BBQ Halibut with Mango Salsa

I love summer! It is my absolute favorite time of the year - the sunshine, the bright colours, the warm air and the general feeling of happiness and lightness in the air. I love to transfer those colours and feelings onto my plate at meal time - anything bright, light and fun and I'm in! That's exactly what this dish is all about. Summertime on a plate!

BBQ Halibut with Mango Salsa
Recipe by A Tale of One Foodies Culinary Adventures

Ingredients:

Halibut:

• Two pieces of fresh halibut
• 1 tsp each: cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, ground coriander, sugar, salt and pepper

Salsa:

• 1/2 an avocado, diced
• 1 mango, diced
• 1 small jalapeño, diced
• 3 tbsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 4 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 tsp olive oil

Salad:

• Arugula
• Sprouts (any kind will do)
• Pea shoots
• a handful of tortilla strips
• juice of 1/2 lime
• drizzle of olive oil

Method:

1. For the halibut - preheat your grill. Sprinkle spice rub evenly over both sides of the halibut. Pat the spice rub into the fish. Grill seasoned halibut on the grill until just cooked through and remove from heat.
2. While the halibut is cooking, combine the salsa ingredients and stir well. Set aside to let the flavours marry.
3. Divide arugula, sprouts and pea shoots between two places. Drizzle with lime juice and olive oil. Sprinkle with tortilla strips. Top with grilled halibut and spoon salsa over liberally. Enjoy!

What's your summer cooking philosophy? Do you have a favorite meal that you only make during the summer? Feel free to share in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Cooking!

Santa Fe Chicken Salad

Here is a delicious summery salad for you! When the weather gets hot, make this. It won't heat your kitchen up because you don't even have to turn on your oven. :) BBQ the chicken, chop everything else up, shake up the dressing, and you've got yourself a delicious summer meal fit to serve to guests, family or just yourself!

Santa Fe Chicken Salad
Recipe adapted from Mennonite Girls Can Cook
Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless


• chili powder &/or cajun seasoning


• 8 cups mixed greens


• 1 - 14 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed


• 3/4 cup corn kernels


• 2 avocados, halved and sliced


• 1/2 cup feta cheese


• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped


• Peanut Lime Vinaigrette Dressing (recipe follows)

Method:

1. Prepare the salad dressing (recipe and instructions follow).


2. Prepare the salad ingredients in separate containers.


3. Rub chicken breasts liberally with the chili powder and/ or the cajun seasoning until well coated. Grill chicken until cooked through. Let chicken breasts rest before slicing while you plate the salad.


4. Assemble the salad ingredients on plates - start with a bed of greens, sprinkle with beans, corn, avocado, feta, sliced chicken and garnish with a sprinkle of chopped toasted peanuts.


5. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

Peanut Lime Vinaigrette Dressing

Recipe Adapted from Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup lime juice


• 1/2 cup olive oil


• 1 tbsp peanut butter


• 2 tsp dijon mustard


• 1 tsp lime zest


• 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, finely chopped

Method:

1. Using a blender, mix lime juice, olive oil, peanut butter, and mustard. Blend until emulsified. Stir in lime zest and finely chopped peanuts. Use as directed in Santa Fe Chicken Salad recipe (above).

This salad is pretty easy to whip together. Make your hubby BBQ the chicken while you prepare the rest of the ingredients and you'll have dinner on the table in no time (thats why I did!). Hope you've been having a fantastic weekend. I sure have - we have had some beautiful summer weather, I did some shopping for my upcoming vacation, and did a little celebrating at finishing a big exam on Friday afternoon. :)

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Gourmet Guacamole

Alright, alright! I've been a bad blogger once again this week. This busy life just doesn't jive with getting a few posts done on crazy weeknights when I should be studying for my upcoming exam or walking the dog with hubby, or cleaning up the house... the list goes on and on!! Oh well, such is life right? I'll get around here while I can over the next two weeks, so please bear with me.

Last night my sister and I attended a fantastic cooking class called Hello Cupcake! at Well Seasoned in Langley. The class was taught by pastry chef Tina Bacon of the Pink Spatula and boy was she ever incredible. I learned so much that I'm going to share a separate post with you so that I can give the course the attention it deserves. Stay tuned for that... I'm hoping to get it posted some time this weekend.

For now, we'll talk about guacamole - simple, delicious and fresh - to me it screams summer. Topped with some vibrant radishes (or whatever you have on hand) it is absolutely delicious. I found this recipe just by doing a random google search for gourmet guacamole and I adapted it a bit to my taste. Guacamole is one of those things that you can put in what you like, omit what you don't and just mix it up and it will always be delicious! Two staple ingredients for me when making guacamole (other than the avocados of course) are lime juice and kosher salt. Even just those two ingredients, mixed with avocado results in a delicious yummy appetizer dip that you can whip up in minutes.

Gourmet Guacamole

Recipe adapted from www.guacamolerecipe.net

Ingredients:

• two ripe avocados, mashed with a fork


• a couple tsp of mayonnaise (to desired level of creaminess - I only used two)


• one garlic clove, minced


• fresh cilantro, finely chopped


• one jalepeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped


• 1 tsp ground cumin


• kosher salt to taste


• lime juice (add until dip reaches desired consistency)


• black pepper to taste


• contrasting coloured veggies for garnish and dipping

Method:

1. This is so easy I probably don't even need to explain! Combine all ingredients in medium sized bowl. Stir until smooth and combined. Chill until ready to serve.


