Homemade Mayonnaise

This is so super simple and the mayonnaise is so good.  Please make sure that you use farm fresh eggs from a reliable source.

Here is all you do:
In a blender break 1 whole egg into the container, add 2 egg yolks, and process for 30 to 45 seconds, or until thick and lemon colored.  With the machine running, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and several grinds of white pepper (it is okay to use regular black pepper you will see the flakes if you do).  Still with the machine running, and by very small dribbles at first, start adding up to 2 cups of olive oil (if you use extra virgin olive oil the mayo will have a distinct flavor) or vegetable oil.  After about 1/2 cup has gone in, add the oil a little faster until you have thick mayonnaise.   Refrigerate in a covered container.

I used this mayonnaise for the Salmon Cooked on a Himalayan Sea Salt Plank.

Suggestions???

Does anyone have a recipe or dish they would like to see me make and post all about it here on my blog?  I would love to have your comments and suggestions.

Do you have a recipe that you grew up with?  A certain type of dish from the country in which you live or where you or your ancestors are from?  Maybe something that was passed down from generation to generation?  Share it here.  

Can't wait to see all the comments!  

Lemon Butter Black Cod

Fish makes such a great meal and so good for you.  Black cod is high in Omega 3's.   Here is what we had for dinner.

Black Cod with Lemon Butter
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.   Place a piece of foil onto a baking sheet (this will make clean up easier) and create an edge so that the lemon butter mixture you pour over the fish won't run off.  Place about 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a pan on the stove, add the juice of 1 lemon, stir while melting butter.   Add some fresh ground pepper and some salt to the butter mixture, stir and remove from heat.  Pour over fish.  Place fish in oven and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes until fish flakes with fork.  About half-way through baking baste the fish.

Asparagus
Place a pot of water onto stove and bring to a boil.  Snap asparagus (hold a piece of asparagus in both hands and bend the asparagus, the asparagus will break at the tender spot of the asparagus).  Don't throw away the tough end (the part you don't want to eat), save those (stick them in the freezer) to make vegetable broth with at a later date.  Add asparagus to the boiling water, reduce heat and cook for about 5 minutes.  I cooked these longer than what I would normally do because the stalks of the asparagus were much larger.  Remove from pan when done, place on a platter.  I drizzled these with a little bit of a lemon pepper oil.  (It is an oil that I picked up somewhere and is excellent over fresh cooked vegetables). A helpful tip for your summer garden is to save the water your vegetables are cooked with, let water cool and use that to water your garden.  Not only will you be saving water but your plants will benefit from the nutrients left over in the water.  

Sliced Mango and Strawberries
A long time ago you couldn't get fresh fruits like mango's in the grocery store but now you can and to have these fruits fresh are so much better.  If you have never had fresh mango I recommend that you try one, they are so sweet and delicious.  Mango's are rich in pre-biotic fiber, vitamins, minerals, poly-phenolic flavonoid (helps to fight against certain types of cancers) antioxidant compounds plus a great source of vitamin A just to name a few.  Here is a video that will help you to learn to cut a mango, it is really easy.

Side Salad with Italian Dressing
A side salad was a nice accompaniment with this meal.  It consisted of romaine lettuce, tomato and a little bit of grated Parmesan cheese.  Here is the recipe for the homemade Italian dressing:
Place all ingredients into a jar.
1/2 cup white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar (I used balsamic this time)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 pressed garlic cloves
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup olive oil
Shake until mixed.  Pour over salad.

Curried Grilled Chicken

So I stop in a store called Fresh Market and pick up a couple of things for dinner.  I decide on chicken breasts to cook on the grill.  I then decide that I want to marinate them before cooking them on the grill.  The one thing I chose to pick up for the marinade is a can of coconut milk, I know that this will be the base of the marinade but at this point I don't know what exactly I am going to do until I get home.  When I got home my husband unpacks the groceries and sees the can of coconut milk and really begins to wonder but doesn't say anything.  When I shop I sometimes pick up one item and decide the meal around that item.  This time it was coconut milk.  So here is what I did, I just made it up as I went along.

Curried Grilled Chicken
1 can of coconut milk
3 tablespoons curry powder
juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons dried chives
1 tablespoon dried cilantro
1 tablespoon honey (start with a little bit and work your way up to the tablespoon, taste it along the way, I didn't use quite this much but it was close)
Boneless Chicken Breasts
Place chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag and pour the marinade into bag, seal. Place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.   Remove chicken from bag and place on a grill over medium high heat and cook for 25 minutes.


Grilled Asparagus
Snap asparagus (hold a piece of asparagus in both hands and bend the asparagus, the asparagus will break at the tender spot of the asparagus).  Don't throw away the tough end (the part you don't want to eat), save those (stick them in the freezer) to make vegetable broth with.  Place the asparagus on foil just like you did with the potatoes.  Add a little bit of olive oil over asparagus.  Place the asparagus on the grill, direct heat and cook for 5 minutes and then move to warming rack. 


