Winter kitchen

I feel like all I've been posting lately are photos of snow and ice. And the squirrel (there's more on him later). Since I had to do some food prep today, I thought I'd share some of my winter kitchen activity. Before I head for the kitchen, though, I have to share something. Because I know what the reaction is going to be to this first recipe. I went for a checkup at the clinic this afternoon; I go once a month, keeping track of various internal systems and keeping the resident vampire happy (just let me say, she needs sharper needles...). Of course, as you all know, this ALWAYS involves a fact-to-face with the scale. And guess what? I'm down 4.5 lbs. since the last visit with that thing!! I'll be posting some menus and recipes that I've been using to achieve that modest loss - starting with this one.

First of all, winter is kinda a sad time if you've been used to eating fresh veggies out of the summer garden. Especially salad greens. I really miss those crunchy, juicy greens and cucumbers and green onions. So the produce department in the local grocers are subjected to close inspection, and I usually can find some nice organic greens - romaine and baby spinach being my first choices.
Recently a Canadian cookie let me in on a professional restaurant secret, regarding salad greens (her husband is a chef). The greens are torn, tossed into 5 gallon buckets, covered with cold water - then sit around in the cooler waiting for their big debut. The greens stay crisp, fresh, colorful - for several days if need be. The kitchen crew can fish out what is needed, a salad at a time, dump the greens on toweling and pat them dry, and wa-la: fast salad. I immediately found an appropriate container (I was pretty sure a 5 gallon bucket would be a bit too much salad for me - besides not fitting in the fridge...), rescued some almost-limp romaine from the salad drawer, tore it up, submerged it, and sure enough an hour later it was crisp and ready to be dressed!

This lovely dish towel was exquisitely embroidered by my mom - and it's just dandy for blotting water from the greens. The reason you want to blot the moisture from the leaves is so they will accept dressing. Nothing worse than dressing sliding off a choice bit of lettuce, all watered down and slimy. Yuk. Which brings me to the actual recipe. Almost.

A good salad is a bit of a vamp - very picky about how they are dressed. Tip number one: I've reduced carbs, eliminated sugar - and increased fats. But not just any fat. Trans fats never make it into my shopping cart. Only the good guys: olive oil, walnut oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, flax oil - those guys. Because commercial mayo, even the tasty stuff, has sugars and a few other undesirable ingredients, I make my own. So here is your first lesson on achieving the status of a good dresser - at least in salad terms.

The ingredients for this particular mayonnaise: olive oil (make sure it's fresh - if you have been leaving yours in the cupboard, shame on you, go immediately and put it in the frig. And if it's been hanging around in your cupboard, opened, longer than about a month, feed it to the dog...it will be off flavor, probably rancid.); coconut oil (it is usually found as a solid - we'll be melting it. And don't freak out about it being a solid oil, it's one of the good guys - honest); dijon mustard; sea salt; some nice fresh eggs (my eggs are about as fresh as they can get, right from Collin's Cluckers); lemon juice (fresh if possible, but bottled works). This looks like a long list of stuff, but actually there are only 6 ingredients - I just like to clarify things, so you will have the best chance of succeeding - see, more clarification....

Put one egg in the food processor (or blender); separate two more eggs, put the yolks in processor, save the whites for another recipe. Add 1/2 T. dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp. sea salt, 1 T. lemon juice. Blend about one minute.

The lemon juice was a walk-on to the stage of ingredients, because I forgot to check the recipe when I was setting them out - note that I then kept the recipe right in front of me. So now here is the whole cast. The eggs have already performed.

In a glass measuring cup, spoon in 1/2 cup coconut oil. Then microwave it about 30 seconds, to melt it. Don't get it too hot, just barely melt it - you can stir it to melt the last little lumps.

Then right on top of the melted coconut oil, pour in 1/2 c. olive oil - if you do this properly, the combined oils will hit the 1 cup mark (in other words - you need one cup of oil). You can use extra virgin olive oil, I often do; just be aware that it has a stronger, more distinct flavor than regular olive oil. Your choice my depend on how you plan to use your mayo.

Here's the crucial part of making mayo: with the processor running, start adding the oil A FEW DROPS at a time until you have a tablespoon or so blended in; then start a very very thin stream, about 1/16 inch across, and continue to add it to the processor until it is all blended in. This whole process should take about 2 minutes, to be successful. It goes faster than it sounds, don't whine. If there is any surface oil still showing, continue to blend until it is all mixed.

That's all there is to it. You have just made a lovely, velvety fresh mayonnaise that will have you wondering why you ever bothered with the store-bought stuff. It's wonderful on sandwiches, mixed with other ingredients for dressings, mixed with tuna or chicken for delightful salads - I have been known to eat it with a spoon...

You can doctor it up to suit your taste - sometimes I put a sprinkle of cayenne in it, while it's blending.

Then, put it in a lidded container, label it with the date the mayo was made, and refrigerate it. This recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Because of the coconut oil, it will become stiffer when cold. But it takes very little to soften, it can still be spread with a butter knife. I usually let it set a few minutes if I'm going to mix in other ingredients to make a salad dressing.

FARM FRESH MAYONNAISE ingredients:

1 egg

2 egg yolks

1/2 T. dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. sea salt (or less)

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1/2 c. coconut oil

1/2 c. olive oil

Winter kitchen fare needn't neglect the fresh greens we love and crave when summer wanes. And just for your information, we need FAT to keep our metabolism happy and to keep us warm during the winter. At least in Wisconsin, we do!