Mustard Greens Pancakes with Sesame-Soy Dipping Sauce

I really do like greens. It’s not a matter of tolerating them when they appear or making use of them from time to time. I really want to eat greens every day, and I can find ways to include them in just about any meal. Just ask Kurt. So, the new book from Jenn Louis, The Book of Greens: A Cook's Compendium of 40 Varieties, from Arugula to Watercress, with More Than 175 Recipes of which I received a review copy, is a delight for me. Also, Jenn Louis’s last book was about making pasta and dumplings, and some of those elements, that I happen to love creating in the kitchen, find their way here into dishes incorporating greens. This all adds us up to quite a lot that makes me very happy in this new book. Now, the only issue with greens is that the sturdy, earthy, serious greens like kale, chard, and collards thrive in cooler weather and aren’t part of our local, summer produce. But happily, this book covers the full spectrum of greens, including a few I’d never thought to bring into the kitchen before, and there are hot weather options too. The book is organized alphabetically by the name of each green, and there’s general information about each variety followed by recipes for it. Since locally-grown arugula is available almost year-round, I was happy to try the Arugula Salad with Red Grapes, Feta, and Dukkah. It comes with a suggestion for trying it with plums in place of the grapes which I did, and it was fantastic. The Dandelion Salad Sandwich is a smart combination of a sweet butternut squash puree with dressed slivers of dandelion greens and slices of hard-boiled eggs. The Miso Soup with Turmeric, Wheat Noodles, and Gai Lan would also be great with bok choy or chard in place of the gai lan, and why have I never thought of taking miso soup in a direction like this? There’s a section just for herbs, one for lettuces, and one for root, fruit, and vegetable greens. It’s a great reminder that squash leaves, sweet potato greens, and tomato leaves are edible and available in the summer. I tried the Tomato Leaf-Egg Pasta with Butter and Fresh Tomato Sauce and highly recommend it. And, while I have enjoyed nopales from cactus plants, I’ve never harvested aloe vera stalks for juicing. There’s a cocktail made with aloe juice and tequila in the book, and I can’t wait to try it. The point of the book is, of course, to highlight greens, but the recipes grab attention first for the mix of flavors and textures. They just happen to be made with all sorts of different leaves. 

When I read about the Mustard Greens Pancakes, I marked the page immediately. These were made with baby mustard greens that I was able to get at Boggy Creek Farm. They’re like scallion pancakes, and I’ve made a similar flatbread before. But here, the dough is layered with fresh, chopped greens before completing each pancake. It’s a fun process. A simple dough of flour and boiling water was made in the food processor. After it was kneaded and allowed to rest, it was divided into four pieces. Each piece was rolled into a disk, brushed with sesame oil, the disk was rolled up into a cylinder, the cylinder was then coiled like a snail, and then rolled into a disk again. The second time, that dish was brushed with sesame oil, topped with sliced mustard greens, and the cylinder and coil rolling was repeated before flattening the dough into a final disk shape. The pancakes were cooked in untoasted sesame oil for a few minutes per side until golden. A dipping sauce was made with soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, green onion, and ginger. The crisp pancakes were cut into wedges to be dipped into the sauce. 

These pancakes are easy to like with their crispiness after being cooked in oil. More traditionally, they would be made with scallions layered into them rather than mustard greens, but I loved this take on the concept. Here and with most of the recipes in the book, the type of greens used can easily be changed without any problem. Just choose some greens, any greens, and this book will give you great inspiration for using them. 

Mustard Green Pancakes 
Reprinted with permission from The Book of Greens: A Cook's Compendium of 40 Varieties, from Arugula to Watercress, with More Than 175 Recipes by Jenn Louis, copyright © 2017. Photography by Ed Anderson. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. 

These aren’t like breakfast pancakes; they are like the scallion pancakes you might find in a Chinese restaurant. If you love the sharp, strong flavor of mustard, then you will love these. Or if you don’t want so much of a vegetal flavor, consider subbing in a milder green, such as spinach or chard. The dipping sauce drives home the Asian flavor. 

