Weekend Breakfast Treat

The weekend approaches and here at my home that means something special for breakfast. Throughout the week we usually eat oatmeal, and sometimes a piece of toast or fruit with it, but on the weekend it’s time for kicking it up. Sometimes it’s egg and cheese sandwiches, and other times it’s pancakes. When it’s pancakes I always like to do them up in a special way like making a fruit topping from scratch or with strawberries and bananas cut up and mixed together.

I really outdid myself when I thought up Drunken Cherry Spelt Pancakes! I tried these four times over the last three weeks and proclaim them a winner. If you haven’t heard about spelt you should check it out. Spelt is an ancient grain that is higher in fiber than modern wheat which is tweaked for its use in high production baking products. You can learn more about spelt, and spelt products at Nature’s Legacy:

https://www.natureslegacyforlife.com/faqs/what-is-spelt/.

They sent me a box of their products to try out and I have thoroughly enjoyed everything in the box so far.

You can make this pancake recipe with an apple topping, or just pour hot maple syrup over them and watched the butter(Smart Balance) melt. Either way they are great! This is a very easy recipe to make and you could even replace the alcohol with vanilla extract and water if needed.

I have also cooked up the last couple of pancakes, (instead of saving the batter for another day) and put them in the fridge for a day or two, cut them in half to reheat in the toaster with good results. Not your average toast for sure. So give these a try and maybe add your own twist like whipped cream, or a bit of powdered sugar, and as always please leave feedback.

In my latest newsletter I had a giveaway , and the lucky winners for the restaurant gift certificate were:

Pam V  The Melting Pot

Lauren O   Maggie’s

Johanna M   Baldwin Station

I hope you all enjoy a good night out at these Maryland restaurants. In the near future I hope to have a box of spelt products from Nature’s Legacy so look for that as is’t great, and healthy stuff.

Even though Nature’s Legacy gave me a box of their spelt products my opinion was not affected by their generous gift.

Drunken Cherry Spelt Pancakes

2 cups spelt flour

1 cup dried cherries

1/3 cup Grand Marnier

2 Tablespoons rum or vodka

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs beaten

In a small bowl combine cherries, Grand Marnier and rum. Let the cherries soften in the liquid while you prepare the batter. Cherries will need a minimum of 10 minutes to soak, and 20 minutes is even better to rehydrate and flavor them properly.

In a medium mixing bowl combine spelt flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix in egg and 3/4 or so of the buttermilk and mix just until batter is moistened. Depending on how thick, or thin you like your pancake batter you can adjust at this point. Adding the rest of the buttermilk will give you a slightly thinner pancake, leaving it out will give you a thick pancake.

Drain the liquid off the cherries and reserve. Fold cherries into batter and cook on a oiled griddle or cast iron pan as you would any other pancakes. On medium heat these take about 4-5 minutes on the first side and 2-3 minutes on the other side.

Serves 4-6.

Notes:

A pinch of nutmeg or a teaspoon of cinnamon would be a nice addition.

Saute a cored and sliced granny smith apple with a teaspoon of canola oil, and a bit of water. Cook on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, then add the liquid the cherries soaked in and cook until most of the liquid is gone. Serve as a side or on top of pancakes.

I sometimes use three parts buttermilk to one part water for a thinner pancake.

Slow and Easy Cooking

Nine times out of ten when I’m cooking a meal it’s done Fast and Furious Cook style, because I have a full schedule like most of you and don’t want to be in the kitchen more than neccesary. There are times though when I might take 30 minutes to prep something and an hour to cook it. Today was one of those times, as I like to have some quick and healthy re-heat type meals in the freezer for days when there just isn’t time to cook. I think of lasagna as a comfort food. Even back in my elementary school days I loved the stuff from the school cafeteria, or any place I could get it. Lasagna is a dish like pizza where most of it is pretty good by virtue of the ingredients. When you put together an Italian tomato sauce and cheese good things happen. Add beef, pork or vegies and it gets better yet.

