ellen's favorite home made dressings: roasted garlic, lemon tahini and mustardy vinaigrette

Bottled dressing is not an option in my kitchen. I serve a green salad for dinner every night, tossed in a wooden salad bowl with light vinaigrette. My recipe follows the classic proportions I learned from my mother: 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. But after that, the recipe gets loose, depending on the type of lettuce and the piquancy of the greens: If the leaves are soft and buttery, I’ll substitute lemon for the vinegar. A tough romaine warrants bold balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon of Dijon. Spicy blends of salad greens are sweetened with a tablespoon of maple syrup.

My mother taught me how to make a basic vinaigrette.  But perhaps it was easier back in the sixties, when the choice of either iceberg or Boston butterhead lettuce narrowed the options for dressing. Growing my own allows me to play with a variety of dressing, to match the unique flavor of each green. Preparing salad greens, is like conditioning flowers. If you can keep the stems and leaves full of moisture, then quickly cooled, they will stay crisp and hardy. Even better, whisk the dressing in the bowl, then dash to the garden to harvest the tender fresh leaves with only minutes between garden and salad bowl.

My grandmother made her own vinaigrette, too. She was of a generation that did not enjoy a strong blast of garlic. Rather than adding garlic directly to the dressing, she would make a paste by crushing a garlic clove into a small bit of cream or milk to extract its essence. She would then strain this concoction and add it to her vinaigrette. She was also a stickler for extra virgin olive oil long before it became popular. It was the health properties she was after; the cold pressing of the olives offered benefits beyond mere flavor.

One summer, my grandmother taught me another dressing, made with a light, fruity green-olive oil and lemon juice, mixed in the same 3-to-1 proportions, then blended with a spoonful each of honey and tahini. The greens were ordinary Bibb lettuce, yet the salad sang of summer, with a tart balance of sweet and sour. My grandmother lived well into her nineties, and I like to think it was because she ate so well.

It’s my turn now, to teach how to make a home made dressing. Earlier in the day, I had immersed the fresh greens in a basin of cool water, spun them dry, and then wrapped the leaves in absorbent towels before placing them in the refrigerator. I watch as my daughter Molly whisks together the oil and vinegar; I suggest a dash of Dijon mustard and a scant teaspoon of maple syrup. “Now taste it,” I tell her. She squints, she gently smacks her lips, and for a moment her eyes get that faraway look that says, “Don’t disturb me, I’m thinking.” Teaching my daughter how to make salad dressing is like teaching someone creative writing. I am sharing my understanding of the basics, but ultimately she needs to decide how to express her own taste. I like to think that families who make homemade dressings will always make homemade dressings, and that our recipes will be handed down through the generations, keeping bottled dressing at bay.

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette: Makes 1/2 cup

Here is a robust dressing that is both sweet and savory, yet allows the flavors of greens to shine through—it will quickly become a favorite for all your mesclun salads. True balsamic vinegar has an intense flavor, and is only available in specialty food stores.  If possible, sample a variety of balsamic vinegars until you find one that you like.

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

In a small bowl or a blender, combine the mustard, garlic, maple syrup, lemon juice, vinegar, and basil. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to emulsify. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

photo from The Complete Kitchen Garden

Go beyond the pretty pictures of seed catalogs to read the information provided that will help you become a better gardener. Learn what the seed requires for germination, the days to maturity and the light and space necessary for successful growing. When selecting varieties, I prefer heirloom over hybrid, which tend to offer the most flavorful harvest and also look for hard to find in order to try something new and different. The issues around seeds are as multi-layered as an onion, so find a source you can trust.

Wild Garden Seeds

Looking for Wrinkled Crinkled Crumpled Cress, Purple Osaka and Horned Mustard, or maybe Persian Cress? Wild Garden Seeds grows certified organic seeds on a farm in the Pacific Northwest. Dedicated to open pollinated varieties and unusual, hard to find greens for the salad lover.

High Mowing Seeds

Mostly tried and true open pollinated seeds, High Mowing seeds is mostly focused on beans, squash and main season crops, yet has expanded to include a range of lettuce and salad greens . Think Red Salad Bowl, Lollo Rossa, Red Sails, Outredgeous, Rouge d’Hiver, Spock and Galactic lettuce all in one small seed packet.

Johnny’s Selected

A long time favorite among for market growers and home gardeners as a reliable source for organic seed, Johnny’s offers both open pollinated and hybrid seed as well. Sold in small packets or bulk, the catalog is a one-stop resource for seeds, garden tools and season extenders. A good source of information on starting seeds, too.

Organica Seed Co.

