Cucumber, Avocado and Kumquat Salad

Last Wednesday was a glorious day. The temperature reached close to 60 degrees, allowing for the enormous piles of snow to start melting. I took Maki for a longer walk than we've been doing these last few months. I spent most of the walk looking up at the sky and just breathing in the warm air. My spirits were immediately lifted. The world felt brighter, full of so many possibilities. And the normal stresses of the day didn't seem to bother me as much.

Of course, as I write this, we're clearing out more snow. Boston has officially broken its record for the most snowfall. Clap. Clap. Clap. Ok, now are we done with this winter weather? It's time to move on to spring.

The fact that I was craving salad at all was a sign that warmer days are approaching; days when we won't resort to bowls of soup and stew for our weeknight meal but, rather, something refreshing and healthy. A couple weeks back, I chowed down on a Burmese avocado salad at a local Chinatown restaurant. It was creamy but light and totally satisfying. I took inspiration from those characteristics as I developed this recipe, which is at once sweet, spicy, and savory. I went back and forth as to whether I should pickle the kumquats and, in the end, decided it wasn't necessary. Those thin slices bring the dish to life, the citrus notes cutting through the bite of the watercress.

This salad hits all the right notes. As I sat in our dining room on that beautiful day, the plate before me and a fork in my hand, the dog sunbathing outside on our porch, I was just totally happy. I look forward to more days like that; ideally with the windows open, allowing a breeze scented with blooming trees to pass through the house. That will be nice. Soon. Soon.

Cucumber and Avocado Salad with Kumquats

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients 1 cucumber, thinly sliced 1 ripe avocado, sliced 1/4 cup kumquats, thinly sliced 4 cups watercress (use red watercress if you want something with more of a bite), washed, dried and large stems trimmed Toasted sesame seeds

Dressing 2 tsps honey 1 lime, juice and zest 1 tsp minced ginger 1 tsp salt 2 tbsps sesame oil

Directions

1. Make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients.

2. Place the watercress in a serving bowl and toss with 3/4 of the dressing.

3. Top watercress with sliced cucumber, avocado and kumquat. Drizzle remaining dressing on top and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Sweet Vermouth Cobbler

Cocktails aren't traditionally served at a Passover Seder. Often, there is wine. But because any grain or corn-based spirits are kitniyot (the hebrew word for the category of foods that are not allowed to be consumed during Passover), mixed drinks aren't typically served.  In looking ahead to the holiday, I thought a libation using fortified wines, such as sherry and vermouth, would be nice for those wanting to mix up a little after-work drink.

I sipped my first cobbler just a few weeks ago at one of our favorite bars and haven't stopped thinking about it since. The idea is simple: muddled citrus (typically orange), some sugar, liquor and garnished with seasonal fruit (citrus and berries) and mint. Sherry and vermouth are often a bit thicker in consistency and so a bit of soda water will help cut it.

After describing this drink to my mom, she pointed out that sometimes people include orange on their Seder plates. I had never heard of this before. Why orange? What symbolism does that have?

Here's what I learned from a quick search online: In the 1980s, Dr. Susannah Heschel, a Jewish feminist scholar, was visiting Oberlin College. It was there that she witnessed students adding bread crust to their Seder plates as a way of showing their support of feminists and gays and lesbians, who they felt were excluded from Judaism. Heschel suggested that because bread is kitniyot, that they replace it with an orange slice ("I chose an orange because it suggests the fruitfulness for all Jews when lesbians and gay men are contributing and active members of Jewish life."). The tradition has continued, but now is used to represent any groups that may feel marginalized.

Sometimes a recipe isn't just a recipe. Sometimes there's something symbolic about an ingredient or dish that resonates with people. I certainly wasn't expecting this cobbler to have such significance, but it's nice to think there's more to it than just a way to get people a little intoxicated.

sweet vermouth cobbler

SERVINGS
1 drink

INGREDIENTS
3 orange slices
3 ounces sweet vermouth
1 tablespoon sugar
Soda water
Crushed ice
Fresh mint

DIRECTIONS

1. In a highball glass, muddle two orange slices with the sugar. Once the juice has been released, remove the remainder of the orange slices from the glass.

2. Pour the sweet vermouth into the glass then fill the glass two-thirds of the way with crushed ice. Line the inside of the glass with a single orange slice.

3. Top drink with soda water and garnish with fresh mint.

Shiitake Mushroom + Broccoli Soba Noodles

Decorating our little house has been a bit of a process. It had a lot of charm to start, but we knew that there were a few changes we'd want to make. Mainly, the wallpaper throughout. It had to go. It wasn't offensive in any way. In fact, it was all very sweet, including the pineapples covering our entryway and hallway. Cute... but it had to go.

When we first moved in, we had the living room and dining room painted. The living room paper turned out to be a bit of a challenge. When the painter tried to remove chunks of the wallpaper, the plaster started to come down with it. In the end, we had to have quarter inch wallboard put up throughout the room.

We were expecting the hallway to pose a similar challenge, but, thankfully, it was smooth sailing. As soon as I walked through the front door, I was elated. It didn't feel like we were coming into someone else's home. It was our home. Of course, there's still work to do. We have to decorate these newly painted walls. The process never seems to end.

While we had this work done, Eric and I spent a few days at my in-laws' house. I had some time to do a little cooking and came up with a few dishes to share here. The beet dip was one... these soba noodles was the other. We always have a few packages in our cabinet and they make for a wonderful weeknight meal. I find broccoli, especially when charred a bit, to have a wonderful sweetness to it. Mixed with the shiitakes and the bright dressing, there are a lot of bold flavors going on in this bowl.

Shiitake Mushroom and Broccoli Soba Noodles

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients 8 oz soba noodles 3 tablespoons butter 3/4 lb shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed 1 lb broccoli 1 teaspoon salt

For the dressing 1 garlic clove, minced 2 teaspoons minced ginger 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 1/4 cup sesame oil 2 tablespoons soy sauce Juice of 1 lime 1 teaspoon red chili pepper

2 medium carrots, peeled and julienned Sesame seeds Scallion, chopped

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add soba noodles and cook for 8 minutes. Strain in colander and set aside.

2. Make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

3. Cut broccoli florets into bite size pieces.

4. Set a large skillet over high heat. Add butter. Once the butter has melted, add shiitake mushrooms and broccoli florets and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the broccoli florets have begun to char.

5. Toss soba noodles with dressing.  Transfer to serving bowls.

6. Top with sautéed mushrooms and broccoli. Add julienned carrot and sprinkle sesame seeds and chopped scallion on top.