Summer Salads

I'm reading The Omni Diet and it made me realize that part of my problem with trying to lose weight is that I'm not eating enough vegetables.  The book recommends 30% protein and 70% veggies.  I've got some adjustments to make!

Yesterday, iKeith smoked and grilled ribs.  He smokes them first for about 6 hours on a low heat and then finishes them on the grill.  They are amazing!

I decided that we needed TWO veggie dishes and that I needed to use some of my fresh herbs that I planted recently.  A little goggling revealed that Mint and Zucchini go really well together.

Zucchini and Mint Salad

3 medium Zucchini, sliced thinly
10 Mint leaves, chiffonade
1.5 tablespoons Olive Oil
Zest from Lemon
Juice from 1/2 a Lemon
Salt

Thinly slice the Zucchini using a knife or a mandolin.  Roll the mint leaves into a cylinder and slice thinly into little strips. Put the Zucchini and Mint into a bowl and add the olive oil, mix.  Zest a lemon into the bowl, then cut it in half and squeeze the juice from one half into the bowl.  Salt to taste.

Tomato and Basil Salad

1 Container of Cherry Tomatoes, halved
10-15 Basil Leaves, chiffonade
1.5 tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and put them in a serving bowl.  Roll the basil leaves cylinder and slice thinly into little strips.  Add the basil to the bowl and add the olive oil and salt to taste. Serve to your hungry family.  Kids love this one!

Cilantro Jalapeno Sauce

I think my favorite herb to cook with has to be Cilantro!

I love it in all kinds of food and if it's in salsa, then I can't control myself and will eat an entire bowl.

I add it to so many dishes and love it as a garnish. Luckily, my husband loves it as much as I do or we may have a little problem.

You do know that some people don't like Cilantro.  I took a poll on facebook the other day and I was amazed at how passionate folks can be about their like or dislike or this special herb.

You either love it, or hate it.

If you love it....you're going to go crazy for this.  It takes no time to whip up and lasts for 2 weeks in the fridge.  Do you save your sauce jars?  I'm having fun finding things to put in them.  Soup and now this sauce.

We've put it on fish, grilled chicken and my new favorite....EGGS!  It's fantastic!

Cilantro-Jalapeno Sauce
adapted from Culinate

2 cups fresh cilantro leaves
2 jalapenos, chopped
1/4 cup white onion chopped
2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until liquidy.  Season with more salt if needed.  More jalapeno can be added if you want more heat.

Chilled Avocado Soup

I have a love affair with avocados. And cilantro but we'll save that for another day.

 I love making guacamole and sitting on the patio with a cold beer and a bag of chips.

 This soup is a perfect light summer meal and tastes like my favorite appetizer! I'm going to make this when my in laws are visiting and serve it in little jars.

Chilled Avocado Soup
adapted from Cookin Canuck

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 large jalapeno pepper, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh mint leaves
3 avocados, peeled and cut into chunks
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup coconut milk

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and add onion and jalapeno.  Saute until soft for about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic in the last few minutes and don't let it burn.

Get out your food processor and add avocados along with half of your vegetable broth.  Pulse.

Add the remaining broth, the onion mixture, salt and pepper and mint.  Blend until very smooth.  Thin with more broth if you need to.

Refrigerate the soup for at least an hour. If you'll be chilling longer, make sure to cover the soup completely or it will turn brown.  Putting it in little jars solves this problem!

When serving, add a drizzle of coconut milk.

Watermelon Gazpacho

In my quest to find No Cook Dinner's....I've found several soup recipes.

I really enjoyed this one and I served it with half of a wrap made with turkey and Swiss cheese.

My husband didn't like the soup....his comment was that he felt like he was eating salsa. *Connie rolls her eyes*

He would prefer not to see this on our table again. Luckily, he's not in charge and I will be making it again. Soon.

