Dressings

Seeds and Sonoma Clouds

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OurLittleCorner

Feb 24, 2026 -Ann is in OurLittleCorner today

Seeds and Sonoma Clouds

When my head is in the clouds, I sometimes envision my next life. I would like to be able to develop recipes like Melissa Clark, write like Ian McEwan, sing like Lucinda Williams, and be an intellect like Heather Cox Richardson. And I’d like to look like Martha Stewart, Kim Kardashian, Steph Curry…TBD.

If you’re not familiar with Heather Cox Richardson, she’s a history professor at Boston College and has a presence on Substack, YouTube, Facebook, and Threads – and she sends out an email daily with political/historical analysis that almost everyone we know subscribes to; it’s called “Letters from an American.” But today I want to focus on her normal weekend email, which features a gorgeous, calming nature photo instead of a letter. She lives on the coast of Maine (her husband is a lobster fisherman), so it’s easy for her to find such beauty.

I’m manifesting myself today as Heather Cox Richardson, taking a deep breath and making my blog – with this beautiful Sonoma, California, photo – short and sweet.

A gorgeous field of wild mustard greens, seen in February while driving down Arnold Drive southwest of Sonoma. The Mayacamas Mountains are to the east (photo from NextDoor).

California has several wild mustard varieties. One of them is Brassica nigra – or black mustard (fyi: the milder yellow mustard seeds come from Sinapis – or brassica – alba). If you want to know more about Brassica nigra, California’s non-native plant, and its pros and cons, read this from Thrillist and this from PBS. But if you just want to just kick back, enjoy a beautiful almost-spring day, and chat with dear friends, while enjoying delicious food, you might try this recipe which is a riff on a Melissa Clark recipe.

Black Mustard Seeds and Green Beans with Cashews and Coconut

Black Mustard Seeds and Green Beans with Cashews and Coconut

The brand “Let’s Do Organic” sells bags of Unsweetened Toasted Coconut Flakes; if you can find these, you can eliminate the toasting of the flakes – which is a nice shortcut. Should you happen to have curry leaves, use them instead of basil and the bay leaf. And the cashews may be easily omitted, resulting in a side dish rather than a vegetarian main dish. This is a riff on a recipe from the NYTimes and Melissa Clark

  • 1/2 c unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 2 1/2 T vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 (1/4″ thick) coins fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • Large pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1 bay leaf (or a few curry leaves)
  • 5 basil leaves, sliced into ribbons (omit if you used curry leaves)
  • 1 lb green or wax beans, trimmed
  • 3/4 tsp Diamond kosher salt, or to taste
  • 1/3 c chopped roasted cashews (salted or unsalted, to taste)
  • Cooked rice, for serving
  • Lime wedges, for serving

Place a large, dry skillet over medium-high heat. Add coconut flakes and toast, shaking pan occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer flakes to a bowl.

Heat oil in the same skillet. Add the mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop (about 45 seconds), then quickly add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, red pepper flakes and bay leaf (or curry leaves). Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.

Stir in basil, green beans and salt. Toss well to coat in oil and seasonings.

Add 1/3 c water, cover partly and reduce heat to medium. Cook until beans are tender, about 8 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated and the beans are wilted and lightly colored. Toss in cashews and coconut flakes. Serve over rice, with lime wedges.

Recipe brought to you by BigLittleMeals.com and Andy and Ann.

Black Mustard Seed and Dijon Mustard Dressing – served on roasted golden beets

If nice fresh string beans aren’t available at your market, try roasting some red or golden beets, and serving them with this mustard seed dressing from David Tanis and the NYTimes.

Black Mustard Seed and Dijon Mustard Dressing

Use over roasted red or golden beets or for dressing a kale salad or as a topping for cooked lentils. A riff on a recipe from the NYTimes and Davis Tanis.

  • 1 small shallot, finely diced
  • 2 T lemon juice
  • 1 T rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 T prepared horseradish
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4 T vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp nigella seeds (optional)

To make the vinaigrette combine the shallot, lemon juice, rice vinegar, mustard and horseradish in a small bowl. Stir in a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk in 3 T vegetable oil.

