Refreshing Radish Grapefruit Salad

Alright, I’m excited about this one! I had a collection of radish from the last couple of weeks and I often struggle to get through this healthy root veggie. I had been tending to just drizzle them in olive oil and roast them up with salt and pepper, but deep down my gut (and my reading about the importance of prebiotics to our gut microbiome and overall resilience) tells me that eating them raw gets me the maximum benefits. So, today, I decided to go for it and make a radish-based salad with grapefruit. I think my radish avoidance comes from the idea that the radish taste is overwhelming. However, upon first taste of this salad, I realized that idea is mostly in my head and that the crisp of the radish was quite delicious in this mix. It helps that the grapefruit also has a strong flavor. Plus the nut and spice blend just makes it beautifully flavorful. To my surprise, both my kids also liked the radish doused in the Dukkah nut and spice blend. The grapefruit is a different story! Ok, here’s the simple recipe—

radish (maybe 8 to 10 smallish ones)

grapefruit

lettuce or salad mix

salt

Trader Joe’s Dukkah Nut and Spice Blend (contains almonds, sesame seeds, fennel seeds, coriander, anise seeds & salt)

INSTRUCTIONS

Thinly slice the radish.

Peel and chop the grapefruit.

Toss and sprinkle with a little salt and a generous amount of the Dukkah nut and spice blend.

Serve over a bed of lettuce and enjoy feeling all clean and tangy inside!

Acorn Squash and Mushroom Tacos with Microgreens

Thank you Chicano Soul Food for the inspiration for this recipe. Can’t wait for you to start up again to enjoy your amazing tacos! In the meantime, everyone, make your own tacos and check out this article in which Sergio talks about Chicano Soul Food’s roots.

This flexible recipe is inspired by a recurring craving for the amazing pipian acorn squash tacos served at the Carbon Sink Convergence by Chicano Soul Food. Their pipian salsa (made with tomatillo and pepitas) was earth-shaking for me, as I had never had the opportunity to taste it before. It is southern Mexican deliciousness and my family is full of norteños (much love to all my relatives in Sinaloa and Sonora). This not being tomatillo season, though, I’ll leave the pipian recipe for another day. The simple act of pairing acorn squash with mushrooms in a taco is treat enough (yes, this was also earth-shaking for me!). I don’t see the winter squash pile up in my kitchen anymore wondering what to do with it. Instead, I savor the day I can make some tacos with it! Maybe this week, you too, have a stash of winter squash you haven’t gotten to yet. And maybe you, too, will delight in trying these tacos topped with a fresh bunch of this week’s spicy microgreens mix. Here goes—

INGREDIENTS

1 acorn squash (kabocha would also work here!)

1 box of fresh mushrooms (or more!), try cremini, white button, portabella or shitake

tortillas de maíz (corn tortillas, try La Fe’s corn tortillas—they’re the only affordable non-gmo option that I could find and they hold up well to the fire!)

microgreens (This week’s spicy microgreens mix goes great in a taco!)

your salsa of choice (My current favorite is just crushed chiltepin soaked in lemon and sprinkled generously with salt and pepper. Next on my list, if I’m in a pinch, would be the salsa de molcajete or the green salsa from Murphy’s Market. They get it right!)

INSTRUCTIONS

You can do this two ways—Cut the acorn squash in half, scoop out the seeds, rub with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake until soft. Then you can scoop out the squash to put it in your tacos. This method is less ‘work’ but more time in the oven, and an easy way to leave the skin off for those who prefer not to eat it.

The other way, takes a little more effort, but less time in the oven, gives the squash a chance to crisp and is best if you’re willing to eat the acorn squash skin, which, is full of good-for-you fiber! (Check out this take on which varieties of winter squash skin to eat.) Just slice up the squash into thin slices (maybe 1/2 inch) after scooping out the seeds. Then lay out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 degrees until soft (go longer if you want the crisp!)

Slice up the mushroom (i usually get four slices per mushroom) and put in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in the oven at 400 degrees alongside the squash and bake for about 10 minutes until slightly crisped.

Warm up your corn tortillas and serve up your tacos with the squash, mushrooms, microgreens and salsa of choice (or just a squeeze of lemon)!

Stir-Fried Greens with Apple

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch greens (this week, it could be collards, kale or arugula, but many other greens could work, too!)

