Poached Salmon Salad

I found some fresh, wild Sockeye salmon for a great price at the store yesterday, so I snatched it up.  My original plan was to grill it along with some veggies, but it was so hot today, I was craving something cold.  That's when I thought: poached salmon salad.

Since we had a lot of these ingredients either growing in our garden or already in our pantry, this entire meal cost us under $20.

Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 pounds fresh, wild salmon, cut into 4 pieces, lightly salted and peppered

2 ears organic corn, shucked and cleaned

1/2 pound organic green beans, cleaned and cut into 1" pieces

3/4 cup cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup white wine 

2 Tbs butter

3 Tbs Bragg's apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. organic sugar

5 ounces baby lettuce mix

Poaching Sauce and Salad Dressing Base

1 1/2 Tbs each, canola and olive oil

3 lemons, juiced

4 slices of lemon (slice lemons after juicing)

1 Tbs minced fresh dill

1/2 tsp minced fresh tarragon

1/4 tsp thyme leaves

1/2 tsp minced fresh oregano

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Zest of 2 lemons

3 large garlic cloves, pressed

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

2 Tbs non-pareil capers

Boil water in a large pot.  Once the water is boiling, add a tablespoon of salt, the corn cobs and the green beans.  While it is boiling, prepare a large bowl of water filled with ice cubes and set aside.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Mix the ingredients for the poaching sauce and salad dressing base.  Once mixed, remove and reserve 1/4 cup for salad dressing.  Place remaining sauce in an oven-safe pan with a lid, add salmon, then toss to coat.  Smear 1/2 Tbs butter on top of each piece and finish with a lemon slice.  Cover the pan and put into the pre-heated oven.

Poach for 20 minutes. 

Remove the corn and green beans from the boiling water after about 7 minutes, and plunge into the bowl of

ice water. We let our green beans cook a minute or two longer than the corn because they were a bit tough. Just be sure not to overcook either one.

Next, take the salad dressing base and add the apple cider vinegar and sugar.  Mix well.  I highly recommend an immersion blender to ensure all ingredients are well-incorporated.  Set aside.

After you pull the salmon out of the oven, baste it for a few minutes with the sauce in the pan.  This sauce tastes amazing.  Have some crusty bread on stand by to sop up the leftovers.

Move the salmon onto a plate and place into the refrigerator to chill.

Next, shave the corn off the cob and half the cherry tomatoes.  Set aside.

Toss the dressing with the salad mix and distribute between 4 plates.  We put the green beans, corn and cherry tomatoes into the bowl after we removed the salad to coat it with the leftover dressing.  Once the green beans, corn and cherry tomatoes are tossed together, distribute among the plates.

Place a salmon filet on top of each bowl of salad.  Pour any leftover juices on top.  Enjoy!

Serves four.

Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillos from our garden.

There's nothing like fresh tomatillo salsa. That's why tomatillo plants have earned a permanent place in our garden year after year. Tomatillo plants grow like weeds.  The only thing is, you will need at least two plants or you won't get any fruit, just a giant bush with lots of pretty yellow flowers on it.

When the tomatillos first started coming in, we didn't have enough to make salsa, so we kept them in the refrigerator until we could use them.  A few of them have been in there for two weeks, and they've been just peachy.  This morning I harvested a few more pounds, so we finally had enough to make a substantial batch. 

This recipe made 9 - 10 cups of salsa.  Yes, that is a lot of salsa, but we're putting four cups of it straight into the freezer for a rainy day.  If there's any left after this weekend, we'll turn it into green enchilada sauce and make some veggie enchiladas.  You could also use the leftovers to make green posole or tomatillo soup.

Raw tomatillos, quartered onions, salt and water in the pot.

Ingredients:

3 - 3.5 pounds fresh tomatillos, husked and rinsed

2 white or yellow onions, skinned and quartered

1/2 Tbs salt

1 bunch cilantro, cleaned

1 - 2 jalapeños

4 cloves garlic

2 large limes 

Put tomatillos, onion and salt into a pot and add filtered water to just under the top row of tomatillos, about 5 cups.  Bring water to a boil, stirring occasionally,  then reduce to simmer and cover.

Uncover the pot and remove from heat once they're soft enough to be blended; usually after twenty minutes or so.  If at this point the water level is higher than the tomatillos, carefully drain some out to bring the water level back down to just underneath the top of the tomatillos.  I use a sieve so I don't lose any seeds or pieces of tomatillo that might be floating around in the water.

Using a ladle, add the contents of the pot to your blender or food processor.  You will have to do this in batches.  In the first batch, add the garlic cloves, cilantro and jalapeno so you don't have to dice it up by hand.  Once blended up, put into a bowl and start on the next batch.  If your salsa looks too runny, rest assured it will thicken a little once it cools.

When you're done, squeeze in the lime juice, give it a good stir and taste.  At this point you might want to adjust the seasonings.  I ended up adding a dash more salt; otherwise, I thought it was perfect.  

If you decide to add more garlic, cilantro or jalapeno, add a few ladles of salsa back into your blender or food processor along with the ingredients, and blend together to save yourself time.

