Mondays Are The Best Days

Caroline Barrett and Granddaughter Frankie on a Happy Monday

I love Monday, each and every one of them, though we’ve all been trained to hate the day. Pop culture has drilled this in with songs, entire movies and even cartoon strips devoted to how sad Mondays are. I didn’t always feel this way (especially not my 16-year-old self) but now, Monday brings joy. Monday is a day of renewal. It’s the day I plan the whole week, meal prep and have a clean, vegetarian supper. Monday is even a great day to start making fun plans for the next weekend. 
But best of all, Monday is the day I have my granddaughter. For Frankie and I, it’s a day for reading, for pushing the stroller, and cooking and eating together. 
Between exploring the library (code for running through the stacks and pulling books from the shelves) and taking in the birds and trees and people on walks, we cook. We cook eggs and noodles and smoothies. We bake cookies. She stands in a toddler tower (a handy stool which brings her right up to my level at the counter) while I chop for our dinner, fix snacks and tidy up. Experience has taught me that she is quick to grab whatever is left within her reach, whether it’s a piece of fish, a butcher knife, or a chile pepper. Cooking with her is equal parts stirring and measuring, near-accidents and cleaning spills. It is never boring. Here are a few things Frankie and I have cooked and (mostly) enjoyed together over the past few weeks. 
I like to make noodle salads, especially on Mondays, because they make for a good vegetarian supper and can be eaten all week long. The recipe here calls for buckwheat noodles, which can be found in the Asian grocery and in most supermarkets. High in fiber and with a decent amount of protein, these noodles are healthful and a good bed for whatever vegetables you want to rest on them. Crisp peppers or even cooked sweet potato would work well.  I like to stir buckwheat noodles into soups and they go well with proteins like chicken or salmon. Here, I’ve made a creamy dressing from tahini and lemon that’s been marinated with garlic to give it a gentle warmth.

Soba Noodle Salad With Tahini Dressing

In our house, we are longtime lovers of nicoise salad, but before I tell you about what goes into ours, let’s first clear up what an authentic nicoise salad is. The recipe printed here is not the same salad you would have in say, a cafe in Nice, France. That salad would have only raw vegetables, no potatoes, and a dressing made from olive oil and garlic. Good, I’m sure. What’s here is an Americanized version of that salad and, while it’s not a French purists salad, it’s delicious. Frankie picks through, eating eggs and potatoes and occasionally (and maybe by accident) something green. I’ve dressed it with way more than garlic and olive oil: there’s a creamy, green dressing that’s decidedly American. It’s worth dipping the vegetables in, and making extra for just that purpose. The tuna that sits on this salad is an upgrade from our typical tuna-sandwich kind: a can of tuna that comes in olive oil. This variety has more flavor and is richer and juicier than the water-packed type. It’s good for a tuna dish that doesn’t call for dousing in mayonnaise. 
Lastly, I am sharing a recipe for a cake made with yogurt. This is a cake to eat morning or night, to share with friends, to brighten up even a dreary Monday. It’s simple to make and uses stuff you’ve probably got on hand. Whole-milk, unflavored Greek yogurt will give you a tender, moist cake held together by a golden crust. You can top it with powdered sugar or make a glaze, but I like it as is, with a cup of strong tea. Frankie takes small pieces from my hand as she stomps past, busy in her toddler way. 

Nicoise Salad

Lately Frankie’s been looking out the back door and holding a morsel of food that she’s taken on the fly. She tucks that into her cheek and just like a chipmunk, keeps it there for a while. I like to put down whatever I’m doing and join her, and we look for squirrels and birds and watch the clouds. It’s usually then that we reaffirm what we already knew: Mondays are the best days.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Buckwheat Noodle Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing
Serves 5

1 14-ounce package buckwheat noodles
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
4 radishes, trimmed and sliced thinly
1 handful fresh bean sprouts
1 cup shelled frozen edamame, thawed
Sesame seeds and cilantro, for garnish
For the Lemon Tahini Dressing: 
1 garlic clove, halved
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup tahini
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
A few tablespoons water
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Cook the noodles according to the package directions and then drain and rinse very well under cold water. Toss with the sesame oil. 

Prepare the dressing: combine the garlic halves and the lemon juice in a glass bowl and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes. Remove the garlic clove and discard or save for another use (see note below). 

Whisk together the lemon juice and tahini. It will be clumpy at first, but don’t give up until you have a smooth paste. Pour in the olive oil, whisk until smooth, and then add water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dressing is creamy and pourable. Season with salt. Keeps for 3 days, refrigerated. 

Place the noodles on a platter and arrange the vegetables over top. Drizzle the dressing over all, then garnish with the sesame seeds and cilantro. Serve at room temperature. 

The dressing, noodles and vegetables can be prepped a day in advance and put together before serving. 

Note: The discarded garlic clove can be chopped and sauteed in another recipe that calls for garlic cloves. It will be milder than a fresh garlic clove, but still usable. 

Nicoise Salad with Spring Vegetables
Serves 2

Olive oil
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 eggs, hard boiled 
2 waxy potatoes, boiled
1 5-ounce can albacore tuna in olive oil, drained
4 radishes, trimmed and sliced thin
1 cup pitted Nicoise olives (or whatever olive you have on hand)
2 tablespoons capers
For the Green Goddess Dressing: 
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
½ avocado
1 handful fresh herbs: parsley, basil, dill, etc.
1 teaspoon capers, salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet, heat a swirl of olive oil over a medium flame. When the pan is hot, add the asparagus and cook, using tongs to turn and move everything around. When it’s turned bright green, about 2 minutes, turn off the heat and squeeze in the juice from ½ lemon. Toss it together to coat the asparagus in the juice, then move from the pan to a platter and let cool. 
Arrange the eggs, potatoes, tuna, radish, olive and capers around the asparagus. 
Make the dressing: Puree the olive oil with the juice, avocado, fresh herbs of choice and capers until smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper. 
Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve at room temperature. 

Lemon Yogurt Cake
Makes one 8-inch cake

1 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
For serving: powdered sugar and berries
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and generously grease a standard loaf pan. 
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, kosher salt and sugar. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add in the yogurt, lemon juice and zest, eggs and olive oil. Stir the wet ingredients, then mix with the rest of the bowl until well combined. 
Scrape out into the loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the top is spongy and the outside is golden brown. Allow to cool, then coat the top with powdered sugar and serve,