Pesto Scallop Dinner

Tonight was a completely ‘off the cuff’ meal, based on what we had. The result was a mushroom tomato based pesto pasta topped with pan seared garlic butter scallops served with pan seared asparagus. Let’s start with the pesto, as it was the star of the show. My garden is FULL of basil. And when I was offered scallops for the main course, my mind went to a pesto…and we’d figure the rest out later. The Pesto.Into my food processor goes a handful of pecans. Four chopped garlic cloves. A handful of Reggiano. I’m trying to not use A1 milk cheeses. And then fill up the processor with a huge pile of fresh basil from my garden. I douse this with extra virgin olive oil and blend it. A added a little Himalayan sea salt and fresh ground...

Faux Lobster Roll

I focus on not using processed foods in my cooking. I have done this since my girls were little. Sure, there were kielbasi and frozen perogies on occasion. I admit to that. But if you follow my cooking, there’s not a lot of processed foods. I will lean into bread and cheese as needed. But It’d like to think that is a minor offense. But when we talk about ‘outside isle’ thinking, I hope I get some forgiveness tonight. Because I’m cooking a Faux Lobster Roll. Technically, still on the outside isle. 1 stalk of celery, small diced 2 Tablespoons of fresh dill, minced 1 Tablespoon fresh Parsley minced ½ Cup Dukes Mayo 8 oz Imitation crab logs sliced into chunks 2 Slit on top buns 1 diced up green onion to top Combine the Celery, dill,...

Shrimp Scampi Tacos

For my Saturday night dinner, I was thinking Shrimp Tacos. I had all the ingredients. But I’ve done this so many times. So, I thought…what else could I do with shrimp. The first thought was a Shrimp Bo-Boy taco, which would be good. But I’m avoiding fried foods. Then…Shrimp Scampi Taco came to me. I’m sure somebody has done this before, but I dove into the concept. I de-thawed about half a pound of high-count shrimp (I didn’t want jumbos) in water and removed the tails. I only seasoned them with crushed red pepper. I cooked down a handful of cherry tomatoes in olive oil and set them aside. In the same juice, I put a couple tablespoons of Kerrygold butter, and then about 4 diced garlic cloves. When it heated up to a slight...

Open faced tuna and olive tapenade sandwich

One of my favorite Summer lunches is an open faced tuna and olive tapenade sandwich. You can buy a pre-made tapenade, but I like making a custom one to my taste. I usually have all the ingredients in my pantry/fridge. The base requirements are olives, capers and lemon juice. I hunted through my larder and came up with this… CapersKalamata olivesSun dried tomatoes (and its liquid)Roasted red bell peppersHot cherry peppersGreen onions stuffed with garlicBlack olivesOive oilJuice of 2 lemonsBlack pepper. Add fresh garlic to yours, I just counted on the garlic in the olives. All this goes into a food processor and is pulsed a few times to your desire. Made a lot so you have leftovers. Normally I’d put this on a toasted halved baguette, but I only had...

Ratatouille

And then there is…Ratatouille! Whether you get your veggies from your garden, or your farmer’s market (ours was a mix of both), this is the time to make your Ratatouille. We cooked this on the griddle, but just using the heat (other than the chicken for Don) in two iron skillets to retain the juices. This very much is a vegetarian meal, but Don wanted some protein on his. So diced chicken breast was cooked separately and added on at the end to his portion. We diced up everything you see. onions, mushrooms, zuchini, peppers…whatever you like. But you need some tomatoes in the mix. The seasoning was black pepper, and whatever herbs were in the garden, mostly basil and parsley. These were tossed with avocado oil and some light seasoning…salt...