Grapefruit Avocado Salad

I got this recipe by e mail from a friend but I am not sure where it came from! If anyone knows please tell me so i can attribute it to its author! I made this and it is super delicious!

Grapefruit Avocado Salad with Plum Mayo Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
1 grapefruit, peeled, segmented, seeds removed
Lettuce leaves (butter lettuce is great here)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbs plum jam,
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Fresh mint for decoration
Method
Arrange slices of avocados and grapefruit segments on a plate (you can put them on lettuce leaves). 
In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise  with jam and lemon juice. Add more of sweet or sour to suit your taste. Spoon dressing over salad.
Decorate with mint leaves
Season to taste.

EASY!!!!

Guest Blogger

Today's guest blogger is Peggy From "My Fiance likes it so it must be good"
I love her blog and recipes so try this one!!

Pan Seared Trout with Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Potatoes

 All I can say is TGIF! Thought for the weekend: Growing up, my parents always told me to clean my plate. And if I didn't, they'd always say "don't waste your food, there are starving kids in China, ya know" etc. And I'd always just naively shrug my shoulders and mutter under my breath, "well mail it to 'em then"... but now that I'm older, if you really think about it... How much food is actually wasted in your home? I was reading an article the other day that stated an estimated $600 per person is wasted in leftover food per year. $600!! That's 2 car payments! And that doesn't account for the food wasted in restaurants, which you can imagine is a hell of a lot more than that.

I'm not saying I'm the queen of using things up, yeah, lots of things go to waste. But I try to eat my leftover (or save them for co-workers that gladly eat them), and I try to use things up like meat bones (by giving them to my dogs or putting them in stock). If I could start a compost pile in my backyard without stinking up the neighborhood, I'd do that to, but research on my part needs to be done. What do you do to prevent food wastefulness? Do you think you fall into the average waste category of $600 annually? Do you think you're above or below?

Anyway, I've been trying to cook as much seafood as I can lately. I know the prices of things are going to skyrocket unless they can get this oil spill under wraps (which I'm highly doubting, and I just don't understand why because of all the technology we have at our fingertips). Trout is pretty cheap and it's a tasty whitefish, and pairs equally as nice with some roasted vegetables...

Ingredients:

2 trout fillets
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon paprika
juice from 1 lemon
1-2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon dried parsley
4 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
1/4 lb. Brussels Sprouts, quartered

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a medium bowl, combine potatoes and brussels sprouts. Mix in 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Mix well and place in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake in oven for about 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are soft and starting to brown.

When vegetables are about 5-10 minutes from being finished, heat a large skillet under medium high heat and add remaining olive oil.

Combine salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, basil, paprika, parsley, and lemon juice. Pour mixture on top of each trout fillet and gently rub in, if desired.

Place trout, skin side down, in skillet and cook for about 4 minutes, or until skin is nice and golden brown. Carefully flip over and cook an additional 2 more minutes, or until fish is white throughout.

Serve on top of roasted vegetables and dig in!

This was a light and flavorful meal. The trout had tons of flavor with the added spices and the simply roasted vegetables were crisp and fresh. Enjoy!

Watermelon Margaritas!

Nancy sent this recipe to me....she's an excellent cook and foodie so I was sure it would be great...and it was
Ole'!

 Blender:
2 - Cups of cubed watermelon (seedless)
1/4 C of sugar
1/4 C of water
1/2 rind of one orange
1 C of white tequila
3 limes juiced  
4 Margarita Glasses  coated with lime juice and rimmed with sugar
 
Make simple syrup using water sugar and orange rind. Cook for 4 minutes, until sugar is dissolved.
COOL!
In the blender combine all ingredients…..blend for a few seconds. (OH remove orange rind from simple syrup)
Fill glasses with ice and fill glasses with Watermelon mixture.  Ole'  My Friends

Baked Potatoes with a twist

This recipe was sent to my by a friend in France. I am not sure where he got it from so if you know please let me know (he has no idea where he got it from either but it was among his recipe collection!) These potatoes are crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside!