Heat a very small skillet with 1 tablespoon oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds and nigella seeds. As soon as the seeds begin to pop (about 1 minute) remove from the heat. Add the popped seeds and oil to the vinaigrette. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Recipe brought to you by BigLittleMeals.com and Andy and Ann.

A Little Less Bitter Is Better

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OurLittleCorner

March 25, 2025 – Ann is in OurLittleCorner today

A Little Less Bitter Is Better

I’ve heard lots of talk lately about bitterness, so I personally want to address that in today’s blog. And I want to assert that I believe bitter is better!

Of course, being a food blogger, not a politician, I’m talking about bitter greens; and, specifically, I want to give a shout out to frisée – aka Cichorium endivia var. crispum (and maybe radicchio- aka Cichorium intybus, Asteraceae).

frisée
radicchio

I’m always on the lookout for ingredients that keep well, and I’m constantly disappointed with my Little Gem lettuce, which quickly deteriorates, especially if chopped up to keep for a while in the fridge. We always have arugula – aka Eruca sativa – on hand – but we have many dinner guests who are less than enthusiastic about its bitter qualities.

Having just recently discovered the good taste and good keeping qualities of frisée and radicchio, I’m a total convert. I wash and spin dry the separated leaves, bundle them in my newly-purchased silicone sacks, and stick them in the fridge; when I retrieve them up to a week later, they’re still fresh and beautiful and tasty. Plus, they have vitamins A and K and they’re high in fiber and folate. And if I’m a little more enthusiastic about frisée than radicchio, it’s because frisée is a little less bitter.

Being a little less bitter is good for all of us.

If you’ve been bitter at your California grocery store because of the squishy new produce bags being used (a smart compostable replacement for plastic ones), you’ll appreciate a stanza from this Ian Frazier “prayer” in The New Yorker. You should read the whole funny thing, “Prayers for Everyday Life,” which is linked, but I’ve copied the relevant stanza below.

Prayers for Everyday Life

By Ian Frazier in the March 17, 2025 The New Yorker magazine.

At the supermarket…
Good God Almighty,
Holy, and Merciful,
How do you get these tear-off
Produce bags to open?
I have been pinching what I think is
The top, i.e., the “open” end,
Between my thumb and forefinger
For at least three minutes,
And still I can’t get the thing to open.
Help me, dear God, please.

After you’ve managed to get the produce bag open and have stuffed it with your frisée and radicchio, go home and try out this Frisée and Radicchio Salad recipe. It will make you rethink bitterness.

Frisée and Radicchio Salad

Frisée and Radicchio Salad with Citrus-y Dressing

Slices of oranges or apples are a great addition to this salad if you want to kick it up a notch. And fyi – bitter greens can be made less bitter by soaking the leaves for about an hour in cold water.

  • a head of frisee and a head of radicchio
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard (or more, to taste)
  • 1 T lemon juice
  • 1 T orange juice
  • 1 T apple cider vinegar
  • 1 T maple syrup or honey
  • 1/2 tsp Diamond kosher salt
  • 1/2 c olive oil

Remove the root end of the frisée, pull apart the leaves, then wash and dry the frisée using a salad spinner or gently wrapping in a clean towel. Chop the leaves into pieces. The radicchio can be prepared by removing the wilted outer leaves, cutting in half, removing the core, (rinsing and drying if you want to be extra cautious – though many say that step can be skipped) and then slivered like you would cabbage.

Whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, orange juice, vinegar, maple syrup or honey, and salt. Then gradually whisk in the oil until a creamy dressing forms.

Lightly dress the frisée and radicchio and serve. Refrigerate the remaining dressing and any remaining greens (definitely not dressed) for up to a week.

Recipe brought to you by BigLittleMeals.com and Andy and Ann.

Ultra-Concerned!

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It’s Ann here today. Andy is over in OurLittleCorner fretting about what a waiter recently said to him.

