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Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.

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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):

Music of Bees, Eileen Garvin. Absolutely charming book about a woman in midlife, lonely, who raises bees, also makes unlikely friends. Heart-warming and very interesting about beekeeping.

A Postcard from Paris, Alex Brown. Really cute story. Dual time line, 1940s and present day about renovating an old apartment in Paris, things discovered.

Time of the Child, Niall Williams. Oh such a good book. Very small village in Ireland, 1960s. A baby is left on the doorstep. The town all whispers and helps. I listened to an interview of the author, which made me like him and his books even more.

Sipsworth, Simon Van Booy. If you like animals you’ll swoon. An old woman who really wants to die finds a tiny mouse in her house and befriends it and finds a reason to live. Utterly charming book.

The Forger’s Spell, Edward Dolnick. True story. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of Johannes Vermeer.

If You Lived Here, You’d be Home by Now, Christopher Ingraham. Could hardly put it down – about a journalist who takes on a challenge to move to small town in Minnesota and write about it. He expects to hate it and the people and place, but he doesn’t. Absolutely wonderful true story.

The River We Remember, William Kent Kreuger. 1950s, Minnesota. A murder and the aftermath. Could hardly put it down. Kreuger has such a vivid imagination and writing style.

How the Lights Gets In, Joyce Maynard. An older woman returns to New Hampshire to help care for her brain-injured son. Siblings and family, lots of angst and resentments.

The Filling Station, Vanessa Miller. Every American should read this book. A novelized retelling of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. Absolutely riveting.

The Story She Left Behind, Patti Callahan Henry. Love this author. Based on a true story. A famous author simply vanishes, leaving her husband and daughter behind. She had invented a mystical language no one could translate. Present day, someone thinks he’s solved the riddle, contacts the family. Really interesting read.

The Girl from Berlin, Ronald Balson. Love anything about Tuscany. An elderly woman is being evicted from a villa there, with odd deed provenance. Two young folks go there to help unravel the mystery. Loved it.

The Island of the Colorblind, Oliver Sacks, M.D. Nonfiction. The dr is intrigued by a remote Pacific island where most of the inhabitants are colorblind. He also unravels a mystery on Guam of people born with a strange neurological problem. Medical mysteries unveiled. Very interesting.

The Bookbinder, Pip Williams. Post 1914 London. Two sisters work at a bookbindery. They’re told to not read the books. One does and one doesn’t. One has visions beyond her narrow world; the other does not. Eventually the one gets into Oxford. Lovely story.

The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue. 1895 on a train to Paris, a disaster happens. You’ll delve into the lives of many people who survived and died in the crash.

A Race to the Bottom of Crazy, Richard Grant. This is about Arizona. Author, wife and child move back to Arizona where they once lived. Part memoir, research, and reporting in a quest to understand what makes Arizona such a confounding and irresistible place.

The Scarlet Thread, Francine Rivers. A woman’s life turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh frontier conditions on the Oregon Trail.

A Place to Hide, Ronald Balson. 1939 Amsterdam, an ambassador has the ability to save the lives of many Jewish children. Heartwarming.

Homeseeking, Karissa Chen. Two young Chinese teens are deeply in love, but in China. Then their families are separated. Jump to current day and the two meet again in Los Angeles.

North River, Pete Hammill. He always writes such a good story. A doctor works diligently healing people from all walks of life. His wife and daughter left him years before. One day his 3-yr old grandson arrives on his doorstep.

A Very Typical Family, Sierra Godfrey. A very messed-up family. Three adult children are given a home in Santa Cruz, Calif, but only if the siblings meet up and live in the house together. A very untypical scenario but makes for lots of messes.

Three Days in June, Anne Tyler. The usual Anne Tyler grit. Family angst. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was entertaining and very short.

Saved, Benjamin Hall. Author is a veteran war reporter. Ukraine, 2022, he nearly loses his life to a Russian strike. Riveting story – he survives, barely.

Grey Wolf, Louise Penny. Another Inspector Gamache mystery in Quebec. She is such an incredible mystery writer.

All the Colors of the Dark, Chris Whitaker. A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each. Could hardly put it down.

Orbital, Samantha Harvey. Winner of 2024 Booker Prize. I don’t usually like those, but I heard the author interviewed and she hooked me. This is not a normal book with a beginning, a story and an end. It’s several chapters of the day in the life of various astronauts at the ISS (Int’l Space Station). All fictional. She’s been praised by several real astronauts for “getting it” about space station everyday life.

The Blue Hour, Paula Hawkins. An island off Scotland. Inaccessible except when the tide is out. Weird goings on. An artist. A present day mystery too.

Iron Lake, William Kent Krueger. A judge is murdered and a boy is missing. Riveting mystery.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Ricks Brunt. 1980s. A 14-yr old girl loses her beloved uncle. Yet a new friendship arises, someone she never knew about.

Four Treasures of the Sky, Jenny Zhang. 1880s, a young girl is kidnapped in China and brought to the United States. She survives with many hurdles in the path.

The Boy Who Fell out of the Sky, Ken Dornstein. Memoir, 1988. The author’s brother died in the PanAm flight that went down in Lockerbie, Scotland. A decade later he tries to solve “the riddle of his older brother’s life.”

Worse Care Scenario, T.J. Newman. Oh my. Interesting analysis of what could/might happen if a jet crashed into a nuclear plant. Un-put-downable.

Song of the Lark, Willa Cather. Complicated weave of a story about a young woman in about 1900, who has a gifted voice (singing) and about her journey to success, not without its ups and downs.

Crow Talk, Eileen Garvin. Charming story which takes place at a remote lake in Washington State, about a few people who inhabit it, the friendships made, but also revolving around the rescue of a baby crow.

The Story Collector, Evie Woods. Sweet story about some dark secrets from an area in Ireland, a bit magical, faerie life, but solving a mystery too.

A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young. A woman investigates her twin brother’s mysterious death. She goes to a small town in California to figure it out, to figure HIM out.