3 tbs olive oil

1 cup vegetable or chicken broth

1 large apple or 2 small ones, sliced

4 tbs apple cider vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

almonds or other seed or nut of choice (optional!)

INSTRUCTIONS

Rinse slice your greens

Stir fry them in oil for a bit. Sturdier greens like collards, I would do for two full minutes, kale, for just one, spinach even less!

Add broth and apples and stir fry for a tiny bit more.

Add apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Sprinkle with almonds or other seed or nut of choice to give this dish a protein boost and some extra crunch!

Roasted Delicata and Beet Salad

This flexible recipe was inspired by this beautiful one! My modification simplifies it (I don’t see when or why I should remove the skin from my beets!) and suggests orange juice or honey instead of agave nectar for the sweetener.

Use this week’s veggies to make this flexible salad. Here are some ideas for different directions you can take it!

INGREDIENTS

1 delicata squash

1 large beet or a few smaller ones

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup feta cheese or sunflower seeds for a vegan version

salad mix

microgreens

For the Dressing—

1/4 cup red wine or balsamic vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard (optional)

juice of one orange or 1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp rosemary or thyme or oregano

salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice the delicata in half, remove the seeds and then slice into 1/2 inch slices

Slice beet in half and then slice each half into 1/2 inch slices

Put on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, sprinkle with salt, pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Roast at 400 degrees until cooked through and slightly crisped.

Toss with salad, feta or sunflower seeds and dressing. Top with microgreens and enjoy!

Parsley Chimichurri

If you’re interested in more detail, here’s a great post with an authentic Argentinian chimichurri recipe and lots of interesting notes.

My first experience with Chimichurri was during a Health and Sustainability fair that my high school students excitedly organized in City Heights. Along with the awesome medicine making, yoga and dance workshops, I always remember our awesome friend and event caterer Fer and her empanadas with chimichurri. I couldn’t get enough! This week’s parsley has inspired a return to that excitement and we’re going to make it with what we’ve got.

INGREDIENTS

1 or 2 cloves of garlic

1 or 2 green onions

1 or 2 cups fresh parsley

1 or 2 tbs dried oregano

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

4 tbs olive oil

2 or 3 tbs red wine vinegar

1 or 2 tbs lemon juice or water

INSTRUCTIONS

Finely chop garlic, green onions and parsley

Mix all dry ingredients

Add vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice (or water) and mix

Let it rest a bit, or not! Goes great with potato, spinach & tofu empanadas (!), roasted veggies (try acorn squash!!), salmon, beef or anything else you dream up!

Vegetarian Menudo Recipe

I know, I know, it’s a stretch, for anyone acquainted with authentic menudo, to believe it can be made vegetarian. For those of you standing in disbelief—disregard the title of this post and let’s just call this a caldo de verduras. For those of you, like me, that have been witness to the wonders of menudo the morning after a long night of New Year’s Eve partying…but just happen to have made the choice to stick to a vegetarian diet, try this nourishing soup and call it what you want! A special thank you to my Tia Carolina and her audacious friend that invented a recipe and called it veggie menudo. Prior to her sharing it, I, too, thought it impossible. I’d always just stuck to veggie pozole. They aren’t that different, given the absence of meats that differentiate the traditional versions. To fulfill my own crazy need for categories, I’m reserving the cabbage and radish toppings for my veggie pozole. So, here is my version of veggie menudo, using this week’s in-season veggies. If you’d rather make the “real thing”, here’s a recipe for you.

Ingredients:

For the soup—

1 large onion, chopped

8 cloves garlic, chopped

1 handful celery tops

2 big handfuls dried shitake mushrooms (we buy these at our local Vietnamese grocery store)

2 tbs dried oregano

1 tsp lemon pepper

1 tsp dried chile flakes (optional)

6 small carrots or 3 large ones, sliced

1/2 head of Napa cabbage, sliced

1 cup spinach, sliced

6 cups hominy OR 1 large yucca root, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch slices (yes, I know this isn’t traditional but it saved me a trip to the grocery store and it did the trick!)

radish microgreens

lemon

tortillas de maíz

For the sauce— (mind you, this step is optional, if you’re ok with less work and a lighter broth or just spicing it up with chile flakes. Yes, I used chiltepin! On the other hand, if you want to go for it, you can make lots and then use the leftover sauce to make enchiladas another day)

6 guajillo (dried) peppers

1 tsp cumin

1 cup broth (from your menudo pot)

3 cloves garlic

Instructions:

Set aside a little bit of onion for garnish and sauté the rest of the onion in a pan with a little olive oil until translucent and a tiny bit browned.

