Dandelion Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

This dandelion salad with warm bacon vinaigrette is a seasonal favorite in France, found on many a home table from March through May, and even the occasional restaurant menu. The warm dressing slightly wilts the greens but leaves a delightful crunch. 

In France, dandelions are called pissenlit, literally translating to "wet the bed" due to their diuretic properties. According to the National Institutes of Health, “Unlike many prescription diuretic drugs that deplete the body of potassium, dandelion is naturally rich in potassium and can help replace minerals lost during increased diuresis.” So it's a health food! 

They are a seasonal delicacy, commonly found in open fields, meadows, rustic rural paths and even your own backyard. It’s best to pick them in early spring before the tender leaves and stalks grow tough and bitter. I must confess that, technically, my dandelion salad doesn’t fit this week's Sunday FunDay theme because I did not forage or pick this particular bunch. But I want to point out that it is possible to do that thing!

My backyard in Houston was so dry this spring that the dandelions were not thriving as per usual. The sad “crop” was not enough to feed anyone but I’m hoping for better luck next year. Some years they positively FLOURISH, the bane of any gardener's existence. A boon to all lovers of foraged greens.

If you want to harvest your own, make sure the space is animal free or a no-pee zone. Pinch the greens off around the flowers and wash well before dressing or cooking. Truly what many think of as a weed is actually quite edible and delicious, especially when picked young and tender! 

Dandelion Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

If you can’t find any dandelion greens, chopped arugula, frisée, or mustard greens will also work with the warm bacon vinaigrette. Traditionally, this French salad is served with soft-poached eggs on top but I had a couple already hard boiled in the fridge. They worked well too.

Ingredients to serve 2

1 bunch dandelion greens (mine weighed about 5 oz or 142g)

4 oz or 113g thick-cut bacon, cut in lardons 

1 small shallot, minced

1 tablespoon red wine or sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 large eggs (soft-poached or boiled)

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

Wash and dry the dandelion greens. Trim the ends and discard. 

Cut the greens in half then soak them in cool water for at least 1 hour, changing the water a couple of times. Drain and spin them dry.

Put them in a salad bowl, ready for the dressing. 

Cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium heat until crispy. 

Tip the pan to the side so you can remove the crispy bits, leaving the fat behind.

Sauté the shallot in the bacon fat until softened. 

Remove the pan from the stove and whisk in the vinegar, mustard and a few good grinds of black pepper.

Pour warm dressing over the greens and toss to lightly wilt.

Top with crispy bacon and the eggs, halved if using hard boiled. Finish with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, making sure to get some on the eggs, and freshly ground black pepper.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are walking on the wild side since it’s almost Wild Foods Day which is celebrated on October 28th. Many thanks to our host Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the links below.

• Chive Blossom Salt by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Dandelion Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette by Food Lust People Love
• Porcini Risotto by Culinary Cam
• Rosehip Jelly by A Messy Kitchen
• Thel Ghosalyachi Bhaji - Sponge Gourd by Sneha's Recipe
• Wild Mushroom Frittata by A Day in the Life on the Farm

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin this Dandelion Salad
with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette!

.

Roasted Butternut Squash Lentil Vegetable Soup

If it’s possible for a dish to be hearty but also, somehow, light, roasted butternut squash lentil vegetable soup is it! It’s a substantial bowl of comfort, rich in nutrition and protein, not heavy, just luscious!

You’re probably going to laugh (I did when I cut it open!) but I bought this butternut squash back in February and never got around to cooking it until, I kid you not, September. But to show you the longevity and storability of a butternut, it was absolutely perfect. 

We love it simply roasted with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper but the weather had turned a little chilly on us so I was craving soup. I added the lentils to up the protein content and it was a very good decision. And since I was using the urad dal, a little curry powder seemed like it would be another good addition. And, indeed, it was.

Roasted Butternut Squash Lentil Vegetable Soup

To make this vegetarian, use vegetable stock instead of chicken. I make mine from stock cubes. For a vegan soup, also skip the yogurt to serve or use a non-dairy version. I give the weights of my vegetables below as a guideline but more or less won't affect the flavors of this lovely soup. Serves six. 

Ingredients

3 ½ oz or 100g red (masoor dal) or white (urad dal) lentils

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 butternut squash - small, medium, large - all good! 

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 medium onion – about 150g

2 cloves garlic

4 small carrots – about 7 oz or 200g

New potatoes, about 8 oz or 227g 

2 teaspoons curry powder

4 cups or 946ml chicken (or vegetable) stock

Good pinch asafetida – if you have it

3 ½ oz or 100g baby spinach (I like to pinch off the stems but you can leave the leaves intact, if you prefer.)

