By Jenny George

1 small jar with a lid
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup light cream
1/3 cup finely minced chives

Combine the lemon juice and salt in a small jar. Cover and shake to dissolve. Add the cream and chives. Shake to blend. Taste for seasoning. Store, covered and refrigerated, for up to one week. Shake to blend again before using.

By Adam Mackie

Slice the cucumbers thinly, peeled or not as you prefer. Sprinkle with salt and put in the fridge. Drain, rinse and drain again. Finely chop a few leaves of tarragon or mint, and stir into a tablespoon of olive oil and two of wine vinegar. Toss the cucumber slices in the dressing, chill and serve. A bulb of fennel thinly sliced and added to the salad adds an anise accent and a crisp texture.

By Jenny George

Serves 6

I'm always looking for a way to enjoy those oh-so-good-for-us bitter greens. In this dish, the heat from the dressing mellows the strong-tasting dandelion greens without wilting them, and the pecans add sweetness and crunch. This recipe comes via Ruth Riechl's collection, The Gourmet Cookbook.

2 large bunches dandelion greens
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ cup pecans
1½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Cut top 5 inches from greens and transfer to a large heatproof serving bowl. Cut remaining greens into ¾-inch slices and add to bowl.

Heat oil in a small heavy skillet over moderate heat. Add garlic and nuts and cook, stirring, until garlic is golden. Stir in vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour hot vinaigrette over greens and toss to combine.

By Adam Mackie

Gazpacho is a cold soup of tomato and cucumber.
1 pound cucumbers, peeled and chopped.
1 pound tomatoes, halved
1 hot pepper (optional)
1-2 cloves garlic
1 T. good olive oil
1 T. vinegar (wine, sherry or cider)
Salt

Gradually add all the ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth. Chill and serve in chilled bowls or glasses with a cube or two of ice.

By Jenny George

This succulent little salad becomes a meal if you serve it with fresh goat cheese and something smoky and cured alongside, like thin slices of soppressata or proscuitto. For a zingier flavor, add a pinch of smoked paprika to the dressing and switch the vinegar to fresh-squeezed lime juice. And be sure to use a good, fruity olive oil to complement the melon.

Ripe cantaloupe, cut into slices and seeds removed
Assertive greens, such as arugula or curly endive, washed
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
fresh chives

Place the melon slices in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with the oil, and gently toss. Repeat with the vinegar. Line a serving plate with the greens. Top with melon, pouring over the extra juices from the bowl. Scatter with snipped chives.

(By Kristen Davenport -Adapted from Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz)

Sea Salt
1 or 2 Daikon Radishes
1 small burdock root
1 or 2 turnips
Some Jerusalem artichokes
2 carrots
Red radishes
Horseradish root, grated
3 tablespoons (or more) fresh grated ginger root
4 cloves garlic (or more), sliced
1 or 2 onions, leeks, scallions, shallots
3 or 4 really hot red chiles

Process:
Mix a brine of about 4 cups water and 3 tablespoons salt. Slice vegetables pretty thin and let them soak in the brine. If the roots are fresh and organic, leave the nutritious skins on. Slice the roots thin so the flavors penetrate. Slice some radishes, but leave small ones whole. You can even include their greens. While soaking in the brine, use a heavy plate or other item to keep the vegetables submerged, for several hours or overnight. Prepare spices--ginger, garlic, onion, chile. Kimchi can absorb a lot of spice. Mix the spices into a paste. Drain the brine off the vegetables, but reserve the brine. Taste vegetables for saltiness. You want them to taste decidedly salty, but not unpleasantly so. If they are too salty, rinse them. If they are not salty enough, sprinkle them with a couple of teaspoons. Then: Mix everything and stuff it into clean jars. The amounts above will likely make a quart. Pack it tightly into the jar and press down until the brine rises. You have to either set something heavy on top of the vegetables (a Ziploc filled with brine) or find some other way to keep the vegetables generally below the brine level--you can use your clean fingers, too. Then, ferment on your kitchen counter or other warm place. After a day or two, you'll start to see bubbles. Taste the kimchi every day to see when it's best--about a week is when it is usually "ripe." Once it's done to your taste, move it to the refrigerator.

