Salmon Provençal with Zucchini

Salmon Provençal with Zucchini 

I found a beautiful farmers market with fresh home grown produce attached to the plant farm I visited to purchase plants for our new home.  Their produce was wonderful, but I had just purchased so much food two days ago that I decided we did not need any today. Then I went to check out with my plants and there was a table with two day old produce for only TWO dollars a basket!  Needless to say I purchased one bag of 11 zucchinis and one of five huge Tomatoes.

Note the orange-yellow Zucchini.  I had never seen them before and spoke to the sales lady about them.  New knowledge: They are just older very ripe zucchini. They are prefect to bake with and she mentioned flavor is very robust.

Zucchini

I decided to make a dinner of both tomatoes and zucchini and made this one up:  I had thawed a nice piece of Salmon already this morning. This made a prefect dinner for two and can be easily doubled or tripled.

 •1/2 tablespoon(s) olive oil

 •1 piece salmon fillet (for two) or 2 pieces (each for one)

 •1 Big Heirloom tomato diced reserving as much juice as possible

 •1/4 cup  onion chopped

 • 8 Greek Kalamata olives, chopped

 •1 tablespoon capers chopped

 •1 large zucchini

•2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Season the salmon with salt and pepper.  Place oil in saucepan and over medium heat saute salmon about 3 minutes per side (slightly uncooked)

Remove and place on plate and tent with foil to keep warm.  In the same pan place the onion on medium-low heat  (add a little olive oil if pan is too dry) and saute three minutes.  Add the tomato and cook for 4-5 minutes. 

.

 

 While sauce cooks cut the zucchini in half and then each in slices of 1/8 thick. Steam the zucchini in a little water just a few minutes until just tender. Drain and drizzle with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper

To sauce add olives and capers and cook another two or so minutes. Spread sauce to the side of the pan and add the salmon back in and spoon sauce on the top of the salmon.  Cook just to warm the salmon (2 minutes).  Serve on the plate.

Serve zucchini next to salmon. Cool glass of white wine and that is an elegant, pretty and low calorie summer meal. 

TIP:

·        Remember Capers are salty so go lightly on the salt

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Simple Cold Macaroni Salad Using leftover Mac and Cheese

Stuffed Tomato with Macaroni Salad

OK I am back... well sort of! 

I really need another week to get rolling in a pattern again.  Moving is hard and exhausting and the last thing one wants to do is cook.  Actually, I had little fresh items on hand, so that killed any good cooking. I relied on a quick stop on the way home from one house to the other and the simple heat and serve meal that I had prepared earlier and frozen.

I am writing this only as a “True Dump Cook” recipe, as it is not a great dish but I hope it inspires you to do similar things.  Take and REVISE!

We headed to our new market yesterday and got lots and lots of fruit and veggies and all the other staples I generally need to stock up on.

It became 8 pm and we just finished for the day. (After cleaning and unpacking and working in our office) So nothing  was out to cook nor did I have the energy, so we bought a packet of chicken cooked  fresh at the store and a package of reheat mac and cheese (horrible)!  I had allot of the pasta left and did this.

Left over Hot Macaroni and Cheese recycled (especially if not a good tasting one).

1 cup cooked leftover Macaroni and Cheese

1 large fresh celery stalk with leaves

1 large carrot chopped in small pieces (or shredded) (I used small carrots so chopped them but a large one can be shredded)

¼ cup minced onion

2 cups cooked macaroni (elbow or same as in Mac and Cheese) as per package instructions. I prefer al dente

1 teaspoon oregano

 ½ teaspoon minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or minced fresh hot pepper) to taste

¼ cup Mayonnaise

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Mix all together and get a great pasta salad.  Cool in refrigerator.

Easy revision of LEFT OVER Mac and Cheese!  Normally, I make the same salad with cheddar cheese shredded but now I substituted the Mac/Cheese leftovers. It also cuts own the amount of needed  Mayonnaise.

TIPS:

1.      Use this and put ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese  (for the Big Cheese lover)

2.      Mix in green or red peppers diced

3.      Add olives or capers

4.      Serve in a hollowed out red or green peppers or tomato or  serve on lettuce for a full lunch

5.      This stays in the refrigerator for numerous days and makes a great take to work meal, side salad, lunch meal etc.

6.      Sprinkle in some seeds of choice for a little protein (pumpkin?) Yum 

PS:   Al Dente pasta means a little hard to the bite.  Just until they lose the raw taste.

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

 

THE TREATS OF SUMMER; Fresh Fruit

I know I have disappeared from my blog for a bit of time, but all for a good because; I am moving. Not only I do not have the time to blog, I don’t have pots, pans and ingredients!

