Raw Vegetable Salad with Avocado & Pistachio Dressing

By Steph Farrar

With one hand on the steering wheel and the other double-checking I packed enough snacks in Vesper's Spiderman backpack, I finally reverse out of my Valley driveway, earlier than we are all ever usually awake. What happened to my youth?

I never in a million years thought I would be posting on my own food blog about anything raw (unless an oyster or sushi) or vegan (unless a pair of stilettos). But here we are. It's happening. It's becoming clearer to me every day that my daughter is in real school, life is all about balance. And I've been out of balance for the last few years. Trying to juggle it all, make everyone happy, not rock the boat, forge ahead with content and grace. Well forget that. Just breathe girl.

And take it one day at a time.

Juiciest Limes from our new tree

And take it easy on myself. Think things through before worrying or jumping the gun, or even before speaking. I feel like I should be back in Kindergarten, learning the simplest yet profound tools in life. "You get what you get, and you don't get upset."

Now there's a rule to live by.

Balance was brought to me in the form of zucchini a few weeks back, when the summer staple was on its way out, sadly. My last chance to use my new spiralizer that's all the rage around this house. "Crunchy, green pasta?" wonders Flynn. Yes. It's crunchy green pasta, forever son.

Crunchy. Green. Pasta.

I never wanna sound like a preacher, but I certainly learn something new every day, and usually either through the meals I cook or the things that come out of a family members' mouth. In Sam's absence, I learned that Vesper is completely boy crazy, knows every member of One Direction, wants to marry Niall, she will be a famous singer before she's 21, and Flynn will be her tour manager. So I'm thinking Sam and I should hang up our hats. Those 1D boys are doing pretty well.

I also learned that an avocado makes an amazing dressing base.

Julienned and sliced Veggies

Take your hands off my salad tossers!

And that Flynn likes to cook, clean, garden, play dress up, and steal my make-up. So were are truly in for it. With my sous chef / housekeeper, along with my own personal Taylor Swift, we made a balanced, early afternoon raw salad in that 102 degree summer heat. The same heat that is rearing its ugly head again this weekend.

Cutest little thief.

Sam is finally home after 5 very long weeks, and still trying to adjust to the extreme chaos. We started school. We met new families. We Facetime-d every single chance we could get. I went to my 20th high school reunion (which was EPIC, for all you Red Raiders out there). We fit it all in, because we have to. Because this is what we do. We balance it all. We make it work. We get what we get and we don't throw a fit.

And we plan for our daughter marrying a 1D member. Go girl.

Raw Veggie Salad with Avocado Pistachio Dressing

Ingredients:

• 2 zucchini, spiralized or julienned

• 1 cup shredded carrots

• 1 large red pepper, thinly sliced or julienned

• 1/2 cup either chopped cilantro, Italian parsley or a combination

• salt and pepper

• 1/2 large avocado 1

• /4 cup shelled pistachios

• 1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

• juice of 1 lime

• olive oil

Directions:

In a bowl, combine zucchini, carrots, and red pepper.

Add cilantro, Italian parsley or both. Sprinkle with a healthy pinch of salt and pepper.

For the dressing, add the avocado, shelled pistachios, lime juice and cilantro to the bowl of a food processor.

Slowly pulse chop the nuts, lime juice, and cilantro with the creamy avocado. While running, add olive oil 1 tbsp at a time until silky and smooth. Add a little water to thin. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Combine the dressing with the raw veggies. Feel free to season with more salt and pepper as needed.

Whatever Makes You Happy

By Steph Farrar

Nothing about this week's ingredient has a thing to do with the current situation I put myself in. Except that cucumbers make me happy. On anything and with everything. After years of regretfully lacking appreciation for my time and my freedom, the previously mentioned job which took me away from those benefits, has unfortunately ended.

Little Persian Ones

Actually, more like fortunately. More like thank God in heaven all around me. More like "high-five" the universe for giving me the courage to move on. For choosing happiness over failure. For choosing family over my tendency to people-please. I look back without regret, but with remorse for its bitter ending. Perhaps our relationship will mirror the cucumber and jalapeño: when the crisp, cold meets the crunch, heat and is brought to life by a pungent lemon.

Only time will tell.

Let's move on.

Quartered and Seeded.

In the mornings after Vesper has gone to school, when I'm scouring my brain for dinner ideas, cedar planked salmon with cucumber jalapeño salad is generally one of the first cravings to tempt my taste-buds. It's easy, inexpensive and super tasty. The plank should soak for at least 6 hours (even though it only calls for 1 hour) so I generally soak it overnight for a proper "smoke." If you decide at noon, day of, to have salmon that night, you'll be sufficiently soaked. Make sure it's submerged. I like to serve it with brown rice and evenly roasted tomatoes. Every plate needs some color.