Add the garlic and celery leaves and dried mushrooms with a little more olive oil and sauté for another minute

In a pot, add about 10 cups water along with the sautéed onions, garlic and celery leaves, 4 cubes veggie broth (this time, I used two “Not Beef” cubes, one “Not Chicken” and one “Garden Veggie” cube from Edward & Sons), oregano, lemon pepper and optional chile.

Once it’s boiling, add your veggies and the cooked hominy or yucca root.

If you’re going for the sauce, too, here’s what to do:

Toast the guajillo peppers in a pan

Break or slice the peppers and soak them in a bowl with broth from the soup until soft (maybe 10 minutes). Press them down into the broth so they soak thoroughly and put a lid on the bowl to keep the heat in and speed up the process.

Then blend them in the blender along with the broth, cumin and garlic.

Serve your menudo topped with radish microgreens, a squeeze of lemon, sauce to taste and a warm tortilla on the side.

Sesame Roasted Kabocha Squash Over Bed of Greens

This Kabocha roast is inspired by this Korean Braised Kabocha Squash recipe. Although the original looks delicious and I’d like to shop for and try it some fancy day, this one is simplified (no time for shopping, roasting AND braising today!) to work within my busy home-schooling, home-working day. Ok, here goes!

INGREDIENTS

1 kabocha squash

3 tbs sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 inch ginger, finely chopped

3 green onions, chopped

2 tbs brown sugar

4 tbs soy sauce

4 tbs rice wine vinegar

1 tbs dried chile (korean chili flakes, or, in our case, crushed chiltepin!)

sesame seeds (optional)

microgreens (optional)

1 bunch collards, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut the kabocha squash in half, scoop out the seeds and then slice into 1-inch slices. This is the hardest part because it takes some strength to cut up this squash raw. The alternative is roasting, then slicing but I think the bit of sweat is worth the time (and dishes) saved when you skip the roast then chop then braise steps!

On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spread the slices of kabocha into on layer (it’s ok if they slightly overlap) and drizzle with roasted sesame oil.

In a small bowl, mix garlic, ginger, green onions, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar and chile. Then drizzle over the kombucha.

Put in oven to roast until it looks a little crisped and is soft in the middle (test with a fork). In our oven, this takes 30 to 40 minutes, but check it after 20 minutes just in case!

While it roasts, you put a little more sesame oil in a pan (cast iron works great!) and add the cumin. Stir for 30 seconds or so in the hot oil.

Add the sliced collards. Sprinkle salt and pepper and put a lid on the pan so they steam for a few minutes. I like to eat them once they get bright green (after about 5 minutes) but if you are bitter-averse, letting them cook longer makes them softer and gets the bitter out. Bitter balances the sweet of the kobucha, though, so consider going light on the cooking time for your greens.

Serve the kobucha on a plate over the collards and top with sesame seeds and microgreens if you’ve got them around. Eat with your favorite protein (lentils, tofu, tempeh, nuts or meat) on the side.

Chard Carrot and Potato Dal

Chard is a powerful, nutrient dense green—standing out for its vitamin K content, lots of vitamins A C and E, iron and calcium. It’s known as anti-inflammatory to promote heart health and regulate blood sugar.

Thanks to Kelli Mcgrane for the recipe that informed this post. I have tweaked it a bit, doubling her original recipe, simplifying the steps a bit and changing the order so the greens don’t cook as long. Finally, this version has more liquid because any kind of dal makes me crave the first course served at Taste of the Himalayas, which is simply soupy and delicious. What better way to eat lots of chard?

Serves 6

Ingredients

4 tbs oil (try 1 tbs sesame and 1 tbs olive or coconut oil)

6 cloves garlic , peeled and chopped

3 inch piece of ginger, chopped or grated

2 tbs ground cumin

1 tbs paprika

1 tbs ground turmeric

1 tbs salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 large or 2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 to 6 carrots, sliced

1 bunch swiss chard, chopped

4 small or 2 large potatoes (try gold or red potatoes!), chopped into large cubes

1 cup red lentils

6 cups water

1 cube veggie bouillon

pea shoots or microgreens

Instructions:

Heat oil in a pan. Add spices and cook for 30 seconds.

