Weekend in Photos

Contemplating Senbazuru

The journey of Senbazuru begins with a single crane.

Radish?

The other day I did something I have never done before.  I bought a bunch of radishes.  You see I've never liked radishes; as a child I would avoid them at all costs. I remember thinking they were one of the worst tasting things ever (mind of a child you know). But I was at the market and the radishes stood out. Their vibrant red color called to me.  I put them in my basket, deciding that since I was no longer a child I should give them a try.

I used them to make a simple little salad, which turned out well.  My husband loved it and I found it to be light and refreshing.  I believe I'll be using radishes more often in the future.

Simple Radish Salad 

Makes 1 or 2 servings

4 radishes thinly sliced

1 Tbsp olive oil

Juice of ½ a lime

2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped

a sprinkle of salt

In a small bowl combine oil, lime juice, cilantro and garlic.  Toss with sliced radish and sprinkle with a little salt.

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday February 23, 2011

Pay it Forward 2011: Part 1

Several weeks ago a friend of mine posted this as her Facebook status:

Interesting twist on pay it forward, and right up my alley.

"Pay it forward 2011: I promise something handmade to the first 5 people who comment here. However, to be eligible, you must repost this status, offering something handmade to 5 other people. The rules are that it must be handmade by you, and it must be sent to your people sometime in 2011. Ready, set, GO!"

This sounded like a wonderful idea to me so I quickly replied with an emphatic “I’ll play!”  Then I immediately reposted the message. 

Over the weekend, the first of my participants received her handmade item.  She and I took the opportunity to meet-up and chat over a cup of coffee.  I highly suggest this to anyone participating in a similar activity. It’s a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  Below is a photo of the item I gifted that day.

I will be posting a photo of each handmade item after they have been gifted.   Are you participating in "Pay it Forward 2011"?  If so I would love to hear about your handmade gift ideas in the comments below.

Weekend in Photos

 

Just for You

Dear readers today's recipe I created just for you.  No really.  You see I've been in sort of a ground meats cooking rut lately.  Which is directly related to my transition from vegetarianism back to meat eating.

After years of being a fish eating vegetarian I decided to go back to eating meat, largely (but not completely)  due to the fact that gluten and corn intolerance had severely limited my food options.  This was not easy for me as I really had no desire to eat meat (which is why I stopped eating it in the first place, but more on that another time). 

I found that starting with ground meats was a great way to get back into it, so to speak.  Because of this, I tend to cook with ground meats quite a bit.  Now that I've started this blog I figured it was time to expand my horizons. After all, there are only so many meatball and burger recipes one can post without boring you dear readers to tears.

With this in mind I picked up a few different offerings from my local farmer this week. Today my offering to you involves pork chops.  I was a kid the last time I remember eating pork chops and they were always breaded and fried.  When I picked these up I knew I wanted do some something fresh and citrus-y with them.  Here is what I came up with:

 Pan-Seared Pork Chops in a Chimichurri Sauce

makes 4 servings

4 pork chops

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

3 cloves garlic

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

juice of 1 lime

pinch of salt and pepper

Place, parsley, cilantro, garlic, oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper in a food processor and puree.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the sauce; marinade pork chops in the remainder for 30 minutes.  Pan sear the chops (about 5 minutes on each side depending on thickness).  Serve topped with 1 Tbsp reserved chimichurri.

This post is a part of Fight Back Friday February 18, 2011

Salmon Salad Lettuce Wraps

I was inspired by Melissa Joulwan's tuna salad to create these lettuce wraps. This salmon salad is a great blend of sweet, savory, crunchy, and yummy.

makes 3-4 lettuce wraps

8oz cooked wild caught salmon

1/2 cup carrots, shredded

1 cup baby spinach, chiffonade

1 pear, diced

2-3 Tbsp chopped walnuts

2 tsp Dijon mustard

3 Tbsp mayonnaise

a pinch of salt and pepper

3-4 red leaf lettuce leaves

Toss everything but the lettuce leaves in a bowl and combine.  Spread the mixture on your leaves, top with a few cucumber slices, and enjoy!

I was worried that the salmon salad wouldn't work very well as leftovers.  I thought the pear might get mushy and walnuts would lose their crunch.  I was happily proven wrong as the salad was just as good the next day.

If you're up for it I suggest checking out Mel's homemade mayo recipe.  Much better for you than the store bought variety.

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday 2-16-11