dill Archives - Rooting The Sun

broccoli dill white bean soup + rutabaga fries

December 12, 2015 By Danielle 8 Comments

a little kiss of holiday chaos and the promise of new snow in the forecast – these are the dear dreams surrounding this weekend. december undoubtedly carries the greatest weight of the year – home to an array of celebratory holidays, as well the finality of an entire year’s worth of months. not necessarily a burdensome weight, but a heavy gravity nonetheless. it’s here in december that we sign the waiver for the new year – ablaze with enlightenment for the prospect of new and limitless. to recollect, to gather, and to begin again.

somewhere nestled between hopes, reality, dreams, and luck i always find a home for the new year. she’s always glittering and shining, and i’m always at my very best – even the years i’ve had to account for my very worst. the stars are the brightest, the night is cold, and i am as sentimental as i come at year’s end. the concept of regeneration and rejuvenation – a different approach, yet a familiarity. four new seasons, a new palette of unpredictable and unbridled weather. these are my honest attractions.

wishing you the ambient warmth of a holiday-lit room, and a heady but brilliant wave of new-year progressions and philosophies. if i start thinking now, those stars will just be so much brighter on that last night.

and on a side note – if you haven’t participated in my mustard giveaway – it’s going on until monday – just let me know in that post what you dig about mustard.

and on one more side note, i’m really beaming that the soup came out the color of album.

broccoli dill white bean soup + rutabaga fries

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Author: Rooting The Sun

Ingredients

1 lb broccoli, chopped into florets
3 large garlic cloves, skin on
1 tsp oil
1-2 lb rutabagas
1 tbl grapeseed oil
1 / 4 cup yellow cornmeal
salt and pepper
½ tsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp fresh dill
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup cooked white beans/1 can tinned, drained
salt and pepper
to garnish: dill, sesame oil, gomasio

Instructions

preheat oven to 400 degrees. toss broccoli with oil and splay on a large sheet pan. add garlic cloves to pan.
prepare fries by cutting rutabagas into a desired and uniform match size. toss fries with oil and either in a paper bag or ziploc, toss and shake with (salted and peppered) cornmeal to coat. lay flat out on a large separate sheet pan.
place both fries and broccoli in oven. bake broccoil and garlic for 30 minutes until roasted and beginning to brown. leave rutabagas in oven and monitor for the next 30 minutes for doneness, being careful to keep from burning.
in a 5 qt pot on stove heat oil and add onion, stirring to coat. cook until softened but not brown, over medium high heat. add dill and cook 1-2 minutes for fragrance. add vegetable stock, white beans, broccoli and garlic (squeezed from skins). bring to a boil, lower to simmer, and cook partially covered 20-30 minutes. puree carefully with blender or immersion until smooth. adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
serve garnished with dill, sesame oil, and gomasio*

Notes

*if you cannot locate gomasio - lightly dry toast 2 tbl sesame seed over medium heat on stove. toast until slightly brown, 3-5 minutes. add 1 / 2 tbl sea salt and heat briefly for 30 seconds. leave mixture whole or coarsely grind depending on preference.

lemon dill roasted turnip tacos + orca beans, jalapeno, almond

November 7, 2015 By Danielle 14 Comments

happy slow week’s end, friends. i have not much to report today as i’m into the sport of practicing breathing on the weekends (however dry the air may be). we’re still experiencing an outrageous warmth for this time of year – as some may recall we had an incredible blizzard this time two years ago (atlas, you crazy beast). so to encounter fifty degree weather for another ten days is enough for many townsfolk to wear shorts. the sun is bright, the winds are light and variable, autumn leaves collect at the feet, and there is a general buzz circulating – stemming sweetly from the temperatures. to my knowledge our colorado and north dakota neighbors are experiencing their beginning tastes of snow – and the second it happens here – we will all know. it’s a familiar blanket i recognize and quite possibly welcome (in moderation).

i may be a hopeless romantic, in which i find the beauty in every moment everywhere, but there is definitely a lovely element to the cold days too (once they arrive). something about being ‘stuck’ inside, and dually something about putting on your heavy boots and trekking across a shut down town or a green and white forest chasm. it’s true, we cannot liken these moments to pulling plump tomatoes from the vine – yet something fun and capricious is always at the heart of cold weather things.

