Wild Rice Pilaf

Easy dishes that taste like hours of preparation are my favourite. Rice pilaf is not just for restaurants and banquet halls. And it should never be instant. For the short time it takes to dice a few veg, the payoff is 2-fold.

In the Pot

• according to the directions on the package, measure out rice* adding it to chicken stock in place of water.
• add a combined cup of diced mushroom, red pepper, red onion and celery
• add 2 tblsp of chopped walnuts
  
• bring to a boil, reduce, cover and let simmer for the cooking time stated in the directions.
• Serve. It's that easy.

*use quick cooking wild rice. Otherwise the other ingredients will be far over cooked. If you must use regular wild rice, saute the other ingredients and stir them in once the rice is cooked.

~you're welcome ;o)

Steelhead Salmon in a Pesto Rub

Dinner last night was in short order for the extra parental heads that were joining us around 8pm. My fridge was looking a little desperate so I headed out for a quick run up the food aisles. With the recent weight gain of our loon there were many sales to indulge in, including some steelhead fillets, fat enough to feed 5. I snatched one up to prepare an old standby that never fails to impress. And it's easy too; a half an hour from start to finish.***

The Rub
Salmon is a fish rich in oil. So for this dish I've chosen to omit the olive oil from a standard pesto, creating a perfect balance.
2 tbsp dry basil
1/4 cup pine nuts (either crushed in a mortar and pestle or finely ground in a food processor)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

• combine ingredients in a small bowl

The Fish
1 steelhead salmon fillet, large enough to feed 4-6 adults, dusted with salt and freshly cracked pepper

• Preheat the oven to 450F
• Spray lightly, a baking sheet, with oil
  
• Spread the rub evenly over the seasoned fillet
• drizzle with 1 tbsp of lemon juice
• let the fish cook at 450 for 15-20 minutes
• Turn the oven to broil and finish till the rub is nicely toasted

What I served it with

• wild rice pilaf~cooked in chicken stock with mushrooms, red pepper and red onion
• snapped asparagus~steamed in chicken stock and lemon juice

***The rice will cook in time with the salmon. And the asparagus will cook in time with the finishing of the fish under the broiler.


~You're welcome ;o)

Jambalaya

Dinner tonight. The beautiful thing about cooking is that there is so much room for interpretation. Jambalaya is as diverse as chili, soup, casserole or stew. So go with the flow. If you only have one pepper and it's green, who cares. Chop it up and toss it in. It always helps to refer to a few recipes when making something at home. Don't rely too much on exact ingredients. There are always perfectly acceptable substitutions. If you don't like sausage, try shrimp. If peppers aren't your thing, try zucchini. You get me. So here we go.

Peppers, onion and garlic.

4 garlic links, simmering until cooked.

4 tsp louisiana hot sauce, several shakes of the tobasco, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato paste, 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup water.

1 tsp thyme, 3 bay leaves, salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.

While the sausage simmers cut the peppers into chunks and dice the onion.

Remove the cooked sausage and add a tbsp of oil to the skillet. Saute your veg on high heat just to soften.

In a preheated crockpot add the sauces and seasonings, sliced cooked sausages and 1/2 cup of rice. Once the veggies are done add them in too. Cover and let cook for atleast 2 hrs or at least until the rice is cooked. Taste and correct the seasonings before serving.

My corrections

1. I didn't have any celery which I find pretty standard so I added celery seed for extra flavour.
2. I have a sick obsession with onion and garlic powder...so in they went.
3. I would have really liked to have added some big juicy shrimp, but alas I don't just keep those expensive buggers on hand.
4. I like extra spicy so I added cayenne pepper and the hubby's special spicy blend*.

* the hubby loves to garden which is probably just a means to feed his obsession with anything hot. 2 years ago he grew enough peppers, to make enough dried spice to last a lifetime. It consists of habeneros, cayenne, fish peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, cherry hot, hungarian wax and probably 10 more I can't remember. It's damn good stuff. Unfortunately the jars of sauces and salsas he made have long since been eaten.