January 14th: Mini Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins, Salmon Cakes

Two good recipes today. First up, from the 2013 Milk Calendar: Mini Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins. This one all the children liked, which was a relief. And, for supper, from January 2014's Chatelaine: Wild Salmon & Spicy Lime Cakes. This recipe called for Indian lime pickle, which would have added the referenced spice to the fishcakes. I couldn't find this in the two grocery stores I checked, so I used dill pickles I found in the back of my fridge. The fishcakes were on the bland side, and I likely won't make them again, but both my girls ate them, not with relish, but they did eat them, so it's a sort of win. I served the fishcakes with Sweet Potato Fries with Curry Mayo. I linked a recipe to this in February 2012, but I'll type out the recipe here for easy reference.

Mini Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) whole wheat flour
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
2 tsp (10 mL) ground cinnamon
1 tsp (5 mL) ground ginger
1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1 egg
1 cup (250 mL) milk
2/3 cup (150 mL) liquid honey
1/4 cup (60 mL) melted butter
2 tbsp (30 mL) freshly squeezed orange or lemon juice
1 cup (250 mL) shredded zucchini (about 1 small)
1/2 cup (125 mL) miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter nonstick miniature muffin pans or line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together whole wheat and all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together egg, milk, honey, butter and orange juice until blended. Pour over dry ingredients and sprinkle with zucchini and chocolate chips; stir just until moistened.

Spoon into prepared muffin pans, filling 24 deep cups or 36 shallow cups. Bake, in batches as necessary, for 15 to 18 minutes or until tops are firm to the touch. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely.

Makes 24-36 mini muffins.

Wild Salmon & Spicy Lime Cakes

1 potato, peeled
213-g can salmon, drained
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp finely chopped Indian lime pickle
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Boil potato in a small pot of water until tender, 15 minutes. Drain and mash well in a medium bowl. Add salmon (including bones and skin) to potato and mash with a fork. Stir in eggs, onion and lime pickle. Season with salt and fresh pepper. Form into 6 patties (mixture will be moist).* Pour panko into a deep dish. Coat patties with panko.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high. Add oil, then salmon cakes. Reduce heat to medium. Cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Stir yogurt with cilantro in a small bowl.** Serve with salmon cakes.

Makes 3 servings, 2 cakes each.

*The patty mixture is very moist. I stuck it in the fridge while I prepped the fries, then made the patties. They were still tricky to keep together.
**I actually didn't make the dip as called for. I made my usual homemade tartar sauce:

Tartar Sauce

In a small bowl, stir together 1/3 cup each sour cream or plain yogurt and mayonnaise with 1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped dill pickles, 1 tbsp (15 mL) green pickled relish, 1 thinly sliced green onion and a pinch of cayenne. Optional: add 1 tsp (5 mL) finely chopped capers.

Sweet Potato Fries with Curry Mayonnaise

4 sweet potatoes (2 1/2 lb/1.25 kg)
2 egg whites
1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cumin
1 tsp (5 mL) ground paprika
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper
1/2 cup (125 mL) mayonnaise
1 tsp (5 mL) lime juice
1/4 tsp (1 mL) curry paste

Peel potatoes and trim ends. Cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick slices; cut eat lengthwise into 1/2-inch (1 cm) wide strips.

In a large bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy. Whisk in oil, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Add potatoes, tossing to coat. Spread on a large parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet.

Bake in 425°F (220°C) oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until tender and edges are browned and crisp.

Curry Mayonnaise: Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, lime juice and curry paste; serve with potatoes.

Makes 4-6 servings.

January 31st: Lime salmon & Russian potato salad (take 2)

I'm finally putting one of my Christmas present cookbooks to use! I don't even remember writing this, but last summer on this very blog I put in a request for a cookbook, and my mama delivered. I tried one recipe from it (Lemon Chicken) last week, but didn't love it, so didn't blog about it. Tonight I tried another - similar theme: citrus + meat - this one being Lime Salmon. It was pretty tasty. This is meant to be a grilling recipe (this is a summertime cookbook after all), but I broiled my salmon in the oven. A good weeknight recipe.


From Best Summer Weekends Cookbook:


Citrus-Glazed Salmon


2 limes
2 tbsp liquid honey
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
4 salmon steaks or salmon fillets, 1" thick


Zest 1 lime. Squeeze juice from both limes, to make about 1/3 cup. Stir together zest and juice with honey, mustard and salt.


Baste the salmon with half the sauce. Grill or broil salmon as desired, either basting with remaining sauce partway through, or, if broiling, turning salmon over and pouring the rest of the sauce overtop.


Makes 4 servings.


I broiled my skinless boneless salmon fillet for 5 minutes per side, in a shallow baking dish that captured the juices so I could pour them overtop afterwards.

We ate this with Russian potato salad again. A few notes on the salad, now that it is my second go-around: I reduced the red onion to 1/2 cup and chopped it bigger this time. Much more successful in terms of finding the onions to pick out of Olivia's serving. I think I should increase the eggs to 3 or 4 because we all love them so much. In fact, I could probably up the carrots and peas a bit too, maybe 2 whole carrots and 1 cup frozen peas. Also, tonight I used a bag of mini potatoes rather than russets and I liked it better. They are a silkier potato and a preferable texture. Finally, I think I need to start making double the recipe, because I love it so much I want to eat leftovers for days on end. Seriously. Yes, this is Kirsten typing, not Greg.

January 24th: Salmon Cakes

I'm going to make a quick note of this one for Mama's sake: from the cookbook you received for Christmas: Salmon Cakes. These were good but not quite great enough for me to keep the recipe. It took too long to make for a weeknight (my bad) and I didn't enjoy the aioli as much as I had hoped. I did like it better the next day when I ate leftovers; the flavour of the garlic-lemon-mayo had time to blend and was less harsh.

Prior to cooking.

Fried and ready to eat.

Served with Roasted Cauliflower Soup.

September 9th: salmon niçoise platter

We had friends over for dinner. One is a chef. A little intimidating, since I claim to be all good on the food-making front, but have no credentials to back me up. I decided to go simple food, simple to prepare, and hope for the best. Worked out perfectly. From August 2009's Chatelaine: Salmon Niçoise Platter. I make a few adjustments: cook 1 egg per person and reduce the capers by half. Of interest to me is the fact that the picture on Chatelaine's website is nothing like the one in the magazine, on which I modelled my presentation, although I don't have a platter big enough to hold all the food. I made the full recipe (6 servings) for 4 adults and 1 child and there was not much leftover. That, and we had two small baguettes on the side. And room for dessert afterwards. I take the "6 servings" suggestion with a grain of salt.

Top: roasted salmon.
Bottom, L-R: potatoes, green beans, eggs, marinated artichoke hearts, smoked salmon.
Not pictured, but also served: tomatoes, olives, baguettes.

August 1st: Salmon-stuffed Eggs

Vacation Day 11, AKA Last Day. I had way too much leftover salmon from yesterday, so used 3/4 of one fillet making, from July 1999's Today's Parent: Salmon-stuffed eggs. These are devilled eggs with salmon in the filling, or "debelled" eggs, as Ella would say. Although a couple of egg whites didn't survive the peeling process, we polished off close to a whole dozen between 4 adults and 2 children. Good stuff.

July 5th: Dill Salmon

Using up more dill from the fridge, with another recipe from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry. I like to use way more sauce than they call for.

Dill Salmon

4 boneless, skinless salmon fillets

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, plus 1/4 tsp each (for sauce)

Sauce

1/3 cup sour cream

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tbsp minced fresh dill

1 tsp grated lemon zest

Preheat broiler. Sprinkle salmon fillets lightly on both sides with salt and pepper.

Place salmon on a baking sheet and broil 4-6 inches from heat source for about 4 minutes per side, or until fish flakes easily but is still just slightly pink in the centre.

While fish is cooking, prepare sauce.  In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, maple syrup, mustard, lemon juice, dill, lemon zest, salt and pepper.

