Feature Archives - Pamela Salzman

Dinner Planner – Week of April 29, 2024

May gives December a run for its money as far as being a very busy month. Everyone is trying to cram stuff in before summer, and there’s Mother’s Day and graduations and making sure summer plans get finalized. It’s all exciting but it can feel overwhelming. I have a great Mother’s Day gift guide in my newsletter this coming Monday which will give you a lot of excuses to treat yourself! Also, this week, my annual breakfast/brunch-themed cooking class will be uploaded on May 1. This a fantastic class! Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Grain-Free Blueberry Scones Recipe

I am neither gluten-free nor grain-free, but I like diversity in my diet and I also find that almond flour-based baked goods have a bit more protein and spike my blood sugar less. If I eat traditional grain flour baked goods in the morning, especially on an empty stomach, I tend to feel super tired afterward. NOT the way I want to start my day! These grain-free blueberry scones are not too sweet, tender, a little craggy on the outside like regular scones, and perfect for breakfast, brunch or a Mother’s Day treat!

Dinner Planner – Week of April 22, 2024

For those of you observing Passover on Monday evening, I hope you are able to spend the holiday with loved ones. If you are cooking or contributing to a seder, please check out my Passover roundup for some inspiration. Although truly almost any recipe can be made Passover-compliant. If you take my monthly online cooking class, I am hosting live “office hours” on zoom this Wednesday, April 24th at noon PT. Check your email for the link! Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Passover Roundup!

Passover is coming up and if you want to save time searching high and low for recipes that are seder-worthy, here’s a great roundup of my tried and true Passover-friendly recipes. Most any recipe can truly be tweaked to be Passover-compliant. Feel free to leave a question below if you need help swapping out an ingredient. Please note, you can generally NOT sub a nut flour (like almond) one-for-one with a grain flour (like wheat, oat or a GF flour blend.)

Appetizers

Passover Popovers (everyone goes wild for these!)
Deconstructed Deviled Eggs (from Quicker Than Quick) on Matzo
Crudites with Lemon-Cashew Dressing from Quicker Than Quick
Vegan Queso with Grain-free Tortilla Chips

Mains

Onion-braised brisket
Baked chicken with artichokes
Easy No-fail Whole Roasted Chicken
Orange-rosemary Glazed Chicken (use coconut aminos in place of shoyu/tamari)
Pistachio-Crusted Salmon (sub finely chopped pistachios for the breadcrumbs)
Poached Salmon with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
Spatchcocked Honey-Lemon Glazed
Matzo Polenta with Mushroom Ragout
Matzo Lasagne

Vegetables & Sides

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Asparagus Mimosa or simple roasted asparagus
Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Leeks with Roasted Garlic Dressing
Sweet Potato Casserole (I subbed flaked coconut for the cornflakes)
Puree of broccoli
Roasted rutabagas with balsamic
Maple-Mustard Roasted Vegetables
Zesty Lemon Quinoa

Soups

Dairy-free Creamy Asparagus Soup (sub potatoes for the oats)
Spring Green Minestrone
Cauliflower and Roasted Garlic Soup

Salads

Desserts

1. Lemon Ice Torte
2. Grain-free Carrot Cake with cashew cream frosting or traditional cream cheese frosting is my usual )
3. Coconut macaroons
4. Cashew cheesecake
5. Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cookies
6. Flourless Chocolate Cake
7. Nut-free Flourless Fallen Chocolate Cake
8. Chocolate Zucchini Cake
9. Healthy Chocolate Fudge
10. Strawberry Mounds Bars
11. Grain-Free Strawberries and Cream Cookies

Dinner Planner – Week of April 15, 2024

I know some of you will be celebrating Passover on Monday, April 22nd. I will be posting a Passover recipe round-up on Wednesday to give you some more ideas since this week’s dinner planner doesn’t cover the holiday. I had a really fun IG live this past Monday with my friend and interior designer extraordinaire, Nathan Turner, and I *might* have another special guest join Hubs and me this coming Monday. Stay tuned! Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Spatchcocked Honey-Lemon Glazed Chicken Recipe

I love coming up with a new twist on roasted chicken because it’s the perfect cozy dinner and I love serving it for holidays too. This would be fabulous for Passover. Honey and lemon are a natural pairing and I like adding thyme for an herby element. I have really come to favor cooking a spatchcocked (backbone removed) chicken (and turkey for that matter.) It’s such an easy way to cook a whole chicken and it’s easier to carve. You can definitely use these bones for stock too. The honey is not noticeable. You can also use this flavor combo on bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces.

Dinner Planner – Week of April 8, 2024

Happy Weekend! Big Hubs update: he is out of his boot and walking pretty well, fortunately! Not quite ready for pickleball, but maybe in a few weeks. Just a reminder that the April class is up and ready for viewing if you are part of the online cooking class community. Everyone here eats differently and I am not going to tell you that there is one “best” diet because there are many ways to eat healthfully. Always feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of a recipe if you need a swap. Most of the time, I have a good suggestion! Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Dinner Planner – Week of April 1, 2024

Happy Easter Weekend! I hope you are having a lovely holiday weekend. I will be trying my best to eat only one piece of Easter chocolate a day. Wish me luck! The April cooking class will be uploaded on Monday, so be on the lookout for that. If you are not a subscriber to my classes, this month’s menu with plant-based, GF and DF swaps is:

Sopa de Fideo; Salad with Beets, Avocado, and Smoky Feta Dressing; Calabacitas;

Tex-Mex Meatballs; Healthier Nutter Butter Cookies

Here’s your dinner planner for the week: