It is salmon season and I am ready to party! I scored a gorgeous piece of Copper River sockeye salmon and I knew just what I wanted to do with it. I love the combo of a flavorful spice rub and a fruit salsa. This pineapple salsa is something I have paired with before in Kitchen Matters with chipotle shrimp tacos. I saw Carolina Gelen score salmon in an instagram reel and I thought it was a clever way to really get the spices to adhere to more of the fish. So good!Continue reading
I love grilling potatoes and I especially love whole potatoes. This grilled potato salad is so creamy and delicious. Plus, when you include the skin, potatoes are a whole food and good source of carbohydrates. You can put a lot of dressings on grilled potatoes, even just olive oil with salt and pepper. I am not afraid of a little mayonnaise, which is just egg yolk and oil. I prefer the lighter texture and flavor of vegan mayonnaise. And this has the smokiness and heat from chipotle powder. I think this is perfect for Memorial Day weekend!Continue reading
When I first moved to California over 30 years ago, I was introduced to the avocado and my love affair has continued. I had never eaten an avocado before, nor had I tried guacamole. My then boyfriend (who is now Hubs) took me to a new fast casual restaurant called Baja Fresh and I ate a burrito with guacamole. Holy deliciousness. Now I buy avocados every week and smash them on toast, cube them into salads, turn them into pudding and brownies, mash them into guacamole, and blend them into dressings. I love their creaminess and healthy fats and fiber, and their versatility. I especially love this avocado dressing in this quinoa and jicama salad recipe I am sharing today.Continue reading
Wow. I first posted this in August of 2011! I love this recipe and continue to make it regularly, but the images (not the recipe) needed an upgrade. Continue reading
I love summer rolls — crunchy, fresh, and flavorful all wrapped in a delicate rice paper wrapper. Summer rolls are one of those things I never thought I could make at home. The wrappers, the rolling, the sauce! Not only are they way easier than I imagined, but they can be quite the nutritious dish to boot. Filled with loads of raw veggies and herbs, a summer roll is like a salad all wrapped up in a neat little package. In the video above, I go a pretty traditional route with avocado, cabbage, carrots and herbs, but also I use less traditional roasted sweet potato sticks and shredded Brussels sprouts. Rice paper is so neutral. Who says you couldn’t put a cobb salad in there or poached chicken, corn, cabbage and barbecue sauce? I say the sky’s the limit and can we talk about perfect these would be for school lunches?! Per-fect!
If you want to make these in advance, cover them with a damp paper towel and refrigerate for ideally up to one day, but I’ve even kept them 2 or 3 days.
88-inch rice paper rounds, plus additional in case some tear
1large sweet potato(peeled if desired) and cut into ¼” matchsticks
unrefined coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
sea salt and black pepper to taste
4medium brussels sproutsthinly sliced or shredded
¼head of small red cabbagethinly sliced or shredded
2medium carrotsshredded, grated, or julienned
1large avocadocut into thin slices
handful each of fresh mint leavesbasil leaves and cilantro leaves
Other possibilities: cooked shrimpchicken, tempeh or tofu, cooked rice noodles
Instructions
To make the sauce: whisk together all of the ingredients in a bowl or a glass jar and set aside. *
To make the summer rolls: Drizzle the sweet potatoes with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes until tender.
Fill a shallow baking dish or a skillet with warm water. Soak 1 rice paper round (make sure there are no holes) in warm water until pliable, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the water and transfer to a plate or cutting board.
Spread 2 teaspoons of peanut sauce on the rice paper (or omit and use as a dip once rolls are assembled) and top with 2-3 large mint leaves, 1-2 large basil leaves, a pinch of cilantro leaves, a
pinch each of the Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and carrot, a few sticks of sweet potato, and a couple of avocado slices, taking care not to overstuff. Roll up rice paper tightly around filling, folding in sides and continue rolling.
Transfer summer roll to a plate and cover with dampened paper towels.
Make the remaining rolls in the same manner. Serve rolls halved on the diagonal.
Store in the fridge covered with a damp paper towel 2-3 days.
Notes
* Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature and re-emulsify before using.
I just dropped off my oldest at college this past weekend. Up until this point, nothing has made me feel as old as saying to someone, “I have a child in college.” And it doesn’t help when people respond with, “Wow!” Rub it in. Thank heavens for Mr. Picky who is in elementary school and still asks me to cuddle him at night.
My daughter goes to school in Dallas. So when I visit, I make sure to b-line for some good Tex-Mex food. You all know my weakness is guacamole and chips. Guacamole = healthy food. Chips, not so much. In LA you can find places to give you jicama with your guacamole. In Texas, not so much. So I try not to overdo it when I’m there, but I’m not always successful.
Although I grew up in New York, California cooking has stolen my heart. Lightness, freshness, color. It’s addictive. And the best avocados! Come visit me and we’ll have fun just prancing around the farmers markets. We can make this salad, which is like fancy-pants guacamole.
I taught this salad last year or the year before and it is one of my favorites. First of all, it takes minutes to pull together. Second, it includes two of my favorite foods, tomatoes and avocados, which I will remind you are both insanely delicious right now. Use whatever tomatoes look great and have fun mixing colors and shapes and sizes. Lastly, it’s basically guacamole that I can eat with a fork or on top of a piece of fish or grilled chicken and I don’t feel the need to have 25 tortilla chips along with it.
It also happens to look very pretty on a buffet. But tomatoes are leaving us soon, friends. Enjoy it ALL while you can, because you’re going to blink your eyes and they’ll be gone.
optional: serve with broken corn tortilla chips on top or around the side of the salad
Instructions
Place the tomatoes, red onion and jalapeño on a platter. Arrange the avocado slices on top. Scatter the cilantro leaves all over.
Whisk together the lime juice, salt, hot sauce and oil together and drizzle all over salad. It’s best not to toss this salad, otherwise the avocados will get messy. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt if necessary. A sprinkle of flaky sea salt is nice.
Serve with tortilla chips on the perimeter of the platter or crushed on top, if desired.
Notes
The amounts for the ingredients are merely guidelines. Feel free to adjust quantities to suit your taste.
I decided to be more forward-thinking this year and post some new delicious Mexican recipes early in anticipation of Cinco de Mayo, which is one of my favorite food holidays. Not that I don’t make Mexican, or Tex-Mex meals all year round, of course. I know a lot of people who are planning celebrations the weekend before Cinco de Mayo and are already asking me what they should make. I really don’t know too many people who don’t love Mexican food and it’s a great meal to make for a crowd, kids included. If you haven’t noticed, DIY parties are all the rage and Mexican menus fit the bill perfectly with their topping bars for tacos, fajitas and soups.
Speaking of soups, have you ever had posole, also spelled pozole? I had never heard of it until about 5 years ago, when my husband came back from a lunch and was raving about the posole. When anyone in my family comes home raving about anything, *BING*, note to self: “learn how to make that from scratch!”
Posole is is a traditional Mexican soup or stew, which once had ritual significance. It is made from hominy, plus meat, usually pork, but also chicken or turkey or pork rinds, chili peppers, and other seasonings and garnish such as cabbage, salsa and limes and/or lemons. I have seen many recipes for posole, red or green, vegetarian or with meat, different seasonings, but there is always hominy. Hominy is an interesting food. It comes from dried field corn, also known as maize, not to be confused with sweet corn which you enjoy off the cob in the summer. The corn is prepared by removing the skins after soaking them in the mineral lime (cal), which changes the flavor (for the better) and releases the niacin, making this slightly processed grain healthier than simple dried corn or cornmeal. (I took this from the Rancho Gordo website.) Not surprisingly, cooked hominy tastes like corn tortillas, but in a form of a chewy little nugget. Quite tasty.
You can buy prepared hominy which I have only seen in cans (probably lined with BPA, sadly) or you can buy dried and cook it yourself, which is what I did when I taught this in my classes a few years ago and what I still do when I want to make posole. It is an extra step for sure, so if you want this to be a really fast recipe and you don’t mind cans, by all means buy it prepared. I have only seen dried hominy sold by Rancho Gordo, which is an exceptional source for dried beans, especially heirloom varieties, grains and spices. Some retail stores sell Rancho Gordo products or you can purchase directly from their website. But I know from some students that you might be able to find other brands of dried hominy in Latino markets or in the “ethnic foods” aisle of some supermarkets.
When I decided to make posole for the first time, I took no timing wondering red or green. I much prefer green (tomatillo-based), especially in the spring and summer, because it’s so much lighter and fresher than red (tomato-based.) We all loved that first batch and I knew it would be great to teach in a class. I especially love setting out a topping bar for posole because all those add-ins give such great texture, color and really turn this soup into a meal. I love adding avocado, cabbage, radishes, cilantro and feta, which I think is a perfectly good, and more healthful sub for the more traditional Cotija cheese. The kids like to add tortilla chips or strips, naturally.
This soup reheats well and freezes well, too. You can serve posole as a meal or with veggie quesadillas and/or Mexican chopped salad on the side. If you want this to be vegetarian, just use veggie stock and drop the chicken. Maybe add in a little quinoa or some sweet peas. Stay tuned for more fantastic, healthful Mexican recipes to come in the next couple weeks!
1poundtomatilloshusked, stemmed, washed and halved
1anaheim chiliseeds discarded, quartered
1jalapeñoseeds discarded, halved (leave seeds if you like it hot)
2garlic cloves
¾cupfresh cilantrodivided
2poundsbonelessskinless chicken breasts, diced
1teaspoondried oregano
2 ½teaspoonssea saltdivided
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2Tablespoonsunrefinedcold pressed, extra virgin olive oil
4cupschicken stockpreferably homemade
3 ½cupscooked hominy* or 1 29-ounce candrained and rinsed
Suggested garnishes: cubed avocadosliced radishes, shredded romaine or green cabbage, cilantro, Cotija or crumbled feta, and/or tortilla chips (optional)
Instructions
Combine onion and tomatillos in a medium saucepan with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook, covered until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.
