Poached Salmon with Stoneground Mustard Sauce

This post is dedicated to my 20-year-old son, Omari, who is challenged with autism, and to Autism Awareness Month (April). The featured dish is adapted from a recipe in Helga Parnell's Cooking the German Way* and includes mustard, which is Omari's favorite condiment. He is extremely fond of mustard, putting it on everything from fries to beans. He even eats it straight from the jar--and he doesn't care if it's French Dijon or "French's."

Omari at "Walk Now for Autism Speaks" in Washington, D.C.

Smitten by Salmon 
When I read Parnell's recipe, which features cod, not salmon, I was a bit intimidated. As much as I cook fish, I've yet to avoid overcooking cod (I'm open to advice on how to cook cod perfectly). Later as I shopped for fish, I was smitten by the salmon at Wegman's market. Not only were the cuts gorgeous, but they were from "organic," farm-raised salmon from Ireland's Bantry Bay. Now I ask myself, is getting salmon from Ireland a sustainable move on my part? The salmon had to make its way here by plane and, well, planes use gasoline. Besides that, how can salmon be organic? The USDA is still considering standards for organic seafood, so I had to wonder about that too. 


Attempting to eat sustainable seafood is, at this point, still a challenge. Much of the seafood in the average supermarket does not reveal exactly where the seafood in their cases came from or how it was caught. What's important, I think, is making an informed choice at the seafood counter. (Click here for helpful apps that can help you shop for the most sustainable fish.)

Recipe: Poached Salmon with Stoneground Mustard Sauce (Serves 3-4)
(Adapted from Fisch mit Senfsosse (Fish with Mustard Sauce) by Helga Farnell)

Ingredients

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1/2 lemon, sliced

1 medium red onion, peeled and sliced

2 fresh (or dried) bay leaves

1/2 cup shredded carrot (1 medium carrot)

6 white peppercorns

2 pounds salmon fillets, 1 inch thick

Mustard Sauce (recipe follows)

Directions

1. Pour broth into a wide, deep skillet or braising pan. Add the lemon, onion, bay leaves, carrot, and peppercorns. Bring ingredients to boil.
2. Place fish fillets in one layer in the liquid and immediately reduce heat to low. Cover the pot and allow fish to simmer for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. 
3. Save 1 cup of the cooking liquid for the Mustard Sauce.

Recipe: Mustard Sauce (Adapted from Fisch mit Senfsosse (Fish with Mustard Sauce) by Helga Farnell)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup cooking liquid from the fish

3 tablespoons stoneground mustard 

Dash of salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons Half and Half or light cream

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil on medium-low heat. Sprinkle in flour gradually (1/2 teaspoon at a time), stirring after each addition.
2. Pour in liquid from fish and stir with a whisk or fork until any lumps in the flour disappear. Add mustard, salt, sugar and stir until smooth.
3. Remove from heat and add the Half and Half or light cream. Sauce should be creamy and easy to pour. If it seems too thick, add another tablespoon of the Half and Half or cream. 
4. Garnish with parsley and chive blossoms. Serve warm.

Attribution: Parnell, H. (2003). Cooking the German Way. Minneapolis: Learner Publications Company.

Red Miso Soup with Spring Onion

When I want to serve elegant and simple, I serve miso soup. If you've eaten in a Japanese restaurant, miso soup is the broth that is served shortly after you've placed an order, usually. It looks exotic, even mysterious, and that umami (savory) taste is satisfyingly salty and slightly meaty. Characteristically, tofu and/or scallions are added to miso for bite and as garnish, but I have lately been enamored with spring onions. I've used spring onion in another recipe so far this season. 

Spring onions have more zest than scallions, and I love the the blush of the purple spring onions.

Dried Kombu seaweed, edible kelp, is a major ingredient in the broth (besides the miso). It is used to make the stock for miso soup and for other soups and broths. 

Kombu will rehydrate in hot water.

These are bonito flakes. The first few times I made miso soup, I didn't know about this product, which consists of steamed, flaked and dried bonito fish. I couldn't exactly replicate the Japanese-restaurant-style miso soup. Since I've discovered these intensely fishy flakes (they should be used sparingly), my miso soup has that characteristic cloudiness and delicious fish flavor.

The red miso, which I used in my "Miso Shrimp and Grits" recipe a while back, is made from fermented soybeans. Red miso is aged at least a year and is a deep, reddish-brown paste that gives this miso soup its color and salty flavor (the "Miso Master" brand--at 450 mg of sodium per teaspoon--is the least salty miso paste I've found. It's organic as well.) As a pescetarian, I appreciate not only the flavor in miso soup, but I also benefit from the trace minerals (zinc, copper, and manganese), amino acids, and B-vitamins.* You can find the ingredients for miso soup in the international food section of major supermarkets or in specialty grocery stores. 

Recipe

Red Miso Soup with Spring Onion (Makes 6 Servings)

Ingredients

5 cups spring water

2 5-inch pieces of dried Kombu 

1/2 cup bonito fish flakes

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of red miso

1 spring onion, sliced thinly, including green tops

Directions

1. Place water in soup pot and bring to a boil.
2. Add Kombu and allow to rehydrate while the water is boiling. 
3. When Kombu has rehydrated and is the consistency of cooked lasagna, take the pot off of the heat. Add the fish flakes and stir.
4. Add the miso paste and stir to dissolve the paste.
5. Add the sliced spring onion.
6. Serve hot

*Reference for nutritional information:

R, Sarah. "Miso Soup Nutrition." LiveStrong.com. Demand Media, Inc., 31/10/2010. Web. 17 Apr 2012. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/292991-miso-soup-nutrition/>.

Organic Vanilla Ice Cream & Cherry Blossoms

Normally the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry Tree in my garden blooms in late April to early May. This year, though, it's at peak bloom now--in early April. Despite the early bloom, I was prompted to bring the old ice cream maker up from the basement. It's somewhat of a tradition that our ice cream season begins when the cherry tree blooms. I should upgrade to a sleek, modern, bells-and-whistles ice cream maker, but homemade ice cream, for me, wouldn't be the same without ice and rock salt. I am an absolute ice-cream snob. I almost never eat ice cream unless it's homemade.  

Growing up, my brother, my sister and I were spoiled by our father's homemade vanilla-egg-custard ice cream. Actually, we weren't that spoiled. We were assigned to take turns cranking the handle of the ice cream maker. The aluminum cylinder, filled with the precious liquid custard, was a chore to spin against layers of stubborn, chipped block ice and rock salt. 

After what seemed like hours, we enjoyed sweet, cold vanilla custard ice cream--but our arms trembled with fatigued with every spoonful. Other than gaining a life-long appreciation for freshly made ice cream, I developed an early and complete understanding of "pain before pleasure" and "work ethic." Cranking that handle on the ice cream maker was just one of my dad's 1001 chores that brought that point home.

 These blossoms, like a canopy of cotton candy, begged to be photographed.

Despite the earliness of my self-imposed ice cream season, I was excited about making a cold, rich treat. It's been, at times, pretty warm here in the Washington, D.C. area over the past few weeks. 

Main ingredients: whole milk with cream, more cream, and Half & Half

I added fresh vanilla bean to the main ingredients 

For this recipe, I didn't want to fool with eggs, and I didn't want to make this sweet brew richer than it already was. So, I adapted Mark Bittman's recipe for vanilla ice cream that uses corn starch as a binder and an ingredient that works to make the ice cream like custard. If you decide to make this delicious ice cream, do so for the once-in-a-blue-moon special occasion since the ingredients are so rich. You can also substitute the whole milk for skim, omit the whipping cream, and add 3 cups of Half & Half.

Recipe:

Organic Vanilla Ice Cream (Makes 1 Generous Gallon)

(Adapted from Mark Bittman's Cornstarch Ice Cream Recipe)

Ingredients

2 organic vanilla beans

1/2 gallon organic creamline* whole milk (or whole milk)

1/2 pint organic heavy whipping cream

1 cup organic Half & Half

1 cup organic sugar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup corn starch

1/2 cup cold milk or water

*In creamline whole milk, the cream is retained and separates from the milk, which appears as a line between the cream and the milk. 