but in the meanwhile of the current conditions it’s rather nice to daydream softly in the slowness of a weekend about future becomings. today i want to share a recipe for tacos (never a wrong time for them), with the inclusion of a favorite root – turnips. if you have time, do check out the different varieties that exist – they are all excellent and delicious (greens included). if you have even more time, i welcome you to watch/listen to this lecture (first menu item) presented by Frances E Dolan, an english professor at the University of California. she generates some interesting literary perspectives regarding the turnip as fodder or food. for the recipe, i’ve considered the turnip as much as ever – combining it with lemon, dill, and chili powder. nested atop mashed beans, mustard greens, jalapeno and almond – i can’t think of a better way to dream the day.

lemon dill roasted turnip tacos + orca beans, jalapeno, almond

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Author: Rooting The Sun

Ingredients

1 lb turnips, peeled and diced small
1 tsp olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
juice of ½ lemon
1 tbl minced dill
1 / 2 tsp chili powder
1 cup orca or black beans, soaked overnight
4 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 / 2 onion, chopped
1 / 2 tsp cumin
juice of 1 lime
mustard greens
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 / 4 cup crushed almond
corn tortillas

Instructions

bring beans, water, bay leaf, onion, and cumin to boil on stove in a medium pot. once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about an hour. monitor beans to assure they are covered by water - if they need more, add.
meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees. in a medium whisk together the oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, dill, and chili powder. add turnips and toss to coat.
on a large rimmed baking sheet lay turnips out and roast in oven 15-20 minutes, until browned.
discard bay leaf from bean pot and mash beans with preferred utensil. add in the juice of 1 lime.
to assemble tacos: add mashed beans, mustard greens, roasted turnips. combine jalapeno and almond and crumble atop.
optionally serve with additional toppings of your taco preference.

Pickled Peach Salad

September 15, 2015 By Danielle 2 Comments

Currently? Navigation of a pleasant week is being nurtured. The air is warm but the arriving breezes are cool. The sky is an incredible blue with the temperature easing. The hammock never sleeps, just cradles. Nothing is feeling too rushed. Tensions eased and evaporated – perfect rainy days on the way. I have a serene affinity for September, most notably the end when fall begins. Randomly I philosophize that this may be connected to my birth, but these are only ponderings. This year my birth is a lunar eclipse – I will be barking at the moon, sweet friends. Barking, howling, yelping, crying, laughing and loving. I do hope you get to catch it where you are. The blood moon and I will conspire against the sun lightly and jovially.

The stone fruit is diminishing where I am and we’ve had a relatively inspired experience with canning this year. Preserving the harvest is necessary and totally absolute. It’s a genuine way to extend the life of your hard work or favorite flavors – and perhaps make dreams a reality when several feet of snow blanket the cold, hard ground in a few months from now. Pickled peaches are a charming venture with riveting results. Although my recipe is for a quick pickle – canning peaches is a delight unto itself. How happy the heart can sigh.

While the peaches are a triumphant song all to themselves, there’s always that slight in the back of my mind that yearns for salad. On this note, it’s quite possible to have your peaches and eat them too. Or remedy any of your heaviness with lightheartedness. Or accept the sooner darkening of hours with openness and possibility.

Pickled Peach Salad

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Author: Rooting The Sun

Ingredients

a pickle for the peaches:
4 ripe peaches, flesh still firm
1¼ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1¼ cup water
½ cup sugar
2 tbl honey
1 tbl crushed red pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp peppercorn
1 tsp mustard seed
4 whole cloves
4 anise pods
1 cinnamon stick
a summer salad for the soul:
mustard greens
minced dill fronds
sliced raw beets
pickled peaches
fontina cheese

Instructions

To quick pickle: Slice peaches into wedges and place into empty jars. Add apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, honey, crushed red pepper, salt, mustard seed, clove, anise, cinnamon together in a medium stove pot. Sitr lightly and bring mixture to heat, so to dissolve the sugar and honey. Pour hot liquid over peaches and allow to cool before refrigerating. Rest the peaches a minimum of ten minutes before enjoying.
To salad the soul: Assemble bowls filled with mustard greens, minced dill, sliced raw beet, pickled peach wedges, and thinly sliced fontina cheese. Enjoy with a vinaigrette of equal parts apple cider vinegar and maple syrup, ½ measurement more of oil, and 1-2 tbl of mustard.