The King’s Messenger, Susanna Kearsley. 1600s England, King James. About one of his trusted “messengers,” and his relationship with a young woman also of “the court.” Lots of intrigue.

In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, Emily Matchar. Interesting mystery in/around the area of the famous resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Isola, Allegra Goodman. Hard to describe, survival story on an island in the 1600s.

Save the Date, Allison Raskin. Rom-com, witty, LOL funny. Clever.

The Sirens, Emilia Hart. Numerous time-lines, Australia. Mysteries abound, nightmares, abandoned baby, weird allergies.

Red Clay, Charles Fancher. LOVED this book. Mostly post-Civil War story about the lives of slaves in Alabama during Reconstruction.

Stars in an Italian Sky, Jill Santopolo. Dual time line, 1946 and recent time. Love stories and a mystery.

Battle Mountain, C.J. Box. Another one of Box’s riveting mysteries. Love his descriptions of the land.

Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Corporon. A memoir of sorts in Greece, tiny island of Erikousa, where the locals hid Jews during WWII. All elusive stories told by the author’s grandmother.

The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian. 1860s Virginia, about a woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. Really good story.

Song of the Magpie, Louise Mayberry. Really interesting story about Australia back in the days when it was mostly a penal colony. Gritty strength of a woman trying to thrive with her farm.

The Boomerang, Robert Bailey. A thriller that will have you gripping the book. About a lot of secrets surrounding the president (fictional novel, remember) and his chief of staff and about cancer. A cure. Such a good story.

Care and Feeding, Laurie Woolever. Really interesting memoir of a woman driven to succeed in the restaurant business. She worked for Mario Batali and then Anthony Bourdain. Gritty stories.

Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green. Maybe not a book for everyone. A real deep dive into the deadly tuberculosis infection, its history. I heard the author interviewed and found the book very interesting.

The Book Lovers Library, Madeline Martin. Fascinating read about Boots’ drug stores’ lending library. And the people who worked in them.

The Arrivals, Meg Mitchell Moore. LOL funny, about a middle-aged couple whose children (and their various family members) return to the family home and the chaos that ensues.

My Life as a Silent Movie, Jesse Lee Kercheval. About grief. A big move to Paris, finding herself a new life with a new set of real blood family.

Escape, Carolyn Jessop. Another memoir about a woman really in bondage in Utah, Mormon plural marriage.

 

Tasting Spoons

My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.

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Posted in Grilling, Gundry-friendly, lectin-free, Pork, on September 28th, 2018.

pork_skewers_souvlaki

Delicious, tender pork grilled on the outdoor barbecue, with a Greek influence.

Every so often I have to do some blog housekeeping, to transfer photos to CDs for long-term storage. (Although I hear that sometime in the not too distant future, we’re no longer going to be able to buy CDs, since that’s old-school now). Since I’ve been writing this blog for 11 years, I have a LOT of CDs filled with my food photos. Way too much to keep on my hard drive. At any rate, I was working on that this morning and realized that I hadn’t posted 3 recipes. So I’m fixing that now.

I’d invited friends over for dinner – this was back in early July, and my friend Cherrie’s husband took over as grill meister for me, and I told him whatever he did, not to cook these past 140°F. He was meticulous and brought them in and I snapped the photo. The recipe came from a post over at Kalyn’s Kitchen. I followed her recipe to the letter.

First I cubed up the pork (I bought a roast rather than pork chops as I wanted to make sure the cubes were thick enough), then I put the cubes into a Ziploc bag with all of the marinade ingredients. What is souvlaki,  you ask: from Wikipedia, it says – Souvlaki is a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. Greek marinades usually start with olive oil, then include a variety of herbs (usually dried oregano) and garlic for sure. This one uses lemon juice as the acid and also includes a tad of red wine vinegar. That was left to sit for 24 hours – although Kalyn said this could sit just 6 hours to work its magic. Do turn the bag over a few times so all the pork pieces are coated in the marinade.

The cooking time is short – max 15 minutes, as the pork is very lean and can go from juicy to dry in a matter of less than a minute. So watch the temp. I’d grill these at the low side of medium-high heat if you’re able to fine-tune your grill that way. Allow the pork to sit, tented in foil for about 5 minutes before serving. I served this with the Cauliflower Slaw I posted recently. It was a perfect accompaniment to the pork.

What’s GOOD: loved the Greek lemon juice and garlic flavors in this. Plus the oregano too. Easy to do for guests, as long as you have time to manage the grilling.

What’s NOT: nothing that I can think of – just don’t overcook them.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Pork Skewers Souvlaki

Recipe By: Kalyn’s Kitchen
Serving Size: 5

2 1/2 pounds boneless pork sirloin chops
2 tablespoons EVOO — for brushing kabobs right before grilling
MARINADE:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon garlic — finely minced
salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Cut pork chops or pork loin roast into cubes about 2 inches square and place in Ziploc bag.
2. Combine marinade ingredients and pour over meat. Crush the oregano between your palms as you add it to the marinade. Marinate in refrigerator for 6-24 hours. Turn the bag several times so all the surfaces of the meat sit in the marinade.
3. When you’re ready to cook, drain the pork cubes in a colander, place in the sink while you preheat grill to high heat.
4. Thread meat on to skewers, pressing meat closely together so it doesn’t spin on the grill. (Double Kabob Skewers or thick blade skewers are great if you can find them.)
5. When grill is hot, brush kabobs with olive oil on both sides, place Souvlaki skewers on grill and reduce heat to medium-high.
6. Grill skewers, turning as soon as you see grill marks on each, until the Souvlaki is very well browned on all sides. This will take about 15 minutes total cooking time, but actual cooking time depends on the temperature of the meat, temperature of your grill, the air temperature and exactly how thick you cut the pork. Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check that the pork has reached 140°F for barely pink in the middle.
6. Let it rest for at least 5 minutes after you remove from the grill, then serve hot.
Per Serving: 553 Calories; 40g Fat (66.0% calories from fat); 43g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 134mg Cholesterol; 105mg Sodium.

