Spring, Sprains, and Salad

It was the beginning of Spring and an absolutely perfect day - mild temperature, mild breeze, and blue, blue skies... An absolutely perfect day for a dinner salad.

I headed off to the grocery store walking a bit gimpy with compression socks and a sore knee. It seemed that for no really discernable reason, my left leg and foot decided to swell. I didn't think a lot about it at first, but it seemed to be getting bigger - and bigger... I know the weight loss has not been all that dramatic, but neither has the weight gain - especially on just one side of my body. Time to look into things.

A quick trip to Dr Google let me know that men of a certain (old) age who have prostate cancer are more susceptible to blood clots that those without. I decided it was time to seek actual medical advice from an actual person. Off to Immediate Care.

I saw a great Doc who did the exam and wanted an ultrasound asap. Alas, it was a Sunday and the Imaging Dept was closed for the day. He suggested heading to the ER - which I was not in favor of - so he gave me a blood thinner to get me safely through the night - and an order to get an Ultrasound immediately the following morning. In the meantime, I had several vials of blood taken out and a complete blood workup ordered. to try and rule out every possible cause.

Actually following Drs orders, I had the Ultrasound on Monday and fortunately, it came back negative. No clots, no issues, Good blood flow. Leg still swollen. My PCP called me later that afternoon - she gets notified when something is added to my chart - and said she wanted to see me Tuesday morning so right after my quarterly Urology appointment, I headed to see her - bringing an elastic knee brace I had started wearing because my knee has been bothering me - the same knee I had arthroscopic surgery on 11 years ago. She had the results of the Ultrasound and the bloodwork, and did a thorough exam of my leg. It appears that the elastic brace was the most likely cause of the swelling.

To address the problem of the knee, she sent me upstairs for x-rays. The knee surgery is past its warranty and I'm scheduled for a steroid injection to help alleviate things. The compression socks have reduced the swelling immensely in just a day, and all of my bloodwork came back perfect.

To add perfection to an already stellar medical experience, the Dr who saw me on Sunday at the Immediate Care office called this morning to see how I was doing! It's like old fashioned medicine in the 21st Century!

To celebrate the great news and absolutely gorgeous day, we decided on salads for dinner. Limping through the store , I picked up some fresh tuna kabobs - marinated in teriyaki - and the basic salad ingredients we didn't already have. I made a bean salad, a farrow salad, and I made a salad dressing - a garlicky buttermilk ranch.

Bean Salad was simplicity and based on my old Trader Joe training - 3 cans of beans, diced pimento, diced red onion, a can of diced green chilis, and about a half-cup of Trader Joe's Salsa Verde. A pinch of salt and pepper. Absolutely no muss or fuss - and no-effort really good.

The Farro Salad was another no-recipe recipe. Cooked farro, diced bell pepper, green onion, celery, chopped parsley, olive oil, and coconut vinegar - because we have a dozen (at least) different vinegars and I have to use them up!

There's a little dollop of a local goat cheese with honey and vanilla that tastes like cheesecake - and some marinated veggies from the olive bar. Delish!

The salad dressing was a take on a dressing I've made in the past. This version had a lot of roasted garlic in it.

Garlicky Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup crème fraîche
  • 2 tsp. minced onion
  • 1-1/2 tsp. lemon juice
  • 1-1/2 tsp. flat leaf parsley
  • 5 cloves roasted garlic
  • Pinch dried thyme
  • Pinch paprika
  • S&P to taste

Place everything into a good blender and process until creamy. (I used the smoothie cup to my Ninja)

Taste for seasoning and add more S&P, if desired.

After yesterday's great weather, we have cold, cloudy, rainy weather with snow in the higher elevations - welcome to Spring in the Pacific Northwest! But that's okay. I'll be doing nothing today, sitting with leg elevated when i think of it, and dreaming of Cabo San Lucas in a few weeks.

Little glitches here and there, but life does not suck!

 


Brussels Sprouts, Pears, Cherries, and Cheese

Another fun recipe from Milk Street.

I've liked Chris Kimball since his early days at Cooks Illustrated. A bit of an oddball, but I can appreciate his approach to food. Besides, you have to be a bit of an oddball to be in the food business. I speak from personal experience.

The fun thing about recipes is knowing the ingredients are not chiseled in stone. His recipe called for dried cranberries - fitting for this time of year. Alas, I had no cranberries, but I did have dried cherries. (There are also dried apricots, raisins, golden raisins, and a half-dozen different nuts I could have used. Walnuts were open. I also added the steak, because I was making it as an entree, not a side dish. Us aging people need our protein.

