Scotch on That Salmon, Laddie

We don't entertain very often, but last evening invited two couples to join us for grilled salmon and a leisurely meal on the deck shaded by the walnut tree. Just to show that I don't just bake, here is the menu:

A starter of black bean dip with corn chips and assorted fresh veggies. The cucumber slices are the first from my garden this year. Everything else came from the market. We also had Italian country bread and little bowls with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping, and another small bowl with plain almonds to nibble.

The main dish was Sweetie's speacialty, grilled salmon fillets with Scotch. Yes, I said Scotch, laddie. The alcohol burns off leaving a nice, subtle smoky taste. The liquor also does a little tenderizing of the fish. He does the same sort of thing with other fish, with chicken, pork, lamb, etc. using Irish whisky, bourbon, and so on depending on his mood.

He also used a little olive oil and a smidge of garlic. Along side he grilled some slices of fresh-from-the-garden zucchini.

I made a big salad or field greens, chunks of tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, avocado and feta, which I tossed with a lemon-balsamic vinaigrette and toasted pine nuts.

One of our guest brought some enjoyable wine. Lots of iced water (since it was hot) and more bread rounded out the meal.

The best part of all was sharing all of this with friends who had not met each other before. Everyone seemed to enjoy the others company, so it was absolutely worth the effort. We should do it more often, but probably won't anytime soon...maybe in August.

Dessert? Well, that would be telling...the challenge recipe for the Daring Bakers was on the menu. Check back at the end of the month to see how that went.

Out On the Porch in the Morning

When Sweetie said that dry rot had done it's thing to our front porch and that he would have to take the porch apart and build it again, I had no idea that it would be a good thing.

The old porch had three steps up to a landing and then three more steps up to the right to the front door, or a single step up to a platform where you stepped up into the sunspace at the side of the house. In the planning process for making the replacement, I asked if we could change things a bit. Sweetie was willing, so we now have the same three steps from the sidewalk to a landing, but now you step up one step to an expanded deck, then into the sunspace, or up the three step to the right and to the front door. The expanded deck goes beyond the side of the house a couple of feet and now has a railing around it, too.

Why am I blogging about this? Well, the unexpected thing is that we now have a front of the house eating area on the new expanded deck and we are eating there almost daily now that the weather has warmed up. This is especially nice for breakfast because the deck faces east. It has become routine to fix up our coffee, bowls of mixed melon and other fruits, yogurt for Sweetie and oatmeal with golden raisins and milk for me. We sit in the sun (I wear a sunhat) and eat, sip, and read the morning paper. Bliss.

Sweetie's Fruit Bowl

Sweetie keeps this seasonal but he likes melon, so there is usually some.

1/2 watermelon, cubed in bite sized pieces

1/2 ripe cantaloupe, cubed in bite sized pieces

1/2 honeydew melon, cubed in bite sized pieces

1 basket strawberries, in season, washed, hulled and sliced

Mix these fruits in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap and chill.

To serve, fill a cereal bowl 2/3 full of the fruit mixture for each person. Add more fruit...whatever is in season.

At this time of year it is often blackberries, blueberries, or peaches or nectarines. We often add a bannana, sliced, on top, divided between two bowls.

This is good topped with plain or vanilla yogurt and some nuts or a handful of granola.

The fruit mixture should be enough to serve 4-6 people depending on the size of the cereal bowl.