These sweet mini cabbages are great eaten raw – extra crunchy and refreshing. And separating the leaves is not only beautiful, but makes them perfect little cradles for dressing and all the other good stuff in this salad. Brussles are tight little bundles so I find that the best way to separate them is to trim their bases off to loosen them at the joint a little. The outer leaves are typically beat up and tough so you can toss those, and then just proceed to unfold each little cabbage one or two leaves at a time. Reserve the very centers for another use if they are too tight to open up.

To brighten these babies up I went with a tangy dressing made with lemon and fresh tarragon as well as a hint of Dijon mustard for extra depth. You can whip up the dressing with a whisk or take it a step further by tossing all the ingredients into a food processor or blender for a fluffier textured dressing.

The pepitas are nice because they’re such a tender seed, which is nice here since the brussles are already crunchy enough. The avocado and goat cheese soften and smooth things out in all the right places, unfolding and coating each raw leaf as you work your way through the salad.

I’ve made a couple versions of this salad – with goat cheese and without, with apple and without. Good both ways. I will say that the paper-thin slices of apple are a great base layer on your serving platter because they’re hidden at first glance, but make for a lovely sweet and juicy surprise to complement everything else.

Last week while up visiting family in New York, my aunt mentions that lobster is in season – that’s all I needed to hear. We decided to pick up a few to have out at the beach over the weekend. And by a few, I mean 10 live Maine lobsters for $65, which basically blew my mind. $6.50 a piece???

Back porch lobster chow.

You’d think that two lobsters per adult would be plenty (excessive even), right? Apparently I was wrong because I had to basically beg my family members to “donate” lobster meat from their plates so that I’d have enough to make this recipe the next day. They reluctantly did so. Lucky for all of us!

Very jealous dog.

Now, this is not your classic lobster roll by any means so don’t you Mainers be jumping down my throat. It happens to be a very nice take on one though.

The sauce and the bread are key here…
And the sauce is pretty simple. You’ll just roast or pan sauté a few garlic cloves on low heat until soft enough to easily mash with the back of a fork. Then you’ll whisk together some Dijon mustard, mayonnaise and honey or agave. And combine it with the garlic and some salt, cracked black pepper and fresh chives. The larger the chunks of lobster meat the better.

I wasn’t really feeling a traditional white hoagie roll for this so I went with a nice loaf of braided challah bread. It was prefect for tearing apart and each wavy piece created the perfect little bread boat for the lobster meat. If you can get your hands on a fresh loaf of challah for this I’d definitely recommend it because the slight sweetness from the egg bread really compliments the lobster salad perfectly.

The unroll is best served on a platter with some lemon wedges so everyone can just grab at it. I sprinkled a little shaved celery and celery leaves for crunch and that extra element of freshness!

Canalini and black beans, avocado, radishes, apples, cilantro and faro, tossed in a creamy cilantro and apple dressing that’s pretty ridiculous, if I do say so myself. Balanced, hearty and super fresh so it’s perfect for summertime!

Tastiness aside though, this salad is a fantastic exercise in cooking by texture. I can explain.

So imagine you’re eating this salad without your taste buds on. Wait, what? Yeah, you’re eating and eating it because it’s amazing, but you can’t taste a damn thing, which is actually fine because your mouth is happily captivated by all the textures going on. The tenderness of the beans – first the buttery cannelinies and then the black beans, slightly more firm so they can be noticed. The crispness of the apple and its little bursts of juice awaken your mouth and keep things moving. The supple avocado melts to coat and hold everything together. The farro, which kind of hides in the shadows of it all, is the secret chewy textural component that you wouldn’t be able to quite put you finger on, if you hadn’t put it in there yourself. And the paper-thin radish slices punctuate every bite with their snappy crunch.

So, who cares how awesome this salad tastes. It’s worth eating for the oral stimulation alone. Texture has as much to do with the success of a dish as does flavor. The composition and character of each ingredient, and even how it’s sliced changes things even further. I went paper thin with the radishes; small triangles with the apples and ¼ inch cubes with the avocado. Slight variations in size, but all on the small side worked great here. Just think how giant chunks of radishes would have changed everything and made the dish a lot less manageable.

Oh yeah, I also wanted to mention the dressing. I just blended up half an apple, with some cilantro, rice vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and a tiny nib of a shallot. And in the end, I decided to blend in a couple scoops of Greek yogurt for extra creaminess (and because I find it difficult to go without it these days). Totally optional.

Mixing grain(s) to a bean salad (or any salad for that matter) does great things for texture and overall satiability too. But it has to be the right grain, or else we’re talking mush. I used farro here because it’s somewhat dense (similar to barley) and doesn’t fall apart or get lost in the mix. If you don’t typically cook with farro, give it a shot! You won’t be disappointed. It cooks more or less like rice, but requires a greater water ratio (1/3).

