Fresh Apricot Vinaigrette

Finn the Cooking Assistant (aka the dog picker) is working on his memoir, or so he claims.  I'm not so sure.  But since we are smack in the middle of summer (finally in the Northwest we get a week or two of actual summer), we are deep into salads and summer fruit.  Last Saturday I came home from the market with about a pound of pie cherries and bag of apricots. The season for apricots is short, shorter than cherries but not as long as peaches, here in the Northwest.

I wanted to come up with a recipe from the ingredients that appealed to me at the market.  This cute little cauliflower from Willie Green's Organic Farm was an impulse purchase at the last minute.  Come on who can resist cauliflower.  If you notice the outer leaves are gone.  My assistant always gets those first.

At first glance these 3 items--apricots, cauliflower and tomatoes--don't go together, but I was leaning towards making a vinaigrette with the apricots, maybe using a little chopped mint and making a composed salad.   I wondered has anybody made apricot vinaigrette?

Well, what else are you going to do when you have a question but google it.   So here's Rachel Ray's apricot vinaigrette, made with apricot preserves and plenty of olive oil (EVOO--almost too corny for me to even say).  And here's another salad--lentils and kale with an apricot vinaigrette--at Food 52, also made with apricot preserves.  And here's a green bean salad with a dried apricot vinaigrette.   Not much help here with my fresh apricots, but what's to figure out?  It's a salad dressing, not rocket science and I love to experiment. 

I don't have my own fruit flavored vinegar yet, but I will soon with DIY Fruit Flavored Vinegar Recipe!

Finn has a few ideas of his own he'd like to try.  Unfortunately I put the apricots next to his biscuit jar, so he's very confused when I get an apricot to eat and don't share.  He gently nudges me, reminding me that we all share at this house.

I had an idea of what apricot dressing would taste like, but I hadn't imagined it would look something like the bottled 1,000 Island Dressing that mom put on the table when I was young.  The flavor is distinctly tangy, it would pair well with green beans, kale, cauliflower and the flavor over juicy tomatoes was amazing.  I kept wondering how it would taste over pan fried tofu.  Maybe dip tofu and carrot kebobs into it.

I think I'll try this idea using peaches and nectarines too.

Apricot Vinaigrette

(Makes about 1/2 cup)

4 or 5 apricots, washed and pitted

1/4 cup berry vinaigrette

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Agave nectar or honey to taste

1 clove garlic, pressed or garlic powder to taste

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients in a blender.  Serve over baby greens, grated carrots or cauliflower and tomatoes.

The last or my Rent's Due Ranch garlic powder.  Must learn to make my own this year!

I blended everything together then realized garlic was missing and I'd just used the last of my fresh garlic.  I've saved this garlic powder from Rent's Due Ranch, but I don't think they sell it anymore, so I say, best to go with fresh if you don't have a good garlic powder. 

I wasn't sure what to put in this salad besides cauliflower and tomatoes.  Then I saw these little flowers, and sure they look pretty but they don't really add flavor.

I tasted them and thought they had a distinct taste like bubblegum.  When I asked Tom to taste them, he said, "They taste like gum."  Not even bubble gum; not every appealing, so I took them off and my Cooking Assistant was glad to dispose of them.  He chewed them like they were candy.

But the tomatoes . . . they were perfect and a bit of chopped mint was a nice touch, too.

 I'm not sure I've found the best use for it, but I can't wait to try making this with peaches and nectarines

What's your best kitchen experiment?

Sneak Previews and Garden Treasures

I laid awake at night thinking about a year-round fruit vinaigrette recipe-- where you use the same basic ingredients (oil and vinegar) and just change the fruit as the seasons rotate.

The whole idea started with a recipe I picked up at a market. I don't remember where I got it but it featured greens with sliced strawberries and rhubarb dressing. The rhubarb dressing (cooked rhubarb and sugar, pureed into a vinaigrette sparked a cascade of vinaigrette possibilities--raspberry (been done), blueberry (ditto), apricot, pie cherry . . .

I got obsessed with this idea and one morning created pie cherry vinaigrette. I sampled as I made it to tweak the flavors and then I had it over greens. (Yes, for breakfast). Today, I made this vinaigrette with apricots and immediately wondered how it might taste with ginger--maybe sesame, ginger, apricot dressing. With different fruits, the sweetener or honey needs tweaking, and you'd probably have to cook hard fruit like apples before blending. It's a good year-round recipe. Finn give it four paws up.

