I really love salad weather and we have certainly been enjoying lots of that these past few weeks! Summer and salads go together like, well . . . peas and carrots! Especially when they are as delicious as this beautiful Green Slaw!
This recipe today is an adaptation of one I discovered on Foraged Dish, by way of The View From Great Island. I was looking for something slightly different that I could make for our combined Canada/Independence Day bash on Monday evening, and when I saw this recipe, I knew I had found a perfect contender!
One of the reasons it really appealed to me was that it was not a claggy, mayonnaise based coleslaw. I adore coleslaw with vinaigrette dressings.
And this vinaigrette is amazing, with an almost fusion take on different cultural flavours, with fresh lime, olive oil, ginger, sesame oil, and . . . maple syrup. Say what??? I thought it matched the idea of both American/Canadian/ British cultures, which are more and more becoming a melting pot of cultures/flavours/foods! You can't get much more Canadian than Maple Syrup!
I also loved the idea of all of the fresh vegetables in the dish, each one being a variant of the colour green . . . almost like Ireland you know, with its many shades of green . . . and America is full of Irish people, and I myself am 27% Irish . . .
I used a very British cabbage here, which is long and pointed . . . loosely leafed . . . the sweetheart cabbage. The original recipe used savoy cabbage, which is also fairly loose leafed . . .
Add to that thinly julienned sweet green bell peppers . . . slivered spring onions . . .
diagonally sliced sugar snap peas . . . be sure to de-string them . . . its very easily done. Just insert your knife beneath the underside at the tip opposite the stem and pull towards you . . . the strings should pull right off. Strings are chewy things, not crisp things, and they have no place in this salad, where only the crispest of intentions should lay . . .
chunks of rich and creamy avocado are the exception to the rule . . . luxurious . . . delicious . . . creamy . . .
For a bit of a bite, a thinly sliced green jalapeno chili pepper . . . you can de-seed if you want to decrease the heat from the pepper . . . but I just left the seeds in. I knew the guys could take it and would actually probably really enjoy it . . .
There is the soft leafed herb, with a bold, bold flavour . . . fresh coriander leaf . . . or cilantro as it is called in North America. Very Tex Mex, but also Thai . . . fusion again . . .
Finally we have the nutty addition of toasted flaked almonds . . . almost sweet, and certainly crunchy . . . about 8 minutes on a baking sheet in a hot oven does the trick. Perfect. Make a few extra to nibble on. I always do. I adore almonds. Altogether this was beautiful!
*Green Slaw*
Serves 6 - 8
Green, fresh and slightly spicy. Goes great with all your grilled meat, chicken or fish.
1/2 head of cabbage, thinly shredded with a knife
(I used a sweetheart cabbage, but savoy is also recommended)
1 green sweet bell pepper, trimmed, de-seeded and julienned
1 cucumber, washed, dried and cut into half moons on the diagonal
3 spring onions, washed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
85g of sugar snap peas, trimmed, de-stringed and sliced thinly on the diagonal
1 green chili, trimmed and thinly sliced (optional)
1 ripe avocado, pitted,peeled and cubed
a handful of fresh coriander leaf, coarsely chopped
85g flaked almonds, toasted (1/2 cup)
For the dressing:
60ml fresh lime juice (1/4 cup)
60ml olive oil (1/4 cup)
2 TBS toasted sesame oil
1 tsp finely grated peeled, fresh ginger root
1 TBS maple syrup
salt and black pepper to taste
Prepare all of your vegetables and toss together in a
large bowl. Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour over the
salad and toss together again. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds and
served immediately.
The lads actually enjoyed this salad on their grilled burgers, kind of like a pickle. It made me happy to see them tucking in like they did!
We were a motley crew mix of Alaskan, Canadian, Utah'n, Irish, and Brit! What better cause for celebration!
