spring fattoush salad w/ a creamy sumac-pine nut sauce, and wanting something more /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

some of you may know, as i've written before,  i've had a few struggles with food on both ends of the spectrum: from not liking it at all, to over-consuming it at times.  i thought i could solve this food problem on my own.  first i went on a raw diet, then a juice/smoothie/diet/cleanse thing, and lastly, a quasi gluten free diet. not one of these ways of life proved to serve my physical or mental well-being in any significant way.  so my quest for answers continued... a few months had gone by, and by that time i had kind of given up on "curing" myself, by myself. 

i made an appointment with a nutritionist who had been recommended to my mom and off i went.  among many other things (giving up bread included), she and i had a conversation about well-being; about treating our bodies the best we can.  that visit not only changed my life, but it altered my outlook on REAL FOOD accessibility and wanting something more from those whose authority lies in the food industry.  i thought about times i was at a concert, or a movie or a public space, there was no real food; items that had substantive ingredients, not just empty calories that offered stomachaches, a cloudy brain and bad skin.  we, as a community of food-consuming people deserve better.  to have access to wholesome food, to be able to afford it, to want something more for ourselves; not just what big agriculture or food corporations make the most money on, that we are worth of being well-nourished, not profited from.  

i'm teaming up with two lovely ladies, Jody and Ashley for their Feel Something More Campaign - energizing people to feel, choose, be, something more than the status quo.  They have a series of bloggers talking about their want for something more in life as well.  next up is "The JUGs for Something More" by Just Us Gals (meredith, cameron and suzanne). 

now about this salad!  fattoush salads are a favorite of mine, seasonal veggies paired with torn flatbread, drenched in a creamy sauce/dressing kind of a deal - yes! all day. everyday.  however, this fattoush salad has a bit more green - thanks spianch!  you'll  find a recipe for socca below, mainly because i chose to use it in the bread-y portion of the dish  - it lends a similar texture as any other flatbread, plus it's super easy to throw together and bake up.  lastly, the sumac-spiked pine nut sauce.  i know people can be wary of nut-based things, but the nuts, vinegar and sumac all come together in such a considerable way; add that to this herby, crunchy, spring-green fattoush salad and it's all majorly satisfying.  cheers, and all good things, friends!

spring fattoush salad w/ a creamy, sumac-pine nut sauce | gf + v

| serves 4 |

if you're going to skip the nut-based sauce, i would nudge you in the direction of this tahini sauce or even this yogurt-tahini sauce, both for their creaminess and pungent flavor.  

ingredients

  • 2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup fresh parsley, minced
  • 2 sprigs mint (roughly 8-10 leaves), minced
  • 1 bunch ramps, cleaned and white parts sliced thin (or spring onions) 
  • 1 small cucumber, quartered into 1/2" chunks
  • 4-5 radishes, sliced thin by hand or mandolin
  • 1/4 cup chives, minced
  • 8" round of socca (recipe below), torn into large pieces (or gluten-free flatbread of choice)

sumac-pine nut sauce

  • 1/3 cup pine nuts, soaked for 2 hours
  • 1 small shallot, roughly chopped 
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2-3 tablespoons filtered water
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground sumac, plus more for garnish

garlicky socca

  • scant 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
  • 1/2 cup warm filtered water
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • a couple grinds of fresh pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, minced 
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

instructions

sumac-pine nut sauce

  • drain the pine nuts and transfer them to a high-speed blender (a food processor will do, but consistency won't be as creamy).  add the shallot, vinegar, olive oil, salt and sumac; with the motor running, pour the water through the spout, 1 tablespoon at a time, to get desired consistency.  scoop into lidded jar and transfer to refrigerator until ready to use