Posted in Beef, on September 24th, 2018.

tomato_glazed_meatloaf

These probably should be called meatloaf balls – they’re so perfect for individual servings – make them as small or large as you’d like. Then brush with a tomato glaze.

As I mentioned in my last post, I offered to take dinner to 3 people (one couple and a single) a few weeks ago, and after seeing what other people were taking to the couple, I suggested meatloaf. They said “YES.” Normally I’d make mashed potatoes, but I’d noticed that 2 other meal-helpers had taken them mashed potatoes, so I suggested rice or pasta. RICE was the answer. My single friend Melida doesn’t care what I bring her – she’ll eat anything I make, God bless her!

meatloaf_individual_before_glazingThis recipe for meatloaf contains some different ingredients (which was why it interested me). Dijon mustard for one, and smoked paprika, for another.  Some meatloaf recipes use Worcestershire, but in this one there’s a bit more than usual. The original recipe came from Smitten Kitchen, and Deb talked about her aversion to meatloaf, so she invented these meatballs that stand in for meatloaf. Loved the idea. I’ve made that type before. One of the best parts about making these large rounds is that they cook faster than a single, big loaf type meatloaf – these in 25 minutes or no more than 30.

raw_meatloaf_after_glazingNow Deb made hers to nestle on the top of a mound of browned butter mashed potatoes. I didn’t go that route, but there was no difference in the meatloaf part of the recipe in any case. You mix up ground beef and ground pork (Deb used all beef) along with a bunch of finely diced and cooked onion, carrot, celery and garlic. She used bread in hers, but since I’m trying to not eat carbs, I upped the number of eggs, and it worked just fine. Also in the meatloaf is a jot of tomato paste, salt, pepper and chopped parsley.

meatloaf_balls_bakedMeanwhile, you make your own topping. I really, really liked the tomato glaze – it’s a type of sweet/sour sauce that’s not all that sweet (used only 2 teaspoons of honey for about 2/3 cup of sauce). You combine tomato paste, cider vinegar, the honey, more Worcestershire, Dijon and salt and bring it to a simmer. Bingo. Done. As you can see from the photos, first I formed the meatballs (I had 2 pans of them since I increased the quantity some), then spread them with the glaze. Into a 350°F oven they went and I began testing the internal temp at about 20 minutes. You want an internal temp of 160°F.

Next time I make these I’m going to double the sauce and will glaze the meatballs a 2nd time during the baking. As you can see from the finished photo, some of the sauce kind of slides off. It might be better also, to flatten the tops of the meatballs – that way the sauce would stay put. So I have changed the recipe below to achieve those things. Deb actually makes a kind of groove in the middle of her meatballs (which maybe accomplished the same thing as flattening the top) so the glaze stayed put.

Since I made extra, I have 4 meatballs in my freezer now and I put a dollop of extra sauce in some plastic wrap and put that on top of the frozen meatball so it’ll be available to glaze mid-way when I bake them next. To freeze them, I did brush the glaze on them, put them on a plastic-wrap lined baking sheet, put them in the freezer that way, then once they were frozen I put the little package of extra sauce on top, then wrapped each meatball individually in plastic wrap and then into a Ziploc freezer bag. When I defrost I will remove the sauce package before allowing them to defrost – so the plastic wrap doesn’t pick up the sauce that’s ON the meatball already.

What’s GOOD: Altogether delicious meatloaf/meatball – loved the hint of smoked paprika in this, and although you couldn’t taste the Worcestershire or Dijon, you know there is something else interesting in them to give them extra-good flavor. Even without adding bread or some other carb (oatmeal) this meatloaf is very light in texture. This recipe is a winner and I’ll be making these again and again.

What’s NOT: nothing other than the prep work, but there isn’t that much to do.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Tomato Glazed Meatballs

Recipe By: Adapted from a recipe on Smitten Kitchen
Serving Size: 10

GLAZE:
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil — or olive oil, or avocado oil
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup cider vinegar
4 teaspoons honey
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
MEAT:
1 tablespoon olive oil — or avocado oil
1/2 medium onion — minced
1 medium celery stalk — minced
1 medium carrot — minced
2 cloves garlic — smashed and minced
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 pounds ground beef — ground chuck preferably
1 pound ground pork — lean
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Italian parsley — finely chopped
1/3 cup milk

1. Make the glaze: Combine glaze ingredients in a small saucepan, and simmer, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes until and glaze is satiny smooth. Remove about 1/3 of the sauce to glaze the meatloaf balls when they come out of the oven. Use the larger portion to glaze before and during baking. Set aside.
2. Prepare the meatballs: Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat 2 9×13-inch baking dishes with nonstick spray or oil.
3. Add the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot to a large skillet over medium heat, coated with oil. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool before adding to the meat mixture.
4. In a large bowl combine the eggs, tomato paste, Dijon, smoked paprika, Worcestershire, salt and milk. Mix this thoroughly with a whisk (it will distribute better when you add the meat), then add the cooled vegetables and the meat. Stir the ingredients together with a fork or your hands until evenly blended.
5. Form the meatloaf mixture into about 10 meatballs. Arrange in baking pan. Gently flatten the top of each meatball (so the sauce won’t drain off). Drizzle or brush each meatball with about 2 teaspoons or so of the tomato glaze you made earlier, and bake until cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a cooked meatball will register 160° to 165°F). Pause half way through and glaze the top of the meatballs again with the sauce.
6. Brush the reserved tomato glaze on top of each meatball and serve with more chopped parsley if desired.
Per Serving: 654 Calories; 53g Fat (73.5% calories from fat); 34g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 234mg Cholesterol; 649mg Sodium.

Posted in Veggies/sides, on September 20th, 2018.

curried_basmati_apple_pilaf

Sorry about the kind of blah looking photo. Brown food just doesn’t look all that appetizing. But the rice is delicious nevertheless.

