Beet Salad with Creamy Chevre Dressing

Dear Readers,

Happy Sunshine here in Portland! Today I am feeding my craving for beets. Literally. A salad composed of beets in a creamy chevre dressing with mustard, balsamic and thyme. It's simple and sublime. I tried really hard to work "sublime" into this post because it rhymes with thyme. Were you on to me? :)

This simple, but exquisitely delicious beet salad is divine on it's own. However, I also envision it as a jumping off point for more elaborate add-in's and recipes. It would feature lovely over mixed baby greens, perhaps sorrel & arugula or beet greens. Top it with some toasted walnuts or hazelnuts. It would pair nicely with cooked beans, perhaps baby navy beans. A cooked whole grain such as quinoa or brown rice would add substance and texture. I imagine this beet salad on a picnic sandwiched between slices of hearty bread with baby greens and some chunky shavings of asiago cheese and creamy wedges of fresh mozzarella. Seriously, that's the kind of food I pack on picnics. You should come with me some time and find out. Suddenly I have a hankering to hike Silver Falls State Park. One of my favorite places.

Today I am eating this salad straight out of the bowl I mixed it in. Nothing fancy. No add-in's. I am using a spoon. I just love the earthy flavor of beets. They satisfy me to the core. Enjoy!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann


Beet Salad with Creamy Chevre Dressing
Makes 4 servings

6 beets
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp prepared dijon mustard
1/4 tsp fresh thyme, minced
2 tbsp chevre (brought to room temperature)
pinch of sea salt & black pepper

1. To cook the beets, pop off their tops and discard or use for another recipe (they are great sauteed). Rinse them a little, but no need to scrub or peel. Place them in a large pot filled with water and cover. Boil over high-medium heat for about 20-30 minutes. They should be soft when you pierce them with a fork. Cooking time varies based on how large are the beets.
2. Remove beets from heat. Drain. Place them in cold water and set aside while you prepare the dressing.
3. In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Use a wire whisk and beat until everything is combined and creamy. Check the flavor and add a dash of sea salt & black pepper to your desired likening.
4. Now that the beets have cooled enough to handle, it should be easy to pull their skins off. They should slip off in pieces. This is my favorite part of cooking with beets. Discard the peels. Compost them please. Now cut the beets into halves, then cut those into halves. Slice your quarter pieces of beets.
5. Add beets to the dressing and stir until combined. I like to let this salad sit for about an hour to absorb all the flavors before serving.

Raspberry & Lemon Curd Muffins

Raspberry & Lemon Curd Muffins
Original Recipe by Miss Jolie Ann

Hi everyone!

It's the beginning of raspberry season in Portland. My raspberry patch still has a ways to go until it's ripe enough for eating. I picked up 2 baskets of raspberries from the east bank farmer's market on Thursday-one red, one yellow. The red raspberries were not quite ripe, still pretty bitter. Unfortunate. The yellow's were sweet and delicious. Today I'm enjoying a relaxing "pajama's" day staying in relaxing, reading. So I decided to whip up this muffin recipe to use the yummy raspberries. I created this recipe with all ingredients I happened to have on hand this afternoon. Including the shining star--homemade lemon curd given to me for Christmas by my friend Jemae. I think the sweet & tart lemon curd nicely compliments the raspberries. Enjoy!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Raspberry & Lemon Curd Muffins
Makes 1 dozen muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp all spice
2 brown free-range eggs
1 cup butter, melted OR 1 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup lemon curd
1 cup unsweetened plain soymilk
2 cups fresh raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a muffin pan.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well until combined.
3. In a smaller bowl combine the eggs, butter & vanilla. Mix well. Add the lemon curd and stir. Add the soymilk and stir.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients in the large bowl. Stir until everything is just mixed. Add the raspberries and stir to fold them into batter.
5. Fill muffin tin with about 1/4 cup batter to each muffin.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes until muffins are brown on the top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Come to My Workshops

I am giving a workshop on Urban Edible Gardening as a part of an event put on by Public Social University. It's tonight (Thursday March 19) at 6-9pm, I think I'm speaking at 7:30pm at PIP Gallery 625 NW Everett in Portland. Free event!

