For some reason I haven’t yet divined, salmon is still a reasonably priced food. It’s available fresh or frozen, year around. While the best of the best is at the other end of your fishing line, barring that availability, the supermarket has a quite admirable facsimile. Commercial salmon fishing boats have facilities to process and freeze the fish within minutes of the catch. This salmon is marked on the package as ‘wild’, meaning that it was caught on the open seas. Alternatively, there’s the ‘farm-raised’ salmon, raised in contained sea beds and harvested at a certain size.

So what’s the difference? Wild salmon is more costly at the market, for obvious reasons. The fisherman can’t count on his catch. Farm-raised salmon yields a predictable catch, and so commands a lesser price. Various cooking magazines have conducted ‘blind tastings’ to see if diners can discern a difference in taste between the wild and farm-raised salmon. The conclusion? Some gifted individuals seem to be able to detect a superior taste and texture in the wild salmon, but such individuals are few and far between. Unless you have the nose of a perfumier, it’s unlikely you’ll notice a difference. Freshness is what really counts. With modern freezing techniques, you’ll be hard pressed to tell the difference.

Now that we have those product differences out of the way, let’s move on to how to prepare the perfect simple salmon recipe, the one prompting a postcard to your guests’ Mom.

If you’ve purchased fresh salmon, plan to cook it that day. Frozen salmon should be placed in the frig the morning of your dinner. The fish will be thawed by evening.  All you need do is choose the method of cooking, all of which produce a perfect result. You can microwave, broil, grill or poach. All fish cooks well in the microwave. Unlike beef, which becomes tough in microwave cooking, fish cooks easily, with a perfect texture, in a matter of minutes. With fish, the microwave oven is quite forgiving. Depending on the thickness of the cut, the salmon will cook within 1-2 minutes per side. You can open the door and check as often as you like. When one side is done (the meat is opaque and not transparent), you turn it over. Cook until done. Now that’s a simple salmon recipe! If you choose to broil, grill, or poach, the same rules apply.

You can see that the actual cooking time of your simple salmon recipes is so brief, that you’ll want to have the rest of the meal at the ready. For example, if you’re serving the salmon on a bed of rice, cook the rice first! If a dinner salad is your first course, have it ready. Warm your bread. Once you’ve used this simple salmon recipe, you’ll see that it’s the rest of the meal that involves work and some culinary skill!

The beauty of the easy salmon recipe is that this food stands on its own. All you need to add is a fresh sprig of dill or tarragon and a slice or two of fresh lemon. At the risk of gilding the lily, how about some Hollandaise sauce? (There are some excellent packaged mixes.) Now, set the table and light the candelabra!

Ingredients:

•  
  • 10 ounces of boxed corn
  • 10 ounces of cream
  • 2-3 table spoons of sugar
  • 2-3 table spoons of flour
  • 3 ounces of milk

Directions:

1. Heat up the corn and cream to just below boiling temperature
2. In a cup, stir the milk and flour for the thinkining basis
3. Pour half the flour mixture in to the corn and cream and give it a minute to thicken
4. Add additional flour mixture to get the preferred thickness
5. Add 2-3 spoons of sugar, or more if that suites your taste (some are put of if too sweet)

Footnotes

Corn on the crop can be adjusted to be very sweet, and very thick, depending on your preferences. Should be served warm, and is perfect as a side dish for a turkey dinner.

While your Mom may be a gourmet cook, there are lots of people who either don’t like cooking or just don’t have the time to be spending fixing meals. You know you have to eat – in fact you enjoy eating – but, unless a visit to Mom results in her sending you home with a ready to eat care package, you might, too often, settle for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and leave it at that.

If you’re a college student, far from home and Mom’s home cooked meals, or anyone who’s a member of the I-hate-to-cook club, here’s a week’s worth of easy food recipes that don’t require more than fifteen minutes of prep time. Some require a short wait in cooking time, but you can just put the timer on and go about your business until the food is done. Many of our easy food recipes provide leftovers, which you can either use for lunch another day, or freeze the remainder for another dinner next week. This is about as easy as it gets!

