beet tacos w/ beet green salsa verde + spicy pickled onions (v + gf) /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

now that it's july, my brain can officially register that it's summer.  and since it's summer that means vacation and perhaps some relaxation.  we're leaving the pup behind (sad face) with my parents and heading to LA; we've got a (non) list of things to hit up including a trip out to the desert for a hike through joshua tree, an early morning surf lesson, popping in to some of the million restaurants i have bookmarked, spending time with two people we love more than what's probably conceived to be normal, and meeting our four-legged niece + nephew: charlie, and her brother henry.  to say that i'm excited is an understatement.  i would love any other suggestions you all may have!

speaking of cali, they have the BEST tacos! i am wholly looking forward to consuming them all for breakfast, lunch + dinner...on repeat.  so, today it's a bit of a taco celebration in honor of the upcoming 4th of july. what's better than a super fresh, vibrant taco on a day of celebration - i say, not much!  

i was totally inspired by an awesome mexican restaurant near us in park slope that we eat at often.  usually i order various menu items here and there to make the kind of meal i like to eat.  most times, i get a citrusy avo + beet salad, a side of mini corn tortillas, some of their insanely spicy (and delicious) hot sauce, and make my own little meal of spicy beet tacos - so yum!  so, these tacos are definitely a riff on what i'm ordering when i'm mex-ing it up.  but my beet greens were so lovely, and my cilantro growing outside was so fragrant, that i wanted to make a salsa verde to go along with it all.  add some super spicy, crunchy, quick-pickled onions and you're set!  happy fourth, y'all! xo

roasted beet tacos w/ beet green salsa verde + spicy, quick-pickled onions (v + gf)

| makes about 8 tacos |

ingredients

beet filling

  • corn tortillas
  • 1 lb. beets, washed and trimmed (reserve beet greens for salsa verde)
  • 2 ripe avocados, pitted and cut into thin slices
  • zest + juice from 1 lime
  • cilantro for garnish
  • fine grain sea salt + fresh ground pepper
  • olive oil for roasting

beet green salsa verde

  • 3/4 cup beet greens, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 fresh cilantro
  • 1/4 jalapeño pepper, seeded or not
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • 4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
  • large grain sea salt

spicy pickled onions

  • 1 large red onion
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, cut into quarters (i chose to keep the seeds in for more heat, but if you like less heat, remove the seeds)
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • big pinch of large grain sea salt

instructions

to roast the beets

  • preheat oven to 400° and place beets in a large piece of foil.  drizzle oil evenly over beets, and sprinkle with salt + pepper; wrap the foil tightly and place in a baking dish, bake for roughly 1 hour - until beets can be easily pierced with a fork or sharp knife.  remove beets from oven and allow to cool.  once cool, slip skins off and discard; rinse beets and pat dry
  • slice beets into small chunks and place in a mixing bowl.  add lime juice, zest and salt + pepper, taste and adjust seasoning.  set beet mixture aside

salsa verde

  • place all the salsa verde ingredients in a food processor and pulse, scraping down the sides until roughly chopped.  taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.  set aside

spicy, quick-pickled onions

  • place onions, pepper, vinegar, water and salt in a medium saucepan; stir, and bring contents to a boil.  turn off heat and allow to cool.  when cool, discard the pepper pieces, and transfer onions and some of the juice to a lidded jar.  refrigerate until ready to use

assemble tacos

  • heat tortillas over a low flame on a gas stove, grill, or in an oven.  stuff the tacos with sliced avo, beets, spicy pickled onions, and salsa verde.  garnish with extra cilantro and serve warm

enjoy!

cilantro black rice w/ roasted garlic scapes + asparagus /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

sometimes it was a long drive through the night, other times it was a 3am wakeup to make the drive up the east coast, to the vineyard.  we would always take two cars, me and my mom in one, and my dad and brother in the other; the car was stocked up with sandwiches, tons of fruit and cassette tapes for listening purposes (oddly enough, during those trips i found an unwavering affinity for my mom's music, which included: joan baez, james taylor and annie lenox. while my dad acquired a liking for my brother's: nwa and epmd).  once we got to woods hole, massachsetts, it was a long pause as we waited for our ferry arrive to ship us over the expanse of water between cape cod and martha's vineyard.   depending on my age and mood, the ferry always felt somewhere between a hassle and an adventure - 45 minutes to the only place i wanted to be, and that i had yearned and dreamt for the past 300, some-odd days.  

we rented the same house for the past couple of decades and it felt like our second home; we knew its smell, it's creaks, the sound of the loud, clunky washing machine, dialing the rotary phone, and the itchy couch my mom would cover with bed sheets.  for the first 10 years or so the first thing my dad and i would do was head down the street to the beach cove.  the shore would be littered with heavy doses of rocks and pebbles which we would sort through to find smooth flat ones to skip across the surface of the clear, rippled ocean.  most days on the vineyard were spent at the beach, other times canoe rides, flea markets, fishing and squid jigging; there were trips to local farm and flower stands with an honor-system way of payment, and farmers markets before they were an everyday, ubiquitous thing.  the vineyard was not so much a vacation, but a way i always wanted to live - small, quiet, connected.  i think i hold on to these memories of this most special place because it not only reminds of some of the best moments and memories in my young life, but a sense of minimalism, of simple pleasures and creating memories and traditions without the complexity of every day interferences.  

