Grilled Salmon with Dates, Pistachios, Arugula and Feta

 We do a lot of grilling in the summer. Keith has learned to grill pretty much anything. It keeps the house cooler, and gives us more time on our beautiful patio. I found this salmon recipe on IG, and it was so different I had to try it. The best part is that it is entirely created with flavorful, nourishing whole foods. The balance of the sweet dates, salty pistachios, bitter arugula and rich fish is perfect. I can't wait to make this again. 

Grilled Salmon with Dates, Pistachios, Arugula and Feta

Ingredients:

4 salmon fillets

1 lemon sliced

Topping:

2 cups arugula

4 dates

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

1/2 cup crumbled feta

Sauce:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp honey

1 1/2  apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp mustard

1/2 tbsp oregono

1/2 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat your grill. You want the grill to be between 350 - 400 degrees. Place a pizza stone to heat on the grill. While the stone and grill heat chop all the topping ingredeints into fine pieces and combine.

2. When the stone is heated, place the lemon slices down first, arrange the fish on top of the lemons. Spoon half of the sauce onto the fish, reserve half of the sauce for serving. Cover the fillets with the topping mix and cook 13-15 minutes. 

3. Serve with a tablespoon of the remaining sauce and enjoy. 

Lentil Wraps

 I have recently been experimenting with lentil baking. Tonight I tried these lentil wraps. I am really pleased with how they turned out. The texture is great and they are very tasty. I look forward to using them with emerald dahl.

Lentil Wraps

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups red lentils

500ml water

Salt & Pepper (plus any spices you desire)

Directions:

1. Place the red lentils in a blender and cover with 500ml of boiling water. Let them soak for at least 2 hours.

2. After the lentils have soaked, add the salt, pepper and spices then blend until smooth.

3. To cook the wraps, heat a griddle or large frying pan. Pour a scoop of batter onto the pan with a spoon or ladel, smoothing out the batter to make it thin. Small bubbles should appear in the batter pretty quickly. Let the wrap cook for 3-4 minutes then flip and cook on the other side 3-4 minutes more. Remove to a wire rack to cool and enjoy. This recipe makes about 12 wraps. 

Banana Protien Cookies

 Recently I have been working on doing some elimination sleuthing in my diet in order to sort out some inflammation issues that are causing a lot of pain. One of the main things I am cutting out is sugar, which doesn't make me too upset, but every once in a while I really want a cookie. I stumbled across this recipe, and honestly, I doubted it would be worth my time. It seemed like the three ingredients were too good to be true. My kid with the banana allergy went to camp today, so I tried the recipe. It came out pretty great for cookies made from one banana and two scoops of protein powder!! It was an excellent treat that I appreciated and would make again. The recipe only makes 8 cookies, which is fine when you are home by yourself. If you live in a house with kiddos, you may want to double or triple the recipe. 

Banana Protein Cookies

Ingredients:

1 Banana

1/2 cup protein powder (I used chocolate flavored Orgain)

1/2 tsp baking powder

*You can add 1 tsp of vanilla or cinnamon if you want some variety

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare your cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, combine banana, protien powder and baking powder. With a fork, mash all the ingredients together until thoroughly combined. 

3. Scoop dough into 8 portions onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on the sheet for 3 minutes then move to a cooling rack. 

Makes 8 cookies: 40 calories & 6g protien each

Grandmother Alice's Chocolate Pound Cake

 

Here is another one from the Copley family cookbook. Grandmother Alice Long's chocolate pound cake recipe. This one is a classic and it bakes up perfect every time. 

Grandmother Alice's Chocolate Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 lb butter

3 cups Sugar

5 eggs

3 cups flour

1 teaspoong baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup milk

3 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an exlectric mixer, cream butter and sugar thoroughtly until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly then add vanilla.

2. In a small bowl, combine thr flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cocoa. 

3. Add the dry ingredients alternatively with the milk until all is combined. Pour batter into a greased tube pan dusted with flour. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes. Do not open the oven while baking. Let cake cool in the pan before turning out. 

