Looking for organic at the markets?
Look for slugs.
A friend in Andorra once told me that the key to finding good produce at the local markets was to look for slugs. If there were slugs on the lettuce the grower didn't use pesticides or other chemicals and the food was (likely to be) fresh and organic.
You may ask, why slugs and not snails?
Simple: no self-respecting Spanish (or French) housewife would allow a snail to be in her garden.
Absolutely not.
They are removed at first sight.....
And carefully saved, nurtured, as it were.
They are, in the words of my Andorran neighbor, "Para la sopa!" (For the soup - to be eaten.)
We've always been big salad eaters in the summer, particularly in warm weather.
I plant the leaf varieties for early salads, and pick just enough leaves for our dinner, always having it fresh from the garden.
Later we eat the Romain, as it can stand up much better to the heat of full summer.
Now, I have to rethink my salads, adding carbohydrates to them. Of course we can always just have bread with them, and will, often. But I like variety.
Potatoes are an easy addition, either roasted on the barbecue, or just cubed and boiled (think Salade Niçoise)
Rice, quinoa and barley can be sprinkled on top; a pasta salad can be served on a bed of lettuce.
I was, mentally, in Spain with this salad: canned white asparagus. The canned is preferred to the fresh; and always the white!
Salad with Sausage and Quinoa
100 grams of quinoa, when cooked, yields 60 net grams of carbohydrates. V should have 30.
1/2 cup (heaping) (100gr, 3.5oz) quinoa
1 cup (240ml, 8oz) chicken stock
8oz (250g) sausages, total weight, any flavor
8oz (250gr) white asparagus
1 carrot
8 - 10 cherry tomatoes
fresh spinach, 4oz (180gr)
fresh lettuce, 4oz (180gr)
3 tbs fresh oregano leaves
2 tbs snipped fresh chives
Creamy Herb Dressing
Combine quinoa and stock in small saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until done, about 15 minutes. When done, uncover and fluff.
Cook sausages on barbecue grill 10 - 15 minutes or until done (can also be sautéed in nonstick skillet - same amount of time). When done cut in half.
Peel carrot then, with peeler, continue to thinly slice carrot until you reach your fingers. Eat what's left!
Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Drain asparagus. Wash and prepare spinach and lettuce as needed, tearing the large leaves.
Put spinach and lettuce in large salad bowl. Add 2/3's of the dressing and toss well to combine. Spread the salad out in a bowl or platter. Spoon the quinoa in the center. Arrange sausage, asparagus, carrot and tomatoes around the quinoa. Sprinkle the herbs over all. Drizzle a bit of dressing and serve, any extra dressing on the side.
Creamy Herb Dressing
1/2 cup Greek or plain yogurt (4oz, 125ml)
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs white Balsamic vinegar or white whine tarragon vinegar
1 tbs fresh snipped chives
1 tbs fresh snipped oregano
3 tbs olive oil - the good stuff
Snip oregano and chives with scissors. In small bowl whisk yogurt, mustard and vinegar. Add oil, a bit at a time and whisk well. Add herbs. This will keep a week.
Nutrition information for: entire recipe / per serving, (2 servings)
Calories: 1804/ 902
Carbohydrates: 107 / 53.5
Fiber: 23.8 / 11.6
Fat: 130.5 / 65.2
Saturated: 37 / 18.5
Cholesterol: 214 / 107
Calcium: 472 / 236
Protein: 67 / 33.5
Sodium: 2540 / 1270
Nutrition information for: entire recipe / per serving, app 7.5 tbs
Calories: 450/ 225
Carbohydrates: 7 / 3.5
Fiber: .6 / .3
Fat: 45.5 / 22.75
Saturated: 8.5 / 4.25
Cholesterol: 17 / 8.5
Calcium: 169 / 84.5
Protein: 5 / 2.5
Sodium: 232 / 116
For more recipes visit Easy Gourmet Dinners
On Friday: What I learned this week - scary.....
