Menka's Chopped Salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1/4 cup Extra Virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 large garlic clove minced

Sea salt and black pepper
4 cups Romaine lettuce
1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 small red or yellow bell pepper, diced      
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 cup peeled and chopped cucumber
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

Method

Whisk together the lemon juice, and garlic in a small bowl. Season the dressing with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Slowly whisk in the olive oil until well combined.

Place the leaves of Romaine on each plate, and arrange the chickpeas, bell pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, and feta on top in sections. Sprinkle the chopped mint leaves over the salad and then drizzle the dressing over everything.

 

Lake Trout Steamed in Swiss Chard

This is an super healthy and very easy way to prepare fresh fish.  A trip to the Farmer's Market to buy some fresh Swiss Chard, a few onions, a big ripe tomato, a lemon and some fresh herbs will provide what you need to make this delicious dish.  You can use any combination of herbs that you like: parsley, marjoram, thyme, basil, summer savory, or dill.  As the fish steams in the Swiss Chard leaves, the wonderful flavors of the herbs, onions, tomatoes and lemons infuse into the fish.  If you cannot find any Lake Trout you can substitute any other firm fleshed fish such as Salmon, Bass, or Walleye.

1 large filet of Lake Trout or other fish cut into four pieces
1 large lemon, thinly sliced
1 large ripe tomato thinly sliced
1 medium onion very thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley
1 Tbsp. finely chopped marjoram
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
8 to 10 large Swiss Chard leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Thoroughly rinse some raw Swiss chard leaves and use a paring knife to remove the thickest part of the rib.

Place a piece of Lake Trout or other fish on one of the Swiss Chard leaves. You can also substitute Striped Bass, Salmon, Steelhead, Whitefish, or Walleye.

Season with salt and pepper and lay a thin slice of tomato on the fish. Next lay a thin slice of onion on the tomato and a thin slice of lemon on the onion.

Drizzle a little olive oil over all.

Sprinkle with the chopped fresh herbs and carefully wrap one of the Swiss Chard leaves around the fish. Use a second leaf if needed to enclose the fish.

Line a steamer basket with some of the Swiss Chard leaves and place the wrapped fish on top.

Steam for about 5 minutes or until done.

Serve with lemon quarters and a bottle of Michigan Pino Grigio.  Enjoy!

Fishtown Grilled Salmon Salad

This is a simple and very delicious salad that uses fresh grilled salmon and two kinds of bottled dressings that I always keep on hand.  The key is marinating the diced tomatoes and peppers for 20 minutes in a simple Red Wine Vinegar Dressing -- a secret that I learned from the chef at one of our favorite restaurants. The salad is finished by pouring any good bottled Blue Cheese Dressing over all with some crumble Blue Cheese on the top.  It could not be easier.  It could not taste any better.

Ingredients

Romaine lettuce and rocket

Fresh avocado sliced and tossed in some lemon juice
Grilled salmon cooled and broken into pieces
2 fresh heirloom tomatoes diced
½ of a yellow pepper diced
½ of a red pepper diced
4-5 leaves of fresh basil finely chopped
½ cup crumbled blue cheese
¼ cup bottled red wine vinegar dressing
½ cup bottled blue cheese dressing
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

 Marinate the peppers and the diced heirloom tomatoes in ¼ cup of the dressing for 20 minutes.

Arrange the greens on a platter, place the salmon and the avocado on the greens, and scatter the marinated tomatoes and peppers over all.  Add the finely chopped fresh basil.

Top with the blue cheese dressing and scatter the blue cheese crumbles over the top. Dee-licious!

Northport Chopped Salad

At the Farmer’s Market in Northport, at the tip of Michigan's beautiful Leelanau peninsula, we found some wonderful purple, yellow and white organic carrots.  We could not resist the fresh basil, arugula, baby spinach and little red and yellow cherry tomatoes either.  That night we feasted on this wonderful chopped salad with Tante Mimi’s famous Vinaigrette Dressing that is so perfect with tomatoes and fresh basil.   The optional anchovies are wonderful in the salad, but not everyone is a fan of anchovies.  A bit of anchovy paste in the dressing will also give the dressing an interesting bite.  

