picnic

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!

raw cauliflower couscous w/ cherries + a sumac-lemon vinaigrette /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

the month of june always brings about the anticipation of summer, and undoubtably the nostalgia of the summer months.  i see the anticipation of summer on children's faces, adults too, but there's something about the significance and care-free quality that summer holds for the kid in us.  for me, it was going to the pool, taking vacations with my family up to martha's vineyard, building sand castles, staying up late with my brother and the neighborhood kids to play hide-and-seek.  adventure and excitement were everyday occurrences, for you didn't know if a thundershower would envelope you with its downpour, or if your friend would get their hands on a bunch of water guns and balloons and there would be a spur-of-the-moment water fight.  bbq's, hamburger and hotdogs, watermelon, and ICE CREAM - hello carvel and ben and jerry's! while i still dream about super-soakers, sandcastles and sweet, cold food items that melt in your mouth, i also dream about tending to my garden, sowing seeds and watching them grow, and seeing how happy the warm weather makes our pup!  

another thing i loved as a kid was couscous - near east brand was my jam, especially the garlic and olive oil flavor!  it was always an easy dish to make on the stovetop for the times i would prepare dinner for myself. but, this time around it's  a raw, cauliflower version with sweet (first-of-the-season!) cherries, a ton of herbs and a super tangy vinaigrette to counter the sweet and earthy flavors going on here.  i see this dish being in heavy rotation in the coming months - there's seriously nothing like NOT turning on the oven to make our apartment even warmer than it already can get in the summer!  happy june, ya'll! xo

raw cauliflower couscous w/ cherries + a sumac-lemon vinaigrette

| serves 4 as a side |

ingredients

  • 3 cups cauliflower (about half of a large head)
  • 1/2 cup cherries, stoned and cut in quarters
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely minced
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint, finely minced
  • 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely minced
  • a big handful fresh peas, shelled and blanched (frozen peas work just as well, but cook according to package directions)
  • 2 tablespoons capers, roughly chopped
  • 4 small leeks, sliced thin

sumac-lemon vinaigrette

  • juice from 1 large lemon (about 1/4 cup)
  • 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon sumac
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • salt + pepper

instructions

make the vinaigrette

  • to a small bowl, add lemon juice, salt, fresh ground pepper, sumac and garlic; stir to dissolve the salt, taste and adjust if needed.  vigorously whisk in, a little at a time the olive oil and taste as you go
  • refrigerate until ready to use

assemble the couscous

  • cut the cauliflower head in half, then cut florets into small pieces and pulse in a food processor until you are left with a fine crumble.  place the crumbled cauliflower in a large serving bowl and season with salt and pepper 
  • add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine.  add dressing as desired and adjust seasoning if need be

enjoy!

spring fattoush salad w/ a creamy sumac-pine nut sauce, and wanting something more /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

some of you may know, as i've written before,  i've had a few struggles with food on both ends of the spectrum: from not liking it at all, to over-consuming it at times.  i thought i could solve this food problem on my own.  first i went on a raw diet, then a juice/smoothie/diet/cleanse thing, and lastly, a quasi gluten free diet. not one of these ways of life proved to serve my physical or mental well-being in any significant way.  so my quest for answers continued... a few months had gone by, and by that time i had kind of given up on "curing" myself, by myself. 

i made an appointment with a nutritionist who had been recommended to my mom and off i went.  among many other things (giving up bread included), she and i had a conversation about well-being; about treating our bodies the best we can.  that visit not only changed my life, but it altered my outlook on REAL FOOD accessibility and wanting something more from those whose authority lies in the food industry.  i thought about times i was at a concert, or a movie or a public space, there was no real food; items that had substantive ingredients, not just empty calories that offered stomachaches, a cloudy brain and bad skin.  we, as a community of food-consuming people deserve better.  to have access to wholesome food, to be able to afford it, to want something more for ourselves; not just what big agriculture or food corporations make the most money on, that we are worth of being well-nourished, not profited from.  

i'm teaming up with two lovely ladies, Jody and Ashley for their Feel Something More Campaign - energizing people to feel, choose, be, something more than the status quo.  They have a series of bloggers talking about their want for something more in life as well.  next up is "The JUGs for Something More" by Just Us Gals (meredith, cameron and suzanne). 

now about this salad!  fattoush salads are a favorite of mine, seasonal veggies paired with torn flatbread, drenched in a creamy sauce/dressing kind of a deal - yes! all day. everyday.  however, this fattoush salad has a bit more green - thanks spianch!  you'll  find a recipe for socca below, mainly because i chose to use it in the bread-y portion of the dish  - it lends a similar texture as any other flatbread, plus it's super easy to throw together and bake up.  lastly, the sumac-spiked pine nut sauce.  i know people can be wary of nut-based things, but the nuts, vinegar and sumac all come together in such a considerable way; add that to this herby, crunchy, spring-green fattoush salad and it's all majorly satisfying.  cheers, and all good things, friends!

spring fattoush salad w/ a creamy, sumac-pine nut sauce | gf + v

| serves 4 |

if you're going to skip the nut-based sauce, i would nudge you in the direction of this tahini sauce or even this yogurt-tahini sauce, both for their creaminess and pungent flavor.  

ingredients

  • 2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup fresh parsley, minced
  • 2 sprigs mint (roughly 8-10 leaves), minced
  • 1 bunch ramps, cleaned and white parts sliced thin (or spring onions) 
  • 1 small cucumber, quartered into 1/2" chunks
  • 4-5 radishes, sliced thin by hand or mandolin
  • 1/4 cup chives, minced
  • 8" round of socca (recipe below), torn into large pieces (or gluten-free flatbread of choice)

sumac-pine nut sauce

  • 1/3 cup pine nuts, soaked for 2 hours
  • 1 small shallot, roughly chopped 
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2-3 tablespoons filtered water
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground sumac, plus more for garnish

garlicky socca

  • scant 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
  • 1/2 cup warm filtered water
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • a couple grinds of fresh pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, minced 
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

instructions

sumac-pine nut sauce

  • drain the pine nuts and transfer them to a high-speed blender (a food processor will do, but consistency won't be as creamy).  add the shallot, vinegar, olive oil, salt and sumac; with the motor running, pour the water through the spout, 1 tablespoon at a time, to get desired consistency.  scoop into lidded jar and transfer to refrigerator until ready to use

garlicky socca

  • place an 8" cast iron pan inside your oven and preheat to 450° 
  • combine the garbanzo bean flour, salt + pepper with a whisk.  drizzle in water while whisking to incorporate; add the olive oil and minced garlic and whisk again. set aside
  • gently remove preheated pan from oven, pour the remaining tablespoon of olive oil into the pan, give it a swirl to ensure even coverage.  pour socca batter into pan and gently place back into the center of your oven.  cook for 12 minutes, edges should be pulled away from sides and lightly browned; remove from oven and flip the socca over.  return back to the oven and cook for another 3-4 minutes. remove from heat and let cool completely
  • once cooled, tear into large chunks.  leave the flatbread out for about 20 minutes while you prepare the salad

assemble salad

  • remove sauce from refrigerator and allow to come to room temp.  add a teaspoon or two of water to get sauce nice and creamy
  • in a large serving bowl, combine all of the salad items.  pour half the sauce over the salad and combine, depending on your preference, add more sauce.
  • garnish with some added sumac (optional)

enjoy!