So not to let you all down, I thought to offer some knowledge on choosing, using and storage of some of our wonderful fresh fruits. (Vegetables will come)  

In general smell, touch and color are your best tools. There should be NO bruises or mold of course. We are all consumers of the “LARGE” bag of fruit on sale or at the warehouse.  Buyers beware!  Remember: The old saying “one bad apple spoils the bunch or bushel”. Usually a large bag will have at least one bad one, so be careful.

BLUEBERRIES:  BUY: They are in season now and have become much more affordable.  When you buy they make sure the bottom of the container is not stained from leaky juices. STORE:  They freeze wonderfully. Spread out clean blueberries on a cookie sheet. Freeze for about 2 hrs and then place them in a zip lock bag or plastic sealed container.  They will last a good 6 months. They are great for smoothies, topping ice cream or cereal.

PEACHES: A summer delight! First they should smell ripe and sweet.  They should not be squishy but they should be soft.  If you need to ripen them quickly, place in a paper bag for 1-2 days STORE: If you place them in the refrigerator they will last longer, but the coolness diminishes the taste so I recommend bringing them to room temperature before eating.

WATERMELON: Smelling does not work here.  If you use the flat part of your hand and thump it and it has a deep sound you will have a ripe watermelon

CATALOUPES: Smelling is the very best way to get a ripe sweet melon. Smell at the base of the stem.  Then tap them and if a deep sound is there, you found a nice dense and juicy fruit. They will last once cut only about 5 days in the refrigerators. The skin should be a light orange. If green it is not ripe.

STRAWBERRIES: Smell them and do they smell like a strawberry?  Do they have a luscious red color? Not green or yellow? Then they will be prefect. I know the large to huge strawberries are so impressive, but I believe the smaller ones impart so much more flavor.

NOT A GOOD PEACH:  see color.. I can not show smell or give the feel  (hard/soft)...... but hey who wants to eat this!

I am not bruised or have mold but I am such an ugly color!

TIPS

Now I look good??

As you saw on my previous blog, one way to eat more fruit is to prepare a big bowl of fruit salad as soon as you have ripen quantities of a few fruit types. You must place all fruit that has been peeled or cut up in an airtight container in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. I like to add lemon or lime to help keep the fruit from oxidizing and turning brown. If you want to include bananas or kiwi in your fruit salad, I suggest adding them at the last minute and don't refrigerate them.

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

NO BRAINER FRUIT SALAD

NO-BRAINER FRUIT SALAD

Fresh Fruit Salad

Coming back from three days to a home that read 85 degrees inside (we forgot and turned the air totally off!)  didn’t encourage me to get inventive in the kitchen.  The last thing I wanted to do was cook or eat a hot dish.

A Plethora of fruit in my refrigerator led me to desire a cold fresh fruit salad.

This is a no-brainer …FRUIT SALAD… yes indeed, but the twist might be new.

Simply cut up whatever fruit you have on hand in bite size pieces. Place in a bowl.  In another bowl the juices of one lemon and one lime. Take five mint leaves and crush them in the juice until they melt down to nothing.  Mix the juice in the salad and top with a few mint leaves and a slice of lime.

My salad was:

1 pint blueberries

2 large bunches of dark grapes cut in half

5 figs cut into 4 pieces

5 apricots cut in 1/4ths as well

Juice of one lime and one lemon

10 mint leaves

1 slice of lime

TIPS

·        Add orange juice instead of the lemon and lime

·        Add nuts chopped

·        Add coconut

·        Use your choice of fruit

·        Spoon over ice cream

·        Add a dollop of sour cream 

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Blender Hollandaise Sauce

I was taken to brunch yesterday for my birthday and ordered my all-time favorite, “Eggs Benedict”.  It was OK, but I really don’t understand why a simple Hollandaise sauce cannot be made in house and not to rely on some terrible package.

It is one of the “mother sauces” (five basic sauces that all other sauces are made from) and everyone should be able to whip one up easily. It is simply an emulsion of egg yolk, butter and lemon or vinegar.  It is a base for many different sauces, so I suggest everyone learns this one.

 I found years ago a recipe in the Joy of Cooking Cookbook that does all the work in a blender. There is no need for the double boiler, whisk and the dreaded possibility of the sauce separating.  The heat of the blades and warm butter cooks the eggs perfectly. This is easy and simple.

I have made it so many times that I am not sure if this is exactly the recipe from the cook book or not, but it works every time. 

3 egg Yolks

2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.

½ cup unsalted butter

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cayenne Pepper   (I like a little heat)

Separate your eggs and keep the whites for an egg omelet for tomorrow!

Place the yolks, lemon and salt and pepper in the blender.  Whisk to blend for a couple of seconds.  Heat the butter, until just melted, in a sauce pan over medium heat or in the microwave.  Add to the eggs a little at a time not to cook the eggs fully.  Blend until rich and smooth

TIPS:

·        Put on cooked Asparagus or broccoli and other vegetable like green beans, potatoes, broccoli etc.

