Ginger Carrot Dressing

There are signs of spring everywhere right now. On any given day you can see people outside wearing everything from down parkas to shorts and tank tops, at the same time. After months of being wrapped up tight in winter clothing Vermonters vary in how they think it is best to face spring weather. In my garden my asparagus and rhubarb are slowly emerging to give me hope that that there will be fresh produce soon. In addition my apricot stick has flowers that my boys and I are envisioning as future apricots. Sebastian was wishing each flower will become 10 apricots (okay I admit it, I would love that as well). One day I know the stick will grow up to be a tree which bears fruit, for now however it is best described as a stick.

Then there are the spring time conversations of Sebastian and Julian. "Mama, we caught an ant. We are going to keep him as a pet until he is big and fat. Then we are going to feed him to the chickens. Isn't he cute?" This was closely followed by Julian calling out excitedly, "Sebastian, Sebastian, I found more ants climbing up the wall." And then my children were the proud owners of a whole collection of ants. Somehow I fail to greet the yearly influx of ants in my ancient house with as much joy as my five and seven year old boys do.

However even with all this and the happy cooks on other food blogs basking in the joy of local spring foods such as rhubarb, asparagus, nettles and ramps, I still have carrots from my winter CSA and not many local fresh vegetables to play with. So when I stumbled across a mention of Gyneth Paltrow's Carrot Ginger Dressing in the comments of another blog I tried it immediately. The dressing turns out to be the origins of the bright orange one I have been served in many Japanese restaurants. Only this one is better, fresher and more real tasting. The flavor is still hard to pinpoint as the one in the restaurant is.

The only problem I had with it was the shallot, which imparted that old onion flavor to the after taste. I tried many solutions, reducing the quantity of shallot, adding a pinch of sugar, and finally marinating the shallot in olive oil. In the end the best solution was also the simplest, I just left it out, which surprisingly had zero negative affect on the overall flavor.

As soon as I made this dressing I knew I was going to share it here, so I called my neighbors to borrow a pretty glass jar to photograph it in. Once I was done taking the photos I returned the jar filled with dressing. It was a, "Thank you for supporting my neuroses gift." After all while we do have an almost communal pantry set up with them, this was clearly just weird. They told me it was really good on top of steamed broccoli, so far we have been enjoying it on salad. Julian loved it in the kitchen, happily dipping in red pepper. However as soon as it made it to the table he was done. This has happened before with both my boys and new foods. I think before dinner is served they are hungry enough to be more open minded. I am confident that one day they will both return to all the dishes they loved in the kitchen.

Carrot Ginger Dressing

Adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow

1 large carrot (3 - 4 oz's), coarsely chopped

1 - 2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh ginger (we seem to prefer 1 Tbsp but make it to your taste)

1 Tbsp sweet white or awase miso (I tried to buy white miso at my local asian market but the owner did not know as he is not a cook, he told me he just stocks what his customers request. I bought the awase, which turns out is a blend of white and red miso).

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp roasted sesame oil

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp water

Pulse the carrots and ginger in a blender or mini food processor until finely chopped, scraping down the sided as needed. Add the miso, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil and blend until well combined. Add the extra virgin olive oil and water in a slow stream while the motor is running. Serve on the salad or vegetables of your choice.

Cabbage Again

... or when will winter end? It is the first week of March and I am thoroughly sick of winter. I am ready to walk out of the house without having to hog tie my children into snow pants, boots, coats, hat and gloves. I am ready to walk outside without having to search for socks for everyone. I am even ready to hear the ice cream truck and tussle with my children over expensive corn syrup filled garbage. Mostly however I am ready for a new collection of vegetables to cook with and spring and summer ways to cook. However I still have winter CSA vegetables to deal with and it really is too cold outside for me to use my grill. So for now I still have to cook piles of root vegetables, cabbage and butternut squash.

As I stared at my cabbage I knew I could not braise it again. I find as the chef I get more tired of ordinary food preparations then anyone else in my family. I think that may be because I spend all that time preparing the food, while my family only encounters it at the table. So for this weeks cabbage I stayed away from any this winters usual methods and broke out my salad bowl. Mind you this does not mean I made a mayonnaise based coleslaw, somehow I have never liked traditional coleslaw. For the first half of the cabbage I made a Greek Salad. Green cabbage that has had boiling water poured over it mellows and gains a slight sweetness that makes it the perfect green for Greek salad. The second half of the cabbage I also shredded and poured boiling water over, the next day I made a variation on the Coleslaw with Buttermilk Horseradish Dressing from Deborah Madison's, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Greek Salad with Cabbage

The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines

1/2 head green cabbage cored and shredded

1 green pepper cored and sliced into chunks

1 cucumber peeled and sliced thin

handful of kalamata olives

Feta cheese sliced into small chunks

1 scallion sliced thin or some very thinly sliced sweet onion

dried oregano

1 very ripe tomato, don't use ordinary supermarket ones, it is better to do without

Greek Salad Dressing, recipe follows

Place the shredded cabbage in a colander and pour a pot of boiling water over them. This softens the cabbage a little and sweetens it while removing the sharp bite. Let stand for a few minutes until it is sweet enough for you, then rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

It is really best if you marinate the feta, onion, pepper and olives in enough of the dressing for the whole salad and oregano to taste for 1 hour before assembling the salad. However we were hungry so I just marinated it for a few minutes.

Greek Salad Dressing

3 parts high quality extra virgin olive oil

1 part lemon juice

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix with a whisk to emulsify. I used 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 3 tablespoons olive oil

Coleslaw with Buttermilk Horseradish Dressing

Adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Dressing

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt (I used sour cream)

2 tsp prepared horseradish

1 garlic clove (my garlic was a little old and became overpowering, this time I year I should have left it out)

salt

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1 tsp sherry vinegar (you may substitute fresh lemon juice, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, champagne vinegar or red wine vinegar)

Combine the buttermilk, sour cream and horseradish in a bowl. Chop the garlic with 1/8 tsp kosher salt, smashing both with the side of the knife to form a smooth paste. Add the cilantro and chop and smash some more to bruise the herb. Add to the buttermilk mixture and stir in vinegar, adding more to taste.

1/2 head of green cabbage cored and shredded

2 carrots cleaned (or peeled depending on your preference)

salt

freshly ground black pepper.

Place the shredded cabbage in a colander and pour a pot of boiling water over them. This softens the cabbage a little and sweetens it while removing the sharp bite. Let stand for a few minutes until it is sweet enough for you, then rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

Place the cabbage in a serving bowl and shred the carrots on top, I just used a peeler and peeled them straight into the bowl, but you can grate them or slice them into matchsticks. Toss with the dressing and freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.