For garnish: small handful cilantro, roughly chopped

Optional to serve: dollop plain yogurt per bowl

Method

Rinse the lentils. If you are using red lentils (masoor dal), carry on. If you are using the white ones (urad dal) they need to be soaked in water for 30 minutes. Rinse and soak, drain, then carry on.

Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C and prepare a baking pan by lining it with baking parchment or a silicone liner. 

Halve the butternut squash and scoop the seeds out. Cut the halves in half and put them on the prepared baking pan. Drizzle them with half the olive oil then sprinkle with fine sea salt and black pepper. 

Roast in your preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until they are fork tender. 

Set them aside to cool while you finish prepping the rest of your vegetables.

Peel and finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. 

Peel the carrots and cut them into short, bite-sized pieces.

Scrub or peel the new potatoes, as needed. I scrubbed mine then decided they needed to be peeled because they were looking a little scruffy. Sorry, no pics.

In a Dutch oven, add the remaining half of the olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Then, add in the curry powder and give it a stir to combine. 

Add in the stock and bring it to a low boil. 

Try the peel of your butternut squash. If it’s tender enough to eat, chop the whole thing into small bits. If it’s not, scoop the flesh out and discard the peels.

Put the squash into the Dutch oven along with lentils. If you have it, add the good pinch of asafetida now. When added to cooking lentils, it's said to help with the common side effect of eating them, flatulence. I can't say if that's true or not but I do always add it, just in case! 

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked and tender. 

Use a hand blender or normal blender to puree the soup at little, being careful not to splash yourself with hot liquid! I like to leave some bits of squash so I don’t puree until completely smooth. 

Add in the carrots and potatoes and cook for a further 30 or so minutes, or until they are both cooked through and tender. 

Add in the baby spinach. As per the note in the ingredients, as you can see, mine are sans stems.

Stir until the spinach is heated through and thoroughly wilted.

Serve the soup with a sprinkling of chopped cilantro and a dollop of plain yogurt, if desired.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with winter squash, sweet and savory, to celebrate the arrival of Autumn. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the link list below. 

• Apple & Butternut Squash Salad from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Creamy Sausage, Tomato, & Squash Pasta  from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Baked Acorn Squash with Butter and Brown Sugar from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Butternut Squash Cake from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Gnocchi with Roasted Squash and Sausage from A Messy Kitchen
• Parmesan and Thyme Honeynut Squash from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pumpkin-Filled Flat White Pumpkin from Culinary Cam
• Pumpkin Soup for Two from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Butternut Squash Lentil Vegetable Soup from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin this Roasted Butternut Squash

Lentil Vegetable Soup!

.

Hubble Bubble Pumpkin Rice Pot

Perfect for a chilly fall evening, the wonderful flavor of this hubble bubble pumpkin rice pot is enhanced by smoked bacon, and cooked entirely in a microwave. Super easy and pretty quick to the table on a busy night. 

Even way back in the late 1970s, when my stepfather succumbed to our repeated entreaties and finally bought a microwave, we honestly really only ever used it to reheat leftovers. And I must confess that pattern has generally continued all these years. 

Rare is the dish I actually cook in a microwave. This is one of those exceptions. It’s an oldie but a goodie adapted from one on the BBC Good Food website, first published there in January of 2008. It’s a handy one to have in your back pocket for Halloween night.

Hubble Bubble Pumpkin Rice Pot

Know that if you have a little more or less pumpkin or squash, it’ll be fine. Below is the weight I used, pictured on the cutting board for reference. Ditto, the onion. I use already cooked smoked bacon crumbles. If you need to fry and crumble bacon first, you’ll need about 12 normal slices. Is it a lot of bacon? Nope, it is the perfect amount. Bacon is life, people. Live a little. This recipe serves four.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, about 6 1/3 oz or 180g

1 cup or 100g smoked bacon crumbles 

550g or 1 lb 3.4 oz pumpkin or butternut squash, weight: peeled and cored

Freshly ground black pepper

Cayenne pepper, optional

2 tablespoons butter

1 ½ chicken stock cubes

1 cup or 200g long grain rice

¼- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, depending on your taste

Vegetarian option: Instead of the bacon, add some grated hard cheese at the end of cooking time, just before the last five minute rest. Parmesan would be good or even a smoked cheddar or provolone. 

Method

Remove the seeds from your pumpkin or butternut squash. Peel it and cut it into small chunks.

Peel and finely chop the onion.

Combine the onion, bacon crumbles and pumpkin together in a large microwaveable bowl. Add a few generous grinds of black pepper and, if desired, a good sprinkle of cayenne. 

Mix well then dot the butter on top and cover the bowl with cling film or a plate. 

Pierce the cling film a couple of times with a pointy knife, if using, and microwave on High for 6 minutes until everything’s hot and starting to cook.

