Salmon with Miso

Salmon with miso is one of my favorite things to make because I feel so healthy when I eat it.  I serve mine with sauteed greens and black sesame seeds.  I think the black sesame seeds make the dish look so much more exotic.

I like salmon but I get tired of it cooked the same way all the time so I have to mix it up.  Sometimes I make it in white wine with capers which is also nice.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp white miso
2 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp liquid amino, or soy sauce
1/2 tsp finely minced ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Salmon fillets, about 6 oz each

Whisk first 6 ingredients together in a bowl.  Place salmon in a baking dish, put the miso sauce over them, allow them to marinate for about 30 minutes. Place baking dish with salmon in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.

Greens:  You can use any combination of greens you like.  I use spinach alot but I also use beet tops, kale, and chard.  You can mix it up or use only one type.  When greens are sauteed they cook down to nothing so start with more than you think you need.  I use one entire bunch spinach and a small bunch of other green to serve two.  

To cook the greens: 
Mince 3 cloves of garlic, add to the saute pan with 2 tbsp olive oil.  Heat and saute garlic for about 30 seconds, add greens and salt. Toss to cook.  Cooking will take only a couple minutes.

Plate the greens in the center, put salmon fillet on top, and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.

Note: I keep my sesame seeds in the freezer so that they stay fresh longer.

Cantaloupe Soup

This is a simple cold soup that is perfect for a warm summer day. 

The other day I ran into the grocery store to pick up something and found myself standing in front of a bin of cantaloupes on sale for 99 cents each.  Such a sweet deal but what could I do with them?  I mean a girl can only eat so many pieces of cantaloupe.  I bought a few and came home to go through my recipes.  I then remembered a chilled soup I had made many years ago that was so good and fit the meal, a warm summer night having dinner outside on the balcony with a glass of wine in my hand.  Ahhhhhh.

When you make this be sure to make it before you want to serve it because it needs to be chilled until it is very cold. 

Ingredients:
1 cantaloupe
zest of 1 orange
juice of 3 oranges
zest and juice of 1 lime
dash or two of cinnamon
mint for garnish

Cut, seed and chop the cantaloupe and put into a vitamix or blendar.  Add the zest, juices, cinnamon and puree until very smooth.  Chill well.  Serve with a sprig of mint.

Option:  if you want a soup that is a little more creamy you could add some greek yogurt. I personnally perfer the fruit only option.  It's clean and crisp.

Miso Soup

The benefits of fermented foods has been on the radar of health conscious folks for many years now.  We are just beginning to understand the benefits of these foods in our overall heath.  They can help reduce cholesterol levels in our blood and they strengthen and support our digestive and immune systems.  If you would like to read more about these foods check out www.mercola.com.  Dr. Mercola has some good information on his web site about this.

With that in mind I have longed to try and get some fermented food into my daily diet.  I have found it to be somewhat difficult as some of the items don't sound all that appetizing to me.  I have, however, had a fascination with miso and every time I have miso soup or something served with miso I think I need to learn how to make this part of my regular cooking regime.  I decided to finally do it and bought some white miso and started messing around with recipes.  So far I tried making a salad dressing but it left something to be desired......I still need to work on that one before I share it with you.  My favorite so far is the miso glaze I make for roasted salmon.  Yum!  And all those health benefits.  I also tried this miso soup, which is fast and easy so I wanted to share it with you.

This can be an all vegetarian dish with the use of vegetable stock and tofu.  The miso and edemame actually contain enough protein that the tofu is not needed but adding it makes the soup a little heartier although this soup is light and so I would serve it as a first course.

Serves 6 to 8
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch chard, chopped
2 quarts vegetable or chicken stock
2 medium carrots, chopped
4 ounces buckwheat noodles, broken
1 cup edamame
1/2 cup white miso
2 scallions
optional: 1 cup cooked chicken or tofu

Prepare the chard by removing the large stalks then dicing the remainder into large chunks. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot, add the leeks and garlic and saute for 3 minutes.  Add the chard and saute for 5 minutes, then add the stock.  Bring to a boil.  Add the carrots then reduce the heat to a slow simmer, do not boil, until carrots are tender about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile bring a pot of water to the boil and cook buckwheat noodles according to package directions, about 3 minutes.  Break the noodles up so that when you eat them they will stay on the spoon. Drain noodles and run under cool water to stop the cooking process.   Add to the stock pot.

