Ultimate Avocado Greek Salad

Summer is finally here! I don’t know about you, but food makes me happy. Shopping, preparing, serving and gathering people around the table brings me so much joy. During these times of uncertainty, isolation and heightened emotion, I’m finding comfort in cooking for my family. I’ll be honest… I’ve had my fair share of comfort foods over the last few months and I’m craving crisp, bright, colorful salads that we can enjoy outside together. This Greek Salad is full of nutrients, flavor, is easy to prepare ahead of time and is a crowd pleaser.

Baby arugula is a great base for this salad. The delicate, crisp, peppery leaves pair so perfectly with the briny olives, creamy avocado and goats milk feta.

Ok here’s what you need… all of these ingredients can be found at our shop! Feel free to add any other fresh veggies that you love. These are just the basics that I love.

Baby Arugula
Cucumber - tossed in “This is Nuts Dip - Green Onion”
Cucumber
Cherry Tomato
Shaved Red Onion
Drake Family Farms Goats Milk Feta
Marinated Artichoke Hearts
Kalamata Olives
Local Carpinteria Avocado
Garlic Gold
Thyme (dried or fresh if you have it)

Super easy to assemble, just place all ingredients together on top of the arugula and gently toss! I tossed the cucumber in the “This is Nuts Green Onion Dip” and it added this bright flavor for the entire salad. Instead of a dressing, I used Garlic Gold which is just roasted garlic and olive oil. I drizzled that over the entire salad with a squeeze of Meyer lemon and called it good! With the marinated artichokes, salty olives and creamy avocado you really don’t need a heavy dressing in my opinion.

This salad is gluten free and vegetarian and can be made vegan if you don’t add the cheese. For a heartier meal, we added organic sausage and grilled zucchini. What would you add?!

Summer Grazing Boards

This month we celebrated Whitney’s birthday! A summer birthday celebration definitely calls for some grazing boards with lots of local cheeses, charcuterie, pickles and farm fresh veggies.

How lucky are we to live in an area with such plentiful produce?! I love this time of year with the crunchy cucumbers, sweet carrots, ripe stone fruit, berries and all of the herbs.

Let’s talk cheese… the cheese I picked up from Pacific Health Foods was the Organic Pastures Raw Cheddar which is one of my personal favorites. It’s a staple at our house! Our local Carpinteria farmers market now has a Stepladder Creamery booth, yes! The fresh goat cheese is tangy and delicious, and pairs well with the summer berries. Whole Foods is where I purchased the rest of the cheeses. There was a goat log with fig and walnuts which was a nice sweet addition. We also did a grass fed cheddar, a French brie, a Dutch robusto, mimolette isigny and Cypress Grove Humboldt fog. I like to use a variety of soft and hard cheeses for these grazing boards. It’s all about textures.

We love something pickled on our boards! I chose to do a spicy pickled cauliflower, castelvetrano olives (which are my personal all time favorite), and an assortment of local olives as well.

There may not be anything better than charcuterie in my opinion. Especially if it’s quality, made with no antibiotics, small batch and humanely raised. I chose some Bresaola, Salame and Prosciutto. I also always try to use some sort of nut, marcona almonds are my go-to and feel like a treat!

Figs. Peaches. Strawberries. Blackberries. Need I say more?! I love summer. Oh, and honeycomb.

These edible flowers are from Mary at Sweet Mountain Top, which is a beautiful farm tucked in the mountains of Carpinteria. She’s a passionate lady farmer who grows herbs and flowers which she shares at our local farmers markets (Santa Barbara and Ojai markets). I rolled the goat cheese logs with these herbaceous, brightly colored petals!

Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

Need an easy, healthy weeknight meal?! We love using Alanna’s Santa Barbara Soups pre-packaged mixes for dinner. This week I experimented with the Quinoa Enchilada Casserole and it was delicious! They are healthy, non-perishable, easy to prepare meals that you can eat completely on their own or add your own twist! They are vegan, gluten free, dairy free and soy free (unless you choose to add cheese and sour cream like I did). We love supporting our local friends, farmers and vendors!

First, I sautéed shiitake and cremini mushrooms in a little coconut oil, salt and splash of balsamic at the end.

Then I prepped the fresh veggies and garnishes. I chose cilantro, jalapeño, radish, baby bell pepper, scallion, sour cream, avocado, a lime wedge and mango salsa. You could also grill chicken, steak or shrimp to add protein!

Then I added the contents of the package (quinoa, sweet potato, beans, corn, and seasoning) to 3 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and bring to a boil. Once boiling, simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes.

I uncovered and stirred, then added some shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese and topped with shaved jalapeños. I baked it in the oven with 1/4 cup of water for about 15 minutes until the cheese was bubbly.

Serve the casserole with toppings of your choice!

By Alyssa Potter

Chicken & Ranch Purple Potato Salad

Potato salads are my absolute favorite throw together lunch! We try to always have leftover meat of some kind on hand which makes it that much easier to throw last minute meals together.

The potatoes and scallions are sourced from the Farm Cart here in town. They offer a lot of great produce that we do not have the additional space for. Check them out if you have not already!