Makes 4 pancakes, serves 4 

Pancakes 
2 cups [280 g] all-purpose flour 
1 cup [240 ml] boiling water 
1/4 cup [60 ml] toasted sesame oil 
1 ounce [30 g] thinly sliced mustard greens (tender stems are okay) 
1/4 cup [60 ml] neutral vegetable oil 
Kosher salt 

Dipping Sauce 
1 tablespoons soy sauce 
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil 
1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onions (green parts only) 
1/2 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger 
2 teaspoons sugar 

Put the flour in a food processor. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in 3/4 cup of the boiling water. Process for 15 seconds. If dough does not come together, drizzle in more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it just comes together. Transfer to a work surface and knead a few times to form a smooth ball. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. 

Divide the dough into four even pieces and roll each into a smooth ball. Working one ball at a time, roll out into a disk, about 8 inches [20 cm] in diameter. Using a pastry brush, paint a very thin layer of sesame oil over the top of the disk. Roll the disk up like a cylinder, then start at the end and coil the dough like a snail’s shell. Flatten gently with your hand and roll again into an 8-inch [30-cm] disk. 

Paint with another layer of sesame oil, lay an even layer of one-quarter of the sliced mustard greens, and roll up like a cylinder again. Again, coil like a snail shell, flatten gently, and re-roll into a 7-inch disk. Repeat with the remaining dough and mustard greens to make three more pancakes. 

Combine all the dipping sauce ingredients and set aside at room temperature. 

To cook the pancakes, heat the oil in an 8-inch (20-cm) nonstick or cast-iron pan over medium- high heat. When the oil is hot, after 2 to 3 minutes, carefully slip one pancake into the hot oil. Cook, shaking the pan gently until the first side is an even golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip with a spatula or tongs and continue to cook until the second side is and even golden brown, about 2 more minutes. Season with salt, cut into 6 wedges. Serve immediately with the sauce for dipping. Repeat with the remaining pancakes. 

OTHER GREENS THAT WORK IN THIS RECIPE 
nettles, spinach, lamb’s quarters 

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Thai-Style Shrimp Balls with Napa Cabbage

You know what you think when someone walks into a gigantic closet filled with various types of clothing and proclaims: “I have nothing to wear?” I suspect people could think the same of me when I stand in front of shelves of cookbooks and say “I can’t think of anything new to make for dinner.” That problem may be solved once and for all with the latest book from Melissa Clark, Dinner: Changing the Game. First, it’s full of great-looking recipes, but each of those comes with options for tailoring it to suite your taste or what ingredients you may have on hand. And, there are suggestions for what to serve with the main dishes to help you make a complete dinner plan. It starts with a whole chapter just for chicken; then there’s one for other meats, a ground meat chapter, fish and seafood, eggs, pasta, tofu, beans, grains, pizzas, soups, salads, and dips and side dishes. I always mark interesting pages with sticky flags as I read a new cookbook, but this time, it got out of hand with the number of flags attached to pages. I cooked from the book for three days in a row, and I have another page marked for dinner tonight. I started a weekend with the shrimp balls shown here for Friday night dinner. Then, I made the Sticky Tamarind Chicken with Crisp Lettuce for a Saturday night meal, and the options for that include using bone-in, skinless chicken thighs or boneless thighs or breasts or wings depending on your preference. The flavorful, marinated, roasted chicken was served over a fresh lettuce salad with sliced jalapeno and cilantro leaves. The next morning, I made the Chilaquiles with Tomatillo Salsa and Baked Eggs for brunch. The layered corn tortillas with spicy green salsa and lots of melted cheese was a delicious base for the eggs that baked on top. I added some chopped greens between the tortilla layers just to include more vegetable goodness in the mix. Tonight, I’m going to make the Warm White Bean Salad with Arugula Pesto and Preserved Lemon. And, all those other marked pages? There are too many to mention, but a few include Cumin-Chicken Meatballs with Green Ghile Sauce, a savory Herbed Parmesan Dutch Baby pancake, Pasta Carbonara Torte with Tomatoes and Sage, Chile and Ginger-Fried Tofu Salad with Kale, and Leek Tomato and Farro Soup. None of the recipes are over-complicated or too time-consuming, and you’ll see the time required listed next to the number of servings. 

