Seasonal Ontario Food

This is a pretty universal salad, eaten everywhere in the Middle East on into Iran, from whence comes the name Shirazi and the pull towards extra sourness from sumac and lemon juice. At its most basic, it consists of onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes, with a lemon juice and olive oil dressing. We saw it a lot in Turkey, where it is called Chopped Salad. In Israel it gets called Israeli salad, which is a bit of chutpah, given how everyone else in the region was already making it for yonks.

At this time of year I used green onions and threw in radishes, because they are around. I also still have some nice herbs. You don't have to use all of them; whatever you can get will be fine. You don't have to put in any of them really; the dried mint will be enough. You might want to apply it with a slightly heavier hand if you can't get any fresh herbs.

Lettuce does not officially go in this salad, but if there is one the garden is churning out right now, it's lettuce, so when this hit our plates it went onto a bed of chopped lettuce. Otherwise, I suspect this is too much dressing for the amount of salad and you may want to save some for another day.

4 to 6 servings
45 minutes prep time


Make the Dressing:
1/4 teaspoon cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons sumac
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
the juice of 1/2 large lemon

Grind the cumin and coriander well, and mix it with all the other spices. Mix in the oil. Add the lemon juice. Set aside to rest while the salad is made.

Make the Salad:
3 green onions OR 1 red onion
3 small greenhouse cucumbers OR 1 long cucumber
salt
8 to 12 radishes AND/OR 2 or 3 tomatoes
2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
lettuce, optional 

Peel and finely chop the onions. Trim the ends from the cucumbers, and chop them in pieces just a bit bigger than the onion. Sprinkle them with about half a teaspoon of salt and leave them in strainer to drain for 20 to 30 minutes.

Wash, trim and slice the radishes. Core and chop the tomatoes. Wash, dry, and mince the herbs. Mix the radishes, tomatoes, and herbs in the salad bowl.

Rinse and drain the onions and cucumbers well, and add them to the tomatoes, etc. Toss with the salad dressing. Serve as-is or on a bed of lettuce.





Last year at this time I made Haskap-Raisin Pie.

Oh look; more chicken. Had to buy a fairly large package, so there it was. Oh look; more asparagus. It's early June; of course there's asparagus. And lettuce. So it's salad again, is what it is.

This basic little Japanese-inspired salad dressing really went over well. Like a lot of Japanese dishes, it relies on a simple ensemble of not-too-strong flavours that really worked well with the chicken and asparagus. I'll be using it again on other salads quite often, I think. I actually used Kewpie (Japanese) mayonnaise for this, as it's one of the few commercial mayonnaises out there that does not contain any sugar.

I regret to say that our stupid weather this year has been very hard on the lettuce. It all LOOKS absolutely perfect, but it's starting to go bitter already, even though I've been watering it daily in fear of just this outcome. Phooey. 

4 servings
45 minutes prep time


Cook the Chicken & Asparagus
450 grams (1 pound) skinless, boneless chicken pieces
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
450 grams (1 pound) asparagus

Grill or sauté the chicken with salt and pepper to taste, in the oil, until cooked but not dry; about 4 to 6 minutes per side depending on thickness. I prefer chicken thighs for this, but then I always prefer chicken thighs. Set aside and cool completely once done.

Of course, you could use leftover cooked chicken, including from a purchased rotisserie chicken, if you like and have it.

Wash, trim, and cook the asparagus. Cut it into bite sized pieces, before or after you cook it; I don't care much but tend to think cutting it first is more convenient. It too should be well drained and cooled completely. Both the chicken and asparagus can be prepared up to a day ahead and kept refrigerated until wanted.

Make the Dressing:
1 tablespoon very finely grated fresh ginger
1 to 2 tablespoons miso
2 tablespoons apple cider OR rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup mayonnaise

Peel the ginger and grate it to a pulp, and put it in a small mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon miso, the vinegar, and sesame oil and mix well. Taste and add a little more miso if you think it needs it - keeping in mind that this both an unfinished dressing and that the finished dressing must be fairly intensely flavoured to provide coverage to the other ingredients - and so it should be fairly strong. I did use 2 tablespoons and was completely happy about it, but in addition to the fluctuations in personal taste, miso can also vary quite a bit in strength so it's worth being a little cautious. You can also add more after the mayonnaise is in; it will be easier to tell if needs it but harder to mix smoothly.

