Salads galore!

It’s summer and we are finally having nice temperature. I know I haven’t blogged in a while. It isn’t that I have not cooked; it is simply that nothing was quite worth of blogging about. I made very simple dished and repeated many of what has already been posted. I also ate in restaurant too much.

Anyhow, summer is great for salads and here are few pleasers. The Lemon pepper scallops on a bed of heirloom tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and goat cheese is particularly incredible.

The first one is my friend’s favourite summer salad, it’s rather simple, I thought it wouldn’t be enjoyable but lo and behold, I quite enjoyed the tangy lemon taste.

Neeley-Bee’s simple salad

- Spinach
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Coarse salt and pepper
- Hardboiled egg




Put the spinach in a bow, add cucumber, and add tomatoes, drizzle with the juice. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Add the egg. Enjoy.

Summer fruity-nutty salad with scallops

- Butter lettuce
- 1-2 green onions
- Strawberries
- ½ avocado
- 1 small container of mandarins, drained
- A big handful of walnuts
- Your favourite dressing (Mine is a creamy Walla-Walla dressing that I get from my husband each time he goes on bike race in the Washington state)
- Few scallop



First step is simple, put the lettuce and the chopped green onions in a bowl, add the vinaigrette and mix. Top with the chopped strawberries, avocado and add the mandarins. Cook the scallops the way you like them. For a summer salad like this one, I love grilled scallops as it cook in not fat and kind of counter balance my creamy dressing.

The Best:

Lemon-Pepper scallops on a bed of yellow and orange heirlooms tomatoes with crumbled goat cheese and balsamic drizzle.



Believe me, this is divine!

- 1 yellow tomato (I prefer to use the organic heirloom as the taste is sooo good)
- 1 orange tomato (again, organic... I think pink tomatoes would do well too)
- Quality balsamic vinegar
- Fleur de sel (I use fleur de Camargue)
- Few fresh string of chives
- 2 big teaspoon of goat cheese crumbles. (You may want to add more, it’s so yummy!)
- 3 big and fresh scallops
- Juice of ½ lime
- pepper



I’ll start with the scallops as few people do not know that they have to be patted dry before cooking. Anyhow, I pan fried them in butter and olive oil. Few second before putting on a plate to wait to be “placed on the salad”, I drizzled the lime juice on them and peppered them.
The salad is very simple; slice each tomato, put on a plate alternating colors. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle the goat cheese around. Place the three scallops in the middle; add the chives in the middle. Sprinkle with the fleur de sel. Eat. It is delicious!

Scallop Feast

So… I haven’t posted in a while… I’ve took pictures and “wanted” to post with the recipe but I must say that I have neglected few things in my life and this blog has been a part of it.

My workload has significantly increased over the last few weeks and I have taken my training up a notch, so blogging has been on the back burner.

This meal was an epic scallop feast! My friend and I went for a long trail run and I managed not to kill him with the effort. I really needed to reward him and I know he enjoys food and he seems to love my cooking.

Jumbo scallops with salad and organic raspberries vinaigrette.



Dry the scallops with paper towel and lightly season with salt. I am in love with my Himalayan pink salt so I used it. To cook, you need a very hot pan with a little bit of olive oil and butter (the butter should not brown). Sear the scallop by cooking about 2 minutes and a half each side.

Organic Raspberries Vinaigrette

You can buy at any groceries store, or better: crush ¼ cup of fresh raspberries, add olive oil, lime juice and a dash of vinegar. Work like a charm!

To really feast, we needed another scallop plate.

Lemon pepper shrimps and scallops skewers



Put scallops and shrimps on pre-soaked bamboo skewer, sprinkle with lemon pepper spice. Cook on the BBQ at low heat and drizzle with lemon juice just before serving.

To finalize a feast!

Captain Morgan Spiced Rum and brown sugar glazed pineapple



Cut the pineapple in chunk, soften the brown sugar, add rum, add a little bit of butter and mix until runny. Cook the pineapple on the BBQ on low heat while brushing the fruit with the mixture until there is no mix left.

Asparagus salad with scallops and mango-chilli sauce

I am going away on business for the whole week next, so I won't be posting much. However, after I cooked my simple dinner tonight, I knew it was a winner and that I had to post it out here. It was fresh, healthy, simple and delicious!

Asparagus salad with scallops and mango-chilli sauce

Mango Dressing:

- 2 very ripe mangoes, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup Asian chilli sauce
- Salt and black pepper, to taste

For dressing, place mango, garlic, and vinegar in a blender. Puree. Add oil and chilli sauce and blend to mix. Season with salt and pepper. It would give you a lot of sauce. I am sure it would be good on grilled chicken or pretty much anything.

Asparagus

I quickly steamed them, and then grill them on the barbecue.

Scallops

I seared them, I had too small scallops to grill them and I felt like I wanted a little bit of that crusty butter taste on the edge.

How to:

Put the asparagus on the plate, cover with all the scallops you want and drizzle with the mango-chilli sauce.