I was actually surprised at how quickly the Thai-Style Shrimp Balls came together. The dipping sauce was a quick mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced fresh ginger, lime juice, sesame oil, and sliced green onions (I tend to skip the sugar in sauces like this because I prefer the tartness). Shelled and cleaned shrimp were chopped into small chunks, and there’s no need to worry too much about how small the chunks are. The shrimp does not need to be minced, just quickly chopped into little pieces. The chopped shrimp was combined with more minced ginger, minced garlic, finely chopped chives, an egg white, lime zest, and some salt. The mixture was formed into little one-inch balls. They’re not as firm as meatballs, but they hold together fine. Just line up the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. To steam, I used a bamboo steamer with its own top in a large skillet, but any type of steamer will work fine. Napa cabbage leaves were used to line the bottom of the steamer, and I was lucky to get the last of Boggy Creek Farm’s Napa cabbage for the season. The leaves I was using were small enough that I could arrange them with two shrimp balls on each. Once the steamer was placed over simmering water, it only took a few minutes to cook the shrimp balls. I removed each cabbage leaf with the shrimp balls sitting on it, and served it in the same arrangement. Last, I garnished with more chopped chives and some black sesame seeds. 

As mentioned in the recipe head note, you could serve the shrimp balls with rice noodles or plain rice, but I went for more of a pick it up with some cabbage like a little wrap kind of thing. And, these diminutive balls packed incredible flavor. The ginger, garlic, and lime zest brought a lot of zip. With this new book, I definitely have no excuse for not coming up with something new to make for dinner. 

Thai-Style Shrimp Balls with Napa Cabbage  
Reprinted from Dinner: Changing the Game. Copyright © 2017 by Melissa Clark. Photographs copyright © 2017 by Eric Wolfinger. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.
 
These juicy, ginger-scented shrimp balls are like the filling inside your favorite shrimp shumai, sans the wrappers. And since you don’t have to enfold each one individually in dumpling dough, they come together really quickly and steam up in minutes. If you don’t have a steamer basket, it’s a good thing to pick up. They are inexpensive, and the collapsible ones don’t take up much space. Or, a decent hack is to crumple up four large foil balls (at least 1½ inches in diameter) and place them in the bottom of a pot with a tight-filling cover, filled with ½ inch of water. Rest a plate on top of the foil balls to keep it above the water, bring the water to a simmer, and put the food directly on the plate to steam. It’s not ideal, but it works in a pinch. Serve these shrimp balls over white rice (page 276) or rice noodles coated with a little sesame oil, which will give you a dumpling-like texture if you eat some shrimp ball and noodles in the same bite. A salad made from pea shoots and drizzled with a little of the dipping sauce, below, would round it out nicely. They also make nice hors d’oeuvres for a dinner party. 

4 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce 
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar 
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil 
1 1/2 teaspoons light or dark brown sugar 
1 1/2 tablespoons sliced scallions (green parts only) 

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and chopped into small chunks 
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger 
1 garlic clove, grated on a Microplane or minced 
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus more for serving 
1 large egg white 
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime 
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
4 to 6 napa cabbage leaves, for steaming 