This is a good dish to make a bunch of and eat for a few days. And you can add in other ingredients on day two or three so you don’t get bored – for example, I like to mix in some raw kale with an extra scoop of greek yogurt! It’s easy to pack for lunch or to the beach. A perfect dish for the summer glow…

It’s been a hectic, hectic couple of months. The food truck is keeping us busier than either of us could have imagined. Here’s a super quick rundown of the last couple days just to give you an idea. I’ll spare you all the messy details…
Yesterday: Up at 8am to shop for produce. Stop at mechanic to see if he can fix the tail lights this week. Then straight to the kitchen to cook from 11-6:30 with a 30 min break for lunch (kind of). Load up and drive to location. Set up and sell food until midnight. Yes, midnight. Drive back to the kitchen to unload and clean up. Get home at 12:45. Asleep at 2 a.m.
Today: Wake up at 8:30. Skip breakfast to get to kitchen on time. Clean the truck until it shines because we have the health inspection today. Make some empanadas. Load up and drive to location by 11 a.m. Set up for lunch shift while nervously awaiting inspector. We pass, of course. Head back to the kitchen at 2:30 to grab our cars and go our separate ways for a quick 2-hour break (during which I can hopefully finish this blog post and put on some makeup). Head back to truck at 5 where we’ll be until 10 tonight.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

So yea, it’s a lot. Sometimes we want to drop to the floor and cry. And sometimes we do. But we always remind each other that we wouldn’t want it to be going any other way. We’re SO thankful to be making this actually happen and that the customers keep coming back! (Even if it is killing us.)

Right now we’ve got one employee helping us in the kitchen so we just need to find someone who can be on the truck a couple nights a week so we actually alternate some nights off! The ‘help wanted’ sign is going up next week so let’s keep our fingers crossed. Hiring someone to work on the truck was a tough call to make from a financial standpoint, but the idea is that if we can get some rest we can apply ourselves to growing the business in other ways. And enjoying life a little more.

It’s our first time at all this so it’s all trial and error. Any suggestions? Anyone looking for a job? Ha. Anyone else working their fingers to the bone in the food industry? Anyone else wake up with sore feet? That’s the worst part I think.

Everyone likes to ask us if we ever take days off. Those will come, I’m sure. But for now, we don’t generally work Friday or Saturday nights unless it’s a special event and we aim for either Sundays or Mondays off. Sometimes we get at least one day. And it ends up being laundry day. But hey, in the midst of all the food truck madness, we’ve managed to sneak off for both Thanksgiving and Christmas to spend some days with family – that’s one perk of being your own boss!

So there you have it. That’s why I’ve been somewhat absent from the blog the last few weeks. This blog has always been my happy place and I intend to keep it that way, which is exactly why I haven’t been too hard on myself when I can’t find the time to post a new recipe for a couple (or a few) weeks. I’m trying to remind myself that that’s okay to focus on the business right now, and that it’s better to update the blog when my mind is clear and free so that I can enjoy the process of sharing something with you all. So that’s what I’m doing! And thanks to a little break over Christmas, I was able to dedicate some time to a few recipes that I can’t wait to share in the coming weeks! Here’s the first of them…

This slaw is for all of you that like crunch. Cabbage, fennel and almonds. Crunch, crunch and crunch. It’s light and refreshing and healthy cause we use yogurt instead of mayo or cream! We’ve been serving this on the truck for a few weeks and people have been loving it. Even had a few customers say it’s the best slaw they’ve ever had. And why would they lie? Makes the 60-hour workweek worth it.

I use a handheld mandolin to shave the fennel and cabbage nice and thin. The almonds give it the just the right amount of healthy fat (instead of the fat you’d get from the mayo), which also balances the tanginess of the lemon yogurt dressing. I sweeten with honey or agave, but that’s up to you. The poppy seeds don’t add too, too much flavor wise to the slaw, but they’re a nice touch and so pretty!

I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to be able to complete this post for you! Absence does make the heart grow fonder. But seriously, as we get into a groove with the truck and get our employee thing figured out, it’ll be back to regular programming here on Honest Fare. Promise.

Thanks for sticking around. xoxo, gabi

And unlike most salads, this one gets better as the dressing soaks in, which is definitely a plus when you’re pre dressing a salad to be served later. The dressing is simple to whip up. Just olive oil, lemon juice, curry powder, paprika, maple syrup, salt, cayenne pepper, fresh parsley and a spoon of mayo. Mayo??? Yea, trust me. So good you can drink it….and I kinda did.

I used a veggie peeler to make the long slices of carrot. The fatter the carrot you use the better. I find that rotating the carrot as you go works best to keep the strips consistent. It doesn’t actually take that long to do and it’s worth it!

