Quinoa and Spinach Salad with Almonds and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

This very easy salad came together in the heat of that oppressive day we had this week ... the first really hot day of springtime here in New England. The recipe comes from a summer line-up of terrific side dishes posted at a food blog called COOKIE + kate.  You can follow Kate's recipe to the letter or do what I did. I used double the spinach, added lemon zest, and slivers of basil in my version.

It was a delicious way of using the first picking of our spinach greens and the basil that I topped out of my plants so that they'd fill out a bit and not bolt to blossoms and seeds. This salad was perfect sitting on the plate beside a pan-seared salmon filet. Add a glass of super chilled Sauvignon blanc and it was a super summery supper. Say THAT three times fast !

The recipe makes a large amount of quinoa mixture - enough for two hungry people to have the salad as a side dish and enough for bowls of the quinoa/tomato/almond mix the next day for easy lunch. An easy way to serve is to plate the amount of spinach you would like and add a serving of quinoa mix over top each serving. Save the rest of the fresh greens for leftover lunch or second servings.

An Easy Little Coffeecake and Comment on 'The Yankee Way'

Housekeeping - On Comments

Spamming bloggers is such a disrespectful tactic for attempting to get your message or advertisement, or scam attached to a blog address.  I have been inundated with 'Anonymous ' comments over the last year or so on The Spice Garden. I responded long ago by placing a policy statement that appears at the end of each post. It clearly says that I don't print comments made by folks who are unwilling to identify themselves.  This saves me from being the target of folks who want to sell, attach themselves to my followers, poke a virus into my posts, etc etc etc.

So, if you are one of my anonymous spammers, please re-think your tactics. And if you are someone poking around the food blogs and wish to make an honest point about something you've read in one of the posts, suck it up and enter your name and the required information in the comment form. I edit my 'comments awaiting moderation'. You stand a better chance of entering the conversation on the blog by identifying yourself. If you don't, your comments are relegated to the spam folder. Sorry, but that's my policy.

Now ... back to cooking and posting.

Cazuela Cauliflower with Tomatoes, Raisins, and Pinenuts

An easy vegetarian offering for dinner last evening - our Meatless Monday routine. I haven't used my cazuela in a good long time and when I thought about trying to get perfectly browned cauliflower slices, the large surface area of my cazuela came to mind. It's slow to heat up, but when it gets hot it holds the heat and browns anything perfectly without sticking. While the dish finished in the oven, I made steamed rice with lemon zest and parsley to have with ... easy and delish.

Chicken, Castelvetranos, and Capers

The week after Easter is always about the ham leftovers and the ham bone, and believe you me, SB and I have had our fair share of ham on Sunday and Monday. It's Tuesday now and we have need of a change on the plate! We departed the leftover menu and headed to Italy for a change of pace.

French Canadian Tourtière with Gravy

This weather in the Northeast has been a rollercoaster, to say the least! Between ultra low temps, blinding snow, and the latest cruel twist (a rapid melt off and torrential rains), we Yankees don't know whether to dig out the seed catalogues and get happy or roll ourselves up in our blankets and hibernate for the next two months !

Crisped Cauliflower Salad with Citrus and Aromatics

Happy New Year, folks ! More veggies and less meat is what I say for 2018! Here's my first platter of salad. A warm salad of crisped cauliflower slices, shallots, rosemary, garlic, red pepper flakes, orange zest, flat leaf parsley, toasted hazelnuts, and a drizzle of olive oil and orange juice over top to finish it.

Mjuk Pepparkaka - Swedish Spice Cake

Imagine my surprise, to do a little search on my little food diary blog and find all sorts of data about it through Google and some other blog research sites ... hmmm. I don't know how I feel about someone doing analytics on my little food diary.

Oh well, I suppose one should get used to being scrutinized if one puts oneself  'out there into the ether'. I guess I won't worry excessively. If people come occasionally to my little bit of Internet space and find some good food or commentary worth reading, so be it. On to other things !

Merry Christmas ! I thought I'd post a lovely little Swedish recipe for a spice cake that is worthy of a tea time treat or a light dessert after a special meal. My family shared it after our Christmas dinner last evening.