Sunday, July 26, 2009

Swordfish with Tabbouleh




Tabbouleh
1/4 cup bulghur (cracked wheat)
1/4 cup hot water
4 gherkins, diced
1 green onion, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1/3 English cucumber, peeled and diced
1/3 green bell pepper, diced
large bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
bunch fresh mint, chopped
salt, pepper
1/2 ts cumin seeds
juice of 1 lemon

Soak bulghur in the hot water for 1 hour. Meanwhile, chop the vegetable, and put in a medium sized bowl. Add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper to the bulghur as well a 1-2 TB liquid from the gherkin jar to the cracked wheat. Now, mix in all the vegetables, stir gentle, and chill for 1-2 hours.

(makes 2 servings for lunch or 1 serving for dinner, ca. 220 kcal alltogether)

Swordfish
3 oz of swordfish
1 ts ghee (clarified butter)
salt, pepper

Heat the ghee in a skillet til smoking point. Salt and pepper the swordfish, and caramelized from both side for 3 min in hot skillet.

Serve swordfish and the tabbouleh (half for a lunch, and the entire serving for dinner). Enjoy!

Another great recipe!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble




Perfect for those summer Sundays when friends come over, or to bring to a potluck occasion.

Strawberry Rhubarb mix:

1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons heartsmart bisquik
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
3 cups diced rhubarb

Crumble:
1 cup heartsmart bisquik
1/4 cup brown splenda
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup rolled oats

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix white sugar, heartsmart bisquik, strawberries, and rhubarb. Place the mixture in a 9x9 inch baking dish.
(or 10x8 inch if you like IKEA).

Melt butter. Mix 1 cup of bisquik mix, brown splenda, and oats. Add butter, and mix all until crumbly. Distribute crumble on top of the rhubarb and strawberry mixture.
Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until crisp and lightly browned. Cool and serve with ff coolwhip

Makes about 12 servings a 226kcal.



Saturday, July 11, 2009

Maine Mussels with Tomato Marinara



One of the great things of summer in Maine are: going clamming or getting your own mussels from the coast. Unfortunately, no longer this summer, because the 'red tide' closed most areas again for the next weeks. But the fish monger at the local farmers market still had (pricey) mussels from a certified dealer. So, it was time for mussels in a tomato marinara, garlic, white wine, and fresh rosemary. With it, some fresh french baguette from Chase's in Belfast.

1 can fireroasted tomates (with garlic)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 ts extra-virigin olive oil
morton lite salt, fresh ground pepper (to taste)
Mrs. Dash garlic and herbs
1/4 cup white wine (Chardonnay)
a twig fresh rosemary, chopped

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onions. Once transluctant, grate the garlic into the pot, and stir. After 1-2 min, add the white wine, and let the liquid evaporate. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, Mrs Dash and rosemary. Heat well and sautee for 3 minutes on medium-high heat. Make sure the mussels are well clean and de-bearded. Add mussels to the pot, and close the pot with a lid. Steam the mussels in the tomato marinara for 5-7 min, until all mussels are open (discard those that do not open), and cooked. Serve with pasta or a piece of baguette!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Haddock with Rainbow Chard



A light meal for those warm summer days, with ingredients from the local farmers market. Haddock, young rainbow chard, garlic scapes, cherry tomatoes, and an orange bell pepper with some lemon and some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Delightful!

1/2 haddock fillet
PAM, salt, pepper

1 ts extra-virgin olive oil
small bunch of young rainbow chard, sliced
2 garlic scapes, sliced into small pieces
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 orange bell pepper
salt, pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon, freshly squeezed
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Grill the haddock with salt and pepper in a hot, PAM-sprayed skillet until cooked (ca. 5 min, both sides). Remove fish, and keep warm on the serving plate. Add the olive oil to the pan, the garlic scapes, rainbow chard, tomatoes and bell pepper. Sautee for 5 min, then add the lemon juice, salt and pepper (not much salt, the parmensan cheese is also to add saltiness!). Sautee for 2 more minutes, and microplan in the parmesan cheese. Stir, and serve with the haddock!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Elderberry Soda



It is the time of the year again. The elderberry bush is rich with white flowers, and it is time to make elderberry syrup this year. Elderberry is wonderful in different varieties: syrup, juice in the fall made from the black berries and elderberry liquor. Elderberry syrup is not common in the US to be able to buy in many stores (IKEA is an option). But you can plant a tree or look for a tree, and make your own syrup. It tastes very refreshing in the summer, and has numerous health benefits, we won't even mention.

Elderberry Flower Syrup
(makes 1 l of concentrated syrup):

40 elderberry flowers
1.5kg sugar
1.2 ltr water

In a large pot, heat the water and dissolve the water. In a non-reactive bowl (porcelain, glass or metal), place the rinsed elderberry flowers (green parts removed), and the lemon peel. Once the sugar is dissolved, stir and take off the heat. Pour over flowers, and mix gently mix. Let sit for 5 days, and stir twice a day. Strain using a cheese cloth, and fill in a sterilized bottle with a cork or a fliptop.

Elderberry Flower Soda

1 ounce elderberry flower syrup
1 cup sparkling water (plain)
Lots of ice

Fill a glass or pitcher with ice, just before serving. Use a ratio of 1 ounce syrup to 1 cup sparkling water. For a pitcher, use around 6 ounces of syrup and six cups of sparkling water. Stir well and enjoy!