Salmon for one

I really enjoy salmon, but I don't cook it very often at home because I live with a nonfish-eater. On a recent day however, I found myself cooking for one so I took advantage of the opportunity and made myself a salmon fillet. It was a quick dish to put together. First I sprayed a broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray and then placed the salmon on it. Then I squeezed fresh lime juice over it and let it set while the broiler heated up. I put the salmon into the broiler next and while it began cooking, I mixed together equal parts of hoisin (an Asian barbecue sauce) and honey. After just a few minutes, I pulled the salmon out and basted it with the hoisin-honey mixture. Back under the broiler for a few minutes to finish cooking and then it was ready for plating. I placed the salmon on a bed of lightly sauteed zucchini and summer squash and then garnished with green scallions and a lime wedge. Easy, flavourful, and healthy.

Have you tried...

sauteing radishes? If you haven't, you're not alone. Most people think of radishes as something to throw into a salad or a crudite' platter. Cooked radishes, however, have a much different flavour than raw radishes. When cooked, they become very mild, not unlike turnips. Today I sauteed trimmed and sliced radishes in a little butter until they were crisp-tender. A squeeze of lemon, chopped fresh dill, and salt and pepper was all that was needed to finish this delicious, easy, and unexpected side dish. Perfect with grilled chicken or fish, you have to give this a try.

Happiness is...

Soup. There is something about a big pot of soup simmering on the stove that just makes me happy. Is that weird? I'm not sure what it is...perhaps the aroma perfuming the condo (and the hallways. I hope my neighbors enjoy the smell of soup simmering as much as I do.) . Or it might be the promise of a hot bowl of comforting soup for dinner. Or it could just simply be the act of making the soup that I enjoy. Probably, it's a combination of all the above. I LOVE to make soup. Is that weird??? When it comes to makeing soup I like that I don't need to stick to a recipe. I can just see what ingredients I have on hand and go from there. I like that it is a work in progress over several hours...a layering of flavours that develop and intensify with time. I like that no two pots of soup are exactly the same; they are unique (dare I say) like works of art. Ok, I'm problably weird, but I make good soup. This past Sunday (Easter), John and I spent the afternoon and evening with his family. (John is the youngest of eight kids, so there was a big ,group of us.) Whenever we are with his family, there is always a lot of food and Sunday was no different. I brought a spring giardiniera (I'll explain that on a future entry.) to add to the spread. There were lots of salads, vegetables, potatoes, and the Easter hams. I say hams, because there were at least three. Maybe four? There was a lot of ham. Too much ham. Everyone went home with a bag of ham. And I was not going to let my ham go to waste. (You should know I hate to waste food. You should also know that is why I need to lose 10 (or 20?) pounds.) I digress. Ham. Leftover ham. Great (brilliant) minds think alike so (though I didn't know it at the time) John's Mom (Merilee, in Lake Elsinore) and I both decided to make bean soup. For mine, I started by cooking down onions, carrots, and a little celery. When that had softened, I added a few large cloves of garlic and two zucchini. Next came chicken stock, a bay leaf, fresh rosemary and thyme, and several cans of white beans which I pureed with an immersion blender before adding. Then in went the diced ham followed by a good stir and a couple hours of simmering with an occasional stir. (If it had been raining out, I would have been in heaven. No such luck. Beaufiful sunny day. 68 degrees. Have I mentioned that the only thing better than making soup is making soup on a rainy day?) A few tastings later and a little salt and pepper and my masterpiece was complete. And I achieved inner bliss. (P.S.--If you find yourself bored sometime and need a challenge, try taking "pretty" pictures of bean soup. Where's a professional when I need one?)

Healthy Breakfast

For a quick and healthy breakfast, I love fresh fruit and granola parfaits. This time of year, the fresh berries are gorgeous, and I love a combination of blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries. When it comes to granola, there's no comparison to homemade. I make mine using rolled oats, shredded coconut, almonds, cashews, honey, and a mixture of dried fruits including cranberries, apricots, and pineapple. Roasted until it is golden, the result is amazing. Once you try this, no store-bought granola will do. I promise. For the parfaits, I layer lowfat vanilla yogurt, fresh berries, and the homemade granola. For a quick a healthy breakfast, it doesn't get any better...

Meet the parents...

My friend Ed recently had a party. The occasion? His parents visiting from Connecticut, and he wanted all his friends to meet them. Planning for 25 guests, we created the following menu. Sun-dried tomato dip with vegetables, bruschetta, endive leaves with curried chicken salad, mushroon caps with sausage stuffing, mini-frittatas with asparagus and bell pepper, sweet and sour tapas-style meatballs, proscuitto and melon with honey-balsamic glaze, miniature carrot cake cupcakes, and outrageous brownies. I took a few pictures right before the first guests arrived. My photography skills were not so great, but the evening was a success and everyone enjoyed meeting Ed's parents. It explained so much...

I

Easy. Elegant. Delicious.

When I don't have a lot of time to spend cooking dinner, stuffed bell peppers are a great choice. They only require about 15 minutes of prep work and are ready to eat in about 45 minutes. They can also be prepared ahead of time and just reheated at the last minute. This makes them perfect for entertaining because I can get the kitchen cleaned up before guests arrive, yet I still look like I went to a lot of trouble cooking dinner. This recipe calls for lean ground beef, but they can easily be made with ground turkey or with extra vegetables for a delicious meatless entree. To make the recipe as pictured, I start by browning lean ground beef with onions and garlic. While this is cooking, I blanch the peppers for about 2 minutes in boiling salted water. To the browned meat, I add herbs, Worcestershire sauce, and cooked orzo pasta. I then fill the peppers with this mixture and top each pepper with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. After baking for 30 minutes, I like to top the peppers with a bit more cheese and serve with a bowl of marinara sauce for guests to add if they like. Add a green salad and some crusty bread and it is a simple, elegant, delicious, and satisfying dinner.

...a time to indulge.

There's a time for everything and that means there's a time for brownies...Outrageous Brownies from Ina Garten's book, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (Happens to be one of my favorite cookbooks). These brownies are so rich and so delicious, they're worth every calorie, if you happen to be counting. They start with a pound of butter, a pound of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and another 6 ounces of unsweetened chocolate. While that is melting, I stir together 6 eggs (at room temperature), 2 tablespoons vanilla, 2 1/4 cups sugar, and 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules. The instant coffee gives the brownies a rich, depth of flavour. This mixture then is stirred with the melted chocolate mixture and then it all gets set aside for awhile to cool. In a separate bowl, the final ingredients get mixed together--1 1/4 cups flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, another 12 ounces chocolate chips, and 3 cups walnuts. This mixture then gets added to the cooled chocolate mixture and everything is baked in a 12 x 18 x 1 inch baking sheet for a total of 35 min. These brownies last for up to a week if they are wrapped in an airtight container. They are amazing alone or make a decadent base for a sundae (suggestion #1--serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. #2--coffee ice cream and hot fudge #3--for the holidays, serve with peppermint ice cream and hot fudge. Incredible!). Add some candles to your brownies and make tonight a party...Enjoy!