Official One Year Blogaversary July 27, 2011

Cupcake with candle (from Creative Commons Search IE)

Here is my symbolic First Blogaversary Cupcake to share with you.

As I mentioned in a previous post during my First Blogaversary Week, July 27, 2010 was the beginning of my adventures in food blogging. I have enjoyed this past year and thank you to all who helped me learn new skills, improve on my writing posts, and challenged me to take better food photos.

I have connected with many food bloggers and remain impressed with how dedicated you all are to your passions. My collection of favorite blogs continues to grow and I enjoy collecting your "Grab-a-button" to share on my Prep2eat site. I also have a shiny, new "Grab-a-button" in place in my collection. Please take a moment to "Grab" one and post on your blog to connect our sites and share our recipes.

Prep2eat will continue to inspire home cooks to prepare healthy, nutritious meals along with special tasty treats. Why cook at home? You have control over the quality of the food you purchase and monitor the prices of products and produce you buy for your consumption. It is a win-win solution for you and your family: daily meals are cooked with your choices and you save money by eating-in, rather than eating-out. No paying another person to prepare your food and tip them for doing so! What quality food are they preparing for you? At home, cooking extra portions allows for lunches or no-cook dinners on busy nights. With cooking-in during the week you probably will be able to enjoy a dinner out on a special occasion. But, you might just find that you enjoy your cooking better, like I do :) I can treat myself very well with fresh food here in my home.

Thank you to all my Followers of Prep2eat.
Warm regards and keep on cooking,
The Souper

Salmon Salad - No Mayo - My First Blogaversary Gift To You

Fresh Salmon Salad - No Mayo

Here is my gift to you during the week of my First Blogaversary :)
Last July 2010, I created Prep2eat. As my first adventure into the blogging Foodie World, I am so happy to offer you this healthy, nutritious, fresh and flavorful recipe for my version of Salmon Salad.

My goal for blogging here at Prep2eat is to inspire home cooking without intimidation in the kitchen. If I assisted in any way to help you eat healthier and save some money at the same time, then I have achieved my goal. Hopefully my food photos have caught your eye to investigate further what I am preparing in my kitchen.

Most important education from my food blogging experience this past year is that I have networked with so many "foodies" just like me! I have learned how to write posts with more focus on details from following advice of authors and publishers I interacted with online. I have found my Voice. Thank you so much for your feedback and advice! Thank you also to my followers here at Prep2eat as well as on Twitter (@soupiton). I have so much fun getting to know you and learning from you. :)

This Salmon Salad Recipe has been adapted from a recipe I found that had fresh mint, olive oil, shredded carrots and other good things. What caught my eye to create my version of Salmon Salad was no mayo was used in this recipe! What keeps the price of preparing this recipe down is using canned, Alaskan Red Sockeye Salmon - an excellent source of Omega 3's and not farm-raised salmon. Fresh Sockeye Salmon is wonderful, but not available all year round and it is very expensive for feeding several people.
Therefore, I can have a very healthy, nutritious, economical meal any time of the year!

Ingredients:
One Can Alaskan Red Sockeye Salmon
Olive Oil, two tablespoons
One Carrot, grated on box grater
Cucumber, one half, peeled and grated or cut into small pieces.
Tarragon, one teaspoon dried.
Dill, one teaspoon dried.
Zest of one fresh Lemon
Juice of one half of fresh lemon.
Flat Leaf Parsley, fresh, chopped: two tablespoons (optional)

Serving suggestions: Put Salmon Salad in a sandwich, hot dog bun or serve with healthy tortilla chips.

Ingredients for Fresh Salmon Salad - No Mayo

Preparation:
Large Bowl
Can Opener
Kitchen Knife
Box Grater
Zester
Measuring Spoons
Large Spoon
Strainer

Plain, drained Salmon

With a can opener, carefully open the can of salmon.
Drain the liquid from the can of salmon using a strainer.
Put drained salmon into a large bowl.
Separate out the large bones and skin from the salmon.
(small bones are ok to keep in. they have lots of calcium.)
Add the olive oil into the bowl with the drained salmon.
Add the grated carrots into the bowl.
Add the grated or chopped cucumber into the bowl.
Add the dried Tarragon and Dill into the bowl.
Add the lemon zest along with lemon juice.
Add the chopped, fresh parsley. (optional.)
Mix all the ingredients together with a large spoon.

Photos from Westborough Farmers Market July 7, 2011

Summer is finally here in the Northeast. The growing season is short, so visits to the local Farmers' Markets are extremely special and well worth visiting.

As you will see from my photos from today's visit to the local Farmer's Market, the choices of fresh fruits and vegetables were plenty. The fresh baked breads were so beautiful as well as home baked goodies.