Mix in the mayonnaise until the dressing is smooth.

Make the Salad:
6 cups chopped lettuce OR mix of lettuce, spinach and other salad greens
8 to 12 small red radishes
1 cup peeled and grated celeriac OR chopped celery
1/2 cup whole hazelnuts

Wash, dry, and chop the salad greens. Wash, trim and slice or chop the radishes and celery or celeriac.

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry skillet until browned in spots. Transfer them to a cutting board or plate to cool. Chop them roughly; or I found that bashing them with the base of the vinegar bottle did a good job in breaking them up. A fair bit of the skins will come off and that's all to  the good - discard them.

The chicken pieces should now be cut up into bite-sized strips. 

You can toss everything together in the dressing at this point; I spread out the greens and other raw salad ingredients (minus hazelnuts) in the serving dish, then mixed half the dressing into the chicken and asparagus which were then spread over the salad and sprinkled with hazelnuts. The remaining dressing got passed for more to be added if people wanted. I thought there was a fair bit of dressing but apparently people did want all of it, so this was a bit of a wasted effort, although it probably did look a little nicer than the just-mix-it option. 




Last year at this time I made Greek-Style Pork Loin Medallions.

Really, this is more than vaguely Thai - it's Laab (or Larb) Gai, only I've removed the traditional roasted and ground Thai sticky rice - which I didn't have - and replaced it with bulgur, which I did have. I'm sure it changes both the flavour and the texture, but that's just how it goes sometimes, especially when you live in the boonies and are avoiding rice. I'd also say that made it faster and easier to make, and I never complain about that. If you are even more driven to avoid carbs than I am, you could replace even the bulgur with some very finely chopped/ground nuts or seeds.

Not sure this is traditionally served in lettuce cups as a Thai dish either, but it seems to have become a popular way to present it in North America, and since I didn't want to eat it with rice, it's a very convenient way to have it. I thought it needed a touch of colour so I wedged up a tomato which did the job and added a nice element to it. 

Served by itself, the two of us ate all of this and still wanted some dessert, but as ever with different eaters and more dishes served with it, it would go further.

2 to 4 servings
1 hour - 30 minutes prep time


1/4 cup bulgur
450 grams (1 pound) ground chicken OR skinless boneless chicken thighs
the juice of 1 large lime
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 or 2 fresh OR 6 dry makrut lime leaves
2 cloves of garlic
2 shallots
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/3 cup finely chopped green onions
1 small greenhouse cucumber
OR 3 or 4 red radishes
12 or 16 large, slightly cupped lettuce leaves

Boil some water to cover and soak the bulgur. Meanwhile, chop the chicken very finely, or if it is already ground, jut put it in a mixing bowl. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, and makrut lime leaves - whole if they are dry, very finely shredded if they are fresh. Mix well and set aside to marinate as you proceed.

Peel and mince the garlic and shallots, and set them aside with the chile flakes.

Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the chicken, with the marinade. Drain the bulgur well and it as as well. Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the marinade has evaporated and the chicken is sizzling, lightly browned, and cooked through. Add the garlic, shallots, and chile flakes and mix in well; cook for another minute or so longer. Remove the mixture from the pan to cool, if you think it is hot enough that it will keep it cooking for too long; but the main point is that it should be cooled to room temperature or near it. Remove and discard the dry makrut lime leaves, if used.

Wash, trim, and mince the herbs and green onions. Trim and chop the cucumber or radishes finely. Wash the lettuce leaves and drain and dry them well. They should be as even in size as you can manage, which means it's best to have 2 heads of lettuce at hand and put the remains away for a more conventional chopped salad.

Mix the herbs, onions, and cucumber or radishes into the chicken once it is cool. Divide it evenly in little mounds amongst the prepared lettuce leaves, and pick 'em up and eat them like little tacos, which is to say that it's a good idea to have plenty of serviettes on hand. 




