Cashew Dill Lemon Dressing/ Farmshare Cooking

Here is what I have been making out of the food that I have received from my farmshare for the last few weeks. Click on the hyperlinks for the recipes. I am hoping that some of you have similar vegetables to cook up! If you just want to find the recipe for Cashew Sill Lemon Dressing scroll down.

FARMSHARE WEEK 5

Snap Peas- Added to Healthy Ramen with Homemade Rice Noodles
Japanese Turnip and Shell Peas- Made into Turnip and Spring Onion Pakora with Chat Masala
Turnip Greens- sautéed and eaten with Poached Eggs and Homemade Mayonnaise
Lettuce, Arugula, Shell Peas, Dill- Made into salad with Cashew Dill Lemon Dressing
Strawberries- Eaten on top of Coconut Chia Seed Pudding for breakfasts

FARMSHARE WEEK 6

Napa Cabbage- Some of became My Mother’s Simple Asian Coleslaw and some of went into Slaw with Mango, Peanuts, Mint and Pungent Lime Dressing
Lettuce and Shell Peas and Beet- became a Salad Starring Roasted Beets with a Smokey Buttermilk Chive Dressing
Beet Greens- Sauteed and eaten with Poached Eggs and Homemade Mayonnaise
Haricot vert- Made into the most delicious Crunchy and Colouful Green Bean Salad
Strawberries- Eaten on top of Coconut Chia Seed Pudding for breakfasts

FARMSHARE WEEK 7

Lettuce, Shell Peas, Dill- made into salad with Cashew Dill Lemon Dressing
Cucumber and Dill- Made into Cold Cucumber Soup with Yogurt, Dill and Sesame
Carrots and Garlic- made into Moroccan Carrot Salad
I picked up my farmshare at the last-minute (working late) and they were out of fruit.

If you know something about farmshares, you may be asking yourself…. “Where is all the zucchini?”

The answer is, I have been using the swap box to trade my zucchini for more lettuce, or this week, dill. I will be eating a whole lot of salad with this dill dressing, which is okay with me!I made this salad dressing for a fourth of July party at the home of my friends Rebecca and Jeff. I wanted to make a salad using all of the delicious food from my farmshare topped with a creamy dill dressing. Jeff cannot eat dairy, so I used soaked cashews and the result was excellent! It turned out so well that I made it again the next time I got dill from my farmshare.

My summer job requires a great deal of energy. There is no air conditioning at work, so it is hard to get excited about eating warm food. So, in the summer I tend to pack these giant salads with lots of raw vegetables as well as nuts and eggs. This creamy dill dressing is very nice on arugula and or lettuce. Cucumber, shell peas and radishes are all great in the mix. I really like to top this salad with some toasted sunflower seeds. If I am really trying to make a meal of it, I personally need a boiled egg too, or else I just end up ordering a hamburger from the excellent (but super pricey) organic hamburger place near work. If I don’t get enough protein, I become a very mean art teacher, and no one wants that!

Okay, this recipe is so simple that I feel a little silly writing it down! Here goes..

CASHEW DILL LEMON DRESSING

1 cup raw cashews soaked in water for at least 2 hours and for up to 8 hours
1 bunch of dill, snipped
The juice of 1 lemon
about 1/3 cup olive oil
salt to taste
pepper to taste
water as needed

Drain the soaked cashews.
Combine the soaked cashews with the snipped dill, juice of 1 lemon and 1/3 cup olive oil in a food processor or blender. Process until quite smooth.
It will be too thick and maybe a bit grainy in texture. Keep the blender motor running, while you gradually add water, until desired consistency and texture is achieved. Season to taste with salt and pepper. This dressing keeps well refrigerated in a jar with a tight lid.