Turning Kitchen Experience into Action at Home - A Guest Blog by Taste and Savor Intern Michelle

I've learned so much over the past month! One night last week, I decided to put my experience interning with Chef Nancy into good use by having my mom’s friends over for dinner. I incorporated a little of what I have learned in the kitchen with Taste and Savor into each part of the meal. 

For the entree, I grilled salmon and topped it with the rustic tomato and olive relish. (Recipe below.) It was delicious. Thinking about beautiful colors and tasty nutrition, I decided to complete my plate with two colorful and delicious sides. We roast many different vegetables in the kitchen. I roasted two of my favorites for the ladies dinner: asparagus with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and red potatoes. Roasting asparagus or any vegetable makes an easy accompaniment  Just toss the veggies in a little olive oil salt and pepper. Place on a sheet tray and slide into a 400F oven until they become golden around the edges. I tossed my oven-roasted red potatoes with some of the spices that we use often in our healthy kitchen  Smoked paprika, cumin, olive oil, salt, and pepper.(It won't take long for asparagus - about 8 - 10 minutes. Harder vegetables like brussels sprouts will take longer.) While they are roasting, you can finish the rest of the meal!

And to top off our yummy dinner, I chose a dessert we prepared for the grilling class at Cancer Wellness. I grilled off some fruit (pineapple, bananas, and peaches), served with low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt, topped with toasted un-sweetened coconut. The ladies loved it all!! It was surely a success, and many of them went on to check out the Taste and Savor website, along with the Taste and Savor cooking videos. Here's a link to the Taste and Savor website www.tasteandsavor.com and the helpful videos: Taste and Savor Helpful Kitchen Videos

Grilled Salmon with Rustic Tomato Olive Relish


The Marinade:


2 TB Olive Oil


1 TB Lemon Juice


1 Clove Garlic, Chopped


1/2 Tsp Crushed Red Chili Flakes


2 TB Dijon Mustard


1/2 Tsp Cracked Black Pepper


1/2 Tsp Sea Salt

The Salmon:
1 1/2 LB Salmon Filet, Skinned

Combine the Marinade ingredients in a zippy bag - add the Salmon and marinate for 30 minutes. Preheat the grill on high for 10 minutes. Remove the Salmon and pat dry. Turn the grill to medium. Grill just until marks appear and then finish roasting off in the oven – about 10 minutes. 


Remove and top with:

Rustic Tomato Olive Relish


2 TB Olive Oil


1 TB Lemon Juice


1 Clove Garlic, Chopped


1 Cup Grape Tomatoes, 
quartered


1/2 Cup Kalamata Olives, Chopped


1/2 Cup Green Olives, Chopped


1/4 Cup Italian Parsley, Chopped


1/8 Cup Capers


1/2 Tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper


1/4 Tsp Sea Salt


Mix all the ingredients together.