Sweet 'n Tangy Kale Salad

Raw kale tastes bitter to me, so I usually prefer to eat it cooked.  The sweetness and tartness of the dressing seemed to counter the bitterness in this simple salad.  I liked the dressing on the sweet side; feel free to adjust the ingredients to your preference.

In the Magic Cooking Pot: Split Pea Soup

My dear grandpa is on a limited diet and also prefers soft foods that he can manage with his dentures, so split pea soup seemed like a healthful meal he could enjoy.  I prepped all ingredients in the evening, then combined them in the morning and left them cooking in my trusty Crock Pot until I returned from work.  Grandpa ate a whole bowlful of this stuff for dinner, so I'd say this recipe was a success!

QUICKish Salmon Gumbo?!

We had salmon for dinner last night.  Costco sells huge fillets, so I baked one with miso-ginger dressing and the other with mayo and Tajin seasoning ("The ultimate fruit & vegetable booster"... yummmmm...).

Tonight, I received a special request for gumbo.  The recipe I found via Google was going to take well over an hour, and I didn't have a third of the ingredients on hand, so a surprising concoction was born.  The makeshift gumbo was delicious!  And was ready to eat in less than an hour.

A Savory Stir-Fry Shared Between Friends

This one's for you, Jan!

Ingredients:

• Brown rice
• Water
• Coconut Milk (canned)
• Butter
• Onions (chopped)
• Celery (chopped)
• Bell peppers (cut to bite-size)
• Canola oil, if needed
• Shrimp (I used frozen, rinsed and drained)
• Sriracha sauce
• Cilantro (chopped)

For the Rice:

1. Scoop uncooked brown rice into a pot, then add enough cold water to cover about 1 inch beyond the level of rice at the bottom of the pot.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover the pot and turn the heat down to simmer for 20 min.
3. Add some coconut milk, cover the pot again, and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the liquid has absorbed/evaporated.
4. Fluff the rice.

For the Stir-Fry:

1. While waiting for the water in the rice pot to boil, melt butter in a large skillet or wok over high heat.  Add onions and stir until golden.
2. Add celery and bell peppers.  Stir just until cooked through.
3. I added a little canola oil because the veggies weren't as "saucy" as I wanted.
4. Add shrimp and saute just until they turn opaque.
5. Drizzle sriracha to taste.
6. Add cilantro and stir.

Serve the stir-fry over the rice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Salmon leftovers... transformed!

I didn't want a repeat of our miso salmon/spinach salad dinner from the night before, so I gave the leftovers the good ol' crab cake treatment and made salmon cake.  

Leftover Veggie Toss

Here's what went into the frying pan for today's easy Saturday saute.  This was a delicious complement to my slice of wheat toast and fried egg.

Salmon Can Be Simple

The sauces I use will vary, but the cooking is the same!  I like to spread butter or oil on the bottom of a glass baking dish, add salmon fillets skin-side-down, drizzle them with sauce, and bake them in the oven at 350 degrees (Fahrenheit), about 10 minutes per inch of thickness, but keep an eye on them.  I know my salmon is done when it flakes easily and resists slightly when I gently press on the flesh.

Miso Soup

The original recipe was a gift from a coworker and inspired my first experiments with miso paste!  I'd had no idea there were so many kinds of miso.  It is now my goal to taste them all.

The Easiest Sauce You'll Ever Make

I personally can't handle much heat, but my taste buds love the chili flavor of sriracha sauce.  I'm dreaming about next drizzling this sriracha/butter combo over red snapper or steak.

Quick Vinaigrette Dressing

Sweet, salty, tangy... and taste-tested from start to finish.  Drizzled over a simple spinach apple salad.  These are the ingredients for tonight's dressing, in no particular order:

Banana w/ Caramel Sauce

Thought I'd start my morning with fruit today.  Who says we can't have dessert for breakfast?

Yellow Mystery Squash

I'm not adventurous when it comes to buying and cooking squash. I stick to pumpkin, zuchinni, butternut, and acorn.  And that's it!

I was recently gifted with a squash--not one of my usual four, therefore its identity is a mystery--and was stumped as to how I should prepare it. Would it be sweet? Bitter? Have inedible, tough skin?

I now regret that I didn't take a photo or at least make a sketch of it, because the dish turned out delicious, and I probably won't be able to pick out the same type of squash in the future.    Fortunately, zuchinni will work just as well, and other varieties might make fine substitutes, too.

Saturday Morning Casserole

So easy!  Gather your leftovers from the work week, toss them into this casserole, set the oven timer, and--the best part--go back to bed. Ahh, don't you love Saturday mornings?