Sunflower Buds, Purple Mini Carrots Top and Pistachio Dip and a Simple Lunch Veggie Feast

I  recently came across sunflower buds at the Farmers Market.

The sign on the produce basket suggested they would be great steamed and tasted similar to artichoke, in addition to be liver cleansing. But just the fact they were edible, a discovery for me, was good enough for me to take a few home.

The same vendor also had appealing packs of purple mini carrots with a forest of tops. These were also too pretty and good to miss. The green part of carrots is often ignored, but it s very usable. Both these produce came to good use as I was rushing to get a healthy lunch during a busy day.

As I was trying the buds for the first time, I followed the recommendation of steaming them, but left them to cool down to use them in a salad. The salad included flavorful, and a tad hot, radish flowers, a simple drizzle of olive oil, plenty of lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of roasted sunflower seeds (which as one might expected paired well with the steamed buds).

The carrots were left raw, and I used the tops to make a very quick dip. The carrot tops were mild and had a subtle sweetness which worked nicely with pistachios based on a quick check. So, I simply pulsed the tops of the entire bunch, about ½ cup of roasted pistachios, about ¼ c of olive oil, salt, pepper, and enough water to obtain a smooth texture.

I had some heirloom tomatoes and basil in the fridge, so I sliced a few of them and shredded some basil leaves to complete my lunch, which turned out to be a feast :). The sunflower buds were a great discovery: they indeed tasted like artichokes, but were a tad bitter, and very aromatic (more like a flower). There is a lot to explore in terms of how to cook with them. Any suggestion welcome!

By the way:

• I found both the sunflower buds and the carrots at the SF Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, at the Marin Roots Organic Farm stall. 
• I wanted a light lunch as I was busying through the day so I added little oil but, more oil, even cream of your choice, can be added to make it richer. It can be used as a spread or even as a coarse pesto.
• Of course this veggie lunch is naturally gluten- and dairy-free and will also make Vegan and Vegetarian eaters happy.

Spring Braised Vegetables and Crunchy Greens Salad for a Farmers Market Easter Sunday Brunch

Farmers Markets all around had been showing off the lovely colors of Spring/April vegetables: pinks, greens and yellow, all perfect for the Easter week-end.

With plans to get together with Friends for Easter Sunday Brunch, I took my cues from all the colors and freshness around me. Starting with this beautiful wild watercress which I was thrilled to find and was the start of a salad idea. I also picked those large-size radishes, which I was told were more pungent than their smaller counterparts and were great for braising. I had at home a few organic carrots and celery stalks so the braising idea sounded perfect. 

The day of, I started with the braised vegetables. A whole bunch of radishes was diced (I kept the leaves for some other use), along with 3 medium carrots and a few celery stalks (about 3,  close to the center) and celery leaves.

The carrots were sautéed first, in a bit of olive oil, and joined by the radishes until some caramelization had been achieved.

The celery was then added, and the mix was seasoned with salt, pepper and a pinch of dried thyme.

The stove was set on very low and the vegetables were left to braise under a heavy lid until tender (about 15'). They actually cooked in their own juices but you can add a bit of water before putting the lid on. I then let them rest, lid off. Meanwhile, I prepared the salad starting with the watercress. 

Sunflower sprouts (a good handful), shelled english peas (about 1lb wish shells), chopped collard greens flowers (1/3 bunch), snow peas (another good handful), parsley and asparagus (4 to 5 large ones, rough stems off), and thinly sliced chive sprigs were added to the mix.

To make the salad extra crunchy and healthy, raw pumpkin seeds were thrown in.

When making the dressing, I wanted something creamy and went for the following: olive oil, juice of half a lemon, about 1/4c raw cashew nuts, 1 tbsp mustard, a dash maple syrup, rice vinegar, salt and pepper, all blended until smooth in the blender (the ratio of oil to acid I leave up to your tastes but 2 - or a bit less with other ingredients like nuts - to 1 is about right for me). Veggies and dressing were all well mixed together and sprinkled with additional thinly sliced chives to finish.

To finish the braised vegetables I chopped some parsley and roasted pistachios which I sprinkled over the dish.

I served these dishes with some poached/sunny side up pasture raised eggs - a poaching that went dry and ended up with some olive oil to finish cooking. :) (that turned out really well!) The plate was so fresh, colorful and flavorful. We had a lovely and tasty Easter brunch...

By the way:

• Braising is a great technique that preserves a lot of flavors and keeps a lot of nutrients in while needing little fat. It made the braised vegetables a healthy alternative to regular fried hashes (if that is what you are looking for :)).
• The pasture-raised eggs really are worth going after, for humane, sustainability and taste reasons.  More on pasture-raised hens in a post about a farm tour organized by CUESA I recently attended hopefully soon. The egg used here is from the farm I visited during that tour (Rolling Oaks Ranch) but there are many great vendors at all Farmers Markets (like Tamarack Hollow Farms and Mills Valley at NYC GreenMarkets) so check yours!
• All dishes naturally gluten- and dairy-free.