Brussels Sprouts, Pears, Cherries, and Cheese

adapted from 177 Milk Street

  • 1/4 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 2 ripe but firm pears unpeeled, quartered and cored
  • 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
  • 2 ounces fresh chèvre, crumbled
  • S&P, to taste
  • Extra-virgin olive oil to serve
  • 8 oz sirloin steak, sliced thin

In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the cherries and vinegar. Microwave uncovered until heated through, about 1 minute.

Thinly slice the pears and sprouts and mix into a large bowl. Add the cranberry-vinegar mixture, 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper; toss well. Let stand for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Toss in the nuts and cheese, then season with salt and pepper.

Plate, top with sliced steak, and drizzle with additional olive oil.

 

All-in-all, it was pretty good. The recipe is supposed to be a saladish side dish, but I think it would be better if the brussels sprouts were sauteed, first. It could still be served room temperature. They were just a bit too crunchy. The flavors were excellent, though.

With a couple of modifications, I can see this happening, again...


Japanese Chicken Meatball Salad

Japanese-Style Chicken Meatballs

It has definitely been a while since I put fingers to keyboard and wrote about something I made. It's not like we've stopped eating - a look at my waistline will prove that not to be the case. It's more that we really haven't been cooking significantly different foods from the 2, 576 posts and 1,259 other recipes already on the site. I mean, how many times can I cook and wax poetically about the same ol' things?!?

And then, the other day, my latest copy of Milk Street arrived. It's a fun magazine. I really do like Chris Kimball. He has an Alton Brown approach to cooking - the science and chemistry behind food - along with stories about where the food came from. Granted, sometimes the ingredient lists can get a bit kludge, but all-in-all, they're pretty good.

The latest issue had a recipe for a Japanese-Style Chicken Meatball that really sounded interesting. And, as luck would have it, I had the ingredients!

To make it even better, we just started watching a show on Prime called "James May - Our Man in Japan". It's a pretty fun travel show with May - an Englishman - travelling from north to south in Japan, doing things your basic traveler would never think - or be able - to do. It's fun and interesting.

So... Milk Street recipe, Japan travel show... Time to make some meatballs!

Naturally, I couldn't just serve them over rice. It's summer time. That means salads. About as un-traditional as one can get - but it really worked!

I also found a recipe for a "Japanese Restaurant-Style Salad Dressing", so off we went...

Japanese-Style Chicken Meatballs

adapted from Milk Street Magazine

  • 1/2 cup sake
  • 1/2 cup mirin
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 medium garlic cloves, 1 smashed and peeled, 1 finely grated
  • 2 inch piece fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons finely grated, the remainder thinly sliced and bruised
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 4 scallions, minced, divided
  • 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • Ground black or white pepper
  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil, plus more for oiling your hands

Line a rimmed baking sheet with kitchen parchment and mist with cooking spray; set aside. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high, combine the sake, mirin, soy sauce, smashed garlic and bruised ginger. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring often, until reduced to ⅓ cup, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and discard the garlic and ginger; transfer the mixture to a small bowl. Rinse out and dry the skillet.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, the grated garlic, the grated ginger, ¼ cup scallions, the panko, egg white, sesame oil and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Using your hands or a silicone spatula, vigorously stir and knead the mixture until well combined and sticky. Using lightly oiled hands, divide the mixture into 16 portions (about 2 tablespoons each), form each into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly press each ball to slightly flatten it into a 1- to 1¼-inch round.

In the same skillet over medium-high, heat the neutral oil until shimmering. Place the meatballs in the skillet, reduce to medium and cook until lightly browned on the bottoms, about 4 minutes. Flip each meatball and add the sake-soy mixture; continue to cook, occasionally turning the meatballs and basting them with the sauce, until the centers reach 160°F and the exteriors are glazed, 5 to 7 minutes; reduce the heat to medium if the soy mixture is reducing too quickly.

Japanese Chicken Meatball Salad

 

And then the salad dressing... I really like making my own dressings. This one is going into the rotation.

Japanese Restaurant-Style Salad Dressing

adapted from All-Recipes

  • ½ cup minced onion
  • ½ cup peanut oil
  • ⅓ cup rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
  • 2 tablespoons minced celery
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 4 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon minced garlic
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine minced onion, peanut oil, rice vinegar, water, ginger, celery, ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender. Blend until all ingredients are well-pureed, about 30 seconds.

We went out and bought a Ninja blender, and the smoothie cup it came with is the perfect size for making a batch of dressing - and it really makes for a smooth finished product.

Hopefully, this will get me out of my rut and start cooking a few more new, fun things...

It could happen.....

