In a saucepan, mix together rhubarb and 1/4 cup sugar. Let stand for about half hour while the rhubarb macerates. When the time is up, place the saucepan over heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and let simmer until the rhubarb is soft. Remove from heat. When it’s reached a manageable temperature, put the rhubarb into a small food processor or blender and blend until it is an extremely fine puree. Scoop it into a small bowl and set aside.
In a saucepan, mix together the cream and 1/4 cup sugar. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to simmer, and let it continue to bubble for three minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, then stir in rhubarb puree. Mix together very well.
Pour into serving dishes. This makes about 4 4-oz servings.
NOTE: I started with The Kiwi Cook’s recipe, but I made a lot of changes like reducing the recipe because there are only two of us and I streamlined the process. If you need to serve more people and have a bountiful amount of rhubarb, by all means multiply the recipe.
1 lb. hot-smoked salmon, flaked, with bones and skin removed
3 Tbsp. fresh dill, minced
12 oz. cream cheese, softened (room temperature)
1 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup farmer’s “quark” cheese (or ricotta)
Egg Wash ingredients
1 egg
1 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. fresh dill, minced
Dough: Heat milk to 110 degrees. I use a stand mixer for this next part. Pour milk into the bowl and sprinkle yeast over the top and stir around a bit. Wait 5-10 minutes for the yeast to dissolve. Stir in sugar, salt, butter, and egg. Mix until well combined. Using the dough hook, stir in 2 cups flour. On low speed, over the course of ten minutes, let the gluten build while occasionally adding more flour. Once the dough is smooth to the touch by using the least amount of flour possible, set the dough aside to rise to double in size, about an hour and a half.
Filling: While the dough is rising, melt butter in a skillet and saute onions in butter until they are translucent. Do not brown the onions. Remove from heat and let cool.
Place the flaked salmon into a large bowl and stir in the onion and dill. In a separate medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy. Stir in garlic powder, salt, paprika, and pepper until well mixed. Gently stir in farmer’s cheese. It’s okay to have lumps, don’t overmix. Stir the cream cheese mixture into the flaked salmon mixture. Again, do not overmix.
Assembly: Prepare a couple baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat or by greasing. On a floured surface, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. To prevent them from drying out, cover the pieces you are not working with. Roll the first piece into a 7″ by 4″ rectangle. Lay about 1/2 scant cup of filling along 3/4 the length of the dough. Pull the dough up each side of the filling and press along to the top to seal. Make sure not to get filling onto the edges of the dough or it may not seal. The 1/4 length without filling, press flat. Make sure the seam is sealed very well. Using a sharp floured knife, cut the flat part in half to form the tail. Move it to a prepared baking sheet. Using a finger, gently press little indentations along side the seam on each side. Repeat with the remaining seven pieces of dough. Cover the baking sheets. Let stand until puffy, about 30 minutes. This is easiest to see on the tails.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Make the egg wash by mixing together an egg and water. Brush the egg wash carefully over each puffy piroshki. Bake at 350 degrees F for 28-35 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for about ten minutes before serving. Yum!
NOTES: This recipe originates with Tatyana’s Everyday Food. Tatyana has an excellent video of how to make these. Be certain to seal them well or they may split open. Yes, this is experience talking to you. Piroshki’s are like calzone. The bread is meant to be thin and the filling generous. I smoked my own salmon and I made my own farmer’s (ricotta) cheese. These Piroshkis make a very filling lunch. They freeze well.
Dressing: In a small saucepan heat the olive oil. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes. Saute for a few minutes until garlic and ginger are fragrant. Stir in honey, vinegar, and orange zest. When it starts to foam, remove from heat and set aside.
Salmon: Season the salmon with your favorite rub or seasoning salt or just salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a skillet to hot hot. Sear the salmon quickly on both sides. Cook all the way through until it easily flakes with a fork. Remove from heat and set aside.