While the vegetables are cooking, bring a kettle or pot of water to the boil and make 3 cups or 700ml stock using the chicken cubes. Carefully remove the hot bowl from the microwave and uncover one corner to allow the hot steam to escape without burning yourself. Remove the cover entirely. 

Add in the rice and season with salt. We try to watch our sodium intake and since the stock cube has so much already, I only put a ¼ teaspoon in my dish. If you like things saltier, by all means, add more.

Stir well to thoroughly mix everything together. Pour in the stock. 

Make sure to push any rice grains under the surface of the stock so they’ll cook well in the liquid.

Cover the bowl with a fresh piece of cling film (don’t forget to pierce it two or three times) or the same plate and microwave on High for 10 minutes. Uncover carefully!

Give it a stir. Then microwave for 5-7 minutes or until the rice is cooked. (Mine only took 5 minutes.) 

Leave to stand, covered with a plate, for 5 minutes before giving everything a final stir. 

Scoop straight into bowls to serve. Or, heck, put it in a pretty covered dish. 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are all about recipes with rice! White, brown, black, wild, flat rice, puffed rice or rice flour. Sweet OR savory. Many thanks to our host, Mayuri of Mayuri's Jikoni. Check out the links below.

• Arroz de Pato by Culinary Cam
• Bhuga Chawal by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Cheesy Rice by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Crab Sushi Bowl by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Crispy Rice Cereal Brittle by A Messy Kitchen
• Fried Rice with Crab and Peas by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Hubble Bubble Pumpkin Rice Pot by Food Lust People Love
• Varicha Bhat by Sneha's Recipe

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin this Hubble Bubble Pumpkin Rice Pot!

.

Extra Banana Banana Bread

Chock full of ripe bananas, this extra banana banana bread is now my go-to recipe when bananas need using up. It’s an absolute favorite at our house! It's perfect for breakfast or snack time and goes delightfully with a cup of tea.

For most of this summer, we’ve been camping out upstairs in our own house, cooking in a makeshift kitchen in one of the spare bedrooms, because our contractor was building us a fabulous addition. 

After quite a few delays – isn’t that always the way? – the handover took place in mid-August and I was finally able to use my gorgeous new kitchen with brand new appliances, including a dual fuel stove and even a second oven! Heaven.

But before that, in the makeshift kitchen, I had some very ripe bananas languishing in the fruit bowl. In an effort to get a break from the construction, we were taking off for a week away. Since I simply cannot bear wasting food if I can help it, I baked this wonderful extra banana banana bread in my Ninja Flip using a 9-in round cake pan. I left it with a note for the worker bees before we headed out. 

I got back to rave reviews! They LOVED it! Well, you know I had to bake it again in the new kitchen. But this time, my big oven had room for an actual bread pan, which was probably more exciting to me than it should be, because I’m sad that way. Maybe you can relate.

I named this extra banana banana bread because it contains DOUBLE the amount of bananas in my usual recipe and it uses extra ripe bananas, the ones that are WELL past their best. Also half the sugar. You don't need it because the ripe bananas are so sweet. 

Extra Banana Banana Bread

Whatever pan you bake this in – normal loaf pan or 9 in round cake pan – I promise, it’s great. Moist, flavorful and lovely. I give the weights of my mashed bananas below but this is a very forgiving recipe. A little more or less will not make a difference. The first, the cake pan one, had a little more banana by weight.

Ingredients

4 extremely ripe bananas, mashed – my almost 2 cups full weighed 9 1/2 oz or 270g 

1/3 cup or 80ml canola or other light oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup or 100g sugar

1 1/2 cups or 188g flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt 

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and line your chosen baking pan with baking parchment.  

Peel then mash the bananas with a fork in a mixing bowl. 

Add in the oil, eggs and vanilla then whisk till incorporated.

Add in the sugar and whisk again. 

In separate bowl, measure out flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix to combine. (I also sift my baking soda into the bowl, because in a humid climate, it can get a bit lumpy.)

Add the flour mixture all at once to the banana mixture. 

Fold until just combined. 

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes in a round cake pan or 50-55 minutes in a bread pan.

Remove from the oven. 

Take the banana bread out of the hot pan and leave to cool before slicing to serve. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are celebrating International Banana Festival Day which falls on September 21st. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the links below. 

• Banana Apple Coffee Cake Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Banana Daiquiri from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Banana Oat Muffins from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Extra Banana Banana Bread from Food Lust People Love
• High Protein Banana Muffins from Our Good Life
• Protein Rich Banana Smoothie from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Using Banana Leaves + Cochinita Pibil from Culinary Cam
• Vrat Kacche Kele Ke Seekh Kebab from Sneha's Recipe

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin this Extra Banana Banana Bread!

.