I just learned I have something in common with Michael Pollan – and it’s not promoting psychedelics. It’s addictively eating potato chips. In my case, it’s not any old potato chips. It’s Torres Black Truffle Potato Chips. Thanks to Hannah in Brooklyn for the addiction, since she bought them for us when our son and she visited in December.

The Business Insider recently published an interesting interview with Pollan – not only about his potato chip addiction but about his effort to avoid eating ultra-processed foods. And what are ultra-processed foods? “A very good definition of ultra-processed food is it is made from ingredients that no ordinary person keeps in their pantry,” Pollan said.

I know most of us don’t have truffle oil in our kitchen, but tell me what’s so “ultra’ about those Black Truffle Chips, especially when you compare them to something like Doritos?

If you read the news regularly, I’m sure you’ve noticed all of the attention being given to ultra-processed foods and the damage they may be doing to our health. The Washington Post, NPR, Scientific American, and the Wall Street Journal have all recently run lengthy articles (see the links) about these foods and the research regarding them. Mind you, not all scientists are in total agreement about the health issues ultra-processed foods may cause, but none dispute that there are red flags.

The British Medical Journal just published the results of an umbrella review of relevant studies and “reports a higher risk of adverse health outcomes associated with ultra-processed food exposure. The strongest available evidence pertained to direct associations between greater exposure to ultra-processed foods and higher risks of all cause mortality, cardiovascular disease related mortality, common mental disorder outcomes, overweight and obesity, and type 2 diabetes.” What’s scary is that, according to a 2022 American Medical Society article, “data shows that 57% of caloric intake in adults comes from ultraprocessed foods,” and…”for children it’s sadly even higher, with 67% of children’s daily calories from relatively empty ultraprocessed foods.”

If you’re scratching your head, trying to think of the ultra-processed foods you may be eating, here are some prime examples:

A reminder: look closely at the ingredients before assuming you must avoid all of these. You may be able to find healthier versions – like Torres Black Truffle Potato Chips 🙂

The Center for Science in the Public Interest describes ultra-processed foods as popular because “They have affordable prices because of low-cost ingredients, they are convenient…they are designed to be ready to consume and to have long durations. They are engineered to have craving-like palatability. And they are aggressively marketed.”

After spending the last few weeks obsessively-looking at the ingredients in every food item in our kitchen – and reading a ton about ultra-processed foods, I’ve come to the following conclusions: (1) Of course, we should seriously limit our consumption of these foods, but we don’t have to give them up entirely. An occasional Dorito-eating binge isn’t going to kill you – or ruin your mental health. (2) It pays to be more conscious of what we eat with regularity and in generous amounts. Please don’t get almost 60% of your calories from ultra-processed foods! A quick (reading glasses ON) look at both the expiration date and the list of ingredients will tell you a lot about what not to put on your food “rotation” list. You’re looking for a short and familiar list of ingredients and an expiration date that’s not far, far away.

Today’s BigLittleMeals recipe is a winner – compared to this popular supermarket purchase. Kraft makes a big deal about “no artificial flavors and no MSG” but doesn’t mention all of the other ingredients that push the salad dressing into the ultra-processed category.

If you’re curious about the name of the dressing, here’s the scoop. The dressing originated in NorCal, having first been served at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco over a 100 years ago.

Green Goddess Dressing/Dip

Serve over a green salad, as a dip with veggies, and with grilled fish or chicken – or even meatballs. Adapted from Jessica Battilana and Samin Nosrat

  • 2-4 oil-packed anchovy filets
  • 1/3 c mayonnaise
  • 1/3 c Greek yogurt
  • 1 c fresh parsley
  • 1/3 c fresh basil leaves
  • 1-2 T lemon juice
  • 2 T chopped fresh tarragon leaves (optional)
  • 3 chopped green onions
  • salt and pepper

In a food processor, combine the anchovies, mayonnaise, yogurt, parsley, basil, 1 T lemon juice, tarragon (if you’re using it), and green onions. Process until smooth and green. Add salt and pepper as needed (be sure to taste, remembering that the anchovies are salty) and more lemon juice, if desired.

Recipe brought to you by BigLittleMeals.com and Andy and Ann.

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