This recipe made 9 cups of salsa.

Too much water in here.  We had to drain some out.

The finished product.  Delicious!!

Jarred up and ready for the freezer.  See you in the winter!

Be sure to label.

Fresh Strawberry Margaritas

When I can find affordable, organic strawberries, I like to snatch them up.  I found these at the farmers' market today.  They were 3 baskets for 10 bucks!  I immediately thought of using them in some margaritas.  Is that bad?

Well, if I'm fixing to enjoy an adult beverage, and I've got some seasonal fresh fruit on hand, I might as well get the two of them together in yummy yin-yang concoction. High-sugar, artificially flavored mixers be gone!  Check out how easy it is to make fresh fruit margaritas at home...

Organic strawberries, cleaned and halved.  Here, 3 baskets made about 8 cups.

First, acquire some fresh, seasonal fruit.  Try to get organic, especially if the fruit is in the top 12 or so of this list.  Like I was saying, I picked up three baskets of organic strawberries from the local farmers' market today.  When I got home I gave them a quick dip in a bowl of water mixed with a tablespoon of food-grade hydrogen peroxide (that's how I clean my soft-skinned fruit), and then I cut off the tops and halved them.  Onto a parchment paper-lined (optional) cookie sheet they went, and then into the freezer for about one hour.  They don't have to be frozen solid; in fact, I prefer them just barely icy, but it's up to you.  In any case, they eliminate the need for ice cubes in your blender, which means no chance of watered down margaritas and you get to help with the drought by conserving water.

Since this post is about strawberries, I'll take a minute to amaze you with some quick nutrition facts about them.  In just one cup of strawberries you'll get 12% DV of Fiber, 9% DV of Folate, 7% DV of Potassium, 149%(!!!) DV of Vitamin C, and 29% DV of Manganese.  Again, all of that is in just one cup.  But there are at least two, maybe even three cups of strawberries in a margarita!  Holy cow, that is a lot of good stuff, and they taste amazing, too.

Alright, so when the strawberries are nice and icy, load them into your blender, and squeeze a lime or two (will depend on how many strawberries you use, and how much of a lime fan you are) in there, too.  You can kick it up a notch here if you're feeling adventurous, and add some fresh mint - but only a little or it will make your margaritas a nasty color.  Then, blend.  When you think they're done, take a little taste and see if they need anything.  If they are too tart, don't feel bad about adding a teaspoon or two of an organic sweetener.  Just make sure it's organic.  You don't want to go tainting your organic fruit with GMOs.  

Once they are blended to your liking, pour in the desired amount of tequila.  For a batch this size, I used about 5 ounces.  Feel free to use a little more (I wouldn't go too crazy or the tequila will be overpowering), or, leave out the tequila altogether if you want.  After all, you're making these in the privacy of your own home.  No one is judging.

You can use this exact same method (slice/cube, freeze, add lime, blend) when making fresh watermelon margaritas.  When I make watermelon margaritas, however, I like to add the tequila after I pour it into glasses, then give it a good old-fashioned stir, rather than add during the blending process.  There are a few reasons for this.  Most obviously, if you end up with more watermelon margaritas than you realized you could drink, now you have tequila in there and you can't take it back.  With watermelon, you can just add tequila as needed.  If this happens with strawberry margaritas, though, you have no choice but to drink them all up.  But on the bright side, at least you'll have a good excuse when you start dancing on the table afterward. 

The other reason I choose to add tequila after I pour into glasses is a little more obscure. I feel that the tequila seems stronger (read: more effective) when added afterward.  It could all be in my head.  Experiment both ways, if you like, then report back to me.  With strawberries, the tequila does not incorporate easily, so you'll likely end up with a glass of blended strawberries with a tequila floater, if you try to add after blending.  You don't have options like you do with watermelon.

Makes about 4 margaritas.

Breakfast!

Sometimes, when we have a bunch of veggies that need to be eaten, we make what we call a "kitchen sink" frittata.

In today's "kitchen sink" frittata we have leek, green onions, garlic, Anaheim pepper*, zucchini, broccoli (including stems), cherry tomatoes* and a melange of fresh herbs*.  We chopped it up nice and small and then sauteed it with a little butter and a little canola oil.  We also added some salt, pepper and dried herbs.

We then added 10 eggs from our friend, Carol's hens, whipped with ricotta and other various cheeses we had on hand.  The egg mixture was added to the veggie mixture and given a good mixing, then into the oven it went.  We've got it in there right now at 350 degrees.

While all of that chopping was going on, we had golden potatoes baking in the oven until soft.  When they were ready, we pulled them out, sliced them, and then tossed them with minced fresh herbs*, sliced shallots, quartered tomatoes*, a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Then, back into the oven they went.  This time they were in there with the frittata. 

*grown in our garden
 

Here are the potatoes coming out of the oven the first time.

 

Here are the sliced potatoes tossed with the shallots, herbs, tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper.

 

The frittata is almost done...

 

Breakfast is served!

Pizza Night!

Making delicious vegetarian, gluten-free pizzas for dinner tonight!  We've got sooooo many veggies loaded on here. Yum!