Transfer vegetables to a blender with the chilis, garlic, ½ cup cilantro and 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt and puree until smooth.
Season the chicken with oregano and 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Pour puree into the pan and lower heat to medium low. Cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 10 minutes.
Add the broth, hominy and chicken to the saucepan. Cover and simmer until the chicken is tender, about 10 minutes. Chop the remaining ¼ cup fresh cilantro and stir into the pot. Taste for seasoning.
Serve posole with suggested garnishes.
Notes
*To cook dry hominy, soak in lots of water 6 hours or overnight. Drain and cook in a pot with fresh water. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook for about 90 minutes to 2 hours or until tender. Drain and it is now ready to use.
When I was about 10 years old, I decided I disliked beef and poultry enough that I would give them up for good. I was a pre-teen pescatarian, limiting my “animal” consumption to fish alone which created a bit of anxiety for my parents. The concern was that I wouldn’t get enough protein since I was still growing. Of course I was quite fine since I ate plenty of eggs, cheese, yogurt, legumes and nuts in addition to fish once a week. But I have always preferred seafood to animal protein, even to this day.
Then I met a cute boy in college who asked me out to dinner and I said yes and he took me to a…steak house. Hmmmmm……..A cute boy is a cute boy, so off I went. Ironically, the boy was a meat and poultry-eater, but not a fish eater. Opposites attract, I thought. Or hoped. That night I had my first bite of steak in many years and I actually thought it was delicious. Not delicious enough to turn me into a full-fledged carnivore, but I did continue to eat a little beef and chicken until very recently when I decided, once again, that I just don’t like beef at all and I only like chicken enough to have a bite. After all these years, I’m still a fish girl.
If you’ve hung around this blog long enough, you know that I married “the boy” and I’ve turned him on to almost all fish, except salmon. Once in a while he’ll have a bite to be nice, but he just can’t get into it. We tell the kids he’s “allergic.” But I absolutely love wild salmon and believe it or not, so does Mr. Picky! (“Love” might be a strong word, admittedly, but he always eats it.) We both think it’s delicious and since it’s so rich in important Omega-3 fats and a powerful antioxidant called astaxanthin, I like to find new ways to make it. (By the way, this is not the case with farm-raised salmon. Not healthy for you and bad for the environment.)
Slow roasting salmon is practically the only way I have cooked salmon in the last year. I just taught this method in my classes last month and everyone was so excited it. By cooking the salmon at a super low temperature (250 degrees) for a longer period of time, the fat just kind of melts into the fish and you don’t dry it out the way you might at 400 degrees which can cause the proteins to seize up a bit. I find wild fish to be a little tricky to get just right where it’s still moist and succulent, as opposed to tough and dry. Slow roasting is a dream and results in the most velvety salmon! Plus a bonus is that at such a low temp, you don’t damage the delicate Omega-3 fats. My son says he also likes this method because the house never smells like fish afterwards. It’s truly the perfect way to cook wild salmon!
Like I told my classes last month, this recipe is more about trying the technique of slow roasting and it’s not about the mango salsa here. I serve slow roasted salmon with lots of different salsas (try this one with corn and black beans), sauces ( I like this one with dill and cucumbers), dressings, or just a squeeze of citrus. Since it’s wild salmon season right now, I bet you can get your hands on some fantastic fish. I normally buy my wild salmon during the year from vitalchoice.com which ships it frozen on dry ice. It’s the best quality fish I can find. But starting in May, Grow in Manhattan Beach and Santa Monica Seafood have outstanding salmon and I haven’t been disappointed.
Needless to say, I will not be making salmon on Sunday for Father’s Day, but you certainly can. I guarantee, slow roasting is a game-changer!
Slow Roasted Wild Salmon with Mango-Cucumber Salsa
½cupdiced cucumberIf you use a variety like Persian or Hothouse, you can leave the seeds and skin on.
1mangofirm, but ripe, peeled and diced
½jalapenominced, seeds removed for less heat
1scallionfinely chopped or 3 Tablespoons finely diced red onion (this measurement is really according to taste)
1Tablespoonfresh lime juice
¼cupfresh cilantro leaveschopped (tender stems are ok)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
24ouncefillet of wild salmon*leave out of refrigerator 20 minutes before roasting
unrefinedcold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the salmon on the baking sheet and drizzle with enough olive oil to coat the top of the fish lightly. You can use your hands to oil the fish. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste.
Bake for 25-35 minutes or until center of salmon is rare and starting to flake when you poke it with a paring knife. The amount of time it takes to cook the salmon perfectly depends on the temperature of the fish when you place it in the oven and the thickness of the fish.
While the salmon cooks, prepare the salsa. Mix all the salsa ingredients in a medium nonreactive bowl and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve salmon warm, room temperature or cold with salsa.
Notes
*If you use individual fillets, adjust cook time accordingly. 6 ounce fillets will take approximately 20 minutes.If you’re really not sure if the salmon is done, you can roast until the thickest part registers 125 degrees on an instant read thermometer.
