Organic Dandelion, Blackberries, and White Peach Salad

Good day all. Busy... busy...busy...all day yesterday as I had to run all around town running errands.  It didn't help that the sun was blazing and the temperature was too warm.  It sapped all of my energy out and by the middle of the day I felt like I was running on empty.  I stopped by at the Corner Bakery for a quick bite and ordered turkey breast panini which was surprisingly good but a little pricey in my opinion. It was also way too greasy, or rather the bread felt like it was slather in butter or grease... They might be using too much grease on their panini grill..hmmm.  At $8 something a sandwich, I think I can do better at home.  My takeaway on the experience is that it  gave me an idea on what to make next in my sandwich series... hehehe.



After a busy day, I went over to the valley to visit family... it was good seeing everyone after a long while.  We had dinner at a Korean BBQ place and was stuffed to the brim. I always tend to overeat when I go to these AYCE (all you can eat) resto. What makes it worse is that I mostly ate meat so it felt really heavy but good nonetheless. Before I left, I got some Philippine lime (kalamansi) from my in-law's tree which I am intending to use in a dish or beverage later this week.

Today, I needed something light and easy to make for lunch to make up for all the meat consumption and heavy meal the day before.  I went to WholeFoods really early to avoid congestion both inside the store and in the parking lot as the place tends to get packed as the day wore on.  I picked up nuts (macadamia, pistacchio, brazil) and granola from their bulk food section.  For the fresh produce, I got a bunch of organic dandelion, white peaches, purple potatoes, and blackberries.  I am so happy with the produce that I picked up as they were really fresh.  The dandelion, peach, and blackberries I am using for this dish while the purple potatoes are intended for another use either tomorrow or monday.



Dandelion is not something that most people would think of when they think of salad greens.  Its not surprising because most people think of it as the weeds that ruin their perfectly manicured lawns  :) What's more surprising though is that this "weed" is edible -leaves, flowers, roots.  Of course, I wouldn't go around people's yards to pick them up as you are not sure what chemicals have been used in that lawn.  For dandelion greens, I go to WholeFoods as they have the organic variety.




As mentioned, every part of the plant , or weed if you prefer :P, is edible.  It can be boiled, stir-fried, or eaten raw as a salad.  The greens has a bite to it, slightly bitter actually, and would probably be an acquired taste.  I do not mind though as I am used to eating sauteed bitter melon (ampalaya) since I was young so the bitter taste do not really bother me.  I usually put fresh fruits such as pears, apples, peaches, and berries in the salad which helps balance the bitterness with the sweetness.  I added lightly toasted macadamia (which, coincidentally, I also eat raw at times) and crumbled feta. I used a simple olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing.



Ingredients:

1 bunch (about 1 lb or so) organic dandelion greens, stalks trimmed

1 white peach, washed and thinly sliced with skin on (you can also remove the skin, if you prefer)

2/3 cup fresh blackberries

1/2 lightly toasted macadamia nuts

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. In a bowl, mix trimmed dandelion, sliced peach, whole blackberries, macadamia nuts, and feta cheese.

2. Toss gently and season with salt and pepper according to taste.

3. Serve with olive oil-red wine vinaigrette

Olive Oil-Red Wine Vinaigrette


1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

juice of 1/2 a lemon, seeds discarded

sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.

1. In a bowl, mix the first three ingredients and whisk until well blended.

2. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper according to taste

Walnut Crusted Tuna Steak

This is the main dish that came with the sauteed swiss chard which I had as a very late (ok, really early? breakfast) dinner at around 1 a.m. I had so much to do that day that I didn't really have time to sit down and eat. I defrosted the tuna in the refrigerator the night before intending to cook it for lunch but because of school deadlines, I didn't get around to cooking. By midnight, my stomach was growling becuase I have not had anything all day save for the tub of macadania nuts that I was munching on while typing and searching for information at my school's online library. Darn, it was a little too late when I realized that I was going to use those nuts for my tuna dish...Oh, well...moving on...

So, there I was looking around my cupboard for something to use with my tuna when I found some walnuts...hmmm...possibility, I can just use it as a substitute for macadamia. Off I went to slicing , dicing, sauteeing, coating, and cooking...hehehe... It was a nice dish which was even more special in combination with the sauteed swiss chard. I like my tuna on the raw side so I cooked it rare by slightly frying it in the olive oil just long enough to brown the outside surface.



Ingredients:

3 oz. ahi tuna steak
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
a pinch of garlic powder
2 tbsp ground macadamia or walnuts

1. Coat tuna with 1/4 tsp extra virgin olive oil.
2. season with salt and pepper as well as garlic powder
3. coat with ground nuts
4. Heat pan over medium heat then add remaining olive oil
5. Sear tuna until light brown in color on all side or according to desired doneness.
6. Transfer to a serving plate lined with a bed of sauteed swiss chard.
7. Serve warm.

Grilled Steak with Rosenberg, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Macadamia Dressing

Ahhh... summer is almost gone and I cannot say that I am sad because frankly, I am just about tired of the heat. I welcome the cool weather with open arms this year although I shouldn't really get my hopes up, huh? I mean this is Southern California...we hardly get any cold weather here and if we do, they are far and few in between. The reason I am celebrating though is because it has been a long, hot, and humid summer...to me, at least. I wish that we get to see changing of the color of the leaves here in LA, even just once...

This summer has been rather eventful. I went home to the Philippines for our nth college reunion and had a blast. We had so much fun reminiscing our past, the way things were, exploring old digs as well as new ones, eating galore... it was all made special because my fireds were with me. Ha! to think that I was not even going to go homw for the reunion at all. I am so glad that I did though because I got to spend time with people whom I have not seen in a long time. The rest of the summer was spent blogging and cooking for the most part which I really enjoyed after a very long hiatus. Hopefully this will continue for a while...hehehe

This meal is my summer send off as we welcome the dawn of a new season, autumn. Although, to be honest, today feels more like autumn than summer. It has been gloomy since I woke up and went to the store this more...and it still is...hmmm...maybe we will get a cooler autumn and winter this year...nice. For the meal, I grilled a t-bone steak over my stove top griller, not the gas grill, then topped it with cheese and nuts sauce. I also fired some sweet potato fries to go with it.


Ingredients:

A. Steak

T-bone streak or any grilling steak
salt and pepper, to taste
1. Apply salt and pepper to both sides of the steak.
2. Grill steak. 2 minutes on 1 side and another two minutes on the other side for rare. Cook longer if you do not want to eat rare.
3. Remove from heat and onto a serving dish. Top with the dressing and serve with sweet potato fries.

B. Resenberg, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Macadamia Dressing

1 oz Risenberg cheese, crumbled
1 oz Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
2 Tbsp chopped macadamia nuts
small bunch of mint, roughly chopped
small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, chopped

1. Place macadamia, mint, parsley,garlic, and olive oil in a food processor and process until chopped finely and incorporated
2. Add both cheeses and process again until incorporated.
3. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.



Adapted from 30-minute entertaining cookbook by L. Pickford.