Remove salmon from oven and drizzle with sauce. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

January 1st: Winter herbed roasted salmon & Roasted potatoes with bacon and chives

I was torn between starting the new year off with a full-on detox, or easing into it. I opted for the latter. G & O are on a Christmas candy/chocolate/sweets & treats strike until O's birthday in 20 days. I'm not quite so die-hard, but I cut my sugar way back today. For supper I opted for salmon (heart healthy!) with potatoes and bacon (not so much). This is a pair of recipes I pulled out of the Citizen a year or more ago, so this was at least our second time trying them out. We decided on tossing the salmon recipe and keeping the potato, although both have their pluses and minuses. Here they are:


Winter herbed roasted salmon
2 garlic cloves (or more if you really dig garlic, as we do)
4 sprigs fresh sage (my sprigs were huge; I only used one)
4 sprigs fresh thyme (my sprigs were tiny; I used six)
4 tbsps olive oil (may be overkill)
2 boneless salmon fillets
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste


Preheat oven to 350°F.


Finely chop garlic, sage and thyme, then mix with olive oil.


Place salmon fillets on baking sheet and rub the oil mixture on top. Season with salt and pepper. Bake 10-15 minutes.


Serves 2 (or 2 and a little one!).


This recipe was good, just not knock-your-socks-off good.


Roasted potatoes with bacon and chives
3 potatoes (baking or otherwise)
4 slices bacon, diced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 sprigs fresh chives chopped (I subbed in one green onion)


Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes and place in a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook 2 minutes, then drain.


Meanwhile, lightly fry bacon over medium just until the fat starts to render and the bacon starts to darken. Transfer the bacon and fat to a large mixing bowl.


Once the potatoes are drained but still hot, add them to the bowl with the bacon. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat the potatoes in fat. If there are not enough bacon drippings to coat, add some olive oil.


Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 45 minutes. When done and outside is crispy, place potatoes in serving dish and stir in the chopped chives.


Serves 2 generously.


The bacon gets super crispy (AKA overdone). I skipped eating it. It does keep the potatoes nicely oiled. I'm wondering about skipping the frying step, and maybe just laying whole slices of bacon over the potatoes on the baking sheet; it might serve the same purpose. Perhaps the next time around...

Not seen in photo: side dish: salad!

December 15th: Southwest Salmon & Green Beans Amandine

Keepers! Keepers! Keepers! How I love you! Two keeper recipes tonight for supper: From March 2006's Chatelaine: Salmon goes southwestern and from May 2010's Today's Parent: Green Beans Amandine. Both recipes are heavily flavoured by citrus: lime for the salmon and lemon for the beans. The salmon recipe is written for 1 serving, so simply multiply by the number of people you are serving. Two changes to the bean recipe: I would up the almonds to 1/2 cup and reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp. Other than that, yum yum yum! I served this meal with quinoa on the side.

November 8th: Salmon cakes, Lemony snow peas and Herbed couscous

Verdict:
Try Again: Lemony snow peas
Toss: Salmon cakes and herbed couscous

Monday night quick meal: from November 2010's Chatelaine: Salmon Cakes with Lemony Snow Peas, and from Cooking with My Kid: Herbed Couscous. This was a decent meal, with a bit of prep time, but it's necessary to do all the work up front as it comes together quickly. The salmon cakes were good, but I'm still reminiscing over the AMAZING fish cakes Mom made when I was home this summer, and nothing resembling a fish cake will live up to that memory for some time to come. The couscous, despite copious amounts of butter and oil, was just okay, I thought. I may have mentioned a few times though, that I'm not much of a grain person.

But the snow peas, mmm. I will make these again, with much more garlic than the recipe calls for. This takes all of 2 minutes to cook, so a really easy side dish for another night.

September 20th: balsamic vinegar everything followed by chocolate heaven

Verdict:
Keepers: salmon, tomatoes, cake (everything!)