I brought back some lovely portabello mushroom caps from The Woodlands at Phillips Mushrooms in Kennett Square, PA Saturday and went to work with a new recipe developed right here at Fast and Furious Central for lasagna. This recipe combines the usual Italian tomato sauce(my home made sauce from heirloom tomatoes from my garden) with two kinds of cheese, broccoli, zucchini, and the portabello mushrooms to make a mighty good vegetarian lasagna. A hot and steamy hunk of lasagna is hard to beat on a chilly fall evening. Served with a nice side of garlic bread and you are set for some good eating. Now I’ll admit that this isn’t quite as healthy as most of my recipes, but without the meat it has significantly less calories as other lasagna recipes. I also omitted the ricotta, or cottage cheese. Give it a try and see if you believe like I do that mushrooms can replace meat in many recipes without leaving you feeling hungry soon after dinner.

Portabello Mushroom Lasagna with Vegetables

3 portabello mushroom caps stem removed

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 3/4 cup marinara sauce, or store bought spaghetti sauce

1 small zucchini sliced

1 1/2 cups chopped or sliced fresh broccoli

1 small red bell pepper sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded

3/4 cup shredded parmigiano reggiano cheese

lasagna sheets, cooked per directions on package

1 tablespoon mixed Italian herbs, optional

ports sauteing

Slice Portabello mushrooms 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick and saute on medium heat in olive oil for 4 minutes. Turn mushroom slices over and cook 3 more minutes. Remove to a plate for assembly. Prep a 11×7 in baking pan with a bit of olive oil before laying lasagna sheets on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce on the lasagna and then lay half of the mushrooms on top. Next lay the zucchini slices on top and then sprinkle about a 1/4 cup of the mozzarella. Lay more lasagna sheets on top and top with 1/2 cup sauce, mushrooms, broccoli, and 1/4 cup of cheese. Add one more layer of lasagna sheets, then top with remaining sauce mushrooms, bell peppers, and cheeses.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees covered, then reduce heat and continue baking for 40 minutes covered. Uncover and bake for 10-15 more minutes, then remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

the layers begin

Serves four to six.

another layer

Notes:

Yellow squash can be used in place of zucchini.

Eggplant can be used in place of broccoli, but should be cooked in the saute pan after the mushrooms for 4 minutes each side.

I used no-boil whole wheat noodles and it turned out great. If you have to boil your noodles it adds about 20 minutes to the prep time.

A nice meal indeed

Seattle Pike Place Market

I used to live in the Seattle area way back in the 1980’s and even though I was glad to move back to Colorado I loved many things about the Seattle area. I have returned many times as a visitor over the last twenty years. Big trees is what comes to mind when I think of the north western part of the US, and the Seattle area has plenty. There are some wonderful parks where you can see these famous trees, like O.O. Denny park in Kirkland. This park is on the shores of Lake Washington and has some beautiful Douglas Fir trees standing tall trying to reach the sky.

Marymoor Park in the Redmond area is King County’s largest, oldest and most popular park with over 600 acres to enjoy. Marymoor has nice trails and you can even take in a concert from some big name musicians if you have the time. If you really want to see the big trees hop a ferry to the other side of the Puget Sound from Seattle and drive to the Olympic National Park where there you have the worlds largest Red Cedar, Yellow Cedar, Sitka Spruce, and Douglas Fir.

Seattle is the gateway to the Olympic and Cascade Mountains. Not to mention close to the San Juan Islands. With all this natural beauty one could almost forget Seattle’s attractions. They have a vibrant art scene, and world class food too. Sports fans have the Mariners for baseball and the Seahawks for NFL Football. The summers are often dry with lots of clear blue skes unlike the winters when it can be cloudy or rainy six days a week. With that much rain and clouds you need a variety of things to do inside.

On our recent trip we hoped for sunny weather, but expected rain for most of the three day visit. However we lucked out and had many hours of sunshine. The first two days we walked around the downtown area to take advantage of the sun while it lasted. We walked the world famous Pike Place Market the first thing in the morning and watched the vendors set up. We grabbed the usual breakfast at Le Panier a French bakery that is as good as it gets in the US. The smell of butter comes wafting out of the place long before you even get to the front door. I swear they must have a pot of butter simmering on the stove and exhausted outside to get that level of butter in the air near their bakery. The croissants they bake are the best I have ever had in the US and beat many I have had in France too! Over the years I have tried virtually everything they bake with my favorites being the tarts, croissants, palmiers(pigs ears), and their breads.

