October 6, 2015 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

charred broccoli + red onion salad w/ shaved apples + arugula | dolly and oatmeal

i'm not sure if it's like this everywhere, but nyc is in this awesome seasonal in-between with cool mornings and evenings, warm abundant afternoon sunshine; there are remnants of late summer tomatoes and watermelon on our kitchen counter, and the sweetest of winter squash varieties chillin' right beside them. the market is a hybrid of summer, fall, and bits of winter too, with corn cobs piled high next to buckets of butternut squash. there are tables littered with a rainbow of tomatoes, plums, brussels sprouts, and pole beans. these earthy, dewy autumn mornings are definitely growing on me this year too. we inherited a crab apple tree in our backyard which had been providing us much needed shade all summer long, and now we get to enjoy its leaves changing color and its apples mature.

while i'm still not sure i'm ready for pumpkin recipes yet, (soon, i promise!), i'm easing away from summer salads and switching some of the components up with warm, hearty produce. i've been making apple, red onion, and arugula salad with a tahini dressing for years (it was even a post way back when!) but with the shift in seasons i wanted to make this salad a bit heavier. broccoli is perhaps my favorite vegetable ever, and to my delight a few of the vendors at the market have been selling it for the past few weeks. so for this rendition, charring the broccoli and onion adds a warmer, caramelized flavor and is totally welcomed by shaved crunchy apples; and the lemony tahini is super tart and zingy, but elevates this to a next-level, early autumnal salad!

also, last week i was over at yahoo food talking about my "food journey", blogging, and gluten-free misconceptions, you can read more here, if you like. also, some of the work i do outside of the blog is freelance photography. i recently shot the cover for the sweetgreen fall newspaper, and upon flipping through the twitters i saw none other than cindy crawford holding a copy and just about lost my sh!t - you slay, cindy, you slay!

hope your week is off to an awesome one! xo

charred broccoli + red onion salad w/ shaved apples + arugula (v + gf)

any fresh apple will do here, but i really love honeycrisp or gala apples. they're tart, juicy, and super crunchy which makes the textures in this salad really pop.

| serves 2 |

creamy lemon dressing

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (roughly 1 lemon)
2 tablespoons water
4-5 tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
fresh pepper

salad

1 head broccoli, cut into florets (roughly 3 cups)
1 medium red onion, sliced into wedges
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
half of 1 apple (preferably honeycrisp or gala)
2-3 cups baby arugula
1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

method

in a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, water, and 4 tablespoons of the tahini; add the oil, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. if the dressing is too thick, add the remaining tablespoon of tahini, taste and adjust seasonings as needed. cover and set to the side. (the dressing can also be prepared ahead of time.)
preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. in a large bowl, toss broccoli, onions, oil, and season with salt and pepper. transfer the broccoli and onion to the baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, until the broccoli is charred in places. use tongs and remove the broccoli, place the onions back in the oven and cook for another 10-15 minutes, until browned in places. remove from the oven and set aside.
in a large bowl, toss together the charred broccoli and onion with the apple, arugula, and 3/4 of the hazelnuts. give the dressing a stir and drizzle it over the top of the bowl, toss again, adding more dressing if desired. serve the salad and top with remaining hazelnuts.

enjoy!

autumn farmers market | dolly and oatmeal

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herb roasted veggie bowl w/ green tahini

fennel-roasted carrot + shallot salad w/ shaved apples / January 27, 2015 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

fennel roasted carrot + shallot salad w/ shaved apple | dolly and oatmeal

we're sitting here in the midst of a (non) blizzard, hunkering down in this super snowy, windy, and frigid weather. we got up this morning to take our little pup, quint out for a walk, needless to say he wasn't happy. we're not sure he's really into snow, as he runs away from us when we attempt to put his little black turtleneck sweater on, and when we try to squeeze his dainty feet into snow shoes he hates it even more. it's become a 10-15 minute process, depending on if it's both me and frank or just one of us, all for a 2 minute "walk" consisting of quint trotting in circles and finding the nearest vertical object to relieve himself on. we come back inside and the timid dog he was outside quickly disappears into a bold, playful pup zipping around the apartment, sometimes hopping on all fours, and poking us with his tiny snout encouraging us to play with him. most times you can find frank on the floor with him playing as if he were a dog as well, and as i'm sure you can imagine, quint is always totally delighted by that. we're constantly so amazed at how such a little guy can have such a tremendous personality - he's totally filled with life, and brings us so much love and light each day! this week, just under a year ago we picked him up at the shelter, all 7 3/4 pounds of him, so me and frank are reflecting a bit on how special he is, while also wondering what our lives were like before him :)