A couple of weeks ago I offered to make dinner for 2 sets of friends who are going through some health rough patches. I decided to make meatloaf (a new recipe, up soon) and one couple asked for rice. I wasn’t about to make just plain rice – how boring – so I hunted around and found this ancient recipe that was quite easy to do.

Onion and carrot (not a lot) are cooked in oil, then you add garlic, a chopped up apple, cinnamon, fresh ginger and curry powder. The original recipe (from an old Sunset magazine, so my recipe says) called for dried apricots – I didn’t have any, so I used dates instead (see the dark brown flecks in the pilaf). Water is added, salt and pepper, and you cook it covered for 18 minutes. Done. I added a few more chopped dates at the very end, and I forgot to add the toasted almonds! On the diet I’m on, I can’t eat rice, but I did taste one bite, and liked it a LOT. If you’re looking for some different way to do rice, this doesn’t take much longer than usual (except for cooking the onion and carrot at the beginning).

What’s GOOD: the apple adds a delightful taste to this rice dish – and there’s a hint of cinnamon, and ginger, and curry. It’s not heavy with curry – if you don’t like curry, you could leave it out. I loved that aspect of it, but then, I like curry. Altogether delicious dish. I made a double recipe and gave both groups of friends some leftovers to have with another meal.

What’s NOT: not a thing.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Curried Basmati Rice and Apple Pilaf

Recipe By: Adapted slightly from an old Sunset Magazine clipping
Serving Size: 4

2 teaspoons vegetable oil — or avocado oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 small carrot — finely diced
1 garlic clove — minced
1 cup basmati rice
1 whole Granny Smith apple — peeled, cored, diced
3 tablespoons dates — minced (or minced dried apricots)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon fresh ginger — chopped peeled
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
2 tablespoons sliced almonds — toasted (garnish)

1. Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and carrot, then sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds.
2. Stir in rice, apple, HALF the dates, cinnamon, ginger, curry powder and salt. Add 2 cups water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is tender and water is absorbed, about 18 minutes.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in additional dates. Season to taste with pepper and additional salt, if desired. Transfer pilaf to bowl. Sprinkle with almonds and serve.
Per Serving: 257 Calories; 6g Fat (20.3% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 47g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 573mg Sodium. 

Posted in Dr. Gundry friendly, lectin-free, Soups, on September 16th, 2018.

moroccan_harira_ground_turkey

Extra tasty soup with tons of flavor, and some spiciness. Made lectin-free by using pressure cooked garbanzo beans and strained tomatoes (without skin and seeds).

Most of you aren’t eating this diet I’m on, so you can just not pay any attention to the “lectin free” info. This is just a sure-fire winner of a soup no matter whether you use pressure cooked garbanzos or not. I make a lot of soups around my house. Even in the summer. The A/C is on, so I’m not uncomfortable having hot or cold soups all summer long.

I was craving this harira soup (it’s a real favorite of mine) – I’ve made it before, but in the past I’ve made it with a big bunch of chicken thighs and then you need to cool them, skin them if they’re not already, pull the meat off and wait for it to cool enough to chop up and add back into the soup. This time I bought ground turkey to make it a bit leaner, and easier.

As I’ve continued to be on this diet I’m on (which is still working, otherwise I’d have quit), from the Plant Paradox book (Dr. Stephen Gundry), I’ve been trying to adapt some of my existing recipes, and since I knew I loved this soup already, I wanted to make it a bit more friendly for my diet. Legumes (beans) are a no-no on this diet UNLESS they have been pressure cooked, which cooks out the bad bug lectins in them. (Who knew, right?) Technically, since I’m trying to lose weight, I shouldn’t be adding these beans into my diet, but I decided to seek out the Eden brand canned garbanzos (Whole Foods carries the whole line of Eden pressure-cooked beans) and I didn’t put very many in the soup in any case. You don’t know from the can or the label that they’re pressure cooked, but they just are. I could have pressure cooked my own, but I wasn’t in the mood.

I used most of the same seasonings, pretty much the same quantities of things (less water, though, because I was not adding lentils) and the soup was sensational. Don’t be dismayed by the long-long list of ingredients. None of them are difficult to add (lots of spices) and much of the soup is normal ingredients you’d have on hand anyway.

Another of the lectin no-no’s is tomatoes with skins and seeds. At first I wasn’t eating tomatoes at all, but gosh, that really puts a limitation on soups. So I’ve researched lots of canned tomatoes and found that if it says “strained,” it means no skins or seeds. That type is also called passata in Italian. You can buy canned whole tomatoes and try to cut them open to remove the seeds too. That’s not too difficult. Most whole canned tomatoes already have the skins removed. I am eating fresh tomatoes (albeit not too many) as long as they’re big enough to peel and seed.

So, I made this soup one day and didn’t eat it until the next (always a good thing with soups, IMHO). And oh gosh, was it ever good. I didn’t miss having chicken pieces in it – the ground turkey was very satisfying. And I loved the few garbanzos in it as well. If you’re sensitive to spice (heat) you can tone down the harissa a little bit, and you don’t have to add the chiles, either. I used a small can of whole green chiles (mild) and easily removed the seeds (yes, those are a no-no also, the skin and seeds of any kind of peppers), then chopped them up finely. Although they were the “mild” kind, they did have some heat to them. Just right for me, however.

What’s GOOD: well, for me, it’s that this soup is Gundry diet friendly – but the flavor of this soup is just right down my alley. I love love this soup. Love the spice in it, the texture and flavor of the soup/broth part. It’s very filling. A 1 1/2 cup serving is ample (for me anyway).

