Monthly Archives: August 2013

Salad Nicoise with (or without) Seared Ahi Tuna

Aug

Fewer things are easier to put together on a hot day than a Salad Nicoise. Traditionally speaking, a Salad Nicoise is a composed and plattered salad consisting of potatoes, green beans, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, cornichon pickles, nicoise olives, anchovies, and either fresh or canned tuna. I love to prepare variations on this classic for dinner when I am feeling lazy or for guests as it is versatile for vegetarians and omnivores alike, and almost everything can be prepared in advance. As it is a composed salad, it is ideal to customize for picky eaters. This version was made to suit everyone in our house.

Peach and Almond Crostatas (vegan and gluten-free)

Aug

Every so often and I will be watching a cooking show on television and be so inspired by a recipe that I will mark it down as something I will want to prepare in the future. Quite infrequently do I feel so fascinated by a recipe that I feel compelled to make a run to the grocery store and prepare it right away. Well that is how I felt when I saw Brian Boitano (yes, the Olympic gold medal winning ice skater) demonstrate his absolutely genius recipe for Pear and Almond Crostatas made with a crust of store bought almond paste. Being a lover of frangipane and all things almond in desserts, I could not resist the urge to make this seemingly too simple to be that good dessert. I did and it was better than I could have imagined.

Poached Wild Salmon

Aug

Fresh wild salmon has been widely available for the past couple of months. It has been one of the things I have really enjoyed since I reintroduced fish and poultry into my diet. One of my favorite ways to prepare wild salmon during the summer is by poaching it. It must be made ahead and served cold which makes it an optimal dish to serve for lunch or dinner guests. It also happens to be my one of my favorite picnic dishes to bring to the Hollywood Bowl here in Los Angeles during the summer.

Blueberry Crumb Cake (vegan)

Aug

I have not been able to stop buying blueberries for the past few weeks. They are not only at their peak of flavor, but are at their lowest price of the season as well. Eating them on their own, with cereal, or thrown into smoothies is always my preference, but when you have 2-3 pounds of them in the refrigerator it is fun to play with them. Like so many of my recipes, I set out to make this cake to be a little healthier than your standard white butter cake by using whole wheat flour and coconut oil instead. But it is still made with sugar and the verdict is really still out on coconut oil being good for you or not. I was after making something that the kids would gobble up in spite of the whole wheat vegan base and it worked.