Watermelon Gazpacho
Fitness magazine

8 cups  finely diced seedless watermelon
1   medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced
1/2   red bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup  chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup  chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons  red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons  minced shallot
2 tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon  salt

Mix watermelon, cucumber, bell pepper, basil, parsley, vinegar, shallot, oil and salt in a large bowl. Puree 3 cups of the mixture at a time in a food processor to the desired smoothness; transfer to another large bowl. Puree another 3 cups and add to the bowl. Puree the remaining diced mixture. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Salmon Burgers

My friend Adrienne from Knoxville Pixie posted a delicious looking picture on twitter yesterday.  It looked so good and perfect for summer BBQ season that I asked her to please guest post and share her recipe with us. I'm hoping to try this recipe VERY soon because my bother in law just got home from a fishing trip to Sitka Alaska this morning.

My Hubs is a total carnivore and not the biggest salmon fan. However, since turning 35 this year, he has become a little more concerned about the kind of food he is eating and how better he can control his salt, cholesterol and fat intake. So after we scarfed down a smorgasbord of nachos, boneless chicken wings, french fries, and beer at a Sports bar on Saturday yet still awoke Sunday to a mean burger craving, I decided it might be a good time to try out a salmon burger recipe I’d previously been too intimidated to attempt.

I think I was nervous to try out a salmon recipe before due to the (what appeared to be) challenging preparation of the fish. But, it was seriously easy, even for me who owns only a food processor attachment for my blender as opposed to the real thing. So let’s get started, shall we?

After some research, I learned you want to get wild caught sockeye salmon if possible. Apparently it’s the best kind and the healthiest and if you want to know the reasons why, you’d have to ask my Hubs, I was too busy playing Angry Birds to pay attention when he told me. I actually found some on sale at my regular grocery store.  I picked up about 1.75 lbs of skin-on salmon fillets prepackaged at the fish counter. 

For starters, you want to remove the skin (I found it pretty easy to remove most of it by pulling it off by hand, and used a sharp boning knife if it gave me trouble). Once all the skin has been removed, cut salmon into chunks, and place in food processor or lame tiny food processor attachment and pulse until the fish is the consistency of ground beef.

Then transfer the salmon pulp into a large mixing bowl and add 1 tbsp poppy seeds and 1 tbsp grill seasoning. Mix with hands and form into 4 patties. Drizzle patties lightly with olive oil and yell at your Husband to hurry up with the yard work and turn on the grill because in the 6-yrs you’ve owned the pimped out piece of propane machinery, you’ve yet to learn how to turn the darn thing on. Hand the platter of raw fish patties to afore mentioned sweaty other half and bark at him to be sure to use the PAM for grilling spray before putting the burgers on the grill and not to cook the patties any longer than 3 mins per side.

While the burgers cook, make the super simple sauce. Combine ½ cup mayo, ½ cup sour cream and scallions in a bowl and place in fridge until burgers come of the grill.

After precisely 6 mins (or longer if you like your salmon more well done), remove perfectly cooked burgers from the grill, place on yummy crusty hamburger buns and top with scallion sauce, lettuce, and tomato. Serve alongside grilled veg and potato salad or whatever floats your boat. Enjoy!

Salmon Burgers Recipe
adapted from Rachael Ray

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 skinless salmon fillets (6 ounces each), cut into large chunks
• 1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 3 scallions, whites and greens, chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Lettuce, for topping
• Sliced tomato, for topping
• French Hamburger Buns, lightly toasted

Directions:

Pre-heat the grill, to medium-high. 

Place the salmon in a food processor and pulse to grind the meat. Transfer the fish to a mixing bowl and season with the grill seasoning and poppy seeds. Mix and form four patties. Drizzle the burgers with olive oil. 

Cook the burgers for 3 minutes on each side for a pink center, or 3 minutes on each side for fully cooked fish.

While the burgers cook, in a bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream and the scallions. Top the burgers with the lettuce, tomato, onion and sauce and serve on crusty, toasted buns.