What’s NOT: only that there is a long list of stuff to add – just plow through it – it doesn’t take all that long.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Moroccan Harira with Ground Turkey, Gundry friendly

Recipe By: My own concoction, 2018
Serving Size: 6

1 large onion — diced
4 stalks celery — diced
1 bunch cilantro — see notes
1 bunch Italian parsley — see notes
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 pound ground turkey
3 cloves garlic — minced
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon harissa — or sriracha
4 ounces green chiles — canned (skinned and seeded)
2 teaspoons salt — or more to taste
6 cups water — or more if needed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces Eden organic garbanzo beans — drained and rinsed, or use pressure cooked beans you’ve made from scratch
24 ounces canned tomatoes, strained — called “passata” in Italian
GARNISHES:
1/2 cup sour cream chopped
Italian parsley (see quantity above)
chopped cilantro (see quantity above)

NOTES: If you’re not following the Stephen Gundry diet, you can use any kind of garbanzo beans and tomatoes. To make this a Gundry soup, you must use lectin-free beans (only Eden brand are pressure cooked) and tomatoes with no skin or seeds.
1. Cut off the little brown ends of the cilantro and parsley, then cut the stems off and mince them up finely with a knife (you’ll add the leaves as a garnish).
2. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the vegetables and saute until the onions have begun to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and parsley and cilantro stems and cook for 1-2 minutes just until they’re fragrant, then add the ground turkey and stir to break up the meat. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Then add canned tomatoes, the chicken soup base, green chiles, garlic and water. Bring to a simmer. While it’s warming up, add all the seasonings.
3. Cover and keep over low heat for about 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
4. Add the garbanzo beans and taste for seasoning. Add more water if needed. This is best made the day before, but I’ve eaten immediately and it’s still delicious!
5. Serve in wide bowls (about 1 1/2 cups per serving) and add a dollop of sour cream on top and garnish with cilantro and parsley.
Per Serving: 321 Calories; 16g Fat (44.5% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 24g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 68mg Cholesterol; 870mg Sodium.

Posted in Appetizers, Breads, on September 12th, 2018.

cheesy_shrimp_garlic_bread

Oh my, garlic bread, but on steroids. This is ciabatta bread, sliced in half horizontally, piled with a bunch of cheeses, tomatoes and shrimp. With a bunch of other flavor enhancers added in too.

Having had this at a cooking class, my friend Cherrie and I decided that after having had the watermelon blueberry drink, then this garlic bread, that could have been our “dinner,” and we’d have happily gone home. Not really, but we were somewhat full when we got done with this. (Although, I didn’t eat any of the bread – – the topping was wonderful, just sayin’.)

If you’re ever wanting to have some amped up kind of garlic bread – this is it – and you could serve this without the shrimp as a bread to go with a bowl of soup. If it was fish soup, then the shrimp would be fine there! You could also cut this up into much smaller squares and put it out on a buffet table.

What it is is delicious. Unctuous in my book. All that cheesy stuff going on. Shrimp is cooked through barely, then you add in chopped tomatoes and garlic. Then you chop up the shrimp a bit (or do it ahead of time, which might be easier) and add mayo, lemon juice, mozzarella and Parm. That gets piled onto the top of the ciabatta bread, sprinkled with more cheese (plus some Fontina there also), baked for 18-20 minutes, and garnish with chopped parsley. Phillis Carey made this at a class, and she happened to have bacon fat in a frying pan because she’d cooked up a bunch of bacon for a salad, so she cooked the shrimp in the bacon grease. Which might have made this even more tasty.

You can do all of the work ahead of time, except for piling the mixture on top of the bread – then you bake it. Easy peasy.

What’s GOOD: all the cheesy flavors are wonderful. Gooey deliciousness. The shrimp add something different – bet you’ve never had garlic bread with shrimp on the top, have you?

What’s not: nothing that I can think of. Really good dish.

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Cheesy Shrimp Garlic Bread

Recipe By: Cooking class, Phillis Carey, 2018
Serving Size: 6 (I think more than that)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 packages shrimp — cleaned, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 tomatoes — diced
3 cloves garlic — minced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese — grated
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese — grated
1 small ciabatta loaf — halved horizontally, lengthwise
TOPPING:
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese — grated
1/4 cup Fontina cheese — grated
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese — grated
1/4 cup fresh parsley — chopped

NOTE: Buy a thin ciabbatta loaf if possible, i.e. you do not want height with this as it will be too bready.
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter (if you have bacon fat on hand, use that). Add chopped shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook until pink and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes, then stir in tomatoes and garlic and cook until fragrant, about one more minute. Remove from heat and cool.
2. Transfer shrimp to a bowl and mix with mayo, lemon juice, zest mozzarella and Parm. Season with more salt and pepper.
3. Spread shrimp mixture onto bread and add toppings: more Mozzarella, Fontina, Parm. Bake until bread is crispy and cheese is bubbly and golden on top, 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and add parsley immediately (so it sticks to the bubbly cheese). Cool for 2-4 minutes only, then cut into stick-sized portions and serve.
Per Serving: 393 Calories; 20g Fat (46.1% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 41g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 38mg Cholesterol; 548mg Sodium.

Posted in Beverages, on September 8th, 2018.

watermelon_sangria_blueberry_float

The blueberries have sunk to the bottom, so I don’t exactly know why you’d call it a float when the fruit sinks! But you get the reward at the end of the sipping!

This drink is just so refreshing. Watermelon isn’t on my diet these days, but I ate/drank it anyway. It’s only that most fruit is so high in sugar that it sends a signal to the brain – more, more – so it’s best not to eat too much. Berries are okay and I eat them every day.

You’ll need to make one trip to the market – to buy a bottle of Moscato. It’s a slightly sweet Italian wine. Chill it ahead of time if you think of it. So you combine in a blender 4 cups of cubed up watermelon, the bottle of Moscata, white rum (be sure to use white rum, as dark rum turns this drink brown – not at all appetizing), lime juice and zest plus the tablespoon of sugar and whiz it up. Chill, then serve with the blueberries floating on top if you can get them to do it!cherrie_with_sangria

If you’d rather not have watermelon pulp in your drink, strain it, then chill. Garnish the drink with a slice of lime on the side if you want to make it fancy.

There’s a photo of Cherrie at the cooking class with Phillis Carey, when we were served these drinks. The blueberries in her drink sunk to the bottom too. Oh well, the drink still tasted just lovely. This would make a great drink to serve to a women’s gathering.

