Sugar Snap Salad

Sugar Snap Salad

1 ½ lbs sugar snap peas, trimmed, stringed, cut in half diagonal
3 Tbl olive oil
1-2 Tbl lemon juice
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 Tbl honey
½ tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 bunch radishes, sliced thin
4 ounces feta cheese
2 Tbl fresh mint, coarsely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to boil large enough to hold the peas. While water is coming to a boil fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside. Add snap peas to boiling water and cook for 2 minutes, drain, and plunge into ice water to cool. Once cool, drain peas and pour out onto a paper towel or tea towel to dry. Meanwhile, in small mason jar combine oil, lemon juice, vinegar, honey, and lemon pepper seasoning. Shake jar vigorously for 1-2 minutes. Toss peas, radishes, and cheese with salad dressing and season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice if desired. Sprinkle mint over salad along with extra lemon pepper seasoning.

Beet and Broccoli Salad

Beet and Broccoli Salad

1½ cups red wine vinegar
1½ cups sugar
⅓ cup pickling spice
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise pod
4 baseball-size beets (about 2 pounds)--trimmed, peeled and cut into bite sized wedges
1 medium broccoli crown, trimmed and cut into small florets
¼ cup (2 ounces) fresh goat cheese or feta
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 cup beet green leaves, other greens, and/or lettuces, trimmed and torn into bite-size pieces
additional crumbled goat cheese or feta

In a medium saucepan, combine the red wine vinegar with the sugar, pickling spice, cinnamon and star anise. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the spices steep for 10 minutes. Strain; reserve the liquid and discard the spices. Return the liquid to the saucepan, add the beets and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the beets for 10 minutes or until fork tender. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the beets cool slightly in the liquid. Pre-heat oven to 450. Toss broccoli with 1 TBL olive oil, sprinkle of salt and pepper, place on baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly charred but still crisp-tender.  Refrigerate the charred broccoli until ready to serve. In a small bowl, whisk the goat cheese with the lemon juice, 2 TBL olive oil, 1½ teaspoons of water and a pinch of salt until smooth. Drain the beets and discard the liquid. In serving bowl, toss the greens, beets, and broccoli with goat cheese dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste and set salad at room temperature to merry for 1-2 hours. Serve with additional crumbled cheese.

Cauliflower and Goat Cheese Omelet

CAULIFLOWER AND GOAT CHEESE OMELET
5 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium head cauliflower, cut into small florets (3 cups)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese or feta
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

Beat eggs with ¼ teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a 10-inch heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté cauliflower until browned and tender, 5 to 9 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and then add garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and sauté 1 minute. Pour eggs over cauliflower. Cook, lifting edges to let uncooked egg run underneath and shaking skillet occasionally to loosen omelet, until almost set, 4 to 5 minutes. Slide out onto a large plate. Put skillet over omelet and, using potholders, firmly hold plate and skillet together, then invert omelet back into skillet and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Slide out onto plate and sprinkle with feta and parsley.