Grilled Carrots
Peel carrots, slice and place in a foil package.  Add a couple of slices of butter and a tablespoon of honey.  Add carrots to grill over a medium heat and cook for 10 minutes. Remove to warming rack. 


Grilled Romaine Lettuce
Take 1 head of romaine lettuce, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with fresh ground pepper, sprinkle with garlic powder.  Place romaine on the grill over  medium heat for 10 minutes.  Remove from grill sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Serve.  On occasion we drizzle the lettuce with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

Cheeseburgers and Pasta Salad

Since the weather is warm I feel like it is the right time to grill out.  I know that it is only March and summer isn't even close yet but it sure feels like summer and what is better in the summer than burgers on the grill.

Cook grassfed burgers on the grill to your temperature.  We like our burgers cooked medium. Cook for about 15 minutes.  Add all the necessary accompaniments (mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickles) to a hamburger bun.

Macaroni Salad a.k.a Noodle Salad
I always have a pantry stocked full with pastas of many different types.  I never gave any thought to the fact that I was out of elbow macaroni or any other type of noodle.  The only noodle that I had in the pantry was a tagliatelle and spaghetti.  Well I didn't want to run to the store for just a box of macaroni so I used the tagliatelle for this dish.  I just broke up the noodles as they went into the pot of boiling water.  Cooked the pasta until it was done.  Drain, rinse in cold water.  Add pasta to a large bowl with chopped green pepper, peeled seeded cucumber; chopped, seeded tomato; chopped.  Add mayonnaise and mix.  I like to add about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.  If it is too tart add just a teaspoon of sugar to balance it out.  Mix and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sourdough English Muffins

I really wanted to try something different with my sourdough so I thought I would try to make English Muffins.

In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup fresh starter**, 1-1/4 cups warm non-chlorinated water and 1-1/2 cups flour.  Set in a warm place until bubbly, (several hours).
Combine these next ingredients together in a separate bowl:
1 cup flour (any flour can be used)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Stir the flour mixture into the bubbly sourdough batter.  Stir in enough extra flour to make a tough, plastic like dough, 1/4 to 1/2 cup more.  Knead 3-5 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky.  Roll on a lightly floured board to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into 3 inch rounds with a wide mouth canning jar ring.  Sprinkle a place with cornmeal.  Moisten both sides of the dough rounds with non-chlorinated water and flop them on the cornmeal.  Place each on waxed paper, leaving enough space so that they do not touch and can rise.  Let rise until double in thickness (about 1 hour).  Very lightly grease a skillet or electric fry pan*, heating to low, 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook them about 10 minutes on each side until browned and puffed up.  Cool. Split with a fork and toast.

*I used an electric fry pan so that I could regulate the temperature easier.

**Fresh Starter - In a bowl with 1/2 cup of sourdough starter add:
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/4 cup warm, non-chlorinated, water
Stir thoroughly, and set in a warm place as before until it is actively bubbling.  (About 6-1/2 hours) When starter is bubbly and light, stir gently, then set aside the 1/2 cup of start and put in the refrigerator until next time.  Now you can proceed with your favorite recipes with the fresh starter.  The sourdough is fresh when you start the recipe so it should be less time to see the active (bubbly) stage again depending on the temperature it is placed in.

Muffins in the electric skillet cooking

Fork Split muffin prior to toasting

Lightly toasted with butter

One note is that I will indeed make these again.  They are super easy and I think the next time I will make them cinnamon raisin.  No more store bought muffins for me!

Grilled Salmon with Grilled Sweet Potatoes

I don't know what the deal is but I am trying to inspire myself for dinners and am not having much luck.  I guess I really haven't gotten back in the true groove of things since we returned from vacation.  I promise to do better, soon, very soon!  Tonight I decided to do salmon on the grill.

Grilled Salmon
Take 2 filets of salmon (we have wild Alaskan Coho Salmon from SeaBear), drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and I have a little of this herb mixture that is made for fish (contains: lemon peel, garlic, parsley, white pepper, chives, basil, cayenne).  Grill salmon over medium heat skin side up for 5 minutes, flip over and grill for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Sugar
Take 1 Japanese sweet potato (Japanese Sweet Potatoes are purple on the outside and white on the inside.  They are not the orange color you associate with American sweet potatoes), slice super thin (I used a mandolin, no not the musical instrument, but one of those slicers that you can slice stuff really thin).  Place slices onto a piece of foil, overlap the slices slightly.  Add a couple of slices of butter; place the slices throughout the top of the sweet potato slices.  Sprinkle the top with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar (I used regular white sugar).  Place another piece of foil on top and turn up the ends so that you are sealing the potatoes into a foil packet.  Place the packet onto the grill over high heat, cook for 5 minutes, turn packet over and cook for another 5 minutes.  Removing to warming rack for 10 minutes.  (Once you remove the packet to the rack, place salmon onto the grill.  Remove from heat.

We had a small side salad to go along with dinner tonight.