Last year at this time I made Rhubarb Ile Flottante. 

Usually this is made with radishes, of the long white variety. Winter radishes, as they are sometimes called, and when we grow them they do indeed do best planted in mid to late summer and harvested just before frost, when they will then keep in the cold room for a month or two.

Unfortunately, we didn't grow any this year and although they should theoretically be available around now, if they are it isn't in this little hotbed of completely non-Asian food. Turnips, though, are very similar and replace them quite well. I suspect they might have taken a little longer to cook than radishes would have, so if you do manage to use radishes, start checking them a bit earlier on in the cooking process.

This is a tasty and complete dish - you may want to serve it with some rice - but it does lack in colour. A little chopped parsley, cilantro, or green onion, if you have any of those, sprinkled over the top, will perk it up considerably.

2 to 4 servings
1 hour 15 minutes - 30 minutes prep time


Start the Dish:
250 grams (1/2 pound) fresh pork belly
500 grams (1 pound) white turnips
1 tablespoon finely minced or grated fresh ginger
4 to 6 cloves of garlic

Cut the pork belly into bite-sized chunks. Put them in a large skillet or heavy-bottomed soup pot, and cook them over medium heat quite gently for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, peel and cut the turnips into bite-sized pieces. Peel and grate or mince the garlic and ginger.

Make the Sauce & Finish the Dish:
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sherry
1 teaspoon 5-spice powder
1 to 2 teaspoon chile-garlic sauce
1/2 to 3/4 cup water

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.

When the meat has cooked for about 20 minutes, long enough to have rendered a fair amount of fat, lift the meat out of the pan with a slotted spoon. Drain off most of the fat, leaving just enough to keep the turnips from sticking, when added. Return the meat to the pan, and add the ginger and garlic. Cook for several minutes, stirring them into the meat until well distributed and fragrant.

Add the turnips and the sauce, with the smaller amount of water. Mix in well. Cover the pan and simmer gently for about 20 minutes more. Stir every 5 minutes or so. If the sauce evaporates before the end of the cooking time, add a little more water, but the sauce should be reduced to thicken and coat the pork and turnips just around the end of the cooking time.

Serve with steamed rice.





Last year at this time I made Baked Apples Stuffed with Mincemeat. 

What I have coming out of the garden right now is lettuce, snow peas and other peas, and herbs. Lots of herbs. Oh, and garlic scapes. They all come together in a vaguely Greek or Turkish flavoured salad which is pretty much a meal in itself. Since the quinoa needs to be cooked in advance and so do the snow peas, it does take a little advance planning, but it's very simple to put together. Leftovers will keep overnight in the fridge in reasonable quality, which is nice because this is a fairly big batch of salad.

I did put in 4 garlic scapes and you could definitely tell. Garlicky! Mr. Ferdzy kept commenting on how garlicky, but he was not complaining. Still, you should adjust your scapes accordingly. I also had a very heavy hand with the black pepper and I think that is a very good plan.

If Mr. Ferdzy would eat them, I would have garnished this with some olives. A few cherry tomatoes for some colour would have been nice, but mine are all still flowers. Radishes would have made an excellent and seasonal contribution, but mine are all over-ripe, if that's the word, and might as well have been carved from wood. This is why I have mostly given up growing radishes and stick to buying the little dears. Only I didn't. If you are better organized, by all means chop up a few and toss them in.

4 to 6 servings
cook the quinoa 2 hours or more in advance
30 minutes prep time to finish the salad



Cook the Quinoa & Snow Peas:
1 cup quinoa
1 2/3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
225 grams (1/2 pound) snow peas

Put the quinoa, water, and salt into a rice cooker. Turn on and cook. Once done, remove the pot from the cooker andl let the quinoa cool completely. This should be done at least an hour and up to 24 hours in advance. Keep it refrigerated once cool, if not using it right away.

Meanwhile just before continuing with making the salad, top and string the snow peas, and steam or blanch them until just tender - 2 minutes to blanch, perhaps a minute or so longer if steaming. Rinse immediately under cold water to stop them cooking any more and drain them well. 

