Spring Asparagus

Seattle farmers markets are showcasing the newest items of the season: rhubarb, strawberries, radishes, peas, and piles upon piles of asparagus.

The easiest and most-satisfying method to prepare fresh asparagus? I like to steam and blanch them. Placing their skinny stems in an ice bath halts the cooking so that their crisp, crunchy texture is retained throughout the middle and tips of their bodies.

The finishing touch? Adding a squeeze of lemon and a couple pinches of Nicoise Olive salt to accentuate their natural characteristics.

I wouldn't have my salty stems any other way.

Red Quinoa Breakfast

Skipping breakfast ought to be a sin. I never step foot out-the-door without fueling my tank to drive my day.

When I was young, breakfast was Lucky Charms or packaged, processed pastries. I blame none other than myself in a pantry-filled kitchen, stocked to the brim with far healthier, satisfying choices. Shame on me too for having a mother who was a dietitian. I deserve a slap and spanking for that.

Red Quinoa, tomato-cucumber Kick-Egg start w/Nicoise Olive salt

1. Rinse a 1/4 cup of quinoa thoroughly and drain. Add 1 cup of water to a sauce pan and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer until all the water has evaporated.

3. Heat another saute pan, gently cracking 1-2 eggs in pan. Watch closely so that the yellow yolk does not get hard, though this is dependent upon your preference. The longer you cook an egg, the harder the yellow yolk will be, and the crispier the white will become. Cooking the egg less will give you a runnier yolk, allowing more flavor to disperse and break atop the quinoa.

4. Slice cucumbers and tomatoes to desired amount and degree of thinness.

5. Garnish with Nicoise Olive salt.

Penne Pasta to-go

Lunch or dinner, at home or to-go. Hot or cold, your choice.

Take it or leave it.

Penne pasta with tomatoes on the vine, spinach, and Nicoise Olive salt.

Recipe:

1. Boil water and toss penne in pot for 12-16 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, slice tomatoes into sized- segments to your liking. Next, chop and mince spinach leaves.
3. Drain pasta in coriander, and place in bowl. Add tomatoes and spinach leaves.
4. Finish with Nicoise Olive salt.

Seattle PI Blog Review

Keren Brown----- a local Seattle writer----- just posted a review of our salts online at the Seattle PI. It's under "Reader Blogs," titled 'Local, Local on My Kitchen Table.'



Check it. http:/blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/franticfoodie/archives/152809.asp



Looking for ways to spruce up your every-day salad? Take a peak at Keren's "10 ways to add Variety to your Salad." Nicoise Olive comes in at #5.


http://www.dailymunch.com/2008/11/10-ways-to-add-a-little-fun-to-your-salad.html

Heirloom Dreams

Some say 'toe-MAY-toe.'

Others say "toe-MAH-toe."

I say Heirloom.

Pronunciation is often a topic of conversation and can become a hot debate between people who grew up saying the same word differently. There are many examples of words with differing pronunciations depending on the tongue. Though---- in my mind---- these hot topics began in the tomato world and garden of a dream I had.

I don't often dream of tomatoes, but when I do, they are a family of 6, each with their own personality, size, color, smell, and taste---- all a seated at the dinner table. In my dream, I was the Green Zebra Heirlette, seeing "red" and intent upon going cannibalistic upon the Mortgage Lifter Heirlee.

In case you're curious--- and didn't stop reading after the first sentence--- the Mortgage Lifter is named for the heirloom grower who sold his tomatoes for a dollar (when a goddamn dollar was worth something) in order to pay off his mortgage. Though the Mortgage Lifter is sweet and juicy, the Green Zebra is tart and unique. I woke up when I found out that the Green Zebra was not a true Heirloom, but instead is mistakingly called one for its decorative characteristics. And the fact that it is bred from 4 heirloom varieties.

Turns out the Green Zebra was also originally cultivated by a man in Washington.

Or is that Worshington?

Heirloom tomato and marinated Buffalo Mozzarella salad

with Nicoise Olive sea salt

The Players:

2 Ibs assorted heirloom tomatoes
4 oz Buffalo mozzarella
4 oz olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tsp chives
1 Tbl balsamic vinegar
1/2 sprig rosemary
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
10 large basil leaves

Nicoise Olive sea salt

The Recipe:

-First, cut the mozzarella in half and then cut up each half into 1/4' slices and set aside.

-Mix olive oil, pepper, and balsamic vinegar into a large mixing bowl.

-Slice the garlic clove paper thin and add to bowl.

-Pull the rosemary leaves of the stem and add to bowl, then mince the chives, and add to the bowl. Mix well.

-Place the mozzarella into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for 2 to 3 hours. -Wash the tomatoes and then slice them into slices bout 1/4' thick. Arrange them on a platter.

-Pull the mozzarella out of the marinade and arrange on the platter with the tomatoes.

-Using a spoon, drizzle the leftover marinade onto the cheese and tomatoes.

-Roughly chop the basil and sprinkle it over the tomatoes and cheese

- Garnish dish with Nicoise Olive salt.

http://www.secretsalts.com/Niciose-Olive-Sea-Salt.html

La Tomatina Recipe

If I had a regret, this would be one: not experiencing "La Tomatina," a yearly Spanish festival that resembles a war-strewn zone of splattered tomatoes and thousands of people hucking a gluttonous amount of red globes back-and-forth at each other. Instead, I dedicate this dish to what in another life may very well have been me torpedoing a beefsteak tomato at a random compadre in Bunol, Espana. *Sigh*

Though this recipe could also be titled: "Sunday Salad Simplicity." If it were most characteristic of my current lifestyle, it'd be: "A Healthy Alternative to Friday and Saturday." I am one (of those) who cuts loose on the weekend, falling free out of the work monotony and hum-drum schedule that most weekdays by definition, just are. Even without a 9-5 job, I still manage to stress myself out.

Let's talk food. This recipe is great for 2 reasons. First, it is whip-stick easy to prepare. And secondly, it is ten-fold healthier than most of us were on Friday night.

It calls for:

1/2 pound chicken, skinless light meat, pre-cooked and cut into strips

1 large beefsteak tomato

1 head of broccoli

10 baby carrots

1 hand-full of spinach leaves

2 pinches of Nicoise Olive sea salt

Steam the broccoli and carrots together in a rice pressure cooker for 10-15 minutes or until they are half-way cooked through, yet still retaining a bit of a crunch. Set both aside and let cool. Chop the beefsteak tomato into as many halves as you desire. Cut the chicken into strips if it isn't already part of a left-over dish.* Wash and dry spinach leaves before plating them. Slice baby carrots in half and de-segment the broccoli into small trees. Plate all items together and sprinkle Nicoise Olive sea salt as a garnish. Olive salt is a fantastic substitute for heavy, preservative-laden salad dressings.

*For an even quicker fix to any chicken recipe, use a pre-cooked roasted chicken from the grocery store. They're the ones that doze away all day under the heat lamp till single men buy them.

http://www.secretsalts.com/Niciose-Olive-Sea-Salt.html

Homemade Crust

From Driver to Dough Boy.

Nicoise olive peppercorn salami for me, please.






















































Truffle-lick-licious. "I saw that."




The only secret I can divulge is .... buttermilk.