What's for Lunch? Split Pea with Smoked Turkey Soup!

It has been rainy and gross for the past three days and nothing calls for soup more than rainy days.  My grandmother made the best split pea soup.  Back in the day, I didn't eat meat, so she would make a special batch just for me without the ham in it.  Now-a-days, I ask myself, "what was I thinking not eating ham??"...but that's another story.  In this batch, I replaced the ham with smoked turkey, but it tastes very similar.  If you can't find a smoked turkey leg, feel free to add a ham steak, ham hock, etc. etc. to add the smoky flavor and meat.  And in our family, we have a little joke.  My grandmother would tell us every single time she made this soup, "you know, if it gets too thick, you can just add a little water to thin it out".  Wise words of advice to heed when reheating.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!  Serve it with a grilled cheese...and rain, rain, go away!!

Split Pea with Smoked Turkey Soup
Serves 6

1 TBSP olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 16-oz bag split peas
6 cups chicken stock
6-8 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped (or throw the whole bundle in and fish out the stems at the end)
1 smoked turkey leg (remove outer skin)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat olive oil.  Add onion, carrot and celery and saute until they start to get soft, about 8 minutes.  Add garlic and saute one minute more.  Add peas and stir.  Cook for a couple of minutes.  Add 4 cups water, bring to a boil.  Add in thyme and turkey leg.  Reduce to simmer and cover. Stir occasionally and add more broth as needed.  After about 45 minutes, the soup should be starting to get very thick.  Keep adding broth and simmering until peas are tender. 30 minutes before serving, remove turkey leg to cutting board.  Let cool and then cut meat from bone and dice into small pieces.  Add back to soup.  When ready, serve!

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What's for Dinner? Salade Nicoise!

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating two of our best friends', Tim and Meredith's, wedding.  It was a weekend of partying (for those of us who aren't pregnant) and eating (times two for me!).  Usually after weekends like this, we have salad Mondays, to make us feel a little better about ourselves.  One of my favorite salads to do is a Salade Nicoise, a classic salad you find all over France.  It is really easy, filling and tasty. Good thing, too...I got a last minute call from my friend Missy asking me to watch her baby for a few hours.  It was actually great practice for having a household with two young kids, and I was proud of us.  Between Sully and I, we got Finn fed, got the salad made, ate, and occupied baby Mari all at the same time.  Piece of cake!  :)  I put the (mostly) classic Nicoise ingredients in here, but feel free to mix it up with things you like, although this combination is really fantastic.  The dressing is a little tangy on it's own, but combined with the other flavors of the salad, it goes perfectly.  Enjoy!


Salade Nicoise
Serves 2

2 small to medium red potatoes, steamed until soft
1 small bag French green beans, steamed or microwaved until soft
1/2 bag romaine or butter lettuce
1 Roma tomato, sliced
10 pitted Kalamata olives, sliced in half
2 hardboiled eggs, sliced
8 anchovy fillets
8 marinated mushrooms, quartered
2 TBSP capers
1 can or jar of good albacore tuna, packed in olive oil
Nicoise Dressing (recipe to follow)

In two large salad bowls, split all ingredients in half and layer in bowls.  Top with dressing.

Nicoise Dressing
Serves 4 (about 1.5 TBSP each)

juice of 1/2 lemon
1 TBSP red wine or white wine vinegar
2 TBSP dijon mustard
1 clove garlic
1 shallot, cut in large pieces
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp minced fresh tarragon (can omit if you don't have this)
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a mini prep food processor or blender and process until smooth. Add more olive oil to mellow it out a bit. Serve over salad.

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What's for Lunch? Salmon Salad!

If you are anything like me, when you cook fish and you have any leftover, it usually goes in the trash a few days later. Nothing is worse than reheated fish.  Not only does it smell up the house, but it dries out and tastes nasty.  Well, here is a solution.  Make fish salad out of it.  Sounds weird, I know, but it is good! There is a place down in Southport, NC that makes these amazing Grouper Salad Sandwiches.  And a restaurant that I like in Cary makes really good Salmon Salad.  I took this cue from them with leftover grilled salmon that I had from the other night.  It is easy to make, makes a good lunch the next day and makes you feel good that you used that leftover fish instead of pitching it. 