Buying local seed is the next step beyond local food. Jim Weinberg owner of Organica Seed in Wilbraham Massachusetts is committed to growing seeds without chemicals on a farm that has been saving seed since 1850. Organica seed offers heirloom and organic seeds for a variety of edible crops as well as cotton, rice and Tabaco. No print catalog, on-line only.

Seeds of Italy

Growing Italian vegetables is the next best thing to being there, which is why I like this catalog so much. Seeds are packed and imported, so there is nothing-local element here, and a little pricey but the variety offered is exciting and represents the best culinary types of classic Italian vegetables.

Step One: Juice the lemons

Step Two: Everything in the blender.

It’s amazing how a simple kitchen utensil can motivate a cook. Take for instance, a glass lemon reamer. This old-fashioned beauty is simple and functional, yet oddly went out of fashion when replaced with an electric citrus juicer, or in my minimalist kitchen, a fork. Granny taught me how to roll the lemon, then twist the tines of a fork into the lemon to release the juice. So when my friend brought me this antique juicer, I was inspired to try it right away.

I had just been soaking garbanzo beans to make hummus. Did you ever wonder why there is only one letter difference between Hummus and Humus. What do these two have in common? One feeds the soil, while the other feeds people. Both are healthy, and made from pure, natural ingredients. Hummus is a Mediterranean spread, made with garbanzo beans, lemon juice, garlic and sesame Tahini. While for gardeners, humus is also known as mature compost.

I used to buy Hummus at my local farmers market, spending over $4. for a small 8 ounce container. Sure it was delicious, and saved me the effort, but when I realized I could make my own for half the price, it changed my buying habit. Making my own, I also have the flexibility over how much garlic and herbs to add, and as a lover of all things lemon, I could easily squeeze extra for my recipe.

Recipes abound for making hummus, so I am sure the world has not been waiting for mine. But here it is, and I encourage you to give it a try. To save time, you can buy Garbanzo in a can. But honestly, soaking a cup of dried beans overnight and simmering until soft is not really too hard to do. The flavor difference is minimal, however, the money you save and the healthy way it makes you feel after you eat it spread it on crackers or toast is worth the effort.

Do the math: Sesame tahini is expensive and it may discourage you from trying this recipe because you don’t want to pay $6.00 for a single jar. You may say – I thought I was saving money. Keep in mind that there are typically 15 servings per jar, reducing the cost to just .40 per recipe. When you buy dried garbanzo beans instead of canned, you save almost $1.

Cost to make: $2.50 / 8 servings / .31 per serving
Time to make: less than 5 minutes (to assemble)

The Recipe:

Hummus     Makes about 2 cups

1 cup dried chickpeas: soaked overnight,they will expand to 2 cups
2 (or more) cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
2 tablespoons sesame tahini
2 lemons, juiced ( makes 1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Grinding black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small hot pepper (optional)

Soak the garbanzo beans overnight in water to cover. Drain, and rinse out any dirt or gleanings from the dried beans. Place in a saucepan with water, again to cover, and simmer for 45 minutes until tender. Add more water if needed.

Place in a food processor along with a tablespoon or so of the cooking water to add a creamy texture. Add the garlic, lemon juice, oil and seasoning. Process for several minutes until very smooth; this works best when the chickpeas are still relatively warm. Add more cooking water as needed to get a creamy consistency. The hummus will thicken when chilled, so err on the side of thin.

Taste and adjust the flavor to suit your taste, adding more lemon juice, or tahini, or cumin and hot peppers. Transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle with a good olive oil, and serve with pita triangles, or carrot sticks. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers and the flavor will have deepened the next day.

Step Three: Whip until creamy.

Step Four: Try it! Better Homemade?

Cobblestone Streets in the Farmers Market

The best way to truly appreciate winter vegetables is to visit the source, which is what I did during the month of December. In Germany’s open air farmers markets I found two of my favorite hard to find greens: mache and claytonia, along with pointed cabbage,  leeks, salsify and daikon radish, fingerling potatoes and root crops that I could not even identify.

One of the best finds, however,  was a bundle of fresh winter herbs known as Grüne Sosse. The Grüne Sosse in the market places usually comes assorted, wrapped in paper, and with various recipes printed on it and typically contains seven herbs:

Petersilie ( Parsley)
Pimpinelle (Salad Burnet)
Schnittlauch (chives)
Borretsch(borage)
Kerbel ( chervil)
Kresse (garden Cress)
Sauerampfer (Sorrel)

Grune Sosse

My daughter lives in Germany and her neighbor, Helge, shared his expertise on the subject traditional Grüne Sosse along with his recipe.

