Keto Honey Garlic Salmon and Shrimp with Garlic and Cream

If you didn't like garlic, you would be in trouble this week at our house. Kate was here for Sweetie's birthday and she treated us two nights in a row to delicious dinners that she made herself. I helped prep the ingredients, including peeling and mincing four cloves of garlic for each dish. Good thing we all love garlic!

The first night we had salmon prepared with garlic and honey and browned butter. It should have been keto honey and butter, but it actually was real honey and plant-based 'butter' because of my allergy, but I'm going to give you the keto version. With it we had green beans and a green salad. The recipe is from Karina of Café Delights. She has some great tips on her post, so it's worth following this link to see them.

The second night she cooked a decadent shrimp dish with more garlic, bacon and 'butter', plus Parmesan (which Sweetie and Kate added to their servings) and the sauce was finished with Silk brand plant-based whipping cream, a new product to me, instead of real whipping cream. I'm sure that with the real deal that the sauce would be thicker and even more delicious, but I was quite happy with our meal, served on a bed of warm zoodles. Finished dish is shown at top of this post.  I'm also giving you the actual keto recipe below. This recipe is by Katerina at Diethood.

We also put together puzzles since the weather went from nice to cold and/or rainy and working on puzzles on the dining room table was fun and a nice contemplative activity too.

We were determined to get out and about for Sweetie's actual birthday (even though the weather wasn't warm or sunny), so we breakfasted at Redwood Cafe', our first inside dining in over a year, took a drive to Pt. Reyes area, stopping in Marshall for a beverage, and ended the drive by heading to Petaluma, passing the McEvoy Ranch where they make an amazing olive oil. For dessert we had a spectacular lemon creme tart, perhaps the best tart ever...recipe to come on this blog soon.

Hope you had a lovely St. Patrick's Day, too.

Browned Butter Honey Garlic Salmon
By Karina or Café Delights

3 main ingredients and only 15 minutes cooking time!

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
1.4 cup (4 tablespoons) honey (If doing keto, use keto approved honey)
2-4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice, about juice of 1/2 lemon
4 wild-caught salmon fillets (about 1/2 lb or 250 g each), skin on
Lemon wedges to serve
Salt to taste

Arrange oven shelf about 8-inches away from heat element/broiler in your oven. Preheat your oven to broil.

Place butter in a cast iron or oven-proof skillet or pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring while foaming for about 3 minutes or until the foam settles. The butter begins to change color to golden brown and the fragrance will be nutty. Remove from heat to add the honey.

Add honey and let it dissolve into the butter. Return to heat and add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant. Do not let it burn. Add in the lemon juice. Stir well to combine all the elements together.

Add the salmon steaks to the butter mixture. Cook each fillet, skin side down, for 3-4 minutes or until golden, while basting the tops with the pan juices. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the lemon wedges around the salmon. Transfer the pan to your oven to broil for a further 5-6 minutes, or until the tops of the salmon are nicely charred.

To serve, drizzle with the reserved brown butter sauce from the pan.

Easy Garlic Shrimp with Bacon in a Creamy Parmesan Sauce
By Katerina of Diethood

4 slices thick cut bacon, diced (easier to dice if at least partially frozen)
3 tablespoons butter
1.5 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
squeeze fresh lemon juice
chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
lemon wedges, for garnish (optional)

Set a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Sprinkle the chopped bacon into the hot skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, or to a desired crispiness. Remove to paper towel to drain and set aside.

Add butter to the skillet and melt.

Stir in shrimp and garlic.

Season with salt and pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes per side, or until just cooked through and pink. Remove from skillet and set aside. Cover with foil to keep hot.

Add chicken broth to the skillet and cook for 30 seconds, stirring to scrape up browned bits.

Stir in heavy cream and bring to a simmer.

Whisk in Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning; lower heat to a steady simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes or until creamy and thickened.