After walking the market we headed to Pioneer Square on foot to see the area where many a would be miner heading to the Klondike gold rush bought their equipment before boarding a ship to Alaska back in the 1890’s. This is a nice historic downtown area with many shops and restaurants to chose from. After our visit to the square we hoofed it down to the waterfront to stroll the shops there and watch the ferries come and go. The Washington State Ferry system has many destinations served from the Seattle waterfront. You can hop a ferry to Victoria BC, Bremerton or Bainbridge Island. We decided to return after lunch to ride the Bainbridge Island Ferry just for the fun of it. first we wanted to go to Dahlia Bakery to see if the reviews of the triple coconut cream pie were accurate. You never know about such things until you try them for yourself so even though it was a great sacrifice to my usual healthy eating program off we walked and climbed to the bakery. Once we got there we opted for the Dahlia Lounge for a light lunch of salad two ways, and both were fresh and well dressed. Then came the pie, and let me tell you it’s hard to beat this fluffy creation anywhere on the planet. It was as good as coconut cream pie can be with not too much crust, and great coconut flavor with a touch of shaved white chocolate on top.

After that splurge we walked all the way back to the ferry landing-about a mile- and then under bright blue skies headed for Bainbridge Island. We had been there about ten years ago to see the Bloedel Reserve an old timber baron’s mansion and grounds. It’s worth the trip if you like that sort of thing with beautiful gardens and a waterfront view of Seattle. We did not have the time to grab a taxi to Bloedel due to a reservation at Sutra a restaurant know for great vegan dining. We had never been to a restaurant that just served vegan food so this was an adventure. First we had to get back and check into The Inn at the Market our lodging for the next two nights. After disembarking the ferry in Seattle we walked back up to the market again and grabbed a bottle of local Pinot Gris for a happy hour treat on the rooftop garden of the hotel. We also bought some goodies from City Fish the oldest seafood vendor in Seattle. There we bought a dungeness crab cocktail and salmon poke( a sushi like preparation of raw salmon and seasonings) for our happy hour. At the market we bought a lovely bouquet of flowers for our hotel room for a whopping $5 that would cost double just about anywhere else.

The rooftop garden at the Inn is fabulous with sweeping views of the waterfront and Puget Sound. There we had a happy hour to die for before catching a taxi to Sutra.

Just after arriving at Sutra the skies darkened up and did what Seattle is famous for, and that is rain, but we were safe inside Sutra with no worries other than choosing our drinks to go with dinner. This cool restaurant offers wine pairings as well as non-alcoholic beverage pairings to go with the vegan meal. Since this was a novel idea we decided that one of us would have the wine pairing and the other would do the juice and teal pairing. Both were great with the meal and quite affordable. Of the five courses I think my favorite was the third course of chili cashew cheese lasagne with zucchini, but all of it was creative and very tasty. By the time dinner was over so was the rain and back to the hotel we went for some much deserved rest as our plane was 2 1/2 hours late the night before arriving at 12:30 am.

The next day we went back to the French bakery(Le Panier) for another lovely meal before heading to the Chihuly gardens of glass exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. We rode the monorail there just because it is a cool and goofy way to travel, and it was included with our hotel package. The exhibit was a mind blowing, glass blowing trip through several rooms of Dale Chihuly’s best work, and included a movie room where you could watch several short films on the artist who is known world wide for his talent and large displays. My favorite was the small boat filled with all sorts of beautiful glass objects on top of a black mirrored platform. Too cool for words! The outside part of the exhibit was great too in the way natural elements were at play with Chihuly’s glass masterpieces.

Chihuly glass boat

If you ever get a chance to see one of his exhibits just do it! Often his works are featured outside of Seattle. My wife and I stumbled upon one in Dallas a year ago when we were visiting the area and it was great.

After the glass show we went to the market for lunch at the Athenian since it’s a tradition to do so. The steamed clams lived up the expectations, but the clam chowder fell short. Hey, but the view was great as we got a window seat overlooking the Puget Sound.

After lunch we walked ten blocks of 2nd avenue through Belltown on our way to the Olympic Sculpture Park that opened in 2007 and winds down the hillside until you reach the waterfront. It was a fun walk and we enjoyed the many sculptures, including the house rooftop that we both climbed up on. Then we walked the waterfront for a bit until we noticed several people looking towards the water where a school of about 30 salmon were swimming by. Nice to know the water is still clean enough to support wild salmon!

