Zesty Greens with Black Mission Figs, Parmesan, and Pine Nuts

It's salad time again!  Today I want to share my second recipe in this series as Artisan Ambassador for the new Fresh Express artisan salad blends, and to start telling you a few things that I have really enjoyed about these lettuces. (And to hint at a recipe contest with a prize!  See below!)

For this salad, I used the Wild Rocket Zest artisanal blend, which includes arugula, spinach, and tatsoi.  Never heard of tatsoi?  Neither had I.  (Turns out my 'greens IQ' was not as high as I thought!)  Tatsoi is an Asian green varietal also known as spoon mustard or spinach mustard.  It has beautiful dark green spoon-shaped leaves that you can see in the photo above.  Because of its lovely aesthetic, this green is commonly grown as edible landscaping, otherwise known as ornamental lettuce.     

I wanted to mix this peppery blend with something a little sweet and a little savory, so I used some beautiful California Black Mission figs and paired them with shaved parmesan and pine nuts.  In the fall, I just adore figs, and I try my best not to become obsessed with them (like I did with peaches this summer), although I make no promises.  Because what's not to love?  Mission figs have a plump, and almost voluptuous shape, and a deep purple color that adds great color to salads and other dishes.  I also love them for their soft and grainy texture and subtle sweetness.  

For the dressing, I went with a simple Sherry vinaigrette with a little garlic for some extra flavor.  The sweeter sherry vinegar balanced really well with the arugula and the italian flavors of the pine nuts and parmesan.  Since there aren't a lot of dominant flavors in this salad, the thing that really took it over the top was this lettuce blend; the flavor kicks up a party in your mouth and has just the right amount of spicy arugula mixed with other greens to be interesting.     

French Potato Salad with Herbs, and So Cal Summer Salad round-up

So remember allllll the way back in June when I said I would feature healthy salads regularly throughout the summer?  That little thing called So Cal Summer Salads that I very ambitiously promised I would keep up with?  Can you remember that far back?  Personally, I am having trouble remembering, partly because June seems so distant now that it is officially September, but it also may be that my mind has become suspiciously clouded with desserts, and summer fruits, and cakes...trying to see the light of leafy greens and vegetables through all that sugary haze has been nothing less than fun-filled delicious journey, of which I don't regret a single bite.  This summer, whether it has been sweet or savory, crunchy or creamy, I can definitely say I have eaten well.  

As September dawns and fall approaches, I can't really say that I anticipate radically changing any of my eating philosophies.  Oh sure, I could tell you I might try eating more healthy, or chowing on more apples and less ice cream (We all know this is a lost cause at this point.  How about less apples and more ice cream?).  But the truth is, I like eating and cooking and baking loads of different things, and the thought of focusing specifically on one thing or another doesn't sit well with me.  Where am I going with this?  

Well, with the launch of Project Food Blog from Foodbuzz (which I am SUPER excited about btw), I have taken a little bit of a timeout to ponder a big question...what is really going on here at The Cilantropist?  I mean, what am I doing here on this little webspace I like to call home?  The analytical side of my brain has been feverishly trying to fit myself into some sort of food-blogger mold, so that I can stick a shiny new label on this blog so everyone knows exactly what they are getting.  This feels much like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and thats not comfortable for anyone.   In contrast, the creative (and hungry) side of my brain seems say, "What's all this hooplah about?  We're having fun with this whole cooking and writing thing aren't we?  And we feel inspired!  And even better, we are eating... really eating...So lets just keep it up!"  Being a scientist, the analytical part of my brain usually wins out, but I think here I need to cave to creativity; because honestly, here on this site I am just sharing my adventures in eating well, feeding those I love, and living the good life.  And isn't that enough?   

It's a Pickle Party!

PICKLES!  Pickles, pickles, pickles!!!  Oh how I love them.  Just thinking about pickles makes me want to do a happy dance, so just use your imagination to conjure up your best of image of what I do when I actually eat one.  And just look at the word "pickle," doesn't it make you want to giggle?  

Pickles have been a favorite food of mine since childhood when I used to eat them by the jar.  Literally.  (As I mentioned before, I am not sure how my mom let me get away with this, or how my stomach could handle digesting an entire jar of pickles.  Children are tough.)  I would eat all varieties of pickles: Kosher, zesty dill, bread and butter, spears, hamburger slices, and especially those giant deli pickles that they pull out of the huge glass jar at the local sandwich shop.  No dill spear was safe from the voracious appetite of The Little Cilantropist.  Pickles are an old-fashioned food that I associate with home, and comfort, and a casual, fun sort of eating, and it looks like I am not alone. 

Now that I am all grown up (or at least I am often seen masquerading as an adult), I still eat pickles with gusto, although not by the jarful any longer.  Instead, I get my fix through pedestrian supermarket-variety pickles and dill spears that accompany the occasional sandwich or cheeseburger when I eat out.  Since I think I am a pickle addict at heart, I began to wonder if this was really enough pickle-eating to get by.  You see, I have recently felt like something was missing in my life, and I think that thing is The Pickle.  

Notice that I used a few capital letters there when I referred to The Pickle.  I did that on purpose, to specifically delineate the olive-green, less-than-crunchy, Vlasic-type pickle, from The Bright-Green, Full-of-Flavor, Homemade-Type Pickle.  In fact, these homemade pickles really shouldn't even share the same name as those knock-offs crowding the shelves of giant supermarket chains; but alas, a pickle by any other name might not really be a pickle at all (plus, I don't actually have any power or influence to change the names of foods), so for now these are Pickles with a capital P.