Everyone was so friendly and helpful. I am going to prepare fresh Russian Kale this evening for a side dish: saute with olive oil, chopped fresh garlic and pinch of red pepper flakes.

Definitely will have a slice of the fresh, five-grain bread I chose at the market.

And of course, I already cut into the Yummy Mummy Brownie wedge...oh so moist as you can tell from the brownie sticking to the knife :)

Enjoy my photos. They speak for themselves. Hope you are inspired to visit your local Farmers' Market soon.

The Souper

Strawberries

Raspberries

Zucchini

Honey

Onions

Hot Pepper Jelly

Bread

Bread II

Bread III

Russian Kale

Sugar Snap Peas

My Yummy Mummy Brownie Wedge (before)

My Yummy Mummy Brownie (after digging in) Oh, so moist :)

Can't wait for next week 'cause I am going back to this Farmers' Market.

Steak and Summer Salad

Grilled Steak with Fresh Summer Salad - July 2011 - Guest Photo/Recipe
By Alexa for Prep2eat

Imagine being a newlywed couple about to celebrate your first wedding anniversary. Your first year of marriage included new jobs, grad school and a recent move into a new apartment. Ah, more space to live in and a shiny new kitchen with stainless steel appliances.

When and what will be the first homecooked meal after the unpacking? With pots and pans and small appliances all set to perform culinary magic, the inspiration came for Alexa to surprise her husband, Rob, with a juicy steak. Who wouldn't hurry home with that vision stimulating the tastebuds?

Along with the mouthwatering protein as the star on the dinnerplate, the supporting side of a fresh, summer salad completes the show.

The first homecooked meal in the new apartment was a huge success! Here is how the magic began with Alexa creating a marinade of flavor sensations for the awaiting steak.

As I like to say, "Nobody in the world is eating this meal. I created it just for you." This steak dinner is the homecooking-magic Alexa prepared for her husband, Rob.

The Souper

What you will need for this meal:
Fresh steak, cut of choice
Large plastic ziplock bag for marinating the steak
Measuring cups and measuring spoons
1/4 cup Teriyaki Sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic, crushed or minced
One teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Kitchen supplies and utensils:
Tongs
Large frying pan or grill pan. (Option, outdoor grill)
Large platter for cooked steak
Aluminum foil for covering the cooked steak on the platter
Large salad bowl
Wooden salad utensils
Vegetable peeler
Kitchen knife
Serving fork for cooked steak

Add the steak and seasoning ingredients mentioned above into the large ziplock bag, close tightly, and shake all the ingredients completly to cover the steak.
Place the ziplock bag with the marinating steak into the refrigerator for about an hour before grilling.

Cooking process:
If pan searing, cook the marinated steak on medium-high heat. Medium-rare will take about 4-5 minutes per side depending on the temperature of your stove-top burner. Option: grill the steak on an outside bar-b-que grill on medium setting for heat. Check the steak often to see how it is cooking.

Testing doneness of meat: Press your finger into the center of the cooking meat. If your finger dips into the center it is cooked very rare. If your finger does not dip into the center of the cooking meat, the meat is well-done. Anywhere in the midpoint of dipping your finger into the cooking meat will mean medium-rare to medium-well doneness.

When the steak has been seared or grilled to your liking, pick up the cooked steak with clean tongs and put the steak onto a large platter. Cover the cooked steak with aluminum foil so that the steak will rest, allowing the juices to settle back into the meat. Rest the steak on the platter, covered with aluminum foil for about 20 to 30 minutes.

While the steak is resting, prepare the summer salad:

Ingredients for this salad are:
Romaine lettuce, 2-4 large leaves, enough for two people.
One carrot, shaved
Fresh cherries, pitted and sliced (amount is up to you)
Cranberries, dried (amount is up to you)
Avocado, cut in half and taken out of covering, cube the flesh of avocado
Feta cheese, fat-free (optional)

Combine all the ingredients for this summer salad into a large salad bowl.

Dressing for summer salad
Pyrex glass dish or bowl, safe for microwave oven
Large spoon or whisk
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1/2 cup
Balsamic Vinegar, 1/4 cup
Orange Marmalade, 1 tablespoon

After putting the above indredients for the salad dressing into the Pyrex glass dish or bowl, whisk gently to blend.
Take the whisk out and put the Pyrex glass dish or bowl into the microwave oven for just about five seconds, on high setting. This will heat the ingredients a little in order to blend better. After taking the Pyrex glass bowl or dish out of the microwave oven, use the whisk to blend the indredents again.

Just before serving the summer salad, pour the dressing over the salad and mix lightly with wooden salad utensils.

To plate the meal:
Slice the steak and put a few slices on an individual dinner plate. Serve a portion of the salad along with the steak on the same dinner plate.