 

 


Cranberry Stilton Salad with Pumpkin Dressing

Ruth Pearson

This salad shows the genius of my dear friend, Ruth! After seeing a salad with Pumpkin Dressing at a local salad place, she created this, blending Fall flavors in a hip, contemporary way!

The dressing recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups and any leftovers (not that there’s likely to be any!) may be refrigerated.

For the Salad:

  • Baby Spinach (or a hearty mixed greens)
  • Cranberry Stilton Cheese, crumbled
  • Nut mix of your choice

For the Pumpkin Dressing:

  • 3/4 cup Grapeseed oil (or other light, neutral oil)
  • 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/2 cup Pumpkin Butter
  • Salt and Pepper to taste.

Crumble Cranberry Stilton cheese over baby spinach and mix.

Whisk dressing ingredients together, adding salt and pepper to taste. Pour over salad and mix well.

Top with nut mix and enjoy!


A Strange Few Months...

Calling this a strange few months is the ultimate understatement.

The pandemic has hit us harder than most people with the death of Victor's mother, but we've been spared the fear that far too many have of how to pay their bills and feed their children - or figuring out if the jail time would be worth murdering the little blighters. I can't even imagine what that would be like. With six of us, I'm sure my mother would have gone for the jail time.

There's no question that this has taken a real emotional toll on almost everyone, but we've been able to isolate with high speed internet and a roof over our heads in relative quiet and comfort. We're lucky we like each other.

And, we're eating well. I guess that pretty much goes without saying - we have always eaten well. We're just getting more creative as ingredients run out or become unavailable.

The last time I was physically in a store was the end of March - wearing a mask before they were mandated. Since then it has been all delivery - from the local grocery store and a local restaurant. to a local brewery and a local distiller. It's been great being able to put money into the local economy - and we've been tipping really well. That's important, also.

I miss grocery shopping - it's the only shopping I actually like - and I like walking up and down the aisles at my leisure, stopping and looking at things, getting ideas, creating recipes on the fly. Although I always shop with a list, I also like being able to make an impulse buy when something catches my eye, or change my mind and not get something on the list. None of that is possible with online shopping - and with product availability being what it is, you're never quite sure what you're going to get, so it's impossible to really plan meals. One merely gets ingredients and hopes for the best.

And then... get creative.

For me, that is the fun part of all of this. Once Upon A Time, I got paid good money to be creative with different foods, create recipes, and sell the hell out of things. I find it's actually quite easy to take an idea and completely rework it to fit what you have in front of you. A large part of that, no doubt, is because I grew up with a mother who fed her family like that. To boldly go where no man - or woman - has gone, before...

Monday's dinner is a perfect example...

Casserole

I saw a post from a Facebook friend about a Southern Italian dish called a Tiella - a layered casserole of sorts. I didn't have the ingredients that were used in the original recipe, but, in reading through the post, there are as many variations on the recipe as there are people making it. It's often used as a side dish, but can also be used as a main dish. Without a single Italian ingredient, I gave it a go. Later, I realized that years ago I made a totally different style of Tiella based on a recipe from Lidia Bastianich. You can check that one out, here...

Casserole

Into a small casserole, I layered:

  • sliced potatoes
  • chopped onion
  • barely cooked chicken
  • sliced andouille sausage
  • a can of cannellini beans
  • colby jack cheese
  • white wine
  • sourdough bread cubes drizzled with olive oil
  • thyme
  • garlic powder
  • salt & pepper

I covered it and baked it at 375°F for 30 minutes and then uncovered and baked at 425°F for another 15.

It came out great. Taste-wise, it was nothing like the original recipe, but it followed the concept in spirit - and was a damned fine meal!

Yesterday was a use-things-up-because-we-have-more-coming day.

The thought was open-faced burgers on the last of the Whole Wheat Buttermilk Bread - because I was baking more and making some rolls - and a salad Victor had found a recipe for a fennel salad with a creamy dressing of mayonnaise, olive oil, anchovies, lemon, olives...

We didn't have the fennel, but we had the ingredients for the dressing. To work he went!

salad

Creamy Olive and Lemon Dressing

  • 3 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp anchovy paste or 2 anchovy fillets, minced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped
  • 1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together, cover, and refrigerate until use.

For the actual salad, Victor sliced celery, cucumber, and green unions and mixed them with the dressing, topping it all with fresh chives, a sprinkling of parmigiano reggiano, and crushed black pepper. It was perfection.

And then it was the burgers...

Thick slices of toasted Whole Wheat Buttermilk Bread topped with the same dressing as the salad, lettuce, thick slice of tomato, and a burger topped with provolone cheese.