We walked towards our hotel, but stopped when we came to Anthony’s seafood Restaurant for a small bite to eat and some much needed ice water. We had a fine preparation of edamame tossed in soy sauce, sesame oil and hot peppers that was one of the best ways to eat edamame I have ever had. We were sad we didn’t have room for the Boysenberry Cobbler, but we had reservations at Canlis, one of the best high end restaurants in the Seattle area for dinner and didn’t want to fill up before that. So up the hill to the market we walked once again to get cleaned up for dinner.

We arrived at Canlis at 4:45 a full 15 minutes before they opened. That gave us time to gawk at the view of Lake Union and Gasworks Park. Canlis has been around for more than 60 years(three generations) and many think of it as the best fine dining restaurant in Seattle. If you like fancy high end dining with fresh local ingredients this is worth a visit. The service is top notch as well as the presentation of the foods. We were wowed by the trio of complimentary appetizers sent out before the salad course. Even though the the main course was good our favorite part of the meal was the Canlis salad, a family recipe of the house includes romaine lettuce, fresh oregano, bacon, romano cheese, green onions, croutons, fresh mint, and a dressing of olive oil and lemon. You can get the recipe on their website:http://canlis.com/food/recipes/the-canlis-salad/ if you want to try and make your own. After being sufficiently stuffed we went back to the hotel for some reading time before bed after our long day of hiking scenic Seattle.

Canlis salad

Day three was upon us and it looked like it might rain all day. We had reserved a rental car for exploring the area and since it was raining decided to go to Woodinville to visit Chateau St Michelle winery. Back in the 1990’s when we visited this winery there was only one other in the area so we were surprised to find out there are more than 100 in the area now. The other big change was price. Gone were the $7-10 priced bottles of wine. Now most wines were in the $15-25 range, but it was still fun to try a few even if we didn’t buy any. The chateau is best visited on a sunny day so you can stroll the grounds and enjoy the fine landscaping that includes trout ponds. Columbia Crest winery is just across the street so we went there too and tasted some of their best. The prices had gone up a bunch there also so we didn’t buy, but when we left the sun had come out so we popped into the world famous Herb Farm just up the road to see what the fuss was all about. It wasn’t open but the lodge was so we asked to see a room for future trips, and were quite surprised how nice they were and affordable too for what you got. The Willows Lodge and Spa occupy several acres of well landscaped gardens across from the Herb Farm. The other restaurant onsite-The Barking Frog- was open so we decided to have a small meal before heading south. I got the antipasti plate and boy was it good. It had olives, marinated feta cheese, sun dried/oil cured tomatoes, humus and pita chips. Just the right snack before heading to Marymoor Park in Redmond on our way to our airport hotel. Marymoor has both regional and back country trail access, but we just did a quick drive through because we were on a time cruch to get to our next stop.

That place to explore before ending the trip was the Copperleaf Restaurant at the Cedarbrook Lodge. I have stayed at the Doubletree hotel in Seatac, Washington for over twenty years and never had a clue the Cedarbrook Lodge was just a couple hundred yards behind it hidden in the trees, This used to be owned by the now defunct Washington Mutual mortgage lender. Now it’s a really nice hotel with manicured grounds that remind one of a fine Japanese garden with water features and fish ponds. It’s quite the building with it’s large exposed wooden beams and huge windows.

The Copperleaf Restaurant was highly rated on Tripadvisor so we decided to give it a try. The farm to table themed food was excellent, and presented well. Even though we only had appetizers and salads we can’t wait to go back and try their seven course vegetarian tasting menu. As for the service, they thought it took too long to get the first course on the table and comped us a nice appetizer of caviar on cute little blinis that was quite good. This kind of service isn’t found everywhere unfortunately.

So ends the almost perfect three days in Seattle for this year. Why only almost perfect? Well it did rain half the day on our last day in town after all when we had high hopes for three sunny days, but this is Seattle we are talking about.

Home Again

My wife and I had a great time in Seattle for a mini vacation, and discovered several new spots worth visiting again. I’ll post a review of the trip soon, but for now I’m home and in the kitchen. Since it is cooler out it’s time to fire up the oven and bake some granola. You all know I like to spend as little time as possible in the kitchen, but there are exceptions and granola is one of those.

Granola has been around since 1863 when a man named Dr James C. Jackson called his version Granula as part of his healthy diet regimen. Others like Dr John Harvey Kellogg made his version but changed the name to Granola after being sued by Dr. Jackson.

