Foil Baked Salmon and Asparagus

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Where has the week gone? We had Foil Baked Salmon and Asparagus for dinner last Sunday and I'm only just getting a chance to post it. Is it really Friday again already?

I haven't got that much to say about the recipe. It does all the talking for itself. It's salmon, it's asparagus, it's baked in foil, therefore not only is it simple, it also does taste great and it's healthy. Full of essential Omega 3 from the salmon and iron from the asparagus and no other fat in sight. (Therefore I didn't have to feel so bad when I poured some melted butter over my fresh Jersey Royal Potatoes.)

Try it I'm sure you'll like it. You can increase the amounts easily to serve more people.



Foil Baked Salmon and Asparagus (serves 2)

2 skinless salmon fillets
250gr asparagus, woody ends trimmed off
1/2 lemon
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 220C/Gas 8.

Place the salmon fillet into the middle of a large sheet of tin foil.

Season with salt and pepper and any other seasoning you might like to add.

Place half of the asparagus spears on top, squeeze the juice of 1/4 of a lemon over it.

Bring up the sides of the foil and fold the top over twice, then seal the sides. Make sure the parcel is sealed well but still has plenty of air inside for the steam to circulate. It shouldn't wrap the salmon and asparagus tightly, but be more like a tent around it.



Repeat with the other salmon fillet.

Place the foil parcels on a baking tray and place in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes.

Be careful when you remove them from the oven and open the parcels as they will be full of hot steam. Drain off the juices and serve immediately.

Enjoy.

Meme time

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I was tagged by Melissa at It's Melissa's Kitchen for a meme, so here it goes...

Why did you start your blog?
I don't know really. I guess it was because I like reading other people's food blogs, I really love cooking and baking and have enjoyed taking pictures of the results for a while now (I used to post pictures regularly on Recipezaar). So, one day when I was a bit bored I just thought I'd start one to kill some time. Never did I know that it'd become so addictive.

How did you come up with your blog name?
I found that quite difficult as there are already so many good names out there and a couple that I had thought of, already existed or were far too similar and I'm not great at coming up with titles at any rate. I guess I just thought about things I like and that's how it became what it is.

Do your friends and family know about the blog and what do they think?
I think a lot of them know, not everyone, but that's not because I keep it a secret, it's just because I don't usually say: 'Hi, so good to see you. Oh, by the way I have started a blog, go check it out!' I think most of them probably like it, the feedback I have gotten has been positive, very few of them post comments directly on here though.

How do I write a post?
I sit down at my laptop, connect to the internet and start typing. I guess that's not the point of the question though, but with a food blog that's easy. What I write about is determined by what's happening in my kitchen. What I cook or bake is what I write about and sometimes of course it might be something else that I think worthy of sharing, usually somehow connected to food though.

Have you ever had a troll or had to delete unkind comments?
Luckily, I have never had either. I don't know if I would delete any unkind comments either, if it's somebody's opinion, let them have it. It's a public blog after all and not everyone is gonna like it. I guess the only reason for me deleting one would be if it was offensive to others.

Do you check your stats or care how many people read your blog? If you care, how do you increase traffic?
Yes, I do check them. At the beginning I did it all the time, but that has calmed down a bit. I find it fascinating though to see where in the world people come from and obviously I like to see how people come across my blog (which reminds me that I need to update the links to other people's blogs). The things that so far have increased my traffic are joining the UK Food Blogger's Association, the Foodie BlogRoll, somehow being picked up on by www.foodreel.co.uk and of course through my visits and comments on other people's blogs.


If you like this meme, feel yourself tagged!

Sunday's Lazy Breakfast

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I woke up on Sunday morning just to find that D and our friend G had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room. Well, one of them on the sofa the other one in a chair. I think that maybe just maybe that was due to just one (or two, or three) too many drinks at the BBQ on Saturday night.

When I looked at them, I was so glad that I had been at least a little more sensible and had drunk a few pints of water before going to bed at about four in the morning. They looked rough and I think they felt it too, even though D only admitted to it when I wanted to go out for a picnic in the afternoon and he really wasn't up to it.

Usually on a morning like that I'd probably cook us a Full English, but I wanted something different, so I made some pancakes, chopped up some fruit, got out the syrup, mixed some yoghurt with quark, made some coffee and poured plenty of fresh orange juice, before waking the two.

The breakfast seemed to be much appreciated and went down well with all of us. A great start to what turned out to be a lazy sunny Sunday.



Old Fashioned Pancakes (serves 3-4)

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 medium egg, beaten
1tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/4 cups milk

Sift together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a bowl.

In a separate large bowl whisk toghether the beaten egg with vanilla extract, melted butter and milk.