What’s GOOD: refreshing for sure. Easy to make. It’ll keep for a day or two as well. But I’ll bet you’ll drink it all down. Do note the low calories of this drink.

What’s NOT: nothing at all.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)

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Watermelon Sangria with Blueberry Float

Recipe By: Cooking class, Phillis Carey, 2018
Serving Size: 6

4 cups watermelon — cubed
1 bottle Moscato wine — (slightly sweet Italian wine)
1 cup white rum zest of 2 limes
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
lime slices for garnishing

1. In a blender combine watermelon, Moscato wine, rum, lime juice and zest with sugar and blend until smooth.
2. Refrigerate for a few hours to chill completely.
3. Serve in glasses with blueberries floating on top (if possible) and a lime slice.
Per Serving: 136 Calories; trace Fat (7.8% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 3mg Sodium.

Posted in Beef, Grilling, on September 4th, 2018.

greek_marinated_skirt_steak

Have you joined the fans clamoring for skirt steak? It’s relatively inexpensive, as steak goes, but it does require careful grilling and it needs to be sliced thin as it’s a more-chewy cut of meat.

My favorite steak is ribeye. That’s no secret if you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time. I haven’t had a steak for awhile – once in a blue moon I do make one for myself – and it’s very satisfying, I must admit. When my DH was alive, we’d have a steak every 2-4 weeks, for sure. Dave love-loved them. And he had perfected the cooking of them on the outdoor grill. My poor barbecue doesn’t get much of a workout with just me these days. We’ve had a really hot and muggy summer here in SoCal. Hotter earlier than usual, and more muggy than usual. So I don’t tend to go outdoors in the early evening as it’s just too uncomfortable. So this recipe would fit perfectly into that routine since it can be done on an indoor grill.

This skirt steak (also called flap meat in some grocery stores – it’s a boneless portion of the diaphragm muscle attached to the 6th through 12th ribs on the underside of the short plate) does need to be marinated for at least 8 hours, or overnight if you can make the time to do it. That helps tenderize the rather chewy cut of meat. And in case you’ve never done a skirt steak, when you buy it, it’s a big, long piece of meat, relatively thin and very grainy when you look at it. Do cut it up into manageable pieces before marinating and then grilling them.

This marinade is heavy in the oil component. It needs it here, although when you’re done, that marinade gets thrown out anyway. Combine the ingredients in a plastic Ziploc bag, and turn the meat a few times to coat everything well. Then seal it up and stick it in the frig until later.

Make the garlic yogurt sauce – it’s easy to do – Phillis Carey (this came from a class with her) prefers regular yogurt, not Greek, but I think I’d use Greek. She said you could, it’s just that the sauce will be much thicker. Do make it several hours ahead too, so the garlic and lemon juice will mix and flavor all the yogurt. Chill it until you’re ready to serve it – can be made the day before if you want.

INDOOR GRILLING:

Use your indoor grill pan and place a piece of heavy-duty foil on top. Oil it and grill as usual. Easy cleanup.

Now, the grilling. I was so impressed – Phillis discovered that you can save all the cleanup of an indoor grill by covering the top with foil – you just lay the foil on top – don’t press it in/on it. Spray or brush the foil with some of the oil from the marinade – try to get just the oil, not the lemon juice part. Or, barring that, just spray with olive oil spray. Pick up the meat pieces with tongs and just let them drain for 5-10 seconds (over the open bag) then place on the pre-heated grill. You’ll be so surprised – the meat gets grill marks just as if it’s right on the pan itself. This meat, however, only wants to be grilled for 3-5 minutes per side. The meat shrinks up something fierce – you might think that 2-3 pounds of skirt steak would feed 10 people, but NO, it shrinks a lot. In case you don’t know, skirt steak is quite fatty – you can’t SEE the fat very much – but enter the meat into any nutrition info and you’ll find that it’s very fatty. Sad to say . . . but it’s full of flavor. More flavor than regular steaks, it’s true.

Let the meat sit, tented with foil, for about 5 minutes once you’ve taken it off the grill then use tongs and a sharp knife and cut it across the grain into thin slices. Pile it onto a heated platter and serve with some of the garlic yogurt sauce drizzled over it, and serve the remaining in a bowl to pass at the table. Or, as I suggested a few days ago, serve this steak with the BLT Salad with Grilled Corn and Buttermilk Parm Dressing.

What’s GOOD: the flavor, first of all. Easy to do, easy marinade, easy grilling – just watch it carefully and don’t overcook it – served medium-rare at most (cooking it further may make the meat more tough).

What’s NOT: really nothing except watching the grilling carefully.

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Greek-Marinated Skirt Steak with Garlic Yogurt Sauce

Recipe By: Cooking class, Phillis Carey, 2018
Serving Size: 6

2 1/2 pounds skirt steak
2 tablespoons Italian parsley — chopped (garnish)
MARINADE:
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic — minced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
YOGURT SAUCE:
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain yogurt — full fat (may use Greek, but it will be thick)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. STEAK: Combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, herbs, salt and pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Mix well, then add the skirt steak(s), turning to coat well. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
2. SAUCE: mash the garlic with the salt into a paste. Stir the garlic into the yogurt along with lemon juice.Cover and refrigerate up to one day ahead.
3. Preheat grill. If using an indoor grill, place a piece of heavy-duty almuminum foil on top of the grill and oil it. Remove steak from refrigerator about 45 minutes before cooking time. Using tongs, remove steak from marinade and let it drain for 10-15 seconds (over the bag), then place on grill for 3-5 minutes per side for medium rare (depends on the thickness of the meat), then let meat rest on a cutting board, tented with foil, for 5 minutes before slicing thinly on the diagonal (across the grain). Mound meat on a heated platter, drizzle with some of the yogurt sauce, sprinkle with parsley and serve remaining sauce on the table.
Per Serving (assumes you’re consuming all the marinade, which you don’t): 694 Calories; 57g Fat (74.6% calories from fat); 39g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 102mg Cholesterol; 727mg Sodium.

