Poached salmon that surprised me with its flavor

I normally don’t like poaching proteins, I find it makes them taste a bit water-logged and bland. So I was pleasantly surprised by this poached salmon recipe I found on Tasteofhome.com.

The recipe is called Chilled Salmon with Cucumber-Dill Sauce and, as the name says, it’s designed to be served chilled, perfect if you want to make it ahead and serve it the next day. The recipe also calls for light sour cream in the sauce, the only kind I use to cut down on my fat consumption.

The ingredients list is long, but its for the salmon and the sauce:

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup white wine or chicken broth
4 green onions, sliced
10 whole peppercorns
4 salmon fillets (5 ounces each)

Dill sauce:
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup chopped peeled cucumber
4-1/2 teaspoons snipped fresh dill or 1-1/2 teaspoons dill weed
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt (omit the salt)
1/8 teaspoon pepper

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September 18, 2021 0

A quick and easy grilled salmon recipe

*My grilled salmon with lemon, dill, olive oil and garlic.*

We recently had friends over, a rarity during the pandemic but we were all vaccinated, for a Saturday football game at Northwestern and a meal at our house after.

Because they had to leave relatively early, I searched for recipes I could make a day ahead and serve cold. This grilled salmon from wellplated.com was one of the entrees I made and it went over well, so I’d recommend it to you too.

You basically start with slices of lemon and fresh dill on the bottom of a large piece of aluminum foil. Next, baste your salmon with olive oil (the recipe calls for butter, but I substituted the healthier fat in olive oil).

Then top the fish with more lemon, dill and garlic, wrap it all up and grill it for about 14-18 minutes in a 400-degree gas grill (or oven if you’re cooking inside). That’s for a pound and a half or so of salmon.

It is quick, easy and tastes great served cold the next day,

I cooked mine on a cedar plank to add a bit more flavor too. If you try that, be sure to soak the plank in water first or you’ll have burnt wood salmon.

September 17, 2021 0

Some Berry, Berry good advice on storing berries

With summer drawing to a close, fresh berries seem to be everywhere in food outlets these days. You can find them from farmers’ markets to your local supermarket, often on sale at the larger outlets. And if you’re hardy, you may even be picking your won at a local farm.

So here’s a guide to keeping those berries fresh as long as possible from Myrecipes.com.

Some tips surprised me — like don’t wash them all as soon as you get home. Wash them as you use them. And don’t store in air-tight containers or zip-lock bags.

I’m not a berry eater myself, but my wife has them every morning with her Greek yogurt, so I buy them weekly for her. Here are some raspberries I bought today, on salt 2 containers for $3.

September 14, 2021 0

Wondering what to do with your basil? Here are 87 recipes that use the tasty herb

Growing your own herbs is something you can do inside or out, adding a variety of nee flavors to your food so you won’t miss all the alt you don’t eat any longer. We have an indoor herb garden in winter and big pots of basil outside in summer. So I was happy to see this piece in Epicurious, 87 Basil Recipes, Because You Can Only Eat So Much Pesto Pasta.

*Some of the ways I use basil, keeping it simple and delicious.*

The headline appealed to me because I actually don’t like pesto because of the nuts in it, so I’m always looking for other ways to enjoy my basil.

You can see some of my choices in the photo gallery here — basil-topped, thin-crust, low-sodium pizza; basil topped chicken breast with tomato and low-fat mozzarella; and a simple basil and tomato salad.

Let me know your favorites, and which of the 87 you try out.

September 7, 2021 0

As you harvest your garden, here’s how to save your veggies and fruits

This past spring, we doubled the amount of space we devote to growing vegetables at our house. Chalk it up to Covid and looking for joy in small tasks such as raising my own tomatoes and green beans.

*We added a second raised garden for tomatoes and green beans this spring. The harvest is starting to come in! The tomatoes are acherry tomato variety.*

If you’re a food gardener like me, you’re harvesting about now and wondering how to preserve some of your crops. So this piece, How to Preserve Every Type of Summer Fruit and Veggie from Cooking Light magazine should be a big help.

It mainly talks about vegetables. There is a section on melons and watermelon. I’ve never have been able to get those to grow in our northern climate, but if you live somewhere that has the type pf weather they like, this article is for you too.

September 4, 2021 0

Give iceberg lettuce a break — it’s ok to like it

Iceberg lettuce tends to get a bad reputation in foodie circles as not as nutritious and healthy as greener types of lettuce like Romaine. But it still has its benefits and so shouldn’t;t be written off, states this article from Eatingwell.com.

My wonderful salmon salad. — *My salmon salad, made with leftover salmon. A salad is my lunch daily these days.*

“Iceberg lettuce also has a lot to offer when considering the roster of vitamins and minerals it contains. From immune-supporting vitamin A to bone health-supporting magnesium and calcium, it would be a stretch to claim that this lettuce is nutrient-free, as some folks on the internet claim,” the article states.

I tend to buy whichever lettuce I can get on sale during any given week. Iceberg has been featured quite a bit this summer as a sale item by several supermarkets. I buy it because I like it too, and because too many leafy greens mess with the blood thinner I take for a heart issue.