Graceful carrot ribbons with pear wedges and shaved almonds, tossed in a well-balanced curry vinaigrette. Oh yes. Crunchy carrots with the suppleness of ripe pears is divine. And those carrot ribbons are so much fun to spin around your fork like spaghetti!

Table linen and tray by: Fog Linen Work. Fog Linen produces a line of daily use linen products for home and clothing. Beautiful stuff, and I’m thrilled to have them as a new partner here on Honest Fare.

Peruse the Fog Linen Work online store and see what I mean…

Honeydew melon is perfect for cutting the bitterness raw kale can have, and it’s so refreshing during these hot summer days!

I like to chop the kale into pretty small pieces to make it easier to handle and so it gets as coated as possible in dressing. The dressing is just a simple combo of lemon juice, avocado oil (you can use olive oil instead), salt, pepper and agave. You’ve got to toss it all up nice and good so that the melon juices and Romano cheese complete the dressing. It’s pretty awesome!

This is a super easy one to throw together, and it’s pretty filling from the almonds and cheese. Stores well over night too!

Tangy, crunchy, earthy…oh man, I love it!

P.S. Here’s another favorite kale salad recipe.
Kale Avocado Salad.

I topped each mini empanada with thin slice of tomato before baking to give you a little something extra to feast your eyes on. You can bake on a thin slice of veggie, fruit or even some fresh herbs to go with whatever they’re filled with.

My dear friends and biz partners, Andy and Janelle of, black bean deli, taught me everything I need to know about the art of making empanadas. Together we’ve been dreaming up all kinds of fillings and testing them on our friends and at caterings. Mainly we’ve been pumping them out in such high numbers for catering gigs, but also to test recipes for a new food venture we’re developing (wink,wink…tell ya later). We’ve been making empanadas like mad lately, and as a result, have probably eaten more of them in the last few months than a 10-year-old eats bowls of cereal in a year. And we’re still not sick of them!

SO, the cool thing about empanadas is that they’re the kind of thing you can eat anytime of the day. Stuff them with a tofu or egg and cheese scramble for breakfast. Maybe spicy BBQ chicken or grilled veggies and cheese for lunch or dinner. You can even do all kinds of dessert empanadas — spiced pear, chocolate peanut butter crunch, pumpkin pie…and on and on. All the possibilities are what make them so much fun to play around with. I’ve found that an empanada with a salad or some soup is a perfect little meal.

Empanadas first appeared in a Catalan cookbook back in the 1500s and it’s believed that they originated in Spain and Portugal, and like the Italian calzone, it’s thought that empanadas were derived from Arabic meat-filled pies (samosas). Traditionally, empanadas were filled with meat (pork loin or chorizo) or fish (cod, tuna or sardines) in a tomato garlic type sauce and became popular in those medieval days because they made such great portable meals for working people and travelers. The proliferation of empanadas eventually spread to Latin America, where each country has a regionally specific take on them – different dough recipes (made with flour, corn or yuca) and various traditional fillings.

But, the fillings we’ve been working on are all but traditional. Cured ham, cheese and melon. Crab and green tomato salad. Vegetarian sausage and peppers. Roasted beets and goat cheese. Pumpkin pie. S’mores. Truffle mac and cheese! Pretty much anything across the sweet to savory spectrum goes so you can really get creative.

Like here, we did peanut butter and jelly! Scoop of peanut butter, spoonful of strawberry preserves and little pile of sliced grapes. Each one is topped each with a sliced strawberry for ultimate cuteness.

One tip I will give you, is to make sure the fillings you choose aren’t runny by nature (like certain sauces) and don’t sweat too much during cooking (like raw veggies…or certain cheeses). This is because the filling will start to seep out and mush up the dough during baking. So if you’re using cheese, just don’t go too heavy on it. And of course, when it comes to meats and such, you need to pre-cook and season them! Think of it like toppings on a pizza – certain ones will work when placed raw (like herbs and cheese) and some would be retchid (like, uh, raw chicken). Also, fillings you can scoop with a spoon tend to work best. And you want your filling to be room temperature so it holds a form when scooped and placed in the center of the dough. Oh yea, and try not to overfill or you’ll end up with a mess no matter what.

See, here I did creamed corn and roasted cherry tomatoes as mini empanadas and spinach & feta full-size ones. The creamed corn is seasoned with thyme and thickened with flour during cooking. Then it’s cooled to room temp to reach its thickest state. The spinach was cooked with red onion and seasoned with some garlic, salt/pepper, red pepper flakes, nutmeg and lemon juice. I added some feta and cottage cheese and let some of the moisture cook out before adding an egg white to help hold it all together. Also cooled to room temp, and excess moisture poured out before adding to dough.