Here is the recipe:

Cherry Vinaigrette Over Greens with Berries

(Makes about 1 cup or about 10 servings)

This recipe is a sample of our Northwest summer produce all in one salad. Try this vinaigrette with peaches, nectarines or plums and see how much you might alter the other ingredients.

1/2 cup pitted tart cherries (Montmorency or North Star)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar

4 teaspoons honey

Pinch of cayenne

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

10 to 12 cups salad greens

1 pint berries (use blackberries, raspberries, or blueberries)

1 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts or walnuts (optional)

Blend cherries, olive oil, vinegar, honey, cayenne and salt in a blender until smooth and creamy. Place greens on a serving plate. Drizzle vinaigrette over the greens; then top each serving with berries and hazelnuts.

I'll be making this with North Star cherries at my upcoming cooking demo at the University District Market on Saturday July 24).

At the Saturday demo, I'm also making an Easy Creamy Northwest Greens Soup and a fruit salad called Ambrosia, with a hazelnut-berry dressing. I submitted the soup recipe to Culinate where they'll feature it soon. The soup is called Easy Creamy Turnip Greens Soup in my book.

Also, this weekend I'm hosting another contest to win a signed copy of my book. If you miss me at the U-District Market, catch me at any of my other events. I'll also be selling signed copies of The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook at all my book events.
On the garden front, Tom harvested the two cabbages that he'd placed way too close to our blueberry bushes. "Who does that?" I wondered every time I'd walked by them, then I'd feel sorry for them having to share such a small space. We had too many plants to put in our small garden this past spring. As the cabbage plants got bigger, I noticed the blueberry plants were stressed.

Hopefully our blueberry plants can recover from our overcrowded garden space this spring. The cabbage and these sugar snap peas will definitely be part of our salad tonight.

Apricot Vinaigrette

Maybe cherries are the first stone fruits but apricots aren't far behind.   I got another bag of rivals (I think) from Pipetone farms, and when I put them in a bowl, I thought about all the things I could make with them.  Sure you can eat them as is, the original fast food, but it's fun to get creative with them while the season lasts.  And, remember if you like them dried, there's nothing better than enjoying treasures from the market dried, in the middle of winter.

I've mostly found Rival and Tilton apricots at the markets.  Tilton are one of the best varieties canning and drying varieties for West of the Cascades.  

Last week I discovered they were perfect with berries.  Why not cherries?  Or why not black cherry cider vinegar?  I've made this dressing before, and it's different every time.  

Last time I used dried garlic from Rent's Due Ranch.  I don't think they offer it anymore, but last winter River Farm had a small quantity of dried garlic.

I also used more apricots and less vinegar, this time I wanted black cherry vinegar.  I loved that sweet black cherry soda when I was young.  This vinegar brings back memories (but not the sugary sweetness).  It's a seasonal treasure at Rockridge Orchards.  I got the last bottle Wade Bennett was selling on Saturday, but don't worry--Wade said his berry ciders vinegar are just a few weeks away.  

Don't let the calm of this picture fool you, my Cooking Assistant was alert and waiting a few inches away. 

Finn is a big fan of all the summer fruit.   He especially loves it when neglected summer fruit outside calls his name.   On a walk recently, he discovered someone had planted these rather neglected berries outside their fence.  Maybe they did plant them for birds and squirrels, but I bet they never expected to see a basset hound, up on the rock ledge picking and eating as fast as he could.

These Tilton apricots from R& R Farms will be at the U-District market soon.  They only come to the market to sell apricots from their wild-crafted orchards.  These are just about as wild as you can get for apricots.

Here's the new version of salad dressing.   What do apricots inspire you to create?  Jam?  Sorbet?  Soup?  Muffins?  Tell me your favorite.  I think I'm up for apricot cobbler next week!

Apricot Vinaigrette

(Makes about 3/4 cup)

2 or 3 apricots

1/2 cup berry or apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1teaspoon agave nectar or honey

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon chile powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked sea salt or to taste

Wash and pit apricots.   Puree with vinegar, Dijon mustard and agave nectar or honey.  (An immersion blender works well for this.)   Blend in olive oil, chile powder and sea salt.