6 cups of mixed greens including romaine, baby spinach and arugula

4 scallions, roughly chopped
12 red and yellow cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 purple organic carrots peeled and very thinly sliced
10 basil leaves, roughly chopped
6 thin slices salami, diced
6 bocconcini mozzarella balls, quartered
1 cup garbanzo beans
3 or 4 anchovies diced (optional)

Tante Mimi’s Vinaigrette:
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced or put through a press
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup Extra Virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon anchovy paste  (Optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. In a separate bowl, combine Dijon, garlic and vinegar, whisk to combine. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking the entire time until emulsified, or you can put all the dressing ingredients in a small prep food processor and blend until emulsified.  Season the salad with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and toss with just enough vinaigrette to coat everything.

Serves 4

Nana's Blueberry Almond Tart

You will need about 2 lbs. of fresh blueberries to make this gluten free low-sugar tart.  1 cup of blueberries is cooked with some almond meal added to thicken the tart filling.  The rest of the blueberries are added to the cooked blueberries for the filling.

Ingredients for the crust:

3 cups almond meal (available at health foods stores, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s)
4 Tablespoons of maple syrup
2 Tablespoons Canola oil
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a nine inch spring form tart pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, or food processor, combine all crust ingredients and mix well until clumpy. Pour mixture into tart pan and press down to create crust.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Filling:

1 cup blueberries
¼ cup water
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup almond meal
1 teaspoon Almond Extract

In a small saucepot, simmer 1 cup of blueberries, ¼ cup water and ¼ cup lemon juice.  Cook over low heat for 3 minutes until blueberries are soft.  Then crush the blueberries with a potato masher or a spoon.  Remove from the heat and add ½ cup almond meal and 1 teaspoon almond extract.  Stir until well blended.

To this mixture add:

2 cups fresh blueberries
¼ cup Truvia or Splenda
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
zest of one lemon

Put the blueberry almond mixture in the baked tart shell and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Chill for several hours before serving.  Top with more toasted almonds.  Serve with vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Chicken Cutlets with a Tarragon and Parsley Butter Sauce

The fresh Tarragon, Parsley, Marjoram, Rosemary and other fragrant herbs that can be found in Farmer’s Markets and Farm Stands all along the roads in Leelanau County are a delight for the senses.  Add some chopped tarragon and parsley to a simple butter sauce with shallots on thin chicken cutlets quickly sautéed for an easy to prepare dinner. Good Harbor Summer Rice Salad with green apples and blueberries is the perfect side dish.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. thin sliced skinless boneless chicken breasts

2 medium shallots roughly chopped
½ cup dry white wine
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ teaspoon sea salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup fresh tarragon finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh Baby Spinach

Gently sauté the shallot in 1 tablespoon for butter over low heat just until softened. Add the wine and simmer until most of the liquid is evaporated.  Set aside.

Rinse chicken and pat until thoroughly dry.  Pound the slices of chicken with a mallet between two sheets of wax paper until they are thin.  Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.  Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and sauté the chicken in small batches until golden and just cooked through.  Keep chicken warm on a platter covered with foil until all of the chicken is cooked. 

Add to the skillet with the shallots a little butter at a time over low heat until the ¼ cup is incorporated.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the tarragon, parsley and lemon juice.  Add a little more sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Place some fresh Baby Spinach on a platter, put the chicken on top of the spinach, and spoon the sauce over the chicken 

Good Harbour Summer Rice Salad

Recipe courtesy of Lynn Lanese Gumina

This light refreshing rice salad with mint, basil and lemon zest goes well with flank steak on the grill.  The crunch of the apples and slivered almonds contrasts brightly with the tart Meyer Lemon Balsamic Vinegar. Make it early in the morning so it is well chilled and just before serving add the blueberries. 

1 cup of Jasmine rice
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp. of sea salt
¼ tsp. Simply Organic Garlic Salt with herbs

Simmer the rice for 20 minutes in two cups of water with the olive oil, sea salt and garlic salt until all of the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender.  Rinse the rice in cold water and drain. Chill.

To the cooked chilled rice add:

1 green Granny Smith apple cored, seeded and roughly chopped
¼ cup of fresh basil, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons of fresh mint finely chopped
½ cup green peas blanched for 1 minute
1/2 cup slivered toasted almonds
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons of Meyer Lemon Balsamic Vinegar
2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine, toss and chill. 

Note:  To toast slivered almonds, place them in a single layer on a jellyroll pan or baking sheet. Place in middle of a 350-degree oven for approximately 5 minutes or until lightly toasted. Watch them carefully because they burn easily.  If you prefer, you can toast them in a small frying pan, but you must watch them constantly so they do not burn.

Just before serving add ¼ cup fresh blueberries.  Fold in gently.  Enjoy