garlicky socca

  • place an 8" cast iron pan inside your oven and preheat to 450° 
  • combine the garbanzo bean flour, salt + pepper with a whisk.  drizzle in water while whisking to incorporate; add the olive oil and minced garlic and whisk again. set aside
  • gently remove preheated pan from oven, pour the remaining tablespoon of olive oil into the pan, give it a swirl to ensure even coverage.  pour socca batter into pan and gently place back into the center of your oven.  cook for 12 minutes, edges should be pulled away from sides and lightly browned; remove from oven and flip the socca over.  return back to the oven and cook for another 3-4 minutes. remove from heat and let cool completely
  • once cooled, tear into large chunks.  leave the flatbread out for about 20 minutes while you prepare the salad

assemble salad

  • remove sauce from refrigerator and allow to come to room temp.  add a teaspoon or two of water to get sauce nice and creamy
  • in a large serving bowl, combine all of the salad items.  pour half the sauce over the salad and combine, depending on your preference, add more sauce.
  • garnish with some added sumac (optional)

enjoy!

a microgreen, mint + mango juice for one /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

these past couple of weekends have been so beautiful.  frank and i have got into a new, spring-y rhythm full of longs walks, afternoon picnics at the park, frequenting farmers' markets, taking our little pup to the dog park and sipping iced coffees!  as we spend more time outdoors we come into contact with all sorts of people - friends, neighbors, acquaintances, doggie friends, and also the random people that are not quite nice or respectful.  i guess i should be happy that more often than not, people in our little neighborhood are generally kind, but this weekend we came across a bunch of people at our local park who were disrespectful and (sorry, but) straight-up a-holes.  we were enjoying some time in the park when our space was rudely disrupted by a rather unprofessional yoga photo shoot.  they neither excused themselves nor apologized when we asked for some space, rather responded with disrespectful comments.  

whatever the case may be, i know these kinds of people are the exception and not the norm, but i would hope they would realize at some point, that no matter how important you feel your job is, people's personal space still matters; that practicing common decency and respect  on a daily basis is still a relevant thing!  

in an effort to rid my mind of these folks, i spent the next afternoon breathing deeply and sipping on this soothing and refreshing green juice.   green juices are a favorite around here.  as the weather warms up i usually purchase too many greens to consume during the week.  by week's end there are surely leftovers which make their way into the blender.  today i used microgreens.  i can't get enough of these beauties; i thought their soft leaves and subtle taste would be a satisfying addition to this juice.  i threw in some mint, lemon juice, mango and ginger, all for their therapeutic properties and a nutrient boost!  cheers to you all, friends! xo

microgreen, mint + mango juice for one 

| serves 1 |

i used microgreens here because i had a boat-load of them leftover.  however, you can use any greens of your choice, be it chard, spinach, or kale.  i give directions using a blender, but feel free to use your juicer, just skip the straining step below.

ingredients

  • 1/2 cup mixed microgreens
  • 1 large sprig mint (approx. 6-8 large leaves)
  • 1 mango, peeled and cut into chunks
  • a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped rough
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • 5-6 coconut water ice cubes (you can also use water ice cubes)

garnish

  • chia seeds
  • extra mint leaves

instructions

  • place all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend for about 1 minute.  for a juice without pulp, pass the juice mixture through a fine mesh sieve over your glass.  garnish with chia seeds and mint, and drink immediately

to your health! enjoy!

this season's first soup: spring garlic + radish top soup (v + gf) /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

the first soup i ever made was a butternut squash number with apples, onions, and heavy cream (!) (waaay before i stopped eating dairy).  when my co-worker made it and brought in for us to have, it was super creamy and velvety - i basically told her that i wanted her to come home with me and make this for dinner every night.  she politely declined and gave me the recipe instead.  i had decided to make this soup for frank when we were first dating, i thought i would impress the hell outta him with this super-duper restaurant-worthy soup.   back then, i lived by myself in a studio apartment, my kitchen although small, was quite functional with everything i thought i needed.  i prepared the ingredients according to the directions, followed step-by-step, and finally, the soup was ready to be pureed.  however, as i surveyed my kitchen it came to my attention that i didn't own a blender, nor did i own a food processor (and i didn't even know what an immersion blender was at that time).  a few rather loud screams and some toddler-esque feet-stomping occurred at that moment, but i sucked it up and continued on with what i did have, a mini food processor - one that held about 1 cup of liquid at a time. as i stood there in my almost counter-less kitchen running batch after batch of butternut squash mixture through the tiniest of machines, i began realizing that the consistency was a bit thick, as my mini processor didn't accomplish a polished puree.  i ended up serving the mushy, baby food soup to frank anyway.  i can still remember his face as he ate the "soup", it basically looked like, 'wtf am i eating' but with a smile.  while it was  tasty, it wasn't one of my finest culinary moments.