Salad Assembly: In separate bowls lay out beds of lettuce. Sprinkle around the orange, cucumber, avocado, and red onion. Place the salmon pieces on top. Just before serving, pour the warm dressing over the bowls. Sprinkle each bowl with pistachios. Serve.
YIELD: 2 large bowls as a main dish or more small ones.
NOTES: This delectable beauty comes from Gimme Some Oven. She uses almonds and sesame seeds instead of pistachios. It looks so good, but I went with the pistachios instead. Make sure to use a hearty lettuce, like romaine or iceberg, so it doesn’t get soggy under the warm dressing. I used a pre-measured frozen ginger mash, so it didn’t take very long to saute the garlic and ginger together. I prepped all the dressing ingredients ahead so I could just add them without having to stop mid-process. This was amazingly delicious.
In a large bowl stir together cauliflower, cabbage, onion and bacon. In a separate small bowl, stir together the mayo, sugar, vinegar, Parmesan, and pepper. Stir the mayonnaise mixture into the vegetable mixture until well combined. Serves 4-6.
NOTES: This recipe came from my friend, Jo, back in the ages when we were young mothers together. I haven’t made it in years until today. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, so decided to do it! For the ingredients, I use white wine vinegar and shredded Parmesan. My bacon rashers are small, and I think adding more bacon wouldn’t hurt a thing. What doesn’t taste better with bacon? This recipe can be made a day ahead of time and kept under refrigeration until ready to serve. It can also be easily multiplied if serving a crowd.
In a medium bowl, stir together mayo, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir in remaining ingredients. Serves 2.
NOTES: You can use any color of apple or seedless grape. I usually put chopped walnuts into a pie tin and place the tin in the oven at whatever temperature I happen to be baking at the time. I shake the tin every couple minutes. It takes about 8 minutes or so to toast the walnuts. If you’re not a mayo fan, try plain yogurt.
Slice the salmon into evenly sized strips, about 1″ wide. I used three strips per person. Sprinkle sesame seeds onto a plate. Let’s call the salmon skin the bottom. Press one side of the salmon into the sesame seeds on the plate so that the side is well-coated. Heavily salt the other side, the side that is facing up toward you. That’s it for prep.
Heat just a little oil in a skillet until very hot. Place the salmon in the skillet, sesame side down, and sear it for a couple minutes. Do not crowd the fish. When you see the salmon turning pink about half way through, turn the salmon over so that the salted side is on the skillet. Let it finish cooking, a couple more minutes. Remove from skillet and let stand for a couple minutes. Serve.
NOTES: This tastes AMAZING!!! No joke. My son in Juneau (pictured below) made these and used blueberry salt for the salted side. He said it was AMAZING! I used garlic salt the last time I made these. I cannot overstate how good these are. It’s as though I discovered the perfect way to make salmon. Oh, but credit must go to Jamie Oliver for introducing me. Thank you.
How I ended up with more salmon than I know what to do with, but I’m working on it . . .
Last summer I bought 30 salmon from my friend Sandy. She has a small processing operation in Naknek. She fileted the fish for me. In Alaska parlance, that means she gutted the salmon and split the fish in half, removing the backbone. My memory from working at the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game in King Salmon during summers 1975-1977 as a fish ticket editor and radio operator tells me the average size of a Bristol Bay sockeye salmon is 8 pounds. If you remove the guts and split it in half, that’s about 2.5-3 pounds of meat. I see salmon recipes online talking about filets and I just don’t know what that means. They clearly are using the word “filet” differently than I’m accustomed to. Oh, well. To me, a filet is half a fish. If it’s a Kasilof fish, it’s not very much. If it’s a Bristol Bay fish, it’s a lot.
