Baked Salmon with Spicy Giardiniera and Herbed Buttermilk Mashers

Rarely do I try the stuff they're sampling at HEB supermarkets (CM not incl. in this statement), but on this day I was weak. First, the sample was wild salmon, and second it was topped with a jarred giardiniera that was free if I purchased the same company's pesto...an item which happened to be on my list anyway. The perfect storm. Canyon Foods, the maker of my giardiniera topping, is a woman-owned Texas company that creates all kinds of sauces and what nots. It was really very good, but had I to purchase it on it's own, the price would have kept me away. I think I ended up paying 6 dollars for the pesto and got the gardiniera for free. Way too much for pesto in my book, but at least it led to this tasty and very easy meal.
The mashed potatoes were a great pairing for the fish, and are "herbed" because I had some tarragon and chives needing to be used up. There are definitely enough flavors going on in the gardiniera to leave those out if you don't have them.

Baked Salmon with Spicy Giardiniera:

1 lb wild Alaskan salmon filet
~1/2 a bottle of storebought spicy giardiniera topping

Heat oven to 450.
Place the fish on a foil-lined baking sheet, then spread the giardiniera over the salmon (I salted the salmon a bit first).
Bake for 12 minutes per inch thickness.
Serve over top of mashed potatoes.

Herbed Buttermilk Mashers:

Yukon gold potatoes, cubed (I left the skins on and only used 2 for us and this made about 3 servings)
salt and pepper
~1 Tbs butter
low-fat buttermilk
chopped fresh tarragon (~1 tsp)
chopped fresh chives (~1 Tbs)

Boil water in a medium saucepan, add salt and cubed potatoes.
Cook until soft enough for mashing.
Drain, then return to pot letting any residual water evaporate.
Add butter, mash, then add the rest of the ingredients until you're pleased with the consistency and taste.

I served this with a nice big salad of Romaine, sliced organic strawberries and cucumbers. The dressing echoed the herbs in the potatoes....dijon, lemon, tarragon, chives, salt and pepper, and olive oil.

Cranberry-Peach Pancake Topping

I made this for our pancakes this past Sunday, and it's super easy and undeniably scrumptious. Save any leftovers and mix into oatmeal, yogurt topped with crunchy buckwheat cereal, etc.

Cranberry-Peach Pancake Topping:

1 bag of frozen sliced peaches
a good handful of frozen whole cranberries
unsweetened and generally ungooked apple juice or cider
a pinch of salt
1 cinnamon stick
1 mounded TBS of cornstarch + ~1-2 Tbs water, juice to make a slurry
agave nectar to taste

Put frozen peach slices, the cinnamon stick, and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan and add apple juice until the peaches are just covered. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the peaches are almost soft. Add cranberries and simmer a bit longer, or until the skins start to pop. Add agave nectar to taste, then stir in the cornstarch slurry, simmering until thickened to a nice syrup-like consistency.
Remove from heat and remove cinnamon stick. Serve over buttered (oatmeal) pancakes with dollops of Fage Greek yogurt (and walnuts). So freakin' good.

Gingered Greens with Tofu

I visited with an old friend tonight...my soy sauce splattered copy of Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home. When the Monster and I first lived together, high up in our little nest in the trees (read: sweetest ever garage apt. in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Austin), I was totally perplexed by the idea of cooking meat. I didn't know how, it kind of skeezed me out, so I didn't do it. The Monster might grill stuff from time to time with the neighbors, but in our tiny kitchen, nuh-uh. We collected just about all of the Moosewood veggie cookbooks and I used those pretty much exclusively. Oh the days before internet recipe searches...
It's been ages since I'd cracked one open, much less made one of our old standbys. Due to the ease of accessing a vast array of goodness online without a doubt. Tonight, I was feeling nostalgic.
For those old days, in our tiny counterless kitchen, cooking up a tried and true Moosewood recipe for just my sweetie and me.

Gingered Greens and Tofu:
(Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home)

Tofu Marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry (use a drinking sherry...not a salty cooking sherry)
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs brown sugar (or agave nectar!)

2 cakes of firm tofu (I used an organic brand from Costco that came in a 19 oz pkg...one was plenty)

2 Tbs canola oil, divided
2 Tbs grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
6 cups coarsely chopped bok choy, Chinese cabbage, or Swiss Chard, packed (I used two beautiful bunches of Swiss chard...I used to make this with bok choy, but I don't really like it anymore)
Juice of one lime
2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
pinch of cayenne, or splash of chili oil

Optional toppings: toasted cashews, gomasio, Sriracha sauce

Put on a pot of long grain brown rice.
Cut the tofu into 1/2" slices, then ~1" squares. I press them at this point between layers of paper toweling and under several heavy baking sheets while I'm getting everything else together (~20 min). The original recipe didn't call for it.
In a small saucepan, bring the marinade ingredients to a boil. Simmer for 1 minute and remove from heat.
Place the squares of tofu in a non-reactive heatproof pan (I use a glass lasagna pan).
Pour the marinade over the tofu squares, sprinkle with one Tbs of oil, and set aside for ~10-40 minutes.
Preheat the broiler on high.
Broil the tofu for 7-8 minutes, until lightly browned; then turn it over with a spatula and brown the other side.
While the tofu broils, heat 1 Tbs of canola oil in a wok or large skillet.
Stir in the ginger and garlic stiring until fragrant (~1 minute).
Add the greens, stirring constantly over high heat until the greens are wilted. When the greens are just tender, add the lime juice, cilantro, and cayenne or chili oil, and remove from heat.
When the tofu is browned, gently toss it with the marinade and the cooked greens, and reheat if necessary. Top with toasted nuts if you like (I totally forgot about these, but did use Gomasio and Sriracha sauce), and serve immediately over brown rice.

