Recipe for Summer Super Salad Inspiration

Aloha all,
I'm starting to get caught back up from being away for so long!  Hope your summer is going well and you're enjoying some lovely fresh summer produce.  Last week, I was really in the mood for a salad of some type for dinner.  It was a hot, muggy day and my brain was just feeling lethargic-ever get like that?

Anyway, I knew I wanted a salad but not just any salad.  A tasty, "more than lettuce and tomato" kind of salad.  I was searching for some inspiration...didn't really find it with a quick look on line or a perusal of this month's food/recipe magazines stacked up (actually I have a few month's worth stacked up).  I figured I wasn't the only one who would enjoy a summer salad, so I'm sharing today what I ended up putting together.  It was awesome.  


First, the kitchen didn't get heated up because Mr. ELEB cooked the chicken outside on the grill.  Second, I was able to get some great locally grown produce.  And third, the variety of tasty sweet and salty morsels in the salad satisfied my yearnings for something beyond a basic salad.  Hope you will be inspired to create your own Summer Super Salad.


Serves: 2
Time: 30 minutes


Ingredients:

• 4 cups mixed lettuces
• 1 cup diced cucumber
• 1 1/2 cup finely diced tomato (seeded)
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup pistachios (salted, shelled)
• 2 oz. goat's cheese, crumbled
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and sliced
• Drizzle of lemon olive oil (or oil and vinegar mixture)
• Salt and pepper

Method:

• Preheat the grill and grill chicken breasts until cooked.
• Compose or toss salad ingredients together.
• Add chicken.
• Dress with olive oil (or oil and vinegar), salt and pepper.

That's it.  Easy, satisfying, tasty.  And lot's of possibilities for variations.  Enjoy!


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Recipe for Coriander and Paprika Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

Hopefully it is getting close to grilling out weather where you are.  Don't hate me...we are fortunate to be able to grill out year round here and one of our favorites is pork tenderloin on the grill.  I'll often just pull a bunch of herbs or spices out of the fridge or cupboard, mix them up, rub the tenderloin down and then Mr. ELEB works his magic on the grill.  Such is the story for this recipe.

Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 3 servings


Ingredients:

• 1 lb pork tenderloin
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 TBSP ground coriander seed
• 1 TBSP paprika
• ½ TBSP coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Method:

• Heat grill to hot.
• Mix all seasonings together to make rub.
• Rub pork with olive oil and then pat rub over all sides.
• Grill-direct for 5 minutes per side then turn grill to medium and cook an additional 12 minutes, turning once; about 22 minutes total for 1 lb tenderloin.
• Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Slice and serve.

Cooking times may be different on your grill-the pork should start to feel firm when gently pressed with your finger.  Internal temperature should read about 155-160 degrees for a slightly pink center.  If you overcook it, it will be dry and tasteless; remember it continues to cook while resting.

I served this with some wild and brown rice and my microwaved acorn squash.  Perfect end to a perfect Maui day!  Aloha.

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Recipe for Sweet and Sour Grilling Glaze

Mr. ELEB chuckles sometimes when he sees me standing in front of an open pantry or refrigerator door.  I understand why…you can almost see the steam coming out of my ears as I’m looking at what’s in front of me and concocting possibilities in my head.  He also laughs because he knows that he might get something really yummy, occasionally something yucky.  Well, he lucked out on this most recent experiment!

It was burger night-I had defrosted some ground buffalo-and I was pondering what to do in front of the open fridge door.  I didn’t a want cheeseburger so I was trying to come up with ingredients to make the burgers interesting.    I had a bottle of white wine open (imagine that), some garlic, ginger, and I spied the bottle of ponzu tucked away in the door shelf.  I figured with some brown sugar and mustard, I could probably cook up a reasonably good glaze to add a nice layer of flavor to the meat.

Voilà!  Here’s my sweet and sour grilling glaze.

Time: 35 minutes plus grilling time

Yield: ½ cup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry white wine
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 1 TBSP Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp finely minced garlic
• 1 tsp finely grated ginger
• 2 TBSP ponzu or soy sauce

Method:

• Whisk all ingredients together and bring to boil.
• Reduce to low boil and cook, stirring every 5 minutes, for 30 minutes or until reduced to ½ cup.

Top-fully reduced, bottom left-start, bottom right-half way reduced

Cook your burgers on the grill as you normally would, adding the glaze for the last 5 minutes.  The brown sugar will burn so watch the burgers carefully. 

I’ll be trying this out on other meats and maybe on grilled veggies and pineapple-will let you know how that goes!

Do you make your own grilling sauces?

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