Salmon and Lentil Salad with Lemon Caper Dressing

The doctors have been warning me for a while now that we are going to have a big baby. I don't have gestational diabetes, but I think it's just in my genes that everything I eat goes straight to the baby.(Some people will roll their eyes when I complain about this.) I was almost 10 pounds when I was born, but my mom hadn't gained much weight. Her wedding rings were actually loose when she went into the hospital. Sugar, fruit and refined white stuff especially beef up the baby, so I have been trying to stick with a fairly high fiber and protein diet and to stay active with lots of walking and yoga.



One meal we especially enjoyed was a Salmon and Lentil Salad with Lemon Caper Dressing. It was nice and refreshing on a hot night. We simply layered some salad greens, cold lentils (but they could be served hot too), pan-fried salmon and topped it off with a delicious, tangy lemon caper dressing. It's a great low carb meal - whatever your reason. For an extra short cut, Trader Joes has some tasty pre-cooked lentils that are pre-seasoned. They keep for quite a while in the fridge, and are great to keep on hand for a quick meal. We like the seasoning they use, and used them as our flavor inspiration.

French Lentils
1/2 lb French lentils
1/2 T thyme
1/2 T oregano
1 t garlic powder
1/4 t salt and pepper
2 bay leaves

Spread the lentils out on a cookie sheet to check for pebbles. Place in a strainer and rinse. Place in a stockpot and add water to cover by an inch. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender but still firm.

Lemon Caper Dressing
2 T olive oil
1 t spicy brown mustard
dash of salt and pepper
1 T apple cider vinegar
2 T water
1 t capers
1/4 lemon, juiced
Extra capers for garnish

Whisk ingredients together to combine.

We enjoyed some extra capers sprinkled over the top of our salad.

This post is part of Ekat's Kitchen Friday Potluck, Designs by Gollum Foodie Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Susie QT Pies Friday Follow, and Ann Kroeker's Food on Friday.

Salmon Orzo Salad

We have a few favorite dishes that we have made repeatedly. Each one of them gets adjusted each time to account for what we have on hand and the season. Salmon Orzo Salad is one of these dishes. Here is a version I made last summer. This time around we were cleaning out the freezer and used salmon, peas, and dried cranberries we had on hand. It's a nice combination of the salmon, the creamy, tangy goat cheese, the sweetness of the dried cranberries and the vinegar and mustard dressing. I think the traditional version with asparagus and scallions is even better, and once spring arrives we will have to make it again. The leftovers are easy to pack and great to take for lunch.



Salmon Orzo Salad
serves 6

8 oz orzo, uncooked
1 lb salmon
8 oz peas
4 oz goat cheese crumbles
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
1 T spicy brown mustard
2 T apple cider vinegar
1/4 C cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the orzo according to the package directions. Place the salmon fillets in an oven proof pan and cook for 20 minutes (or until the fish flakes easily with a fork). When the pasta is almost done, add the peas and drain it all together. Rinse with cold water to prevent over cooking and sticking. Add the flaked salmon, orzo, peas, goat cheese and garlic to a mixing bowl. Mix the olive oil, mustard and cider vinegar in a cup and drizzle over the mixture. Sprinle the cranberries over the top. Stir to combine. Cover and place in the fridge to let the flavors combine.

This post is part of Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist, Mouthwatering Mondays, and Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Delectable Tuesday Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesday, Dr. Laura's Tasty Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tuesday Night Supper Club, and Works-for-Me-Wednesday.

A Simple Supper of Salmon and Brussels Sprouts

I got home from work to find a lovely surprise - dinner was minutes away from being ready. We are still in the midst of cleaning out the freezer, so we had some salmon from the freezer and some brussels sprouts from the farmers' market. My husband went for something simple - put a little coconut oil in a 11 x 13 glass pan and added the salmon and brussels sprouts and cooked them for about 25 minutes. I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but the salmon was a little dry. I didn't dare bring this up, but when he mentioned it - I had to agree.

With a small adjustment, this is a great easy meal perfect for the end of a busy day.



Salmon and Brussels Sprouts
1 T coconut oil
2 pieces of salmon
1 lb brussels sprouts, cut in half
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Coat the bottom of an 11 x 13 pan with coconut oil, and add the brussels sprouts. Cook for 10 minutes. Stir the brussels sprouts and add the salmon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 15 more minutes or until done.

