Did anyone like reading about my last salad post? If so, here’s more.

Chopped Salad

 Romaine, Cherry Tomatoes, Red Pepper, Chick Peas, Feta, Red Onion, Mint, Parsley, Chives, and Basil. Dijon Mustard, Red Vinegar and Olive Oil for dressing. Adam likes sliced Salami on top. You could also chop up some left over Chicken to put in.

Asian Cole Slaw

Cabbage, Shredded Pickled Carrot, Ribboned Cucumber, Mint, Mung Bean, Spring Onion, Celery, Soy sauce, Lemon juice.

 Sushi Salad 

(From my Appetite for Reduction book)

Romaine, Cucumber, Shredded Carrots, Brown Rice, Edamame, Sesame Seeds, Chiffonade Nori, tossed with a Miso dressing.

Grilled Peach and Spinach Salad

Spinach Leaves, Crumbled Goat’s Cheese, Candied Pecans, Grilled Peaches. Balsamic and Olive Oil. I’m going to miss this salad now that Peach season is ending.

Avocado and Mango Salad

(My mother mailed me these avocados from neighbor’s tree in Florida. She calls them Hass, but I think they might be Yamagata because they are so big.) Avocado, Mango, dressing of lime, balsamic, olive oil. Salt and Pepper.

Last week I received an email letting me know my friend Sara is having two hip surgeries in the next month and would I like to sign up to bring her dinner?

They used a website called Meal Train. It is such a clever idea, I wish I knew about it after the birth of the twins. People could have organized with each other, without me involved at all! There were many people who wanted to bring food but felt awkward or didn’t want to push it on me. And I never pursued it because I was too tired. Also didn’t want to push back on them. It seemed wrong to say, “Hey, what about that dinner you promised me?”

As a busy mom of four, every single action I do requires that I do something else at the same time. So, how can I multi-task cooking dinner for a friend?

Well, when deciding on a date, I picked the evening that Adam had invited someone over for dinner from work. Cook for everyone at the same time!

Kebabs, Herbed Quinoa, and Grilled Peach Salad

A few weeks ago I received corn, cucumber, zucchini, red potatoes, parsley, garlic, scallions, italian frying peppers, and dandelion greens.

The first night I got the veggies I boiled the corn as a side with a little butter and salt for seasoning.

Thursday I used the cucumber, some of the garlic and the scallions in a salad from my Appetite for Reduction, the Edamame Salad. It had romaine lettuce, brown rice, edamame, carrots, cucumber, sesame seeds, nori, scallions all in a red miso dressing. It was like a vegan sushi salad. Yummy.

The zucchini and dandelion greens went together at dinner one night. Miso Cod, Brown Rice, Steamed Dandelion Greens, together with grilled Zucchini, Squash and Eggplant.

For dinner I decided to bunch the potatoes, parsley and italian frying peppers in a healthier version of Guy Fieri’s Sofrito Mashed Potatoes. I haven’t done it yet, but I promise myself every day that I will. Hopefully I’ll get there before the stuff spoils…

Not too Shabby for a Mom of 3 month old Twins, eh?

Last night we enjoyed our last sit down dinner at Charlie Trotter’s. The restaurant is closing after 25 years of spectacular service.

The menu is prefix. You do have two choices, vegetarian or not. I checked out both menus carefully. I was curious to see just how exciting he could make veggies. But after comparing the two, my new vegetarian tendencies flew out the window. Definitely meat. And the wine tasting menu to go with it please! For once Adam and I ordered exactly the same thing. I guess if there is only two choices, the chance of that happening are a lot better.

One of the greatest things about the menu was that, even though there were eight course, three of them were dessert. Now that’s my kind of menu!

Marinated Hamachi with Green Tomato Juice, Kalamata Olives & Avocado Sorbet

Every single dish was exquisite. Perfectly cooked and presented. And each time it was such a delight for an ex-wine industry worker like myself to taste something new and see how it interacted with the food. It reminded me of the good old days in Hong Kong. I won’t bore you with the entire menu, though I did shamelessly ask for a copy of it to bring home. Let’s just say the dishes were so tasty that, after the lamb I got Adam to agree he would let me cook lamb at home. Eight years I’ve lived with this man and couldn’t get him to commit to that! I didn’t have as much luck with the duck, even though Adam and I both truly enjoyed that as well.