Kitchen Sink Pasta

As in it's got a little bit of everything except...
Fridge cleaner meal here, and super tasty to boot, if a little homely in the picture. I had more than half a tub of ricotta left from the omelet cannelloni, so decided to use it up in a pasta dish. I'm afraid the amounts are going to be kind of wishy washy on this one...but basically if it sounds like it might be good in your pasta toss it in!

Kitchen Sink Pasta:

1 preternaturally large chicken breast, pounded to ~1/4", salted and peppered, pan sauteed in a little olive oil, and cut into ~1" pieces
~10 oz ricotta cheese
freshly grated Parmesan
freshly grated nutmeg
~10 oz fresh spinach, washed but not dried
2 zucchini, cubed and roasted with a little olive oil and salt at 400 til done.
2 roma tomatoes, cut into 8 pieces each, then roasted at 400 til they start to collapse.
~1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1 large jarred roasted red pepper, chopped
brown rice elbows, or pasta of your choice
a bowl of the pasta water reserved
~1/4 cup packed torn fresh basil

After all your ingredients have been prepped, cook your pasta as per package instructions, making sure to reserve some of the cooking water.
In a small bowl, combine the ricotta and some Parm, freshly grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
In the same (still chickeny) pan you cooked the chicken in, add the still damp spinach and cover, cooking ~3-4 minutes, or until tender, then remove from heat.
Add ricotta mixture to spinach in the pan stirring to combine.
You can start to thin with some of the pasta water at this point.
Add the rest of the ingredients including the now cooked noodles until heated through.
Add more water until it's a consistency you're pleased with, adjust seasonings if needed, then enjoy the cheesy goodness.

Curried Golden Chana Dal Soup

This is a delicious, nutritious soup that quasi comes from Rose Elliot's Vegetarian Cookery. My mom made the Curry version of the Golden Lentil Soup when we were down visiting for Easter, so I figured I'd make it when we got home...already knowing it'd be a good one. The recipe in the book calls for red lentils though. My mom, thankfully remembered to tell me that she'd made hers with some chana dal I'd given her, instead of the red lentils. I made my soup with more dal than she did for a slightly thicker soup. We just ate this with some store bought whole wheat naan (usually available in the deli section of the supermarket...at least at HEB in Tx.)

Curried Golden Chana Dal Soup:

2 Tbs unsalted butter, or Earth Balance
1 large chopped TX sweet onion or (~4 cups)
3 tsp mild curry powder
1.5 cups chana dal
4 cups sodium-reduced vegetable stock (I used Kitchen Basics)
2-3 cups water
1/2 cup coconut milk
1-2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
Fage or other Greek yogurt to top (I highly recommend this. It's a really nice contrast to the sweetness of the soup)

Melt the butter over med-high heat in a dutch oven. Saute onions with curry powder until translucent and soft, but not browned...about 10 minutes. Add dal and stir for 1-2 minutes, then add stock and ~2 cups water. Bring to the boil, then half cover the pan and leave to soup to simmer gently for ~50 min. to an hour, or until dal is very tender. Check soup during this time and add more water if you think it's necessary.
When finished cooking stir in coconut milk.
Puree soup with a stick blender, or transfer to a regular blender in batches. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a dollop of Fage Greek yogurt.

Fried Okra

I've been lured over to the dark side. Of preparing okra that is. I caved and fried the leftover fresh okra and now our house smells like a greasy spoon restaurant. Worth it? Um, yeah, but I'm pretty sure these don't qualify as a vegetable, no matter what any good self-respecting Southerner tells you.
I used this recipe, but I salted and peppered the okra before dipping it into the egg wash.
I also used the combined flours method. For about 1/2 lb of okra, cut into ~1/4" pieces, I only used one beaten egg. Use your best judgment on the amt. of flour, I just used equal parts flour to cornmeal mixed together.

Okra with Cumin and Coriander

Another recipe from the new cookbook. I think this is my first time ever cooking with okra. The Monster was a trooper, eating it even after having muttered "I don't know about okra...*grumble, grumble* ".
He still wasn't too sure about it after eating his portion, so I saved him from the rest by having it for lunch the next day. I think it was better the next day too.
Alright, now what to do with the half pound of okra I have left in the fridge? A mini batch of pickled okra?? Guess it's either that or fry those suckers up. Not really how we eat anymore...buuuuut, I DO hate to waste food. ;-)

Okra with Cumin and Coriander:
(Rosemary Elliot's Vegetarian Cookery)

1 smallish onion, or half large, chopped
2 Tbs oil
1/2 lb okra, washed, trimmed, but left whole
1 tsp salt
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 Tbs ground coriander
7 fl oz. water
2 tomatoes, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
chopped cilantro to garnish

Saute the onion in a medium saucepan for 5 minutes, then add okra, salt, cumin, and coriander.
Mix well, then cook gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Add the water, then simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes more, until the okra is tender and most of the water has been absorbed.
Shake the pan, or stir gently from time to time.
Add the tomatoes, check the seasoning, and sprinkle with the chopped cilantro.
Serve hot or warm.

Serves 2 with rice as a main dish, or 4 as part of a curry meal.