Today, we have fresh bread and fresh rolls - ready for some BBQ Brisket, tonight...

It really doesn't get much better...


Orzo Salad

Orzo Salad

We did a bit of tag-team in the kitchen, today... I had planned burgers with a mushroom sauce because I had mushrooms that needed using up. Victor decided to make an orzo salad because orzo salads are really good. I had also harvested another huge bowl of tomatoes.

You can see how logic plays right into our meal decisions.

Orzo Salad

The salad consisted of:

  • orzo
  • fresh tomatoes
  • tomato paste
  • leeks
  • celery
  • kalamata olives
  • olive oil
  • garlic powder
  • salt and pepper

Fresh and refreshing!

The burgers were pretty basic and the mushroom gravy was:

  • crimini mushrooms
  • shiitake mushrooms
  • brandy
  • red wine
  • beef stock
  • pepper, garlic powder
  • cornstarch to thicken

Neither were anything fancy, but they really hit the spot.

Tomorrow night, we're thinking of reworking the salad into a pasta dish with shrimp!

Stay tuned.


Tomatoes

Dinner From The Garden

It is so much fun going out back and picking dinner! Tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, tomatillos, and hot peppers are all starting to arrive. Well... the cucumbers are arriving with a vengeance, but that's okay. We're figuring out lots of fun things to do with them - most recently by thinly slicing them and making roulades!

Cucumber Roulade

Victor thinly sliced them on a mandoline and spread them with a mixture of mascarpone, dried figs, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Really, really good.

I made a tomatillo salsa to use as a salad dressing. The tomatillos, tomato, and habanero pepper came from the garden!

Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillo Salsa

  • 6 small tomatillos, chopped
  • 1 small onion. chopped
  • 1 yellow tomato, chopped
  • 1 habanero pepper, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Place everything in a blender or food processor and pulse until mixed but still slightly chunky.

When that was done, it was time to make salads.

Dinner Salads

I grilled a small pork tenderloin and sliced it.

On the plate, I started with a layer of mixed greens, and then added sliced tomatoes and mozzarella. Next went roasted vegetables, and roasted beets. I added one of the cucumber roulades, some sliced pork tenderloin, and topped it all with the tomatillo salsa.

The salsa came out good. Really spicy from the habanero, but we like our spice. Habaneros are great because, while they are pretty hot, they have a lot of flavor. It's not just heat for heat's sake.

We have lots of tomatoes ready right now, so I'm already thinking of something fun for tomorrow.

Tomatoes

Stay tuned...


Fresh Tomatoes

Fresh Tomatoes

The garden is finally starting to produce something besides cucumbers - and if we can get a bit more sun and a bit less rain, we're going to be in for one hellava harvest, this year.

The Purple Cherokee tomatoes and the Orange tomatoes have been the first to ripen, but the Black Krim, Green Zebra, Mr Stripey, Principe Borghese - and all the San Marzanos - are not far behind. In all, there are 17 tomato plants out there. In a few weeks we're going to be canning a lot of sauce.

I can't wait. In the past, we've just picked tomatoes and blended them all to make sauce. This year, I'd love to be able to can individual varieties. We'll see what the harvest brings.

In the meantime, the first ones are really good eating.

We did a simple salad - a take on a Caprese Salad - with grilled chicken, avocado, tomatoes, and mozzarella, on a bed of greens, dressed with homemade pesto. Classic flavors simply done.

Fresh Tomatoes

One of life's great pleasures is the taste of a tomato straight off the vine.

We're gonna have a couple of months of pleasures...
 


Salads

More from the Garden

We've been harvesting more cucumbers. I think by this weekend we'll be making a chilled cucumber soup. call me naive, but I really didn't know one little plant would be producing so much! It's rather fun, because cucumbers are not something I've ever really thought about. I mean... sliced or cubed into a salad, but I've never had such an abundance of them that I had to think about what to do with them. Methinks I'm going to be thinking about what to do with them.

I didn't have to think, tonight - Victor made a cucumber salad. Thinly-sliced cucumber, red onion, and celery, minced garlic, fresh herbs from the garden, a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice - we're still using it up from the limoncello - and some S&P.

Simplicity.

The rest of the salads were from the 'fridge - a barley salad and an ancient grains salad I made a couple of days ago, eggs, tomatoes, grilled chicken, hot peppers...

The chicken was a whole roaster done on the grill like a beer can chicken - except I used a vertical roaster. I liberally doused the chicken with Penzey's Mitchell Street Steak Rub and it grilled to perfection.

Chicken is going to be on the menu for a couple of days, I think...

Maybe tacos tomorrow night...

