Wraps for a Birthday

I was very happy to help with my niece's b-day bash, especially since I got to make some favorites with my sister from the cafe we used to have...

Thai Peanut Wrap
whole wheat lavash (available at OB People's)
1 or more leaves of lettuce, mustard greens, bok choy, or greens of your choice
handful shredded carrot
4 slices cucumber and/or a few sugar snap peas
1/4 - 1/2 avocado, sliced
layer of sunflower sprouts from Sungrown or Suzie's Farm
thick layer peanut sauce
2 springs cilantro
1 Tbsp green onion, thinly sliced on a diagonal
several mint leaves

Layer ingredients along the short edge of the wrap, roll it up and cut in half on a diagonal.

Hummus Wrap
whole wheat lavash
1/3 cup cilantro hummus
thin drizzle lemon balsamic vinaigrette
light sprinkling za'atar
handful shredded carrot
4 slices cucumber
3 slices tomato (or light layer sun dried tomato from Terra Bella or Sage Mountain Farms, depending on the season)
a few thin slices of red onion
1 large romaine leaf, break in half, or greens of your choice

Layer ingredients along the short edge of the wrap, roll it up and cut in half on a diagonal.

thai peanut sauce

About time I posted this favorite. Use it in a whole wheat wrap, with Asian noodles, for stir-fried veggies, a dipping sauce or thin for a salad dressing. Goes great with greens, carrots, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, avocado, sunflower sprouts, green onions, fresh cilantro and mint leaves. Garnish with roasted or sprouted peanuts.



Thai Peanut Sauce
2 tablespoons namu soyu (soy sauce)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon local honey or agave
2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger (dry measure)
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup peanut butter (measured by displacement of the liquid)
2 tablespoons warm water (more or less to desired consistency)

Blend with immersion blender until smooth. Makes about a cup.

Make Your Own Hot Chocolate MIx

Great for camping, I make mine with a mayan flair by adding cinnamon and cayenne but you could leave them out if you prefer...

3 cup organic nonfat milk powder
1½ cup evaporated cane sugar
¾ cup organic fair trade cocoa powder
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch cayenne

Stir ingredients until combined (sift if needed to remove lumps).  Makes about 12 servings.

For each serving, scoop 1/4-1/3 cup of the mix into your mug.  Add a couple tablespoons of milk and a splash of vanilla; stir well until there are no lumps. Fill with hot water and stir until thoroughly combined.

Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Basically a hearty minestrone without the pasta. All veggies found from my favorite farmers at the Little Italy Mercato...

1 tblsp olive oil
½ cup yellow onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup carrot, diced or julienned or thin sliced quarters
½ cup celery, diced
½ cup zucchini, chopped or sliced
¾ cup cooked kidney or cannellini beans, (reserve cooking liquid for broth if cooked from scratch)
¾ cup green beans, fresh, chopped into 1” pieces
1½ cups tomato, diced (fresh or canned) with juice
6 cups vegetable broth
½ cup fresh spinach, packed, destemmed, rough chop
a handful of Italian parsley leaves, fresh, chopped
sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
a handful of fresh basil leaves, julienned

Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil in a pan on medium heat until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes, stirring (do not brown). Add the carrot and celery and cook until they begin to soften, about another 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cook until it begins to soften, another couple minutes.

Add the beans, tomato and stock and simmer briefly. Stir in spinach, parsley, basil and season to taste.

Serve with a crusty, toothsome bread.

Serves 6

Arugula Salad with Seasonal Fruit & Balsamic Vinaigrette

This salad has very similar ingredients to very popular farmers market Roots wraps...

Arrange on a plate:
a handful of arugula from Suzie's Farm (or spinach or spring mix or mizuna...)
a few pieces of thinly sliced red onion from Schaner Farm
in spring or summer: a couple of strawberries from Suzie's or JR Organics Farm, sliced
in fall or winter: several slices of apple from Smit Orchards
a tablespoon of walnut from Terra Bella Farm, halves or pieces, toasted
a tablespoon of Point Reyes blue cheese (or feta), crumbled
drizzle with...

Balsamic Vinaigrette
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (try Ensenada olive oil for something very special!)
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon or whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Wisk or blend ingredients together with an immersion blender.

