The Global Kitchen

You HAVE to make this recipe ASAP!!! It's so fresh tasting and so good. It does take some time so you may want to make the salsa verde early.

And did I tell you how delicious it is? My boyfriend gave it a solid 10 out of 10 and told me I can make it all the time. I did halve the recipe since it was just the two of us and that worked out well. Ten bucks says we'll be fighting over the leftovers though.

Recipe HERE courtesy of the Bon Appetit June 2009 issue.

Seriously-you need to make this!

I love fish tacos! they just scream "summer!" to me. There's a restaurant down the road from me that makes the best fish tacos but I also like to make my own. You really don't need a recipe. Just grill up some firm white fish(I like mahi-mahi) and add to a tortilla with accompaniments of your choice. I like Crema Mexicana, salsa, red onions marinaded in red wine vinegar, and avocado.

I do like the marinade from THIS recipe and use it frequently. It's also the recipe that gave me idea for using the crema and the red onions.

It's a good thing I haven't eaten much today because I just devoured two servings of Melissa Clark's Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp. It is so easy, flavorful and there's minimal cleanup. I had mine with bread but when I make this the next 1000 times I'll probably serve rice as a side. Bread works too though.

I used a half teaspoon of ground cumin and coriander in place of the whole. That was the only change I made.

You really need to make this ASAP.

Recipe HERE

My friend Wendy and I are doing a little recipe exchange and she sent me this dish to try. I've made fruit salsa before but never with strawberries.

Strawberries, chiles and avocados? What's not to love? This is a great summer salad and not unhealthy. The salad also has a lot of options for a cool presentation but I was in a hurry. It's also easy and I almost always have the ingredients on hand so I'll definitely be making it afgain. I think next time I might use scallion instead of white onion in the salsa. I just like them better.

I confess I did not fry my own tortilla strips as I had a bag of Mission Strips on hand.

Thanks Wendy!

Recipe from Gourmet June 1997 HERE

I'm more of a cook than a baker and generally don't like sweets and pastries. But my friend Tammie was having a tea party and the first idea for food that popped into my head was, "scones!"

I learned that scones are very easy-unless you want to get a perfect triangle shape. Mine weren't but that's ok. At least they weren't hard and flat.

The two scones pictured here are Dried Cherry Buttermilk Scones from the March 1990 issue of Gourmet. You can find the recipe HERE.

They were very good but I didn't like them nearly as much as the Old-Fashioned Lemon Cream Scones, which were heavenly. This recipe came to me from my friend Susan who does bake.

Old-Fashioned Lemon Cream Scones

From The Best Quick Breads (Canada, UK), by Beth Hensperger.

One bite of this warm, homemade scone and you'll be transformed into a lover of these exquisitely simple tea breads. The crust should be a thin, slightly crunchy exterior band over a dense, yet moist and fluffy, interior. The cream is important in producing the crumb, but substitute milk if you must. This basic recipe is the springboard for many variations, but I always come back to the plain scones. Served with butter and homemade fresh strawberry or peach jam, they cannot be beat. If you desire scones made with fresh summer berries, rather than mixing them into the dough, incorporate them by gently sandwiching them between two rounds of the dough and pinching the outer edges before cutting the dough into wedges. This technique keeps the berries from being squashed, losing their shape, and bleeding heavily into the dough.

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
Grated zest of 2 lemons
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon mixed with 2 tablespoons sugar (optional), for sprinkling

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400�F (205�C). Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt. Cut in the butter with a fork or a heavy-duty electric mixer until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl or 1-cup measure, whisk together the eggs and cream. Add to the dry mixture and stir until a sticky dough is formed.

Turn out the shaggy dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently just until the dough holds together, about 6 times. Divide into 2 equal portions and pat each into a 1-inch-thick round about 6 inches in diameter. With a knife or straightedge, cut each round into quarters, creating 4 wedges. The scones can also be formed by cutting the dough using a 3-inch biscuit cutter to make 10 to 12 smaller scones.

Place the scones about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with the cinnamon sugar, if desired. Bake in the center of the oven until crusty and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately with butter and homemade jam, or cool on a rack and freeze in heavy-duty freezer bags for up to a month.

Yield: Makes 8 scones

Notes: The scones made using a 3-inch biscuit cutter are HUGE! Both in diameter and height! I would opt for a smaller cutter.

I wish my picture was a pretty as the one on Gourmet magazine. But it was very tasty!

This is actually a big salad. And by my calculations a pretty healthy one too! Lots of veggies and grain. You will need a knife and fork to eat it.

I plan on making this again soon. Like this week!

Recipe from Gourmet Magazine June 2009 HERE

This was listed as a healthy choice on the Epicurious site but not in the June 2009 Bon Appetit magazine. Hmmmm...The steak is a lean cut and I did only use 4 oz on the salad(thank you food scale). I happen to think eating quality food in reasonable portions is a good thing.

Anyway the salad is very very good. And fast! I loved the addition of the chipotle hot sauce to the chimichurri. I added a few extra drops and an extra clove of garlic. If you do this you may want to limit the amount of dressing one the salad. No vampires will be visiting me tonight! And in case you couldn't tell I like my beef on the rare side.

I have leftover steak and chimichurri so I will be making this again. Probably tomorrow.

Recipe HERE

This was delicious!!!! Instead of cooking the trout in pans we cooked them outside on the grill. The rosemary really flavored the trout well and was perfect with the tomatoes. I served it over THIS tabbouleh recipe from my blog. In reviewing that recipe I realize I forgot the mint. Ooops. It was still very good and I would probably leave it out again since the rosemary in the fish recipe is pretty strong.

I chose the recipe because it's so easy-about 5 minutes of chopping the sauce, 20 minutes to prep the grill and about 3 minutes to prep the fish. Cook time was about 8 minutes total. And even though it's not listed as one of their healthy choices I still think it's a good choice. I love that the magazine tags the recipes except I keep reading "HF" as "High Fat" instead of "High Fiber".

The recipe for Rosemary Trout with Cherry-Tomato Sauce, courtesy of Bon Appetit June 2009 can be found at Epicurious HERE.

Just a warning-this dish is spicy! And drunken refers to the amount of liquid you'll need to quench yourself after a few bites this dish. Oh and keep a box of Kleenex handy because it's a nose runner.

All that said I do like it a lot! I try to make it several times a year. Yeah it's hot as all get out but the depth of flavors make it work. It's not one note.

Prep work and cooking is easy too. I used Thai basil. If you can't get that try mint. I used the Golden Mountain sauce but you could definitely substitute light soy sauce. Black soy is like soy sauce with molasses. It's a distinct flavor so try to get that if you can.

You can also vary the meats. I've used shrimp and pork.

Drunken noodles recipe HERE courtesy of Bon Appetit, September 2005.