while quint isn't a fan of veggies (he actually eats around them), he is a big lover of apples - i often mash a couple slices up for him, which he loves to crunch on. most meals i have to be careful of setting them at a height he can reach, but salads never worry me - i know he'd rather occupy his time doing other things like playing with his reflection or chasing his tail. this carrot-centric salad is super simple, but also super tasty, with crushed fennel, sweet caramelized shallots, crunchy apple, and a respectable amount of blood orange juice to top. it was inspired by a salad over at vinegar hill house, and it's one of those little dishes that continues to have flavor, texture and depth in each bite, while also being really simple to put together and enjoy. plus, it's a salad served on the warmer side of spectrum, for these chilly days when thinking of eating something cold is just a no-go.

love + warmth, xo!

fennel roasted carrots + shallots w/ shaved apple | dolly and oatmeal

fennel-roasted carrot + shallot salad w/ shaved apple

this is the perfect salad to serve warm or at room temp. also, feel free to use larger carrots as opposed to the baby ones indicated below, just make sure to adjust cook time if need be. and i could also imagine this dish benefitting from more crunch, perhaps roughly chopped hazelnuts or roasted pistachios

| serves 2 |

2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 bunches organic baby carrots, scrubbed and sliced in half (or 1 bunch large carrots, sliced in half and then in quarters)
2 small shallots (or 1 large), ends trimmed and sliced with half-inch thickness
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
sea salt + fresh ground pepper
1 honeycrisp apple, cored and shaved thin (using a mandolin or a sharp knife)
handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped
juice from half of 1 blood orange
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, to top

instructions

preheat oven to 375°. line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. set aside
heat a small pan over medium-low heat, add fennel seeds; shake pan back and forth a few times so they don't burn or stick. toast seeds for 3-4 minutes, until fragrant and slightly brown. remove from heat and place in a mortar; once cooled, grind with pestle. set aside
in a large bowl, combine sliced carrots, shallots, crushed fennel, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. turn out onto prepared baking sheet and roast in oven for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned and tender. set aside and let cool slightly
in a serving bowl, combine the roasted carrots and shallots with shaved apples, toss in the chopped parsley, drizzle with olive oil, blood orange juice, and toasted sesames; taste and adjust seasoning. serve warm or at room temperature

enjoy!

holiday butternut bundt cake w/ crushed cranberries + apples / December 12, 2014 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

holiday butternut bundt cake | dolly and oatmeal

we woke up to our first snowfall the other morning, albeit a dusting; our plump christmas tree is up, decorated with ornaments we've collected throughout the years; lit with strands of twinkling lights, its base hidden under a burlap tree skirt i made years ago (a craft projects gone right!). our winter vista is now official, as the trees across the way have lost the last of their leaves, and we can squeak out a view of the top quarter of the empire state building once more. the holidays are officially here, and even though it's felt like a merry season for the past few weeks, it's now in close sight.

sometimes it feels like i don't know where to start with holiday dessert though, do i go with cake, make sheets and sheets of cookies, chocolate bars, peppermint bark..? (i know, really tough decisions here.) this year i decided to settle on a simple bundt cake - one that incorporates a number of things i love about the idea of a typical fruitcake, but without the heavy glug of it. in that spirit, i decided to go with a tried and true cake my nana would always make: her 1,2,3,4 bundt cake. it was her no-fail, all-occasion cake that could be made plain or jazzed up with fruit, nuts, zest, etc. so, when i thought of the holidays, of love, of memories, of baking, i knew an updated version of my nana's cake in the form of a butternut bundt was in order. it's flecked with crushed cranberries to cut through the sweetness, the batter mixed with grated ginger, chopped apples and toasted nuts for a subtle crunch, and topped with some powdered sugar for good (holiday) measure.

if you missed last week's post, i'm guest blogging for Gardenista this month! you can peep this holiday bundt cake recipe over on their site today! and stay tuned, i've got two more posts coming up this month and i'm super pumped about them!

i hope the holiday season is bringing you joy, love, and warmth. xo