Sandy asked me if I wanted the collars and bellies removed. I was trying to catch up on the lingo and told her I didn’t care, whatever was easiest. She left them. Thank goodness because that’s what I’m used to. I cut them off myself and boil them to make salmon broth for use in salmon chowder and other seafood chowders. Sandy asked if I wanted some bellies. She cuts them off for her customers outside Alaska. The filet makes a neater appearance that way. Sure, I took some bellies. I smoked and canned them, but they’re nearly all oil so it wasn’t very appetizing. I tossed some on the smoker, but still . . . too oily for me. I don’t think I will order them again. She also threw in some scrap meat. It’s the odds-and-ends, mostly from around the backbone. There were several pounds in my order for free. She’s trying to develop a market for it, so was seeking recipes. Now that’s been a wonderful boon. I really like that. It’s good for salmon burgers and chowder. I like it better than the bellies.
Well, that’s how I ended up with 60 salmon filets, plus more extra pieces. I created a checklist so I know how many to order next year. It’s December 20 and I’ve used 19 filets. How many will I have used by July 4, 2023? We’ll see. We’ll see.
Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper, a silpat, or grease/butter.
In a microwave-safe bowl, using 30-second increments in your microwave, melt the baking chips until smooth, stirring well after each increment. Stir in the nuts and cranberries. Spread onto prepared sheet pan, as thin as you can without leaving any holes. Place into the refrigerator, or out on a countertop, until it’s hard. Remove to a cutting board and slice or break apart into serving-size pieces. Yum.
NOTES: Make sure to separate your dried cranberries so that they’re not in clumps when you stir them into the baking chips. I had a 1-lb. bag of white chocolate chips the first time and I used chopped dried cherries and lightly salted pistachios. It was great. The next time I had the ingredients I’ve listed above. The recipe is very forgiving, you don’t need the exact measurements. The add-in amounts should be to your taste, as long as you can spread the mixture out on a sheet pan. I live in a cold climate, so leaving the candy out on the countertop to harden works just fine, but you may have trouble if it’s too warm in your kitchen.
Prepare a 9×13″ dish by greasing it or lining with parchment paper.
In a large pan, melt chocolate chips with butter and sweetened condensed milk over low heat until smooth. Stir in peanuts and marshmallows. Spread mixture into the prepared dish. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into squares. Yield: 3-1/4 lbs.
Here are photos of before refrigeration and another to show you how much it makes — huge amount! This is an expensive recipe, but it’s super easy and takes just a few minutes to throw together. Make sure you use a really large pan to melt and stir everything together in. Those marshmallows take up a lot of space. It’s very pretty when sliced and served. Tastes REALLY yummy, too.
This quick and easy meal comes from Dash of Mandi. It is REALLY YUMMY! I keep tweaking the recipe based upon what I have on-hand. The part that takes the longest is cooking the rice. I used black “Forbidden” rice that I found in the back of the cupboard. I didn’t have any edamame (I barely know what that is) or garbanzos, so I did without this time.
Dressing Ingredients (all quantities are approximate–this is not fussy)
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. sweet chili sauce
1/2 Tbsp. sriracha
Bowl Ingredients (all quantities are approximate–this is not fussy)
1 cup dry rice, any kind
1/3 cup sweet chili sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sriracha
1 lb. salmon, skinned, deboned, and cut into 1-1/2″ cubes
Salt, or seasoning salt
Olive oil
Sliced cucumber
Sliced avocado
Edamame, or garbanzo beans
2 green onions, sliced
1 tsp. of sesame seeds
Stir together the dressing ingredients and set aside.
Start cooking the rice by stirring together rice with 1-3/4 cup to 2 cups liquid in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat to low and cook for 25-30 minutes. Do not peek. Brown or black rice will take longer than white rice. You can use any kind of liquid you want. I used water this time, but have used broth previously.
Stir together sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, and sriracha. Set aside.
Sprinkle the salmon cubes with salt. About ten minutes before the rice is finished, heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Add salmon in a single layer. Gently turn salmon pieces to cook on all sides. Stir in sweet chili sauce mixture. Heat through.
Into each bowl, place a portion of rice, half the salmon including the sauce, and half the cucumber, avocado, and edamame. Sprinkle with dressing and then sprinkle with sliced green onion and sesame seeds. Serve.
Foods Passion 