Ingredients

1 lb chopped & boiled (until fork tender) purple potatoes

2 cups shredded chicken

1/4 cup finely chopped scallions

1/4 cup Tessameas ranch dressing

1/2 tsp sweet paprika (I tend to add more depending on my mood)

1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

Add all ingredients together in a bowl and enjoy! Yes, its that easy!

Paleo Sea Salt Brownies

This recipe was adapted from our dear friend Laurel over at http://blog.sweetlaurel.com , not only is she the sweetest person you will ever meet... she is an amazing paleo baker!

Ingredients

1 cup maple syrup

2 large eggs

1 lb freshly ground almond butter

1/4 cup coconut sugar

2 tablespoons date butter

2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup raw cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 pinches flaky sea salt for topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

Line a 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper and spray with coconut spray, set aside.

In order shown, place all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until cocoa is fully incorporated.

Pour/scrape batter out of blender and into prepared dish, sprinkle with desired flaky sea salt.

Bake for 35 minutes.

Once baked, pull out of oven to completely cool before removing from pan to cut.

Grain Free Cut-out Cookies

This recipe comes from our dear friend Laurel over at http://blog.sweetlaurel.com , not only is she the sweetest person you will ever meet... she is an amazing paleo baker!

The only thing I changed is using ghee or butter instead of the coconut oil, as well as half vanilla extract and half vanilla bean paste.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups Bob's almond flour

1/4 cup pasture butter (melted)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tbsp Sweet Laurel grain free vanilla extract

1/2 tbsp vanilla bean paste

Instructions

Put all ingredients into the food processor, pulse until the dough forms 1 large ball.

Line a cutting board with one piece of parchment, put dough on parchment and press down to form a thick disk. 

Place a second piece of parchment on top of the dough and roll out dough to desired thickness. I prefer 1/4 " for nice thick cookies.

Put the rolled out dough on the cutting board in the fridge to cool for an hour. Preheating oven 30 minutes in to 350.

Take dough out of fridge and cut into desired shapes and carefully transfer to a parchment lined sheet pan. 

Bake for 6-10 minutes (turning halfway) or until they begin to turn golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on sheet pan.

Decorate with your favorite icing! 

Notes

When I formed a ball from the dough scraps after cutting, I made sure to work quickly so the dough didn't get too warm. I also put the rolled dough back into the fridge to cool while the first batch of cookies baked. 

I have found that these cookies store best in the freezer if you're making them ahead of time. 

Black Rice Risotto

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups Lundberg black pearl rice

2 tbsp ghee, pasture butter or avocado oil

1/3 cup shallots/diced - sourced from The Farm Cart

3 cloves garlic/diced

1/2 cup white wine

6 1/2 cups chicken stock or veggie stock

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

OPTIONAL 

1 cup finely shredded Organic Pastures cheddar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring broth to a steady simmer in a medium sauce pan.

2. Melt ghee in a large saute pan over medium low heat, add diced shallots and cook until they begin to become translucent. 

3. Add diced garlic and black rice to the pan, stirring/toasted the rice for 3 minutes.

4. Pour the white wine into the pan slowly, stir ever minute or so until the wine has reduced. 

5. Sprinkle the paprika, salt and pepper evenly over the rice, stir to mix in. 

6. Add simmering broth a ladle at a time, stirring the rice every couple minutes until the broth reduces. Repeat this process until all broth has been added and the rice is al dente. Takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour depending on how your stove cooks.

Optional

7. Turn off heat, sprinkle cheese over rise and stir to mix in.

Notes

- If you choose not to add the cheese you may need more salt added

- My stove cooks really hot/fast so I actually had the heat on low. You're looking for enough heat to create a mild sizzle when the liquid is added but not too much that you see it sticking or burning on the bottom of the pan.

- I love using cast iron enamel cookware for risotto

Grain Free Pizookie

Just in time for the 4th of July! One of mine and Nathan's favorite summertime desserts. It is so easy to put together and always a favorite at any BBQ.

Ingredients needed:

1 Log of Cappello's chocolate chip cookie dough

1 16 oz bottle of Organic Pastures raw heavy cream 

1 pack of organic blueberries

1 pack organic raspberries

1 Tbsp Local honey or organic maple syrup

1/2 Tsp organic vanilla extract

Fresh mint (optional)

For the cookie base:

- Preheat oven to 350

- Press cookie dough into a 8" round non-stick pan

- Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown

- Take out of oven, set aside to completely cool in the pan

For Whipped Cream:

- Beat the cream until is begins to thicken

- Add honey or maple syrup and vanilla extract, continue beating until peaks   form

Assembly:

- Gently turn the cooled cookie base over to remove from pan *if it is still warm on the bottom, place on wired rack until completely cooled

- Spread desired amount of whipped cream over cookie base *we love our whipped cream so I put a decent amount on and leave a little left over for eating with a spoon 

- Place desired amount of raspberries on top of the whipped cream layer, then top with blueberries

- Garnish with mint

- Slice and enjoy *or just grab a fork and go to down, no-one is judging here

It is best served right away, if you plan on taking it to a BBQ I would say to keep it stored in the fridge or assemble right before leaving!