I haven’t written a recipe post since July. JULY. With the career overhaul(s), life distractions and overall lack of inspiration (thought I have had some good meals), I just haven’t been in the kitchen as much. Things aren’t slowing down any time soon, with my event planning business in full swing and a move barreling its way towards us in about 6 months, but I promise I’ll try to be better.

With that, on to the salad.

Chris and I realized a few weeks ago (thanks Gothamist!) that there is a giant Food Bazaar about a 15 min drive from us. When I say giant, I mean it. Every produce imaginable; spices from all over the world; aisles of cheese; bags of sea salt. It’s almost overwhelming.

I’ve never worked with fava beans for whatever reason, so I was excited to see a barrel of them at the store, ripe for the picking (and boiling, and shelling and removing of skins). Add some bright nutty greens and some creamy goat cheese and you’ve got an easy week day lunch.

Ingredients

– 2-3 cups of Watercress, chopped into 2-3 inch pieces, large stems removed
– 1/2 pound of Fava beans in the pod (also called long beans)
– 2-3 Tbsp Goat Cheese
– 1/8 cup chopped fresh Mint
– 1 Tbsp sliced Almonds, toasted
– 2 cloves Garlic, chopped
– 1 Tbsp fresh Lemon juice
– 1 Pinch Lemon Zest
– 2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
– 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
– Salt & Pepper

Directions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath for after you’ve cooked the beans. Add Fava beans to boiling water and cook for approx. 3 minutes. Drain and add to the ice bath until cool enough to handle (this stops them from cooking). Shell the fava beans and then carefully remove the tougher layer from around each bean (this is a little time consuming). In a saute pan, add some olive oil over low/medium heat. Add chopped garlic and being to soften. Add in fava bean and toss to coat, seasoning with salt and pepper. Continue to saute until beans get a little browned and are soft but not mushy. In a small mason jar, add lemon juice, 2 tbsp olive oil, zest, mustard, salt and pepper. Screw on the lid and shake rigorously until ingredients are incorporated. In a bowl, drizzle some of the dressing and then pile in the greens and mint. Toss with the greens with the dressing using tongs or your hand, adding more dressing as needed (you may not need it all). Add in warm fava beans and continue to toss ingredients together. Add crumbles of goat cheese, saving some for the top of the salad. Move the salad into a service dish, sprinkle with remaining goat cheese and top with toasted almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

Have I mentioned that I’m going vegan for January? I have about two and a half more weeks to eat all of the cheese…

Ingredients

– 2/3 cup Shiitake Mushrooms, chopped
– 1 cup Dinosaur Kale, stems removed, greens chopped
– 2/3 Cup Fontina Cheese, shredded
– 2 sliced Bread
– 1-2 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– Butter
– Salt to taste

Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add shiitake mushrooms and season with salt. Toss as the mushrooms begin to brown. Add kale and continue to saute until the kale wilts and starts to crisp. Set aside. Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Add half of the cheese to an unbuttered sides of one of the slices. Add the mushroom and kale mixture and top with the remainder of the cheese. Top with other slice of bread, butter-side up. Heat a pan over low/medium heat and add sandwich to the pan. Grill until golden brown on one side. Flip and grill the other side as well. Let rest for a minute or two and then cut and serve immediately.

Ingredients

– 2 slices of bread (I used a baguette that was leftover from Thanksgiving)
– 3-4 slices of Brie
– 2 Tbsp Grained Dijon Mustard
– 3/4 cup Apple, cut into matchsticks
– 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together mustard and apple cider. Add apples and toss together with the dijon vinegar mixture. Layer bottom piece of bread with brie. Pile with a generous amount of slaw. If there’s any leftover liquid, pour on to other piece of bread and make a sandwich with the brie side. Grill in a pan, flipping once one side is brown and cheese begins to melt.
Serve hot.

(serves 6-7)
In the midst of wedding season, it’s good to have a few ideas on hand for any bridal shower brunches you’ll be attending. I made this for my friend Emma’s party. It’s all bagels, salads and Brooklyn-inspired cocktails today.

1 dozen Eggs, boiled, peeled and chopped 2/3 cup of Mayonnaise 4 teaspoons Whole Grain Mustard 2 Radishes, chopped small2/3 cup of Mayonnaise 1 Tbsp Capers1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice1 Tbsp Scallions, sliced thin (whites and light green) 1 Tbsp fresh Tarragon, chopped Fresh Pepper to taste
Sliced Bread or Bagels (I managed to have neither of these at my house, so my picture is sans bread)In a bowl, toss all ingredients together. Spread on bread and serve.

Last week I was back in my home state of Washington for the 4th of July. It was a crazy week but I managed to get in family time, friend time and time in the woods. Though I consider myself a East Coast lady at the core, once I was back in the dirt in the fresh air, I was like a fish to water. Speaking of water, my mom and I took a day hike along the Skokomish River at Staircase. I remember camping there as a kid and spending lots of time in the river moving rocks around to create mini rapids. I probably would have done the same again if I’d had the time.

I also saw my little lady niece, who is so cute it’s frightening. She said my name for the first time! Well she said something like “Bee-ee-ny” but close enough.

As you may or may not know, I work from home.  Dream scenario, right?  Well yes and no.  Sometimes I miss the simple things, like getting out of the house for hours on end and being around people (for those things, I escape to my beloved Cafe Grumpy.)
There is a plus though, and that is called lunch.  My kitchen sits about three feet from my “office,” so it’s a cinch to whip something up between sessions of pounding away on the keyboard.  No quick trips to the vending machine between emails.  No crossing my fingers hoping that there will be leftover pizza after the engineering meeting.  I have the world, er, refrigerator at my fingertips. I made this salad on Monday AND Tuesday, with one major difference: the poached egg.  It was exactly what was needed to make this meal complete.


Quinoa & Arugula Salad with Poached Egg
1/4 cup Quinoa, cooked (follow directions on box)1/2 cup fire roasted tomato (I love Muir Glen Organic)1/2 red onion, chopped1 clove garlic, chopped1 egg2 cups arugula1 tbls olive oilsalt & pepper to tasteHeat olive oil in over medium heat and add onion, cooking until tender.  Add in garlic and tomato and cook for a few minutes.  Add cooked quinoa and mix.
To poach the egg (I had to look up directions because it’d been so long and seems so intimidating), bring a few inches of water to a boil in a sauce pan with a sprinkle of sauce.  Reduce heat to a simmer.  Crack egg into a cup (this helps ensure you don’t break the yolk when you add the egg to water.)  Add egg to simmering water.  Cook for about 2 minutes for a runny yolk.  On a plate, pile with arugula and spoon quinoa mixture over top.  Add poached egg and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Between the quinoa and the egg, this salad is packed with protein and is seriously a snap to make.  I might have to go for round three today.