I am lucky to have so many wonderful Mom folk  in my life.  I would like to say Happy Mother’s Day to you all by sharing a few thoughts and memories of some of my favorite Moms.

My Mom in law – who makes Sunday dinner for the whole family every week, rain, shine, hail or screaming stomping grandchild. Thank you for truly welcoming me into your family and giving me the gift of family traditions.

My sister (poo-pooh!) – who has more grace and patience as a single mom than I can conjure even on my best day. Thank you so much for always being the wild card, bravely putting yourself out there and not apologizing for it, diverting attention from me while I screw up quietly in the corner.

My best friends Toni and Mandi – One who nursed her 3 month old baby while helping me get ready to be married, and one who flew across the country for a girls weekend and ended up watching her baby take his first steps on her ipad (Lil’ Turkey!).  Thanks for always being there even from so far away.

My Grandma – who homesteaded in Alaska in the 1950s, feeding her family of seven creatively with, apparently, only foraged mushrooms, spam, rhubarb and the occasional potato.  Yikes! Thank you for telling me the infamous “pregnant teenager who was going to have to strap a baby to her back and scrub floors” story about 100 times. I’m pretty sure that’s the reason I waited until I was 34 to have a baby. Thank you.

And finally my mama – who I vividly remember waking me up in the middle of the night so that I could meet my brand new baby sister, even though I was 3 years old and probably didn’t go back to sleep that night. Thank you for being my mom and also my friend.

Since I am dedicating this post to my mama – I wanted to share a simple recipe for a picnic at the beach with your mom(s).  My mama has always loved the beach at Golden Gardens, so I always think of her when I am there. My daughter likes to look at pictures of beaches in her storybooks and shout “BEACH! I go to BEACH!”  So I thought she might enjoy a picnic at the beach with her mama.  A word of advice: when suggesting a beach picnic to a 2 year old, you should be fully prepared to depart to the beach immediately, or be subjected to the aforementioned shouting continuously until it is time to depart.

In this picture we are enjoying our beach picnic.  At 9:30am.  In Seattle, May is not a warm month. Nevertheless, we enjoyed ourselves for a full 10 minutes before decamping to the nearby playground.  Here is our simple picnic menu.

Spring Picnic at the Beach

*Peanut butter and jelly tea sandwiches for kiddies (Adams pb and strawberry jelly all the way)

*Triple cream brie and breakfast radish tea sandwiches for moms

*Mandarin oranges (separated into one pile “with seeds” and one “no seeds”)

*More breakfast radishes

*Roasted almonds and dried cherries

Spread blanket, place food on tray, fend off seagulls and crows by wearing shiny metallic ribbons in your hair.  Do not, I repeat, NOT, try to fend them off by throwing food at them. You will be sorry. Enjoy your picnic!

I love dinner.  And I like to cook, so you would think that dinnertime in my house would be a happy time.  Tasty food, a glass of wine, witty banter – what’s not to like?  Here’s what – a tiny person who wants to sabbotage dinner.  That would be my sassy 2 year old who would gladly subsist solely on wee crackers shaped like animals, and thinks dinner is an evil plot to make her sit still in a chair and watch her parents try to have a conversation about something other than bodily functions.  The sabbotage begins while dinner is being made.  It goes something like this…

Scene: my kitchen. Potatoes are boiling, oven is heating, I am taking sausage from fridge and preparing to wash asparagus.

little goose: “Mommy mommy! I want to play frow up!”

acacia: “You want to play what?”

little goose: “Make my dollies frow up mommy!”

acacia: “You want me to make your dollies throw up?”

little goose: “YEAH!!!”

acacia: ” Eeewww.” sigh “Ok.”

5 minutes later, back in the kitchen washing asparagus. Asparagus goes in oven, potatoes are mashed, pan is heating for sausages.

little goose: “Mommy mommy! I want a snack.”

acacia: “No snacks, It’s almost time for dinner.”

little goose: “I want something else!”

acacia: “I didn’t even tell you what’s for dinner yet.”

little goose: “I don’t like dinner! I WANT SOMETHING ELSE!”

acacia: “But we’re having sausages for dinner!”

little goose: “I want sausage now. I want to play dollhouse. I want to watch strawberry shortcake. Uh-oh, I pooping.”