Elder Boyer did a fine job of grilling the burgers and dogs! Oh boy, did he fall in love with the Space Grill! I think he is putting one on his wish list for when he and Sister Boyer go back to the US after their mission is finished. (Psst, that is a bottle of BBQ sauce in his hand, not a bottle of beer, lol)
Happy 4th of July to all my American Readers! Have a good one. Stay safe and enjoy all of your festivities, food, fireworks, BBQ's etc.!
One of the nice things as a food blogger is that occasionally I get sent new products, improved products, products to try out and voice my opinion on. I love trying and experiencing new things, especially when it has anything to do with food or eating! Ask me try try chocolate? Well, I feel like I have hit the motherlode! I adore chocolate! Recently the Grown Up Chocolate Company asked me if I would like to sample a couple of their bars of chocolate and let me tell you . . . they didn't have to ask twice!
About the company:
The Grown Up Chocolate Company was born in 2011, with a mission towards providing th most indulgent and decadent chocolates, the same chocolate you might have enjoyed as a child, but with a grown up twist and for Grown Ups only.
All of their chocolate is made in Harlow, UK, using only the highest quality ingredients. Their chocolate consists of 41% pure cocoa solids, which is an exceptionally high ration when compared to the market standard of only 18%.
They come in magnificently indulgent creations such as Very Naughty Nutty Nougat, Gorgeously Gooey Caramel Truffle Cups and Dark Chocolate Smoothy. There is also an option to "Make Your Own" with the opportunity to create your very own tailor-made chocolate bar of your dreams. Simply pick & mix from a selection of ingredients, choose your wrapper and Bob's your uncle. 3 tasty bars of your creation will be delivered right to your front door! Mmmm . . .
I was sent two 100g bars.
NUTS! Oh Hazelnuts! A creamy milk chocolate bar, enveloping a middle of deliciously crunchy whole roasted hazelnuts. (£3.25)
Fruit & Nut in Milk Chocolate. A decadent mix of milk chocolate, crunchy nuts, apricots and cranberries. (£2.95)
As you can see they were both chocker-blocked full of lovely whole hazelnuts, and fruit and nuts.
With the hazelnut one (which is the first one I tried) I found that there was a really decent amount of tasty roasted hazelnuts in proportion to the amount of chocolate. The chocolate was milky but not overly sweet. Like. LIKE!
Likewise the fruit and nut bar, which I'm afraid must have melted a tiny bit in the heat of the day during transit, but was still delicious and wonderfully full of lots of chopped toasted nuts and tasty fruits. Again, not overly sweet.
What I liked: Both really had a lovely, not overly sweet, chocoate flavour. You could tell that there was a much higher quality of cocoa solids in the chocolate. It tasted of cocoa, not sugar.
I loved the high ration of nuts to chocolate, and fruit of nuts to chocolate. A ration that was the same throughout the bar. I didn't find plain pockets. The nuts and fruits were consistent.
I also really like that these are produced right here in the UK. I love to buy UK produced goods if I can, to shop British. We need to support these home grown industries if we want our country to grow and flourish! Having quality goods to use/eat, etc, makes it easy!
There was no plastic used in the packaging. That is a biggie with me these days. We need to be reducing our plastic use, and I was quite happy that they were not using any.
What I didn't like: I am really trying hard to find something here, and I can't find anything, for the most part, other than the fact that they are a tad bit pricey. But that is not exactly an entirely bad thing. I might not be tempted to indulge as often as I could be were they not on the pricey, because these are really, really good!
If you would like to find out more about these bars and where you can buy them be sure to check out:
Note - I was sent two complimentary bars to try for myself. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange. Any and all opinions and comments are my own.
I never thought I would like a cold soup. I mean, isn't soup supposed to be served hot? Cold soup has just never appealed to me before NOW! And with just one spoonful of this fabulous ice cold Sweet Pea & Avocado Vichyssoise, I have converted into a lover of cold soup, or at the very least a lover of THIS cold soup!
The recipe is one I adapted from the cookery book entitled "Seriously Simple," by Diane Rossen Worthington. Its a book I have had in my bookcase for a number of years now, and after having made this soup at the weekend, I wondered why I did not refer to this book more often than I do. It is quite simply delicious as has been any recipe I have cooked from this book.