This post is part of Pennywise Platter Thursdays, Foodie Friday, Mom Trends, I'm Lovin It Friday, Suzie QT Pies, Food on Fridays, Frugal Friday, and ...

Deadlines and Week 15

I haven't posted for several days because we were off to a wedding in Easton, Maryland. It was quite the affair. There was a traditional Hindu ceremony in the morning with a luncheon, we had about an hour for a costume change, and then there was an Episcopal service and a black tie reception. We are generally shorts and t-shirt people, so this was a big deal for us. I bought a new floor length black dress and heels. My husband bought a tux, a tux shirt, cuff links, a bow tie and cummerbund. We had made it to NJ when he realized that he forgot his bow tie at our apartment. There was not time to turn around, but luckily there ended up being a men's store right down the street from the hotel. The second tie was a real bow tie, so we also learned to tie it (our new skill for the weekend).

The luncheon featured a delicious Indian buffet made by the bride's family. For dinner, we enjoyed salmon and chicken entrees. My husband and I split the entrees, but we each liked our own dish the best. The salmon had a rich buttery sauce served on a bed of vegetables. The chicken had a flavorful maple, ginger and clove sauce with squash and spinach.



On our way home yesterday, we got a call from Zip Car telling us that our car was overdue. We thought we had it until 5:00, but they said our reservation ended at 11:00. Oops! They were able to rearrange the schedule and let us have the car until 3:30. There went our time buffer. We were racing the clock the rest of the way home. We were just entering the Holland Tunnel at 3:10, and we pulled into the garage at 3:30 on the dot. We quickly dropped off our wedding gear at home, and raced to pick-up our farm share. We arrived at the building, and learned that the pick-up point moved again this week. No climb to the roof top, but a walk a few extra block to a community garden. We made it in time, and because we arrived at the end of the day we got extra corn and garlic.


We saw the return of some favorites that we hadn't seen since the beginning of the summer. This week we will be enjoying garlic, corn, kohlrabi, radishes, turnips, kale, cherry tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes.

Summer Salmon Orzo Salad

My mother-in-law makes a great salmon orzo salad with cranberries, asparagus, and goat cheese. We decided that it would be the perfect dish to share with a dinner guest coming over last night. We have gotten the recipe from her more than once, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I have an undependable system for organizing recipes; I stick them inside my cookbooks. Slips of paper with my great aunt's famous chicken, my friend's lentils, a few pages from magazines, and more are all stuck inside the cover of my Joy of Cooking. I looked through other cookbooks and there was a recipe or two in each one of them as well. I have started saving recipes on the computer which works for recipes I find on-line, but I never type up the ones I get hard copies of... What is your system for keeping track of recipes? How does it work for you? Tomorrow we are dedicating the day to some deep cleaning and organizing. When you live in a TINY space, it is more necessary than ever to purge belongings and keep everything super organized because it doesn't take much for things to spiral into total chaos. I'll let you know what I come up with on the recipe organization front.


We served our Salmon Orzo Salad with a green salad of lettuce, green bell pepper and cucumber. I never did find the recipe for the orzo, so here is our recreation from memory:

Summer Salmon Orzo Salad serves 4 as a main dish, or 6-8 as a side dish
Because it is summer and asparagus is no longer in season, we used green beans instead.

16 oz. orzo
water
1 lb. green beans, trimmed
1 lb. salmon
3/4 C dried cranberries
5 green onions, finely chopped
6 -8 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Dressing
1/4 C olive oil
juice of one lemon
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
pinch of salt and pepper

Cook the orzo according to the package instructions. Drain and add to a large mixing bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and mix together to prevent the orzo from sticking. Steam the green beans until al dente and add to the mix. Salt and pepper the salmon and place in a hot pan lightly coated with oil. Cook over medium high heat for 4 - 6 minutes per side (depending on the thickness of your fish) until the fish easily flakes with a fork. Remove the salmon from heat and flake into bite size pieces with a fork. Add the cranberries, onions and goat cheese. Can be served warm or chilled.

Energy saving tip: I placed the green beans in a bamboo steamer over the pasta pot and cooked them together.