Grilled Squash and Scallions

This looks like a messy splurge, and it is.  Totally yummy!

Fresh zucchinis and scallions from the garden are featured in today's salad.  Inspired to make something refreshing for dinner, a lemony vinaigrette seemed the perfect response for our hot summer nights.

Start by grilling zucchini and scallions.  I tossed both with a little olive oil and lightly seasoned them with salt and pepper.

These cooked up quickly.  Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Prepare a vinaigrette.  2 parts extra virgin olive oil and 1 part lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Adjust the acidity of the dressing as desired.  (This means add more oil if you need to lighten the acidity).

Place mixed spring lettuces on a platter and arrange the grilled vegetables over.  Drizzle with vinaigrette and top with lemon zest and coarsely chopped hazelnuts or almonds.

Serves:  4
Prep and cook time:  15 minutes

Each serving offers approximately 250 calories, about 4 grams protein, 3 grams fiber, and a generous amount of vitamin E.  Per WebMD, "Vitamin E is an important vitamin required for the proper function of many organs in the body.  It is also an antioxidant.  This means it helps to slow down processes that damage cells."

Enjoy!

- Kim Fielding

Salmon with Tarragon

 

Beautiful salmon with garden herbs.  A quick and easy dinner when served
with steamed broccoli and brown rice.

Our garden tarragon is finally taking off after several rough starts.  Friends have mentioned how easy it is to grow but that hasn't been the case with us.  We finally found a somewhat shady spot with good soil that works for tarragon in our beds.

With that said, not everyone loves tarragon.  I grew up with it and it is an intuitive herb for me.  Bernaise sauce is an amazing, yet indulgent, treat as is tarragon cream over chicken or fish.  Tarragon may be used in teas and soft drinks, and has medicinal and industrial purposes as well.  I hope to make a big batch of tarragon vinegar before the end of the season to use throughout the year.  With a distinctive sweet anise scent and flavor, it is found in cuisines around the world. 

Now that our tarragon plant is thriving, I am excited to use it in our recipes.  This one is super simple!

Serves:  4 - 5
Prep time:  5 minutes

Parchment paper or foil
1 large fillet of salmon, about 1-1/4 pounds
butter or oil, as needed
several sprigs tarragon. about 2 Tbsp chopped leaves
Two lemons, zest the peels then slice fruit into wedges
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.



Zest the lemons, yellow part of the peel only.  The white pith is bitter.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Brush fish lightly with oil or butter then top with tarragon and lemon peel.

Season with pepper and a pinch of salt.

Cook salmon about 8 minutes.  Let set for a few minutes before serving.

Squeeze fresh lemon juice over to finish the dish.

Each 4-ounce serving of salmon offers approximately 175 calories, your entire daily need for vitamin B-12, and over half your daily need for niacin, selenium, and phosphorous.  We used Coho salmon for this recipe as it is fresh and in season through October.  It offers an ideal ratio of 3:1 parts omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids.

 

My Buddha lemon

Every late autumn/early winter I look forward to finding Buddha's Hand lemons in the Farmer's Markets.  They don't have pulp, juice, or seeds, but their zest is incredible.  When in season, substitute them for regular lemon zest.  I like to keep them on the counter because they exude an amazing citrusy yet floral aroma and my kitchen smells so good.  The zest and peel may be used in a variety of ways to include candied peel, flavored sugars or salt, baked goods, and infused in vodka.  They may be a little pricey, but they are a special treat.  Explore!

 

- Kim Fielding

Fancy Green Bean Salad



Cooked green beans with dressing.  They are about to be tossed with freekeh
and lots of fresh herbs.  Refreshing!

I picked up the latest Bon Appetit magazine, August 2014, and fell in love with the salads presented by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.  My green bean salad falls very short of their presentation, but the basic ingredients that these two genius chefs offer us make even the most basic chefs shine. 

First off, we used only home grown veggies and they aren't particularly pretty.  The green beans had been frozen then defrosted but were stringy.  The key to stringy green beans is to cut them into short pieces.  The other thing that I was missing was tahini.  After living away for almost a month, I am slowly but surely finding out what is no longer in my pantry - tahini being one of them.  Okay, so without tahini, let's make this salad work..... and it does.

Serves: 5 large helpings
Preparation time:  30  minutes

The recipe, altered from the magazine version, is as follows:

1/4 cup dried freekeh, cooked
1 pound whole green beans, trimmed, and cooked
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
A very large handful of herbs to include: parsley, cilantry, and mint

Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon diced shallot or red onion
1/2 tsp. maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste in the dressing


In a jar with a lid, add all ingredients together and shake to blend.  Place cooked freekeh and cooked green beans in a bowl.  Stir the dressing ingredients into the green bean, freekeh mix, then add the walnuts, and half of the herbs.  Put the salad onto a platter then top with the rest of the herbs.

Sadly I didn't capture a photo of the salad served on a platter with all of the herbs and nuts sprinkled atop.  But it was yummy.

Each serving offers around 200 calories and almost five grams of fiber and protein.

- Kim Fielding

That Little Something Sweet

These little gems are about a quarter the size of a regular cupcake.

The holidays at our home are celebrated with lots of family members and big dinners.  Even though their tummies might be full, it seems like everyone desires that "little something sweet" to end their meal.  With that in mind, I decided to experiment with mini-cupcakes.

Using devil's food and white cake mixes makes this an easy prep dessert.  Mini-cupcake pans are available in cooking supply stores and the papers can be found in most grocery markets.  They cook in about 14 minutes and freeze beautifully. 

The two favored flavor combinations for this Christmas included the chocolate one featured above with chocolate frosting and a chocolate covered espresso bean.  The second one was white cake with white whipped frosting and crushed lemon drop candies sprinkled on top.  Toppings can include any small candy appropriate for the holiday such as crushed candy cane, little jelly beans at Easter, fresh berries, or candy corn at Halloween. 

The lemon candies give a little crunch along with a burst of lemon flavor.

Each box of cake mix made between 48-54 cupcakes.  To freeze them, I set the unfrosted baked cupcakes on a sheet pan and put them in a freezer until solid.  After, I stored them in a ziplock bag until needed.  I used premade frosting to save time and piped it onto the cupcakes with a simple flourish.  One or two bites are all you need after a big supper.

Each mini-cupcake with 2 teaspoons frosting and a bit of candy is between 90-95 calories.

- Kim Fielding