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.

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Ugali - Savory Maize Meal Porridge

A staple and traditional dish from Kenya, ugali is a savory maize meal porridge cooked as one would grits but served quite firm and cut into portions. 

I’ve been researching recipes that start with the letter U for pretty much the whole last year and came up with a few, including ugali. I wasn’t sure I’d ever find maize meal to make it though, until I remembered the one stall at the market in town which carries an impressive number of items – dry goods AND even fresh vegetables - imported from various African nations. 

Sure enough! The maize meal was up high on a top shelf and I just had to ask for it by name after searching on my own for a while with no success. The stall proprietor quickly handed over a two-kilo bag and I left so happy! This just proves how multicultural the island of Jersey has gotten in the last few years. 

It wasn’t very long back when I had to import my favorite Asian ingredients as well and, now, we have at least three shops that specialize in those items! My suitcases leaving Houston are a whole lot lighter these days.

When I think of porridge, it usually means a soft oatmeal dish that can be eaten with a spoon. For ugali, the maize meal is cooked longer until it pulls away from the side of the pot. Once firm, it can be turned out onto a plate and cut into wedges. 

Traditionally, it is most often accompanied by collard greens cooked with onions and tomatoes but sometimes it’s served with meaty stews or grilled meat and a fresh tomato and onion salad called kachumbari. 

Ugali - Savory Maize Meal Porridge

Since only my husband and I were at home to enjoy this dish, I made a quarter of the original recipe, but with a little extra ghee. If you are feeding more people, you can reliably double or quadruple the recipe, using 1 tablespoon of butter or ghee for double and 2 tablespoons for quadruple. I adapted mine from a recipe on Serious Eats.

Ingredients

1 cup or 240 ml water

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 tablespoon butter or ghee

1/2 cup or 86g maize meal or sub fine white cornmeal

Method

In a medium pot, bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the butter or ghee until melted.

While continuously whisking to prevent lumps from forming, gradually pour in the maize meal. 

Once all the maize meal is added, keep whisking until it's too thick to whisk. 

At this point, switch to a wooden spoon or silicone spatula and stir the ugali, using the utensil to break up any lumps against the side of the pot as needed. I didn’t have any lumps because, despite quick pauses to take photos, I did whisk prodigiously! 

Continue to cook until the ugali forms a film along the bottom and sides of the pan and is firm enough to hold its shape, 4 to 5 minutes. The texture should be much thicker than polenta or grits and the ugali should hold its shape when pressed with the spoon. 

Use the spoon to smooth it into an even layer and continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and run a small silicone spatula or butter knife along the sides of the pot to loosen the ugali. 

Hold a plate flush to the pot, then invert the ugali onto the plate. The ugali should easily release from the pot onto the plate. If it doesn’t easily release, return it to the stove top and continue to cook for another minute or so. 

Once flipped out, keep it covered with the pot or a bowl until ready to serve, up to 20 minutes.

Cut the ugali into wedges.

I didn’t have any grilled meat but I did have a lovely heirloom tomato, onion and some fresh cilantro, so we ate our ugali with the traditional salad I mentioned above.

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 21st edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter U. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the U recipes below:

• Fall Pear Ugly Duckling Cake (Cake Mix Recipe) from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Miso Roasted Sweet Potatoes from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Discard Walnut Ginger Cookies from A Messy Kitchen
• Ugali - Savory Maize Meal Porridge from Food Lust People Love
• Unicorn Popcorn from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Unicorn Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies from Blogghetti
• Upvasacha Cake from Sneha’s Recipe
• Urchin Butter from Culinary Cam
• Uzbek Rice with Beef and Carrots (Plov) from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• White Urad Dal from Mayuri’s Jikoni

Here are my posts for the 2026 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Ají de Cerdo aka Peruvian Pork Stew

B: Baby Cos Peach Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing 

C. Traditional Cullen Skink 

D. Coconut Cream Date Caramel 

E. Edamame Summer Salad 

F. Lamb Feta Mint Patties 

G. Ricotta Gnocchi à la Poêle 

H. Hazelnut Vodka 

I. Italian Sausage Stuffed Mini Peppers - this post!

J. Jägersuppe - Hunter's Soup 

K. Easy Chicken Kapama 

L. Easy Lamb Shoulder Roast 

M. Miso Chocolate Cookies 

N. Duck Egg Narjissiya 

O. Marinated Apéro Olives

P. Bacon and Pork Patties 

Q. Baked Quail Egg XO Sauce Appetizers 

R. Roasted Stuffed Chicken Parcels 

S. Scallop Roe Bottarga 

T. Garlic Lemon Tuna Steaks - Sous Vide 

U. Ugali - Savory Maize Meal Porridge - this post!

To check out the Alphabet Challenges for 2024 and 2025, click here.

