lavender fest

Every year our local organic farm, Los Poblanos Organics, has a Lavender festival that is so sweet. We live in the north valley in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and today, we went to that festival for, I think, the third or fourth year in a row. It is a wonderful event that involves the local community, here in the valley. Various business owners participate in the two day festival. Restaurant owners find clever ways to incorporate the fresh lavender with various dishes, and antique stores have their banners blowing brightly in the wind, welcoming any passer by to visit their store and save, while sampling some lovely lavender biscochitos...mmmm, these are yummy little cookies. The north valley also has two wineries and a farmers market during the event, and it is all very well coordinated with plenty of available parking and shuttles. Brilliant.

The best part of the event is, of course, you get to cut your own bundle of lovely, fresh, organic, and locally grown lavender, whose rich color and aroma last for months. Like I said, three or four years in a row we've been to this. You can also buy wonderful bath oils, salts, shampoos, soaps and body washes all handmade using their lavender. It is so neat...there is nothing else like it. So, of course, you come home all inspired by an event like this (like going to a salt party and seeing that gorgeous spread that Joni and Denise do, you just want to get home and start creating some of your own yumminess) I am definitely that way. Anyway...they were selling fresh figs, and I immediately wanted fresh figs, sliced and with a sprinkle of Saltistry's brilliant lavender salt, or, on a sidebar...lavender and smoked salish salts mixed together...this sounds interesting...hmmm. Or, I was also thinking about some beets, oven roasted with some olive oil and salt and pepper. You can wrap these individually in foil and roast in oven for about 45 minutes on 375 degrees. Then after they've cooled, slip off their skins, cut them up anyway you'd like, and a make a yummy salad with them. You could put them in a really good yogurt with lavender salt, honey and some mace, to keep it on the sweet side, or you could savory it up by using Mediterranean style yogurt and adding the lavender salt with some fresh oregano. Or just tossing the beets, after peeling, in some good olive oil and adding some fresh oregano, with some orange zest and juice and scallions and then putting this yummy beetness on top of a fresh bed of arugula and baby spring mix. With some orange slices and some yummy oven roasted almonds sprinkled on top. You could add some cheese. A nicely aged asiago, or sprinkles of gorgonzola, or goat cheese. I'm really getting hungry now. Or here is another one...how about fresh endive sprinkled with lavender salt and drizzled with a light vinaigrette of champagne vinegar, or apple cider vinegar, and Dijon mustard, some lemon juice. That sounds like a fresh, crisp, cool appetizer for a summertime dinner. Or add arugula and butter lettuce, maybe figs or peaches, and maybe some fresh blueberries, sliced apples, maybe cheese, some honeyed pecans, finished with that marvelous lavender salt. Okay...I have to go cook now. Happy salting.

4th of July Salty BBQ

Today is the great American holiday and I would guess that at least 90% of americans will be involved in some way, shape or form, in a backyard barbecue, or lakeside barbecue, or poolside, or campsite cookout, whatever you want to call it...somehow, and for some reason, we are drawn to the grill on this day. Maybe cooking outdoors somehow connects us with the freedom and liberation that we fought so hard to obtain. Cooking outside definitely connects us with each other, our primitive roots, and a primal instinct to incorporate and play with...fire! How else do we top of this holiday, but with a fireworks display, either of our own, or a massive spectacle (like on the esplenade in Boston, complete with the Boston symphony playing 'God Bless America'...so cool!)
Whatever draws us outside to celebrate, this is the one day on which most Americans agree, that food tastes better cooked outside...and that is exactly what I am doing on this holiday...grillin'.

We are cooking everything outside today and Saltisry salts will be with us every step of the way. We aren't cooking burgers or dogs, we've gone one step further and are cooking seafood on the grill, lobster tails and crab legs, cauliflower and whatever other veggies we need to use up in the fridge...and the beauty of these amazing salts is that they will compliment anything we put on the fire. We are also having potato salad, just to maintain some cookout tradition. I think that deciding what salt to use in my potato salad was the hardest decision...which direction do I want my potatoes to take? We started with some red potatoes, boiled and then skinned, used some red wine vinegar, shallots, french dijon mustard, parsley and I finished it with the fennel pollen salt..a bold choice perhaps, but the fennel added a suprisingly subtle layer to the salad, and is fantastic! For the grilled cauliflower, I just blanched it for about 3 minutes and then smeared it with greek oregano and some of the most yummiest smoked salish salt...divine!!!!! There will be none of this left by the time I go to bed tonight! For the lobster tails and crab legs...some preserved lemon salt suits the seafood to a tee, but for New Mexican flare, we added chili flakes and lime flake salt...a supreme combination. We also used this combo on a cold jicima salad with excellent results!!!!

The most amazing thing about these salts is that you get to create your mood, through food. You can take ordinary, everyday items to a completely different level with the salts that you use. You can use the coconut black salt on watermelon, or shrimp. You can use the apricot salt for fruit salad, or grilled mango, or pineapple, or even on dry roasted walnuts and raisins, or dry roasted sunflower seeds and raisins. The smoked salish can go on grilled potatoes or asparagus. The popcorn salt can go on grilled artichokes or radicchio. The smoked chili or six pepper can go on any meat item that you can think of...that's just it, anything goes!!!! Even the most inexperienced cooks can create wonderful flavors by using whichever salt strikes their fancy. The more obviuos flavored salts are a great way to start and get your palate used to fine salts, but for the more experienced palates, which yours will become with exposure, the purist sampler offers delicate differences, untouched by outside flavors. Whichever you use, the most important thing to remember is that there is no wrong choice. Whichever salt sounds good to you, use and experiment...you will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

As for my grilling adventure...my next experiment in honor of this red, white and blue holiday is to grill up some sourdough(white), sprinkle on some bleu cheese just before I pull it off of the grill(blue, of course) and top it off with some thinly slice tomatoes or red onions(yummy and red) and then finish this wonderfulness with some yummy six pepper or herb grey salt...I have yet to decide. Happy Grilling, Americans and stay 'salty'!!!!!

WATER SALAD

This is the quintessential summer salad! It's unique flavor profile really gets people talking and it is so light and tasty it's sure to be a new favorite. Plus, it couldn't be easier to make and if you're having trouble finding watercress you can substitute arugula or even use both together. The sweetness of the watermelon likes the pepperyness on the watercress...we call it the "Water" Salad, get it? melon and cress never tasted so good!

Ingredients

• 1 cup seedless watermelon, bite size cubes
• 1 bunch watercress, trimmed
• 1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
• 1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, washed & dried & rough chopped
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• fresh cracked pepper
• Lime Flake Salt

Make Dressing & Pickle Onions

In small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and vinegar. Set aside. In small bowl, combine the onions, lime juice, and brown sugar and set aside for a few hours. Clean Watercress and spin
dry in Salad Spinner. Clean Parsley and spin dry too. Slice Watermelon.

Put It Together & Serve

In a large bowl, combine the watercress, parsley, and watermelon. Add just enough
dressing to moisen the ingredients (there will be a little left) toss to coat. Drain the
onion, and add to salad, lightly toss again. Place the salad on a large platter.
Finish with a few grinds from the peppermill and liberal sprinkling of Lime Flake Salt.