Cooking with Nads by Emma Reichert

  Like her mother and Grandmother before her, Natalie ‘Nads’ Doughman spent her childhood summers on Beaver Island. Many years later, a fateful deli management offer brought her here full-time, and she hasn’t looked back. Since last spring, Nads and her husband Bryan have managed the Beaver Island bakery and deli, Dalwhinnie. Together, the pair have expanded the menu to include new takes on old classics, as well as iterations from their previous vegan pop-up venture, Peace and Love Eatery, which they ran together in Cincinnati.
Described by friends as giant-hearted, 

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Cooking with Nads continued...Click the Dalwhinnie Photo below to see menu...

hard-working and adventure-seeking, Nad’s personality shines through in the eclectic recipes she makes both at work and at home. A seasoning enthusiast and part time forager, her friends often remark that she is incredibly resourceful; often creating one-of-a-kind dishes that wouldn’t be possible without the home-grown pickings that spring up right in her own backyard.
“We just found a bunch of oyster mushrooms the other day!” she recalls. “I’ve also harvested chaga from birch trees to make tea or add to my coffee.”  In addition to her harvests, Doughman has also siphoned birch and sap from maple trees, which she drinks straight, giving it the nickname “nature’s gatorade”. She was very excited to discover wild burdock — a free-radical fighting plant in the broccoli family — on Garden Island.  What Nads and Bryan can’t find foraging or from McDonough’s Market they try to procure from the island’s Thursday morning farmer’s market and Central Lake based CSA, Providence Farms.
Crucial ingredients Natalie can’t cook without?  Garlic, garlic and garlic.  “If you think you may have added too much, throw a little more in there!” Other staples of Nads’ kitchen include good quality salt like pink Himalayan sea salt— “anything but iodized!”—lemons (for juice but especially for zesting), and strictly fresh herbs.  While her bold approach to seasonings may seem intimidating, she has been blessed with a borderline alchemical ability to combine diverse flavors harmoniously. The recipe Natalie is sharing today incorporates all three of her aforementioned favorite things.  It’s a fresh vegan spin on a kale Caesar salad originally made for her by her 9 year old niece, Madelyn:
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2 c kale, finely chopped
2 c brussel sprouts, shaved
1/2 head cauliflower, shaved
2 tbsp capers
2 whole lemons, juiced and zested
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 c olive oil
¼ c parmesan, grated
1 tsp kosher salt
                                                        ½ tsp cracked black pepper                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Not up for cooking?  No problem, be sure to stop in to visit Bryan and Natalie for some magical original recipes in town at Dalwhinnie.  Open from 8 am til 2 pm DAILY,  DALWHINNIE is NOW serving Mimosas,  Bloody Marys and more!   Call 231-448-2733 for more information or take-out!
If you do decide to tackle this, or any other recipe for that matter, try a page out of Nad’s cookbook-always add extra garlic and love!
 

 

 

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