Beet and Mache Salad

Mache is another name for corn salad. It is an ancient garden green and contrasts nicely with sharp-flavored greens in salads like endive or arugula. It tastes delightful cooked quickly like spinach. It combines nicely with fruits and vegetables. Mache is a cool season annual. The dark green spoon-shaped leaves are gathered into a rosette. It is a very attractive plant in the garden. In northern climate, plant in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked. In warm climates, plant in the fall for winter harvest. The soil should be fertile, moist, and well drained. This plant is also known as Lambs Lettuce or Rapunzel. Mache can be planted in containers which is where I plant mine. If you don't have a garden you can probably find this in your local supermarket. The organic produce section usually has corn salad available. It comes in a little plastic clamshell box that's just the right amount for this salad.

Here's a recipe for a salad to use my first ever crop of beets. I grew a mixture of beets with seeds from The Cook's Garden. They have great vegetable seed mixtures.

Beet and Mache Salad

Ingredients
2 pounds assorted medium beets
7 cups (6 oz.) mache
1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar or to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
Directions
1. Trim beets, leaving 1 inch of stems attached. Cover beets with cold water by 2 inches in a 5- to 6-quart pot and boil, uncovered, until tender, 40 to 45 minutes (adding more water if necessary). Drain beets and let cool. Cut stems from beets with a small sharp knife, then peel and discard skin from beets. Cut beets into wedges.
2. Mound mache alongside beets on a platter and drizzle with vinegar and oil. Sprinkle both with tarragon and salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature. Makes 8 servings.

If you feel like turning on your oven you can also roast beets. They are extra good that way.

Roasted Beets

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds medium red beets, peeled and quartered
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375° F. Place the beets in a small roasting or baking dish in one layer. Drizzle with the oil. Add the garlic, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Roast until fork-tender, about 30 minutes.

The Zucchini Are Ready to Harvest

The zucchini plants which were started in April now have zucchinis ready to pick. I'm growing them in containers this year. I got an early start on everything this year by planting in containers and covering the seedlings with glass jars to protect them from our cool spring. It's paying big dividends. We've already enjoyed two crops of lettuce. The third is planted under canvas now. Well, it's not really canvas. It's one of those microfiber crop covers that is supposed to be much better at cooling soil and protecting from insects. We'll see how it goes. I plan to start picking beets on Saturday. We've been enjoying beet green for several weeks now as I thinned the beet boxes. Now it's time to get serious about the beets themselves. We love beets, but this is the first year I've grown them.

Here's a salad to use some of my zucchini. And my local Shoppers Food Warehouse had broccoli on sale this week.

Garden Pasta Salad

Salad Ingredients:

6 ounces (3 cups) uncooked dried medium pasta shells
2 cups broccoli florets
2 medium (2 cups) yellow summer squash or zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch
1 medium (1/2 cup) onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips
4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Dressing Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons country-style Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (you can find a vegetarian Worcestershire sauce)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse with cold water; drain. Combine all salad ingredients except cheese in large bowl; gently stir in cooked pasta and cheese.

Combine all dressing ingredients except Parmesan cheese in medium bowl. Pour dressing over salad; toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

Yield: 6 servings

Try these muffins to go with your salad. We even like these for breakfast, but then we're real chiliheads. About a third of my chili pepper plants have blossomed, and two plants even have little baby peppers on them. Our summer promises to be quite spicy. We grow enough peppers to freeze. So I can whip these muffins up any time of year.

Cheesy Corn Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped mild green chilies – Anaheim is about the mildest
2 (8 1/2-ounce) packages corn muffin mix
2 eggs
4 ounces (1 cup) Cheddar Cheese, shredded – There are several brands of shredded Mexican blends available that work even better than plain cheddar

Instructions:

Heat oven to 400°F. Combine all ingredients except cheese in medium bowl; stir just until moistened. Gently stir in cheese.

Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Yield: 16 muffins

Greek Salad

On a recent trip the only place to eat was a steakhouse. The only vegetarian item on the menu was a Greek salad. It was not what I've come to expect in a Greek salad. There was no lettuce, just a huge bowl of fabulous tomatoes, onions, peppers, olives, cucumbers and feta cheese. Right now we have so much lettuce from the garden we're having Greek salad with lettuce, but in July when the tomatoes are bountiful and the greens are hiding from the sun this is what I'll make.

Greek Salad
4 Servings

1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 small red onion, sliced
1/2 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and rinsed (or more if you're like me)
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped (the long hothouse variety are best. Some you don't even have to peel)
4 cups cherry or grape tomatoes or 4 cups ripe large tomatoes roughly diced
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic
8 ounces crumbled feta cheese

Rub a large salad bowl with the garlic. You could mince it and add it to the salad, but mince it very fine. Toss together all the other ingredients. Adjust seasoning and serve with warm pita bread or crusty French bread.