Sourdough Spaetzle

 Spaetzle is not a common American food. It is a staple German dish, one we had many times when we visited family in Germany a few years ago. Since then we have attempted to make our own spaetzle at home, but not until recently have we be able to re-create the authentic German noodles so accurately. 

Our family eating in Germany circa 2016

I have been reviving my sourdough starter habit, and with that, I have also been finding ways to use the discard. This sourdough spaetzle is the best tasting spaetzle I have had outside Germany, AND it helps me use my sourdough. Win - win!

These boys are so extra

The technique for this dish is interesting. Of course, there is a market for a spaetzle maker. It is a piece of metal with handles and holes in it. If you have a colander with medium holes and a spoon, you will be all set. Someone once recommended a potato ricer to me for making spaetzle. I did not have much luck with that. The batter is runny enough that it all just glopped together on its way out of the ricer. (not so nice) The colander method, which I perfer, is not very difficult. You will need to have a stockpot 2/3 filled with water and boiling. To cook your spaetzle, hold your colander over the boiling water, tipped on its side above the boiling water. Take about a 1/2 cup scoop of batter, put it inside the colander, then scrape your spoon against the inside of the colander to push the dough through and make it drip into the boiling water. It usually takes several passes with the spoon to get all the batter through. This makes little dumplings which will float to the top of the water once they are cooked. Scoop out the cooked spaetzle into your serving dish and then proceed with the next 1/2 cup of batter. It is a good idea to have some butter inthe dish so the spaetzle do not stick together. Spaetzle is traditionally served with butter, salt, pepper and parsley, or with a cheese sauce. 

Riddles in Germany. Check out our matching shirts!

Sourdough Spaetzle

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sourdough starter (135g)

4 large eggs

1/3 cup milk (90g)

1 3/4 cup flour (260g)

1 teaspoon salt (6g)

1/2 teaspoong ground nutmeg (1-2g)

Instructions:

1. Bring a stockpot 2/3 full of water to a boil.

2. While the water boils, create your spaetzle batter. Whisk your starter together with your milk and eggs. Mix in the flour, salt and nutmeg. Mix until just combined. 

3. When the water has come to a rolling boil, cook spaetzel using either a spaetzel maker or colander. Drop the batter into the water using the method described above. Let the spaetzle cook for 1-2 minutes or until it floats to the top of the water. Remove to your serving dish and toss with butter. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with butter, salt, pepper and parsley, or cheese sauce. 

Cardamom Cookies

 

This recipe is our family's new favorite cookie. We love cardamom. These cookies are like a chewy cardamommy ginger snap. You can make them as is, or we sometimes make a glaze with orange juice and icing sugar. The recipe is super easy, and if you have a cookie scoop, it is a breeze.

Cardamom Cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup flour

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of one orange

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degress. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, sugars and molasses until creamy. With the mixer on low, add in the egg, vanilla, lemon juice and orange zest until well combined. 

2. Add the flour, cardamom, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Mix until just combined. 

3. Scoop dough by 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoon balls onto parchment lined baking sheets. Space the dough with room for the cookies to spread. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the pan before removing to a rack to cool. 

4. Enjoy as is, or add a glaze.

Sourdough Discard Waffles

 

I have been using my sourdough a lot lately, but last week my starter got tired. I fed it twice and it didn't really rise at all. Troubleshooting, I fed it a more hearty flour, some oat flour I had on hand, and it just took off. I had a lot of starter that needed to be used, so we tried a sourdough waffle recipe. It is a keeper!

If you want your waffles to be more "sour" and fermented you can make the batter the night before (leaving out the baking soda and eggs) and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Juat add the eggs and baking soda in the morning and cook them up.

Sourdough Discard Waffles

Makes 8 waffles

Ingredients:

1 cup starter

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup buttermilk*

1/2 cup butter melted

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat your waffle iron.

2. Combine all ingredients (unless you are using the overnight ferment method). Cook in waffle iron until golden. 

*To create your own buttermilk: combine 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes.