Category: Cooking

Salsa and Guacamole

There were fresh, homegrown tomatoes available … so I made some salsa:

6 large tomatoes, diced
5 jalapeno peppers, diced finely
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 large onion, also diced
juice from 1/2 of a fresh lime
Salt and pepper

The jalapeno peppers were not spicy, so I might use habanero next time, but this made a great fresh salsa. And I realized that guacamole is pretty much the salsa mixed with mashed avocado.  I took about a third of the salsa, drained the liquid, and added it to three large, ripe avocados mashed up.

Vanilla Chia Pudding

Ingredients:

  • 14.5 oz can of coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup of chia seeds
  • 1 vanilla bean

Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean into the coconut milk. Mix in the chia seeds, then place in the refrigerator overnight.

This was a dessert for a Fourth of July party, so we topped it with raspberries and blueberries to make a red, white, and blue dessert.

For a sweeter dessert, add a tablespoon or two of maple syrup or honey.

Salmon Cakes

 

 

  • 1 pound fresh salmon fillet, skin removed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt (plain and unsweetened)
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

Instructions:

  1. Prepare the Salmon: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Place the salmon fillet on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through and flakes easily. Remove from the oven and let cool.
  2. Flake the Salmon: Once the salmon is cool enough to handle, use a fork to flake it into small pieces in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Mix Ingredients: Add the Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, breadcrumbs, parsley, dill, chopped onion, and beaten egg to the bowl with the flaked salmon. Mix everything together gently until well combined. If the mixture seems too wet, add a bit more breadcrumbs.
  4. Form the Patties: Shape the mixture into small patties, about 2-3 inches in diameter. You should get about 8-10 patties depending on size.
  5. Cook the Salmon Cakes: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the salmon cakes, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy.
  6. Serve: Serve the salmon cakes hot with a side of lemon wedges or a yogurt-based dipping sauce, such as tzatziki.

Stuffler Sandwiches

I am trying a new approach to making stuffler sandwiches – pre-forming a circle so there’s more stuffing and less dough. Still getting a lot of dough, though, where they overlap. I think I will try sealing and trimming the edges next time. But there was a lot more stuff even with the folded edges.

Stuffler Pizza

Scott saw this “Stuffler” in a video and got one to try it out — very cool! We made fruit stuff waffles with sweet cherries, strawberry stuffed chocolate brownies (difficult to clean up, but if you let it cool in the stuffler prior to removing it, they come right out), chaffles, and now pizza. You plug the thing in for about ten minutes to heat it up. The middle ring/handle needs to be inserted and the unit closed while it heats.

First, stretch out a round of dough and place it on the bottom waffle iron section. I tried to stretch the dough up the side of the ring like a pie crust. Took a little work, but managed eventually.

Spread on the pizza sauce and add whatever “toppings” — in this case, some cooked spicy Italian sausage and onions.

Add cheese!

Then stretch out another disk of dough and put it on top. I pressed the edge together to try and seal it all up.

Then close it up & flip it. Allow it to cook. I cooked them for 10 minutes, flipped the unit again, and cooked them for another 5 minutes. They puffed up nicely and had a brown, crispy crust.

The sausage leaked some oil — I should have drained it better!

Cut the “stuffle” into four pieces and you’ve got gooey, cheesy pizza waffles! Pizza dough with four cups of flour made seven stuffed pizzas. I’ve got three in the freezer to see how well they reheat.

Chaffle

I’ve never heard of a “chaffle” before — it’s evidently a paleo / keto take on a waffle. 3 cups of shredded cheese (2 cups cheddar / 1 cup mozzarella) and about 3 eggs mixed together so the egg coats all of the cheese shreds well. Then put into a waffle iron. For extra crispy crunch, I sprinkled some panko onto the waffle plate, filled it with the “batter”, and sprinkled some more panko on top. Very crispy and crunchy!

Also very tasty! Like eating a grilled cheese sandwich, but the “bread” is really cheese too. I added a little salsa to the middle of the cheesy mixture before cooking it.