I've become a farro fanatic. I have been making salads lately with farro and whatever fruits, vegetables, and nuts are available in my kitchen. Last night's dinner consisted of farro with Cara Cara oranges, avocados, arugula... etc. I will show -- with approximate amounts used -- my recipe below. It's hard to go wrong creating your own signature salad. Just fill it full of combinations you love. From January until spring, my diet contains large amounts of citrus. I just crave it this time of year. If I'm eating a green salad, it most likely contains oranges (blood orange + CaraCara being my favorites), very thinly sliced red onion, and almonds... and a vinegrette using the juice of the oranges and a peppery olive oil; basically how I made my farro salad. Tonight, possibly a farro risotto! Feel free to change the amounts of the ingredients to your liking... • 1 cup farro • 3 cups water • Salt & pepper • 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken • 3 large oranges, supremed, and any juices (from the cutting and squeezing of supremed oranges) reserved • 2 avocados, sliced • 1/2 cup (more or less) thinly-sliced red onion • 2 handfuls arugula • Good quality extra-virgin olive oil • 1/2 cup toasted, slivered almonds • 3/4 cup Feta cheese, crumbled 1. Toast the farro in a dry saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until it smells nutty, about 3 minutes. Add the water and 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover partially, and cook until the farro is tender but still chewy, about 40 minutes. Drain farro in a colander. 2. In a large serving bowl, combine the farro, chicken, orange segments (see above to learn how to supreme an orange), avocados, red onion, and arugula. 3. Using the reserved orange juices, make a vinegrette with equal amounts of juice and olive oil whisked together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add vinegrette to the farro mixture and toss gently. 4. Top the salad with the crumbled Feta and toasted almonds. TAKE a LOOK:
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Judging by its continued abundance, my zucchini never received the memo that summer is over; I won't complain. There's nothing better than walking into the backyard and harvesting our dinner. Or in this case... the makings of a savory scone. My plan is to mix up these Zucchini and Gruyère Scones again, freeze the unbaked disks on a sheet pan, then drop into bags to freeze. I'll pull them out to bake when I have a pot of soup on the stove this winter. I'm thinking they'd be perfect alongside a tomato cream soup (RECIPE). Or, with an antipasto platter and a glass of wine... •Savory Zucchini and Gruyère Scones• from the September 2017 issue of Bon Appétit (adapted) • Makes about 12 scones using a 3-inch biscuit cutter. I used a 2-inch cutter which made almost double that amount. • 3 tablespoons baking powder • 3 tablespoons sugar • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves • 3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for surface • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled • 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing • 2 medium zucchini, coarsely grated, excess liquid squeezed out with a kitchen towel • 6 ounces Gruyère, cut into 1/4-inch pieces • Flaky sea salt for sprinkling 1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Combine baking powder, sugar, kosher salt, pepper, thyme, and 3 1/4 cups flour in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times. Add the chilled butter and pulse until the size of small peas. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Pour in the cream and mix gently with a wooden spoon to distribute evenly. Add the zucchini and Gruyère and mix into the dough just to distribute. Using your hands, gently knead the mixture until the dough comes together. The less you work the dough, the more tender the scones will be. This dough will be somewhat drier than most scone recipes, but the zucchini will release additional moisture during baking. 2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 2-inch thick disk. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough and roll out to a 1-inch thick disk. Punch out scones with the biscuit cutter (it helps to brush the inside of the cutter with oil to help release the scones); place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 2-inches apart. Brush tops with cream and sprinkle with flaky sea salt (if storing unbaked scones in freezer, wait to finish with the cream and salt until baking). 3. Bake scones, rotating baking sheet halfway through, until golden brown, 30-40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. TAKE a LOOK: Yes... I'm still here. And to prove it, I've made the most delicious savory tart. The recipe is from an old (and favorite) cookbook, Once Upon a Tart. Family members have been out of town this week and when that happens, I usually don't spend time in the kitchen. But I've been asked recently why I haven't posted any recipes lately, and thought it was time I made an appearance. This savory tart seemed perfect for my reentry ... a 9-inch tart pan (on the smallish side), and as good this morning (at room temperature) for breakfast, as it was last night right out of the oven. If you bake this tart, make it easy on yourself (like I did) and defrost your spinach. But if you want to use fresh, take a pound of spinach and wilt, using a large pan, with a little butter and olive oil. This painting (of an actual woman with her dog on the upper eastside of NYC) is one of the reasons I've disappeared. I put my paints & brushes away 40-some years ago in art school. I was obsessed and did nothing else. I didn't think I could continue that way, so I entered the fiber department instead of painting/printmaking. I often wonder what my life would be like now if I had continued in painting... and I've been missing it. So, now I will be dividing time between painting and LivingTastefully... oh... and the garden that I need to start planting. I'm busy, but I'll still be around. Maybe just not as frequently. |
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