TOTAL TIME: 25 MINUTES 
SERVES 4 

1. Make the dipping sauce: In a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon ginger, lime juice, sesame oil, and brown sugar, and whisk until the sugar dissolves; then add the scallions. 
2. Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp with 1 tablespoon of the ginger and the garlic, chives, egg white, lime zest, and salt. Mix well, and form the shrimp mixture into 1-inch balls. Place them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Chill them up to 4 hours if not steaming immediately. 
3. Lay one or two cabbage leaves over the bottom of a steamer basket to just cover the surface. Put the steamer in a pot filled with an inch of water and bring the water to a simmer. Working in batches, place the shrimp balls on the cabbage leaves, cover the pot, and steam for 3 minutes, turning them over halfway through. After each batch, transfer the shrimp balls and the cabbage leaves to a plate. Use fresh cabbage leaves for each batch. 
4. Garnish the shrimp balls and cabbage with chives, and serve with the dipping sauce on the side. You can eat the cabbage or not, as you prefer. 

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Grilled Sesame-Ginger Asparagus and Portobello Salad

I’ve gotten used to and enjoy the surprise of what we receive from our CSA. There was a time when I dreaded one more bunch of greens, but now I look forward to using every last leaf when they’re in season. Another item that I previously found challenging to use was red cabbage. I prefer it raw rather than cooked, and I’ve finally amassed enough salad and slaw options that I love finding a dark purple head of it sitting our Farmhouse Delivery box. Lately, I’ve come to especially like Asian flavors mixed into a salad or slaw with red cabbage. I usually just wing it and start mixing ginger, garlic, lime juice, sesame oil, and a little vegetable oil for dressing the chopped cabbage. But, for this most recent salad, I turned to The Fresh and Green Table by Susie Middleton. I always find great ideas for all seasons in that book, and it has yet to disappoint. In the book, this salad is shown with grilled asparagus and portobello slices on top of a salad made with Napa cabbage and spinach. I switched it up by using red cabbage with spinach instead and loved the mix of dark purpley reds, several shades of green, the whites of the green onions, and the dark browns and blacks of the mushrooms. 

The marinade for the mushrooms was made first. Peanut oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, minced garlic, and minced ginger were whisked together. A few tablespoons of the dressing were set aside, and the rest was poured over the mushroom caps in a baking dish. They were left to marinate for about 30 minutes. Just before cooking, the asparagus spears were added to the baking dish and turned in the marinade. I used a grill pan inside to grill the vegetables, and the portobellos were sliced after coming off the grill pan. In a big mixing bowl, thinly sliced red cabbage, torn spinach leaves, some sliced green onions, and cilantro leaves were combined. The spinach and green onions were also from our CSA, and the cilantro was from my herb garden. To the bit of reserved marinade, lime juice and some soy sauce were added, and most of that was poured over the raw vegetables. It was tossed with the cabbage and spinach mixture before transferring the salad to a serving platter. The grilled asparagus was set on top followed by slices of the grilled portobellos. The remaining dressing was drizzled over top, and more cilantro leaves, sliced green onions, and sesame seeds were added for garnish. 

The flavors were as good as I knew they would be, and I loved that the mushrooms and asparagus made this a meal of a salad. There was a great mix of textures and temperatures between the crunchy, cool, raw vegetables at the base and the warm, grilled top layer. I’m not sure if we’ll see another head of red cabbage in our CSA box this season, but if we do, I’ll be delighted. 

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Asian-Flavored Kale and Cabbage Slaw

