Salmon en Croute

March 25th was a fish day so I decided to venture off from my fail-proof poached salmon and try something new. Salmon en croute is what I decided on. This dish has many varieties but it is basically just salmon wrapped in puffed pastry and baked. The pastry keeps the fish moist and captures all the flavors in one neat pocket. There are many recipes out there but I just threw some ingredients that I had on hand and made a mild spinach pesto. One could easily used a prepared basil or other type of pesto but I decided on a spinch pesto that would not overpower the flavor of the salmon. I also made these the night before and put them in the freezer and baked them the next evening which worked out perfectly.

Ingredients

6 servings

• 1 large skinless salmon fillet cut into 6 2" fillets
  
• 2 frozen puff pastry sheets thawed
  
• 1 box frozen chopped spinach thawed
  
• 1/2 cup toasted almonds
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 -1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 small hand full fresh basil
• 2 cloves garlic
• zest and juice of half a lemon
• lemon pepper
• salt and pepper
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toast the almonds in a dry skillet until aromatic. Put the thawed, chopped spinach in a cleaned dish cloth and wring out all excess moisture. And the almonds, spinach, garlic, basil, lemon zest and juice in a food process and mix until it starts to resemble a paste. While the food processor is on, drizzle in the olive oil and enough vegetable broth through the top of the food processor until a thick pesto is formed. Salt and pepper to taste.

Season the salmon fillets generously with lemon pepper and quickly sear in a very hot skillet with a little oil (not more the 1 or 2 minutes on each side). This step can be skipped altogether and if your fillets are thin I would recommend not searing them.

Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the puff pastry sheets to 1/8" thickness. Place a fillet on the pastry, top the fillet generously with the spinach pesto and cut around the fillet insuring that there will be enough dough to fully enclose the salmon fillet. Wrap the fillet like you would a present and place seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat for the remaining fillets. Brush with olive oil and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Recipe from me

Raw Vegan Brownies

This is a great recipe I ran across. Very easy and tasty. They are more like a really good LARA or Power bar than a brownie, however. I doubled the batch because I wanted a thicker bar. They are a little over a 1/2" thick if you double the recipe. If you do make a double batch, to make it easier on your food processor, mix one batch at a time and then add both to your prepared 8"x8" pan. I dusted mine with powdered sugar after I cut them. They freeze really well and are great to take in your lunch. Give these a try.

Ingredients

12 servings

• 1 cup walnuts
  
• 1/2 cup pitted dried dates
  
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
  
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
  

Directions

Place all ingredients in food processor and mix until the mix comes together. Spray a 8"x8" plan with cooking spray and press mixtures into pan and put in the freezer for an hour or until they are easy to cut.

Recipe courtesy 28 Cooks

Local Grass Fed Beef

On Saturday I picked up my half of a beef cow from Silvana Meats. My freezer is now packed which makes me really happy. My parents have been raising beef cows for as long as I can remember so I have been very fortunate to have been raised on grass-fed beef my whole life. Grass-fed beef can be more expensive but supporting your local farmers, avoiding steroids, antibiotics, meat recalls and cattle that are inhumanely treated is worth the added expense in my opinion. Support your local farmers!

European Peasant Bread

More bread from Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day! I have to say I really can't believe this bread is coming out of my oven, and with so little effort. It is better than what I can get at the store and the last time I looked, a loaf this size was $4.99. These loaves are about .50 cents each (and if you are wondering, yes I'm dutch :) ). It is so easy and to prove this, while I was at work my husband pulled out some dough and made his own loaf and that was his first bead making experience ever. It was not the prettiest loaf but there was nothing wrong with the taste. I even brought some dough with me to work and baked myself a fresh bun in our toaster oven at work...I know I'm a little crazy!

For this batch of European Peasant Bread, I tried the method of baking the bread it a dutch oven. It worked great and I will probably continue using this method. With my fist round of ABn5 bread I was using the method where you put an empty broiler pan in the oven then toss some water into it just after you put the bread in. What I found was that all the steam was putting the flame out in my oven. All I had to do was turn the oven off, then on again but I don't have to worry about it using the dutch oven.

If you are at all interested in baking this bread, I really recommend getting the book but you can find the recipe here.

Fresh Artisan Bread

I love, love, love good bread. I miss the bread from il Fornaio in Rome. So one of my goals is to start making some really good bread. I have made traditional baguettes which take forever and really did not taste better than the ones I could pick up from our local super market. I also just really don't have that kind of time. But then I found something that is taking the foodie blog world by storm and that is Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I ordered my book last week but just could not wait so I scoured the Internet for the recipe for their master loaf and one of the co-authors had it on this site (I will let you visit that site for the recipe and directions).I made the dough last night and it did only take me 5 minutes and I baked two loaves tonight after work. This is a time commitment I'm willing to make! So I literally just took my first bite and I must say I'm VERY impressed. The crust is crisp yet chewy with an open and moist crumb. I really can't wait for my book to arrive now. Stay tuned, there will be much more bread to come!

Minestrone with Orzo

So as you can see I'm very much into the soups lately. I think that even though my crocuses have come and gone it still feels very much like winter. This is a great, hearty soup packed with vegetables that will see you through until spring.

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

• 1/2 pound (about 1 1/4 cups) dried white beans such as Great Northern, picked over and rinsed
• 2/3 cups orzo pasta
  
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 rib of celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped fine
• 1 zucchini, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch slices then halved
  
• 1 yellow squash, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch slices then halved
  
• 1/4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound boiling potatoes
• 4 cups shredded green cabbage (preferably Savoy)
• 1/2 pound kale, rinsed, drained, stems discarded, and the leaves chopped (about 6 cups)
• a 28-ounce can tomatoes, chopped coarse and drained well
• 4 1/2 cups vegetable broth (preferably low-salt)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  
• sea salt and pepper to taste
  

Directions

In a large bowl let the white beans soak in enough water to cover them by 2 inches overnight or quick-soak them. Drain the white beans, in a saucepan combine them with enough water to cover them by 2 inches, and simmer them, uncovered, adding more water if necessary to keep them barely covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until they are tender. Add the salt and simmer the white beans for 5 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat and let the white beans stand, uncovered.

In a heavy kettle add the oil and cook the onion until it is softened. Add the carrots, the celery, and the garlic and cook the mixture, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the zucchini, the green beans, and the potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the cabbage and the kale and cook the mixture, stirring, until the cabbage is wilted. Add the tomatoes, broth, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes and simmer the soup, covered, for 1 hour.

Drain the white beans, reserving the liquid, in a blender or food processor purée half of them with 1 cup of the reserved liquid, and stir the purée, the remaining white beans and the orzo into the soup. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for 15 minutes, thin it if desired with some of the remaining reserve liquid, and season it with salt and pepper. The soup may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered and chilled. Reheat the soup, thinning it with water as desired. Serve with crusty bread.

Recipe adapted from Gourmet

Corn Chowder

I love few things more than a thick creamy chowder with lots of cream...but not really something one can have too often for obvious reasons. This is a very easy and healthy recipe for a thick, creamy and satisfying chowder.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 5-6 medium sized potatoes (I used red)
  
• 1 15 oz. can corn with liquid
  
• 1-2 cups unsweetened plain almond milk (you could use milk)
  
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
  
• 1 teaspoon paprika
  
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  

Directions

Cut the potatoes into quarters and boil until soft, about 10 minutes. Puree the potato, with the skin on, in a food processor. Stir in the almond milk, as well as the seasonings. Add the potato mixture to a large sauce pan as well as the can of corn with liquid. Heat to desired temperature and thin with water if necessary.

Recipe inspired by The Summertree Cafe