Add the flour mix little by little, whisking constantly until you get a smooth batter (it'll be quite thick.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan to medium heat.

Add a little oil and pour approximately 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan for each pancake . Spread out a little with the back of a spoon.

When the batter starts to bubble around the edge and on top, flip the pancake over and bake until the other side is also golden.

Contininue until you have used up all the batter. My pan fits only about three pancakes at a time and I have to make them in batches, keeping them warm in a warm oven.

These are maybe a little thicker than the 'standard' (whatever that may be) American pancake, but they are light and fluffy and taste great.

Enjoy!



The drinking the night before obviously also affected me. I nearly forgot to take a picture of the 'assembled' pancake and the one I did take of my half-eaten one, is rather blurry, but I guess that was my view of the world at the time!

Thank yous

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Firstly a big THANK YOU to Nic at Cherrapeno who awarded me the E for 'Excellence' Award a while ago. Sorry Nic, that it took me so long to mention it here.

I've already passed this award on once and it really doesn't get any easier choosing the second time round as there are so many deserving blogs out there, but here I go anyways (in no particular order)...

Just Get Floury. Ginny shares great recipes, photos and stories and I love the idea of the Dollar Dish Duel, even if this time round I missed the deadline.

Tinned Tomatoes. Holler inspires me to cook more vegetarian dishes with her great recipes.

Kalofagas - Greek Food & Beyond. Nobody has ever made me want to get the BBQ out while it's still freezing and snowing like Peter with his great food and stories.

Another big THANK YOU goes to Rosie at Rosie Bakes a 'Peace' of Cake, for choosing my blog for the Arte y Pico Award. Rosie, I'm made up, even though of course now I'm in the impossible situation of having to choose five blogs to pass it on to.



A Slice of Cherry Pie. Julia doesn't just share great recipes and wonderful pictures, she also set up the UK Food Blogger's Association and continues to manage it.

The Great Big Vegetable Challenge. I love the idea and think everyone should make vegetables fun like this for their kids, so they can learn to love the rich variety there is on offer. Go check out Freddie's adventures.

Closet Cooking. Kevin is amazingly adventurous with his cooking. I don't know anybody else who makes their own kimchi. He even 'learns' Chinese symbols, so he can get the right ingredients when shopping in Chinatown.

Hannah's Country Kitchen. I first saw Hannah as a contestant on Masterchef last year and then found her blog. She bakes and decorates amazing cakes and I love her way of experimenting with unusual flavour combinations.

A Year from Oak Cottage. I have 'known' Marie for quite a while now and hers was one of the first blogs I followed regularly and she was certainly partly responsible for getting me into the whole blogging thing.

The rules for the Arte y Pico Award are:

1. You pick five blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and the link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4. Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil - A Taste of Summer

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There are a few things that really taste of summer to me and fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil salad is one of those. Usually I just tear up a large ball of fresh mozzarella, slice vine ripened tomatoes and arrange it all on a plate, topped with the basil.

Last night though, we had some friends round for a BBQ at ours and I was looking for something quick to make and that people could easily start nibbling on while waiting for their stuff off the grill (it had to be quick as it was a rather spontaneous decision to have a BBQ, as I only made up my mind to have one at five in the afternoon).

So I decided to make 'mini salad portions on a stick' that were easily made, even easier to eat and tasted just as much of summer. They are great for bringing to parties, I promise they'll disappear quickly.



Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil Appertisers

mini Mozzarella balls
vine ripened cherry tomatoes
fresh basil leaves
freshly ground black pepper
balsamic vinegar syrup
extra virgin olive oil (optional)

Thread one mini Mozzarella ball, one basil leaf and one cherry tomato (cut them in half if they're on the big side) onto a cocktail stick.

Repeat until you have used all of them up.

Arrange on a plate and grind some black pepper over the lot.

Drizzle with balsamic vinegar syrup and extra virgin olive oil (most of the time I don't use any oil).

Enjoy!

Roast Vegetable and Gruyere Quiche

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When reading through Tinned Tomatoes by Holler this afternoon, she had posted an entry for the Vegetarian Feast blog event, hosted by Judith at Shortcut to Mushrooms. The event was just about perfect for me, as this time the challenge is to make a vegetarian quiche, tart, flan or savoury pastry (basically anything as long as it is vegetarian, flat and has a crust) and I had just come back from the kitchen where I had put my vegetables in the oven to roast for my quiche.

If I remember this right the recipe for this quiche came from a supermarket magazine and even though roasting the vegetables first means a little more effort and time, it is well worth it as they become wonderfully sweet and full of flavour. It also makes it the perfect recipe for using up left-over roast veg if you have any. The gruyere means it's nice and cheesy and not too eggy.