Make the Salad:
2 to 4 garlic scapes
1/4 cup finely minced cilantro
1/4 cup finely minced parsley
2 tablespoons finely minced mint
2 tablespoons finely minced dill
150 grams (5 ounces) feta cheese
the juice of 1/2 large lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 to 12 lettuce leaves

Trim and finely mince the garlic scapes. Wash, dry, and mince all the remaining herbs. Put them in a mixing bowl with the crumbled feta cheese. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper. Mix well.

Loosen and fluff up the quinoa and stir it in. Gently mix in the cooked and cooled snow peas. Serve the salad over the lettuce leaves, which should be washed and well dried first.





Last year at this time I made - oh, huh - Cheesy Pea & Pasta Salad. Apparently I really like those pea, carb, and dairy salads (and that's a true fact).

Okay, we hit a bit of turbulence there. Mom's eye troubles are not over, and we were making extra trips to Mississauga without much notice, which is nobody's idea of a good time and definitely cuts into the cooking and gardening time.

The good news is we are picking haskaps daily at the moment, along with strawberries. They are a bit late compared to last year but not quite as late as I was afraid they might be. There are lots, and this sudden turn of heat is really making them good.

I am trying to find other things to do with haskaps besides sweet things, but I had to sweeten the dressing a little - they are so very tart. I like to keep some cooked chicken around for salads in the summer. It is very quick to poach it; it can be done in 15 or 20 minutes. Lately I've also been seasoning it, wrapping it in parchment paper, and cooking it in the panini grill. That can get it cooked in as little as 5 minutes, if it's thin pieces.

2 servings
30 minutes prep time
not including cooking the chicken


Make the Dressing:
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
the juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup mayonnaise (light is fine)
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Stir the honey, mustard, and lemon juice together until well blended. Mix in the mayonnaise, and season with salt and pepper. Stir well again.

Make the Salad:
4 or 5 cups prepared lettuce or mixed salad greens
4 to 6 radishes
2 stalks of celery
2/3 cup fresh haskaps
150 grams skinless, boneless chicken - poached and chilled

Wash, pick over, drain, and dry the lettuce or other greens, and be sure they are torn or cut into bite-sized pieces.

Wash, trim and slice the radishes and the celery. Mix them into the lettuce or greens and put everything into a shallow salad bowl or divide between individual salad plates.

Rinse, dry, and pick over the haskaps. Scatter them over the salad. Slice the cold cooked chicken into bite sized pieces and arrange over the salad. Drizzle the salad with the dressing, and serve.




Last year at this time I made Smoked Trout & Wild Rice Salad with Peas.

Radishes make surprisingly good soup! Although I've made this a couple of times now and I have to say, make sure you get some radishes with good flavour. The first time I made it we were fairly unimpressed, but then I tasted some of the raw radish and realized they just didn't have any oompf to them. The looked so nice! Crisp, and neither woody nor spongy. Unfortunately they tasted just watery. This may be a hazard of the weather we have been having this spring, I don't know.

If you can't get fresh dill (it is a bit early for it at this point) replace it with a teaspoon of dried dill weed.

The photo is actually of the first batch I made, and the next time I decided to grate the raw radishes instead of chopping them. You could chop them, but I would suggest more finely than the ones in the picture if you decide to do that. I found the ones chopped as you see just a bit too coarse.  

4 to 6 servings
30 minutes prep time


2 to 3 bunches (32 to 36 medium) red radishes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 to 6 green onions
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh dill
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 tablespoons barley (or wheat) flour
3 1/2 cups unsalted chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup 10% cream

Trim the radishes and wash them. Set side 2 or 3 for every bowl of soup intended. Trim and slice the rest in fairly thick slices. Save a good handful of the best radish leaves, wash them and chop them. 

Heat the butter in a heavy-bottomed soup pot and add the radishes when it is melted and beginning to bubble. Cook the radishes over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until they have softened and absorbed much of the butter.

Meanwhile, wash, trim, and chop the green onions. Peel and grate the garlic. Wash, dry, and mince the dill.