Add onion and garlic and cook until onions are translucent.

Add carrots and cook until they start to crisp (maybe 6 minutes)

Add potatoes, water and veggie bouillon and bring to a boil. Then simmer for about 20 minutes until lentils and potatoes are cooked. Add chard and cook for a couple more minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy. Goes well with a side of rice and topped with microgreens or pea shoots!

Daikon Carrot Salad

If you’re looking to an introduction to this awesome root, check out this article.

Daikon, just like any other radish, was something I just didn’t know what to do with beyond using it as a topping for pozole. When we committed to our first CSA with Solidarity Farm, all of a sudden we had radish diversity and I was determined to figure out how to use them. To my delight, I learned about daikon carrot salad and have loved it ever since! Plus, it’s perfect during the cold season, especially this year, because of its strong anti-inflammatory and immune boosting properties. My next challenge is figuring out a second dish to make with it. But for now, I will share this one! It’s addictive. (C:)

INGREDIENTS

1 or 2 daikon radish roots, grated into long ribbons (I use a potato peeler), or a box or two of daikon microgreens!

4 to 6 carrots, grated into long ribbons (again, a potato peeler does the trick)

juice of ½ lemon

juice of 1 tangerine or orange

2 tsp brown sugar (optional, try leaving this out and doubling the orange juice!) 

6 tbs rice vinegar

2 tbs sesame oil

salt

pepper

toasted sesame seeds (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix all ingredients (except microgreens and roasted sesame seeds, if using) in a large bowl and let soak (a.k.a. quick pickle) for 10 to 30 minutes. You can skip this step if you’re really hungry (I’ve done it) and it’s still yummy—it just gets better if you have the patience to wait!

 If using daikon microgreens instead of daikon root, toss microgreens in just before serving. Then sprinkle roasted sesame seeds over the top.

Final note: I like to make this a meal by serving it over a bed of vermicelli rice noodles (cooked according to package instructions) and topped with 2 boxes tofu, sliced and placed in a single layer on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, drizzled with sesame oil and sprinkled with garlic powder, cumin, paprika and salt.

Persian-Inspired Pomegranate Soup

Two of my favorite things in life—caldo (that is, soup) and granada (that is, pomegranate). So, what a mind-expanding experience, for me, to learn that they go together beautifully and that Persian culture has been eating this for many, many generations. We are lucky enough to have a tree in our yard and another hanging over from our neighbor’s yard. So, I’ve learned as that pomegranates are a delight to share. I think one of my warmest memories of early motherhood will always be sitting out in a sunny spot in our yard and sharing a pomegranate with an eager two-year old—the excitement of carefully opening it up and seeing that it’s a good one(!), the joint effort to not waste a single juicy seed, and the rush to gently remove each section fast enough to satisfy our two appetites. But, this beautiful experience takes time and it’s not a meal. The soup, on the other hand, is warming, filling, delicious and quite nutritious.

Ingredients:

1 bulb onion

2 cloves garlic

2 1-inch pieces of fresh turmeric root or 1 tsp turmeric powder

2 celery stalks 

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 cup red lentils AND 1/2 cup mung beans (or 1 cup of either)

1/4 cup barley

1 heaping tsp salt

1 veggie bouillon cube

1 cup tightly packed greens (swiss chard, spinach, collards or kale)

1 tbs thyme

1 pomegranate (½ crushed and put in the soup, ½ fresh as a topping)

Cilantro (as a topping)

Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Saute onion, garlic, turmeric, celery and cumin

2. Add sauteed mix to pot with lentils, mung beans and barley with 6 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes or until barley is cooked.

Note on Barley: Pearled barley cooks faster, but is less nutritious because it’s been stripped of its bran; Hulled barley takes 20 to 25 minutes longer to cook, but has more nutrition and is considered a whole grain. Read more on the different types of barley and how to cook them here.

3. Add mashed pomegranates and greens. I like to add these ingredients towards the end of the simmer so the greens are just slightly cooked.

Serve hot and top with cilantro, pomegranate and pepper to taste.