Protein / healthy meal
Salmon is for Lovers
Is it officially grilling season? We think so! Here's a grill perfect recipe to get you started....
The following recipe was sent to us by Brian P., a patron of the Honest Weight Co-op in Albany, NY. He claims it's the perfect meal to impress the one you love, or the one you're with, so the song goes.
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Best to start with wild caught salmon![/caption] Fire Cider Marinated Wild Salmon
Marinade for 2 generous servings of wild caught salmon fillet:
- 4 tablespoons Fire Cider
- A half cup or less brown sugar
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- A little fennel seed
Mix all ingredients and cover salmon with marinade for 20 minutes before cooking.
Start with a hot- 350 degree/medium heat outdoor grill.
Cook marinated salmon, skin down, for 10 minutes or until done to your liking, with the grill top down/covered. Brain P. says: I served the grilled salmon with a salad, couscous and five grain bread with a little olive oil and cracked pepper for dipping. It felt like an expensive restaurant meal. For dessert we had really good sex (yes, even older guys get laid sometimes). Happy Friday everyone! [caption id="attachment_210" align="aligncenter" width="538"]
Fire cider marinated and grilled salmon with couscous and a salad makes a healthy meal.[/caption]
Pork Tenderloin Braised with Fire Cider
This is an adaptation of a Marcella Hazan recipe by Jim Huebner
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons pasture butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds boneless organic, humanly raised pork loin or butt
salt and cracked peppercorns to cover
1-3 bay leaves
1/2 cup Fire Cider
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Simple and delicious![/caption]
Procedure:
Heat the 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon cooking oil on medium heat in a heavy bottom pot just large enough for the meat; thoroughly brown a 2 pound chunk of boneless organic pork (loin or butt) on all sides without letting the oil/butter burn.
Turn the heat to low, remove the meat, sprinkle it with salt and cracked peppercorns on all sides.
Add bay leaves and ½ cup Fire Cider to the pot, dissolve any browned bits and bring to a simmer with the meat back in the pot. Cover and cook, turning occasionally, until tender and cooked through. Add 2-3 T water if needed to keep the pot from drying out.
Let the meat rest while you pour off any fat from the pan, remove the bay leaves and add water to dissolve or dislodge any browned bits; pour the pan juices over the sliced roast.
Serve with Apple Chutney, yum!
Brussels Sprouts N Bacon
Two big bowls of Brussels sprouts (my favorite vegetable!) and plenty of greens.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_60" align="aligncenter" width="460"]
Dana's happy because he got to use his harvesting machete : - )[/caption] And now it's time to make dinner.... First, I got out a few slices of bacon from The Meat Market in Great Barrington and cooked them in the large cast iron skillet. [caption id="attachment_61" align="aligncenter" width="460"]
Naturally, the bacon is shaped like it's home state of Massachusetts. Pigs are wicked smart![/caption] Once the bacon was cooked, I made 4 pieces, and the fat rendered, I set the bacon aside and added as many small Brussels sprouts as I could fit in the pan. Keep the heat on medium low, toss to coat in the rendered fat and put the lid on for a few minutes. The sprouts were small so they cooked quickly. [caption id="attachment_62" align="aligncenter" width="460"]
Brussels sprouts, fresh from our garden, cooking in bacon fat.[/caption] When the sprouts are cooked through and nicely browned on the outside, turn the heat up a bit and deglaze with a splash of Fire Cider. Add some black pepper and serve! [caption id="attachment_63" align="aligncenter" width="460"]
A balanced meal: a few slices of bacon, a huge bowl full of greens and a side of veggie soup![/caption] I think this is a great meal: there's some protein from the bacon (note the ratio of meat to veggies, very important!) and the sprouts were cooked in the rendered fat which is as good for you as olive oil- check it out: "According to a new book out called Fat by Jennifer McLagan, bacon's fat is a lot like that of olive oil: "45 percent of the fat in bacon is monounsaturated, the good-for-you fat that can help lower bad cholesterol levels. Better still, bacon's monounsaturated fat turns out to be oleic acid, the same fat found in olive oil. So that means that some could argue that bacon is about half as good for you as olive oil and about 100 times more delicious." Quote taken from Charleston City Paper.com Plus a side of the leek and mushroom soup I'd made a few days earlier, you can find that recipe here. So this meal is about 70% veggies: the Brussels sprouts plus the leeks, mushrooms and carrots from the soup, with the majority of the filling calories from high quality animal sources: cream, butter, bacon and lard. This is how the Fire Cider makers stay healthy, all winter long. Hope you enjoy this meal as much as we did!