Salads

 

 

 


Double Barrel

Double Barrel Salad Dressing

When you are fortunate enough to have not one, but two liters of Double Barrel Select Canadian Whiskey, the possibilities are endless! Our friends, Ann and Julie, hand-picked it Canada and delivered it to us in person, last week.

Yes, it is fabulous sipped neat, but it takes other things to the next level and beyond.

Starting with a simple salad dressing...

I've had a recipe for a bourbon salad dressing for years. I think it originally came out of Southern Cooking magazine, but, I really don't remember - and I don't think I ever made it. (And if I did, I used cheap booze and it was unremarkable.)

This was not unremarkable! Quite the opposite, in fact! It was smooth and light. Full of flavor but delicate at the same time. No ingredient stood out - they blended perfectly together.

Maple Whiskey Salad Dressing

  • 1 tablespoon minced shallot
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon grainy mustard
  • 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
  • 1/2 cup neutral oil

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in a mason jar and shake vigorously to blend.

Double Barrel Salad Dressing

I did a chicken breast on the grill - a bit of whiskey as a marinade - and the salad, itself, was a clean-out-the-'fridge assortment of roasted golden beets, steamed broccoli, rainbow radishes, cucumbers, pickled onions, avocado and tomato atop assorted greens.

All topped with that excellent dressing!

I made a batch of homemade croutons from the bread I made a few days ago, but I wasn't paying attention and I burnt them. Charcoal-crisp.

Oh, well...

In the grand scheme of things, they weren't necessary - and everything else came out great.

The recipe barely makes 6 ounces of dressing - and only calls for two tablespoons of whiskey - so I definitely recommend making some for your next summer salad.

You'll be glad you did!

Double Barrel

 


Smoked Salmon Salad

Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Salad

We had some smoked salmon in the 'fridge - hot smoked with pepper. Victor looked at it and said we needed some asparagus - he had an idea and wanted to make a salad.

I headed to the store.

One of the great things about both of us liking to cook is that we cook differently. We look at foods differently and can come up with vastly different ideas using the same ingredients.

It keeps it fun and interesting!

Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Salad

Salad:

  • 1 pound fresh asparagus cut into pieces
  • 1 cup pecans, broken into pieces
  • 1/2 fennel bulb, diced
  • 3 celery stalks, diced
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • 1 cup peas, thawed, if frozen
  • 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
  • 1/2 pound smoked salmon, broken into pieces

Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1 teaspoon good mustard
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Lettuce of your choice

Directions:

Blanche asparagus until just tender - 3-5 minutes. Drain and cool.

Lightly toast pecans. Cool and set aside.

Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Mix asparagus, pecans, peas, fennel, celery, scallions, capers, and smoked salmon. Add 2/3 of the dressing and mix well.

To serve:

Place lettuce on plate and top with salmon salad. Add additional dressing, as desired.

Top with grated parmigiano reggiano.

 

Smoked Salmon Salad

The salads had absolutely everything going for them! Lots of crunch, lots of softer textures, and lots of individual flavors tied together with an awesome dressing.

The hot smoked salmon - as opposed to a cold smoked nova - is closer in texture to a traditionally cooked piece of salmon, so it's thicker and flakes easily. And totally delicious. A piece of cold, broiled or grilled salmon could be substituted with slightly different results.

If you like salmon, this is one to try!

And... it's a salad. Add or subtract ingredients as you see fit.

The recipe made enough for dinner, tonight, and lunch salads for a couple of days. My stomach is smiling at the thought of seeing this, again!


Turkey Breast

Turkey Breast on the Grill

While at the store, today, I glanced up and saw thin-sliced turkey cutlets in the meat case. I'm a good one for impulse buys, but I looked at the price and decided against them. I then looked down and saw a turkey breast portion - at three times as much weight for half as much money.

Guess what I bought?!?

Marketing really is everything. The expensive cutlets were packaged nicely and prominently displayed while the breasts were vacuum-packed and piled willy-nilly in the bottom of the case. Of course, had I not seen the nice packaging I may not have looked down to see the other, since I wasn't looking for it.

It really does cost a lot more to have someone cut things for you - just as it costs a lot more to buy things already prepared. Madison Avenue has done a great job of training people to believe they don't have time to cook. The reality is, you can have dinner on the table in the time it takes to cook the rice - from scratch, not microwave-in-bag. It just takes a bit of organization. Really.

I marinated the turkey in olive oil, red wine, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Onto the grill and 20 minutes later, we were eating salads!

The salads were greens, avocado, tomato, watermelon radishes, roasted golden beets, and barley salad. Dressing was Spicy French.

And the leftover turkey will make great sandwiches!

Turkey Breast