Recipe Review from 8/10/2020

This week was a lesson in "best laid plans" and being flexible with meal planning. It began with one tiny "oops" - I forgot to buy the gnocchi. From there it was a matter or shuffling the remaining meals around for the remainder of the week. On Wednesday, the Husband was delayed getting home so dinner was a fried egg sandwich on sourdough bread for myself. Sooo good! Easy quick, a combination comfort food and guilty pleasure.

No crafty projects to show and tell this week. I have some more masks for the kiddos in progress and I have two scarves on the needles (one will be done this weekend). In the meantime, a picture of past gardens!

Daylily - My Sweet Rose (I think...)

The Meal Plan
Sat (L) leftover zucchini (S) grilled chicken
Sun (L) veggies and gnocchi chicken (S) blueberry salad
Mon - sheet tray salmon leftover chicken
Tues(vet) gnocchi blueberry salad
Wed - chicken fried egg sandwich for me
Thurs (Yoga)- leftovers sheet tray salmon
Fri - blueberry salads chicken

Lunches - chopped Greek salads, fruit



Double Blue Salad (modified from Whole Foods Co-op/Garbanzo Gazette Summer 2020) vegetarian

Years ago I had found a blueberry and blue cheese salad with a maple syrup vinagarette and spiced nuts that was absolutely devine. A tasty combination of sweet and tangy, a little bit of spice from the nuts, all brought together with the maple syrup dressing. A combination of flavors that complimented spinach, kale and or Swiss Chard. Then I misplaced the recipe and every Fall I miss it greatly.

This recipe came close to that original and I'm am very happy again!

I did have the recipe as I didn't need to serve 10. As written below, this makes about 4-6 servings depending if it's a main or a side. I served as a main. Recommended!

Salad
1/2 lb greens of choice (I used lacinato kale and Swiss Chard)
1/2 pint blueberries
8 oz blue cheese crumbles

Spicy Pecans
2 cups pecan pieces
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp butter
 
For the Spicy Pecans:
Roast pecans on a cookie sheet at 350* for 15 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes to prevent burning. When the start to smell like toasted nuts, remove from oven and set aside.

As nuts are roasting, melt butter in a small bowl. Mix seasonings in a larger bowl. When nuts are toasted (and still warm), toss in the bowl with the seasonings and add the butter. Spread mixture on a cookies sheet and let dry for about and hour. Can be stored for up to a week in an air tight container. Dressing
My note - this isn't halved.
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 onion, peeled and minced
2/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup canola oil
1 tbsp dijon mustard (or mustard of choice)


For the Salad base: Arrange greens, cheese and blueberries on a large platter or in individual bowls. Add pecans and serve with the maple dressing.



Rosemary Roasted Salmon with [Green Beans] (Eating Well, July/Aug 2020)
I'm enjoying this current "sheet pan" trend in the food world. Little bit of prep - and usually the prep is pretty simple - while everything is baking, I can clean up. We typically get two meals out of one dinner, so bonus! Minimal work for dinner for two nights.

The Husband pulled this one together and he used the grill to cook it so we wouldn't heat up the house. Grill time was a bit longer than the listed oven time, which makes me wonder if oven would need to be longer too? I supspect so.

A couple of modifications - swapped out the asparagus and used some fresh green beans, he used a dried Italian herb mix instead of fresh rosemary, and some dried garlic instead of fresh. For the balsamic glaze, I just reduced some balsamic vinegar till it seemed thick enough. So this is a flexible and versitle kind of dish. Recommended!

Serves 4

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

photo from eatingwell.com

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 ¼ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt, divided
¾ teaspoon ground pepper, divided
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
4 (5 ounce) skinless salmon fillets, preferably wild
1 medium lemon
2 tablespoons balsamic glaze
½ teaspoon whole-grain mustard

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Stir together oil, rosemary and garlic in a small bowl. Place potatoes in a large bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil mixture and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Arrange the potatoes in an even layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until lightly browned and tender, about 20 minutes. Push the potatoes to one end of the pan.

Place asparagus in the large bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil mixture, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Arrange the asparagus on other end of the baking sheet. Roast until the asparagus is bright green, about 3 minutes. Push the vegetables to either end of the pan, leaving space in the center.

Brush salmon with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil mixture and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Place the salmon in the center of the pan. Thinly slice half the lemon and tuck the slices around the salmon and vegetables. Roast for 5 minutes more. Cut the remaining lemon half into wedges.

Whisk balsamic glaze and mustard in a small bowl. Brush 1 tablespoon of the mixture on the salmon. Continue roasting until the salmon is just cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Drizzle the vegetables with the remaining sauce. Serve with the lemon wedges.


Chopped Greek Salad (modified from Two Peas and Their Pod blog)  vegetarian
This is a very versatile recipe that you can tweak to suit your individual needs and tastes. Also a great way to take advantage of the summer garden produce! I used kale, Swiss chard, zucchini and cherry tomatoes from my garden. Yum!

Instead of chickpeas, I used some leftover kale in my salad, and leftover chicken breast in the husbands. see? Versatile salad! As this was for lunches, I assembled everything the night before and kept the dressing in a separate container. It was a grab-n-go meal in the morning.

This made 9 lunches when assembled in individual portions each night. I still had some leftover dressing at the end of the week, but not much. Recommended!

photo from twopeasandtheirpod.com

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Salad:
6 cups chopped Romaine lettuce (I used kale and Swiss chard)
1 seedless cucumber, chopped (I used zucchini in mine)
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 red bell pepper, chopped
14 oz artichoke hearts, chopped
½ red onion, chopped (skipped - don't want to offened co-workers)
1/2 cup pitted and halved Kalamata olives
14 oz chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I used quinoa in mine, chicken in the husbands)
6 oz feta cheese, cubed or crumbled

First, make the Greek salad dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, red pepper, artichokes, red onion, kalamata olives, chickpeas, and feta cheese. If you are using the homemade pita chips, break them up into the salad or you can use store bought pita chips. Drizzle the salad with the Greek dressing and toss until all of the ingredients are well coated. Serve immediately.