By Jenny George

Serves 4

Radishes are elegant, crisp, spicy, and beautiful. Here you get to enjoy them two ways: tossed with simple greens and transformed into a topping for rustic sandwiches. The salad gets dressed with an easy, summery Lemon-Chive Dressing from Patricia Wells' great book, Vegetable Harvest.

1 large bunch tender lettuces
30 or so radishes, washed and trimmed, small leaves reserved
1 tablespoon room-temperature butter
1 tablespoon soft fresh goat cheese
zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
4 slices baguette, very lightly toasted
sea salt
¼ cup Creamy Lemon-Chive Dressing

Wash the lettuce and radish leaves. Dry and tear into small pieces. Place in a large bowl.

Slice the radishes into very thin rounds. Take about a quarter of the rounds and slice them into matchsticks, letting them rest on a paper towel to absorb excess water. Add the rounds to the salad, reserving the matchsticks.

In a small bowl, mash together the butter, goat cheese, lemon zest and thyme. Mix in the reserved radish strips, and spread on the toasted baguette slices. Season with salt to taste.

Lightly dress the greens. Divide among four plates, placing an open-face sandwich alongside each.

By Jenny George

Serves 4

Here is a quintessential summer dish, one of those simple plates that delivers extravagant pleasure. The grated tomato makes a soupy bath for the colorful peppers, enlivened with vinegar and garlic. This is food for enjoying out of doors, with friends, sharing some good bread and a glass of wine.

3 or 4 ripe red bell peppers
3 or 4 ripe green bell peppers
2 ripe tomatoes
½ cup thinly sliced sweet white onion
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons sherry vinegar
kosher salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or basil

Cut the peppers in half, core, and place skin side up on a tin foil-covered baking sheet. Brush with a little olive oil and roast in a 425˚F oven until charred, about 30 minutes. Cool in a covered bowl, and then peel and cut into strips.

Cut tomatoes in half and grate on a box grater, discarding the skins. Mix the tomatoes, peppers, onion, olive oil and vinegar together in bowl. Season with salt to taste, and a crack of fresh ground pepper. Let stand for an hour to allow the flavors to develop.

Serve in a shallow dish with the garlic and herbs sprinkled over top, and some good bread for sopping up the juices!

By Adam Mackie

Salsa Cruda (raw sauce) is a summer-weight tomato sauce for pasta. The key to its success is the excellence of the four ingredients. It cannot be rescued by dressing up if any component is less than great.

Roughly chop a pound of savory tomatoes. Put in a deep bowl with at least two cloves of finely chopped garlic (try Bavarian Purple for its keen-edged heat), one tablespoon of your best olive oil and a scrape of black pepper. Cook one pound of pasta (choose a shape to complement the tomato chunks), drain, and toss with the tomato dressing. Serve. Just like that.

By Jenny George

Serves 4

This recipe was inspired by the great Vietnamese restaurants we have here in the area. On a summer night, this dish--with its combination of cold and sour and hot and sweet--is just perfect, a satisfying main course salad. You can use a variety of cuts on the grill: sirloin steaks, skirt or flank steak, etc. so long as you pay close attention and don't overcook the meat. You want it to be nicely charred on the outside, and rosy pink within.

4 small sirloin steaks, or 1 pound flank steak, etc. rubbed with a little oil and salt and pepper

For the dressing:
1 serrano chile, chopped
½ teaspoon lime zest
the juice of one lime
3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
2 tablespoons sweet chile sauce
pinch of sugar
1 small clove garlic

For the salad:
1 handful each cilantro, mint and basil leaves
1 small cucumber
1 carrot
1 bunch spicy salad greens, such as arugula, watercress, or mizuna
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 or 3 scallions, chopped

Prepare a moderately high charcoal or gas grill.

Make the dressing by pureeing all the dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth, adding a little water if needed. Alternatively, mince the chile and garlic, and add them with remaining ingredients to a bowl, mixing thoroughly.

Cut the cucumber and carrot into matchsticks and place in a serving bowl. Roughly chop the cilantro, mint and basil, and add to the bowl along with the with the salad greens. Add the cherry tomatoes and scallions. Toss gently.

Grill the steaks briefly, turning once, until lightly charred on the outside and pink on the inside. Remove from the heat and let rest for five minutes. Slice them into strips, then toss with the salad and the dressing. Serve straight away.