wisteria tree

 Our thirty year old wisteria bloomed for the first time this year!

Rhubarb/Strawberry/Blackberry Crumble

Rhubarb is perfect right now, we have a plant in the garden and it’s fresh at the local market. Rhubarb’s tart flavor partners well with strawberries and blackberries. You can really use any berries with the rhubarb.

Ingredients
                                                                  

2 cups chopped rhubarb
2 cups strawberries quartered
1 cup whole blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt

Crumble Topping
1 cup flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold butter cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

Preheat over to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Rack in middle position.
Spray a pyrex baking dish with cooking spray.
Wash the rhubarb, chop into 1 inch pieces, wash and quarter the strawberries and wash the blackberries leaving them whole. Put all fruit in a large bowl mix in 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1/8 teaspoon salt together and add to the bowl of fruit, mix all together thoroughly.
For the crumble topping mix together 1 cup flour 3 tablespoons sugar , 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger. Work in the butter with your hands until it forms into large crumbly bits.
Put the fruit into the pyrex dish, sprinkle the crumble mixture over the fruit evenly.
Place in oven and bake for 40 minutes.
Eat with ice cream.

Shrimp with honey/garlic marinade

 

Honey Garlic Shrimp with Rice

Inspired by sallysbakingaddiction.com

Wondering what to make for dinner?
If you have frozen shrimp in the freezer and leftover cooked rice, this is an easy dish to put together. You can add a few frozen peas to the rice and serve with chopped onion greens and chives. For this dish I added chopped snap peas and a red pepper. Served with a salad it makes a delicious dish full of flavor. It can all be prepared ahead - the shrimp can be marinating ready to be cooked, the rice is cooked and the pepper and snap peas chopped.

Ingredients

1 lb shrimp uncooked - peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 red pepper chopped
6 snap peas chopped (or frozen peas)
Chopped green onions/chives for garnish
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
 3 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Directions

If not using fresh shrimp, thaw the shrimp completely.
Make the marinade by mixing together 1/3 cup honey, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3 garlic cloves minced, and 1 tablespoon grated ginger. Once the shrimp is thawed, place shrimp in a plastic bag and cover with half of the marinade mixture. Shake the bag and allow the shrimp to marinate for at least 15 minutes or up to 12 hours.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet or wok, cook shrimp on one side till pink, about 1 minute and then flip the shrimp over. Pour in remaining marinade sauce and cook it all until shrimp is cooked through about 2 minutes. Remove shrimp. Saute the chopped red pepper and snap peas for two minutes, add the rice and cook to warm through, add the shrimp back and continue to cook for another minute. Serve on a platter with chopped green onions or chives as garnish.

Serve with salad.

Swordfish Steaks with Peppercorn Butter Sauce

 

I found this recipe in Bon Appetit dated September 2005, I
t was also on the Epicurious site. This recipe calls for starting
by sautéing the fish in an ovenproof skillet on one side and
then flipping the fish and transferring the skillet to a
400 degree Fahrenheit oven to complete the cooking.
I am always nervous about making swordfish, it can be
dry and heavy - however this recipe produces a moist flakey
fish.

Ingredients
2 one inch thick swordfish fillets (about 6 ounces each)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
3 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 teaspoon ground peppercorns, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Directions
Place 2 tablespoons butter in a bowl to come to room temperature
Mash 2 tablespoons butter, 3 teaspoons chopped parsley, 1 clove finely minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon ground peppercorns and 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel  in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt.
Wash the fish and pat dry with paper towels.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in an ovenproof heavy skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle swordfish with salt and ground peppercorns. Add swordfish to skillet. Cook until browned on one side approximately 3 minutes. Turn swordfish over and transfer the fish to the oven, cook for a further 10 minutes. Check with a knife to see if the fish is done, depending on the thickness the fish may need more time. Swordfish should be just cooked through, don’t let it overcook as it will become dry.
Remove from skillet
Add seasoned butter to the same skillet. Cook over medium high heat, scraping up browned bits, until melted and bubbling. Pour butter sauce over swordfish and serve.
Garnish with a sprig of parsley

Arctic Char Sauteed with Orange-Lentil Salad

 Sautéed Arctic Char with Orange-Lentil Salad
Inspired by Epicurious

Last Sunday we purchased an arctic char fillet at the Farmer’s Market, not sure how to cook this fish but since I had some leftover mmjadarah (lentil dish) I thought I’d try a lentil salad. Epicurious had a roasted arctic char recipe with a lentil salad. The addition of oranges sounded perfect. Instead of roasting, I pan fried the fish. My lentils were already seasoned and cooked, however you can use canned lentils instead. I don’t think it would taste the same, mmjadarah is silky and totally delicious, cooked slowly it’s just heavenly. (the recipe for mmjadarah is below) Arctic char is similar to salmon but much lighter and milder in taste.
The fillet was about 1 lb in weight and I was able to cut it into 4 pieces similar to the one this picture. This is not my picture, we ate it too fast for me to catch it. This is the roasted one from Epicurious. When we make it again, I will take a picture of our fish with the lentil salad.

