Try something new!
Salmon Couscous Salad with Feta Dressing
Submitted by Traci Marie Wagner, Serves 5
Ingredients
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
¾ tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 (12-oz.) fillet salmon, skin-on
2 tsp. za'atar spice
½ English cucumber, sliced into coins and then quartered
¾ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
⅓ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
⅓ cup minced red onion
Feta Dressing
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. honey or maple syrup
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ tsp. each kosher salt and black pepper
⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions:
1. Prepare Couscous: In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ¼ cups water, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, and ¼ tsp. salt to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover with a lid, and remove from heat. Let the couscous steam for 5 minutes. Use a fork to fluff the couscous and break up any clumps. Transfer to a large bowl to slightly cool.
2. Cook Salmon: Pat salmon dry with a paper towel. Rub with 2 tsp. olive oil, and season with za'atar spice and ½ tsp. salt. You can cook salmon one of two ways: under the broiler or on the stovetop:
To Broil Salmon: Preheat broiler with oven rack 6 inches from heat. Place fillet, skin side down, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil 8 to 10 minutes.
To Sauté Salmon: Heat 1 to 2 Tbsp. of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high. Place salmon, skin side-down, in pan and cook for about 3 minutes, until the flesh turns from translucent to opaque all the way up the sides. Gently flip salmon, turn off heat, and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until fully cooked.
3. Once the salmon is cooked, let rest for about 5 minutes before using a fork to flake into small pieces.
4. Prepare Feta Dressing: In a medium bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic, salt and pepper; whisk to combine. Stir in feta cheese.
5. Assemble Salad: Add cooled couscous, cucumber, parsley, dill, and red onion to the bowl; toss well. Add flaked salmon and dressing; gently stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Almond Crescent Cookies
Submitted by Joni Gerken, Serves 10-12
Ingredients
2 7-oz tubes of almond paste (broken into pieces)
1 cup powdered sugar
½ sugar
¼ tsp. salt
2 large egg whites
2 cups sliced almonds (~8 oz.)
Directions:
Place almond paste, powdered sugar, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, gradually add egg whites through feed tube; process until blended. Transfer to bowl. Chill dough until slightly firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place sliced almonds in shallow bowl. Using damp hands, roll approximately ¼ cup dough into 5-inch-long log. Transfer to prepared sheet, bending to form horseshoe shape with 1 ½ -inch space between ends. Repeat with remaining dough and almonds, spacing cookies 1 inch apart.
Bake cookies until golden brown around edges (cookies will expand and flatten slightly), about 23 minutes. Cool cookies on cookie sheets.
Optional: Dip one end of cooled cookie in melted semi-sweet chocolate.
Mom's All Dressed Up Stuffed Acorn Squash
Submitted by Kelly Berger, Serves 2-4
Ingredients
1-2 acorn squash
1-1.5 apples
1 medium yellow sweet onion
2 cloves of garlic
⅛ tsp. basil
⅛ tsp. thyme
⅛ tsp. salt
⅛ tsp. pepper
Choice of stuffing mix
½ tsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. butter
Notes & Instructions:
Preheat the oven at 350° F.
Cut the acorn squash in half lengthwise along the ridges.
Put 3 Tbsp. of butter, all seasonings and oil in a microwave or oven safe bowl and melt completely. You could be fancy too and heat it in a baby soup pot on the stove. You know, listen to Billy Joel until melted, set that mood. Either way it needs to be melted!
Take the acorn squash, place it cups side up on the cookie sheet, then baste the top and the cup inside with the melted butter and the seasoning mix. Baste it like you own it because you do. But just enough to coat it. Then put it in the oven for a 45 minutes.
Put the remaining amount of the buttery oil seasoning mix into a medium sized frying pan and sauté the apples and onions until tender.
Then in a separate pan make the stuffing mixture (eyeball how much you might need by your acorn cup size, all are different, just like people)
Once the stuffing is prepared, marry the stuffing and sautéed apples and onions together into the fry pan and stir until it seems to be a good solid oatmeal type visual and consistency.
After the acorn squash seems huggable and soft enough that a fork can easily push into it, remove it from the oven and put the stuffing mixture inside the cup and bake another 15 minutes until brown (at the same temp, 350° F).
Optional: dust with nutritional yeast before the 15 minutes is up.
Mangia and sláinte!
Grandma Helen's Cranberry Nut Bread
Submitted by Anna Izzo, Serves 8-10
Ingredients & Instructions:
1. Sift together
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp. double acting aluminum free baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½-1 tsp. salt
2. Cut in until mixture is coarse
¼ cup butter or shortening
3. Combine and add until just moistened
¾ orange juice
1 Tbsp. grated orange rind
1 egg, well beaten
4. Fold in
½ cup chopped nuts
1-2 cups cranberries, coarsely chopped
Prepare the nuts and cranberries. Follow steps 1 through 4. Pour batter into a lightly greased 9x5x3 loaf pan, spreading batter slightly higher on the edges.
Bake at 350° F for 1 hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overcook. Remove from pan after 5-10 minutes of cooling. Store overnight.
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