• Spinach Salad with Red Onion, Manchego, and Walnuts
    Food

    Spinach Salad with Pickled Red Onions, Manchego, and Honeyed Walnuts

    Ribbony red onions, shavings of Manchego cheese, and crunchy, sweet walnuts provide such intense flavor that the only dressing needed for this spinach salad is a drizzle of olive oil. With a dose of vinegar from the quick pickling process, red onions contribute to the flavor of a vinaigrette. In fact, all of the toppings are rather playful, lending vibrancy to this salad. The cheese has a distinct nuttiness, the nuts are coated in the sweetness of honey, and the sweet qualities of red onion are transformed with pickled flavor. Ingredients Baby spinach Aged manchego cheese Quick pickled red onions Honeyed walnuts Quick Pickled Red Onions 1 medium red onion…

  • Crostini with walnut cream cheese
    Food

    Date Crostini with Walnut Cream Cheese

    When it comes to natural breakfast sweets, maple syrup and honey may come to mind first, but dates are another great option. With a flavor that is deeper and tends toward caramel, they have been significant to cuisines throughout the ages. One of the oldest cultivated plants, date trees also have rich symbolic value, with the fruit representing life and fertility and the leaves being part of many cultural traditions. Among his wishes for marriage, the 13th century poet Rumi hopes that the union may “offer fruit and shade like the date palm.” Full of natural sweetness, dates make a healthy alternative to refined sugar, but I love them for…