Ingredients

4 arctic char fillets about 4-5oz each
4 tablespoons Chopped Chives
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
(For the Lentil Salad)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
5 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups mmjadarah (or canned lentils, rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup chopped mint
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
8 snap peas cut into three sections
4 orange wedges for garnish
Parsley for garnish

Directions

Make the lentil salad first.
Whisk orange juice and zest in a bowl, add 4 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir in the lentils gently add 2 tablespoons chopped red onion and 1/4 cup chopped mint.

Wash the fish and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons chopped chives over the fish. Place a pan over medium high heat, add 4 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter, wait for the oil and butter to be sizzling.
Place the fish skin down in the pan and sauté for 3 minutes (until the skin is browned),
Flip the fish over and sauté for another 3 minutes.
Remove fish and serve with lentil orange salad. Add a few orange wedges and some parsley stalks.
I also added some lemon wedges

 
Mm-Jadarah - Lentils
Ingredients
1  cup Lentils
1/4 cup Rice
Spanish Onion
Lipton’s Beef Flavor with Mushrooms (or Lipton's Beef & Onion)
Water
Salt
Pepper
Allspice
Cinnamon
Cumin
Oil

Directions
(For every cup of lentils, use 1/4 cup of rice) This is a guide if you want to make more or less than the given recipe.

Place 1 cup of lentils and 1/4 cup rice in pan and cover with 4 cups of water.
Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cumin and one tablespoon allspice.
Bring to boil over high heat.
Take 1 package of Lipton’s Beef Flavor with Mushrooms mix, dissolve in a 1 cup of water cup of water first, then add to lentils and stir well so it does not lump

Chop 1 Spanish onion and saute in oil till golden brown. Add to lentils. After the onions are done and added to the lentils, take 1 cup water, pour into skillet to gather goodness and then add to lentils.

Turn heat to low and let simmer and thicken without lid.
Stir from time to time.
Keep checking and tasting, if you feel the mixture is becoming too thick and the lentils are not soft yet, add more water.

It should have a rice pudding texture.
Serve cold with sauteed onions, fresh green onions and a salad.
Also good scooped up with cabbage leaves.

This dish can be used as a base for a lentil salad or lentil soup.s

Black Sea Bass with Lemon Garlic Sauce - pan fried

Black Sea Bass with Lemon Garlic Sauce (Pan Fried)

Ingredients

1 lb. black sea bass filets
3 tablespoons butter divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4  cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4  teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
Juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon fresh parsley roughly chopped
1 tablespoon chopped scallion
1 tablespoon chopped mint
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
1/2 tablespoon chopped thyme

Directions

Remove the fish 1/2 an hour before cooking. Wash and pat dry with a paper towel.
Prepare all the ingredients for the garlic sauce first arrange in the order you will be adding to the pan- this is because the cooking goes quite fast once the fish is in the skillet.

Next, measure 1/4 cup dry white wine. Set aside a tablespoon butter. Mince 2 cloves garlic and the chopped herbs. You don’t have to use them all. Squeeze the fresh lemon into a cup.

Once you have everything lined up and ready,
Put 1/4 cup flour in a plate, add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Mix with a spoon.
Dredge the fish in the flour and shake off any excess flour.
In a large skillet melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat.
Cook the fish 3-4 minutes each side until golden brown
Remove fish from the skillet to the plate
Turn heat down to low.
Add 1/4 cup wine to the skillet, stirring up any brown bits. Stir for 2 minutes
Add one more tablespoon of butter to the skillet - once it has melted, add the minced garlic and fresh herbs, saute for about 30 seconds
Turn off heat and stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the lemon juice
Stir and serve the sauce on top of the fish.

Fettucine with Ricotta

David makes his own ricotta when he makes his ghiban cheese (basket cheese). The ricotta is made from the whey. Making your own cheese and ricotta during a pandemic is a rewarding endeavor!

A quick easy meal, usually made with peas.  I had some beet leaves and precooked them chopped and added to the pan of ricotta and cream sauce. Spinach is another alternative or mushrooms. You can really use any addition, once you have the cream and ricotta mixture simmering gently, add the peas or all the above. Also good with sauteed shrimp or scallops. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

 
1/2 lb fettucine
2 tblsps  olive oil
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 cup cream/whole milk
1 cup ricotta
Salt
Pepper

Directions

Bring water to the boil, add salt and fettuccine.
Heat olive oil in a large pan, add minced garlic and cook covered for 2 minutes without letting the garlic brown.
Add cream and ricotta  and stir.
Add salt and pepper and allow to simmer low for 3-5 minutes.
Strain the fettuccine (reserve a cup of the water) and add the fettuccine to the cream and ricotta mixture..
If dry, add a little of the reserved pasta water.

This is good with spinach, beet leaves, mushrooms, peas (all precooked)

Also good with shrimp