated greenhouse for all year growing is a goal…). It is rewarding though, eating local greens in the dead of winter. A first for me this year is growing and eating pulse sprouts (lentils, garbanzo beans, peas). After sprouting (which usually takes 2-3 days) you can eat them raw, in salad, finish a pot of hearty soup with a couple handfuls, and cook them for other preparations. Once sprouted the cooking time is less then half the time as if cooked from dry. I like to mix my sprouts altogether (pulses, greens and sprouts) and toss in a light vinaigrette. They boys even like them too!

I guess you could say I have gone a bit sprout crazy, I’ve been sprouting grains for the chickens and turkeys too! They devour every last grain I throw to them and the next day I might even get another egg or two in thanks.

The sprouting of seeds is one of the most fascinating natural phenomena. From this minuscule appendage, tiny part of a seed even tinier, is born the plant. That this sprout has exceptional nutritional value is thus not surprising. But even more remarkable is the ability of this sprout to produce a whole range of substances- principally vitamins and enzymes- that are completely absent, or present in small amounts, in the unsprouted seed. The seed becomes hardly recognizable and transforms itself into something new, which is less energetic but richer in nutrients. Claude Aubert Dis- Moi Comment Tu Cuisines.em>

Feels a little like Sunday...

From the City...

For me, there is nothing better than the weekend and even more, there is nothing better than Sundays. Last weekend L was in Toronto staying with Simon, Ruby and I. In true Toronto fashion, we went out for dinner at our favorite spot in China town, took in a $5 Sunday morning yoga class and after had an unbelievably delicious brunch.

So here's the breakdown of what we had:

L brought these unbelievably cute, blue poulet eggs and a hunk of really good ham. I made a loaf of whole wheat bread, a la sullivan street bakery recipe (recipe to follow) , a hunk of really good ontario cheese from the local cheese store and these adorable sprouts that L grows herself and sells at the Green Barns Saturday morning market at St.Clair and Christie.

Here's the very famous Sullivan Street Bakery Bread Recipe that is so good, so easy but requires just a little time and planning.

Formula:

3 cups (400g) flour

1½ cups (300g or 12 oz) water

¼ teaspoon (1g) yeast

1¼ teaspoons (8g) salt

olive oil (for coating)

extra flour

Equipment:

Two medium mixing bowls

6-8 qt. pot (Pyrex glass, Le Creuset cast iron, or ceramic)

Wooden spoon or spatula (optional)

Plastic wrap

Cotton dish towels (not terrycloth), 2 or 3

Process:

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water and incorporate by hand or with a wooden spoon or spatuala for 30 sec. to 1 min. Lightly coat the inside of second medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 12 hrs. at room temperature (approx. 65-72'F).

Remove the dough from the bowl and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest 15 min. in the bowl or on the work surface. Next, shape the dough into ball. Generously coat a cotton towel with flour, wheat bran, or commeal; place the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with flour. Cover the dough with a cotton towel and let rise 1-2 hrs. at room temperature, until more than doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450-500'F. Place the pot in the oven at leat ½ hr. Prior to baking to preheat. Once the dough has more than doubled in volume, remove the pot from the oven and place the dough in the pot steam side up. Cover with the lid and bake 30 min. Then, remove the lid and back 15-30min. uncovered.

Have a good weekend everyone!