I love it when it's warm as a light meal with a side salad and even better it's great cold too, so ideal for picnics and lunch boxes. Of course you can make your own pastry, but if you don't have that much time or don't like making pastry the store bought stuff works just fine.



Roast Veg and Gruyere Quiche

350gr frozen shortcrust pastry, thawed
1 red onion, quatered
1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1 courgette, sliced thickly
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large egg
125ml cream
120gr gruyere or mature cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven 200C/Gas6.

Roll out your pastry dough and line a deep 10 inch/25 cm flan dish.

Line with baking paper and baking beans and blind bake for 10 minutes.

Remove paper and beans and return to the oven to bake for another 5 minutes.

Place all the vegetables on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil.

Place in the oven and roast for about 25-30 minutes until slightly charred.

Set aside and cool slightly, seperate the onion into separate layers.

Turn down the temperature of your oven to 180C/Gas4.

Whisk the eggs with the milk, stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste (you can also mix in a few of your favourite herbs).

Spread the vegetables over the bottom of the pastry case and pour the egg mixture over

Bake for approx 30-35 minutes.

Enjoy hot or cold.

Greek Courgette and Rice Bake

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You know when you come across a recipe that you're not completely convinced about, but you try it anyways and are actually really positively surprised by the result? Well, that happened to me last night.

I had taken some lean minced beef from the freezer in the morning and then remembered that I had two courgettes that had been sitting in my fridge for over a week and were quickly approaching their beyond hope date. I had bought them to make a pasta sauce that a Portuguese friend of mine once made, involving plenty of garlic, cream and cheese, but since I am trying to get back into running and cooking a little healthier it never got made.

Anyways, what to do with those two ingredients and without having to go shopping? I just googled for recipes using both ingredients and came across this Greek Courgette and Rice Bake on a German cooking site called Marion's Kochbuch. Bingo! I have no idea if it is authentic, and as I said I wasn't completely convinced by just looking at the recipe, but I had everything in and got a chance to use my courgettes and minced beef and with small additions and alterations such as garlic (I just couldn't help myself), it turned into a simple and quick weeknight meal full of flavour, that I will definitely make again.



Greek Courgette and Rice Bake (serves 3-4)

125gr rice
1tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped finely
250gr lean minced beef
200gr tomatoes, peeled and quartered
300gr courgette, sliced medium thick
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1tbsp oregano
1tbsp thyme
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
200gr feta cheese

Cook the rice according to the instruction on the packet, but use vegetable stock instead of water for extra flavour.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onions and minced beef. Fry until the beef is browned, about 10-14 Minutes.

Preheat your oven to 200C/Gas 6.

Add the tomatoes, courgettes, garlic and herbs and cook on a moderate heat for another seven minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the rice and stir until everything is well combined. If the mix is very dry you can add a couple of tablespoons of water.

Place into an oven proof dish and crumble the feta cheese over the top.

Bake for 10 minutes in the middle of the oven.

Enjoy.

I'm back

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I got back from Germany early on Monday morning and have just about recovered from far too little sleep over the past week or so.

The earlier trip to Glasgow was lovely, but apart from discovering that Mother's Pride Pan Bread is great for toasting and being bought a thistle shaped wooden porridge spurtle, I don't really have any foodie things to share.

The trip home to Germany was a bit more relevant when it comes to food blogging, I guess. I came back with two great cake recipes, that I'll share over the next couple of weeks or so and I bought some nice goodies, such as Strawberry vinegar (which is supposed to be great mixed with Cava) and a lovely Potatas Bravas dip mix from new delicatessen shop in my hometown. I would have probably bought loads more stuff, but I had only taken my small weekend trolley instead of the usual suitcase.

My sister is coming over in the car in a couple of months though, so I have already started to to write a list of things for her to bring over. I also had the first BBQ of the season at my friends house, to which I brought an old favourite of mine, Colourful Orzo Salad.



I got this recipe from the web originally, but have changed some of the ingredients and added things to my liking. The original called for parsley instead of fresh coriander for example, but I don't really like it all that much. I also started adding feta cheese after the first few times of making it and now never make it without. The salad looks pretty and there usually isn't any left.

Colourful Orzo Salad (serves 4-6)

1 1/2 cups orzo pasta
4 tbsp olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, diced finely
1 1/2 cups bell pepper (red, green and yellow)
1 small red onion, diced
1/4 cup fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 small block of feta cheese, cubed

Cook the orzo according to the instructions on the packet in plenty of salt water.

In a large bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, salt, pepper and garlic.

Add the carrot, peppers, onion and cooked orzo (there is no need to cool it first, and if you like you can serve the salad warm).

Stir well, making sure everything gets coated with the oil/lemon mix.

Add the fresh coriander and feta cheese and carefully mix into the salad, so that the feta doesn't break up too much.