herb – Well Dined

26
May
2016

Rye Spaetzle with Spring Vegetables and Gruyere

categories: Recipes

I love Spring. I love the flowers, and the weather (sometimes), and the resurgence of vegetables. Spring vegetables are here and gone so quickly (if you are buying seasonally, that is), so take advantage of them while you can! Melissa (Smells Like Brownies) and I decided to make this Spring vegetable dish because it uses spaetzle, which is a bit more fun than your standard pasta, and gruyere, which pairs so well with these veggies.

Spaetzle is a chewy German egg noodle. Melissa is familiar with it because she studied German. I’ve eaten it in restaurants many times, but only made it once before this past fall. And by made it, I mean that my friend made it with her Grandmother’s (I think) recipe and her spaetzle press. Meanwhile, I made a vegetarian ragu with mushrooms, butter, onion, thyme, and oregano and poached some duck eggs (thank you, gorgeous Portland farmer’s market). (more…)

04
Apr
2016

SRC – Seared Salmon with Lemon Herb Butter and Pasta from Morsels of Life

categories: Recipes

It’s time for April’s Secret Recipe Club reveal! I was assigned Morsels of Life. The author is an engineer, and brings her desire for efficiency to her blog. She doesn’t like to use any crazy complex methods, and is loose with measurements. She writes, “Generally, if you like something, use more; if you dislike something, use less, substitute something else, or just eliminate it altogether. You’ll probably be fine.” I love that. Often when I’m writing recipes, and have to try and figure out how much of something I used, I just want to write – use your best judgement. She also has pretty extensive privacy and disclosure information on her blog, which I think is admirable.

CJ’s blog has a lot of Asian influence, and I really like the look of this Pork Meatball Ramen, as well as this Cha Shao Chinese BBQ Pork. For sweets, I was drawn to Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes, and Spiced Date Ice Cream (made with cashew milk!). But I ended up running out of time before leaving on a last-minute trip; so when I saw this Seared Salmon with Lemon Herb Butter and Pasta, and realized that I already had all the ingredients for it – I knew that’s what I needed to make!

This was incredibly easy to make – just toss hot pasta with lemon herb compound butter, spinach, and Parmesan, then top with seared salmon and more compound butter. I used frozen Alaskan salmon, frozen spinach, and store-bought garlic butter spread (I added lemon juice and zest to it) – so this was really quick and easy. Plus (with the salmon, spinach, and protein-plus pasta), it was really healthy! (more…)

07
Apr
2014

Lentil and Chickpea Salad with Feta and Tahini

categories: Recipes

I’ve been pretty lazy about blogging this past week, so I’m bringing you another vegetarian lunch with Melissa back to back with the last one. I know that you don’t mind, though, because our lunches are AWESOME. This one, in my opinion, is one of the best we have done recently. Lentils, chickpeas, raw onion, and feta with tahini, sesame, and herbs. So good, so satisfying, creamy and crunchy, nutty and sharp, it’s everything. And so, so healthy. Let’s also take a second to appreciate how gorgeous Melissa’s platter is. She has the best dishware!

The only thing that takes time in this recipe is cooking the lentils, but they are pretty hands off and you can do them ahead of time and keep them in the fridge til you need them. This recipe has you cook them with sage and garlic to infuse the lentils with flavor – I love it.

While the lentils are cooking, toss red onion with olive oil, lemon juice, feta, and herbs. I was a little unsure about this at first – so much raw red onion? But it became my favorite part of the dish. The lemon juice kind of cures the onions as they sit and mellows them out. They become sharp, crunchy bits of awesomeness in the salad. Also, feta – I love feta. I especially love Mt Vikos Traditional Sheep and Goat feta. I swear they are not sponsoring me, but they really should (hint, hint) because I use their feta all the time. (more…)

Tag: herb