The Counting Chef’s Cow-Slaw Salad™
In large mixing bowl put:
1/2 medium head of cabbage chopped (about 5 cups)
1/4 cup carrots diced
2 tbsp. green pepper diced
2 tbsp. chopped red onion
1/2 tsp. celery seed
Dressing:
In quart jar put-
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
Make dressing by mixing vegetable oil, sugar, vinegar, salt and
pepper in quart jar. Shake until blended. Pour over cabbage
mixture. Stir. Refrigerate until flavors are absorbed.

Apple Smiles are an easy treat. Simmer the apples in water for fewer calories or sauté them in butter for a richer dessert. Add them to a pre-baked tart shell (if desired) and serve with a dollop of Crème Fraiche.

Ingredients:
4 medium apples peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges with apple cutter.
Cut each of these in 1/2 again. Try to keep a uniform size.
3 tablespoons water OR 3 tablespoons butter
2 tsp.– 4 tsp. sugar depending on the type of apple or the sweetness desired.
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions
Put water or butter in large fry pan
Add apple wedges. Begin simmering apple wedges in water over med heat. Or sauté apple wedges in butter over low heat.
Simmer/sauté about 5 minutes or until apples are fork tender. You do not want mushy apples. Stir gently occasionally. Add a little more water or butter if needed.
Mix sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Sprinkle sugar on apples. Stir gently. Remove pan from heat.
Let cool. When cool, arrange apple slices on pastry shell. (Recipe below)
Garnish with other fruit such as raspberries or blueberries if desired.
Serve with Crème Fraiche!

The Counting Chef’s "Pat-a-Cake" Pastry (No rolling)
(for 8"-9" tart).
Step 1 (pastry dough - dry ingredients)
1 ½ c. flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
In bowl mix flour and salt
Cut in shortening with a fork until mixture looks like small pebbles. Set aside.
Step 2 (pastry dough-liquid ingredients)
Let kids help with this step by putting the following ingredients in a jar with lid. Shake until blended.
1 egg
2 tablespoons of water
1 ½ tsp. vinegar
Step 3 (combining ingredients)
Make a “well” (small hole) in flour mixture in bowl.
Pour liquid mixture into “well”
Stir together with fork until blend.
Divide mixture into 2 balls and pat together as if making a snow ball. If too sticky, add a little flour.
With palms, press one pastry ball into a tart pan or pie tin. Come up the side of the pan a little ways.
If necessary take more pastry dough from remaining pastry ball. If desired, brush pastry with an egg white wash made by separating the yolk from the white of an egg. Stir the whites of the eggs briskly. Spread a small amount on bottom of tart crust.
Bake at 450° for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Serve with a dollop of crème fraiche.
In a pint jar, put 1 cup of heavy whipping cream. (Do not get ultra pasteurized.) (Do not whip the cream. )
Add 1 tablespoon of sour cream. Stir. Let set at room temperature. It will thicken in about 12 hours. It is a rich and flavorful topping for the apple dessert. Refrigerate. Dust apple dessert with sugar just before serving.

Ingredients:
1 ripe peach
1 medium cucumber
2 tablespoons green onions (scallions) chopped
1/4 cup blueberries
2 1/2 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice
3/4 teaspoons olive oil
Pint jar or mixing bowl

Directions:
1.Cut one medium cucumber in half lengthwise and remove seeds with spoon. Peel each half with potato peeler. Dice. Add to pint jar
2. Cut peach in half, remove pit. Dice. Add to pint jar.
3. Add chopped green onions (scallions) to pint jar.
4. Mix orange juice, lime juice, and olive oil in small container. Add to pint jar.
5. Put on lid securely and shake gently.
6. Remove lid. Add blueberries. Put lid back on jar. Put in refrigerator until ready to serve.

To serve: Pour into serving dish and mix gently. Serve (using slotted spoon to drain excess juice) with organic blue corn chip and a grilled chicken breast sandwich!

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic
3 tablespoon chives minced
1 tablespoons Italian parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon vinegar (white wine preferred)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp sugar (or to taste)
Small amount of prepared French Dressing to be added just before serving if desired. (The Counting Chef's French Dressing is preferred and can be found on this blog.)
Hmong Long Green Beans, Carrots, Radishes

Directions:

1. Mince garlic, chives and parsley (very fine)
2. Put in wide mouth jar
3. Add lemon juice, vinegar, sour cream, buttermilk, and mayonnaise
4. Shake vigorously until well blended (or stir ingredients, but kids like to shake jar).
5. Refrigerate. Taste.
Add a small amount of sugar to balance flavor if desired.
* Remember that fresh ingredients are in this dip. The dip may keep for several days in the refrigerator. Make it fresh often!

To prepare Long Bean Ropes reference pictures below:

Wash and peel carrots. Hollow out a small section of thicker part of carrot (as much as you can using a potato peeler with a pointed tip or a utensil of your choice). Slice hollowed section into rings to hold a long green bean rope. Continue to hollow out remaining section of thick part of carrot. Slice into rings. Make as many carrot rings as desired.

Wash radishes. trim off ends. Hollow out radish using a potato peeler with a pointed tip or a utensil of your choice. Slice into rings to hold a long green bean rope. Make as many radish rings as desired.

Wash long green beans. Trim ends. Take one bean and thread it through hole in carrot ring. Loop long bean through to form rope. Repeat with radish rings.

To make Franch Dressing™: Put High Five Chive & Buttermilk Dressing in serving bowl. Put a dollop of French Dressing on top. Stir if desired or leave for presentation styling.

