PINK! (beet carrot apple radish salad with orange dressing)

This is a perfect Valentine's salad. :) It's very simple, but sometimes in the winter you just need some color on your plate and some raw veggies. I grated 2 carrots, 1 beautiful chioggia beet (the candy-striped kind), 1 radish, and 1 apple. I added a simple dressing of the juice of 2 clementines plus some olive oil. 

This is great served on top of an open-faced sandwich, either with plain cream cheese, or some of the butternut squash spread I made earlier this week. 

best soba noodles yet (with red cabbage, zucchini and radish)

I thought about also calling this post "I finally mastered cooking tofu!" But it's about much more than just the tofu. Look at those colors. :) I was pretty proud of this bowl of lunch deliciousness. The tofu is a pretty funny story though. I have made tofu before and I could never seem to get it crispy (my friend Jessica is super good at this). Turns out it's pretty easy to google "fried tofu" and have the internet come to your aid. As I understand it, the biggest thing is just getting out most of the moisture. So I put the block of extra firm tofu on a plate with some paper towels, put a plate on top, and then put the heaviest thing in my kitchen on top of that: my cast iron le Creuset. It seemed pretty balanced, so I went for a quick run. When I came back, the paper towels were soaked and there was water even dripping over onto the counter. So I guess that's a pretty good technique to press the water out. Then I put some coconut oil in the pan and fried the tofu (leaving it a good 6-8 minutes to brown) and it turned out great. I did have to do two batches though, and on the second batch the oil was starting to get pretty hot and smoke a little bit... and I set off our fire alarm. Turns out it doesn't only beep, but a woman's voice yells "FIRE! FIRE!" Seriously! I've never heard of that before. I was a little scared someone from the building was going to burst in and see what was going on, but I managed to circulate some air and the thing stopped. A bit dramatic, when probably 99% of the time when the alarm goes off it's not FIRE, but due to cooking. (Right?!)

Back to the noodles. Soba noodles are a great go-to recipe to use up whatever vegetables you have left in the drawer. You can use carrots, cabbage, cucumber, whatever. In my case it happened to be red cabbage, zucchini, green onion and radish, which made a really beautiful combination. And they pack really well for lunch. The raw vegetables made it nice and crunchy and the tahini dressing was perfect sweet-salty.

ingredients (for 2):
soba noodles
1 package extra-firm tofu
3-4 green onions
1/2 - 1/3 head of red cabbage, finely sliced (mandolin)
2-3 radishes, finely sliced (mandolin)
1/2 zucchini, julienne cut (I love my julienne peeler!)

for dressing:
tahini (about 1/4 cup)
olive oil (1 tsp)
rice vinegar (1 T)
soy sauce (just a dash)
maple syrup (1-2 tsp)
grated ginger (about 1/2 inch)
optional: garlic, sesame oil

1. Make noodles according to package and rinse with cool water.

2. Mix dressing. I just kept tasting it until it had the right sweetness/tanginess. Sorry I didn't get exact measurements. You could also make a peanut dressing, or something with sesame. There are lots of good recipes out there.

3. Make tofu: Press/drain tofu between paper towels for 30 minutes. Cut into 1/2 inch slices. Fry on medium heat with vegetable oil or coconut oil, do not disturb while it fries 6-7 minutes. Season with salt + pepper while in the pan. You can see it start to brown and the brown creep up the sides. Then you know it's time to flip. The other side will only take 4-5 minutes. Just keep an eye on it. Remove to a cutting board and slice.

4. Cut all vegetables and mix everything together. Top with tofu, cilantro and/or nuts if you have them. Enjoy!

ode to produce: radishes

I took this photo in Neuf-Brisach, France at the market in July. I thought these (what we call) French breakfast radishes looked so beautiful. I don't have much time to cook or post recipes at the moment (just drove 800+ miles from Ann Arbor to Providence yesterday, and heading to Charlotte, NC for a family reunion today), but I thought I would post some photos and links. This one is dedicated to the radish. When I was in Freiburg with my mom this summer, we had a drink at the Feierling Biergarten a few nights. The first night, we had already eaten and were just there for a beer/wine, we saw a plate come out of the kitchen with thinly-shaved radishes that looked like flowers. It was so beautiful. They were cut so they twirled and unfolded on top of each other in a pile, and were served with buttered bread (Radi mit Butterbrot). Yum. A few nights later, when we returned and tried to order this, they were out. My only regret of the trip.