this dish, or salad of sorts, is totally based on a meal i think we would have made for lunch, or as an easy, pack-up, sunset dinner on the beach.   garlic scape season is one of my faves, mostly because it reminds me of the vineyard.  my mom and i would frequently visit our local farm-stand, beetlebung farm to pick up dinner ingredients. one afternoon we picked up garlic scapes; not knowing what to do with them, we sautéed them up with asparagus, and threw it all over some fresh pasta.  today, i roasted it all, because i can't seem to eat asparagus and garlic scapes any other way this season (plus, it's a really quick cleanup for the lazy bones in me). i cooked the rice with cilantro stems for some added, herby flavor and tossed it all up with a considerable amount of minced cilantro and basil, and then topped it off with some pre-roasted (and salted) paprika-spiced almonds.  all simple thangs, peeps, as i imagine cooking this up in a rental or vacation space without your normal, day-to-day kitchen arsenal.  happy summering :)

cilantro black rice w/ roasted garlic scapes + asparagus

| serves 4 as a side |

this is more a "kitchen sink" recipe, i usually throw ingredients together that i have lying around the fridge so the amounts here are somewhat rounded up or down.  the minced cilantro and basil are approximate amounts, but i usually like the ratio of 1/2 cup fresh herbs to 1 cup rice - so i would aim for measuring it that way.  this dish is subtle enough that other flavors could definitely be added, be it different herbs or more pungent spices. 

ingredients

  • 1 cup black rice, rinsed
  • 1 bunch cilantro, minced (reserve the stems)
  • 1 small bunch basil, minced
  • 4-5 garlic scapes, sliced thin (about 1/8 inch)
  • 1 bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed and sliced in 1 inch pieces
  • juice + zest from 1/2 a lemon
  • 2 tablespoons roasted + salted almonds
  • 1/2 teaspoon mild paprika 
  • extra virgin olive oil for roasting and topping off
  • large grain sea salt + fresh ground pepper

instructions

  • in a medium saucepan, combine rice, cilantro stems (you can use one stem to tie a bundle of them), a big pinch of large grain salt and 2 cups of water.  bring to a boil, stir and cover for 30-35 minutes, until all water is absorbed.  remove from heat and let it sit covered for 10 minutes.  when ready to serve, discard cilantro stems and fluff with a fork 
  • while the rice is cooking preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.  in a large bowl, combine scapes, asparagus, and lemon zest; season with sea salt and pepper, and coat evenly with olive oil (roughly 2 teaspoons).  turn out onto prepared baking sheet and arrange the veggies in an even layer - roast for 12-15 minutes, until cooked through, but with some bite left
  • in a small sandwich bag, combine the almonds and paprika; using a rolling pin, crush the nuts until roughly broken, set aside
  • in large serving bowl, combine the rice,  scape and asparagus mix, half the spiced almonds and about 3/4 of the minced herbs, drizzle with some good olive oil and add lemon juice; taste and check for seasoning, adding salt + pepper accordingly.  garnish with remaining almonds and herbs.  serve and enjoy!

(gluten + dairy free) chocolate coffee layer cake /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

another quick friday post, as i didn't intend on posting this one, but i had some photos and some people were curious about the recipe.   as i mentioned earlier in the week, last weekend was my dad's birthday and also my father-in-law's birthday (they were born same day, same year...trippy!).  my dad is the chocolate guy and also the coffee guy, so i endeavored to make these two worlds meet in the form of a celebratory cake!  a little bit of toasty sliced almonds for garnish and we were ready to party.  

the cake here is my chocolate olive oil bundt from months ago, however, i swapped the water in the recipe for freshly brewed coffee. and the frosting recipe is a simple one using shortening (i thought about doing a cashew cream but i ran out of time!), powdered coconut sugar some cacao and cold brew coffee (if you have it on hand).  the almonds just add a little nutty crunch to top it all off.  hope you all enjoy this upcoming SUMMER weekend! xo

*the bunting (or "goal post" as my dad referred to it) was made with two 5/6 inch skewers, twine and washi tape :)

chocolate coffee layer cake (gluten + dairy free)

ingredients

cake:

frosting and filling:

  • 1 cup non-hydrogenated palm shortening (i like Spectrum brand)
  • 1/4 raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
  • 1/2 cup powdered coconut sugar 
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons cold brew coffee (or non-dairy milk)

instructions

  • preheat oven to 350° and oil two 6 inch round baking pans, line the bottom of the pans with parchment rounds, run your fingers around the circles to secure them in the pan. evenly divide the batter between each pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean
  • let layers cool for 30 minutes; then place a piece of parchment paper on top of a cooling rack and turn cake layers onto it, removing the parchment rounds from the bottom of each cake
  • once completely cool, separately wrap each layer in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to a day
  • while cake is in the refrigerator, make the frosting.  (to make the powdered coconut sugar, place 1/2 cup coconut sugar in a coffee grinder set on fine, and grind.)  using an electric mixer, cream the shortening with the powdered sugar until creamy.  then add the cacao powder, vanilla and cold brew coffee (or non-dairy milk).  loosely cover and set aside until ready to use (*note - if your house runs on the warm side, keep in a cool area.  if kept in the fridge, frosting will harden, but will soften as it comes to room temp.)
  • level each layer, if need be, with a serrated knife; put scraps to the side.  place a piece of parchment paper on your cake stand or large (preferably non-rimmed) plate; place one layer on top of the parchment and evenly spread about a half-inch of frosting over top.  place the second layer on top and spread frosting evenly on top and sides of cake.  decorate sides with sliced almonds and crush a few between your fingers to dust top of cake
  • place cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  remove cake 15 minutes before serving, slice and enjoy!