Add the radish leaves and the green onions to the radishes and cook in until well wilted. Add the garlic and dill, and mix in well. Add the salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the flour, and mix it in well. Once it has cooked in for a minute or so, and there are no more unabsorbed white flecks to be seen, begin stirring in the broth, a little at a time. Once it is all in, let the soup simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes.

While the soup cooks, grate the remaining radishes coarsely. 

Mix the cream into the soup and let it heat through. Transfer it to a blender or food processor (in batches if necessary) and purée the soup until smooth. Serve the soup with grated raw radish mixed in and some sprinkled on top for a garnish. It could be made in advance and re-heated, if required (raw radish added just before serving).




Last year at this time I made Crustless Fiddlehead or Asparagus Quiche.

Here is just as simple a little salad as possible. The dressing is smooth and charming, the greens are crunchy, but really it justifies being posted by consisting mainly of things now available from the garden. Yaaaaay!

2 or 3 servings
20 minutes prep time


Make the Dressing:
1 to 2 teaspoons honey
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Whisk together in a small bowl - you may need to soften the honey in the microwave for a few seconds before you add the remaining ingredients. 

Make the Salad:
1 cup lightly packed torn lettuce leaves
1 cup lightly packed torn spinach leaves
4 to 6 sorrel leaves
4 to 6 radish leaves, if in good condition
4 to 6 small red radishes

Wash, pick over, and spin dry the leaves, and tear or chop them into bite sized pieces. Wash and trim the radishes, and slice them. Arrange them in a salad bowl, communal or individual ones, over the prepared leaves. Drizzle with the dressing.




Last year at this time I made Sorrel & Goat Cheese Soufflé.

I love dim sum! It's such a pity the nearest purveyor is mighty close to 2 hours away by car. Whenever we go, we order 2 dishes of lo-bak go; that is to say radish patties. One of them is just for me, and the other is for the rest of the table. Yes! It's my favourite!

It's also kind of a pain to make. I have tried it; the mixture gets boiled, then put in a pan and steamed, then, cut into slices and fried. All that just to have a base to slather on the chile-garlic sauce! These are really not quite the same, but there is a sufficient resemblance for me to enjoy them very much, and they are comparatively very simple to make.

8 to 16 pancakes (4 to 6 servings)
1 hour prep time


2 cups peeled and grated lo-bak, daikon,
        or other similar white winter radish
3 to 4 green onions
4 to 5 slices of bacon
3/4 cup barley flour
1/4 cup potato flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 large egg
3/4 cup chicken stock
oil to fry

Wash and peel the lo-bak. Put it in a strainer and salt it, and let it rest while you prepare the other ingredients. Preheat the oven to 200°F.

Wash, trim, and chop the green onions. Chop the bacon quite finely.

Mix the green onions and bacon into the barley and potato flours, in a mixing bowl. Mix in the salt and pepper. Squeeze the lo-bak gently, measure it, and add it as well. When it is evenly mixed in, break in the egg and add the chicken stock. Mix until smoothly blended.

Heat enough oil to coat the pan in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drop in spoonfuls of the batter to form pancakes. Smooth them out a little to keep them even and not too thick. Cook until nicely browned on each side and cooked through. Transfer them to a plate in the oven to keep warm as you cook the rest of them, adding a little more oil to the pan if needed.

Serve the pancakes with chile-garlic sauce, or a drizzle of soy and vinegar if you don't care for chile-garlic sauce.





Last year at this time I made Roasted Peppers in Cream. 

Well I've given you the title, which is also basically the recipe, if we want to call this a recipe, and since I have nothing else on the go today, we do. At least I do.

I was surprised at what a nice little salad this was. I've been trying hard to keep the radishes watered and it seems to be paying off. They are not the best radishes ever, but not bad either considering some of the temperatures we have had, not to mention the lack of rain. They are French Breakfast radishes, which we have not grown for a few years. I am thinking they need to return to the regular rotation.