5 minutes later, back in the kitchen opening bottle of wine so it can “breathe”… Pouring glass of wine. Drinking wine.  Sausages in pan, asparagus out of oven, table almost set.

little goose: “Daddy’s home!”

acacia: “Hi, how was your day? Did you get the mail? Sausages for dinner. Let’s wash little goose’s hands!”

RJ (daddy): “Good. Yep. Yum sausages! Let’s wash your hands little goose!”

little goose: running away and giggling “NO, hee-hee! I hiding!”

RJ: sigh “Is that wine?”

We did finally have dinner that night, and little goose ate 3 bites of sausage, before declaring “I’m done” and (by the way mommy) “I don’t like dinner.”  So yes, its a tough audience, but I still love dinner. 

Here is my current favorite dish – its a great side at dinner, or one dish lunch.  Its pretty adaptable – use your favorite seasonal vegetable(s) with the potatoes.  My favorite is purple sprouting broccoli, which no one sells so you pretty much have to grow it yourself.  If you’d like to have this dish with purple sprouting – start some seeds now, plant them out in a month or so, and voila – next March you’ll have some purple sprouting broccoli!  In the meantime try it with regular broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, kale - you get the idea.

Potato Salad with Parsley-Mint Pesto (makes about 4-6 servings)

1.5 – 2 lbs Yukon gold or red potatoes – cut in about 1″ pieces

Olive oil

Kosher or sea salt

3 Cups Seasonal vegetable (broccoli, radish, asparagus, etc.) – cut bite size

1/2 Cup Roasted almonds (plus some for garnish)

2 Cups Parsley

3/4 Cup Mint leaves

1 Large Garlic clove

1/4 Cup parmesan chunks

1/4 Cup water

2 tsp Cider vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 Tb Capers – drained and roughly chopped

1 Tb minced shallot

3 Hard boiled eggs (put in COLD water, boil, turn off heat, wait 10 min.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put potatoes on a large rimmed sheet pan and toss with 1 Tb olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt. Roast for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, toss your chosen vegetable with 1 Tb olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt.  After 15 minutes, toss the vegetable mix into the potatoes and continue to roast 5-10 minutes, until veggies get some golden crispy edges.

For the pesto: combine the parsley, mint, garlic, parmesan, 1/2 cup roasted almonds and 1/4 tsp salt in food processor.  Pulse to chop everything up into small chunks.  Add 1/2 Cup olive oil and process to a chunky paste.  Add 1/4 Cup water and process just to combine. 

In a medium bowl combine 1/2 Cup of the pesto with the vinegar, dijon, capers and shallot.  Chop the hard boiled eggs and add to the bowl with the dressing.  Add the hot vegetables and toss.  Taste and season as you like with salt, pepper, more pesto, etc. and garnish with additional chopped almonds.  Eat this warm, room temp or cold. YUM.

NOTE: Save remaining pesto in fridge for up to a week, or freeze for later. Its great in vinaigrettes, spread on crusty bread, or tossed with hot pasta too.

Craving a little sunshine?  Here in the land of rain (and snow and hail) we must learn to embrace our inner sunshine.  If, like me, you need a little help – try this bright tasting salad.   The lemon zest and juice taste just like bottled sunshine and add vitamin C.  The grated carrots and golden beets (yes, raw beets are tasty!) seem to glow with healthy goodness and add fiber and vitamin A.  The little coconut snowflakes add irony.  Go eat your sunshine.

Sunshine Salad

Makes about 2 Cups *Indicates ingredients grown or produced locally

*1 Large or 2 medium carrots

*1 Large golden beet, scrubbed and peeled

1 Lemon, washed (use organic, we’ll be zesting)

*2 Sprigs mint

2 Heaping tablespoons raisins

*2 Heaping tablespoons chopped roasted hazelnuts

2 Heaping tablespoons shredded (unsweetened) coconut

Into a medium bowl, grate the carrot and beet.  Using a microplane or the small holes on a grater, grate the zest from the lemon into the bowl.  Avoid the white pith just underneath the yellow zest, its bitter.  Pull the leaves off the mint sprigs, finely chop and add to the bowl.  Add your raisins, hazelnuts and coconut & give it a good stir.