1.Although the sub sandwich may not be the most elegant meal, what it lacks in presentation, it more than makes up for in both taste and nutrition. Moreover, there are more variations on this easy food recipe than you can use up in several months. Go to the deli counter and select four or five deli meats and cheeses. If you buy in half-pound portions, take what you need for tonight’s dinner and divide the rest of the meats in sandwich sized portions. Separate each portion with waxed paper and slip it into the freezer. Cheese can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks, so long as you wrap it tightly. A little lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, jalapenos or whatever strikes your fancy makes a delicious, nutritious and filling meal in a hoagie roll or pocket bread.

2.Fish is one of the easiest and healthiest meals to prepare. For a one inch thick fillet, all you need do is nuke it for one minute on each side. With a fork, part the meat in the thickest part to check for doneness. If the meat is opaque, with no translucency, you’re done. Drizzle with a little lemon juice. Heat a can of corn, green beans or make a dinner salad while the fish is cooking.

3.Boneless chicken breasts make an easy food recipe indeed. You can nuke them whole, for perhaps 3-4 minutes per side. You can also slice them before cooking and fry over medium high heat in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, for 3-5 minutes. The whole chicken breast can be dressed with salsa, brushed with barbecue sauce or eaten plain. If you slice and cook a couple of chicken breasts at once, you’ll easily have two meals. Serve one over rice and make a chef’s salad with the other.

4.Boneless ribs are a snap, requiring almost no prep. Lay them on a broiler pan and into the oven they go, at 375 degrees. After 35 minutes, pull them out and brush with barbecue sauce. Back in the oven for 10 minutes and you’ve got dinner! A couple of them, in fact. A most easy food recipe!

5.The chef’s salad, much like the sub sandwich, is simple and unconstrained by anything but your preferences. Lettuce, your favorite veggies and a bottled dressing is all you need. Hey, add that remaining chicken breast from our easy food recipe #3!

6.Cook up a batch of rice or pasta as soon as you walk in the door. (Instructions are on the package.) Add whatever type of meat you have on hand, be it a slice of ham, leftover chicken, or ribs. Chop an onion, julienne a bell pepper, add a can of sliced water chestnuts or black olives. Corn. Almost anything works. Our easy food recipe lineup is intended to give you a free hand. You’ll use up leftovers and not waste!

7.You’ve probably seen those vacuum packed pork loin roasts which are already marinated in a delicious sauce, usually sold in a 2 pound portion. Put it on your broiler rack and bake as instructed. Nuke a potato and heat a can of veggies while the roast cooks. This is the high end version of the easy food recipes. You will have leftovers, which you can transform into a sandwich or pork fried rice.

After just one week, trying these easy food recipes, you’ll have eaten well and may get to like cooking just a little more than you did. You might be ready for guests!

Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries and oranges contain significant amounts of fiber, as well as loads of vitamins A and C, known antioxidants which help ward off cancer. These fruits, especially blueberries and cherries contain anti-inflammatory components, which can help relieve swelling with arthritis. So this blueberry smoothie is a healthy breakfast for all ages.

It so happens that these colors combine well for a lovely reddish violet to lavender smoothie. Use more blueberries to increase the lavender effect, or more strawberries for a more pinkish tint. You can alter the mix as you wish, but use the same total amount of fruit for the right consistency. For a thicker consistency, add more fruit.

Use fresh fruits in season as possible, but frozen fruit works too.

Blueberry Smoothie

• ½ cup each of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and dark red cherries
• 1 large orange, peeled
• 1 teaspoon of grenadine (adds delightful flavor)
• 1 quart of vanilla, strawberry or peach ice cream (or) 1 quart of plain yogurt, if you prefer

Mix it all up in the blender and you’re done. If you have lidded plastic cups and straws, you can pour each serving and hand them out as they’re walking out the door.

Variations on this recipe include substituting 2 cups of orange, peach or strawberry-banana juice for the ice cream or yogurt. You may also substitute one of the Torani(TM) flavoring syrups, in your favorite flavor, for the grenadine. If you’re using as an arthritis remedy, the recipe above is your best bet.

Don’t try to make this a do-ahead, as smoothies tend to get runny if they sit around for a while. This blueberry smoothie recipe is so quick and easy to make, this is a breakfast for four that you can put together in 15 minutes! It’s beautiful, delicious and nutritious. What more can you ask from a healthy, filling breakfast?