Of course, there are all kinds of dough recipes out there too so if you’re gluten free or want whole wheat you can definitely make it work. We haven’t come upon a recipe that we like (or that reacts) better than the dough we get from a Cuban bakery we work with out of Miami, so for now we’re sticking with that…though we do plan to experiment with some whole wheat recipes in the future. Empanada dough is similar to most savory pastry doughs, and you can find a million recipes for it online. The pre-made and cut empanada dough is actually pretty good and authentic and can be found in the frozen section of most grocery stores and all Latin American supermarkets. Choose a brand with a short ingredient list (La Cubanita and Goya make good ones without all the preservatives and junk). Just check the labels to make sure you’re not getting a dough with lard in it if you’re vegetarian. Some use lard, some palm oil.

Now, you can totally just place you filling in the middle and seal the edges of the dough using a fork (that’s how most people do it at home). But, you can also find these handy little presses at Latin supermarkets and restaurant supply stores. The press we use for the mini empanadas is actually just a dumpling press, which you should be able to get at your local Asian market. The presses make the job a ton easier when you’re doing large numbers, but you won’t miss out not using one if you’re just making a few at home. You’ll want your dough close to room temp before placing the fillings and should wet the rim of the dough before closing to help seal.

Once you’ve got all your guys filled, you can lightly grease a pan and apply and even egg wash to each empanada (back and front).

Then just bake them until they’re golden and crispy along the edges.

I’m giving you the recipe for the spinach ones because they’re by far the household favorite!

My windowsill, on the other hand, is more alive than ever- with lentil sprouts galore!

Tricking yourself into thinking its springtime is one way of looking at it, but sprouting lentils is also a great way to add a super fresh, nutrient packed component to a meal or salad.

Lentils help cleanse and stimulate the kidneys and adrenal system, strengthen the heart and circulation and increase energy and vitality. When lentils are sprouted, their nutrients become more easily digestible, and after just 3-4 days of sprouting, their soluble fiber, which helps lower LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar and regulate insulin levels, increases 300 percent!

The sprouting process is super easy, and though today we’re talking about lentil sprouts, you can use this process to sprout many other seeds and beans (alfalfa, clover, mung, garbanzo, lentil, sunflower). They all have very unique and wonderful flavors, but right now it’s the peppery crunch of these little lentil guys that I can’t get enough of.

You can choose any variety of lentils you want – brown, green or red – but just make sure they are whole, not split or in “dahl” form. The first thing you’ll want to do measure out about a cup of lentils and inspect them for stones or damaged beans. Then rinse them really well in cool water and place them in a large bowl of water to soak overnight (8-12 hours).

The next morning your beans will be nice and plump. You can strain out the excess water, rinse and strain again and then transfer the seeds into a large jar, filling it no more than 1/3 of the way with seeds so that there’s adequate space for growth.

Now, cover the opening of the jar with some cheesecloth and hold it in place with a snug rubber band. For the next few days all you’ll have to do is rinse the seeds with fresh water by filling the jar and draining through the cheesecloth twice a day.

After each rinse, give the jar a few firm shakes and turns upside down to get all the water out of there. You want it moist in there, but you don’t want a puddle of water at the bottom where slime can build up and potentially spoil your sprouts. If you start to notice any slime, just give a few extra rinses and get it all out.

After 24 hours in the jar, you’ll start to see the beans split open and may even see some tails forming. Just keep monitoring the lentils growth and keep giving them the fresh rinses + draining for 4-5 days. Once that green leaf pokes out and starts to unfold, they’re ready to harvest.

You’ll notice that they’ll be very tightly packed in their jar(s) so you’ll have to use a little force to get them out. I like to use tongs and grab from as far down as possible.

Once they’re out of the jar, I like to place them in a strainer and give them one last rinse and shake. Then I line an airtight container with a couple paper towels and spread them evenly across the bottom. They’ll stay good like that in the fridge for a week or so. If you’ve sprouted way more than you can eat, just give some away in plastic baggies lined with paper towels!

There are a million ways to eat them.

Soups or salads: (lettuce, arugula, pink unripe tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, lentil sprouts)

Curries or stir-fry dishes: (lentil sprouts sautéed in sesame oil, garlic and tamari. Served with wilted spinach and wild rice and topped with sesame seeds.)

Spreads and dips…like this guacamole: (puréed avocado & lentil sprouts with lemon juice, red onion, salt, pepper, jalapeño and topped with extra sprouts and scallions.)

They’re also a fantastic crunchy element in sandwiches or even on pizza. However you choose to eat them, I think it’s worth doing if only to add a little extra green to your windowsill. Try it out and let me know how it goes!