GOAT: One of the many benefits of shopping at the farmers market almost every week is that you get inspired to try new things.  Hence the goat in this recipe.  Early one dreary Saturday morning I noticed a new vendor, a lovely woman in a colorful woolen sweater.  Lynda raises Boer goats at Toboton Creek Ranch and sells the very tasty meat at markets and via phone/email (www.tobotoncreekenterprises.com).  For those of you who are thinking as I did, that goat must taste like gamey lamb, Lynda promised the flavor would be more mild than lamb, and she was right!  It is almost more like beef.  I had been craving falafel, so was inspired to fry up the ground goat into falafel like patties.

MASALA:  Perusing the World Spice Market just west of Pike Place Market is one of my favorite activities.  So many little jars of spices to open & smell!  Its like an interactive spice museum.  I was intrigued one day by the different masala spice blends, each one with a distinctive scent.  Masala is a spice mixture from India, and there are probably as many different blends of masala as there are regions in India.  Garam masala is the most common, but there is a world of masala out there to explore.  These are not spicy-hot, they are complex blends of savory/sweet and can be used in meat dishes, sauces and even baked goods.  Buy masala whole so it will stay flavorful longer, and grind it as you need it using a mortar & pestle or spice/coffee grinder.

FALAFEL:  A middle eastern fried chickpea ball, usually served in pita with condiments such as tahini (sesame) sauce and fresh vegetables.  My falafel is made from goats instead of chickpeas, I’m a strange girl, I just can’t help myself.

Goat Masala Falafel – Makes about 4 Servings

*Indicates ingredients that are locally grown or produced

*1 lb. Ground goat (you could also use beef or lamb)

*3/4 Cup whole wheat bread crumbs (use cooked rice or omit for wheat sensitive)

*2 Eggs

*2 Tb. Chopped fresh mint

1-1/2 Tb. Sambal Masala

Zest from 1 lemon

1 tsp. Lemon juice

*4 Garlic cloves, pressed or minced

1 tsp. Kosher or sea salt

Olive oil for pan frying

*1 Cucumber – diced (local in summer)

*1/4 Red onion - diced

1/4 tsp. kosher or sea salt

4 Whole Wheat Naan or Pita breads

*4-8 Large lettuce leaves (local in spring-summer-fall)

Gently Combine ground goat with bread crumbs, eggs, mint, lemon zest & juice, masala, garlic and salt.  Mix with your hands just until all ingredients are evenly distributed.  Form the mixture into 16 oblong patties about 2 inches long and 1/2 inch thick.  Heat a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat.  Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, then fry the goat falafel in batches,  2-3 minutes per side.  Drain on a paper-towel lined plate & tent with foil to keep warm.

In a medium bowl, combine the diced cucumber, red onion & salt (in the summer you could add some ripe red tomato).  Mix to combine.  Toast the naan or pita bread if you like.  Line each bread with a lettuce leaf and serve the goat falafel on top, with cucumber salad and walnut mint sauce (recipe follows).

Walnut Mint Sauce

*1 Cup whole milk yogurt (cow or goat!)

1/2 Cup toasted walnut halves

*1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

*1/2 Cucumber, peeled & roughly chopped (local in summer)

*2 Sprigs mint, leaves roughly chopped

1 tsp. Piment Esplette (or other red pepper such as cayenne to taste)

1 tsp. Kosher or sea salt

2 Tb. Walnut oil or olive oil

1 tsp. Brown rice vinegar

1 tsp. Agave nectar or honey

*1/2 Cup whole wheat bread crumbs (optional for texture)

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender & blend until a smooth sauce is formed.  Can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.  This sauce tastes just like spring to me, and is also perfect as a dip for veggies.

Our farmer ancestors have grown farro since 7700BC in the fertile crescent.  The wild farro grain (also called emmer wheat) is an ancestor to our modern day wheat, now widely devoured in the form of white bread and pasta.  9700 years later, we are just beginning to learn how much our health is affected by the foods we eat.  The food we eat goes into our mouths & then disappears into our digestive systems to undergo various complex biological processes before actually becoming part of our bodies. 