Posted in Salad Dressings, Salads, on August 31st, 2018.

blt_salad_grilled_corn_buttermilk_parm_dressing

 

There’s still time, this summer, to make this really refreshing and satisfying salad. Grill the corn, fry up some bacon, plus a few croutons while you’re at it, and add usual ingredients.

You will need buttermilk, to make the dressing for this salad. Frozen and defrosted buttermilk doesn’t hold together, so you do have to buy some buttermilk. The dressing is easy – shallot, cider vinegar, mayo, Parm, salt, pepper and a tiny sprinkle of sugar. Plus the buttermilk. The mayo gives it plenty of richness and thickness as well as there is only 1/2 cup of buttermilk in the dressing. It won’t keep for too long, so better to use it and then make it again fresh. OR, Phillis said if you wanted to make it further ahead, don’t add the shallots until an hour or so before serving.

This came from a cooking class with Phillis Carey. My friend Cherrie and I love going to classes with Phillis – she makes the kind of food we both really like. Only trouble is we have to drive to San Diego to attend. We leave at about 4 from Cherrie’s house and get there about 5:30 for a 6:00 class. Then, of course, drive back north, drop off Cherrie and I can get home by about 9:30 pm. Cherrie is suffering from two “frozen shoulders,” so she really doesn’t drive except close to home as it’s painful and she doesn’t feel as safe on the open road or freeway, so I’ve been doing the driving for awhile.

Anyway, you’ll see at least 4 recipes from the last class (this one, watermelon sangria, a shrimp and cheese toast kind of appetizer, a skirt steak one too). I think the skirt steak recipe would be a great addition to this salad and it would be a complete meal with just the two items.

Phillis made home made croutons, but you could buy ready-made ones if you don’t want to bother. The dressing should be made a few hours ahead so the flavors will meld. The corn could be grilled earlier in the day – you don’t want to serve it hot on the salad as it would wild the greens. Phillis grilled the corn on an indoor grill, and she put foil on the grill pan, greased it and the corn browned beautifully through the foil. Such easy cleanup.

Ideally, if you’re making this for a big platter presentation (it’s really beautiful), you’ll spread the Romaine lettuce you’ve chopped up, then the tomatoes, the corn, and the bacon last. You drizzle part of the dressing on top and serve the remaining dressing on the side.

What’s GOOD: such a lovely summer salad. I succumbed to the corn and ate some (not on my diet, but I enjoyed the few kernels that jumped onto my fork!), and all of it has a lovely full-flavored taste. I could have eaten an entire meal of this salad, it was so good. And as I mentioned, the skirt steak recipe coming up in a few days would be especially good with this.

What’s NOT: A bit more prep since you do need to make the dressing, grill the corn and crisp up some bacon. But oh-so worth it.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 (click link to open recipe)

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BLT Salad with Grilled Corn and Buttermilk Parm Dressing

Recipe By: Cooking class, Phillis Carey, 2018
Serving Size: 6
CROUTONS:
2 1/2 cups French bread — cubed
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
DRESSING:
1 tablespoon shallot — minced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese — grated
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon sugar
SALAD:
3 ears corn — husked
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 ounces Romaine lettuce — chopped (use hearts for best appearance)
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes — assorted types, chopped
6 slices thick-sliced bacon — cut in small strips
1/2 cup fresh basil — chopped

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. For croutons, toss bread with melted butter, salt and pepper. Place on foil lined baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and set aside to cool.
  2. DRESSING: Combine shallot and vinegar in a medium bowl and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Whisk in buttermilk, mayo, Parm, salt, pepper and sugar. Cover and chill until ready to use, up to 2 days ahead. If you want to make this further ahead, don’t add the shallot and vinegar – wait until half an hour before using to add that, then use it within 2 days.
  3. CORN: Brush corn with oil, season with salt and pepper and grill until nicely brown on all sides. Cool and cut corn from the cobs.
  4. SALAD: Ideally serve this on a large platter (presentation is best this way). Arrange lettuce on the platter. Top with tomatoes, all over, then corn, then sprinkle on the cooked bacon. Drizzle with about 3 T. of the dressing, then sprinkle with croutons, parsley and the just chopped fresh basil. Serve with more dressing on the side.
    Per Serving (you may not use all the dressing, so the calorie count may be off): 712 Calories; 44g Fat (53.8% calories from fat); 17g Protein; 68g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 37mg Cholesterol; 1531mg Sodium.

Posted in Breads, on August 29th, 2018.

pumpkin_cr_cheese_muffins_tin

(A post from Sara) These very tasty muffins are great to stuff in my son’s lunches or for snacks. Full of flavor and warm fall spices.

pumpkin_cr_cheese_muffin_batterMy 18-year old H.S. senior son plays football. And he eats a LOT. When my husband and I recently went on Weight Watcher’s, my son lost weight he didn’t need to. Although he says he’s fine at his new, lower weight, he needs tons of calories (and carbs) during football season. That’s like NOW. So, even though I’m not baking much these days, I still need to make things for John.

My mom, Carolyn, was visiting over the weekend, so we made these muffins. ‘Tis the season for pumpkin, and I knew John would like the combination of pumpkin and cream cheese. The recipe is supposed to be a copycat of Starbuck’s version. I found it at Genius Kitchen, but as my mom and I read all the comments (many) we decided to change the recipe some. And after we had made half of them we decided to change it a little bit more.

cr_cheese_fillingThere was cocoa in the recipe, and although we used it, we both decided it didn’t add anything. You couldn’t taste chocolate, so why bother, right? We were glad we didn’t add molasses, but we did up the spices a lot. It called for 1 1/4 cups of oil – we decided to use 3/4 cup of buttermilk and 1/2 cup of oil instead (suggested in one of the comments). These were still very moist and tender. And the biggest tweak we did was, for each muffin cup, to pour 2/3 of the batter in first (instead of half which was the instruction in the original recipe), then spoon the cream cheese filling (a brick of cream cheese, an egg, some sugar and vanilla) across the middle, then we spooned the remaining batter on top, but left some of the cream cheese portion visible. We thought it made these much more interesting to look at.