Keep each serving fairly small; the flavours are intense. It's almost more of a relish than a salad.  I left the leaves on because they were so nice and fresh and untouched by bugs - I can count on an infestation of flea beetles hatching even as I say this - and because they made a pretty presentation and a nice handle for that insouciant eating with the hands thing. We didn't eat the leaves though, as we consider them a bit too tough and hairy to eat raw.

per serving
5 to 10 minutes, possibly including pulling the radishes



1 or 2 lettuce leaves
2 or 3 radishes
lime juice
fine red chile flakes, maybe Aleppo pepper
salt
2 or 3 leaves fresh mint

Wash the lettuce and dry it, and arrange it on a small plate. Wash and trim the radishes, and cut them into quarters. Arrange them over the lettuce.

Squeeze enough lime juice onto the radishes to moisten them well, then sprinkle them with red chile flakes and salt to taste.

Wash and dry the mint leaves. They will be easier to mince very finely if they are well dried, and that's what you want to do. Mince them very finely, and scatter them over the radishes.

And that's it! We're done here. Other than sitting down and eating them.

Sloppy Joes started life as Ropa Vieja served on a bun, in a bar in Havana called - surprise - Sloppy Joe's.  It seems more like Picadillo to me, but whatever.  For some reason it got picked up by mainstream American cooking in the 1950s, where it was stripped down to be pretty plain (and let's face it, pretty dull). It's an awfully quick and convenient dish to make though, and this spin off towards Mexican flavours makes it interesting again.

If you expect this to really have Mexican flavours, you will need to use Mexican peppers and chile powder. Anchos would be my first choice for the fresh peppers, and chipotle powder (or add some tinned chipotle to the meat later instead) would work well for the chile powder. But if you cannot find those, any other will be nice, just not necessarily very Mexican. 

I've listed quite a few toppings for this; you don't have to use all of them, just a good selection. I realized afterwards that I had intended to put cheese on them, but it somehow didn't happen when the time came. I can't say we missed it terribly, but I do think if you don't have the cheese you want the sour cream, and vice versa. You could also omit the meat and double the beans for a vegetarian version.

4 servings
40 minutes prep time


Make the Spice Mixture:
2 teaspoons cumin seed
3 teaspoons rubbed oregano
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1/8 to 1 teaspoon hot chile powder

Grind the cumin seed and mix the remaining ingredients. Yes, that last measurement means "however much you like and also it depends". As always when dealing with hot chiles.

Make the Taco Joe Filling:
1 large onion
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
1 or 2 peppers, preferably Anchos or similar
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
500 grams (1 pound) ground beef
2 cups cooked pinto or kidney beans
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup water

Peel and chop the onion. Peel and mince the garlic. Wash, de-stem and de-seed the peppers. Chop them in pieces about the same size as the onion.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and peppers, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and slightly browned. Add the ground beef, breaking it up into small bits, and cook, stirring, until no pink is left. Add the garlic and spice mixture, and cook for a minute or two more. Mix in the beans.

Add the tomato sauce and water, and simmer until everything is nicely amalgamated and the sauce is "sloppy"; neither too wet nor too dry. You can add a little more water (or tomato sauce) if you need to.

Assemble the Taco Joes:
1 cup grated old Cheddar or other cheese
1 large tomato, peeled and chopped
1 large avocado, peeled and chopped
6 medium radishes
1 cup of washed and chopped lettuce
1/2 cup of washed and chopped cilantro
1/2 cup sour cream
4 hamburger buns

Grate the cheese. Blanch for 1 minute and peel (if you are so inclined) the tomato. Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit; peel and dice the flesh. Wash, trim and chop the radishes. Wash, dry, and chop the lettuce and cilantro. Put all these in separate little bowl (you can mix the lettuce and cilantro if you like) as well as the sour cream.

Toast the buns and top each of them with 1/4 of the Taco Joe filling. Let each diner add the toppings according to their wishes.




Last year at this time I made Dirty Kasha.

When we were in Windsor recently we got a fattoush salad from a take-out restaurant and enjoyed it. I was already thinking about making some fattoush when I saw this recipe for it at The Guardian. This was quite different from the one we had just had which, lets face it, was mostly lettuce. But apparently a lot of people just don't put lettuce into fattoush at all, and that suits me fine. Our lettuce has all gone bitter. I am not a big fan of lettuce and tomatoes together in a salad, and I think this is part of the reason - they are just not at any kind of peak quality at the same time; one or the other is bound to be not good.

