Spring Strawberry Spinach Salad

Now how's that for a tongue twister. Try saying it ten times fast.

Luckily its a little easier to make than it is to say...

I tried this salad almost a year ago when my sister was in town visiting. I really didn't think I would like it because strawberries and salad seemed like a weird combination. After much coaxing, I finally did, and to my surprise, I loved it! So much so, that when I lived in San Diego it became part of my lunch staple where the strawberries are seriously in a league of their own.

Chopping up strawberries, adding them to a bowl of baby spinach, tossing it all with a balsamic vinegarette, and then topping it with toasted pine nuts takes literally all of five minutes and makes for a delectable combination. The best part is that it's healthy, low in calories, and the perfect dish to make in spring.

Note that I've named this the Spring Strawberry Spinach Salad. Spring has supposedly begun but with the snow thats hit NY for the past two days we still haven't given up our winter coats. I'm hoping by including some light fresh spring recipes I'll be able to encourage the good weather to move in quickly. We're all a bit tired of heavy winter foods and ready to trade in the winter squash for flavorful strawberries, cherries, and apricots!

Try it out. It'll brighten up your day even if the weather refuses to do so....

Recipe for Strawberry Spinach Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 pack of strawberries (about 15-20 strawberries)

1 pack or 3 cups of baby spinach

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Dressing

3 tbsp olive oil

1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt

pepper

Directions

Pour baby spinach into a salad bowl. Dice each strawberry in half and add to the spinach. Mix together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a separate bowl and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix in the dressing and then add the toasted pine nuts last for a bit of crunch.

Simply Salmon

We've all had those days where we're too tired to cook, not in the mood for greasy takeout chinese, and hope that if we procrastinate long enough a delicious, preferably healthy, meal may magically appear on the table. I've done this a few times and I've sadly discovered that there's no food fairy godmother.

All is not lost because I've discovered a go-to meal that has a three minute prep time, is healthy, and most importantly tastes delicious. I actually disliked salmon before I tried this dish and now I'm converted. Its that good!

Melt about 2 tbsp of butter in a bowl, add a cup of breadcrumbs along with some dill, and some salt and pepper for seasoning. Mix it all together and layer it on top of the salmon. Bake in the oven for about 20-30 mins if the pieces are thick (less if they aren't). The result is deliciously flaky salmon complemented by crunchy dill flavored crust. The butter incorporated in the bread crumbs gives it a beautiful golden brown color when it comes out of the oven.

Yesterday had been an exhausting day for both Nadir and I. We sat down to dinner at almost 10pm and devoured this meal. It was both quick and completely satisfying. Try it out. Its worth those three minutes....

Adapted from Claire Robinson's Herb Crusted Salmon Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh dill
• 2 to 3 tablespoons butter, melted, plus 1 tablespoon
• 4 center-cut salmon fillets

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a bowl, then add the bread crumbs, salt and pepper, and finally the dill. Mix together with a fork.

Pat the salmon dry and season on all sides with salt and pepper, to taste. Top each fillet with the herb/crumb mixture. Put the pan in the oven and bake until the fish flakes with a fork. About 20 minutes. Transfer the fish to a platter and serve immediately.

Anniversary Dinner - Tender Succulent Short Ribs..

Now, if that title didn't entice you, then there's not much that will. I rarely spend hours slaving over a meal in the kitchen but once in a while an occasion comes along where you just want to make something that will knock someone's socks off...namely, a first anniversary. I had toyed with the idea of going out to a romantic restaurant but as our main pass time is checking out places to eat, I thought this would be something a little more memorable.

Speaking of romantic restaurants, a few weeks earlier, we had dined at a classy place called Prado, in San Diego, set in the middle of a beautiful park. I ordered duck which was amazing but I looked over at Nadir's huge short ribs and took a tentative bite. The tender meat just fell off the bone and proceeded to melt in my mouth. Needless to say, a few minutes later, the short rib dish was in front of me and the duck had mysteriously made its way over to Nadir :)

With the memory of those short ribs still fresh in my mind I started looking online for recipes. A lot of them seemed pretty complicated and entailed leaving things overnight and cutting up hundreds of vegetables. I finally decided on a pretty simple recipe by Paula Dean. . I seasoned the short ribs with salt and pepper and seared them in olive oil and garlic. I then added some beef broth and water and brought it to a boil. Afterwards, I put everything in an oven proof pot with a lid, adding onions and seasoning and let it cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours in the oven. The short ribs aren't hard to make they just take a while to cook.

While they were in the oven I made some mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and salad to go along with them. I pulled the short ribs out of the oven once Nadir was home and, hands down, it was one of the best dishes I've ever made. The meat was so tender that it just flaked off the bone. The gravy was hearty and flavorful and the creaminess of the mashed potatoes alongside the butter coated mushrooms complemented the meal perfectly. This isn't a meal you'll be making weekly but when you want to pull out the big stops, keep this recipe in mind. Its definitely worth it.

Recipe for Short Ribs by Paula Dean

Ingredients

• 3 pounds short ribs
• House Seasoning, recipe follows
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped, plus 2 more cloves chopped
• Water
• Beef Broth, plus more for roasting
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion, sliced
• White rice, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Season ribs liberally, or to taste, with House Seasoning. Lightly dust with 2 tablespoons flour. (I skipped the flour part)

In a Dutch oven, place a small amount of oil. Add the 2 garlic cloves and cook until lightly browned. Add the ribs and brown on each side. Add half water and half beef broth to cover ribs. Bring to a boil. Remove the ribs from the Dutch oven and place in a casserole dish (I used a pot which had a cover that I left on while it was cooking in the oven. I highly recommend you do this). Add the remaining garlic, salt and pepper, onions, and about 1 cup broth to the ribs. Roast ribs for 2 hours. Serve over buttered white rice.

House Seasoning:

1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.