The hippies of the 1960’s might be the ones who brought this healthy breakfast food back to popularity, and now days you can find as many as 10 different brands in any given grocery store vying for your attention. But why buy granola when you can make your own large batch?

It’s main perk is you make/cook it once and eat it for days or weeks after. When you make it yourself you have control of what goes in it. Granola is one of those foods that has several ingredient options available. You can put many types of nuts in it, or no nuts at all. You can put many types of dried fruits in it like apricots, apples, raisins, currants, cranberries, pears, pineapple or dates. Then you can put your choice of sweetener in it too. I like using honey, but brown sugar, or even agave would work.

You also get to chose to make organic, or not. I almost always chose organic even though some say there is little or no difference in purity and quality.

So next time you see an old hippie, thank them for bringing back granola, and try this batch soon in your kitchen. It’s a great recipe to get your kids to help with too.

Home made Granola

10 cups rolled oats

4 cups coconut

3 cups sliced almonds

1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1 can frozen unsweetened apple juice

1 cup canola oil

1 cup honey

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup ground cinnamon

4 cups chopped dried apples

2 cups golden raisins

2 cups dried cranberries

Mix together in a large bowl oats, coconut, sunflower seeds, and sliced almonds and set aside.

In a 1 1/2 quart pot combine apple juice, oil, honey, almond extract, salt, and cinnamon. Cook over low heat stirring often until honey is melted and all ingredients are combined.

Pour over oats and mix well.

Spread over baking sheets and bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees. Stir occasionally- every 15 minutes or less, and rotate pans.

Cool on pans and when cool add apples, raisins, and cranberries

Note:

Sometimes it’s hard to find dried apples so feel free to substitute other dried fruits like apricots, pineapple, dates, pluots, peaches, or whatever else is available that sounds like it would work.

When stirring be sure to rotate pans from top shelf to bottom each time you stir.

Adapted from a recipe at Mendano Zapata Ranch in Southern Colorado.

Americans, and other cultures eat too much white rice, and it’s about time for that to change. In some cultures it is viewed as poor people food, and scorned by those who can afford the good stuff(white rice). Yet since I switched to eating way more brown rice than white rice I think it not only tastes better, but is way better for you. I’m no expert on nutrition, but the way I understand it is many people with type two diabetes get it from eating too much of the three white poisons. Exercise is also noted as a contributing factor, but here the naughty three white poisons:

White rice.

White sugar.

White flour.

These foods are all too refined and our digestive systems were not used to these foods when they showed up over the last hundred years or so. Maybe with a few thousand years of eating these white poison foods we can eat them with no ill effect, but for now it’s best if we limit them. Heck, National Geographic even put sugar on the cover of their last issue, and discuss the health hazards of eating refined foods. I recently read on Health.com a post on eating brown rice as a way of avoiding diabetes. Here’s the link:http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20306709_4,00.html

Part of the problem with getting people to switch to brown rice is the need to know that not all brown rice is the same. I have tried many different types of brown rice since switching 20 years ago, and some are barely edible. I have had some that have gone rancid from being on a store shelf too long, but many people wouldn’t know that it was rancid rice they were eating. They would just know it tastes bad. Look for the “best by date” on the package when buying brown rice,and buy from a store that sells a fair amount of it so that it doesn’t sit on the shelf too long.

I would recommend you try Tsuru Mai California brown rice, or Lundberg’s brown rice if you want the best. Neither are very expensive. It’s fairly easy to find one or the other in most grocery stores, or Asian markets. Once you taste good brown rice with its nutty taste and great texture you will find adding to your diet is easy. It’s great to see more and more restaurants offer brown rice to their customers. Tokyo Joe’s, and P. F Changs are two that I know of that offer it on their menu.

I almost always cook more brown rice than I need at the time because it’s great to add to bean dishes, or cook up as fried rice. It stays fresh in the refrigerator for about 5-7 days if covered tightly. It also microwaves well.

Here then is a easy stir fry recipe to try in your home that only takes 12- 15 minutes to cook, and is served on top of brown rice.