Simple ingredients put together in an amazing and delicious way. This is the way I love to cook and to eat.
It takes simple things like frozen petit pois . . . fresh avocado . . . sour cream . . . fresh salsa . . .chicken stock . . .lemon juice . . . spring onions . . . a bit of seasoning . . .
Nothing in the list is really out of the ordinary, unless you count the avocado pear . . . and they are very common here in the UK now, so not a problem.
All blitzed together until smooth and creamy. I pushed mine through a sieve to get rid of any little bits . . . because I am pedantic like that. Diane did not call for that step, but I really thought this soup would be better without them. I think I was right, at least presentation-wise.
This was quite simply beautiful, delicious . . . creamy, flavourful . . . very tasty!
She suggests that a clever cook could choose to garnish with some shredded cucumber & carrot, or a fresh corn relish (can you imagine how pretty that would be?), cooked shrimp, lobster or crab meat . . . all beautiful suggestions. I garnished with some fresh tomato salsa. Sour cream and slivered spring onion would also be very pretty and delicious.
If there was one drawback to this soup, and I am really having to stretch here, it would be that you do need a blender or a food processor, but they are pretty standard appliances in most kitchens today. I could not live without mine. I have a lovely stick blender as well as a food processor and they both get regular workouts!
I served this in chilled half pint canning jars, set on cut glass plates, which made for a really lovely presentation.
This was fabulous. Really fabulous. If you are looking for a delicious first course for your summer entertaining needs, look no further. This is perfect!
*Sweet Pea & Avocado Vichyssoise*
Serves 4
1 large ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
150g frozen petit pois, thawed (1 cup)
600ml of cold chicken stock (2 1/2 cups)
3 spring onions, thinly sliced (the light green and white parts only)
3 TBS fresh lemon juice
40g sour cream (1/2 cup)
salt and black pepper to taste
4 TBS fresh tomato salsa, divided
Cold soup . . . yum. I am converted. I just wish I had taken the photos yesterday instead of this morning so you can see how truly vibrant the colour is. Alas, my day got away from me, and I did them this morning instead. Yes . . . I did eat this for breakfast, and I gobbled up every scrap of it. It was delicious (and now you know what a true glutton I really am.) Oh, and I was also able to successfully cut the recipe in half. This is plain and simple gorgeous! Bon appetit and Happy Summer!
I have to say we are really enjoying our new Space Grill. It could not have come at a better time, with all of this lovely dry and sunny warm weather we have been enjoying. Its been a real pleasure to actually have a reliable and easy to use grill so that I can do all of our cooking out of doors, without having to heat up the stove or the whole house in the process!
The other day I was able to cook our whole dinner on this new Grill, with the exception of the initial boiling of the potatoes for my roadkill potatoes. I think this Grill is absolutely amazing. I have never been able to do that before. Cook my whole meal on the grill. Its like having an outdoor stove. It really is very user friendly, and so simple to crack open and cook on.
I was able to cook the steaks which I had been marinating in my killer marinade for a couple of hours on the grill grate side . . .
While on the cast iron grill plate I was grilling thickly sliced onions, my potatoes and fresh asparagus.
It was all so very easy. The higher heat seems to be concentrated in the centre of the grilling areas. I started off heating the grill on high, and then when it came time to cook I reduced the temperature to medium beneath the steaks so that everything was roughly finished in the same time.
As the potatoes were precooked, they really only needed crisping up on the outsides and preheating. The asparagus and the onions were raw, but in the time it took to crisp up the potatoes, they were finished. Once I had the steaks done, I moved them to the outer edges of the grill so they could kind of rest while I was finishing off the vegetables.
These were Rib Eye steaks, about 3/4 inch thick, and for medium rare it took an initial searing on one side for 4 - 5 minutes and then 3 - 5 minutes on the other side. They were perfect for us. If you like them more well done, cook them for a bit longer, or less done, cook them for a bit shorter times.
