Green Soup

Leafy greens are very important to a healthy diet, eye health (as my optometrist always tells me) in particular. I happen to love leafy greens, but not everyone does. In cases like this, perhaps the answer is to drink them. This recipe for Green Soup comes from Abrams' new book by Erin Gleason, The Forest Feast Road Trip. The soup is light and delicate with a pleasant taste, and is a quite engaging shade of green.

Green Soup
From The Forest Feast Road Trip

3 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3 T. butter
Salt and pepper
4 c. vegetable broth
2 russet potatoes, cubed (no need to peel)
3 handfuls fresh greens*

In a large pot over medium heat melt butter; sauté onions and garlic with salt and pepper to taste. Add vegetable broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil and then simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Add greens. Turn off the heat and stir to wilt, and then blend in the pot using an immersion blender. Add more broth if needed to reach desired consistency.

Garnish with chopped scallions, yogurt or sour cream, a few greens pan-fried in butter or olive oil, salt and pepper.

*Feel free to use up whatever greens you have on hand. The author likes a mix of spinach, arugula, and lettuce. I used kale, baby spinach, and chard.

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 Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of The Forest Feast Road Trip from Abrams Books as a member of their Abrams Dinner Party 2021-2022.

 

Cinco de Mayo Tablescape

Whether you’re going out to a festive gathering, staying in and hosting your own party, or spending the evening on your own, there is no excuse to not have a colorful and inviting table for Cinco de Mayo. I always consider it as the harbinger of summer, so I like to go all out and include as much color as possible.

This place setting is wonderfully fun. The base consists of two placemats, the striped one with the fringe is from Pier One, the round lime green one from World Market.

It is topped with a geranium leaf charger from Bordallo Pinheiro, on which I placed a red plate from Pier One’s spice Island collection, as well as a chili pepper plate by Hausen Ware, an eBay purchase. The salt and pepper shakers add a whimsical touch.

 Deep yellow chalices along with yellow Noritake flatware brighten the setting. Heavy margarita glasses with a cactus stem from Pottery Barn, years ago, await refilling. The napkin was made by me from Alexander Henry fabric.

Two carved wooden eggs, one on top of the other hold fresh limes, well a pair of avocados I’ll wait being turned into guacamole.

Happy Cinco de Mayo no matter how you celebrate!

 

This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

 
 

Greek Salsa

 I know that there are cilantro people and non-cilantro people, I happen to fall into the former category. For me, if I’m making salsa or pico de gallo, it has to have cilantro and lots of it. For those of you who don’t care for it, here is a great option, a Greek version of the traditional Mexican salsa that is cilantro free. Still, it is loaded with flavor thanks to the seasonings and feta cheese, and can be used as a side dish, a topper for various foods, or as you would a Mexican variety, scooped up with tortilla chips. 

Greek Salsa

Adapted from 12 Tomatoes

 1¼ c. diced cucumber

1 c. diced tomatoes

½ c. diced red onion

¼ c. sliced black olives

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 T. sherry vinegar

1 T. olive oil

¼ t. dried oregano

1 T. fresh chopped dill weed

Salt and pepper to taste

½ c. crumbled feta cheese

 Combine cucumber, tomatoes, onion, and black olives in a large bowl.

 In a smaller bowl whisk together lemon juice, sherry vinegar, olive oil, oregano, dill, salt, and pepper. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss well to combine. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Fold in feta cheese just before serving. Use as a dip with pitas, chips, or as a side dish with fish or chicken.

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Raggedy Jean Cookies

Occasionally I will get out my mother’s recipe box and rummage through. So many memories always come back as I mentally revisit parties, delicious desserts, and recipes contributed by friends, all written out in their own, unique handwriting. Recently I found a recipe that I hadn’t paid much attention to before. It appeared as though it had come from a box or bag of C&H sugar, but unlike many recipes retrieved from packaging, this one had actually been written out by hand. That told me that this one had been tried and kept, ergo was a good one. I gave it a try, wondering if I would live to regret my purchase of maple flavoring. As it turned out, no I did not. These are delicious; far better than I expected them to be. Flavorful, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, with the coconut giving them their delightful raggedy edges.