Afterwards Charlie’s mother took us on a tour of the kitchen and wine cellar. I was particularly interesting in the cellar. Ex-wine girl, remember? There were two meticulously chilled and labelled wine rooms, separate rooms for the different temperatures needed for white and red. Charlie’s Mom showed us Charlie’s metal wrapped around a Jeroboam, from the marathon he ran in France for his

Triple Criollo Riviera Cake with Lemon Balm Puree & Strawberry-Tonka Bean Sorbet paired with a Late Harvest Zinfandel

40th birthday. She also pointed out the case of Champagne that Charlie brought from a 1907 shipwreck. It was perfectly stored at the bottom of the sea for 60 years. When they got it, they opened one up and found it was in excellent condition. You could even see how they used to wax the bottles back then, almost like candle drippings mushed together.

The dinner reservation was the first seating, at 6pm. The best part of such an early dinner is we were done by 9:30! After dinner we strolled home and debated going for just one more drink. In the end we decided to just head home, we already had such a nice time, wouldn’t it be amazing to end the evening with a reasonable bedtime as well? Yes, it would. Unfortunately all four kids woke us up all night. Sam woke every two hours. At one point I was nursing Aaron standing up over Sam’s crib while holding a pacifier in Sam’s mouth. Not an easy feat. Oh, and Jack threw up all over our bed, the floor and the bathroom. Night time has been unbelievably bad the past three nights here, but I don’t want to desecrate a blog about my paradisal dinner with it, so I’ll save it for another time.

A parking lot with a view

Tonight after my father spent two full days in our tomblike house, we decided to venture out for dinner at The Burger Bar. It’s one of our favorite local spots and we just found out they have al fresco dining. Okay, it’s outdoor seating. In a parking lot. But the views are still pretty spectacular.

I’m not eating much meat these days. But after reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma, I appreciate it when a place serves grass fed beef. And they do it well here. This month’s special was actually a ground, grass fed beef burger with a grass fed piece of steak ON TOP.

As usual, my excessive husband ordered everything the kids asked for and more…

How many drinks does Ben need?

Thank goodness for doggie bags. And to go cups. I carried my extra wine home in one of Ben’s many plastic cups shown above. They’ve got a great pinot noir as well, if that’s your thing. Adam swears by the beer list as well.

In the past 6 months or so I’ve started baking with Jack. It can be annoying taking the extra time when I have so little of it, and to clean up the mess afterwards but I am starting to think that it’s paying off.

Mostly we bake muffins or quick breads like banana bread. But since he’s been doing such a good job of it lately, I started to think, what else can he do in the kitchen?

So last night, he helped me make the Chicken Parmesan. I set up bowls of flour, egg whites, and bread crumbs and he dipped them in each bowl then put it on the tray. Not only was it nice to do something fun with him, but he ate it up like crazy!

I think I’m going to have to have him start preparing the veggies next!

And here it is, my salad post…

Greek Salad.

Romaine, Tomato, Cucumber, Olives, Feta, Red Onion and dried Oregano. Lemon Juice and Olive Oil for Dressing.

Strawberry Spinach Salad.

Spinach, Fresh Mozzarella, Strawberries, Slivered Almonds. Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil for Dressing.

Roast Veg and Couscous Salad.

Grilled Assorted Vegetables Chopped – Zucchini, Eggplant, Asparagus, Plum Tomatoes, Portobello Mushrooms, Cooked Couscous, Mint, Basil, Parsley.

Garbage Salad.

Basically any leftovers I had in my fridge. The last of the Spinach leaves, Romaine, Leftover Quinoa, Leftover Steamed Green Beans, Leftover Purslane, Artichoke Hearts, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Shredded Carrots, Feta. Paul Newman Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Mexican Salad.

Romaine, Mexican Shredded Cheese, Canned Black Beans, Store Bought Pico de Gallo, Sour Cream. (I forgot to take a picture of mine so this is a picture of my Aunt’s. She used brown rice instead of Romaine. Adam’s had some left over grilled Chicken on it.)

