The last few weeks in our house have been wonderfully hectic... Mother's Day, my sweet mama visiting, my birthday, dear friends in town, Memorial Day... and insane work. But my dear boys love me and treated me SO well for all the celebration days, and we got a wonderful bit of time at the Oregon coast with our friends who came in from out of town. It's been a glorious few weeks!
Anyway, my sweet husband got me a Cooking Light anthology for my birthday - Antoinette and I both love CL and a lot of our recipes, and inspirations start there. One of the very first recipes in the new book is for a Green Goddess Dip - I read it through and HAD to have it. Like had to eat it right away. I took most of this batch down to the beach and our group gobbled it up!
Green Goddess Dip - from Cooking Light
Makes plenty for 6 people; even better day 2.
2 cups watercress
6 oz Greek yogurt
1/4 cup mayonaise
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon
5 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
This is barely a recipe. All you do is put all of this good stuff in a food processor and blend until smooth-ish. It's not really cooking, but it is creating, especially if you tweak the flavors to suit your preferences (or what's left in your fridge, or what's growing in your herb garden.)
The original recipe calls for a lot more basil and no tarragon. I love the lemony spice of tarragon, and definitely wanted some of that zip in this.
The original also called for anchovy paste. I didn't have any, don't really like it, and wasn't going to buy it for one recipe. I think it overpowers with fishy flavor. It's just not for me. So out it goes.
This also called for some red pepper flakes, but we had two toddlers in our group and I wanted to make sure this would be nice for them, so I left it out and didn't miss it.
The last change I made was to swap the quantities of yogurt and mayo. Why not have more of the healthier yogurt? Done.
So that's it. Just blend it up and enjoy! It definitely improves with a little resting time. And the next day it was even better than the first. We ate this with veggies and crackers and it was a great, light snack.
A few things about this recipe...
I think this would be just as good without the mayo, and I'd feel a lot safer having this out at a BBQ having just used yogurt.
Also, watercress is a peppery, sturdy little green. If you want something else, baby spinach would also work, but the dip would be milder.
Things made this time last year...
Strawberry Mint Lemonade
Mango Guacamole and Homemade Salsa
This is one of the easiest, fastest ways I like to make salmon... or chicken! It's a little more rich and than a lot of the other salmon recipes Antoinette and I have posted on this blog, but it's delicious and served with a bunch of veggies, it's a great dinner - especially for a chilly evening, or a night that just needs some comfort food.
As for the root veggies - oh my goodness. This is another thing that I came to love especially after I moved from southern California (land of the never ending farmer's market) to the Pacific North West. When tossed with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, or other seasonings and roasted in a hot oven, root veggies get super sweet, soft and amazing in all ways. We heart the root veggies.
Tangy Parmesan Salmon
Serves 2
Preheat oven to 400
2 salmon filets
1 tablespoon mustard - regular yellow mustard or Dijon
1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons mayonaise
Salt and Pepper
In a small bowl mix together mustard, Parmesan cheese, mayo, zest and salt and pepper. Place salmon on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread in a thick layer on salmon and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes or until the thickest part of the salmon is cooked to your liking. It may need a few more minutes. I like nice browned spots on the top of my salmon and usually flip the broiler onto low for about 2 minutes towards the end of the cooking.
Roasted Root Veggies
Serves 2 a lot of veggies
Preheat oven to 400
1 bunch of beets - I used beautiful stripy chioggia beets
3 carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper - about a 1/4 teaspoon of each
Peel beets and carrots and chop into equal sized pieces. Toss the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for about 35-40 minutes.
That's it. We ate this with carrot and zucchini fritters. It was wonderful and perfect for a chilly night!
A few things about this recipe...
This topping is great on salmon or chicken! I tend to cook chicken in a shallow baking dish with this topping, rather than on a baking pan. I also bake the chicken at 375 for 25-30 minutes instead of the hotter, shorter time I bake the salmon.
The root veggies are especially wonderful with some fresh rosemary! We like onions, bell peppers, all kinds of squash, sweet potatoes, parsnips, anything!
Things made this time last year...
Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
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