Fennel Madness!!

I think I may be addicted fennel! Until beginning this blog, the only time I ever used fennel was as stuffing for my Thanksgiving Turkey (and yes, it has crossed my mind what the menu is going to look like come November, but we'll burn that bridge when we come to it.) But lately it's been on my list every week, and has been a wonderful and surprisingly versatile addition to the menu. Last night I whipped up a quick and yummy severed fennel with Meyer lemons, and it was so easy you won't even feel like you're trying. This one is from "Clean Food," and I have decided Terry Walters is probably god.

Here's the biz:
3 bulbs of fennel (reserve the fronds if they are still attached, and give them a nice chop.)
Zest and juice of one Meyer lemon
1 shallot sliced as thin as you can manage, vivisected even
2 tbsp olive oil

Ready? Core the fennel bulbs, cut them into wedges, and steam them until soft. In a BIG skillet, sautée the shallots in the oil until they are tender, add fennel and seer 2 minutes. If you have the chopped fronds handy, add them in along with the zest and lemon juice. Cook another minute or two, if you please, add a pinch of sea salt. Done. Easy? Wasn't it? Cooking it is barely more work than reading the recipe, and it is gooooood.




I served it with a dollop of cashew dill cream on the side, because I thought it would taste nice, and because I made a big batch earlier in the day from some dill that was threatening to revolt.

As a starter, I made a luscious watermelon soup, once again, effortless to prepare and refreshing to the tatebuds on a warm day.

3 cups of watermelon chunks
1 cup of mango chunks
(on both counts keep a little extra aside if you'd like the soup to be chunkier.)
1/2 cup of lime or lemon juice, (I went with lime.)
A pinch of ground cardamom
A 1"x1" cube of fresh ginger
1/2 a small bunch of fresh mint (1-2 tbsp worth)


If you guessed that it all goes in the vitamix until it can't remember it's birthday, you'd be right. It won't take long, maybe 30 seconds or so once you get up to high power.

Despite the sweetness of the fruit, the lime, ginger, and cardamom really spiced this up and make it much more of a dinner time dish than a dessert. Big Zing factor, I will be making this throughout the summer, and I'm already having visions of serving it out of a whole watermelon at picnics. I can feel the sunshine on my skin already.

I didn't get a nice picture of this, so once again, here's another shot of Orbiting Vegan's fearless, carnivorous mascot, Dusty Springfield.




Ooooh, and here's one of my new "air plant," which grows in nothing and only requires a little light and some leaf misting. The woman at the Garden center promised me the are almost impossible to kill. As many of you know, this is my kind of houseplant.




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Location:Madison, CT