Recipe: Fig-walnut salad has unexpected ingredient -- rose petals
Rose petals, hiding upper left, add a colorful touch to this salad. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)
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Crunchy, salty, chewy, sweet; this salad has a tasty mix of flavorful opposites plus one surprise.
Figs and walnuts, which are now coming into season, contrast with baby arugula, chard, kale and other cool-weather greens. Crumbled blue cheese gives the salad some extra tang.
This combination was inspired by a simply classic fig-arugula-feta salad served at Mulvaney’s B&L. The fresh walnuts provide some extra crunch.
For extra color, I added some fresh rose petals. (Yes, roses are edible, but only if you don’t spray or use systemic pesticides. Rinse petals well but gently to avoid bruising.)
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Many different baby greens work well in this salad. When thinning chard or kale (leafy greens generally cooked before serving), save those little discards for fresh salads. They add texture as well as flavor to fall salads.
Fig and walnut salad
Serves 2
Ingredients:
4 fresh figs
¼ cup walnuts, chopped
¼ cup blue cheese, crumbled
2 cups fresh mixed baby greens (arugula, chard, kale, etc.)
¼ cup rose petals (optional)
Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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