Return bacon and shrimp to the skillet and let simmer for a minute, or just until heated through.

Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.

Squeeze lemon juice over the shrimp. Stir and garnish with chopped parsley and lemon wedges.

If not doing keto, use fat free half and half or soy creamer and turkey bacon to lower fat levels.

The Gifts of Spring

Spring shows her face in different ways around the world. In the Northern hemisphere it can be cold, windy, rainy, snowy, warm, foggy, or even hot. We started out this spring with duck weather; a good half inch fell today and is greatly appreciated since our weather since January has been drier than normal. I love it that I can go out tomorrow and have an easier time weeding. Since I keep talking about it you probably think that I've weeded acres by now, but the truth is I can only do about an hour of weeding a day (still getting my strength back) so it is ongoing.

One of the gifts of spring is asparagus. We have been eating it almost daily now that the price is reasonable. Usually we just steam it or put the spears on the grill for quick cooking. Today I used two other gifts of spring to make a stunning composed salad. Our across-the-street neighbors gifted us with fresh, pale blue shelled chicken eggs from their own chicken coop. Sweetie could tell you a tale about herding chickens for them and low hanging eaves in the coop, but since he survived to tell the tale, you'll have to ask him what happened. The same neighbors gave us a bag of freshly picked mixed salad greens. All of these combined to make a lovely salad.

A couple of years ago I read a recipe by our excellent local food writer, Michele Anna Jordan, where she used softly cooked eggs to top lightly dressed salad greens. She also combined asparagus and scrambled eggs. I sort of took those and mixed them together and cooked the eggs as over-easy ones. You still get the runny yolks like the soft cooked eggs, but now it is running over both the greens and the cooked and warm asparagus. I threw in some roasted golden beets that were waiting in the fridge and made a very simple vinaigrette. I kept the shaved Parmesan and really liked the interplay of soft with crunchy, warm with cold and the variety of flavors, too. I plated the salad into big, red soup bowls and it make quite an impressive presentation.

I think the trick to making this recipe work is timing...and excellent ingredients. If possible, use farm fresh eggs, high quality salad greens, and fresh asparagus that still have tightly closed tips. Have the asparagus ready to steam or microwave, the salad greens washed and dried, the chunk of Parmesan ready to shave, and the beet slices and dressing ready to go. Have the pan, butter, and eggs ready at the stove. It all goes together quickly after that, so have everyone ready to sit down to this dish as soon as possible after it is plated. I only made two servings. I think one could make four and still get it all plated quickly. Beyond that things that should be warm might get cold.

Spring Salad with Asparagus, Beets and Fried Egg
serves 2

6-8 spears asparagus, ends trimmed
3-4 cups fresh mixed salad greens, washed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
one beet, roasted until tender, skin removed, sliced into at least 6 slices and chilled
2 eggs, farm fresh if possible
a chunk of Parmesan cheese to shave about 1 tablespoon from
vinaigrette - recipe below

Place prepared asparagus in a steamer or microwave steamer. Set aside.

In a medium bowl toss the mixed greens with 2/3 of the vinaigrette to lightly coat. Add the beet slices and toss to coat them with the vinaigrette. Portion half of the dressed greens in each of two large salad plates or bowls. Top with the dressed beet slices, at least 3 per portion.

Fry the two eggs in a skillet or cast iron frying pan, using a bit of melted butter to keep them from sticking. While the eggs are cooking, steam the asparagus until barely tender.

Flip the eggs to cook the tops of the yolk briefly. Place the steamed asparagus on top of the dressed greens in the middle of the plate or bowl, dividing them between the servings. Top the asparagus with the eggs, one egg per serving. Use the tip of the spatula to break the yolk so it runs over the asparagus. Shave some Parmesan over each salad (about 1/2 tablespoon each). Serve at once.

Simple Vinaigrette
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon type mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake to emulsify and combine completely. Taste and adjust to your taste (you might want more lemon juice for instance, or more pepper).