Joshua McFadden's Cucumber Salad

I want to jump in here to highlight a ringer of a cucumber salad. There were four recipe contenders in the cucumber section of the book I'm going to reference, and if the other three are as good as this, it's going to be a very cu-centric summer. The salad. It's crisp and refreshing, beautiful, and surprisingly substantial. The main players: cucumbers, ice-bathed scallions, toasted walnuts, mint, rose, and a vinegar-spiked yogurt dressing. I've been adding a scoop of lentils and making a meal out of it all week. The recipe is from the new Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables cookbook by Joshua McFadden, and I knew the whole thing was going to be good when I saw who was working on it. If you know Tusk or Ava Gene's in Portland you know the author. For the book he worked with Toni Tajima (design / you all know her from both Super Natural books, and Near & Far), Laura Dart did the photography (she took this shot of me & Wayne years ago at one of the early Kinfolk brunches), Martha Holmberg (former editor of Fine Cooking), and Melinda Josie (illustration). A lot of heart on this team. Keep your eyes peeled if you haven't see it already - 400 pages of inspiration.

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Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookies

I'm going to revisit one of my favorite cookie recipes today. Made using 100% whole wheat flour and hand-chopped chocolate chips, this is a skillet-baked twist on Kim Boyce's celebrated chocolate chip cookies. It's also a fantastic recipe to make with kids. We had a house guest this weekend, and this was the recipe he wanted to make. Instead of shaping individual cookies, you spread cookie dough across an oven-proof pan or skillet, and bake it. You can cut the finished cookies into wedges or squares, or whatever shape you like. You can also bake individual versions in tiny skillets or these tiny cast-iron Staubs. Served warm with a little dollop of vanilla ice cream - you get the idea. They're fun, fast, and couldn't be simpler. You can see how it all comes together, and meet my favorite kitchen helper, in the video below ;) Enjoy!

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A Week of Putting Things on Rice Cakes

I buy rice cakes (rice crackers) now and then, but they're not a regular purchase for me. I like to crumble them into certain salads, but beyond that, l generally pass. Until(!) last week when I was in Los Angeles, and I stumbled on thin rice cakes. Apologies if I'm exceptionally late to this party, but I had no ideas these existed! You get all the crunch and structure of a classic rice cake, without too much rice cake. They've become a fast favorite afternoon snack vehicle. I kept a list over the past week of favorite toppings, round one is pictured below, and you can see how they come together in the video as well.

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And, if you're not a rice cake fan, you can certainly use all of these ideas on grilled bread, tortillas, lettuce wrap, or whatever!

(Below) Smashed cannellini or corona beans, a few spoonfuls of my favorite tomato sauce, some roasted cherry tomatoes, pepitas, and a few rosemary flowers.

(Below) - Smashed ripe avocado, crumbled kale chips, micro greens or whatever sprouts you have, a bit of lime zest, nutritional yeast, and a thread of extra virgin olive oil.

(Below) - Please try this one - so good, and you can use the remaining saffron honey on everything from oatmeal to breakfast yogurt. It's a quick infused saffron honey drizzled over ricotta cheese, and finished with a bit of salt and chopped chives and/or chive blossoms. The sweet/savory is A+.

(Below) - Turmeric hummus topped with mung beans, scallions, and a sprinkling of hemp seeds.

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Vegan Tempeh Taco Salad

Today's recipe? It's all the things you love about a taco, in salad form. Crushed tortilla chips bring the crunch, black beans and crumbled tempeh coated with taco seasoning brings the substance, and a strong, smoked paprika-apple cider dressing pulls everything together. It's a meal in itself, and most of the components can be prepared ahead of time, making this salad a good option for weeknight dinners and potlucks. You can see how it comes together in the video below. Enjoy!

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As I mention in the video, I like to tweak this salad throughout the seasons. Cherry tomatoes (raw or roasted) or grilled zucchini are great in summer, roasted squash or mushrooms are great in the fall. Basically, if you start with the bean & tempeh base, plus the romaine and dressing, you can build and adjust from there.

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Coconut Red Lentil Soup

Years ago, two of my favorite neighbors hosted a soup party. It was an inspiring affair - big pots of simmering soups and stews, house full of chatty, friendly people. Part of what I liked was the simple premise. The hosts (David & Holly) made a number of soups, guests were asked to arrive with their drink of choice and one thing to share - salad, appetizer, or something sweet. One of the vegetarian soups was a beautiful shade of yellow-orange. It was a light-bodied, curry-spiced coconut broth thickened with cooked red lentils and structured with yellow split peas. When I asked Holly to tell me about it, she mentioned it was based on an Ayurvedic dal recipe in the Esalen Cookbook, a favorite of hers. She happened to have an extra copy of the Esalen book, and sent me home with my belly full, a new cookbook tucked under my arm, and a few suggestions related to the soup. I still make this soup regularly, love it (so much!), and thought it might be fun to revisit it today in video form - enjoy!

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Other things worth noting related to this soup - the slivered green onions sauteed in butter or coconut oil. The golden raisins that plump up with curry broth. Back notes of ginger. Depth from a good dollop of tomato paste. It all comes together in one amazing bowl of restorative goodness.

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Melissa Clark's Black Bean Skillet Dinner

I'm not sure anyone loves a one-pot / one-pan dinner more than me. It's probably one of the reasons I'm so hung up on soups. At any rate, I'm alway on the lookout for inspired ideas related to the one-pan approach, and was excited to come across a fantastic example of a hearty, satisfying, flavor-packed black bean skillet dinner in Melissa Clark's new cookbook. To be fair, I've flagged a lot of recipes in this book (I love Melissa's recipes). But, as in this case, it's even better when I don't need to make a run to the store ;) My guess is many of you have a good chunk of the ingredients on hand as well, and you can see how it comes together in the video below!

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I forgot to mention in the video, but you can certainly make the pickled onions, and the crema up to a few days ahead of time. I mean, they come together in a flash, but sometimes its nice to be able to just grab for the special toppings.

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