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Garlic Lemon Tuna Steaks - Sous Vide

Tender and flavorful, these garlic lemon tuna steaks are well-seasoned and lightly cooked to perfection, vacuum-sealed, with a precision cooker. Just slice to serve! 

This summer our lovely little island decided to award a few limited fishing licenses for bluefin tuna to local fishermen in our Channel Island waters. It was such a big deal that every time one was caught, it made the news! Write-ups in the local paper with amazing photos. Those are some massive fish!

We’d never tasted bluefin before so you know our next shopping trip to town included a stop at the fish market. I hopped out and left my husband waiting in the car – no need to park – only to pull up short when faced with closed shutters on the fish stalls. I completely forgot that the market closes early on a Thursday!

All hope was not lost though because one of their doors was still open. I knocked and called out and the wonderful fishmonger responded, coming out of his back office. Bless him, he cut me two of the nicest, freshest, reddest tuna steaks I’d ever seen! (He also gifted me with two roe sacs so I could attempt making bottarga.)

I seasoned and simply seared the bluefin steaks because we wanted to really taste the tuna. To see if it was any different from our usual yellowfin. I am here to report that it was very nice but if you had blindfolded me, I don’t think I’d have known the difference. But you know what? Now at least we can say we’ve eaten and enjoyed line-caught, Channel Island bluefin tuna! 

Garlic Lemon Tuna Steaks - Sous Vide

As you can see from my list below, I used yellowfin for this particular recipe. Use whatever lovely, very fresh tuna you can buy. 

Ingredients

2 (6 oz or 170g) yellowfin tuna steaks

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Zest 1/2 lemon

1 clove garlic, lightly crushed

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon olive oil

Optional to serve: Cut the ½ lemon you zested into wedges for squeezing

Method

Dry the tuna steaks with paper towels, then season them generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Chill in the refrigerator uncovered for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, zest your lemon with a microplane and crush the garlic. 

Set up the precision cooker. In a vessel deep enough to keep the tuna submerged, preheat the water to 110°F or 43.3°C.

Put the lemon zest, garlic, bay leaves and olive oil in a Ziploc bag that is big enough for the tuna steaks not to touch each other. (I used a quart size bag.) Make sure everything is nicely distributed. 

Add the chilled tuna steaks to the bag and gently rub them around so they are coated with the olive oil, lemon zest, bay leaves and garlic.

Close the bag until it is just open on side of the zipper and carefully submerge it in a vessel of cool water to displace the air, zipping it completely closed when all the air is out. 

When your pot of water is at the correct temperature, put the tuna bag in it and secure it to one side. I use clothes pegs for this. Set the cook timer on your precision cooker to 30 minutes. (As you can see, this photo was taken three minutes in.)

When the precision timer turns off, remove the bag from the water.

Leave the tuna steaks in the bag for another five minutes, then remove and chill before slicing. Reserve the contents of the bag for plating up.

I like to use a rolling pin to really mash the garlic inside the bag and, once the tuna is chilled and sliced, I spoon the mashed garlic, lemon zest and olive oil all down the slices. 

Or, if you prefer, you can serve it sashimi-style with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 20th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter T. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the T recipes below:

• Butternut Squash, Thyme, Ham, & Wild Rice Soup from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Chanya Tondak from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Cheeseburger Tacos from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Garlic Lemon Tuna Steaks - Sous Vide from Food Lust People Love
• Homemade Taco Seasoning from Sneha’s Recipe
• Tomatillo Salad from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Tortilla Española from Culinary Cam
• Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili Joes from A Messy Kitchen
• Tuscan Sausage Soup from Jolene’s Recipe Journal

Here are my posts for the 2026 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Ají de Cerdo aka Peruvian Pork Stew

B: Baby Cos Peach Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing 

C. Traditional Cullen Skink 

D. Coconut Cream Date Caramel 

E. Edamame Summer Salad 

F. Lamb Feta Mint Patties 

G. Ricotta Gnocchi à la Poêle 

H. Hazelnut Vodka 

I. Italian Sausage Stuffed Mini Peppers - this post!

J. Jägersuppe - Hunter's Soup 

K. Easy Chicken Kapama 

L. Easy Lamb Shoulder Roast 

M. Miso Chocolate Cookies 

N. Duck Egg Narjissiya 

O. Marinated Apéro Olives

P. Bacon and Pork Patties 

Q. Baked Quail Egg XO Sauce Appetizers 

R. Roasted Stuffed Chicken Parcels 

S. Scallop Roe Bottarga 

T. Garlic Lemon Tuna Steaks - Sous Vide - this post!

To check out the Alphabet Challenges for 2024 and 2025, click here.

Pin these Garlic Lemon Tuna Steaks – Sous Vide!

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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.

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