arugula salad

This past weekend I spent a good part of the daylight at a painting party.  A bunch of us were helping paint Robb's house.  We all brought food so it was fun.  I took a salad both days.  The Saturday salad was one that I have made several times before: mixed greens from the greenhouse, goat cheese, candied pecans and apples with a balsamic vinaigrette.  Alas, no pictures of that salad.

On Sunday I tried a new recipe that I found in an e-cookbook called Salads that Inspire-A cookbook of Creative Salads.  Although I am seeding for the winter greenhouse I don't have a lot that is harvest ready yet but I did have some enough mixed greens for the Saturday salad and some arugula.  So I went looking for an arugula salad.  

arugula in the greenhouse

 The salad from the cookbook called for grilled watermelon, pistachios and mint.  It was topped with a honey lime dressing.  

watermelon on the grill

 I chopped the mint from the garden with the mezzaluna and added it to the torn arugula. 

mint

 We all thought it was pretty good.  The watermelon was only slightly softened and a little caramelized.  The arugula was young and not as peppery as it would get as it matured.  The mint and the lime in the dressing added a brightness that really made the salad. 

finished salad

Arugula Salad

Dressing
1/4 cup honey
1/4 lime juice
zest of one lime

Salad
1 watermelon
4 cups loosely packed arugula
olive oil for drizzling
salt (I used pink Himalayan)
2 cups chopped mint
1 cup unsalted chopped pistachios, toasted (I could only find dry roasted and they were good)
Freshly ground pepper

 Cut the watermelon in slices.  Drizzle with olive oil and salt.  Grill 1-2 minutes per side.  Alternatively broil the watermelon.  They should be warmed and slightly charred.  Move the watermelon to a cutting board and remove the rind and cut into pieces.  Combine the dressing ingredients.  Add the pistachios and watermelon to the arugula and mint and toss.  Top with the dressing.

The arugula wilted  upon standing awhile so I would put the salad together right before serving.  I grilled the watermelon ahead of time so it had cooled but I think that slightly warm would be nice too.

Sharing with MM at BNOTP.

elderberry cordial

This year is the first year that my elderberry bushes have produced flowers and then berries.  The flowers are a white flat cluster.  The tree flowers in a rolling pattern with the lowest branches flowering first and the upper branches later.  I have harvested the ripe berries from the low branches and the top of the bush is just now flowering.  The berries are small, less than 1/4 inch in diameter and they form in clusters.  I picked the berries by trimming the cluster from the branch with a hand prumer.  Once picked I submerged them in water and then swished them gently.  I removed the clusters from the water and then set about to destem the berries.  The stems are slightly toxic so I worked carefully to make sure that no stems were missed.  Once they were all destemmed I placed a pint of berries in a quart mason jar and filled the jar with vodka.  Three one inch pieces of lemon rind are added to the jar.  Making sure that the white pith is removed as it is bitter.  The jars are sealed up and placed in a dark place to age.  Once the berries have steeped in the vodka for one to six months the vodka is strained and sugar is added to the vodka and it sits again.  My berry harvest was enough for two batches and a partial third batch.  My plan is to complete the process for each jar at a different number of months and see which amount of steeping is best liked by our family.

Elderberry Liqueur

1 pint fresh elderberries
1 quart vodka
3 1 inch pieces lemon rind, white pith removed
1/4-1/3 cup sugar

Put the washed, destemmed elderberries in a  quart jar.  Pour over the vodka.  Add the lemon rind.  Place a cover on the jar and put in a dark place for 1-6 months.  The longer it sits the darker it will become.

Once it has reached the level of darkness that is preferred strain the mixture into a second jar and add the sugar and shake to combine.  Return the jar to the cupboard for another few days or weeks.

The vodka is already taking on the color of the berries

A cordial or liqueur is usually served in one to two ounce amounts in a tiny glass.  It is served neat, no ice or mixer, and meant to be sipped.  I am acquiring a collection of such glasses, most vintage or antique, many discovered on thrift shop outings.

I talk about my collection here.

The original recipe can be found here. .