Broccoli Cole Slaw

(So I can't spell! Blame it on the spell check which very obviously wasn't working))

Eat your broccoli!

It's so good for you!


But what a waste...those big pieces of stalk.

We all cut the florets and bake, steam, or boil, and toss the rest. Well? We do...don't we...





I decided that I would make a slaw with them instead of adding them to the organics cart.
Rather than get the food processor out, I tempted fate and used the grater. Added a little grated carrot for colour, the same seasonings I would use in a traditional cabbage slaw...and wham!

Broccoli Slaw

2 broccoli stalks, peeled and grated
1 small carrot, grated
1 2 Tbsp mayo
1 tsp sugar
1 - 2 tsp white vinegar

Mix it all together and let stand 10 or 15 minutes to allow the sugar to dissolve.

Arugula Salad

I did not know that arugula and rocket were the same thing. All those cooking shows I used to watch (and still do), and they were always making salads or sandwiches with "rocket". I always wanted to try it. I mean seriously...who wouldn't want to eat rocket?

Kids tend to stick with what they know and like, so over the years the only lettuce I would buy would be iceberg and romaine, throwing in something different didn't fly, so its just now that I'm getting adventurous and trying all that I can find available.

Arugula sounds foreign...exotic even. And I have bought it from time to time over the past couple years. I've noticed more of a variety at the grocery store, so it is more readily available.
Arugula has a strong flavour on its own. Some chefs describe it as peppery.

Being a dark green leaf, you know it's good for you, containing high amounts of both Vitamin A and Vitamin C, with lots of Calcium and Iron.

The older leaves are cooked from what I've read, adding it to pastas seems to be common. Seems weird, but I will certainly give that a try. Maybe not so weird now that I think about it...I cook spinach.

But for now, I have a salad using baby arugula. Ingredients can be swapped out, especially the cheese. Any hard white cheese would work, and I've used Parmesan, Asiago, and white cheddar.

Baby Arugula Salad

4 cups baby arugula
2 Tbsp shredded Parmesan
2 Tbsp broken pecans
2 Tbsp red onion, chopped small
1/2 cup grape tomatoes (cut in half)
croutons

Dressing
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
salt and pepper
1 grated garlic clove (optional)

Add all the salad ingredients to a bowl. Whisk the dressing and pour over the salad. Toss to coat. Salad may be served adding a few whole pecan halves for garnish and croutons.

I made this with and without the garlic and like it both ways. There are a lot of flavours happening and the garlic is not really needed especially since the arugula has a distinct flavour all its own. The dressing is light enough using the rice wine vinegar, the flavour of the arugula is not overpowered.

Arugula is not crisp like iceberg lettuce or romaine, so adding the croutons gives it a little crunch...

Asparagus Sandwich

I'm just about "asparagussed" out. Time to move on to something else. I've eaten more asparagus in the last month or so than I have in my whole life. But it is tasty!

It's one of those veggies we didn't have growing up, so I don't think to put it in my shopping cart. It's not cheap...usually. The bag from Costco was reasonable, but the last bunch I bought at Sobeys was more than $8. Yikes!

But I couldn't go through that much asparagus and not make sandwiches...with cream cheese. One of my favourite treats when there's a party and sandwiches are called for. Or even good as an appetizer. Yum!

I use light cream cheese to cut down on the calories, and try to stick with whole wheat bread. I always cut the crusts off when making these and use minimal cream cheese. Since they are rolled you just need enough to make them stick when rolling them up.

There are a few sticks of asparagus left in the fridge which I will make into sandwiches tomorrow.

Then it's on to arugula! Stay tuned for a tasty salad I've been working on.

Steamed Salmon with Asparagus

I have to thank “The Chew” for this idea. I’ve been wanting to bake something in parchment for awhile, but really didn’t know where to begin. I saw a recipe a couple months ago in one of the episodes which gave me a place to start.

I’ve tried this several ways, with different herbs, and different veggies, but always with asparagus and salmon. There are so many possibilities!

Steamed Salmon and Asparagus

For each parchment packet you’ll need:

5 stalks asparagus

7 sugar snap peas

1 small carrot, thinly sliced on an angle

1 piece salmon

1/3 lemon, thinly sliced

fresh ginger, thinly sliced (opt)

marjoram

pepper

salt

2 Tbsp white wine

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Snap the ends off the asparagus and lay on the bottom of a large piece of parchment.

Lay the carrot slices on the asparagus, then the salmon. 

On top of the salmon, lay the lemon slices, ginger, and snap peas. 

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and marjoram.

Fold the parchment in half, and starting at the fold in one corner, fold in the edges until just a small opening at the last corner. 

Add the wine, and fold in the last bit of parchment so it’s all sealed.

Lay the packets on a baking sheet, and set the timer to bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Serve by opening the top of the packet on a plate. The bottom of the parchment will be sodden with liquid and easily pull apart.

Veggies will still be crisp, and everything will be steaming hot. This can be served with steamed rice or potato.

Steamed Asparagus

I had a lot of asparagus to eat over the past week, and the bag is now empty. I tried both boiling and steaming, and have decided of the two, steaming really is better.

About a year ago I went through a little (expensive) online shopping phase, where one of my purchases was a bamboo steamer. It's been on the counter unused for a year. I tested it for the first time with asparagus.

Works great! Wouldn't you know. Now I have to think up some ideas to keep it in constant use.

I tried boiling the asparagus in both salted and unsalted water. To be honest I didn't find much difference. Perhaps the asparagus doesn't absorb as much as other vegetables do. 

I only steamed the asparagus one way in the bamboo steamer and that was without salt. Without a doubt, as I knew it would, it was more flavourful in the steamer rather than boiling water.



There are smaller steamers, and I have a small metal one that I sometimes use for broccoli, but the bamboo steamer is a great size for larger vegetables.

I used a metal frying pan to heat the water, and used parchment paper to line the steamer.

Snap off the bottom of the asparagus stalks.

Once the water is boiling, I reduced the heat to medium and let them steam for about 5 minutes.

If serving as a side, I sprinkled a little salt or ate them as they were.

Stay tuned...that's not the only way I served them ;)

Oh Spring Where Art Thou?

I'm back! 

It's been a long cold and snowy winter and I have to admit it's been hard to get motivated to do anything. Except of course shovel the driveway, sometimes multiple times a day. And not that I was motivated...exactly...it was out of necessity.

Trying to come up with food ideas to blog about was low on the priority list. And once out of the habit, it's been hard to embrace it again. 

But I love to write, and I love food and cooking, so here I sit with a brand new idea.

First a little history... "No dessert if you don't clean off your plate. You can't go out and play if you don't finish your vegetables." If we parents haven't said those words, we've all heard them as kids. Unless you were one of the "rare" kids that always cleaned off your plate. I wasn't. I hated most vegetables. My mother finally gave up on me. It would be common for me to have a piece of meat with a side of sliced...bread.

Testing the world of vegetarianism is definitely not for me. But with spring in the air (insert laugh here) I thought this would be a good time to peruse the list of vegetables from A to Z. I'm a carnivore at heart and not prepared to give up a good piece of BBQ chicken, but I'm going to research veggies and find new ways to prepare and serve.

First up...asparagus. Stay tuned.