The asparagus took about 14 minutes, with frequent turning, as did the onions and the potatoes. To prep the onions and asparagus, I simply brushed them with a bit of light olive oil and seasoning them slightly with salt and black pepper. The onions were lovely and tender and the asparagus was crispy tender.
Asparagus done this way is quite simply beautiful to eat. I should do it this way all the time! (and I just might!)
The potatoes were a grill take on a potato recipe that I initially shared with my readers many moons ago on my Oak Cottage Blog for Dressed Road Kill Potatoes. (Back in 2011) And as Road Kill Potatoes long before that on my AOL Journal, so as you can see it is a very, very old recipe. My friend Pat had cooked them the other day and told me how much she and her family still enjoyed them, even after all these years. I realised I had never presented them on this blog, and I looked at our new grill and thought to myself, why not give them a go on that! They worked out beautifully. We were ever so pleased!
*Perfect Steak Marinade*
Makes enough for 4 - 6 servings
A
delicious blend of flavours perfect for marinating beef steaks, pork
chops and lamb. I poke the meat all over with a fork before marinating
so that the flavours really get into the meat.
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
2 tsp Dijon mustard
4 TBS Soy sauce
4 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
4 TBS good quality Balsamic vinegar
4 TBS light olive oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
These potatoes are ever so tasty. They are simply boiled potatoes, in the skins, cooled and then smashed down lightly with a flat potato masher . . . brushed with oil, seasoned and grilled on both sides until crisp and golden. A bit of cheese is melted on the top at the end and a sprinkle of minced spring onion finishes them off!
*Grilled Road Kill Potatoes*
To serve two, but easily adaptable for more
To serve two, but easily adaptable for more
The regular version of these (done in the oven) is a real favourite of everyone who has them. I decided to adapt the recipe so that I could do it on our BBQ grill (with excellent results!) You will need a cast iron grill pan for use on the BBQ or a grill plate.
2 medium potatoes per person
garlic granules, sweet paprika, mixed herbs, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
olive oil for drizzling
225g of strong grated cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
4 spring onions, chopped fine
Put
the potatoes in a large pot of salted water and bring to the boil.
Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until just barely tender when pierced with
the tip of a knife. Drain well and set aside to cool completely.
Drizzle
a bit of oil on a baking tray, sprinkle with some of the garlic
granules, paprika, mixed herbs, sea salt and black pepper.
Take
each cooled potato and smash it down onto the tray (hence the road
kill) with a potato masher, without totally obliterating them, but
leaving them merely with a flattened, nicely roughed up texture.
Sprinkle more of the spices and herbs over top to taste. Drizzle them with a bit more oil.
Heat
your BBQ grill/grill plate to high. Transfer the potatoes to the grill
plate with a spatula. Reduce the heat to medium. Grill for about 15
minutes, then flip them over and grill for a further 10 minutes or so at
which time they should be nicely browned with lovely crunchy bits.
Remove from the grill, scatter cheese over top along with the spring
onions. The heat from the potatoes should melt the cheese. If it
doesn't, place a large bowl over top to cover and leave for a few
minutes. Scatter over the spring onions and serve immediately.
So there you have it. A complete meal cooked on the grill that is exciting and delicious! We both loved this very much!
The Grill/BBQ we are using is the Space Grill 1800 3-Burner Gas Grill. This stainless steel Space Grill is a revolutionary idea for modern families with a unique
fold-away design which is perfect for garden patio grilling or even the
high rise balcony. It fits in perfectly every where, and is as truly
versatile as it is beautiful! You can either mount it on an existing
load bearing wall, or you can buy a specifically designed stand to mount
it on. Either way it is easy to use. Once installed, it folds down and is ready to use in about 10 seconds. (I kid you not!) After you are finished and it is cooled down and cleaned, you simply fold it back into place, cover it and that is that. We are ever so pleased with it! If you would like to know more about
it, or perhaps even to purchase one for your own use, do check out the Space Grill Site.
I wonder what I will cook up on it next??? Watch this space!
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