Felicity Cloake does not douse her pita breads in za'atar but the version we had in Windsor did, and that's what made it a good salad even if the rest of it was pretty heavy on the lettuce.

So, lets talk about the sumac, which is one of the things that makes fattoush distinctive. It's a hard thing to get around here. It is also a spice that doesn't keep well. Once I get my hot little hands on some I wrap it well and keep it in the freezer. I also tend to call for it with a heavier hand than most recipes, mostly because it is likely to have faded some in flavour before I get it. If you can get fresh sumac and think I am calling for too much, by all means cut it back.

I was amused to see that purslane is a traditional ingredient. I was putting purslane and cucumbers into salad this time last year, although nothing so elaborate as this. Reinventing the wheel, as they say. I've still got purslane even if it isn't as far along this year as it was last year, but I expect it will get big fast now that it seems to be warming and drying up some.

We 2 ate it all with a few cold cuts and some cheese on the side, but it would serve up to 6 as part of a more elaborate meal.

2 to 6 servings
40 minutes prep time


Prepare the Bread:
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons ground sumac
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pita breads, stale is fine
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Mince the thyme and mix it with the sesame seeds, sumac, and salt in a small bowl.

Put the pita breads on a baking tray, possibly lined with parchment paper. Brush olive oil all over them, both sides, and sprinkle with the herb mixture (za'atar) on both sides. Put the tray in the oven and toast until the breads are lightly brown and quite crisp. They may bend a little but once they are out and cool they should crisp up. Brush them with a little more olive oil - both sides again - when they come out of the oven.

Let them cool then break them  up by hand into bite-sized pieces. You can make the dressing while they cool.

Make the Dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground sumac
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
the juice of 1 medium lemon

Mix all of the above in a jam jar or small bowl and shake or whisk until blended.

Make the Salad:
2 to 3 small middle-eastern type cucumbers
2 large ripe tomatoes
1 small white onion, with greens attached
6 to 10 radishes
1 cup purslane leaves (optional)
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves

Wash, trim, maybe peel, and cut the cucumber into chunks - in half or quarters lengthwise, then into thick slices. Peel (if you like) the tomatoes, and cut them into similar chunks. All this is getting tossed into a mixing bowl as  you go...

Wash trim, and slice the onion. If it is strong, sprinkle it with a little salt and set it aside as you do the rest, then rinse and drain it and add it. You can chop up the greens finely and add them too. Wash and trim the radishes, and cut them in quarters.

Wash the purslane and pick it over carefully, removing any roots, debris, and tough stems. Add to the salad. Rinse and mince the parsley and mint, again discarding any tough stems.

Toss the vegetables. Then, just before serving, toss in the pieces of pita bread. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve at once. 




 Last year at this time I made Cucumber & Purslane Salad.

I came across this simple little salad here, and decided to give it a try. The combination is a little unusual, and also only works for fairly short periods of the year. Now there are greenhouse cucumbers and stored apples to go with the first radishes of the year. Then through the summer, when stored apples are gone, it will have to wait until August when the first fresh apples reappear. After that it can be made until the radishes disappear from the markets. Sometimes this is surprisingly late; into October at least.

For once, I made very few changes to the recipe. My proportions are slightly different - what am I going to do with half of an apple left over? - and I used chives rather than green onions, because I think they are a little more delicate in flavour and also they are growing right outside the door.

This was a lovely little salad, and very quick and easy to make. Next time I think I would like it with the components chopped a little finer than what I did, but that is a quibble. Still; one to take note of.

4 servings
15 minutes prep time


6 to 8 radishes
1/3 English cucumber OR 3 to 4 mini cucumbers
1 large apple
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped chives OR green onion
1 tablespoon sunflower seed oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Wash, trim, and slice or dice the radishes (not too large!) Peel (or not) the cucumbers, and cut them into slices or cubes of similar size to the radishes. Wash, core, and slice or chop ditto the apple. Mix them with the finely chopped chives or green onion, and toss them with the oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Arrange them in a nice bowl and so serve it forth... done already.