Measure the miso into a bowl and take 1 cup of the cooking liquid and add to it.  Stir it until it is Incorporated and then pour it all back into the stock pot.

Add the chicken or tofu and cook only to heat through, about 2 minutes.  Serve immediately with sliced scallions as garnish.

Asparagus Soup

When asparagus is in season it's a good time to buy it because it is inexpensive. And we all need inexpensive right now!  I try to find as many recipes as I can with seasonal items. I love asparagus and buy it when I can and most times I roast it in the oven with olive oil or I blanch it and then drizzle it with a vinaigrette.

This soup is thick and rich.  The potato gives it a smooth creamy consistency. Roasting the vegetables adds another layer of flavor. I would suggest serving a small amount as a first course. A large bowl can serve as a full dinner and I love that it contains lots of fiber.

Ingredients:
3 pounds asparagus
2 cups yellow onions
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
4 ounces potato (or tofu)
2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable stock)
3 Tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds (or pine nuts)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Trim the ends from the asparagus to remove the tough ends. Put on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, then salt and pepper and mix up to coat evenly.

Chop the onion into a large rough chop. Put on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil then salt and mix up to coast evenly. Make sure the vegies have plently of room around them so the entire peice gets roasted. Do not crowd them.

Bake both pans 20 to 30 minutes turning one time until onions are caramelized and asparagus is cooked through.

Meanwhile cut potato into small pieces and put in pan of water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes or until cooked through and soft. Drain.

In a blender add the onions, asparagus, potato, and chicken stock. You might need to cut the asparagus into smaller peices if you are using a standard blender. I have a Vitamix and I put whole peices in it with no problem. Blend until very smooth. If too thick add more broth. Salt and pepper if needed.

Can be served hot or cold. Serve with toasted pumpkin seeds on top. It is also nice to drizzle a little more olive oil over the top. Pine nuts are also a good choice.

I also discovered that the soup gets better in a day or two.  That's a good reason to make it ahead of time, which is perfect if you serve it at a dinner party. Anything you do ahead is helpful in my book.

Apple Galette

Apples and puff pastry. What could be better? Anything made with puff pastry is high on my list. I love this recipe and make it often because it is one thing I can have while watching my sugar intake.
I have made this with both apples and pears and I love them both. For me it usually depends on what I have in the fruit bowl. I always keep puff pastry in the freezer so I can make this whenever I get that really big urge for a dessert.

I have also used different glazes. Most pastry recipes call for apricot jam as the glaze which adds a nice sheen to the finished product. Think outside the box. I used a pear apple butter on one I made with pears and some meyer lemon marmalade on another I made with apples. It changes the flavor ever so slightly.

Recipe:
2 medium gala apples
1 sheet puff pastry
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp vanilla sugar
2 Tbsp butter
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp apricot preserves
1 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Make sure the puff pastry is thawed. Remove it from the refrig and prepare the apples. Peel the apples, cut in half, and core. Slice into very thin slices.

Roll out the puff pastry. Dust flour on counter lay the pastry on it then put a little flour on the top of the pastry. Roll out slightly and make into an even square shape. Put the pastry on a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Crimp the border.








Start laying the apple slices across the pastry slightly overlapping. You can make it as tight or loose as you want. Once all the apple slices have been placed dust with the sugar, cinnamon and then dot with butter.

(I keep a jar of vanilla sugar in my pantry for recipes like this but you can use plain sugar.)

Bake for 50 minutes or until the pastry is nicely browned.

Heat the jam with the water and use a pastry brush to brush all over the fruit and edges of the pastry dough.

Allow to cool. Cut into 4 peices.

Optional: a nice added touch would be to dust slightly with powdered sugar.