Things do change over time. Several years ago, when Kurt and I signed up for our first CSA, we both dreaded the mounds of greens that appeared each time we picked up our share. I used to have to rack my brain trying to think of ways to use them all. Then, at some point, I changed my mind about greens. I became a kale advocate, a collards enthusiast, an escarole devotee. Now, when they're out of season during the hottest part of the summer, I actually miss them. To me, a pasta dish doesn't seem complete without some sauteed greens, and even fried eggs look lonely on the plate without something green and leafy accompanying them. Needless to say, I was delighted to receive a review copy of the new book Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas because I now feel the same way. This book covers everything from cleaning and prepping greens to hearty dishes, salads, soups, and juices and smoothies. Even though I've been using greens and enjoying them for a while now, I found several intriguing new ideas to try. Next time I receive mustard greens from our CSA, they'll go into Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas and Mustard Greens. Other dishes I can't wait to try include the Vietnamese-Style Bean-Thread Noodles with Spinach and Napa Cabbage, simply sauteed greens with Spicy Peanut Sauce, and Italian-Style Braised Chard with Tomatoes. I'm already a convert to putting greens in a berry smoothie, and next I want to try the Spinach Pina Colada Smoothie and the Kale and Pear Smoothie with hemp seeds. First though, I had to make use of some local kale before it's gone for the summer, and the Asian-Flavored Kale and Cabbage Slaw was a great place to start. 

This is an easy, raw salad that would fit nicely into a picnic menu. I followed the recipe and left things simple, but I kept thinking of all the things that could be added to this. One change I did make was to use savoy cabbage rather than the suggested napa cabbage, and that was only because savoy was available the day I was shopping and napa wasn't. The dressing for the slaw was made first, and that was a mix of olive oil, dark sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, and agave nectar. Next, the kale leaves were cleaned and chopped into thin strips. For a raw kale salad, the leaves need to be squeezed a bit or massaged to soften them. You just oil your hands and work the oil into the chopped kale until the kale turns a bright green. It only takes a minute or two. Then, the rest of the vegetables were added, and those included shredded savoy cabbage, grated carrots, and some sprouts and I used radish sprouts. The vegetables were tossed with the dressing, sesame seeds were added and combined into the slaw, and then the slaw was topped with pumpkin seeds. As I spooned the slaw into a serving bowl, I thought about how next time I might add some sliced red bell pepper or some slivers of spicy serrano chiles. Some chopped green onions wouldn't be out of place here, and cubes of tofu on top would make a meal of it. Or, leave it just as it is for a fresh, crunchy slaw with big flavor from the sesame oil and soy sauce in the dressing.

It wasn't so long ago that rushing to the farmers' market in hopes of getting some late-season kale would have seemed crazy to me, but I'm glad to be a greens fan now. If I'd had this book back when we started our first CSA, I probably would have become a fan much sooner. 

Asian-Flavored Kale and Napa Cabbage Slaw 
Recipe reprinted with permission from Wild About Greens © 2012 by Nava Atlas, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Photographs by Susan Voisin.

6 to 8 servings 

This salad was inspired by Barbara Pollack, a longtime reader of my books. She forewarned me that it’s addictive, and she’s right. 

For the dressing: 
1 tablespoon olive oil or other healthy vegetable oil 
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil 
2 tablespoons vinegar (apple cider, rice, or white wine) 
2 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce or tamari 
2 tablespoons agave nectar or other liquid sweetener 
5 or 6 Leaves kale, preferably lacinato (curly kale will work too) 
3 cups firmly packed thinly shredded napa cabbage 
1 cup grated carrots 
1 cup sprouts, any variety 
1⁄4 cup toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds, or 1⁄8 cup of each 
3 tablespoons sesame seeds 
Freshly ground pepper to taste 

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Strip the kale leaves from the stems. Slice the stems very thinly or discard. Cut the kale leaves into very thin strips and place in a large serving bowl. Oil your hands lightly and massage the kale for 30 to 45 seconds, until the leaves are bright green and soft. 

Add the remaining salad ingredients, then toss well with the dressing. Let the salad stand for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the tang, saltiness, and sweetness with more vinegar, soy sauce, or sweetener to your liking, then serve. 