If you can, mix it with greener, leafier types of lettuce in a salad to add texture and a needed crunch to the mixture. If you have to eat a salad every day for lunch as I do, at least make it fun. Enjoy!

September 2, 2021 0

Where food stores are headed — no help and lots of help

Food retailers, from supermarkets to tiny convenience stores, are changing as consumer tastes change and as the pandemic brings about changes in food shopping behavior and at-home eating. Where will it all end?

This piece I read recently looks at two extremes evolving in today’s food retail space — stores with virtually no customer-facing employees and markets that look more like restaurants with lots of employees interacting, and selling, to customers.

No surprise that the store with few employees is from Amazon which is always trying to sell everything faster. Eliminating things like store checkout lines can do that in a supermarket. So Amazon has begun opening stores called Amazon Fresh where people check themselves out as they shop.

At the other end of the spectrum is Dom’s Kitchen in Chicago, started by former executives for the Mariano’s chain (and the defunct Dominick’s chain before that) and embodying a lot of concepts first tried by East Coast-favorite Wegman’s years ago. Dom’s is full of counters where you can buy cooked food to take home and eat. It has some packaged grocery items too, but they definitely play second fiddle to the take-out food.

*I visited the new Dom’s in Chicago recently, buying a bento box lunch, sampling some poke, and buying some seafood salad as well.*

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August 30, 2021 0

Love artichokes? Love spinach? Try this spinach and artichoke-stuffed chicken

Here’s another way to liven up some dull chicken breasts — stuff them with spinach and artichokes.

The recipe is fairly straight-forward and includes nutrition information so you can monitor salt, fat and sugar intake from this dish. I’m a little surprised it isn’t higher in sodium given the cheese used. Hopefully the reported numbers are correct.

Click through to get all the details.

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August 25, 2021 0

Pandemic food price gouging – demand advertised sale prices

The continuing increase in food prices throughout the pandemic has been well documented, in posts I’ve written and elsewhere. And I’ve given tips on how to cope, such as shopping dollar stores that stock produce and buying essential items in bulk.

Today, I ran into one of the most egregious examples of pandemic food price-gouging I’ve seen. My local Jewel, an Albertson’s chain in Illinois, had advertised filet mignon for $5.99 for a six-ounce steak.

Filet is normally the leanest cut of steak and so fits in my efforts to minimize my fat intake. Because it is an expensive cut, I’m always watching for deals and so jumped at the chance to buy some 6-ounce fillets for $5.99 each.

When I arrived at the meat counter of the Jewel in Wilmette, Il., a neighboring suburb, however, the signs posted said the filets were $6,99 each, not the advertised $5.99. Asking the meat counter attendant got me no answer, he had to follow what the sign said, he told me.

What price are these steaks? The ad says $5.99, the store is charging $6.99. The flyer has language lawyers wrote to allow this, but really, who expects to see an ad for one price only to see a different price in a story #ShameonJewel, #Shameon Albertsons

So I went to the store service counter. The person there had no answer for the disparity and so called the head of the meat department. She replied that store had decided to charge $6.99, not the advertised $5.99. But since I had complained, she would sell me some for $5.99

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August 23, 2021 0

Another flavorful way to cook white-meat chicken — and it’s fast!

Early on in this blog I wrote a post asking how many ways someone could prepare white-meat chicken. I was making the transition to how I had always eaten to eating only items my nutritionists had recommended after my first stent was put in, back in 2012.

Tomato & Mozz smothered grilled chicken cutlets

I’ve since found and written about many options for making the driest part of chickens, the white meat, tastier and more palatable.

Check my recipe page for some of those past recipes. This post will look at a new, simple variation I recently came across, 10-minute chicken.

The ingredients, with my notes about them, are:

4 thin chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) (be sure they’re thin, the thicker the chicken, the longer you need to cook it)
4 tablespoons olive oil (one for rubbing and one for cooking)
2 teaspoons kosher salt (leave this out,m you don;t need it)
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 cloves garlic (pressed)
2 teaspoons parsley (dried)
1 teaspoon thyme (dried)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I’m not a fan of hot peppers, I’d substitute Mrs. Dash chicken spice mix instead)

Then,:

Rub the chicken breasts generously with oil. Season with all of the seasonings.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat another 2 tablespoons of oil and add the chicken breasts. Cover the pan with a lid, leaving a small gap for steam to escape. Cook for 3 minutes without touching the pan or the chicken. Once the tops of the chicken turn white, flip and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and serve immediately.

Remember to always cook chicken thoroughly. If you can cut it and see red meat or meat that looks more like jelly, it’s not done, the meat should be white all the way through the entire breast.

August 16, 2021 0

The No Salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal

Poached salmon that surprised me with its flavor

A quick and easy grilled salmon recipe

Some Berry, Berry good advice on storing berries

Wondering what to do with your basil? Here are 87 recipes that use the tasty herb

As you harvest your garden, here’s how to save your veggies and fruits

Give iceberg lettuce a break — it’s ok to like it

Where food stores are headed — no help and lots of help

Love artichokes? Love spinach? Try this spinach and artichoke-stuffed chicken

Pandemic food price gouging – demand advertised sale prices

Another flavorful way to cook white-meat chicken — and it’s fast!

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