As August approaches, fairy folk work diligently alongside the grand children as we harvest and prepare our foods for winter storage.
Early each morning the fairies add an extra sprinkling of fairy dust to help ripen and mature our fruit and vegetable crops.
In our farmhouse kitchen a small child prepares fresh picked basil and fairy sweetened sun ripened tomatoes for puree.
This time of year there is an abundance of greens; one salad a day; sometimes two, has becomes part of our regular diet.
A simple salad has many possibilities and here at our farm, while in season we eat a different variation every night.
Here are some ideas for a few fairy simple salad recipes you might like to try.
Consider combining lush kale, various lettuces, a bit of basil and red cabbage. How you arrange these greens will add visual complexity and beauty; top it off with a splash of organic virgin olive oil or your favorite dressing.
Another simple salad: Try sweet halved cherry tomatoes (red and gold), a bit of chopped green onion, on a bed of baby lettuce; a smidgen of broccoli florets, a bit of grated or chopped Parmesan cheese. Add tiny bits of whirled prosciutto. Yum.
For those of you who prefer a more hearty dinner salad, try combining these ingredients for a multi bean and corn based combo.
For the Dressing:
2 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 of sea salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
Whisk all together in a glass 1 cup measuring cup or small bowl and set aside.
Now here’s the ingredients for the salad. I basically use more or less depending upon how many folks I am serving.
You can play around with the volume of stated quantities of ingredients as you may want to make an individual salad or family size.
Here’s the ingredients:
6 -8 sweet cherry tomatoes sliced thinly
1 can 16 oz organic garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
4 cups rinsed organic black beans
4-6 green onions chopped fine
broccoli tops chopped small (use as much as you like)
handful green beans cut 1 inch
4-6 ears fresh corn on cob , uncooked kernels shaved off the cob
organic black olives sliced
a bit of red bell pepper chopped fine
1/3 cup cilantro chop fine (optional)
chopped and diced fine jalapenos to taste (optional)
pine nuts (optional)
a couple nasturtium flowers for garnish, you may eat the petals only.
Gently mix all ingredients in large bowl with very clean hands or two wooden spoons to combine.
Drizzle your dressing over salad and gently toss to evenly coat.
Now you can toss in your jalapenos if you desire and sprinkle with pine nuts and calendula petals
If you are lucky and have a few heads of calendula flowers in your garden, pinch off just the petals, sprinkle them upon your salad just before serving.
The Fairies encourage beauty and strive for it in all of their creations.
They suggest you take your time creating all these salads, experiment with color and texture, fragrances and tastes.
Fairies serve all their meals with gratitude for those who are present and the bounty of each days harvest.
Oh, and dessert fairy style can be so enjoyable!
Especially when it’s this simple.
Try mixing a simple salad of fresh blueberries along with the last of this seasons lingering raspberries. Add some sliced purple grapes and decoratively top with a sprig of fresh mint harvested from the herb garden or market. A dollop of whipped cream would finish things off nicely.
Of course there is always berries a la natural.
And don’t forget smoothies.
Fruit Smoothies Yum
Most any fruit and berries will do.
Think New England fruits such as apple, peaches and pears.
Cherries, red raspberries, black berries and blueberries.
Rinse and chop fruit into 1” pieces, pit stone fruits such as cherries and peaches
Rinse your berries.
Plop into a blender whichever mixture of berries and fruits you have chosen.
Pour in a cup or two of Orange Juice. Press go, and blend. Presto! There you have it, one fairy fine smoothie. Add more or less orange juice to get the thickness you desire. Add ice if you want your smoothie good and cold.
The Fairies say to be creative, try adding a bit of chocolate, a scoop of ice cream. Yum.
Try blending or adding an assortment of tropical fruits, kiwi, pineapple, mango. Even a bit of coconut can be a delicious addition. And don’t forget the melons… watermelon and good ole honey dew!
Enjoy the process and as the fairies like to say,“Bless and be grateful for each and every day.”
