This is a simple tasty salad that is great for the winter. I just cook the beets and then use vinegar, oil, caraway seeds and salt to prepare the salad. I like to make a big jar full and keep it in refrigerator, it will keep for at least a month. You can serve it as a side dish.
For me, beets are the perfect plant to transition from the the winter into spring. Yes! Spring will come sooner or later, OK most likely later in the Midwest …
Beets are grounding, nourishing, and detoxifying. These qualities make them the perfect vegetable for this time of the year, for both winter and spring. They are sweet and rich in nutrients with important vitamins and minerals. They nourish and detoxify the liver, getting the body ready for the spring.
I used only one spice, caraway seeds. The bitter and aromatic caraway seeds have been around for a long time. They are used in many European countries to enhance the flavor of our food. It is one of the herbs that the ancient Greek doctors added to cooking for its health benefits. It is especially beneficial for digestion. I often take caraway seeds for granted but it is such a neat little herb that needs a little more attention. Please check this website for more info on caraway seeds .
RECIPE
Ingredients
4 medium sized beets (about 1 lb)
1 Tbsp caraway seeds
1/8 cup vinegar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
black pepper, to taste
Preparation
Cook beets for 1 hour until soft but not mushy. I like to put them on a steamer.
When done take the peel off with a sharper small knife. Slice or shred the beets thin. You can do this with a knife or a slicer.
Make the dressing. Put 1/8 cup of vinegar in 1 cup cup. Add enough water so the cup is full so you are adding 7/8th of a cup of water. Pour it in a medium sized bowl.
Add sliced cooked beets, caraway seeds, salt and oil. Mix.
Grind some black pepper on the salad if you wish. Mix.
Serve at room temperature on the side of any dish. You can add sautéed beet tops.
Enjoy this true American deliciousness! The juicy base is both sweet and sour. These flavors nicely complement each other. It is covered with the perfectly crumpling, soft topping … Oh and it is begging for a bit of vanilla ice cream!
Cobbler is an American deep-dish fruit dessert. It became a favorite right after I took my first bite. Cobbler is simple yet it is bursting with rich flavor; there is something about it that surely grabs everyone’s attention. You can make it with whatever fruit is available in the season. My mother-in-law made it with rhubarb and berries and that is how I keep making it. Foreigners often complain that Americans don’t have a cuisine of their own. Well this one is an American specialty for sure.
I looked up the history of cobbler so I will try to summarize what I read. Well, one is certain that it is a North American dessert. It seems like it was invented by the settlers from the Old World when they tried to make one of their amazing pies but they did not have all the tools and ingredients that was available back at home. As an immigrant, I can relate to this experience. The word cobbler might come from the word ‘cobeler’ that meant wooden bowl. They might have attempted to make a more simple version of a traditional pie recipe in a small wooden bowl by the fire. Also, another meaning could come from the word cobbler, the person who mends shoes; kind of like how the dough is mended together like a patchwork. However, none of these speculations of the word’s origin is official.
As I mentioned earlier, I like to make the cobbler with rhubarb, especially in the spring. It is the first fruit, oops I meant to say vegetable here. Yes people often think it is a fruit because of its fruity, sour taste but it is in fact a vegetable. I can’t believe I get excited about rhubarb but it is really the first new plant that shows up at the farmers market in the Midwest … and there is nothing else here for weeks. While it is not a fruit, it can be prepared with sugar to –kind of ‘cheating’- to pretend that it is a fruit. I also like to add rhubarb because the sour flavor nicely offsets the sweetness of the berries.
Rhubarb is native to Siberia and has been around for thousands of years. It has been grown in Asia for its medicinal properties. With the big migration, it was adopted in Europe as well. The settlers brought it over to the United States in the 1700’s and was known as the pie plant. The whole plant except for the leaves are used. The stalks are used as food. The leaves contain oxalic acid and can be poisonous in larger quantities and are therefore not used.
Besides its fame in the culinary world, rhubarb has favorable health benefits too. It is cooling and detoxifying to the liver which makes it an ideal spring vegetable. Berries are also healthy. Particularly, raspberries and blackberries have a sweet and sour flavor and neutral thermal nature. These qualities make the berries ideal for baking. They nourish the kidneys and the liver and also build and cleanse the blood of toxins.