Directions

1. Place vanilla beans on clean cutting board and split with a sharp paring knife. Using the side of the knife, scrape out the vanilla tiny, oily seeds inside. (See this demonstration of the technique on YouTube.) Put the seeds in a small bowl as they are scraped from the pod.
2. In a large, heavy bottomed pot, pour in the milk, cream, half and half and add the sugar and salt.
3. Turn heat on medium-low; watch and stir frequently as the milk comes to a simmer, but not a rolling boil. (I don't recommend using unpasteurized ingredients, but if you do, cook the mixture to 155 degrees for 30 minutes.)
4. Watch for bubbling of the milk mixture to begin against the sides of the pot. When that happens, it's time to add the vanilla seeds.
5. After adding the vanilla seeds, toss the pods into the pot as well. Stir well to distribute the vanilla seeds throughout the mixture. Adding the pods will help to make the vanilla flavor more intense (if that's what you like). You will take the pods out of the pot before churning the milk-and-cream mixture.
6. Stir the cornstarch into a small bowl of 1/2 cup cold milk or water and stir with a fork or small whisk until dissolved. 
7. Add cornstarch mixture to the pot and stir.
8. Transfer the mixture to a heatproof plastic container with lid or place the pot in the refrigerator until mixture cools 4-6 hours or (better) overnight.

Directions for Ice Cream Maker

What you'll need:

4-quart Electric Ice Cream Maker 

15 pounds ice 

5 pound bag rock salt 

1. Remove vanilla pods from the ice cream mixture.
2. Pour ice cream mixture into the canister. Follow manufacturer's directions for your ice cream maker to avoid overfilling the canister.
3. Place filled canister in the center of the ice-cream-maker bucket.
4. Add 1 to 2 inches of ice around the canister and add 1/2 cup of rock salt. Continue in layers until the ice and salt reach within two inches of the top of the canister.
5. Assemble the motor and other parts per manufacturer's directions for your ice cream maker.
6. Place the ice cream maker in the sink or do the churning outside. 
7. Churn the ice cream for 20-40 minutes. You will have to add more ice and rock salt as the ice melts. (If the canister resists turning, remove some of the ice until it begins to move.) Churn until the unit slows down, labors, or stops.
8. Spoon the ice cream from the canister into bowl and enjoy! 
9. Freeze the leftover ice cream, which will last up to two weeks.

Dandelion Strawberry & Spinach Salad

It's time for a spring clean on all fronts. Before I deep clean the house, though, I have to start with my body. The dandelion plant, its edible leaves, roots, and flowers, have been used for generations as a gentle tonic that helps to cleanse the liver and aid digestion. Dr. Oz includes dandelion root tea as part of his "48-Hour Weekend Cleanse" and touts the benefits of dandelion greens, by helping to promote a healthy liver, as a contributor to deeper sleep. Dandelion greens are loaded with Vitamin A and contain calcium, Vitamin C, and iron. Check out Shape magazine's nutrition facts for dandelion greens.

Fresh Dandelion Greens

Fresh dandelion greens are easier to find in mainstream food markets than in past years. They are easier to find at places like Whole Foods or at MOM's Organic Market (if you're in the Washington D.C. area). Don't pick them from your yard if you spray for weeds or from anywhere where dogs run. Just saying.

All the ingredients for this salad are seasonal. I included mild, baby spinach--because dandelion greens are bitter (imagine arugula without the peppery kick). The young leaves are less bitter and more tender. They're better for salads. The strawberries were purely for sweetness and to balance the bitterness. I always buy organic strawberries because conventionally grown strawberries are "the most chemically intensive crop in California." Crunchy carrots promise texture and brightness. Finally, spring onion, tender and peppery, makes this salad a delicious side, light meal, and a terrific spring cleanse. 

Recipe:

Dandelion Strawberry & Spinach Salad

Ingredients

4 cups baby spinach, washed 

1 bunch (handful) young dandelion greens, chopped

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

1 pint organic strawberries, sliced

1 cup baby yellow and orange carrots, sliced lengthwise

Directions

1. Place a mound of spinach on 4 salad plates.
2. Top spinach with dandelion greens.
3. Scatter onions slices over the mound of greens.
4. Surround the greens and onions with strawberries and carrots.
5. Serve with vinaigrette dressing.

Serves 4