Arrange Long Bean Ropes on serving platter. Place Franch Dressing™ on same platter. Enjoy!

Walk and Talk Salad Instructions:

1. Select your favorite fresh salad greens. Prepare any of the following to add to your salad: carrots, cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes (cut into bite size pieces).

2. Wash salad greens, pat dry, or use a salad spinner.

Prepare The Counting Chef’s French Dressing
(makes approximately 1½ cups)

Put the following ingredients into glass jar:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3-4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 clove garlic chopped fine
1 tablespoons diced sweet/red onions

Put on lid. Shake vigorously. Taste. Add a small amount of sugar to balance flavor. Refrigerate. (Fresh ingredients are in this dressing. It keeps only a few days in refrigerator. Make fresh often).

Arrange on platter or serve in The Counting Chef's hat (8X8 in. square piece of freezer paper made into origami drinking cup).

When the tomatoes are ripe on the vine and the smell of basil fills the garden air, it’s time for this recipe. It’s the best because it’s fresh! This can be made on the grill or on a griddle. Flour tortilla shells serve as the crust.
Makes 4-6 mini pizzas (flour tortilla shells)

Ingredients
 4-6 flour tortilla shells
 4 ripe plum/Italian tomatoes chopped fine (excess juice drained)
 1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley chopped fine
 1 large clove of garlic, minced
 ½ cup fresh basil leaves or desired amount (to stack, roll, and slice to make chiffonade for top of pizza)
 2-3 tablespoon olive oil/vegetable oil (use one tablespoon with tomato mixture and reserve two tablespoons to brush on flour tortillas)
 ¼ teaspoon salt
 ¼ teaspoon pepper
 2 cups finely grated mozzarella cheese (reserve a small amount to sprinkle as a garnish of each individual pizza.

Directions
 Put chopped tomatoes, 1/2 tblsp. parsley, garlic, 1 tbsp. olive oil, salt, & pepper in a bowl.
 Brush 4-6 flour tortilla shells with oil on one side 
Preheat grill/griddle to about 350-375°
 Make pizzas 2-3 at a time
 Place side with oil down on grill/griddle and brown nicely (want it fairly crisp).
While browning, brush more oil on remaining side of tortilla shells
 Flip tortilla shells over and quickly sprinkle on finely shredded cheese on each one (if air pockets form, just break gently
with tip of fork).
 With slotted spoon (to drain excess juice) put a small amount of tomato mixture on each tortilla shell.
 Sprinkle basil chiffonade and remaining chopped parsley on top of cheese
 Close grill lid or put a pan cover over tortillas on griddle
 When bottom of tortilla shell is browned nicely and crisp (the cheese should be melted) remove from grill or griddle.
 Sprinkle with a small amount of reserved grated mozzarella cheese as a garnish.
 Cut in half or quarters and serve!

There is nothing better with these delicious chips than my salsa! (It is made without tomatoes.) I use cucumbers, peppers, onions, and cilantro found at the St. Paul Farmers’ Market. If you are only familiar with “store bought” salsa, you are in for a treat. Great salsa should be made fresh each day in small quantities using fresh ingredients!

Shake, Paddle, and Row Salsa (Served in cucumber canoes)
Makes about 3 cups (Always make fresh in small amounts)
3 cucumbers for “canoes”
4-6 cucumbers for salsa (need 2 cups finely diced)
1/3 cup red onion finely chopped
¾ cup red bell pepper finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼-½ chopped red chili pepper (if desired)

Cut 4-6 cucumbers in ½ lengthwise (to make 2 cups finely diced)
Scrape out seeds with spoon
Peel cucumber halves with potato peeler
Finely dice each cucumber half to make 2 cups
Put in clear quart jar or mixing bowl
Finely chop red onion; add to jar
Finely chop red bell pepper; add to jar
Chop cilantro; add to jar
Finely chop red chili pepper – decide on amount of “hotness;” add to jar
Mix red wine vinegar and olive oil in small container.
Pour over layered mixture in jar. Cover. Shake, chill Serve
The chopped ingredients in the jar make a beautiful presentation to bring to a party- just add red wine vinegar and olive oil when you arrive. Shake ingredients, chill, serve in cucumber canoes.

Directions for Cucumber Canoes-
With remaining 3 cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise. With spoon, scoop out seeds only. Continue to scoop away some of the cucumber (enough to hold a single serving of salsa).
Do not scrape too much away so the cucumber canoes can hold salsa without “leaking through.”

Serve “personal” salsa canoes with blue corn chips.

Parents can "make it" and kids can "shake it!" Come to my cooking demonstration on Saturday, July 10th at 11:00 a.m. and you will learn the meaning of fresh ingredients!

Yours truly,
The Counting Chef

Cook Fresh with The Counting Chef
“High Five” Chive Dip:

1 clove garlic
3 tablespoon chives minced
3 tablespoons Italian parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon vinegar (white wine preferred)
½ cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
sugar to taste (if desired)

1. Mince garlic, chives and parsley (very fine)
2. Put in wide mouth jar
3. Add lemon juice, vinegar, sour cream, and mayonnaise
4. Shake vigorously until well blended (or stir ingredients also, but kids like to shake jar)
5. Refrigerate. Taste.
6. Add a small amount of sugar to balance flavor if desired.

* Remember that fresh ingredients are in this dip. The dip may keep for several days in the refrigerator. Make it fresh often!
Serve with: kohlrabi, carrots, snap peas, carrots, radishes etc

Here is a picture from our cooking school at the St. Paul Farmers' Market this past weekend!