lesli's turkey salad

Lesli made up this recipe and we had it for dinner when she visited with some hard cheese and baguette - it was quite the smorgasbord.

• 1 lb cooked turkey breast, diced into tiny bite sizes (we used herb coated from Whole Foods)
• 3 ribs celery, diced
• 1 medium shallot, finely diced
• 2 golden delicious apples, diced
• 1 lemon (just the juice)
• 1/4 c chopped walnuts
• 1/4 c chopped crasins
• 3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped (or you can use tarragon)
• 4 tablespoons mayo (start with 2 and add mayo until it is the consistency you enjoy)
• (your choice) sandwich bread or crackers or bibb lettuce leaves or mixed greens.

1. Chop everything into very small pieces and add to large bowl. Squeeze the lemon over everything once you add the apple.
2. Mix in the mayo. This is like a chicken salad -- add the amount of mayo you like.
3. Cover and set in the refrigerator at least one hour, but best is overnight.
4. Enjoy on bread as sandwich, or with crackers, or in bibb lettuce leaves as a wrap or a top a bed of mixed green salad.

Serves 6.

on poaching fish

Last night we tried poaching our fish (we used Artic Char) insteading of baking like we usually do, and it was so much easier and better tasting. The concept here is to put aromatics (whole + liquid) in a skillet using very large pieces so that the fish sits on top of them and cooks all around. Here is what we did:

1. Cut about 3 ribs of celery in half and lie ridge up in a skillet (we used shiny metal not cast-iron).
2. Cut 2 carrots into quarters so they lie down on the skillet.
3. Give a super rough chop to 1/2 an onion and add to the skillet.
4. Add about 1/2 c of an aromatic - we used Sweet Vermouth - plus a bit of water to cool that flavor down.
5. Salt and pepper the fish and lie on top of the vegetables with plenty of space all around the pieces (space under the fish, yes).
6. Cover with a lid (transparent is best, so you can watch the fish change color rather than continue to lift the lid) and let cook until fish is flaky.

Best Bread Ever... and no kneading!

My friend Karen is onto a bread adventure, and she has already reached near perfection! The bread I ate at her house was phenomenal. Read more on her blog (Towards Pumpernickel) about her adventure and the description of the bread. I've included a copy of the Woman's Day recipe she used below in case we lose the url in the future.

Ingredients

• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting
  
• 1/4 tsp instant (rapid-rise) yeast
  
• 2 tsp salt
  
• Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed for coating (I used cornmeal)
• 3 - 4 qt. cast iron dutch oven

Instructions

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups tepid water, and stir until blended; dough will be sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at room temperature.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle dough with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or foil and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, cornmeal or wheat bran.

4. Using just enough flour to keep dough (which is sticky) from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball.

5. Put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, cornmeal or bran. Cover with another cotton towel or plastic wrap and let rise for about 2 to 3 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

6. At least a half hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 °F. Put a 3- to 4-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, or ceramic) in oven as it heats. (Make sure if the pot has a handle that it is oven safe to 450 °F. If not, remove it.) When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is OK. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned.

7. Turn out on wire rack to cool completely. Your bread will look different, depending on the type of dusting flour you used. Yields one 1 1/2 lb loaf.

Yogurt Dip for Vegetables

I roasted some winter vegetables and wanted something to spruce up the meal, so I read a variety of recipes online for dips, and ended up making this up. It's pretty good. The key is super fine chopping. It would also be good with crudite too.

• 1 1/2 c plain yogurt
• 3 tsp mustard (yellow with some kick of some sort is best)
• dash of salt
• dash of garlic powder
• good heaping of black pepper
  
• 3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

Mix it up and serve immediately.

White Bean and Cabbage Stew

Oh my goodness - changed my mind and we're trying this one tonight instead. It looks so delicious and healthy too!

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 head cabbage, chopped
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1 to 1-1/2 pounds potatoes, cut in large dice
• 1/3 cup pearled barley
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6-8 cups vegetable broth
• 3 cups cooked great northern beans (2 cans, drained)
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• salt to taste

1. Place vegetables, seasonings, barley, and broth into a large stockpot. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes.
2. Add remaining ingredients, check seasonings, and add more herbs if necessary.
3. Simmer uncovered for at least 15 minutes before serving.

This recipe comes directly from one of my favorites, The Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen. On her blog she also includes Crockpot directions and nutritional information.

Barley and Root Vegetable Chowder

Another one from EatingWell magazine. I can't wait to try this out with some crusty bread this rainy dreary evening!

• 4 cups reduced-sodium beef broth or vegetable broth
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup pearl barley
• 1 celery root (celeriac), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 parsnip, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup chopped green cabbage
• 1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Pinch of freshly ground pepper

1. Bring broth and water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add barley. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the barley is tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Add celery root, turnip, rutabaga, carrot, parsnip, cabbage, onion, tomatoes, bay leaf, salt, sage, thyme and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf before serving.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 78 calories; 1 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 4 g fiber; 251 mg sodium; 372 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (21% daily value), Vitamin C (28% dv).