Thanksgiving morning I went out to the garden on the hunt for something green to add to my menu at the last minute. Turkey Day should be dubbed white meat and starch day. I was surprised to find rapini (also know as broccoli rabe or raab) sprouting like crazy. Not because rapini is out of season, but rather I totally forgot I planted it back in September.

Most of the rapini was on the young side with tender little florets just appearing. Early rapini tastes like broccoli stems crossed with clove and spinach. These small, young florets are delicious and sweet, and I prefer them to the more-often-harvested, more mature rapini, which have the traditional intense bitter tang. One of the benefits of having your own garden is being able to harvest and eat produce according to your taste preferences.

I sautéed the rapini for Thanksgiving Day and since then have eaten them every day in a variety of ways. I added them to my green juice in the morning. Last night I mixed them fresh with wild arugula, roasted peppers and goat cheese for a salad—it was a wonderful partner to my turkey shepherd’s pie.

For the sautéed version, I simply picked a whole bushel and sautéed it along with two garlic cloves in two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, a solid pinch of red chili pepper, and a hefty pinch or two of salt, all for about 4 minutes. The rapini was delicious, different and downright satisfying.

Last week I had so much fun making zucchini pasta with the Zucchini Noodle Maker & Veggie Slicer that I thought I’d experiment with a pasta salad. This dish is such a warm, satisfying lunch and super healthy too. It gives the comfort of a hearty bowl of pasta without the carbs.

Warm Zucchini “Pasta” Salad
Yield: 2 servings

3 Zucchinis, made into noodles
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tomato, diced
1 Large clove of garlic, minced
1 Hot pepper (packed in oil), minced
5-7 Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced into halves
4-6 Basil leaves, torn
Crumbled feta (to your taste)

 

To make the zucchini noodles, you can read my instructions from my recipe for Zucchini Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce. Or you could just take a look at the photos below and do what seems natural. It’s really quite simple.

Toss the zucchini noodles in a bowl with a little salt and freshly ground pepper, then let them sit for 15 minutes.

 

Drain the noodles (some water might accumulate at the bottom of the bowl), spread them out on a cookie sheet, sprinkle them with a little more salt and freshly ground pepper, and broil them for 3-5 minutes, around 6″ from the heat. (This won’t brown the zucchini noodles, but rather warm them up for serving.)

 

While the zucchini is in the oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium-size skillet, then add the tomato, garlic, pepper, and olives and sauté for 1-2 minutes or until warm.

 

Combine the tomato and garlic mixture with the warmed zucchini noodles, place on two salad plates, and top each with the basil and crumbled feta.

One of my favorite parts of the week is chairing the Garden Club at my daughters’ school. I love spending time in the school garden, working with the kids, slowing down to dig our hands in the dirt, enjoying the outdoors and appreciating the wonder of growing beautiful vegetables and fruit. I love it.

Each week we bring a snack inspired by what is currently growing in the garden, but with about 100 kids to feed, the school garden rarely produces the volume we need. This week we harvested watermelon (something that didn’t grow well in my garden this year), so I made my way to our local produce stand and grabbed a few supplemental melons. Well, what I bought at the stand (the ever wonderful Tri-County Produce) was so flavorful and delicious that I went back for more the next day for my family. We have been snacking on these juicy wedges like crazy.

The other day I decided to be a little creative with the leftover watermelon for a nice lunch with friends. This recipe turns some pretty basic ingredients into a beautifully composed and enticingly delicious course.

Watermelon Salad

(per small plate)

3 watermelon pieces (cut in squares)

Small handful of arugula

7 small avocado balls (I used a mini melon baller)

A few Thai basil leaves and flowers (if you have them)

1  teaspoon lime juice (about 1/4 of a juicy lime)

A light drizzle of your best quality extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Sea salt (I used Maldon)

Arrange the watermelon pieces, arugula, avocado balls, basil leaves, and flowers on plates. Squeeze the lime and drizzle the olive oil over all, then sprinkle with the pepper flakes and sea salt.

We recently had friends over and I came up (a little last minute, as usual) with this easy outdoor Moroccan dinner.  My plan started with my non-stop supply of eggplant from the garden matched with a recent episode of Jamie at Home that was hanging out in my mind.  A quick trip to Trader Joe’s later, I was whipping up dinner for six, Moroccan style. This menu is great for entertaining, because the dishes are simple in execution and can all be made in advance.

My favorite part of the prep was grinding my own meat. It’s rather easy to do, but never fails to make me feel pretty bad-ass (well, as bad-ass as you can feel in a super cute apron).

Moroccan Dinner Menu

Garden Vegetables with Flageolet Puree

Eggplant Salad (My recipe included below)

Jamie’s Pork Kebabs on Flat Bread

Lemon Cookies

We drank a light, fruity red with this menu.  A Cru Beaujolais from the ripe 2009 vintage would work well.

Family Style Grilled Eggplant Salad

6 – 8 Japanese eggplant (sliced in 1/2” pieces)

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 clove of garlic, minced

Juice of one lemon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Pinch of red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons chives

3 tablespoons, roughly chopped basil

1/2 cup feta  (I like the Israeli one from TJ’s)

Sprinkle about 1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper

 

Douse the eggplant with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Grill on medium-high heat (I use my grill pan) until soft and the flesh of the eggplant has good markings. About 4-6 minutes a side.

 

Make the dressing by mixing the garlic, lemon, kosher salt and red pepper flakes and then whisk in the 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil .

 

Spread the cooked eggplant on a platter and spoon over your desired amount of dressing (at this point, you can have this sit at room temperature for up to two hours).  Right before dinner time, top the eggplant with the following the herbs, feta and cayenne pepper.

This is an incredibly simple, quick, yet completely delectable tomato salad.  I learned this recipe from my mother who learned it from her mother in Belgium, and it’s been my favorite way to eat fresh, sweet garden tomatoes since I was a child (Oh God, why does that seem like so long ago?  Don’t answer that!). You can have it for lunch with a scoop of tuna or serve it as a refreshing first course when you’re entertaining. True confession— I actually had it for breakfast the other day.

Like most of the recipes here at EDG, what makes this tomato salad special is its simplicity and high quality ingredients. There is no substitute for tomatoes chosen fresh from the garden or farmers market along with the best darn olive oil you can find.  I order my finishing olive oil from the Rare Wine Company.  In general, I’m kind of obsessed with tracking down excellent ingredients (I’m pretty sure I spend more time comparison shopping groceries than I do shoes).  For olive oil, Rare Wine Company has, hands down, the best selection I’ve seen worldwide.

I have been known to drink this one neat.

Tomato Salad

To assemble the salad, I slice the Early Girls into wedges (they’re on the smaller side), the Heirlooms into half-circles, and the Cherries into halves to get a range of textures.  Together, they create an interesting contrast of shapes, showing off the character of each variety.

This is not a super technical recipe.  The amounts vary depending on the size of the plate or platter you are working with and your personal preference.  I like to go really light on the vinegar so you can taste the natural flavor of the tomatoes.

 

A variety of tomatoes (Cherry, Early Girl and Heirloom are the ones I used for my salad pictured above)

A splash of red or white wine vinegar

A drizzle of best quality extra virgin olive oil

A pinch of sea salt

Fresh chives, chopped

Slice the tomatoes (try varying your slicing technique to get more texture in the salad).  Arrange the tomatoes on your plate.  Splash with red wine vinegar and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with sea salt and chives.  Serve and devour!

 

Here are the chives growing in my garden.  They look messy, but taste great!