Asian Eggplant Stir Fry with Chicken Breast

1 tablespoon garlic infused oil, or 1 tablespoon oil and 1 clove minced garlic

8 ounces asian eggplant 1/4 inch slices

6 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast

1/2 yellow onion diced large

3 cups broccoli florets

1/2 teaspoon Thai fish sauce,optional

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 thai chili peppers, optional

1/2 to 1 cup fresh basil leaves, thai basil is best

Slice chicken breast in 1/4 inch slices. In a wok or 12 inch saute pan heat oil then add eggplant and cook on high to medium high for 3 minutes stirring often. Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes. Add broccoli, chili peppers, and onion and cook on high for 5 minutes. Add fish sauce, soy sauce and oyster sauce and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in fresh basil and serve on top of steamed or fried brown rice.

Serves four.

Note: Red bell peppers add a nice color and crunch when added with the broccoli and onions.

Light soy sauce may be used to lower the sodium.

Disclaimer. I have not been paid to write about  the businesses noted in this post. I mention them because I like them, and their products.

I love good tomatoes! With my garden producing plenty of heirloom and conventional tomatoes this year I’m doing more experimenting than ever. Mind you that the last time I worked on a decent garden it was back in 1992 in Alaska when my room mate decided to grow an Alaskan style garden. Then I moved to Baltimore in 2009,the land of easy gardening, and installed raised bed vegie gardens in the backyard. It’s so easy to garden here you don’t even have to build a moose fence! All though I have had encounters with deer and bunnies they can’t compare to the damage a full grown moose can do to a garden. Here in Baltimore most vegies grow quite well but tomatoes really shine. I had high hopes when I planted about ten different varieties of tomatoes in April and May, but then we got a very cool and rainy spring and early summer. It took quite a while before I knew what the tomatoes would think about all this cool and rainy weather, but by the time August rolled around I could tell it was going to be the best crop of my three years here at our new home.

This presented a challenge to use all these great tomatoes without letting them spoil or have us get sick of eating tomatoes. We have had the following meals so far using the fruits of my garden:

Caprese

Tomato avocado sandwiches

Orechiette tossed with tomatoes and olive oil

Salsa

Lasagne made with fresh tomato sauce

Greek salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, and feta cheese

Heirloom tomato and avocado salad

The last preparation on the list is the favorite due to the amazing taste of the Cherokee Purple, Mr Stripey, and Marmonde heirloom tomatoes I put in it. I took a sample of this salad to my favorite taste testers across the street today and both gave it two thumbs up. I know most of you don’t have heirloom tomatoes in you backyard, but you can find them in many places these days such as:

local farm stands

farmer’s markets

Whole Foods grocery stores

Trader Joe’s grocery stores

After you manage to get ahold of some give this recipe a try. It’s a great one for a summer salad with lunch or dinner.

Just for fun, if any of my readers can get five of their friends, or family to signup for my newsletter at www.fastandfuriouscook.com I’ll overnight two of my heirlooms to that one lucky reader. This is available to the first one to comply, and valid until the end of tomato season which ever comes first. I’ll post the lucky winner’s name on my blog. In case of a tie, well they both get tomatoes from my garden. However this is only available to those  who have a shipping address in the 50 US states. It would be a bit much to ship tomatoes to another country!

Heirloom Tomato and Avocado Salad

2 cups one inch cubes of fresh heirloom tomato

1 small or medium sized avocado cut into one inch cubes

1 tablespoon good olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons fresh basil cut thin,(chiffonade)

salt to taste

optional, 1 fresh jalapeno deseeded and sliced thin

Cut tomatoes and put into a medium sized mixing bowl.

Cut avocados and add to mixing bowl.

add jalapeno if using

Cut basil and add to bowl.

Pour olive oil and lime juice over the mix, and stir gently.

Refrigerate for 1/2 hour and serve as is or on a bed of shredded romaine lettuce.

Note:

You can serve this at room temperature, or chill for 1/2 to 4 hours.

On many of my trips to France I have been impressed how good the salads and salad dressings are. In France tarragon is used often in salad dressings, and it makes them taste fragrantly delicious. Since I have tarragon growing in my garden I experimented with dressings to use it in and came up with the following recipe. Now I know not all of you are growing tarragon in your gardens, or you don’t have a garden, but most grocery stores carry it fresh in the vegetable aisle. Give this a try and see if you agree that tarragon is an excellent choice for salad dressings.

1/2 cup salad or olive oil

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, Bragg’s or Spectrum brands are best.

