What’s for Dinner?

A newsletter for home chefs about food, cooking, and enjoyment of food

April 5, 2025

The spring is definitely here! My azaleas are blooming, and it’s warm enough to eat outside! (Well, on some of the days anyway)

When it’s warm, salads of all kind are my go-to dishes for breakfast (yes, breakfast!), lunch, and dinner. What can I say? I am a veggie fan!

Here is an awesome salad that works both as a fancy side dish for a party as well as a complete meal for a workday supper (maybe with some grilled chicken on a side). I call it “purple salad”, but of course you can make it it with other color vegetables and berries! The main ingredients are cauliflower, blueberries, and parsley, and you can play with the colors as well as ingredients here! Maybe match an orange cauliflower with raspberries and blood oranges? Or regular white cauliflower with figs and apples, swap parsley for arugula? Perhaps, with some crushed hazelnuts on top? Possibilities are endless - that’s why I love salads so much! I hope the recipe below will inspire your creativity!

Ingredients for my purple salad:

One head purple cauliflower
1 pint blueberries
½ small orange or apple
1 small bunch of parsley (or a mix of herbs such as cilantro, dill, or mint)
(optional) 1/3 cup of raisins or dried currants or fresh pomegranate seeds and/or nuts of choice
(optional) A cup of other vegetables of choice, e.g.: sliced celery or zucchini, shredded kale, or very thinly sliced fresh fennel or carrots go particularly well
For the dressing: 2 Tbs lemon juice, 4 Tbs olive oil, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar; optional 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard.

First, prepare the cauliflower: separate it into small florets; slice the stem. Steam or boil for about 5 minutes or until its softens but still firm to bite. Drain and let it dry. Optionally sauté the florets in a small amount of olive oil to intensify their flavor.

Next, mince parsley; peel and thinly slide the orange. Prepare other vegetables, if using.

Lastly, prepare the dressing: blend lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and sugar (and optional mustard) in a small bowl until emulsified. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, dress, and serve.

What’s for Dessert?

I recently discovered that one of my favorite cooking websites, Mediterranean dish, actually has a namesake cookbook! It’s an amazing book, and I highly recommend it, you can find it here.

One of my new favorite desserts is from this book. It is so simple and so awesome, I recommend it to all my friends and students. It’s no-churn tahini and hazelnut ice cream. To make it, take 2 cups heavy whipping cream, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup tahini (don’t skip it! it’s the “secret” ingredient), and ¾ cup roasted, chopped hazelnuts.

Start by whipping the cream until the stiff peaks form (do not overwhip!). Then, in a separate bowl, mix condensed milk, vanilla, and tahini, until combined. Next, very gently fold the tahini mix into the whipped cream and add about half of the nuts. Spoon the mixture into a loaf pan and scatter the remaining nuts on top. Cover and put it into the freezer to firm up for at least 4-5 hours.

This no-churn, home-made ice cream is so good, I can’t stop eating it! Be forewarned and don’t hate me if the same thing happens to you! :-)

FoodFirst Updates

The spring schedule is in full swing! If you haven’t signed up yet, don’t delay, many classes are already completed booked. In-depth descriptions are posted on the Master Chef Classes webpage. Also check out the very first skills class on knife skills! The first one will be on April 16th but I am planning on adding more.

Cooking cards are fantastic gift - consider them as you are thinking of a graduation present for a young adult. You can find gift cards for a variety of dollar amounts in the store.

Also a reminder that FoodFirst is finally on google maps! If you took a class and would like to leave a review, please go here.