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General Tso's Chicken

There was a time when one of my favorite things to "make" for dinner was a phone call to our local Chinese restaurant for take-out. These days, I'd rather make my favorite take-out choices from scratch. I even took it one step further this time by making a homemade chile garlic sauce. I read labels like a hawk to check for ingredients I'd rather avoid, and one tip-off about a product is whether or not it's on the shelves at Whole Foods. A chile garlic sauce I've used in the past is no longer sold at Whole Foods, and that's because of a preservative it contains. So, I decided to make my own. You can do whatever you want with homemade take-out. You can also decide if you want to use dark meat or white meat chicken, and Kurt prefers white meat, so that's what I used. And, another important issue is that when you make it yourself you can make it as spicy as you'd like, and that tends to be extra spicy for us. With all these considerations, our General Tso's chicken was tailor-made to suit our tastes. The original recipe came from the May issue of Food and Wine, and the crispy chicken and sweet-spicy sauce were quick and easy to prepare.

To make the chile garlic sauce, you can use fresh red chiles or dried. I used dried because I had several stored away with my spices. I chopped them in a food processor with garlic, salt, sugar, and rice vinegar. Just add a little vinegar as you begin to puree, and then add more as needed for the paste consistency you want. The paste can be stored in the refrigerator for a few months, or you can just make what you need and not have one more thing cluttering the refrigerator which is what I should have done given the state of my refrigerator. To start the General Tso's chicken, sesame oil, an egg white, soy sauce, and cornstarch were combined. Chunks of boneless chicken were added to the mixture, turned to coat, and were left for 20 minutes. In a separate bowl, chicken broth, chile garlic sauce, sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch were whisked together for the sauce. In a sauce pan, minced ginger and garlic were cooked in oil for a minute, and the sauce mixture was added. This was cooked while stirring until slightly thickened and then kept warm while the chicken was fried. The coated pieces of chicken were pan fried for a couple of minutes per side and then drained on a paper towel-lined sheet pan. Last, the chicken was added to the sauce and stirred to cover before being served with rice and broccoli.

This meal really was a breeze to make, and next time, I'll already have my homemade chile garlic sauce ready to use assuming I can find it in my packed refrigerator. We no longer live near that Chinese restaurant, so our old, favorite take-out isn't an option anymore, but with recipes like this, that's ok.

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Sesame Tofu and Steamed Cabbage with Peanut Sauce

It was the week of St. Patrick’s Day, last week, and I had a great, big, gorgeous head of green cabbage from Farmhouse Delivery, and oh yeah, I’m mostly Irish. Still, I sat there with that cabbage wondering what to do with it. Somehow, the obvious solution of Irish cooking with cabbage wasn’t clicking for me, so I did a quick recipe search for something different. I found just the right dish in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. As usual, when looking for ideas for cooking a particular vegetable, you can find several from Deborah Madison. This was a dish built around steamed cabbage, and the flavors are Asian-influenced. The recipe actually calls for savoy or napa cabbage, but I proceeded with a head of round, green cabbage instead. And, I know, we’re talking about tofu and steamed cabbage here, but trust me, even Kurt liked it. In the book, the dish is presented with options. The tofu could have been left plain and simply steamed with the cabbage, but there were suggestions to try a sesame marinade on the tofu or to fry the tofu rather than steam it. I did marinate the tofu, and then I roasted it in the oven while the cabbage steamed. Most importantly, both the cabbage and the tofu were topped with a quick peanut sauce and garnishes of cilantro and chopped peanuts. So, simple cabbage and tofu became vehicles for big flavor.

The tofu should sit in the marinade for at least an hour but the longer the better. The sesame marinade was a mix of sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, a pinch of sugar, chili oil, and finely chopped green onion and cilantro. The tofu was cut into slabs, placed in a wide, shallow dish, covered with the marinade, and placed in the refrigerator. I turned the tofu pieces after a few hours. I decided to roast the tofu in the oven to make it more hands-off than frying. So, while it roasted, I cooked rice and steamed the sliced cabbage. The peanut sauce was a quick version from the front of the book, and it included natural peanut butter, rice wine vinegar, chopped cilantro, minced garlic, soy sauce, light brown sugar, and chile oil. It seemed a little thick when mixed, so I added a tablespoon or two of water to make it drizzleable. The steamed cabbage was spooned onto a base of cooked rice, and it was topped with chunks of tofu, drizzled with peanut sauce, and sprinkled with cilantro, sliced green onion, chopped peanuts, and sliced dried chiles.

