There’s nothing easier or more wonderful than a Summer Salad. And both peaches and nectarines are in season right now!
You can have it for lunch or dinner. Here’s how:
Pick a fruit you like. Pick salad ingredients you like and maybe a few things you don’t normally eat like jicama or a hot green pepper. Pick a fish, any fish….
The key to this salad is portion control: 1 fruit, a handful or two of salad, a handful or two of fish.
Now in this picture I used cod. I poached it in a vegetable broth, added salt and pepper. If I did this with chicken? I would grab some scallions or maybe chopped shallots, and thyme (which gives you a lemon flavor without adding lemon), to flavor the broth I poach it in. You can pan sear the fish, if you prefer…. I’m just experimenting with poaching these days.
My friend Ron was talking yesterday about watching a video that tells you to make sure what you are eating are hitting 5 different places in your mouth: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and earthy.
WHAT’S EARTHY CHEF?
I think it would be mushrooms. But Ron talked about using the spice chili powder to create that earthiness. There’s something about chili powder and cheese that really works well. I’ve been doing that to homemade pizza for decades and now I know why it works! lol
Dr. Masley talks about this on YouTube. He says by adding fiber, lean and clean protein, using healthy fats like olive oils, nut oils, and avocado oils, more water and green tea, protein smoothies, limited coffee, and fabulous flavors — you can be happy with what you eat and stay or become healthy. He says your brain likes flavor – Italian, Chili and Curry Spices decrease inflammation and raise your metabolism. So he encourages you to experiment, much like I do. And he wants to make sure you don’t forget an ounce of 70% dark chocolate daily.
REALLY CHEF?
Really! Now we’re not talkin’ Hershey Kisses here, right?
RIGHT CHEF!
But I think we should all go beyond our comfort zones.
With that in mind, yesterday I cut small bits of some not so hot peppers into that salad. And guess what? It was good.
So come away with two new thoughts: You can take small amounts of protein, salad, and fruit and throw together a lovely lunch or dinner easily. And two: you want to think about hitting more than one tastebud when creating food. Now I like to use lemon, for an acid, which pops the flavor of fish for example. But as I’ve talked about today, thyme – fresh thyme does a similar thing. Don’t be afraid to experiment with spices.
And here’s one last trick. When I’m making anything the requires pan sautéing or searing on the stove top? I put in my oil, then tilt the pan to one side and rub, rub, rub a clove of garlic. Tilt the pan to the other side and do it again. Then take the garlic and go round and around in the pan. (Make sure you remove the garlic because that can easily burn and turn bitter). You have now flavored that oil with garlic and anything you are going to throw into it is going to taste better!
Happy Eating,
Chef Marian