So, there was a little bit of quality control going on that day – my mom had a couple of bites – and I ate a little bit too. Even though a muffin isn’t on either of our diets. But we needed to tell you these were good, right? And they were. I’d definitely make these again (when I’m off a low carb diet!). All the muffins are safely stored in my freezer to be pulled out as needed.

What’s GOOD: the warm fall spices were the best part, I think. And the look of the top – the cream cheese peeking through. Loved the pumpkin flavor, of course. We thought next time we might use more nuts on top – we were very stingy with them. Be generous.

What’s NOT: only that you do have to make 2 batters, but really, the cream cheese one isn’t difficult in the least. My muffin tin is a bit on the small side, so we got more muffins from this recipe than it indicated. If you have larger muffin tins, of course, you’ll yield fewer. Just so you know . . .

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)

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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Serving Size: 32
Recipe By: Adapted from Genius Kitchen

FILLING:
8 ounces cream cheese — softened
1 large egg
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
MUFFINS:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
chopped pecans for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix cream cheese with one egg and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside.
3. Combine all the dry ingredients (not the nuts) in a medium mixing bowl and use a whisk to mix everything together well. In another large bowl combine eggs, pumpkin, buttermilk and oil, and use a whisk to mix thoroughly. Pour dry mixture into the liquid mixture and stir until all lumps are gone.
6. Fill muffin tins (greased or paper cups) two-thirds full.
7. Spoon cream cheese cross-wise in the middle with some reaching to the outside edge. Spoon remaining one-third muffin batter on top, allowing some of the cream cheese filling to show, if possible. Sprinkle pecans (or other nuts of your choice) on top.
8. Bake for 18- 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin (do not test in the cream cheese part).
9. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely. Do not touch the cream cheese until it cools.
Per Serving: 168 Calories; 7g Fat (36.5% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 24g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 41mg Cholesterol; 145mg Sodium.

Posted in Fish, on August 27th, 2018.

halibut_lemon_rosemary_aleppo

Is it halibut season? Found some at Costco and couldn’t resist!

Rarely these days do I have halibut – it’s so gosh-darned expensive. But I found a lovely 3-serving size slab of it at Costco for just under $20. I searched through my to-try recipes and didn’t really find anything that wowed me, so I went on the ‘net and found a recipe at epicurious that wasn’t difficult and contained plenty of lemons. I have fresh rosemary in my garden, and I’d just happened to have bought a small jar of Aleppo pepper at Penzey’s last week, so I was in business.

I made this in my toaster oven, believe it or not, and it turned out just fine. I lined a small rimmed baking sheet with foil, sprayed it with nonstick oil, blotted dry the piece of halibut and placed it on top. The top of the fish was oiled with EVOO (not much), then was sprinkled with salt and Aleppo pepper. You can see it on the front edges of the lemon slices in the picture above – Aleppo is quite bright red – and it’s not particularly spicy hot, so I was generous with the sprinkling of it.

My Meyer lemon tree is on its last few lemons of the season, and some of them still have juice in them, but the flesh has shrunk away from the outer peel – so interesting – have never seen this before – but probably owing to our extreme heat this summer. The lemon slices worked better by cutting each round in half and kind of layering them on top. I also sprinkled a little bit of chopped fresh rosemary on top of the fish before layering the lemon slices.

halibut_lemon_rosemary_before_bakingInto a 450°F oven it went. The recipe indicated 10 minutes, but this wasn’t cooked through to 120°F interior temp until about 13-14 minutes and I whisked it out in a hurry so it wouldn’t overcook. I drizzled the top with additional lemon juice and served a wedge on the plate as well. I removed the lemon slices, but if serving to guests, I’d leave the lemons on top just because it looks prettier. The lemon really didn’t “cook” as such and doubt you’d want to eat them. The recipe indicates broiling the fish at the last for 1-2 minutes until the lemons are charred. I didn’t do that step because I didn’t want the halibut to cook too much. To serve, I chopped up more fresh rosemary and sprinkled that on top too along with a dash more salt. The leftovers are going to be flaked into a large green salad. Doesn’t that sound good?

What’s GOOD: halibut has such a lovely tender flake to it – don’t overcook it, so use your instant read thermometer and remove it at 120°F as it will continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes. I loved the intense lemony flavor and liked the rosemary too. And I liked the little bit of heat from the Aleppo peppers. Was this off the charts? No, but it was really good and very, very easy!

What’s NOT: nothing, really. It was easy to do. Tasty, so no negatives.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)

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Roasted Halibut with Lemons and Rosemary

Recipe By: Adapted slightly from epicurious
Serving Size: 2

2 halibut fillets — preferably at least 1-inch thick
1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil — or more if needed
Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo chile pepper
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 small lemon — very thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary — minced, for garnish
1 small lemon — cut in wedges, for garnish
more salt to sprinkle on top

1. Heat oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray nonstick spray on the foil. Allow fish to sit out for 10-15 minutes, then blot the fish dry with paper towels. Place fish on the foil. Brush fillets with 1 teaspoon or so of oil and season with salt and Aleppo chili flakes. Top each fillet with several small rosemary branches and several slices of lemon. Drizzle remaining oil over lemon slices and sprinkle with additional salt. If desired, you can scatter Kalamata olive slices over fish.
2. Bake until just opaque, about 10 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 120°F. If lemon slices have not browned or singed (this will depend on how thinly you slice them), place pan under broiler for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve drizzled with more olive oil; sprinkle with more salt and Aleppo, if desired. Sprinkle additional minced rosemary on top and serve with lemon wedges.
Per Serving: 157 Calories; 6g Fat (31.9% calories from fat); 22g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 33mg Cholesterol; 57mg Sodium.



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