Category Archives: Recipe for 2
Tomato, cucumber, avocado salad
This is my go to lunch, particularly late summer when tomatoes are fresh! In this case I added chickpeas to add proteins but I make different variations of this. For example, replacing the chickpeas by adding pitted kalamata olives and Feta cheese (which makes it vegetarian) will create a lovely Mediterranean salad. I often pair it with my green soup which I make regularly.
Ingredients
- 2 plum tomatoes cut in chunk
- ½ english cucumber peeled and cut in chunk (I slice them in half lengthwise and then in half again, then slice them about 1 cm wide)
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- 3 tbsp chick peas
- 1 tbsp caper (or sometime I use green or black olives)
- ¼ avocado cut in chunk
Dressing
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- Juice from ¼ of a lemon
- 1 tsp of Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp of seasoned salt (I mix my own. I will post a recipe shortly)
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp of dried thyme
I make a few variation of this dressing depending how I feel. Replace the Dijon and lemon juice with red wine vinegar for example.
The key for this salad is to make it at least half an hour before eating it so that the juices all mix together, creating a marvelous sauce! Place all the ingredients in a bowl, then mix the dressing in a separate bowl. Add to the salad and let it sit for a bit.
Lunch for 2
Veggie-Egg Stack Sunday brunch
Before leaving for our long snowshoeing hike in our beautiful wood at our cottage, we need some fuel.
Today I improvised a new egg stack without any bread. Yummy and no carbs!!
Ingredients for 2 servings
- 2-3 eggs depending if someone wants 2 eggs (my husband)
- 2 leaves of romaine lettuce
- 2 thick slices of tomatoes
- 6 slices of cucumber
- 1/3 cup of shredded old cheddar
- Half a small onion diced
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- Salt and pepper
Steps to make the recipe
Sauté the onion and the garlic in a bit of butter until softened.
Meanwhile, lay out the lettuce and top with tomatoe and cucumber. Add salt and pepper.
Spread the onions on the stack and use the same pan to fry the eggs over-easy (you could also poach the eggs if you prefer ) .
Spread the eggs on the stack and add salt and pepper to taste.
In the same pan, toss the shredded cheese and melt for a minute.
Top your stack with the cheese et Voilà!
Parsley Pesto Roasted Cauliflower and Egg Stack for Sunday Brunch
Here is an awesome and healthy brunch / lunch idea I tried today. It was so good, even hubby approved!
Ingredients
- cauliflower head
- 4 tbsp of parsley pesto (1 per side). Recipe for parsley pesto from a previous post
- thick slices of tomatoes
- 1 egg per cauliflower slice
- salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste
- black olives and capers to taste
Cut a cauliflower right in the middle and then cut 2 to 3 1-inch thick slices depending on the size of your cauliflower. Spread generously with parsley pesto on the side facing up.
Place the cauliflower slices in the oven at broil (setting high) about 6 inches from the element. Roast for about 3-5 minutes, checking often. Once it is browning, turn them over and brush with pesto on the other side. Place under the broiler for another 3-5 minutes (or however long it takes to brown in your oven).
Place a slice in the middle of a plate and cover with 2 thick slices of tomatoes.
Fry an egg sunny side up and slide onto the tomatoes. Season with garlic salt and pepper and sprinkle with capers and / or olives if you like them 🙂
Enjoy with a white wine spritzer!!
Yummy salmon filet on The BBQ….or not, with asparagus and light creamed spinach.
Tonight’s special at the Rock on Sparrow Lake, Muskoka was salmon. I prepared dinner in under 20 minutes while hubby was reading his newspaper on the couch in the Muskoka room….Life At The Cottage!
No carbs tonight but a full filing meal. The secret to the light creamed spinach is light herb and garlic cream cheese 🙂
I marinated the salmon about 2 hours before cooking but 1 hour would have been sufficient.
Here is the 1st step:
Mix together:
- 2tbsp of olive oil
- 1tbsp of lemon juice,
- 1 1/2 tbsp of Dijon mustard,
- 1 1/2 tbsp of soya sauce (optional),
- 2 tsp of dried dill,
- 1 garlic clove,
- 1/2 tsp of black pepper.
Place the salmon fillet meat side up in a container or aluminum foil and spread the marinade on the salmon. Put in the refrigerator for 1-2 hour.
About 20 minutes before dinner, start the BBQ or the oven at 425F
.
While you wait for the BBQ to heat up, break off the end of a bunch of asparagus and place in aluminum foil.
Drizzle with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle salt and pepper. Close up the aluminum to make a bundle ready for the BBQ. If you are cooking the salmon in the oven, place the asparagus in a cookie sheet and drizzle the same way. They will go in the oven for 10 minutes.
Once the bundle of asparagus is ready, the BBQ should be hot. Place the salmon filet on the grill. 
Meanwhile, prepare the creamed spinach.
Put about half the container of light Philadelphia herb and garlic cream cheese with about 2 tbsp of lemon juice in a saucepan.
Heat at medium on the stove until cheese is melted and add a whole package of spinach. Heat for about 2 minutes, turn the burner off and leave the cover on to finish cooking.
Now back to the BBQ. Add the asparagus bundle to the grill and close the cover. Leave everything in there for about 8 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon. Time for an apero and a book 🙂
8-10 minutes later, check the doneness of the salmon using a fork to see if it will flake up.
Once ready, dish out the spinach first.
Place the salmon in the plate, leaning it on the spinach with the asparagus besides. Add a wedge of lemon and a tbsp of caper sprinkled on the salmon. Remember that how it looks is almost as important as how it taste!
Pour wine and go down to the lake to watch the sunset. Why would we travel anywhere in the summer!
Baked cod with lemon and capers
This is an easy and light dinner, my husband I shared for dinner at the cottage tonight. Potatoes and cod are cooked together and we simply add some tomatoes and cucumbers with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to complete the meal.
Ingredients
- I used 5 Yukon gold mini potatoes cut in half but you can use larger ones and cut them into wedges.
- 2 tbsp of fresh parsley from our herb pot outside 🙂
- 1-2 tbsp of capers (i love those so I add more)
- Some olive oil (about 2 tbsp)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 large filet of cod skinless (or buy it in pieces)
Preheat the oven at 425F. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.
Cut potatoes in half and place them in a saucepan with 2 inches of water. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and put them back in the saucepan to coat them (my husband appreciate it when I re-use, less dishes :).
Add 1 tbsp of chopped parsley, the capers, 1-2 tsp oil, paprika and half the salt. Toss gently to coat them.
Meanwhile, mix the lemon zest, garlic, 1tbsp parsley, 1 tsp oil, remaining salt and mix together. My good friend Iona gave me this awesome zester! It is a must, love it.
Rub the cod with the mixture and place in the baking dish with the potatoes around it. Sprinkle cod and potatoes with the lemon juice.
Bake until the fish is opaque in the centre and flakes well. This should take about 15-18 minutes depending on your oven.
Serve and enjoy with a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio as we did 🙂
Variation: I sometimes sprinkle the fish with lemon and roll in Panko mixed with Parmesan cheese. It is a great variation!
Martine's food and places 