Vegan Roasted Potato & French Lentil Salad / Farming the Yard

I have to share with you the fabulous roasted potato & french lentil salad I’ve been making. Like us, this salad will become a healthy staple in your life. Last night, I served it on top of a bed of sauteed fresh chard. Also, though the picture doesn’t show them, because I forgot them in the oven, a side dish of roasted asparagus. Without further ado…

If you have some chard, just simmer for 3-5 minutes in some boiling water, with salt/ and a splash of olive oil. Drain well in a colander.

To plate; chard first, then heap the lentil potato mix, drizzle with dressing and top with the chopped fresh dill. It was a delightful surprise how the fresh dill pulled it all together. Wouldn’t have thought of dill. Now, I’m having a love affair with the stuff.

I love having a kitchen garden,

I especially enjoy the part where I yell at Rick as I run out the door,”how many leaves do you need? Remember it’s free!” His job, get the water going in my sauce pan. With my scissors and basket I headed out to the chard bed, cut only the largest leaves, raced those in, and threw them in the blanching water. Doesn’t get better 🙂

We have a nice little row of beets growing in between the kale and squash. And in another box, we’re growing fennel next to three rows of soybeans, which we’ve already had three cuttings of, the beans that is. A fennel went into the beet salad I served with the lentils.

Rick even has a licorice plant! 

And yes, it tastes exactly like black licorice. In one word, fabulous!

You have no idea how adding five leaves of that delectable herb to the beets and fennel, with it’s subtle after taste, is like a really good zinfandel, it finishes all in the back. I topped with some walnut halves. Oh, it would’ve been so perfect if I had remembered the dang roasted asparagus. 🙂

Rick grew up on 60 acres of walnut orchards where the ground boasted 30 feet of Columbia loam topsoil the color of coffee. You couldn’t go wrong with anything you planted in it; vegetables thrived, especially the corn. Whereas, now we have gardens in boxes and all the dirt has to be brought in. But, having the garden is so worth it. Our two boxes are 5 ft. x 12 ft. We haven’t bought lettuce, kale, chard, beets in weeks. Seven tubs of basil pesto are stacked neatly in my freezer. And it’s only July. Tomato harvest is just around the corner. Cookingforyoumylove can’t wait to share my roasted tomato pesto recipe. And since this is my 20th Blog, I’m including a poem I wrote when we lived in those magnificent walnut orchards.

TRACTORLAND

The 48’ Ford is parked out back in the boneyard

With rusted out blades, disks, engine parts, all stacked in piles

There was a day, man, when I could get her movin’

Once I got her out of the gears, we’d fly through the trees 

and down the pipeline   

We all learned on the old tractor

Somehow Granddad felt like we were safe enough,

Hell, we acted like we listened 

Achin’ to feel that steering wheel run smooth in our hands

Taking turns who would drive and who would do the

Walkin’

Once my brother buried the back end pushin’ brush

It took all of us and the hired hand to free her

We celebrated when he waved his hat and broke into 

Third

At the end of a long day workin’ irrigation the biggest 

Or the bully drove

The rest hopped lifts in from the field

Dangling feet from the trailer

Empty lunchpails clanged and banged 

 we bounced along

Mom chased Dad one June evening

Popping the clutch the tractor started off with a jerk

He’d zig and she’d zag

In and out through the orchard

The whine of the motor

Their laughter echoed back to us

She was perched on the fender holding onto his shoulders

When they returned 

A gentle wind had blown her hair loose

The ol 48’ 

She never looked better

By Clio Muir

I had Anni (our youngest) send me pictures of her potted garden up on her deck in Montauk, and my buddy Joe, who has been enjoying the bounty from his little free standing garden boxes. His beds cost him less than $100 and are made from reclaimed wood. Go to; Better Homes and Gardens 47” Rustic Elevated Planter. My point being, it doesn’t take much space to grow your own veggies.

(Anni’s pots planted with tomatoes and shihutzu peppers. )

( Joe’s boxes 47 inches and countless salads. )

A really good friend of mine, Todd Muir, a retired chef, and Rick’s cousin called with a suggestion after reading my blog, The Best Zucchini Fritters. 

I haven’t made Todd’s fritter recipe yet, but doesn’t it sound delicious. What a good idea adding the curry, raisins and then serving with chutney, wow!! It’s fun having a chef in our lives. When we go visit Todd, you know you’re in for a wonderful meal. His long career started at C.C.A. California Culinary Academy and Chez Pannise finishing school. F.Chef for Madrona Manor Luxurious Inn and F. Chef, F. Chef Culinary Program of St.Francis Winery. He lives in Healdsburg on mostly an “off grid” farmstead. Where he farms his fruit orchard, vineyard, livestock, vegetable garden, beekeeping, and cooking! Like every chef I know, he can’t conceive of us becoming vegans, and occasionally has to be reminded 🙂  Thanks Todd for the awesome recipe.

P.S. Regarding the “dirt brought in” for the boxes, Rick just said, “What!, I filled those with my compost, I’ve been developing for 4 years.”  Sorry Charlie..