1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 tablespoon Bragg’s Amino’s, or soy sauce

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Combine all ingredients in a 1 quart mixing bowl and mix well with a whisk. Put in a bottle, or jar suitable for salad dressing and refrigerate for an hour or more. Can be used right away but develops more flavor if allowed some time for ingredients to blend flavors.

Note: a small clove a garlic minced fine is a good addition

Once there was a time when most everyone knew what foods were in season. As recently as the 1970’s most of us still ate a majority of foods that were somewhat local and in season. But modern farming and shipping being what they are have changed that landscape to one of most every food being available most every month throughout the year. For instance, you can buy asparagus from South America in the US in October through December and beyond. Well outside of it’s normal season of April through June. Same with fresh cherries, and other fruits and vegetables.

Gone are the days of anxiously awaiting any given food season unless you are a strict locavore(one who eats only foods from their immediate area). I can’t wait for certain seasonal foods like, heirloom tomatoes, blueberries, peaches and salmon. I am guilty of buying some foods that are out of season here in the US, like apples from New Zealand, as well as a few others. Ever since I read the great book “Animal Vegetable Miracle” I have paid way more attention to buying local foods that are in season. I freeze, or can several seasonal foods to last through the winter as my grand parents did. It’s very gratifying to open up a jar of tomatoes in January that I canned in August or September.

Blueberries freeze exceptionally well, and last up to a year without losing much if any flavor. They just lose their consistency so I use them only for cooking. Salmon freezes very well and is quite edible 10 months after storing in vac-packed bags in my freezer. I usually go to Alaska every year for the last 20 years to catch a years worth of salmon to bring back as filets, and smoked salmon. I have only missed two years out of the last 20. This year was a typical year as far as the amount of salmon we caught. We fish for the very tasty Alaska Red Salmon(aka sockeye) and bring it home with us to eat and share for the next year.

We brought back a 45 pound box each filled with mostly red salmon fillets and several packages of smoked salmon we prepared using my smokers I left up there when I moved down to the lower 48 twenty years ago. These wild Alaskan salmon are not endangered, and we usually don’t have much trouble catching what we need for the year. It’s kind of a working vacation to stock up on an excellent source of protein. It is also a lot of fun.

It’s always special to eat that first fresh caught salmon at the cabin we rent in Soldotna. It’s also great each time we cook up the salmon we bring home and remember the fun we had on vacation catching it. One of our favorite ways to eat fresh or frozen salmon is to marinate it in teryaki. If the weather is good we grill it and serve it on steamed brown rice. If the weather is rainy we just bake it. Since we are always quite busy catching, cleaning, smoking and packaging the salmon it’s good to plan meals ahead when we can so I always cook double the salmon and brown rice we need as it makes a great leftover dish that we simply call “salmon and rice”. This is prepared by hand flaking the salmon to remove the bones and get the pieces down to size for mixing with the rice. The a saute pan is heated with a bit of olive oil(1 teaspoon or so) and cooking the rice and salmon together just until hot.

You could saute onions and celery first, and set aside for incorporating later after the rice and salmon are hot. You could also add frozen peas for some color, but whichever way you do it the flavor comes from the marinated salmon and carries the dish. It is a time saving way to do this dish that I hope you will try. It has you cooking once and eating two great meals from your effort. Sure you have to reheat it, but that only takes about 3-5 minutes. So give this dish a try with red salmon(sockeye), or whatever type of salmon you can get and see if you agree that this is a great way to cook once and eat twice.

Teryaki Marinade for Salmon

1- 1 1/2 pounds salmon

1 1/2 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup white wine, (Chardonnay or Savignon Blanc)

1/3 cup pineapple juice

1/3 cup sliced onion

3 cloves fresh garlic sliced, or crushed

1 teaspoon ginger powder

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and pour over salmon. Place in refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Drain and pat dry before grilling so it doesn’t stick. Cook skin side down for 5-7 minutes then cook for about 4 minutes skin side up.

Serves four

Note:

*If cooking bite sized pieces for skewers use less time in marinade, about 1 hour should do it.

*If using cooking wine with salt added use a low sodium soy sauce.

*Fresh grated ginger(1 teaspoon) can be substituted for powdered dry ginger.

*If you like a sweeter tasting salmon add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to the marinade.