This is a crowd pleaser! The only complaint I have ever heard was why I didn’t make more! I bring this dessert often to potlucks so I know a lot of people have eaten it. I really think cobbler is as good as pie is or even better. The trick is to get the best rhubarb and the sweetest berries you can find. You can grow them yourself or get them at the farmers’ market. This is really important as the main part of the cobbler is the fruits! Also, make sure you use the exact measurements! Remember, it is still kind of a pie recipe. Can’t just say I take a little bit of this and a little of that …
RECIPE
12 servings
This recipe is straight out of the cookbook Joy of Cooking.
Serving size: 8 people
INGREDIENTS
1 lb rhubarb cut into 1/2 inch pieces (in the store get the thinner stalks)
1 lb berries – I used blackberries and raspberries
½ cup sugar or more only if your fruits are not sweet enough. Only use more if your berries are not sweet. 1/2 cup is plenty otherwise, trust me!
salt
2 Tbsp flour or 1 Tbsp of corn starch
1 1/3 cup all purpose white flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
5 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
2/3 cup cream or 1/2 cup milk (honestly milk is fine too)
1 lightly beaten egg for the top
extra sugar for the top
vanilla ice cream for serving
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Have all the ingredients at room temperature except for the butter.
Have ready an oven proof baking dish that is about 2 quarts large in volume and 2 inches deep (ex 11 x 4 x 2 inch).
Take fruits and the rhubarb out of the freezer if they are frozen, let them defrost. Wash rhubarb stalks and cut them into 1/2-1 inch long. If they are wide, you will have to cut them in half as well. Place the rhubarb and the berries in the dish. Add pinch of salt, flour or cornstarch and sugar. Mix. Set aside and wait for at least 15 minutes or at least until rhubarb exudes some juice.
In a large bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder, pinch of salt and sugar. Add the butter with the flour mixture. This is such a satisfying experience for me to do by hand but if you prefer you can use your food processor for this step. Add the cream or milk stirring with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Gently need the dough in the bowl 5-10 times if needed, turning and pressing any loose pieces into the dough.
Now we will make a patchwork. Divide the dough into 8 parts and flatten each piece between your two hands about 1/4 inch thick. Place this piece on top of the fruit mix. Keep doing this until you have used up all the dough and the fruits are completely covered. The dough should be workable but not sticky. If the dough becomes too sticky and hard to work with, put it into the fridge for about 10 minutes to become the proper consistency. This can happen in the summer when it is warm outside.
Lightly brush the top of the dough with the lightly beaten eggs and sprinkle with a little sugar.
Put the cobbler in the oven and bake for about 35 – 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the berries are bubbling.
Let stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving.
You can serve the cobbler with vanilla ice cream if you wish.
Every year, I look forward to spring just so I can make this dish. The main ingredients are sorrel and nettle. The sorrel gives a pleasant lemony flavor and the nettles add the substance, texture and protein to the dish. It is a simple recipe to make, the hardest part is really to find the sorrel and the nettles. Our ancestors regularly ate them in the spring but today unfortunately they are seldom available in stores. My recipe is based on the Hungarian sorrel stew recipe (sóska fözelék) with the addition of the nettles. Years ago, I could not find any recipes that had nettles so I decided to experiment. In my opinion, the results are fantastic.
Before I post the recipe, I would like to talk about nettles and sorrel. Nettle is like the super food of the US and Europe. When I think of Nettles, two things come to my mind: nutritive tonic and the kidneys. It is very high in protein, vitamins, and minerals and makes a nutritious food for sure. With its sharp, tangy taste, sorrel adds zest to dishes. However, it is not just added for its flavor but it is also a nutritious goodness. Sorrel is a green leafy vegetable with packed with vitamins and minerals. No wonder our ancestors frequently included them in their diet.
RECIPE
INGREDIENT
1 lb of washed sorrel or you can use spinach too but the dish will taste differently.
