Soup & Salad Night

Have you ever tried Sparrow Lane Vinegars? They are delicious! We soon used up a bottle of their Cabernet Sauvignon Vinegar in our favorite vinaigrette and could not find more anywhere. We ordered some direct from Sparrow Lane along with several other of their varieties, wondering how well glass bottles of vinegar would ship. They arrived safely due to this superior packaging:

Aren't they pretty all lined up here? (And no, they don't sell the pickled peppers. That's how we recycled the empty cabernet bottle!)

Enclosed with our shipment was a recipe page, and we've made one of their salad recipes three times now. It features their D'Anjou Pear Vinegar that smells heavenly. They call it Summer Salad but we think it should be named Fall & Winter Salad. Here is the recipe:

Sparrow Lane Summer Salad [that we call Fall & Winter Salad]

1 large red apple, sliced thinly

1 large pear, sliced thinly

1 large orange, peeled and sliced

1/3 cup Sparrow Lane Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 tablespoons Sparrow Lane D'Anjou Pear Vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup chopped pecans [I saute them whole and sprinkle with sea salt]

lettuce leaves

In a large bowl, combine sliced fruit [I arrange them on top of the lettuce instead of combining them]. In a small bowl, combine oil, vinegar, and honey; blend well. Pour oil mixture over the fruit, tossing to coat well. Arrange fruit on 6 lettuce lined salad dishes; sprinkle each with a heaping teaspoon of chopped nuts. Serves 6.

Perfect with this salad is Lee Bailey's Carrot and Dill Soup. I double this recipe and freeze half for later. And please use fresh dill in the soup, not dried. It makes all the difference in the world.

Lee Bailey's Carrot and Dill Soup

The combination of carrots and dill is a marriage made in heaven. Add as much dill as you like.

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

6 ounces onion, coarsely chopped

1 3/4 pounds carrots (weight after removing tops)

3/4 pound sweet potato

1/2 pound baking potato

5 cups rich chicken stock

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Scant 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 generous tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

[I add a pinch of mace also]

Sour cream, creme fraiche, or yogurt 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in a medium skillet and saute onion until light golden and just beginning to brown.

Carefully scrub carrots and cut into rings, unpeeled. [I admit that I peeled them.]

Steam until soft.

Meanwhile, place sweet and white potatoes in oven and bake until soft, about 1 hour.

Scrape sauteed onion into a food processor, deglaze pan with a little of the chicken stock and add this to the onion. [I just use a hand blender for this job.] Puree until thoroughly mixed and very fine. 

Pour mixture into a saucepan, then add the dill and chicken stock. 

Simmer over very low heat for about 15 minutes. 

Soup may be thinned with additional stock, milk, or cream.

Correct seasoning, and serve warm with a dollop of sour cream, yogurt, or creme fraiche on top.

Serves  6 to 8.

To go with this soup and salad supper we had tasty chewy Labriola Pretzel Slider Buns.