·        Make different kinds of eggs Benedict; add spinach, add smoked salmon, ham or bacon.

·        Good on fish or in some pasta casserole dishes.

·        This creamy sauce can be placed in the refrigerator and used within the following days. It will stiffen again as the butter gets hard, but when placed on a heated vegetable, fish or meat it melts nicely. It does loose some of it’s perfect creamy consistency.

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

BBQ Pulled Pork Tenerdloin Sandwich

BBQ PULLED TENDERLOIN OF PORK SANDWICHES

Tasty Pork Sandwich

We have not had meat recently and I found a nice tenderloin of pork in the freezer.  I am not a huge fan of pork these days, but Bill does like all types of pork. I thought I would try to disguise the pork for me and yet let it stand up to a tasty meal for Bill!  BBQ Pork?

 Pulled pork is a very controversial subject in the way it is prepared between the northern states and southern states. (especially Carolina) Just about everyone has their take on what a true “pulled pork” is! I am just making something up and calling it pulled pork!

ONE GOOD EXPLANATION: “Pulled pork is a form of pork barbecue which involves cooking over slow heat for an extended period of time, slowly softening the connective tissue of the meat so that it can be pulled apart by hand.”  But the point is, the pork gets fork tender to shred with a fork or pull apart with your hands; be succulent to taste and what sauce selection one chooses, seems to be whatever you have or like.

 I don’t want to heat the kitchen and slow roast it in the oven for hours (we are over 100 degrees outside and my air conditioners are working hard).  I don’t have a slow cooker (I presume they have a place in the kitchen, just not in mine).  I do not have a BBQ outside, as we are in the midst of a move. So I thought about cutting cooking time down and thought TENDERLOIN!  A Tenderloin is the most tender cut of the pork cuts thus needing less time to cook.  That was my inspiration.

Seared and nice and brown

I medium sized tenderloin of pork

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

½ teaspoon salt and pepper each

Heat the pan to medium high heat with the olive oil.  Mix the paprika, salt and pepper and rub all over the pork.  Sear the meat on all sides. Meanwhile, make the sauce by whisking the following in a bowl.

Whisk the Sauce in a Bowl

¾ cup cider Vinegar

½ cup yellow mustard

1/2 cup ketchup

¼ cup  brown sugar

¼ cup chopped onion

½ teaspoon cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

2 dashes hot sauce or minced hot peppers (please make it to your heat level)

After a few minutes of searing the meat on each side add the sauce to the pan,  cover and place on simmer for 40 minutes on stove top (basting a few times and turning meat over) until the meat is fork tender (if you pull a fork down one side the meat falls apart).

Take two forks and pull the meat apart.  Serve on a bun, toasted or not. I would like to dress it with a coleslaw, but today I had no cabbage to make one, so I added thinly sliced onion to top it.

Make sure you spoon the sauce on the meat to make it nice and moist.

TIPS:

·        You can thinly slice the meat as well, but that changes the texture of a pulled sandwich.

·        Please do not be ashamed that you used bottled BBQ sauce!  Some are better than anything you can make. 

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Egg Salad and How to Boil An Egg

EGG SALAD

Egg Salad is a frugal meal and one packed with protein and low in carbs if eaten as just a salad.

This is a basic classic Egg Salad recipe.  Many people omit the celery as they do not prefer the mixture of textures. (The crunch of the celery against the smooth salad.)  Other recipes mix the yolks with the mayonnaise to make more of a sauce before mixing it into the rest of the salad.  I choose to roughly chop the eggs, as they will break down further when all is put together.

Prefectly Hard Boiled Egg

Now, the best tip to offer:  How to make a perfect hard-boiled egg.  You want the yolk to be just cooked and with no green ring around the edge of the yolk.  Place eggs in regular tap water that is room temperature. Place on high heat and bring to a boil. After the water boils turn off the heat and let it sit on the burner.  Prefect every time! 

8 Hard-boiled eggs

½ cup or less Mayonnaise

¼ Cup celery minced

1 Tablespoon minced onion

1 Tablespoon minced parsley

1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

Good squirt Hot Sauce of choice

Chop hard –boiled eggs roughly and place in bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients.  Stir to incorporate all.

TIPS:

·        Make sandwiches with watercress, lettuce, tomatoes, red or green peppers and carrots etc.

·        Add grapes halved to make it a bit more elegant.

·        Add nuts, apple cubed, olives, capers or pickles to change things up.

·        Add bacon and horseradish!

·        Sliced smoked salmon filled with the salad and rolled is fun as well.

·        Fill hollowed out tomatoes.

·        Change the herbs/spices: lemon, lime, dill, chives, paprika or curry.

·        Make sandwich and cut crusts off and quarter for individual tea sandwiches.

·        Lighten the salad by using Greek Yogurt instead of the Mayonnaise.

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!