Raggedy Jean Cookies
Adapted from Jean Porter, C&H Sugar

1 c. dark brown sugar
1 c. butter flavor Crisco shortening
1 large egg
1 t. maple flavoring
2 ¼ c. flour
½ t. baking powder
½ t. kosher salt
1 c. shredded coconut
Granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In the work bowl of your stand mixer beat together brown sugar, shortening, egg, and maple flavoring until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; mix to combine. Stir in coconut. Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, drop in mounds 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet or Silpat. Dip bottom of greased small glass into granulated sugar, and press cookie flat leaving edges ragged. Bake 15 to 16 minutes. Cool on rack.

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Walnut Enchiladas

 I have been spending a good bit of time with Abrams new release, The Forest Feast Road Trip cookbook. I find the recipes in this book to be quite intriguing. I was looking for something unique to fix for Cinco de Mayo when I came across this one for walnut enchiladas. Truthfully, I could not imagine how these would be any good. Also truthfully, they are amazing! I topped mine with sour cream and salsa verde. Next time when I make them, and there will be a next time, I’m going to stir a little cumin and cilantro into the walnut mixture.  I think I’m also going to try this with portobello mushrooms to give it a meatier taste rather than the more subtle button mushrooms that I did use. That said, these were very good as written.

Walnut Enchiladas
From The Forest Feast Road Trip

1-2 T. olive oil
Pinch of salt
1 c. mushrooms, chopped
1 red onion, diced
¾ c. unsalted walnuts, chopped
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained
8 corn tortillas
1 16-oz. jar enchilada sauce
1 c. grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a medium skillet over medium low heat, sauté mushrooms and onion in olive oil with a pinch of salt for 8-10 minutes. Stir in walnuts and beans, heating through.

Spray a 12” x 7” casserole dish with PAM. Pour half of the can of enchilada sauce into the bottom of the casserole dish. Warm the tortillas in a skillet or over a low flame, and immediately begin filling each with the mixture (I used a cookie scoop for this), roll them, and place them seem side down into the dish. Pour any leftover filling over the top, along with the remaining enchilada sauce. Scatter cheddar cheese overall, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

 

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of The Forest Feast Road Trip from Abrams Books as a member of their Abrams Dinner Party 2021-2022.

Something Blue Cheese and Creamy

This wonderful recipe, from Abrams’ recently released Colu Cooks; Easy Fancy Food by Colu Henry is, as the author indicates, halfway between a dip and a dressing. She advises us to use it any way we please. Personally, she says, she likes putting it on top of fried chicken or onto an iceberg wedge salad with bacon and thinly sliced quick pickled shallots. Me? I thought it was absolutely brilliant on top of a salad of organic kale, baby spinach, and chard. Whatever way you use it, this is a must make.

Something Blue Cheese and Creamy

From Colu Cooks

1 c. full fat yogurt
¼ c. mayonnaise
¼ c. sour cream
4 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
2 T. thinly sliced green onion
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, sour cream, blue cheese, and green onions until well combined. Season to taste with lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a few aggressive turns of coarse black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking as needed.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Colu Cooks; Easy Fancy Food from Abrams Books as a member of their Abrams Dinner Party 2021-2022.

Broccoli, Corn, and Bacon Salad

For whatever reason, I tend to shop for a family of four. I’m not sure why I do that. The various sales just draw me in, eager to use those sale ingredients in the vast pile of recipes I have stacked up to try. Because of this I tend to over buy on vegetables, and I’m talking BIG time. When you over buy on vegetables, you end up eating a lot of them, often forced to use them in a variety of ways. Hence, the broccoli and corn salad was born. I have to say that this is a delicious combination, so good, in fact, that I ate it as a main dish. Use fresh corn in the summer, grilled if you like, to enjoy it all year round.

Broccoli, Corn, and Bacon Salad

1 lg. head broccoli, chopped

1 lg. carrot, shredded

2 c. frozen corn, thawed

½ c. golden raisins

½ c. pecans, toasted, roughly chopped

1 T. fresh chives, minced

½ c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

¼ t. Frank’s Hot Sauce

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

¼  - ½ c. favorite Ranch Dressing

 Combine all ingredients, toss to coat with dressing, and serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to two days.

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