Late Summer Salad with Plum Dressing

Ingredients for the salad: 

I'm not including quantity on this one. I find myself changing the ratios every time we make that salad, and frankly, it should depend on what you have taste for and what your guests like.

• Mixed greens 
• Red and golden beets (if you find candy-striped one, use it as well) peeled, and shaved into a longish strips. Word of advice: use gloves, especially for the red beets.
• Persian cucumbers, thin sliced
•  Cherry tomatoes, halved
• A mix of raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries.
•  Chevre (fresh goat cheese)
• Toasted walnuts
  

Directions:  

Layer your salad using your imagination. I usually start with the greens as a bed and then layering the cucumbers and the tomatoes, followed by the golden beets, red beets, sprinkling the dry fruit and the nuts and crumbling the Chevre on top.
If you are not consuming the salad immediately, keep the red beets, the cheese, and the nuts separate until just before serving. The red beets, given the chance, will color the whole salad red; the cheese is salty and will change the texture of the salad given enough time; and you would like to keep the nuts crunchy, if you put them in the salad too soon, they will get soft.




Ingredients for the dressing: 

• 6 prunes 
• 1 cup of boiling water
• 1/2 shallot - minced 
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
•  2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil - we recommend sunflower seed oil
  

Directions:

1.  Steep the prunes in the cup of hot water for about 5min
2. Add the shallot, the softened prunes, the balsamic vinegar and the sherry vinegar in a blender and start blending.
3. Slowly drizzle in the olive and vegetable oil and blend until thickened.
4. Thin to desired consistency by adding a few tablespoons of the water you used to steep the prunes.
5. Chill before using. 

Stuffed Eggplant

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant
1 large tomato
1/2 medium onion (I prefer red onion)
1/2lb coarsely ground meat (beef or port)
1/2 cup jasmine rise
2 medium or 3 small milled banana pepper (if you like hot food I would recommend to use hot banana peppers)
1 medium carrot tinnily sliced
7 table spoon vegetable oil - I recommend refined sunflowers seed oil
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon parsley (chopped)
salt and black pepper to taste  

For the dressing:

4 eggs
1/2 cup of shredded Gouda or Parmigiano Reggiano   
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Wash the eggplant and cut off the green tip. Split eggplant in half from tip to end and scoop out the about 90% of the inside. Chop the scooped out part in small cubs, place in a bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Sprinkle each shell with a generous pinch of kosher salt, rub it in gently, and let stay until you get the rest of the ingredients ready.

2. Chop the onion and the peppers in medium cubes.

3. Peel the tomato and chop it in small cubs. Keep the juice.





4. Slice the carrot.

5. Squeeze the water out of the cubed eggplant by scooping out hand fulls and squeezing hard. Discard the water. Rinse the shells.





 
TIPS:

- gently cut the outside tip of the eggplant to ensure that the shell doesn't tip over 

- if the tomato is not very ripe it might be a chore to peel it, I recommend scraping the tomato skin with the sharp side of the knife with a slight pressure.





6. Heat up the pen (I recommend nonstick) over medium heat and add 5 tablespoons of  oil. Before the oil heats up add the ground meat and the rice. With the back side of a wooden spoon or spatula gently mix the meat with the rice and brake it in small paces. Steer constantly until all juices have evaporated and the mix is fraying in oil only.

7. Add the onions, the peppers and the carrots and steer constantly for about 2 min or until there aren't any excess juices.





8. Add the cubed eggplant, steer until the mix is frying in oil.

9. Add the tomato with all the juices that it may have released. Add the herbs and black peeper to taste. Steer for a minute and try the mixture. After that add salt to taste (I recommend tasting before adding salt, because of the salted eggplant). Steer until the rice had absorbed all of the tomato juices. Turn off the heat.



10. Use a casserole dish with a lid (if you don't have one, make sure the dish you use is deep enough that the you have about an inch above the rim of the eggplant shell). Cover the inside of the dish with the remaining oil and fit in the eggplant shells.




11. Scoop the filling into the shells. If there is more filling you can tuck it in around the shells. Add 1/4 cup of water to the empty frying pen and heat it up so the water absorbs all the left over juices and pour it over the shells. Make sure you have equal parts water in each shell. NOTE: if the rice is almost cooked before you start scooping it out reduce the amount of water.


12. Cover with the lid or aluminum foil and bake for 15 to 20 min at 375F. At the 15 min mark check the dish by trying some rice from the top if the rice is cooked you are ready to add the dressing.

13. Beat the eggs for about a minute with a fork or a beater. Using spatula mix in the cheese, the parsley and a very small pinch of kosher salt ( be careful with the salt as the cheese may be salty).

14. Cover the eggplant with the mixture. Make sure to spread the egg-cheese mix over each shell so the surface is completely covered. Cover the dish with the lid or the foil and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove the cover, turn off the oven and let it stay in for 5 min or until you prepare your salad to go with the dish.

TIPS:
- For salad I recommend mixed greens or a simpler version of the Peasant salad.
- Jason added a tablespoon of Gardiner to his portion and I must admit, it was very good.   

ENJOY!!!

Peasant Salad

Over the years we have developed our own style of salad, that is a variation of Israeli salad, traditional Bulgarian salad - Shopska salata, and some creativity.
 As the year goes by, we are going to share other versions of this salad, but as it is 104F outside and our garden started producing cucumbers here is the Summer version.

Ingredients:
1 medium tomato
1 or 2 Boston pickles or 1 Japanese cucumber
1 avocado
2-3 fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion (sweet, Spanish, red, green - whatever is your hart's desire)
Feta Cheese

Directions:
1. Split the cucumber into quarters and chopped it up into thin triangles
2. Chop the tomato into small cubes
3. Chop the avocado into small cubes
4. Finely mince the basil leaves
5. Mix together  with the onions
6.  Grate some feta cheese on top - to taste
7. Season with olive oil, kosher salt, black paper and Aged Red Wine Vinegar to taste
8. Mix and serve with some good bread

It is a great side dish as well as a meal on it's own.

Zen Hut Watermelon Salad

We discovered this watermelon dessert quite by accident. It has been tested twice to great acclaim so now  I feel confident shearing it.

Ingredients:
1 seedless watermelon
3 limes
1/2 orange
2 tablespoons pealed fresh ginger root, crushed with the flat side of a knife or in a garlic press
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper finely chopped, reserve membrane and seeds 
3 tablespoons candied ginger - finely chopped
Directions:
1. Fill a 2 quarts bowl with bite sized cubes or triangles of the watermelon (no rind) 
2. Transfer into a larger bowl (large enough to mix the watermelon without too much pressure) and chill.
3. Juice the limes and the orange and steep the jalapeno membrane and seeds and the fresh ginger in the juice (including the pulp) for about an hour and a half. 
 4. Pour the citrus juice mixture through a strainer over the melon and sprinkle with the candied ginger and the jalapenos - use your judgement - if the jalapeno is particularly evil you might have to use less - let your taste buds make the final decision and keep in mind that after an hour or so it will get milder. 
5. Mix gently, cover, and keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve. 
6. Mix one more time before serving, transfer into the 2 quarts bowl and ENJOY!

We have found it very refreshing and surprisingly delicious! 

The begining...

So it begins...