2. Serve with fresh veggies (if you're feeling virtuous) or tortilla chips.

Nothing much else going on around here... I have to get my act together and finish up my post for the June Daring Bakers Challenge - check back on the 27th to find out what we dared to bake this month!

Other than that, have a wonderful Friday tomorrow friends. I am stuck in a course all weekend to further my accounting education... so its not looking like the most exciting weekend. I will have to live vicariously through you! What are you doing for excitement this weekend?

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Blackberry Avocado Salad

This has been a really eventful week for most people around the world. Sad and scary with the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan and the tsunami that hit other areas after rippling out from Japan. My heart goes out to the many people affected by this horrible tragedy - those living in Japan and those with family and friends in Japan. What a scary and stressful time for them. I am really touched the by the aid and fundraising efforts that started so quickly and will continue to provide support to Japan when they need it the most. The devastation and wreckage there is absolutely unreal, looking at photos and video footage makes it all the more real and all the more unnerving. My thoughts and prayers go out to those in need and those who are worried about their friends and family who may have been lost in the wreckage.

In light of the seriousness and stressfulness of the week, I thought sharing a simple and light salad with you would be fitting. As many of you are likely consumed with worry and sadness, this salad is quick to whip up, and will provide you with much needed nourishment to keep you strong and on top of things. This salad is delicious and definitely has a spring feel to it.

Blackberry Avocado Salad

Recipe from Anna Olson

Ingredients:

• 8 cups arugula or other mixed baby greens
• 1 ripe (but not too soft) avocado, sliced
• 1 pint of fresh blackberries
• 1/2 cup feta
• juice of 1 lime
• good quality extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Method:

1. Wash and dry lettuce and place in a pretty bowl. Fan out the sliced avocado artfully on top of the greens and sprinkle with the blackberries and crumble the feta on top. Juice the lime over the salad, sprinkling evenly with the lime juice. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

I told you it was easy! And it tastes amazing - the fresh flavours really come out and the lime juice keeps the avocado from turning brown. You will love this salad and hopefully it's simplicity brings a little joy to your life in such a sad and trying time.

To all of you affected by this horrible tradgedy, my thoughts and prayers are with you. May you find your loved ones and feel a sense of peace in such a tough time.

Happy Cooking my Friends! Hugs to you all.

Halloween Appetizers!

Can you believe that Halloween is this weekend already? Time just seems to be flying by. It seems like just yesterday it was a sunny summer afternoon. Now the temperatures have dropped, the mornings are frosty and the leaves are falling. A lot of families have really fun traditions for Halloween - some have a big halloween party and dress up in extravagent costumes, some carve pumpkins, and yet others set up a haunted house and hand out candy to neighborhood children. Growing up we didn't really celebrate Halloween and I always felt so left out. My favorite part of Halloween is the beautiful orange pumpkins so now that we are on our own, we have decided to start our own traditions! My hubby and I have started hosting an annual pumpkin carving party. We have our friends over, go to the pumpkin patch and pick our pumpkins, then come back to the house for carving and of course lots of food.

This year I made some really fun Halloween themed appetizers - Spider Web Dip and a "Pumpkin" Cheese Ball. They were so cute and deliciously festive. Since I'm posting a couple of recipes I'll keep my post short! Hopefully you are inspired to try these recipes out for your Halloween party this weekend! :D

Halloween Spider Web Dip

Recipe from Everyday Favorites by Canadian Living

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
• 1 540mL pinto or white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 avocados
• 1/4 light mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 cups salsa
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 2 black olives, halved and pitted

Method:

1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat; fry onion, half of the garlic, the salt & pepper until softened, about 5 minutes. Add beans; cook over medium-low heat until hot, about 5 minutes. Using a potato masher or fork, mash until almost smooth; let cool.
2. Meanwhile, cut each avocado in half and pit; using spoon, scoop flesh into bowl. Mash until smooth; stir in mayonnaise, lime juice and remaining garlic.
3. Evenly spread bean mixture in 8-inch pie plate or serving dish. Spread salsa, then avocado mixture evenly over top.
4. Spoon sour cream into plastic bag; cut off tip of 1 corner. Pipe in concentric circles over top. From centre to rim, pull knife through sour cream at even intervals to form web pattern. In center, place 2 olive halves end to end to form spider body. Cut out remaining olive halves into 8 slivers; arrange around body for legs.

"Pumpkin" Cheese Ball

Recipe from Everyday Favorites by Canadian Living

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg cream cheese, softened (250g)
• 2 cups shredded orange old cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp each diced onion, carrot and celery
• 1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
• 1 tsp prepared horseradish
• 1 broccoli stem (3 inches), peeled

Method:

1. In large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth; stir in cheddar cheese, onion, carrot, celery, parsley and horseradish. Form into ball; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour (or up to 3 days).
2. Unwrap ball and flatten slightly; insert broccoli stem at top to resemble pumpkin stem. Using handle of wooden spoon, draw verticle ridges at even intervals to resemble pumpkin.
3. Serve with crackers, and celery sticks.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my post about the October 2010 Daring Bakers Challenge! Its a good one.

Happy Cooking my Friends!