The carbohydrate in foods such as fruits, grains and beans starts to break down in your mouth.  When you eat an apple for example, an enzyme called amylase is stimulated by the presense of carbohydrate in your mouth, starting to break the carbohydrate chains into smaller sugars or saccharides.  The process continues in your stomach, and by the time those apple sugars reach your intestines, they have been broken down into the most simple sugar – glucose.  The glucose then gets absorbed into the intestine and delivered to your blood.  It travels around in the blood superhighway until it floats close to a cell that is “hungry” – the cell has a little insulin flag on it that is like an open mouth, eating up glucose.  Once in your cell, the glucose is converted into energy for your muscles and brain.  Amazing!  Every nutrient we eat ends up somewhere in our bodies doing something very important like stimulating the electrical impulses that make our hearts beat (potassium), and helping our intestines to actually absorb other nutrients from our food (Vitamin D).

 Anybody still reading?  The point is, eating food is the single most important way that you affect your own health every day.  What does this have to do with the ancient farro grain?  This grain represents the way our ancestors used to eat: whole, unprocessed foods with all their nutrients still intact.  These foods have unique combinations of nutrients that work together to promote health.  Unlike processed white wheat, farro and other whole grains still have their outer bran & germ layers intact.  These layers are full of nutrients such as folate, vitamin E, potassium and fiber.  Also, they are darn tasty!

The farro grain is still grown mainly in Europe, but now we have our own LOCAL source of emmer farro (and other wonderful whole grains).  Brooke & Sam Lucy at Bluebird Grain Farms are growing these organic heirloom grains in the Methow Valley.  They supply some of Seattle’s most beloved restaurants with their lovely grains and freshly milled flours (Lark, Stumbling Goat…).  Look for them at a Seattle farmer’s market this spring – or check out their website for CSA and direct ordering options:  www.bluebirdgrainfarms.com

Then try this recipe, or one of the recipes on the Bluebird Grain Farms website – with emmer farro.  It has a nutty flavor and wonderful al dente texture that stands up well in a grain salad and leftovers will keep at least 5 days in the fridge (but you will have eaten them by then).

Orange Hazelnut Farro Salad Wraps (Vegan) - Makes 4 Cups

*Indicates ingredients that are grown or produced locally

For the Salad:

*2 Cups cooked farro (recipe follows)

1 Organic orange

*4 Tender chard leaves

*1/3 Cup dried pluots (from Tiny’s)

*1/3 Cup roasted hazelnuts (from Holmquist Orchards)

*1/4 Cup hazelnut oil

1/4 Teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1 Teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon Agave nectar (available in natural foods section of your store, near the sugars)

Place the cooked farro in a large mixing bowl.  Zest the orange into the bowl – avoid the white pith, its bitter!  Chop or tear the chard into small strips (about 1/2 inch) and add to the bowl.  Roughly chop the pluots and hazelnuts and add to the bowl.  Into a jar with a tight fitting lid, squeeze the juice from the orange and add the hazelnut oil, salt, dijon and agave nectar.  Put on the lid and shake well to combine.  Pour 1/3 Cup dressing into the farro salad and stir to coat all the ingredients.  Save remaining dressing in the fridge to toss with salad greens.  Eat the farro salad as is, or use it to make a lunch-wrap to go:

For Each Wrap:

2 Mountain Bread wraps (thin bread wraps, available at PCC natural markets) – or 1 whole grain tortilla

2 Tablespoons Tofutti “Better than cream cheese” (or cream cheese for you non-vegans)

*2 Teaspoons Peach Chipoltle pepper jelly (from Woodrings)

1/2 Cup orange hazelnut farro salad

Spread the tofutti all over one side of 1 piece of mountain bread.  Place a second piece of bread over the tofutti & spread the jelly all over the second bread.  Spread the farro salad over the bottom 3/4 of the bread, leaving about 1/2 inch of space at the bottom and sides of the bread.  Fold the bottom 1/2 inch of bread over the filling, then fold 1/2 inch of each side over the filling.  Keeping the sides tucked in, continue rolling the bread from the bottom up until completely rolled.  Store seam side down in a container or wrap tightly with waxed paper or foil until lunch.

To Cook the Farro:

*1 Cup emmer farro (from Bluebird Grain Farms)

3 Cups water

1/2 Teaspoon kosher or sea salt

Place the farro, water and salt in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 50 minutes.  Drain excess water and eat hot with saucy entrees, or cool for grain salads.