White Bean and Salmon Salad

Do you ever arrive home from work so hungry that your brain can't even begin to plan dinner? I do. In cases like this, I need food fast! And I need something with lots of protein, but that's not too heavy. Last night, this salad did the trick. Using just a couple of ingredients I found in the pantry, and some fresh herbs from the garden, dinner was delicious and on the plate in mere minutes.

White Bean and Salmon Salad
Serves 2

1 (540 ml) can of white kidney beans
1 (170 g) can of wild salmon
2 cups of baby spinach
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh chives
1 1/2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Drain and rinse beans and place them in a large bowl. If using regular salmon, drain the water, then remove the skin and bones and flake into the bowl with the beans. (I used tuna style flaked salmon, which was ready to use.) Add the spinach. In a small bowl or glass jar, add the herbs, the oil and vinegar and salt and pepper. Mix well and then pour over the bean mixture and toss well. Serve with a slice of dark rye bread.

Kitchen Improv:

This is one of those recipes that you could easily adapt based on what you have available. Try a different kind of beans, or use tuna instead of salmon, or swap out the vinegar or herbs for your favorites! Let me know if you come up with a winning combination.

Here's another really delicious example of this type of salad using lentils and tuna. I've made this recipe several times.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Saffron

What to do with a whole cauliflower? I like it steamed, baked, or grilled - it's so mild and adaptable. But it's an awful lot of one vegetable for two people. So, into a soup it goes...reduced to a couple of spoonfuls by the time I'm done. Hmm...where did it all go?

I searched online for an interesting flavour to compliment cauliflower in a soup. Cheese and curry seemed to be the most popular choices. But I wanted something a little different. I found this recipe at Epicurious and modified it for a low fat version. I doubled the saffron, but it was still lovely and subtle - a great appetizer or first course.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Saffron

Serves 2

2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
1 whole cauliflower, cut into small pieces
1/4 teaspoon coarsely crumbled saffron threads
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups chopped onions
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 cup skim milk
salt and pepper
fresh chives

Combine 2 cups water and 2 cups chicken broth in medium saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer. Add cauliflower then cover and cook until almost soft. Remove from heat. Add saffron threads. Cover and steep 20 minutes.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy medium pot over medium-low heat. Add chopped onions and sauteé until very tender but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add flour and stir to coat onions. Cook one more minute. Add milk and stir constantly on medium-low heat until mixture is thickened. Add saffron broth and incorporate well. Use an immersion blender, or transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Bring to simmer over high heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir well and serve with fresh chives. 

(Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Yes - that little purple bud in the soup is a chive flower! Good eye!

What do you do to make cauliflower more interesting?

My Herb Garden

My summer herb garden is underway - I'm hoping these little beauties will make an appearance in some late summer recipes.  I'm limited to what I can grow in containers on the deck, but I've expanded my tiny garden since last year. I have a wider variety of plants, and I even started some from seeds for the first time.

Despite a spring full of cloudy days, what I have so far was looking good...until this morning when I discovered that my dill had been dug up by our resident squirrel.  And I do mean resident. We've had a family of squirrels living in the roof for the past year. Now they're living rent free AND they've got a free buffet. What a life! I think I'll have to buy some chicken wire this weekend.

Look at the difference between the left and right sides...

On the left, the dill was dug up and is almost completely gone, except for a few tiny sprigs that survived Mr. Squirrel's tiny paws of destruction. (I'm hoping I can re-plant...it's supposed to be fairly easy to grow.)

Interestingly, he didn't touch the cilantro. (Hey Mr. Squirrel, I didn't like it much at first either. Lucky for me, I like it now and you don't.)

And, he didn't get to anything else I've got outside...including chives, oregano, tarragon and some parsley and lavender waiting to be planted.

I love the chive flowers...if he touches those, "It's ON!"

Safe and sound indoors, I started a few different plants in a little dome...as you can see the results have been so-so. Some didn't come up at all. There are some sad looking peppers and some wispy thyme. 

And, there's one lonely shoot of rosemary. I read that it's notoriously hard to start from seed.

But, there are a couple hearty sprigs of basil...

And, the tomatoes look promising.

I'm hoping for a salad or two by the end of the summer...Mr. Squirrel permitting.