since that time, i'm sure you'll be happy to know that i've acquired appropriate kitchen instruments, ones that can handle things like soup!  and because of my awesome in-laws, i've graduated to a 12-cup food processor!  all joking aside, i really love soup.  especially during these weeks where it feels like we're between seasons -70-degree temps one day, in the 40's the next.  and these days, after emerging from the cave of winter, market greens are all i want to eat and cook with.  my mom had given me the cutest bundle of radishes back in march that she bought from the Stone Barns greenhouse.  with them, i made a 2-serving radish top soup and absolutely loved the bitter/peppery taste it had.  i've been waiting (totally impatiently!) these past few weeks for radishes to show up at the market, and this past weekend they did!  i also picked up a bunch of spring garlic thinking their subtle flavor would pair really nicely with the greens.  i toasted up some cumin seeds, crushed them, and added it to the mix to break up all the earthiness going on here as well.  so, stop throwing away the greens on top of your veggies and go make this soup!

i want to thank any of you who voted for me for Saveur's Best Food Blog Awards, being nominated was so beyond anything i could have ever dreamed of, especially when i was in the company of SO many women i look up to and am inspired by each day!  so, the biggest of congratulations to the lovely winners: Jeanine from Love & Lemons, Stephanie from i am a food blog, Sarah from The Vanilla Bean Blog, Izzy from Top With Cinnamon, Beth from Local Milk, Emma from My Darling Lemon Thyme, Ashlae from Oh, Ladycakes, Sarah from My New Roots, Laura from The First Mess and Valentina from Hortus Cuisine! you ladies rock! xo

this season's first soup: spring garlic + radish top soup (v + gf)

inspired by Deborah Madison, Vegetable Literacy

| serves 4 |

if you can't find/don't want to use radish greens, a good replacement could be dandelion greens, mustard greens or arugula - or a mixture of these that totals the amount i indicate below.  additionally, if you can't find spring garlic, regular garlic will totally work, just reduce the amount to 2 small cloves worth.  i added millet here just for more substance and weight - feel free to add quinoa, rice or any other grain you like.  

ingredients

  • 2 bunches radish top greens (approx. 2.5 ounces), washed and stems trimmed
  • 1 bunch spring garlic, white parts chopped in half-inch pieces (alternatively, 2 small cloves garlic, roughly chopped), reserve green parts for garnish
  • 1 medium waxy potato, scrubbed and cut into quarters, about 1/4-inch thick
  • 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and crushed 
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • fine grain sea salt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cups filtered water or vegetable stock

garnish

  • cooked millet
  • fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • radish sprouts
  • sliced garlic greens
  • radishes, sliced thin

instructions

  • heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.  add the onion slices and lay them flat; sprinkle garlic evenly over onion, then lay potato slices over them.  cook for about 3 minutes without disturbing while the pan heats up.  add the crushed cumin and give it all a good stir. cover, and cook over a low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring the vegetables every so often (the bottom of the pan should start acquiring a brown glaze - this is good!). in the last few minutes, add the wine and let about half of it cook off.  next, add water (or stock) and 1 1/2-2 teaspoons salt, bring to a boil - scraping the bottom to loosen the glaze.  lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until potatoes are tender and falling apart - 15-20 minutes
  • add radish tops to the pot  and cook for about 5 minutes - until wilted and dark green.  let soup cool.  then transfer the mixture to a high-speed blender and puree
  • divide the soup evenly, and garnish with cooked millet, radish sprouts, garlic greens, sliced radishes and a squeeze of lemon juice

enjoy!