Quote

"I cannot live without books: but fewer will suffice where amusement, and not use, is the only future object." -- Thomas Jefferson

Monday, March 7, 2016

Cabbage Crazy Salad

When I looked back at my Crazy Salad post, I realized that was the beginning of my crazy salad experiments. This is an update.

After I found that a head of lettuce went bad before I could eat it all, I got a head of cabbage and tried that. I liked it. It is different. But, it makes a great base for a crazy salad. Plus, it keeps for several weeks in the frig.

If I worry about it going bad, I just cut a half or quarter of the head, drop it in boiling water for a few minutes, then freeze it. The frozen cabbage can be used in my Universal Skillet Dish or other cooked cabbage recipes.


Cabbage Crazy Salad

Base (Choose One)
1-3 Tablespoons per serving

Chicken, cooked and diced or canned, or as chicken salad

1/8 Head green cabbage, sliced into short thin strips
Rice, cooked, or Spanish rice
Salmon, canned, plain or as salmon salad


Step One - the Base


Other Ingredients (Use What You Have)

1-2 Tablespoons per serving

Vegetables
Artichoke hearts, 1-3
Avocado, slices
Beans, canned, black, red, or Chick peas
Beet, slices or cubes
Broccoli, pieces
Carrots, sliced or grated or shredded
Cauliflower, pieces
Celery, diced
Celery, sliced or diced
Chayote, sliced
Cheese, white, cubed
Cucumbers, sliced or diced
Green or red pepper, sliced or diced
Jicama, thin slices
Leeks, diced
Mushrooms, sliced
Olives, black or green, sliced
Onion, red or white, sliced or diced
Palm hearts, 1-3
Radishes, sliced or diced
Tomatoes, regular or cherry tomatoes, sliced or diced


Fruit
Apples, slices
Pineapple, fresh or canned, chunks
Raisins


Toppings (Use What You Have)

Croutons or toasted bread cubes
Imitation Bacon bits
Parmesan cheese


Seasonings (Choose one or two)

Curry powder
Ground black pepper
Paprika


Final Step - adding the extra ingredients


Note: I often don't use any dressing because the salad has lots of flavor.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Midnight Snack -- A Variation on an Appetizer

Skewered Midnight Snack

Why I get the urge to eat late at night is still a puzzle.

Usually, I would eat a few pretzels or a slice of turkey, but then I got a bright idea.

Let's make a skewer.

Ingredients:
1 skewer stick (wood or metal)
a few grape tomatoes
1 slice of turkey lunch meat, cut into strips
a few small chunks of cream cheese or other cheeses
a few olives
1 tsp of dry basil

Process:
Fold the strips of lunch meat, then piece the meat to add to the skewer.
Pierce tomatoes or olives or cheese to add to the skewer stick.
Alternate the order of the items.
Crush the basil between your palms and sprinkle over the skewered items.







Tuesday, March 1, 2016

No Bake -- Blackberry Shortcake-Styled Dessert

No Bake -- Blackberry Shortcake-Styled Dessert
Adapted from: Enjoy Cooking: The Costco Way, Blueberry Shortcake

Ingredients:
1 Soft sweet roll(s)
1/4 Chunk of cream cheese
2 Tbspns of Blackberry Marmalade or preserves
2 Tbspns whipped cream topping
Garnish: Crushed nuts (Optional)

Nuts not shown.

Process:
Slice roll in half horizontally.
Spread a portion of the cream cheese over the top of each roll half.
Add 1 Tblspn marmalade on top of cream cheese, spread out over cream cheese.
Add 1 Tblspn whipped topping on top of each roll half.
Sprinkle each half roll with a little crushed nuts. (Optional)




Suggestion: use a fork to eat.

In a way, making recipes for the next volume of Recipes from the Kitchen of a Frugal Non-Cook has blown my food budget and my healthy eating diet.  I keep buying things that I will use infrequently like the blackberry preserves and whipped topping. But, it's fun and educational.





Salmon Ceviche Recipe and More...

When I worked, I never had time to really learn to cook, to explore or research all the various aspects of food preparation.

While Amy Daczycn gets the credit for inspiring me to try to learn to cook on a budget, and to use my creativity, so many more authors and agencies have led me down various paths to finding recipes, and food and cooking information I could adapt or use while I try to write my second cookbook.

Along the way, I have explored sustainable seafoods and I am always on the alert to health and safety issues.

Another thing I try to show is the mistakes and the learning curve that occurs when trying new recipes and when you try to adapt a recipe using what you have on hand or using substitutes.

Since my move, I have a limited reference library. But, I was perusing my cookbooks and took another look at Enjoy Cooking: The Costco Way and I was floored when I saw so many recipes similar to ones I had already tried, like: Berrylicious Breakfast Crepes, Nutella Breakfast Granola Parfaits, Asparagus Frittata, and others. Plus, now I can now add "Stacks" to my many variations such as: sliders, skewers, wraps, melts and more.



http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/cookbook_enjoy?pg=1#pg1
Note: you can read this cookbook online.

The only recipe I had adapted previously from this cookbook was "Double Nut Berry Yogurt Pie" (pg 228). My recipe "No Bake - Fruit & Yogurt Dessert" is different in ingredients and serving size.

Anyway, I found several recipes I wanted to try including "Ceviche-Inspired Wild Alaska Salmon", again, I had to adapt.


Salmon Ceviche

Ingredients:
1 can 210g of Salmon, drained
1 can salsa 210g, drained carefully
6 grape tomatoes, quartered
About 6 pickled cucumber slices or fresh, diced
1/2 white onion, diced (or red onion)
2 Tablespoons, carrot shredded (Optional)
1 capful of lime concentrate
1 tablespoon dry cilantro or fresh
Hot sauce to taste



Onions not shown.

Process:
Add Salmon to large bowl. Using a fork, separate large chunks into smaller pieces.
Add salsa.
Add tomatoes.
Add diced cucumber slices.
Add diced onion.
Add carrots (Optional).
Stir to mix ingredients thoroughly.
Add lime concentrate.
Crush dry cilantro between your palms. Add cilantro.
Add hot sauce.
Stir again, to mix throughly.


Single Serving Shown

When I opened the lime concentrate it hissed which lead me to believe it was fermenting but after just reading about botulism, it made me wonder. I guess I'll know in 12 hours to 8 days. Feel like pinning a note to my clothes, "If I am found paralyzed, check for botulism poison."

USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service - Clostridium botulinum
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/foodborne-illness-and-disease/clostridium-botulinum/ct_index