mint

a pickled corn succotash salad + pure green magazine's hashtag project #pgminseason ! /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

the week is almost over (yay for wednesdays!) and i have a super duper salad here for you today.  normally a succotash is prepared by cooking most of the ingredients on the stovetop, and in most cases favas or other beans are involved.  today, i have prepared a pickled corn succotash that's super appropriate for a hot august day (although, temps around here have been oddly cool) and is comprised of most of what is available to me at my market - long beans, heirloom tomatoes, fragrant herbs, chili peppers, sweet juicy nectarines and veggie blossoms.  high-fives for in season fare!  

as many of you know laura, claire, and i have teamed up with the Pure Green Magazine blog to talk about our in season food ethics, share some recipes where we incorporate summer's produce, and be community leaders for their Instagram Hashtag Project: #PGMinseason.  so, today i'm over there talking about where i shop for produce in and around brooklyn, how i store produce to keep them at their most fresh, and why i think we and our communities are better off when we are able to buy in season, local produce!   and i'm also sharing the recipe for this tangy, herbaceous, slightly sweet, and crunchy, pickled corn succotash salad here! 

have a good one, friends! xo

a microgreen, mint + mango juice for one /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

these past couple of weekends have been so beautiful.  frank and i have got into a new, spring-y rhythm full of longs walks, afternoon picnics at the park, frequenting farmers' markets, taking our little pup to the dog park and sipping iced coffees!  as we spend more time outdoors we come into contact with all sorts of people - friends, neighbors, acquaintances, doggie friends, and also the random people that are not quite nice or respectful.  i guess i should be happy that more often than not, people in our little neighborhood are generally kind, but this weekend we came across a bunch of people at our local park who were disrespectful and (sorry, but) straight-up a-holes.  we were enjoying some time in the park when our space was rudely disrupted by a rather unprofessional yoga photo shoot.  they neither excused themselves nor apologized when we asked for some space, rather responded with disrespectful comments.  

whatever the case may be, i know these kinds of people are the exception and not the norm, but i would hope they would realize at some point, that no matter how important you feel your job is, people's personal space still matters; that practicing common decency and respect  on a daily basis is still a relevant thing!  

in an effort to rid my mind of these folks, i spent the next afternoon breathing deeply and sipping on this soothing and refreshing green juice.   green juices are a favorite around here.  as the weather warms up i usually purchase too many greens to consume during the week.  by week's end there are surely leftovers which make their way into the blender.  today i used microgreens.  i can't get enough of these beauties; i thought their soft leaves and subtle taste would be a satisfying addition to this juice.  i threw in some mint, lemon juice, mango and ginger, all for their therapeutic properties and a nutrient boost!  cheers to you all, friends! xo

microgreen, mint + mango juice for one 

| serves 1 |

i used microgreens here because i had a boat-load of them leftover.  however, you can use any greens of your choice, be it chard, spinach, or kale.  i give directions using a blender, but feel free to use your juicer, just skip the straining step below.

ingredients

  • 1/2 cup mixed microgreens
  • 1 large sprig mint (approx. 6-8 large leaves)
  • 1 mango, peeled and cut into chunks
  • a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped rough
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • 5-6 coconut water ice cubes (you can also use water ice cubes)

garnish

  • chia seeds
  • extra mint leaves

instructions

  • place all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend for about 1 minute.  for a juice without pulp, pass the juice mixture through a fine mesh sieve over your glass.  garnish with chia seeds and mint, and drink immediately

to your health! enjoy!

chopped tahini salad w/ crushed pine nuts + mint /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

the weather here has been so insanely gorgeous, temperatures in the low 70s, cool breezes, blue skies, and plentiful sunshine. it's been perfect weather for shorts and a sweater, or your favorite denims with a T.  i am seriously looking forward to breaking out a scarf or two, and perhaps my new wool panama hat...just saying.  anywho, this salad was the perfect picnic salad, so we did just that...on our fire escape of course.  we used our rad picnic blanket (ahem, i mean tea towels), laid them out to cover the beautiful black metal beneath, served our salad, and dug in.  

this chopped salad was inspired by a fresh vegetable salad in Jerusalem, and also inspired by the massive amounts of beautiful tomatoes and peppers out there this time of year.  you may notice that i include sweet peppers in the ingredient list.  mine somehow never made their way into my bag at the farmer's market, but i left them on the list because they i know they will surely be a lovely addition here.  the tahini sauce is super dreamy and creamy, there's nothing better than when the tomato juices mix with the tahini sauce and you're left with a slightly tomato-spiked sauce!  the crushed pine nuts and mint was kind of an afterthought, but i had the mint on hand and i love the flavor of toasted pine nuts, and thought it would be a great addition.  turns out it was, but next time i will add more (i increased the amounts in the recipe below).  

the next couple of weeks are fun ones for me and my husband.  he will be turning the big 3-0, and i will be celebrating my birthday a few days later.  lots of celebration and good times around here.  stay tuned for celebration goodies, swiftly followed by detox! 

 

chopped tahini salad w/ crushed pine nuts + mint

salad inspired by, and tahini sauce from: Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi's Jerusalem

| serves 4 as a side salad | 

ingredients »

  • 2 cups chopped greens
  • 1 cup chopped heirloom tomatoes
  • 1 cup chopped cucumbers
  • 1/2 cup chopped sweet peppers
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chives (i used garlic chives)
  • 2-3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
  • 2 teaspoons fresh mint leaves
  • a pinch of salt
  • smoked paprika to taste

tahini sauce (i halved the original recipe) »

  • 1/3 cup tahini paste
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

instructions

for the tahini sauce »

  • in a medium sized bowl, whisk the tahini, water, lemon juice, crushed garlic and salt until combined
  • cover, and let the mixture sit in the fridge until ready to use

for the salad »

  • with a mortar and pestle, crush the toasted pine nuts with a pinch of salt, add the mint and grind until the mint and nuts are small pieces.  set aside
  • in a large bowl, combine the greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.  drizzle the tahini sauce, and garnish with crushed pine nut/mint mixture, chives and paprika

serve with additional tahini sauce and enjoy!