This week I received Sweet Corn, Cauliflower, Fresh bunched Carrots, Bunched Spring Knob Onions, Collard Greens, Cilantro, Purslane and a vine ripened Tomato.

I was very excited to see the Purslane. I remember Dr. Oz talking about it as a superfood on Oprah, but I never found it in any stores. Perhaps because I didn’t know what to look for? Online I found out that the leaves contain more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable plant. They are also an excellent source of Vitamin A, one of the highest among green leafy vegetables. It is rich in vitamin C and some B-complex vitamins. Also contains potent anti-oxidants. Why aren’t they on every shelf of the supermarket?!

We put them in our salads last week Thursday and Friday for lunch. They had a sweet flavor to them. Absolutely delicious and added great texture. Kristen said it was almost like eating a clover. My salad skills are improving with Kristen around. I’ve found plenty of thing I can throw into them every day to change them around. This time the purslane was added to romaine, the vine ripened tomato we received, hearts of palm, shredded carrots, some left of quinoa, red onion, cucumber, and some feta.

I’m making so many different salads I may have to have a separate blog about them!

One of those days we cooked up the corn as a side dish. It was so sweet. I love eating corn here in the summer.

The cilantro had avocados waiting for them at the house. I put a chunk into homemade guacamole. I still have some left, and am searching for a use for it.

The cauliflower will be braised with garlic and tomatoes, hopefully this weekend if I get around to it.

The collards are destine for my favorite Hottie Black Eyed Peas dish. Mmmmm.

I wasn’t sure what to do with the knob onions. Kristen suggested grilling them and after checking the internet I think that is the thing to do. I grilled them with a steak for Adam. I don’t think I grilled it long enough, some layers were nice and sweet, but others crunchy and pungent. I think the key is to grill them until they are charred.

The carrots look so lovely I just wanted to eat them raw. In the end I decided to cut one up raw and dip it in hummus, the others steamed then tossed in a little brown sugar and butter for a side dish for the kids.

I forgot to post about my fresh picks 2 weeks ago, and I’m already onto the next shipment!

Dandelion Greens, Kohlrabi, Sweet Potato, Baby Bok Choi, Vine Ripe Tomato, Spinach and Salad Mix came on June 20th.

Dandelion Greens were sauteed in olive oil, salted and topped with lemon juice, a recipe suggestion from the internet. They turned out quite bitter. Kristen said she heard that people make soup out of them. Maybe next time I’ll try that instead.

Kohlrabi and sweet potato I have plans to roast with some other vegetables in the oven for a roast vegetable mix. (Also added zucchini, parsnips, red pepper.) I will serve them with some grilled sausages. Will let you know how the Kohlrabi turns out late in the post.

Baby Bok Choi was stir fried with garlic. This was eaten next to Teryaki Salmon and brown rice.

The Ripe Tomato was thrown into a wrap for lunch one day with hummus, feta, lettuce and cucumber.

The Spinach cut up in minestrone soup. The weather has been super hot here but I still enjoyed how filling a bowl of soup can be.

On the 5th of July, Sugar Snap Peas, Beets, Garlic Scapes, Green Peppers, Kale, Cabbage & a Purple Kohlrabi.

The Sugar Snap Peas became a snack, eaten raw and dipped in hummus.

Kale was put into a Quinoa White Bean and Kale Stew. It was eaten with a huge chunk of bread that my friend Cindy brought me from her husband’s work place. We’ve used the bread for breakfast for days as well as for the next thing I made with beets…

The beets were wrapped in foil with a little oil and salt and baked until soft, about an hour. Then I peeled them and put them in a salad of spinach. I used the bread again. This time as a vehicle for goats cheese. A slice of bread with goats cheese on top broiled in the oven briefly worked well as a compliment.

Since I never got a chance to roast the veggies last time, I added the purple Kohlrabi and green peppers to the mix. I actually really liked the Kohlrabi this way. It was meaty like a potato but tasted more juicy than starchy, like celery.

Roast Vegetables

I haven’t had time to do anything with the garlic scapes yet or the cabbage. Adam’s sister arrives today and so I’m not sure about meals for the next few days. Hopefully they will end up in my stomach instead of the trash…