Speaking of Color

For the tomatoes, easiest thing in the world... add some olive oil, finely chopped garlic and salt and pepper and whole roast on 400 degrees for about 18 minutes.  I usually add to the oven just as the salmon goes on the grill. Maybe even tent with some foil... splattering will occur.

Place on the plank then on a hot Grill

After the plank has soaked, place the salmon on the plank and generously season both sides with salt and pepper, skin side down. That's it. This is the easiest job you will ever have. No verbal abuse. No demeaning squander. Just wood on a hot grill. Close the lid and cook for about 15-18 minutes.

And please, enjoy your freedom, your choices, your boundaries. And make sure you don't overcook the salmon!

Cedar Plank Salmon with Cucumber and Jalapeño Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 Persian cucumbers, sliced and quartered

• 1 1/2 jalapeños, deseeded and small dice

• 3-4 tbsp. olive oil

• juice of half a lemon

• 1 1/2 lbs salmon

• 1 cedar plank salt and pepper

Directions:

Soak Cedar plank in water for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Heat grill to 400 degrees.

Season both sides of salmon with salt and pepper. Place salmon skin side down on soaked plank. Place plank on grill and cook for 15-18 minutes depending on desired doneness.

Combine cucumber, jalapeño, olive oil, lemon and salt and pepper in bowl. Cover and refrigerate while salmon cooks.

Serve salmon with salad, over brown rice and roasted tomatoes.

Beauty!

Pure and Simple

By Sierra French Myerson

Do you ever wake up from a dream that is so good that you try to force yourself back to sleep so you can finish it?  That’s how I felt about the cauliflower soup I had at one of my favorite lunch spots recently. Eduard, the chef/owner, prides himself on his vegan (not something I generally gravitate towards) purees.  He swears he never uses potato to thicken or enhance his soups.  So, when I asked Eduard what made it so flavorful, he coyly smirked at me as only this particular French Moroccan can do.

For days, I had cauliflower on the brain.  Not being a veg that I generally crave, I was stumped.  So I did what any obsessed soup fan would do, I became totally preoccupied with unearthing Eduard’s secret.  I knew it was based on cauliflower.  It was vegan, so no dairy or chicken stock, though it was creamy and rich.  No potatoes, yet still thick and velvety.  And, then, it hit me…duh!

The Ingredients

Thinly slice.

Florets

Way to complicate the uncomplicated, Sierra.  Frankly, I was slightly disappointed with myself.  For someone who prides herself on celebrating fresh produce, I was overlooking the obvious.

Slowly Saute

Simmer

Puree it! Smooth and Creamy

Eduard simply honors the purity of his starring vegetable.  If it’s extremely fresh and in season, said veggie doesn't need much help at all.  Just respect and delight in the pure and simple.

Pure and Simple Cauliflower Soup

Adapted from Paul Bertolli, formerly of Chez Panisse

*As Spring arrives, I’m super excited to try this recipe with other vegetables…peas, asparagus, zucchini, and on and on.  Play around too…let me know what worked for you.

What you’ll need:

• 3 Tbs. olive oil

• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin

• 1 head fresh cauliflower, broken into small florets

• 5 1/2 cups water, divided

• Good extra virgin oil, to drizzle

• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot.  Cook the onion over low heat until just translucent. Don’t let the onions brown.

Add the cauliflower, a good pinch of salt, and 1/2 of a cup of water.  Cover the pot tightly. Raise the heat to medium and let cook for 15-18 minutes, until the cauliflower is fork tender. 

Then, add 4 1/2 cups of water.  Lower heat, and bring to a low simmer.  Let cook uncovered for 20 minutes.

Take off the heat.  With a hand blender, puree the soup until smooth and creamy.  If using a proper blender, puree in batches.  Once pureed, let soup stand for 20 minutes.  It will thicken up a bit during this time.

Thin the soup with 1/4 -1/2 cup hot water until you reach your ideal consistency.  Reheat the soup.  Ladle into bowls.  Serve drizzled with good olive oil and freshly ground pepper.

Pure and Simple

Simple Green

By Sierra French Myerson

Fresh leafy lettuce.  Red wine vinegar.  Good olive oil.  These are a few of my favorite things. I mean, if I'm being totally straight, I'm a salad junkie.  I know, it's a cliche.  L.A. girl likes lettuce.  "I'll just have a salad and some water", says the lady to the waitress.

Red Leaf.