The next class I am teaching is "Your Summer Harvest and Preservation" Your garden is growing, so now what? Timing, Tips, Techiques for your backyard harvest plus lots of recipes will be shared. On Sunday July 26 at Portland Nursery 5050 SE Stark Street Portland. Later in the Spring please call the nursery to register 503-231-5050. Free class!

Black Beans with Fresh Plums & Bell Peppers

Recipe from The Vegetarian Times Cookbook

This is a great way to use summer plums in a recipe, in addition to fresh eating and canning jam/jelly. We have a plum tree in the yard so fresh plums are only a short walk from the kitchen. Use this recipe at the height of plum season when they are fresh and ripe. I serve this dish with warm steamed corn tortillas, or you could also serve it over brown rice. Simple Delicious Enjoy!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Black Beans with Fresh Plums & Bell Peppers

Serves 3

4 medium purple plums

1.5 tbsp unsalted butter (I used olive oil)

1 large onion, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

2 whole cloves

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp light honey

2 cups cooked black beans (I used 2-14 oz cans)

Fill a deep pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the plums and boil for 30 seconds to loosen their skins. Remove the plums with a slotted spoon and let cool.

Melt the butter (or heat the oil) in a large skillet over low heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, garlic, cloves, cumin and cilantro. Cook, stirring often, until the onion softens, about 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the plums, remove the pits and chop the pulp. Add the pulp, lemon juice and honey to the onion-pepper mixture. Add the beans, cover and cook over low heat until the peppers are soft, about 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. Serve hot or chilled.

Pasta with Fresh Lemon, Tomato & Basil

Original Recipe by Miss Jolie Ann
Inspired by my friend Sherrie

My co-worker and friend Sherrie is a ray of sunshine in my life. She is full of smiles, affection, warmth and humor for all who cross her path. She even calmly puts up with me when I can't sit still because I'm so hyper from my otc hayfever medication. Ever since she has found out about my kitchen-garden blog and my desire to complete a cookbook, she's been unconditionally supportive and encouraging.

Sherrie and I share a love of fresh home-grown seasonal produce and homecooking. While sharing telephone switchboard duty at our workplace we often swap stories of garden and recipe favorites. If you doubt Sherrie's influence on me let me share the infamous Giant Red Mustard Greens story. I have never grown mustard greens or had any desire to grow them. I don't think I've ever cooked with them either. In early spring when Sherrie and I were getting to know each other she shared how much she loved eating home-grown Giant Red Mustard Greens. Well, I trusted her completely, no questions asked. How could i have missed out on Giant Red Mustard Greens all this time? I set out to find starter tray packs of this mystery vegetable. Every week I looked for it at work (oh yeah, just a reminder-we work in a plant nursery), has it come in yet? I kept bugging and bugging the veggie chicks Jenn & Lana, until finally it arrived. I planted it, it thrived in my garden and upon harvest and cooking it was delicious.

But, I digress....Last week Sherrie was enthusiastically sharing her current favorite dinner recipe "Boxcar." Which is essentially cooked spaghetti with a raw sauce of fresh tomatoes & basil. She and her husband ate it several days in a row without tiring of it. So, Sherrie's boxcar inspired me to invent this pasta with fresh sauce of lemon, tomato, basil & garbanzo beans. I threw in the optional garbanzo beans to add some protein. This recipe is quick and easy to prepare-throw together the sauce while the pasta boils. Serve at room temperature. Yum!

