Recipe Review from 6/18/2017

"Man plans,  God laughs."  Yiddish Proverb.

Maybe that should be, "Man gets a puppy, Man plans, God laughs even harder..." 

It's mid to end of June.   I bought some squash plants last weekend and we thew them into the garden to see what'll happen.  Rutabaga's got planted.  And if we can get the tiller into a couple of beds, then we'll plant peas, swiss chard, and kale.  A much scaled back plan from what we had intended last December or even March. 

Puppies'll do that...


The Meal Plan from the week of June 18:
Sun (L)  pasty       (S)  out
Mon (yoga) brats
Tues - Salmon nicoise salad with Parsley potatoes
Wed (trap shooting class) leftover brats
Thurs (yoga) leftover salmon salad
Fri - Chickpea salad with leftover salmon



Summer Salmon Nicoise Salad  (Ckng Lght, July 2017)  gluten free
Couple of modifications here - I got a 1.25 lb salmon fillet and grilled it, then used the salmon in several dishes starting with the one below.   I don't have a microwave, so I cooked the potatoes on the stovetop, removing the potatoes then proceeded to cook the eggs, beans and corn in the same water.   I will note, 6 minutes was not long enough to fully hard boil the eggs - they were definitely soft boiled. 

End result, while my modification seem putzy, I was able to do several things at the same time and dinner was on the table in about 40 minutes.  The salmon took the longest, but that was because it was only partially thawed (bought it on the way home from work) and it took a bit longer to grill.  Not a biggie - I could start dishes while waiting.

I would make this again! 

Photo from cookinglight.com

2 large eggs
1 (8-oz.) pkg. haricots verts (French green beans) 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 (12-oz.) salmon fillet, about 1 in. thick
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 head butter lettuce, torn (about 6 cups)
3/4 cup chopped English cucumber
1/2 cup fresh yellow corn kernels
1 1/2 ounces pitted kalamata or Niçoise olives (about 1/4 cup)

4 small radishes, cut into 1/2-in. wedges

1. Bring a medium saucepan filled with water to a boil. Carefully add eggs to pan; cook 6 minutes. Add green beans; cook 2 minutes. Drain; plunge bean mixture into a bowl of ice water. Let stand 3 minutes; drain. Peel eggs, and cut into quarters.
2. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Sprinkle fish with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add fish, skin side down, to pan; cook 7 minutes. Turn, and cook 3 minutes. Remove fish from pan; break into large flakes with a fork.
3. Combine remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper, vinegar, parsley, and mustard in a bowl. Divide lettuce among 4 plates; top evenly with eggs, beans, cucumber, corn, olives, radishes, and fish. Drizzle with vinaigrette.

Serve with:

Parsley and Dill Potatoes  (Ckng Lght, July 2017)  gluten free
I don't have a microwave, so I modified by pre-cooking in a boiling pot of water, then finishing as directed below.  I did this while prepping everything above, then used the boiling water to blanch the green beans and cook the corn. 

1 tablespoon water
1 pound baby golden potatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, grated
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Place 1 tablespoon water and quartered potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave at HIGH 4 minutes or until tender. Place potatoes on a paper towel-lined baking sheet; let potatoes dry for 5 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add potatoes; cook 3 minutes or until browned and crisp. Combine potato mixture, garlic, and remaining ingredients; toss.

Summery Chickpea Salad (Ckng Lght, July 2017) vegetarian, gluten free
Fast, simple, tasty.  Perfect for a warm summer night.  Only modification was I skipped the cucumbers (I'm not a fan) and I subbed some leftover flaked salmon from the recipe above.

Made enough for about two meals

Photo from cookinglight.com

1 1/2 cups halved multicolored cherry tomatoes
1 cup canned unsalted chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I used the whole can)
I cup grilled salmon, flaked; preferably room temp or chilled
1 cup half-moon English cucumber slices
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup slivered red onion
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine tomatoes, chickpeas, cucumber, parsley, onion, olive oil, lemon juice, pepper, and salt. Toss gently to combine.