1/4-1/2 lb washed nettles (the nettles should be fresh and stingy but they will not hurt your mouth after you cook them).
vegetable oil (I like sunflower)
2 strips of bacon (optional)
1 onion, finally chopped
2 cloves of garlic, mashed
1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika (powder)
few springs of dill, chopped
about 2 cups cold water, vegetable or meat stock (preferably home-made)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt or to taste
freshly ground pepper
PREPARATION
Saute the onions in some oil until translucent and can smell the wonderful aroma of the onion.
If desired add bacon and render until crisp.
Keeping the oil warm add the paprika and the garlic, mix for 1 minute and add cold water or stock.
Add sorrel and nettles.
Bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes.
When done, take off heat and let the dish cool off.
Add salt, sour cream and black pepper.
Cream with an immersion blender. Here you are trying to create a sauce with a little texture.
Serve on mashed potatoes along with fried eggs or hard boiled eggs. Sprinkle dill on top.
Spring is here! In the Midwest, one of the first edible foods in nature is Burdock root. A great way to include burdock in your diet is to make a soup with the roots. Asian cooks rave about their burdock soups that they make in the spring. I’m presenting a delicious burdock root soup here that is inspired by Rosaleedela Foret’sblog. There is really nothing exotic about this soup, all the ingredients can be found here in the US.
We tend to eat heavier foods during the winter months but our body is ready to embark on something lighter and easier to digest. As we transition from the winter into spring, it is important to pay attention to our Liver. Heavy foods consumed during the winter might be burdening our livers that can lead to some health problems in the spring, like fevers and tiredness. Our body tends to cleanse itself naturally as we eat less in the spring. In addition, it is nice to add some bitter plants that aids the liver to accomplish this process. Our ancestors ate a lot of bitters in the spring. One of these spring bitters is burdock.
The burdock’s earthy, heavier flavor pairs nicely with the carrot’s sweet and light flavor. In addition to the bitter flavor, the liver also needs the sour flavor for support. It gets the sour flavor from the vinegar. This soup is a big favorite in our family, yes even the kids like it. Perhaps, it is because of its interesting, well balanced flavors. In fact, it has all five flavors: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and pungent!
The main ingredient in this recipe is burdock root. If you are familiar with burdock, you can harvest it yourself. Otherwise, it might be difficult to get at the stores. If you don’t have it in your backyard, it is available at farmers’ markets, health food stores or also from Harmony Valley in Veroqua, WI.
Instructions for boiling the eggs
Make sure the eggs are at room temperature. Eggs straight out of the fridge need to warm up otherwise the cooking time needs to be changed. You might have to experiment with the exact cooking time as there are many variables that can effect it. It should be somewhere between 7 and a half and 8 minutes for 1 egg and more for additional eggs. The eggs should be semi-hard on the outside and be ‘semi-runny’ in the middle.
RECIPE
4 servings
INGREDIENTS
10 cups stock (vegetable or chicken, pork).
2 cups burdock root, cut into match stick pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into match stick pieces
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp of ginger, minced
1 cup mushrooms (like shiitake)
3 Tbsp cornstarch + 4 Tbsp of water
4 Tbsp of rice or white vinegar
2 lightly beaten egg yolks
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 bunch scallions, chopped
salt to taste
soy sauce
4 hard boiled eggs
hot red pepper or sriracha sauce (optional)
1 pkg ramen noodles (I used HakuBaku Organic Ramen )
METHODS
Bring stock to a boil.
Add carrots, burdock roots, mushrooms, crushed garlic and ginger. After it boils, turn it down to low medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes covered.
In a smaller bowl mix vinegar, the cornstarch and water. Add it to the soup and continue to simmer while stirring until the mixture is thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stir egg yolk in gently. Add sesame oil, salt and hot red pepper. Mix.
Make the hard boiled eggs. Make sure the eggs are at room temperature. Bring some water in a pot to a boil. Add the 4 eggs at room temperature. Boil them for about 8 minutes. Take them out and put them into cold water. Peel the shells. (Please see my note above).
Cooking the ramen noodles. In a medium sized pot, bring cold water to a boil and cook the noodles. according to its cooking instructions. Strain and discard water.
Serve in a deep bowl. Add ramen noodles and eggs. Garnish with scallions and add soy sauce to taste.
Twin Cities Herbs 