For Irene - Rima's Baked Salmon Fillets

Rima's Salmon Fillets

For Irene

Ingredients

4 salmon fillets or other firm fish, like halibut or orange roughy

1/3 cup mayonnaise – Light or extra-light works just fine

2 tbsp grainy mustard or Dijon or other sharp mustard

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp chili powder or paprika

Pinch of ground white pepper or cayenne – optional

For sauce:

Juice of ½ small lemon (more or less, depending on taste)

No need for extra salt because of mustard

Preparation

Preheat oven at 425ºF

Place fillets on foil-lined baking sheet.

Whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, honey, water, and spices

(I always forget this step, so it’s in bold here)

Remove 1/4 cup for sauce and stir in lemon juice; set aside.

Brush or spoon remaining mixture over salmon.

Bake in preheated oven 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with fork (check after 10).

Serve with reserved sauce. Tastes great with rice and a salad.

Rima's Ratatouille

Perfect Chunky Ratatouille

4 Tbsp. olive oil (or more if you’re not afraid)

1 large onion (Vidalia or Spanish, or any other sweet onion), coarsely chopped

1 yellow or red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

4-6 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

1 eggplant, cut into large cubes (peeled if you prefer)

3 or 4 zucchini or vegetable marrow, cut into large cubes

1 can tomatoes (diced or whole, chopped)

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tsp. dried thyme or oregano or mix both (fresh is better for the herbs, about 1 tbsp leaves)

Optional: 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped (I don’t use it, but you can add it for garnish if you like)

Directions:

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.

Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 5-7 minutes.

Add garlic and bell pepper; cook about 1 minute but be careful not to brown the garlic.

Add eggplant and zucchini; salt and pepper. Cook about 5 more minutes until vegetables start to soften.

Add can of diced tomatoes with juice, tomato paste and herbs.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low.

Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Uncover and continue cooking for another 5 minutes to reduce the liquid.

Remove from heat.

If using basil, stir in now (If freezing, leave out basil.)

Serve at room temperature – tastes even better the next day.

Serve with Toasted Pocket Bread Points for dipping:

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Cut pocket or pita or Arabic bread in triangular shapes, with about 2 inch sides, like large tortilla chips for dipping.

Arrange in single layer on baking sheet and drizzle with good olive oil. Season with any seasoned salt you like, like garlic salt, seasoned salt, celery salt – or something like Mrs. Dash to reduce sodium.

Bake until crisp and brown (takes just a few minutes).

Rima's Chicken Waldorf Salad

Chicken Waldorf Salad

(or what to do with leftover chicken)

Ingredients:

Dressing:

1 Tbsp cider vinegar (or other mild vinegar like plain rice vinegar)
2 Tbsp low-fat mayonnaise
½ tsp curry powder OR ¼ tsp curry paste
1 pinch each salt and cracked black pepper

Salad:

1 Granny Smith apple, cut into small chunks (I like it better peeled)
¼ cup toasted walnuts or pecan pieces
¼ cup golden raisins
1 small celery stalk, thinly sliced
1/2 sweet onion, diced (such as vidalia or spanish)
1 cup (more or less) cooked chicken (leftover roast chicken is best)

How to:

Mix the dressing ingredients in large salad bowl.

Add remaining ingredients.

Serve with crackers or toasted bread.

Rima's Snack Mix

Rima's Snack Mix

aka Nuts & Bolts, Méli-Mélo or Little Bites

(This is a good snack because you can control the fat and the salt)

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil (or non-hydrogenated margarine)

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (no store brands!)

½ tsp garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)

½ tsp onion powder*

½ tsp paprika*

¼ tsp salt*

2 cups wheat square cereal (a.k.a. Shreddies or Chex)

2 cups toasted oat cereal (a.k.a. Cheerios)

2 cups pretzels (I use whole grain)

1 cup Goldfish & 1 cup unsalted peanuts or unsalted soy nuts

OR 2 cups Goldfish, mini-crackers, etc…

*** I use 1 tsp. seasoned salt instead of these 3

(You can also substitute other favourites, as long as you have roughly 6-7 cups of munchies)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 250 °F (120 °C).

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, Worcestershire sauce and all seasoning.

In a large roasting pan, combine dry ingredients.

Drizzle with oil mixture and mix well.

Bake for 1 hour, turning contents every 15 minutes to prevent heavy

browning।

If there’s any left, store in airtight container, it keeps well.

Rima's Chicken with Peanut Sauce

Rima's Chicken with Peanut Sauce

(edited from Canadian Living Magazine)

Serve with rice or pasta

Prep and cooking time:

30 minutes

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced or cubed

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 onion, sliced

1 carrot, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

1 Tbsp minced gingerroot or ½ tsp ground ginger

1 Tbsp mild Indian or Thai curry paste (much better than powder)

1 ½ cups cauliflower florets (optional)

1 cup chopped green beans (can be frozen green beans)

½ sweet red pepper, sliced

Sauce:

1 cup chicken stock

2 Tbsp smooth peanut butter (can be low-fat peanut butter)

¼ tsp salt (optional)

Preparation

In large skillet, heat oil over high heat; stir-fry chicken until no longer pink inside, about 3 minutes. Remove to plate.

Add onion, carrot, garlic and ginger to pan; cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add curry paste; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.

Add cauliflower, beans and red pepper; cook for 2 minutes.

Return chicken to pan. Stir in stock, peanut butter and salt; cover and cook until cauliflower and beans are tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.