Make this recipe with really any fish you have left over.  Just make sure your fish is cooked through (if you like your grilled fish underdone, keep what you think you won't eat on the grill for a few more minutes).  Depending on the fish you have, use the same dressing base, just adjust the other ingredients to those that go well with that fish--be creative (celery, pickle relish, roasted red peppers, etc.).  Serve with pita points or crackers and enjoy!

Salmon Salad
Serves 4

• 2 TBSP creole (or whole grain) mustard
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise (I use light Olive Oil mayo)
• 2 TBSP white wine vinegar
• 3/4-1 lb leftover salmon, flaked (make sure any bones are removed!)
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 1/4 cup frozen peas, defrosted (or fresh, if you have them)
• 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine mustard, mayo and vinegar.

In a large bowl, add fish.  onion, peas and eggs.  Carefully combine.  Fold in dressing mixture until well-coated.  Season with salt and pepper.  Enjoy.

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What's for Dinner? Gazpacho!

It has been over 100 degrees here (with the heat index) for over a month.  It's been brutal!  So, when thinking about dinner tonight, something light and cool sounded good.  We have a ton of tomatoes in the garden and gazpacho sounded perfect!

I have two friends that sent me gazpacho recipes the same week a while back, so I kind of combined the two and the result was fantastic!  My friend Erin sent me her recipe...something special she made her dad for Father's Day.  And my friend Holly also sent a recipe. That recipe was created by a wonderful private chef her and her husband, Bill, so generously hired when several of us came to visit them in Chicago.  We had an awesome meal, that was like 10 courses, and this gazpacho really stood out.  She also served it in these adorable little hollowed-out cucumber cups...but I will stick to serving it in a good old-fashioned bowl!

Garnish the soup with whatever accoutrements you like...the more the better (I served it with sour cream and avocado...and the avocado really made it!).  And when served with a big crusty piece of bread...YUM!  Enjoy and stay cool!

Gazpacho

Serves 6-8

• 4 Roma tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• ½ cup good olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine or Sherry vinegar
• 2 cups low sodium vegetable juice cocktail (like V8)
• 1 cup diced, toasted or day old baguette
• 2 English cucumbers, seeded, peeled and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 large handful cilantro
• ½-1 jalapeno (seeded if you desire less spicy)
• juice of half a lemon 
• 2-3 tsp hot sauce (to taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste  

In a food processor, combine oil, vinegar, and tomato juice.  Add all other ingredients and puree until smooth (you may have to do this in two batches and stir together).  Season to taste.  Chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with sour cream, avocado slices, croutons, boiled shrimp, chopped fresh cilantro, and/or fresh basil. 

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What's for Lunch? Bacony Egg Salad!

I love it when my food cravings coincide with items I have in my fridge! I had a dozen hard-boiled eggs I needed to use, and when I came home from my workout today I was seriously craving egg salad (very weird, I know...guess I needed a protein fix!).  I remembered an egg salad that my friends Kelly and Molly made when we went out to visit them in Denver that was awesome.  The key ingredient was bacon--because bacon makes everything taste better, of course!  It is really easy to make and really tasty.  Put it on some great crusty bread with some garden-fresh tomatoes, and you have a delicious lunch.  Enjoy!

Bacony Egg Salad
Serves 4-6

• 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into small pieces
• 12 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 TBSP white wine vinegar
• 3 TBSP mayonnaise (I use light, olive oil mayonnaise)
• 1-2 TBSP dijon mustard
• pinch salt
• a few grinds of black pepper

In a hot skillet, cook bacon pieces until crispy.  Remove from pan with slotted spoon and let drain on paper towels. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine eggs, bacon, onions, vinegar, mayo, mustard, salt and pepper. Carefully fold ingredients together...try not to mash up eggs too much.  Serve open face on baguette slices or on crusty bread as a sandwich and enjoy!

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