He writes: ” I am not sure about this being a traditional recipe from the region. Well, depends on what you consider traditional : the recipe is indeed reported for a very long time here, but as you may guess from such things as ‘joghurt”, it has been modified, and most probably stems from the orient. First reason for this Sosse being so famous right in this region, is the fact that it brings to you the first (not-imported) vitamins of the year, and second reason is that our great poet Herr Goethe ate it with lust when he was a child, as he was born in Frankfurt. Well, at least rumours have it – he never mentioned it in his abundant works (though hundreds of farmers and professors dedicate a good deal of their efforts to find out more, as this would promote herb-growing and Sosse-selling to tourists in amounts beyond imagination), but he must have stumbled on it for sure.”

Helge’s Frankfurter Grüne Sosse

( Ellen’s note: This makes a large batch, so be prepared to eat a lot, have friends over or cut back the proportions to suit your appetite.)

6 eggs, hard boiled
4 cups of crème fraîche
4 cups of sour cream
1 cup of yoghurt (optional)
1 large bunch of Grüne Sosse herbs containing the following:

parsley, Petersilie
salad burnet, Pimpinelle
chives, Schnittlauch
borage, Borretsch
chervil, Kerbel
garden cress or land cress, Kresse
sorrel, Sauerampfer
pepper (white, freshly ground)
salt
mustard
about a tablespoon of white vinegar
a tablespoon of pumpkin seed oil
1.    Mix sour cream, crème fraîche, pepper, a pinch of salt, vinegar and oil
2.    Remove leaves and chop all herbs finely, (by hand vs blender otherwise it gets bitter and too ‘juicy’ and mix in with above.
3.    Peel eggs. Remove egg yolk from two (boiled) eggs, mashing it up with fork, together with some oil, an eggspoon of mustard, some pepper and salt
5.    Mix this with the creamy mixture
6.    Slice up all eggs, decorate them on a dish, adding tomatoes etc. for the nice look
7.    Now, you can increase the amounts depending on how many people there are – just do not forget to add more herbs, too!

The result is a creamy pesto type of spread that is served with hard boiled eggs, or slathered onto red skinned spring potatoes, various meats or even just a slice of crusty bread. As Helge notes, besides the delicious flavor, herbs and other spring greens provide natural health benefits.

Since fresh herbs are fragile, by the time we were home from the market and had gathered all the ingredients to make this recipe, the herbs had wilted. They were delicious in soup, however, and I am inspired to plant a collection of Grune Sosse herbs in my kitchen garden to connect to the history and traditions of Germany. Guten Appetit!

The Cook's Garden seed catalog

Now that catalogs are staggering in, you may be tempted to get your order in fast, but I say take it slow and stretch out that good feeling. It pays to be on the look out for the more unusual varieties, the open pollinated heirlooms, the fruits, vegetables and herbs that offer exceptional culinary qualities. When the seed catalogs start to arrive in your mailbox, stack them all up in a nice basket until you are ready to take time to read. Don’t get swept away by the photos, but compare and plan your garden. Read the descriptions carefully to see if it is easy to start from seed, if it fits your garden zone, and if you price shop, compare the quantity of seeds in the packets. To read more about how to read seed catalogs, sign up for my new on-line garden class or join me at one of my upcoming workshops.

Ready, Set, Cook.

Ready, Set, Garden.

Mise en place is a French phase defined the Culinary Institute of America as “everything in place,” used in professional kitchens to organize and arrange the ingredients. Herbs and spices, freshly chopped fresh and par boiled vegetables, sauces and stocks. Setting up a lot of little bowls with ingredients makes cooking look easy, and helps to follow a recipe. However nice it sounds, this is not how most of us actually cook, and not how we garden either. But the theory is sound.

It’s nice to think that I am creating Mise en place instead of simply puttering, while I take inventory of seed packets, organize the garden shed, stack plastic pots and ready the seedling trays.  Contemplating next years garden in my mind is like reading the recipe: everything I do in advance will help to make it all that much better in the spring.

Getting started in the season, it helps to set up Mise en Place and garden like a cook. After all, the two go hand in hand. Explore designs, recipes and fresh ideas for making the most of your kitchen garden. To sign up for my on-line garden design and cooking classes, please follow this link.

Garden sheds may seem like an extra perk, but they are an essential element for any gardener and should be part of the planning process of any landscape. Gardeners need a place to protect tools from the weather, a place to store seedling trays and potting soil, clippers, stakes, watering cans and hoses. Like a good pantry, a garden shed contains everything you need, easily accessible, and organized enough so you won’t have to interrupt your routine.

Small is beautiful, especially when you are organized. Hooks and nails for hanging tools, buckets with lids for open bags, and enough room for a potting table under a south facing window to start seedlings. A convenient location near the garden, surrounded by a garden can easily integrate the building into the rest of your landscape. Here are some garden sheds with style. Post your pictures of great garden sheds to give other gardeners great ideas,too!