Ingredients:
(serves 4-6 )

60g (1/4 cup) butter, melted
1kg (2 pounds) baking potatoes. wash well but do not peel
80g (2/3 cup) flour
60g (2 ounces) parmesan cheese, grated. Or try Pecorino
1 1/2 tsp celery salt
1 tbs paprika
1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground red pepper(or cayenne pepper)
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). 
Grease a baking sheet  with the melted butter, and put in the oven to preheat.
Mix the flour, cheese, and seasonings in a large plastic bag.
Cut the potatoes lengthwise in wedges, 4 or 6 wedges per potato as evenly as possible. Do not rinse. the starch needs to be there!
Add the potatoes to the bag, close the bag , and shake well to coat the potatoes on all sides.
Place the potatoes, flesh side down, on the preheated baking sheet. 
Bake for 30 minutes, turn the potatoes, and bake for another 30 minutes, until cooked and are dark golden in colour. 
Sprinkle with a some sea salt and serve.

Dandelion Greens pasta with Parmesan Lemon Sauce

Another Foodie Fights submission...seems I am a glutton for punishment!
This was a rather original combination, and most of the recipes I checked out on line were for salads or fritters so I decided to make..PASTA!
Now go vote at Foodie Flights!

No pasta machine needed!
Serves 4

Pasta

2 cups dandelion greens 

(cleaned, stems removed and blanched to remove the bitterness)

2 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour (sifted)
1/2 teaspoon Salt (I used my truffle salt!)

Method

Mix cooked dandelion greens and eggs in a blender until smooth.

Transfer to a bowl, add salt and start adding flour while beating with a spoon.
Keep adding flour until dough is firm. (you may need more flour)

Turn out onto floured surface and knead until smooth.

Roll out with rolling pin to 1/8"-1/4" thickness or thinner.

Let stand and dry for about 1 hour, then cut into strips.

(while waiting, you can start making the Parmesan sauce)
When the sauce is ready, cook pasta in  boiling water for about  1-2 minutes.

Strain and put back in the pot

Sauce
2 tbs  olive oil
1 small white onion, chopped finely
2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1 1/4 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup chicken/vegetable broth

Method
Heat oil in large pan over medium heat. Add onion and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté for about 8 minutes. Add lemon peel. Mix well

Pour contents of pan over pasta in pot, scraping sides well.
Add Parmesan cheese, cream, lemon juice, and 1 cup broth.(you may need some more broth so keep some on hand)

Place over medium-high heat and toss until heated and sauce coats pasta. Or else, just pour on the plated pasta, whatever you prefer!Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve,sprinkled with some more Parmesan, lemon julienne and parsley

 

Some info about dandelion greens:
As a general rule, dandelion greens are best when they have just emerged. The longer they are allowed to mature, the more bitter they get, and some consumers also prefer late summer and early fall greens to summer greens, which tend to be fiercely bitter. When used raw, dandelion greens complement salads in the same way that chicory and endive do, introducing a new layer of complexity and flavor. Cooked, dandelion greens may be lightly steamed or sautéed with other vegetables. Light cooking is generally the way to go with dandelion greens. If the greens are simply too bitter to eat, boil them in several changes of fresh water to leech out the bitterness.

Guest Blogger

For the month of June, my guest blogger is Janet from Pantry Bites, a Health conscious foodie who started to cook to satisfy a very fussy palate. She focuses on eating real whole foods based on the primal/paleolithic method of eating.
This is her recipe!

Grain-free Gluten-free Mussel Fritters

Ingredients:

2 tbs coconut flour sifted
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
2 eggs
2 tbs coconut milk
1 tbs coconut oil melted
1/2 cup smoked mussels chopped
2 tbs ghee for frying

Method:

1. Mix the coconut flour, salt, baking soda, onion powder and smoked paprika.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and add in the coconut milk and coconut oil.
3. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together and stir until the batter is smooth.
4. Add in the smoked mussels.
5. Heat the ghee over medium heat and add in heaped tablespoons of batter.
6. Cook until both sides are golden brown.

Makes 6 small fritters (Serves 2).