Seriously though, I'm crazy for the green crunchy stuff.  Still, let's be clear, unless it's arugula, mache or frisee, I'm talking about real lettuce.  The kind that can stand on it's own.  Red leaf, green leaf, romaine, red oak, green oak, butter, and gem lettuce.  None of these so-called "baby mixed greens".  I've noticed that these tend to be people's base for a throw-whatever-you-feel-like-into-it salad.  I can appreciate that there is a place for that somewhere, just not my somewhere.  But, don't get me wrong, I wholly respect and hold in high regard the chopped Italian salad, a shaved summer vegetable salad, the rustic Greek, the elegant Caprese, and the classic Cobb (among others).  Though, these, to me, are in an entree salad/side dish category all of their own.  Nonetheless, when it comes to salad greens, I'm totally comfortable being called a purist snob.

Butter Lettuce.

I suppose, I could give people the benefit of the doubt, and assume that they've probably only had the run-of-the-mill super market stuff.  So, in that case, by all means, load it up with peppers, nuts, berries, cheeses, carrots, meats, and thick creamy dressings.  You have to cover up the nothing flavor of your "baby mixed greens".  But, I swear to you, fresh farmer's market heads of the delicious leafy veggies are good on their own.  Really good.

Farmer's Market Goods.

Outside of simple additions such as radicchio, watercress, endive, radishes, cucumbers, or tomatoes (only when they're good and in season…ok I'm snooty in this department too), honor thy lettuce.

Some sea salt, a simple vinaigrette, and a light tossing.  Let it shine, don't bury it.

Simple vinaigrette.

Simple Green Salad

What you'll need:

• A couple of fresh heads of lettuce*

• 1/2 cup of good olive oil

• 1/3 cup of good red wine vinegar**

• Sea salt

Directions:

Wash and spin or dry the lettuce.  Tear into big bite size pieces.  Place in serving bowl.  Whisk together the olive oil and vinegar.  Alternatively, pour olive oil and vinegar into a clean recycled jar, and shake.  Add salt to taste.  Pour the dressing over the lettuce and gently toss.

*Try different varieties while you're at the market.  Discover for yourself which are your faves.

**Play around with the amount of olive oil to vinegar.  Commonly, people use a 2:1 ratio.  But, I like a particularly tangy vinaigrette.  Furthermore, experiment with a white wine or champagne vinegar.  Or, cut the vinegar in half and add a Tb. of dijon mustard.

Patty's Cucumber Gin Cocktail

By Steph Farrar

I have loved Gin for a very long time. I even capitalize the word when I don’t need to. If I’m able to go out for a nice dinner with my husband and perhaps don’t have to wake at dawn the next morning, I will start my night with a Gin martini. Extra dry, basically zero vermouth, and tons and tons of olives. I’m an olive fanatic. It's even possible I drink Gin so I can eat the olives.  No wait, I love Gin. But the olives really help soak up the booze while I’m waiting for an appetizer, hopefully Malpec or Kumomoto oysters.

Dill is so pretty

But enough about me. Let’s talk about you, enjoying Gin, even if you never have before. I can break you. And I will with this drink. 3 ounces of Gin sounds like a lot, I know. Most drinks are four ounces though, and we get a little soda water in there, and veggies and herbs, so whatever. Enjoy your healthy, well-rounded cocktail. Feel good about yourself.

Ice cream scoop muddle

I based this little concoction on a ‘mocktail’ I found in Food and Wine's August 2012 issue. I know cucumber and Gin make sense. And cucumber and dill love each other. So partnering the three seemed like a win. And I was right. I’m going to call this drink “For Patty,” cause she’s a serious Gin lover. And I’m a serious Patty lover.

Agave is best.

You know what I mean. Just drink it. And please eat some oysters if you can.

Dill, Cucumber Gin Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces Gin, preferably Hendricks or Plymouth

• 1/3 cup cut cucumbers, plus one disk for garnish

• 2 paper-thin, lengthwise slices of cucumber

• 1 tsp dill finely chopped, plus sprig for garnish

• 3 wedges of lime (and/or lemon), one for garnish

• 1 tbsp agave nectar splash soda water

Directions:

Place cucumber, dill, agave syrup and juice of two lime wedges in a martini shaker and muddle together, breaking down the cucumber and lime. If you have a mortar and pestle that will work as well. I didn’t have a muddle this day, so I found a nice wooden ice cream scoop with a flat end. Worked great.

Line a highball glass with cucumber skin and fill with ice.

Fill shaker 3/4 with ice and add gin. Shake all ingredients well. I like this drink frothy.

Strain cocktail into cucumber lined glass. Fill with soda water.