Makes about 1 1/4 cups

Avo Chocolate Mousse

or ganache, or pudding...this vegan dessert is rich and intense, and you'd never guess it was avocado based! Another Roots favorite:

2 cups avocados, skinned, pitted, slightly mashed (about 3) from Schaner Farm or Heritage Farm
2 tablespoons organic, fair trade coconut oil, melted
2 teaspoons organic, fair trade, pure vanilla extract (I make my own)
1 cup organic, fair trade cocoa powder, sifted
1 pinch sea salt
7 fluid ounces raw organic agave
Add avocado, coconut oil, vanilla extract, cocoa powder and salt to a food processor. Start the food processor and slowly pour in the agave. Blend until very smooth.

Makes about 4 cups. Keep refrigerated for a week or freeze for a month.

Serve with local organic fruit (blackberries or strawberries are my favorite when in season) and sprinkle with chopped & toasted local organic walnuts from Terra Bella Farm.

Variations
add a pinch of ground cinnamon and/or cayenne while blending

Strawberry Horchata

There are some amazing strawberries to be had at the farmers market, especially from Suzie's Farm and JR Organics Farm.

I first had strawberry horchata with a friend at El Mercado in East LA. She swore it would be awesome and ordered me a licuado de medio horchata y medio agua fresca de fresa. And I was hooked. I would then order it wherever I happened upon a licuado shop or fruteria. But I would always get funny looks - this was apparently a strange request. So I started making it at home. And it was very popular when I sold it as Roots.

3&1/2 cups brown rice
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
about 12 cups hot water (or milk or a mix of the 2), not boiling
1 cup agave
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-3 pints strawberries

Put the rice and cinnamon in a gallon pitcher and fill the pitcher with the hot water.  Allow it to cool, cover and refrigerate overnight.  Blend the mixture for several minutes until the rice is a gritty, oatmeal texture.  Stain through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids to remove the liquid.  Return the liquid to the pitcher and compost the rice solids.

Remove the green top from the strawberries.  Add the agave, vanilla, and enough strawberries to mostly fill up the pitcher.  Blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

Makes about a gallon.

Carrot Ginger Soup

It took me forever to come up with a carrot soup recipe that suited my tastes - the surprising addition of salsa is what finally did it for me.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, coarsely chopped (from Schaner Farm)
2½ teaspoon ginger, fresh, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced (from Schaner Farm)
2 cups carrots, chopped (from J.R. Organics Farm or Suzie's Farm)
¼ cup salsa
3 cups vegetable stock
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Sauté the onion in the oil in a pan on medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger; cook another 2 minutes. Add carrots and salsa; cook for 1 minute. Add broth, bring to a boil, and simmer covered until carrots are soft, about 20 minutes. Puree and season to taste.

Garnish with crema, sour cream, cilantro, onions sprouts or microgreens

Serves 4-6

Winter Squash Soup

Folks love this simple soup and always ask me for the recipe. I made it for the Art of Agriculture event at Wild Willow Farm last year and I'll be making again at the Farm for a fundraiser for Seeds @ City Urban Farm.

My very favorite squash is butternut and I also love pumpkin (so many varieties!), kabocha, honeybear acorn, delicata and tahitian, but use your favorite winter squash or a mix...

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
2 cups onion, coarsely chopped
5 cups butternut or your favorite winter squash, peeled, seeded & chopped (keep the skin, seeds and scrapings for your stock)
5-6 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped
2 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Sauté the onion and squash in oil in a large pot on high heat stirring frequently until lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add herbs and broth, bring to a boil, and simmer covered until the squash is soft, about 20 minutes. Puree and season to taste.

Makes about 8 cups

Garnish with sage puree, fried sage leaves, chopped parsley, diced and cooked root vegetables or roasted veggies, sprouts or micro greens, and/or buttered croutons.

Variation
Try roasting the squash before cooking the soup.

Sage Puree
10 sage leaves, blanched
¼ cups extra virgin olive oil

In a blender or with an immersion blender, blend sage and olive oil until very smooth.

Buttered Croutons
Melt a tablespoon (or so) of butter in a skillet over medium heat, toss in cubed bread (just enough to make a single layer in the skillet), salt and pepper to taste and sauté until golden brown.

Creamy Salad Dressings

I usually prefer vinaigrettes but sometimes a creamy dressing is the perfect compliment.