Love ya Sherrie!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Pasta with Fresh Lemon, Tomato & Basil

1 lb organic spaghetti or linguine --No linguine for Harry! :)

4 ripe fresh organic tomatoes-chopped

2 cloves organic garlic-pressed

Handful of organic basil leaves-cut into thin ribbons

Freshly squeezed juice of 3 organic lemons

1 tsp fresh organic lemon zest
1/4 cup organic extra virgin olive oil

Optional: 14 oz can organic garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed

Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Freshly shredded organic Parmesan cheese to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. (Usually boil 10 minutes...)

2. While pasta is cooking, combine tomatoes, garlic, basil, lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, and optional garbanzo beans in a large bowl.

3. Drain pasta, rinse with cold water, drain again. Place pasta in bowl with lemon tomato mixture. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let cool and come to room temperature. About 10 minutes. This also allows the pasta to absorb some of the tasty liquids.

4. Top individual servings with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Blueberry-Lavender Cornbread Muffins with Maple Butter

Original Recipe by Miss Jolie Ann

Blueberry season in the northwest is quickly approaching, so I thought I'd provide some inspiration with this downright scrumptious muffin recipe...

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Author's Note 7/14/08: Um, Mary (bff) LOVES these muffins & I think that I've created a "muffin monster" because she keeps asking for them all the time!

BLUEBERRY-LAVENDER CORNBREAD MUFFINS

WITH MAPLE BUTTER

Makes about 7 muffins

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease a muffin tin.

1 cup organic whole wheat flour

1 cup organic cornmeal

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried lavender (crush blossoms, whole ones can be overpowering!)

2. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl until combined.

5 tbsp organic butter (or canola oil)

2 tbsp organic honey

2 organic large brown eggs

1 tsp organic non-alcohol pure vanilla extract

1 tsp fresh organic lemon zest

3. Mix all wet ingredients in a smaller bowl until combined.

4. Combine the wet mixture with the dry. Stir until just combined, do not over-stir.

1 cup fresh organic blueberries

5. Stir in the blueberries until just mixed.

6. Pour muffin batter evenly between 7 muffin spots. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the pan.

MAPLE BUTTER:

1 Stick Organic Butter

3 tbsp organic pure maple syrup

7. With an electric hand mixer, beat butter and maple syrup until light and fluffy. Yum.

Lentil Couscous Salad with Feta & Sundried Tomatoes

Lentil-Couscous Salad with Feta & Sundried Tomatoes
Original Recipe by Miss Jolie Ann

Dear Ones,

This is an improvisational recipe I threw together from some condiments and spices that I had. I served it on a bed of sorrel, because as you know I have tons of it in my kitchen-garden. When cooking this week, I wanted EASY so I used the fully cooked lentils from Trader Joes, available in their produce cooler area. That's also why I chose couscous, because it is ready in just a few minutes. This was a great salad that kept well in the fridge, enabling me to eat leftovers for lunch for about 4 days!

In health,
Miss Jolie Ann

1 cup couscous

1 cup boiling water

2-3 cups organic lentils, cooked

2 organic celery stalks, minced

1 organic yellow or orange bell pepper, minced

1/2 cup chopped organic red onion

1/2 cup chopped organic flat-leaf/italian parsley

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil

1/2 cup black olive tapenade

1/4 cup organic extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp organic dijon mustard

1 tsp organic apple cider vinegar

1 tsp organic dried fennel seeds

1 organic garlic clove, pressed

Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste

1 cup crumbled organic feta

Several handfuls of organic sorrel leaves, washed and chopped

1. Place the couscous bowl. Pour boiling water over the couscous. Cover the bowl with a plate and let sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. Remove lid and fluff with fork. Let couscous cool.

2. Combine lentils, couscous, celery, bell pepper, onion and parsley in a large bowl. Mix well to combine.

3. In a smaller bowl combine the sundried tomatoes, tapenade, olive oil, mustard, vinegar, fennel seeds, and garlic. Mix well to form the sauce.

4. Combine the sauce in large bowl with the lentil-couscous-veggie mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the feta cheese until everything is well combined.

5. Serve on a bed of sorrel leaves. Yummy.