Garnish glass with lime and cucumber wheel, and a sprig of dill.

Add a straw and enjoy.

Juiced: Almond Milk and Greens

By Steph Farrar

A few months ago, I began to feel toxic. Too much wine, too many verditas shots (thank you Esme and Cayman), not enough sleep. As a temporary single parent, I started to feel a little anxious.  Sam was still away on tour. I’d been cooking for one and a half for two months and finding it creatively challenging.

My best friend, Lola, has been a fan of the Earth Bar in L.A. for a few years actually... juices, vitamin shots, simple organic treats and eats, an overall health-food-store. Juices are called Detox Lemonade, Gimme Greens, Raw Recovery etc., not I Am Beautiful, Hear My Woman Roar, or My Spirit is Special. So I gave it a go. Not too crunchy for me.

Bottles and bottles

A juice cleanse is the most L.A. thing I have ever participated in. I was pretty jazzed to give my liver a snooze, sleep well, back away from the kitchen and test my will power. As a lady who lives to cook, not eating food is nearly unbearable. Especially when on the sixth juice of seven, cooking arugula pesto linguine for Vesper, and not eating it.

So I did it. For three full days. A raw juice cleanse of 1400 wimpy calories. I have never slept or felt better in my life, or even had more energy. I’ve also never been a very good breakfast eater, which I know, is a detriment. But I am generally not hungry in the morning. I don’t like to eat when I’m not hungry, and practically zero percent of any convincing to eat food before 11 am will result in success. Unless... it’s juice.

The only bummer about this cleanse was the amount of plastic bottles I went through... 21 total and three plastic raw soup containers. I kept them all for pictures. And then of course recycled them. I even asked if I could return the bottles for reuse at Earth Bar. “Ah, no.” “Gross” was their implied response.

The dreaded 'Total Greens'

Seven $6-9 juices in addition to early morning delivery, a raw soup and ‘am/pm’ pills... this cleanse was relatively affordable, considering I didn’t eat a thing for three days. There was only one juice that I had to hold my breath to drink, the Total Greens, which basically tasted like I’m assuming the ground must taste.

But I did it... I made it through, lost five pounds and felt amazing. I went to bed early the last night so I could wake up three hours before my toddler to eat real food and drink hot coffee. And yes, I’m still not into breakfast even though that soft boiled egg and soldiers never tasted better.

Now a few months later, I’ve been craving these juices and the way I felt, especially in the morning. The first juice is called Gimme Greens, the second Chlorophyll Boost, the third and most delicious thing ever, Almond Milk flavored with dates and vanilla. My new goal: make them at home. I dragged down the Breville juicer we were given as a wedding gift six years ago and have used once; I found a spot on the crowded counter in our kitchen, storing a few of the gazillion cutting boards I boast.

Soak them overnight

Almond Milk2

Almond Milk4

I haven’t quite mastered the juices, but wow are they filling, energizing and expensive. Two pounds of kale makes like a half ounce of juice. I’ve discovered the key to juicing is more vegetables, less fruit. Otherwise you’re drinking more sugar than necessary, more concentrated fruit than you would ever consume in a day. Use the fruit to sweeten the veggies.

Kale Juice1

Kale Juice2

I have been starting my mornings with Gimme Greens then Almond Milk, in addition to a forced bowl of cereal or yogurt. Be warned, while juices provide a great deal of energy and balance, they are generally high in calories as well. But damn, do I feel good!

Drink juice so you don't look like that guy

Gimme Greens - my Earth Bar version

Ingredients:

• 1 Green Apple

• 1/2 Cucumber

• 2 oz Spinach (optional, but why not)

• 1 Regular Lemon

• 1 bunch Kale (roughly 6 stalks)

 Directions:

If you have a juicer, combine all ingredients, whole, juicing one at a time.

If you don't have have juicer, you can use a blender, and strain any and all solids that form, either through a sieve or cheesecloth.

Almond Milk, with dates and vanilla

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw almonds

• water for soaking

• 3-4cups water ( I prefer closer to 3, so the milk is fuller-bodied)

• 2 pitted dates, chopped

• 1/2 tsp vanilla salt and pepper (optional)

 Directions:

Soak the almonds in water overnight or for at least 6 hours.

Drain the water from the almonds and discard.

Blend 3-4 cups of water, almonds, dates and vanilla until well blended and almost smooth.

Strain the blended almond mixture using a cheesecloth or other strainer.

You can keep the meaty product left from the almond milk. Makes a yum almond butter with a little added salt.

Homemade raw almond milk will keep well in the refrigerator for three or four days.