I found a site online where it says (especially Bavarian) Biergartens have a special tool to cut them into spirals. Here is a link to a photo, but it's a white radish, and the one we saw had a gorgeous red-pink border. And here's a link to the special tool they use to do it...which does, admittedly, take the magic out, but I just had  to find out how they do it!

a radish recipe from this blog:  Radish and Pecan Farro Salad

and from another favorite from 101 cookbooks (I love the garlic in this one...):
Buttermilk Farro Salad

A radish salad I would like to try from My New Roots:
Triple Radish Noodle Salad

Anyone else a fan of radishes? Any favorite recipes?

radish and pecan grain salad with cranberries and arugula

I made this salad for our little outdoor dinner last night and it was really good. I highly highly recommend trying it. It's the perfect combination of fresh flavors, crunchy vegetables and nuts and hearty grains. I adapted the recipe from Food 52  (their picture is a little prettier...I was more about getting dinner on the table than photographing...). The whole grains hold up well and it would be good for a picnic salad and/or lunch - maybe just add the arugula later so it doesn't get soggy.

2 cups mixed grains (like farro, freekeh, wheat berries, wild rice, and quinoa, pearl barley, or any combination of the above - I used pearled barley and wheat berries)
1 cup baby arugula leaves
1 cup parsley leaves, minced
1/2 cup mint leaves, cut in a chiffonade
1/2 pound pecans, toasted
1 cup radishes, cut into thin slices
1/4 cup shallot, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sherry vinegar (or apple cider)
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add some salt and the grains, and cook until just tender. If you are cooking wild rice and/or wheat berries, add them first and let them get started 10-15 minutes. Then add any pearled or faster quicking grains. I let the wheat berries cook 10 minutes, then added the pearled barley for another 25 minutes. The rye berries had a nice, slightly chewy texture. When done, drain into a colander and let sit until warm to the touch. Stir every once in a while to help them cool.

2. Mix the dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil, shallot, and vinegar. Let sit.

3. Prep the radishes and other ingredients. Toss everything in a large bowl. Season with a bit of salt.

quinoa salad with black beans, mango, and more

This is a veggie-packed quinoa salad with lots of flavors. The mango and lime juice really make it fresh and add a nice sweet-sourness.

ingredients: 
2 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup uncooked - mix of red and white)
1 mango, cut into small dice (see how to cut a mango)
1/2 can black beans (rinsed, drained) or a full can if you want more black beans
1/2 bell pepper (red or yellow), small dice
3 chopped scallions
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
diced jicima
5 radishes, thinly sliced

dressing: oil / vinegar (red wine, cider, or rice) / lime juice / bit of sugar / lime zest

Cook the quinoa, 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water (simmer 15 minutes covered).
Chop all your veggies: bell pepper, scallions, jicima, radish, and mango (see instructions). Rinse beans, zest lime, add everything together in a big bowl. Let the quinoa cool slightly before mixing it with the veggies.

winter slaw with creamy yoghurt-poppy seed dressing

  It's snowing big, thick snowflakes today in Ann Arbor. Still makes me want to just eat soup and not leave the house, but this morning Katie and I put on our boots and walked to the farmer's market to support the year-round sellers. I have to admit it was pretty slim pickings (at least by the time we got there...after getting side-tracked by TeaHaus...). I just got eggs, radish, and a pie pumpkin. (Still have a drawer full of CSA  veggies, too.) It's pretty amazing that Ann Arbor does have a year-round market. Such a great food city! We ended up going from the market to the co-op to Plum, one of Ann Arbor's many superfancy grocery stores. Splurge trip. (But since most all my grocery shopping is done by foot/bike, it's sometimes necessary to have a little stock-up trip!) Anyways, this recipe has been on my "to-make" list for a while. To get some raw veggies and to use some of the seasonal stuff we have on hand. It does involve a lot of chopping/cutting, but it makes a good, big portion. The poppyseed dressing is really good, too.