Tonight I tried out Yin Yoga for the first time. That was an experience and a half. After an hour and a half of that, I managed to drive home, stop for gas, take in the garbage bins and eat supper, all before I woke up, which was thanks to the chocolate and coffee delight that was cake for dessert. But more on the cake later.


Greg made supper: two delicious balsamic vinegar-filled dishes. From the Heart and Stroke Foundation website: Salmon with Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette. This recipe is no longer available online (my copy was printed in 2003). Greg loves this one; I might like it if the salmon were not overdone every time we make the recipe. That may be because I leave it to Greg to cook and he doesn't obsessively watch the fish to get it just so. Here's the recipe:


Salmon with Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette


4 salmon fillets (about 4 oz/125 g each), skin removed
pinch each: salt, freshly ground black pepper
3 tsp (15 mL) butter or soft margarine*, divided
3/4 cup (175 mL) orange juice
1/4 cup (50 mL) balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp (30 mL) minced onion
2 tsp (10 mL) each: coarsely chopped fresh parsley, basil, mint
 
Preheat oven to 450ºF (230ºC). Season salmon with salt and pepper. In a large, non-stick skillet, melt 2 tsp (10 mL) of the butter over medium-high heat. Place salmon in pan and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes per side until lightly browned. Transfer salmon to an oven-proof dish and roast for 5 to 7 minutes or until cooked through. Wipe out skillet and stir in orange juice, balsamic vinegar and onion. Boil 2 minutes or until sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1 tsp (5 mL) butter until melted. Stir in fresh herbs. Season to taste with pepper. Spoon over salmon and serve immediately.
 
Makes 4 servings
 
Nutritional information per serving (*based on using Becel margarine)
Calories: 226
Protein: 22.9 g
Fat: 10.1 g
Saturated fat: 1.5 g
Dietary cholesterol: 62 mg
Carbohydrates: 9.5 g
Dietary fibre: 0.3 g
Sodium: 148 mg
Potassium: 657 mg


Side dish of the night, from September 2006's Chatelaine: Minted summer tomatoes. Already a keeper, a no-cook, simple dish, which I see now is supposed to have goat cheese on top and my serving definitely didn't! That would have made it so much better. Served up with a whole wheat baguette, supper was complete!

For dessert, from Epicurious: Double Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate Buttermilk Frosting. The cake recipe was recommended to me by Patricia in 2005 and this is the first time I've made it. I skipped the suggested frosting recipe and used my own personal favourite chocolate frosting recipe. This cake is heavenly. Seriously delicious. Worth noting: the recipe calls for using "fine quality" chocolate. I used Baker's squares and instant coffee and it turned out just fine. I didn't even chop the chocolate. I don't have the patience for such baking details. Here is my frosting recipe:

Chocolate Buttermilk Frosting

6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
16 oz icing sugar

Combine butter, buttermilk and cocoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Turn off heat, add vanilla and icing sugar and blend until smooth. Easier to spread when warm, but possible to spread when cooled.

A good night.

September 12th: Creamy Salmon Fettuccine & Spinach Salad

One of the few foods I don't like much is pasta. I am outnumbered in my household by people who love pasta however, so we end up eating it once or twice a week. I usually try to make it early in the week so we can send leftovers to daycare for lunch for Olivia. Tonight was a new one from September 2010's Today's Parent: So Creamy Salmon Fettuccine. I thought this one was just okay, but it is going in the try again folder because the rest of my family loved it.

Accompanying the pasta, we had a strawberry and spinach salad with orange poppy seed dressing. This recipe came from cleaneatingmag.com and we agreed the recipe was just okay, so this one goes into the recycling.

To finish off the night (and prep for the week ahead), I made cookies from March 2002's Today's Parent: Big Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I came across this recipe on the Today's Parent website, as part of their "Lunch Box Tool," which, if you are looking for lunch ideas, I recommend. I subbed 1/4 cup chocolate chips in place of raisins. The cookies are, just as the name implies, big, chewy, soft, and delicious. Try again folder.

And now, to listen to "The Big Lie Down" on the The Strombo Show and hopefully fall asleep.