A dollop of creme fraiche with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt is simple and beautiful on butter lettuce garnished with fresh chives. Here's a couple more favorites...

Ranch Dressing
Nothing like the bottled stuff (which I find inedible), freshly made ranch dressing is wonderful, and for me, a comfort food full of nostalgia. We love it on green salads with lots of vegetables (we got the perfect haul today from Suzie's & JR's Farms: lettuce, red cabbage, cherry tomatoes, armenian cuc, broccoli and purple carrots), on potatoes, or as a dip for crudites, sweet potato fries, and even pizza crust. This recipe is also a good example of how recipes can easily be adapted to what you have on hand. I vastly prefer to use fresh ingredients, but dried spices can work in a pinch.

2 - 4 cloves garlic (you could sub granulated or powdered garlic)
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup sour cream, crema, or crème fraiche (you could even use plain yogurt or mayo)
¼ cup (or more) milk (or buttermilk, half & half, nonfat…)
¼ cup minced fresh herbs (flat-leaf parsley, chives maybe some thyme and dill or sub in dried herbs)
1 green onion, minced (or shallot, red onion or even onion powder or dried onion…)
1 teaspoon lemon juice (or vinegar - apple cider, white wine, sherry…)
Freshly ground black pepper

Mash the garlic and salt to a paste with the side of a chef's knife. In a bowl, whisk it together the rest of the ingredients (start with ¼ milk). If it’s too thick, thin with milk to desired consistency. If you use dried herbs/garlic/onion, let it sit for a hour or 2 before using).

Creamy Cilantro Dressing
This one's perfect for any kind of Mexican or "taco" salad. Try it on romaine with diced heirloom tomatoes or salsa fresca, black/pinto/kidney beans and broken tortilla chips.

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon pepitas, toasted
1/4 bunch (or a handful) fresh cilantro
2 oz homemade goat milk ricotta (ideally cotija, but I can't find it local or organic)
sea salt to taste

Blend with immersion blender until smooth.

Back-to-School Lunches with PB&J

Sometimes its hard to come up with ideas of what to pack yourself (or your kid or spouse) for lunch but bringing your own lunch is a great way to to care for yourself, family and our earth: decreased packaging & waste, increased nutrition & love, and where ever you might buy your lunch I'm pretty sure they're not using much in the way of local and organic ingredients.  When I was little, it was the highlight of my day when I found "I love you" written on the napkin my mom tucked into my lunch box.

So there's the obvious choices:

• fresh or dried fruit
• fresh cut veggies
• nuts
• thermos of soup
• sandwich or wrap
• crackers or baguette with cheese or avocado
• leftovers (might require kitchen access it heat stuff up)
• salad (green, pasta, potato, etc)

Or you could pack any number of combos of bruschettas, dips, spreads, or salsas with veggies, crackers, pita, or baguette.

Here's a twist on a brown bag classic:

Roots' PB&J
On Sadie Rose multigrain bread, spread freshly ground peanut butter (or your favorite nut butter) and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Add a layer of sliced banana (but bananas are have a short season locally and are very unsustainable otherwise so try sliced apples instead). Sprinkle with a generous tablespoon of chopped toasted walnuts from Terra Bella Farm and drizzle with local honey. Spread the other slice of bread with Jackie's BRB Jam (or another local seasonal goodie - there are lots to try these days at the farmers markets)

Enjoy gooey deliciousness!

Ode to Julia: Leek & Potato Soup

This recipe is based on Julia Child's. It's one of my very favorite soup recipes and was very popular at Roots. It's simple, hearty, comforting, delicious, cheap, and easy to put your own spin on...

3 cups leeks, julienned
1 cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
3 cups gold or red potatoes, well scrubbed & chopped (I leave the peel on for a more rustic soup but you can peel it if you prefer)
4 cups vegetable stock
sea salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

Heat oil or butter over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add the leeks and onions; cook until soft, about 5 minutes, stirring. Add the potatoes and stock. Bring to a boil; let simmer for 20 minutes. You can leave the soup chunky, or just blend half, but I prefer to blend (with an immersion blender) until mostly smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish options
sour cream or crème fraîche, grated cheese, crumbled blue cheese or cherve, fresh chopped parsley, chives or green onion, buttered croutons, blue cheese crostini…

Variations

• add in other vegetables (in with the potato or diced, sauteed, and added as a garnish): carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabga, cauliflower, winter squash, sorrel, spinach, kale…
• sweet potato & leek soup: use sweet potatoes instead of gold or red, garnish with grated gruyere cheese and fresh minced rosemary
• broccoli potato soup with cheddar: add a bunch of broccoli (rough chop florets; peel and shred stalks) to the last 5 minutes of simmering. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese.

Kitchen Tip
Julienned Leeks
With a paring knife, remove the tough, dark green parts of leaves (save for stock). Starting at the root base, insert the knife through the leek and draw up through the top. Repeat, cutting leek lengthwise into thin strips. Cut into 1½ inch sections, removing root base. Place julienned leeks in a bowl of water and swish vigorously to rinse away all dirt.

A Trio of Hummus (& other variations)

Yes, the plural of hummus is hummus (but I had to look it up).  Anyways...
Hummus is a very easy recipe to riff on and I'm kinda into serving trios of things, so let's start with the "mother" recipe:

4 large cloves garlic (I like garlic, but if you don't you can skip or use less)
1 cup garbanzo beans, cooked from scratch (yummy) or canned
1/3-1/2 cup tahini
pinch of ground cayenne
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
4-6 tablespoons garbanzo broth (if you cooked them from scratch) or water, more if you like a thinner hummus

In a food processor, buzz the garlic until minced.  Add the garbanzo beans, tahini & cayenne.  In a separate container, combine the olive oil, lemon juice and broth/water.  Turn on the food processor and slowly pour in the liquid.  Blend until very smooth (a few minutes).

Makes about 1&1/2 cups. Top with a drizzle of your favorite olive oil and sprinkle with za'atar (a middle eastern spice mix).  Serve with fresh pita and crudités.

A few suggestions for variations:
Fresh herbs - I served a cilantro hummus at Roots, if you'd like to duplicate it...add 1/2 bunch of cilantro (stems & leaves) (or parsley or basil - leaves only) and buzz with the garlic before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Roasted garlic - roast a full head of garlic and add the caramelized cloves in before adding the liquid.

Sun-dried tomato -  I didn't like these until I tried them from Terra Bella Farm & Sage Mountain Farm and they taste amazing. Add a handful and buzz with the garlic before adding the rest of the ingredients

Roasted red pepper - or try roasting any of the beautiful peppers from Suzie's Farm.  Add 1-2 roasted, skinned, seeded peppers in with the garlic and blend until pureed before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Baba ganoush - roast a smallish eggplant and scoop out the flesh to replace the garbanzo beans (and hold off on the water)

Hippie Bars!!!

another Roots favorite...(a long list of ingredients but you can get all them at OB Peoples Co-op)


1 cup butter, room temp
2/3 cup evaporated cane sugar
1 cup rapadura sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ (toast raw wheat germ in a pan on low heat until it smells toasted)
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup raw hemp seed (no, these won't get you high)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1&1/2 cups chocolate chips (fair trade, of course; let's not support slavery for African children)

Beat butter and sugars until well-combined.  Add eggs, pb & vanilla and mix until incorporated.

In a separate bowl, mix together flours, wheat germ, oats, hemp seed, baking soda & salt.  Then mix into the wet ingredients.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Press dough into a buttered 13"x9" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 28 minutes.

Two bowls of Chili

Black Bean Chili  a Roots favorite...

2 teaspoons olive oil
½ cup onion, chopped (from Schaner Farm via the Little Italy Farmers Market)
½ cup mild chile (such anaheim or pasilla - lots of options from Suzie's Farm),  chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano (dry your own from Schaner or Suzie's Farm)
cayenne to taste (start with a pinch, if you're wimpy; up to 1/2 teaspoon if you like it spicy)

1½ teaspoon paprika
3 large cloves garlic, minced (from Schaner or Sage Mt Farm)
¾ cup tomato, fresh chopped or crushed canned in glass
juice of ½ an orange (from the Schaners)
3 cups cooked black beans

salt to taste

Sauté the onion, chile, and spices in the oil with a few pinches of salt in a pan on medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring (do not brown). Add garlic and tomato and cook for 2 minutes. Add orange juice and beans with their liquid and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Salt to taste.

Garnish Options: crema, cheddar or jack cheese (from Spring Hill), avocado, cilantro, green onions


Simple Vegan Chili
½ tablespoon olive oil
½ cup yellow onion, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin, ground
¼ teaspoon cayenne
3 cups diced tomato (fresh or canned)
3 cloves garlic, minced 

3 cups cooked kidney beans, drained or with liquid if you want it soupier

salt to taste if using fresh tomato and cooking your own beans.

In a large pot, saute onions and celery in oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until onions just begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a simmer.  Great served next to corn bread.

Variations
Add other ingredients: corn, greens, or sauteed carrots or zucchini.
Add or sub other beans: black beans, black-eyed peas, garbanzo beans… 

Salsa Fresca

The tomatoes are so beautiful and bountiful right now. I made a very straight up, simple salsa last night (to put on top of a chile relleño casserole; more on that later):

4 tomatoes, medium sized, diced (whatever you've grown or is your favorite, 2 if they are big ones)
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
¼ cup onion (red, yellow, or green), finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ bunch cilantro chopped
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½-1 minced fresh chile, such as a jalepeño, serano or habinero

Combine all ingredients.  Makes about 2 cups.

Variations
Blend ingredients for a smooth salsa
Add other ingredients: black beans, corn kernels, diced avocado…
Diced canned tomatoes can be used when fresh tomatoes are out of season

Carrot Cake

Beautiful carrots at the farmers market this week from Sage Mountain Farm & Suzie's Farm, so it was the perfect time for carrot cake.

1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups rapadura sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup safflower or sunflower oil (choose a high oleic variety -these are high in monounsaturated, healthier fats: read the label)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
4 eggs from Schaner Farm
3 cups carrots, grated, tightly packed

Combine the dry ingredients in a stand up mixer. Mix in the oil, applesauce, and eggs to combine (do not over mix). Stir in the grated carrot.

24 cupcakes: Fill lined cupcake pans full of batter. Bake at 350° for 11 minutes, rotate pans and bake another 11 minutes.

8” round layer cake: Pour batter into 2 greased and floured cake pans. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for about 40 minutes.

13”x9” cake: Pour batter into a greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350° for about 55 minutes.



Neufchatel Frosting
¼ pound butter (from Spring Hill: the secret to a perfect frosting), room temp
8 oz neufchatel cheese, room temp
1/2 vanilla bean (or 1½ tsp vanilla extract)
6 oz (weighed) powdered sugar
2 pinches sea salt

Scrape vanilla seeds from the bean (save the pod for vanilla sugar or make your own extract). Blend all ingredients until smooth in a food processor

fresh squeezed lemonade

Fresh, organic, local, ice-cold lemonade is a beautiful thing.  I'm so happy to have a lemon tree but if you don't, there are tons of trees around town heavy with fruit: make friends with your neighbor or stake out a tree that's easy to reach.  And they are almost always in season here in san diego.

Here's my basic recipe:

in a 1 gallon container -

2 - 2  1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (including pulp)
zest of a lemon (optional)
1  1/2 - 2 cups your preferred sweetener (I usually use agave or a simple syrup made from evaporated cane juice and sometimes half honey)

Fill the rest of the container with spring water.


Lemonade is very easy to rift on using a vast array of seasonal ingredients.  Add any one of these ingredients before filling the container with water.  All amounts are approximate, so just use what you got and adjust to taste:

• a tablespoon of zest and/or the juice of lime, buddha hand, tangerine,  orange, grapefruit (with rose), and/or kumquat
• a handful of fresh lavender or rose geranium, steeped in a cup of hot water for 20 minutes, strained
• 1 cup cucumber, blended and a handful of fresh mint, blended and strained
• 8 cups watermelon, seeded and blended
• a cup of chopped pineapple guava or dragon fruit, blended
• a cup of pomegranate juice
• a cup of berries, blended (and maybe strained; blueberry was a favorite and mulberry had amazing color)
• POG - guava, passion fruit and orange

My little sister and I recently made an amazing lemonade with mulberries from my tree and strawberries and blackberries from the farmers market.


I also love to cut the sweetness by mixing lemonades with various iced teas and herbal tisanes.

Here's a few of my favorite combos:

• raspberry lemonade & mint tisane
• kumquat lemonade & white peony tea
• mixed citrus or berry lemonade & jamaica (hibiscus tisane)
• lemonade & oolong tea
• citrus lemonade & black assam ginger tea

Serve over ice and garnish with edible flowers!