The flavors here literally built up from the base going from simple rice to cabbage, then from marinated tofu to peanut sauce. It was fresh, healthy, simple and savory, bold, and spicy all at the same time. I love finding a different way to use a vegetable, especially when it turns into something this good.

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Seared Salmon on Coconut Spinach

You know how food tastes better when you’re on vacation? I’ve had a lingering memory of a vacation meal for years now. It wasn’t even anything special or planned in advance or exotic. It was a meal at a restaurant we picked because it was the first place we found and we were hungry. I ordered a simple salmon dish served with spinach, and it was flavored with ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil. That combination of ingredients is so meant to be that I still think about that meal and have hoped to experience it again. It was light but satisfying. Anytime I see salmon with spinach and ginger on a menu, I think, that’s it, but of course it’s not so simple. The sauce can’t be heavy and the salmon can’t be dry and the soy sauce can’t overpower the other flavors. With all of that in mind, when I saw this salmon and coconut spinach dish in Donna Hay’s Off the Shelf, I had a feeling it would be great. This is close to the meal I remember, but the coconut milk and red chiles are an added touch. All the other flavors are there, and as a bonus, this is really quick to prepare.

Wild salmon was marinated with grated ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce, and then it was briefly seared on each side. Meanwhile, I cleaned some spinach I received from my CSA. Garlic, chopped red chiles, and chlli paste were cooked in a saucepan with a little oil. Coconut milk and lemon juice were added and simmered. Then, in went the spinach which cooked until it wilted. The end. Dinner was ready. This was possibly the fastest meal I’ve made in months.

I accept that being on vacation, being away from home, being in a place for the sole purpose of having fun does indeed make food taste great, and that’s why I remember that meal so fondly. It’s also true that some ingredients just go together really well, and salmon, spinach, and ginger fit that description. This version with coconut milk and red chiles built on that theme. I enjoyed it as much as I thought I might, and I like that it wasn’t an exact re-creation. Instead, it became that great salmon and spinach meal I made at home that reminded me of that vacation.

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Sesame Seed Cake

I had some leftover buttermilk and wanted to use it for a quick, snack cake. I flipped through Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich and found a simple cake with ingredients that I had on hand. This sesame seed cake comes from the Grain, nuts, and seeds chapter. In the introduction, Medrich explains that the strategic use grains and seeds can add flavor, texture, and tenderness. The simplicity of her recipes allows subtler flavors to come forward, get noticed, and be appreciated.

Luckily enough, I had some black sesame seeds in my refrigerator. I actually store most seeds, nuts, and grains in my refrigerator to keep them fresh longer. White sesame seeds would work as well; they just wouldn’t be as visible in the cake. To add to the sesame flavor, some toasted sesame oil was also used in the batter. The flour and other dry ingredients were sifted together three times, and this resulted in a very fine cake texture. Butter and sugar were mixed, and then eggs, whisked with sesame oil and vanilla, were added. The sifted dry ingredients and buttermilk were added in intervals. Then, I really should have followed the instructions which stated that you should use parchment in the bottom of your cake pan. I skipped it, and the cake did stick a little. I managed to get it out of the pan still looking mostly presentable, and I let it cool before dusting it with confectioner’s sugar.

It’s a small cake that bakes in one eight-inch round pan, and that was just the right size to provide a nice snack or dessert for two of us for a few days. The sesame oil flavor wasn’t as evident as you might think. It just slightly boosted the flavor already supplied by the seeds, and the pretty seeds dispersed throughout provided tiny bits of crunch. The cake got better and better as it sat from the first day to the second and then the third. The tenderness and flavor really made it seem like it should have been much more complicated to make.

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