Walking on Sunshine - Moroccan Orange Salad!

What are your thoughts about the food pyramid? You know what I’m referring to; that triangle shaped guide instructing us to eat X many veggies and X much protein, etc. per day. There are other guides, too. How about the one that is a divided plate indicating how much of your plate should be consumed by this or that food group? The divided plate one actually makes sense to me, and I subconsciously call upon it when I am serving my family.

One thing that I’m kind of, um, neurotic about is that my kids eat fresh fruit every day. Do you have any, shall we say, issues like that? Years ago, I told my hubbyman that the kids will snack on whatever is most conveniently available. If junk food is out, I contended, it would get eaten ... not because it was desired, but rather because it was easy to get. I didn't even want to start my snackers on that path, so began my quest for easy, accessible fruit. During the drizzly winter months, we rely heavily upon apples, bananas, grapes, and oranges. Come summer, our bounty explodes with bulging bowls of berries in all colors and varieties, and we experience magnificent melon mania until Fall. We eat 99.9% of all the fruit raw, and fresh fruit definitely has a foothold in making appearances at meal time, too. Oh we have the occasional potato chip and I, myself, have been known to crunch on a Frito, but for the most part, we want fruit.

It could have gone the other way, for me at least. When I was a kid growing up in Indiana, our annual school fundraiser was to sell ...wait for it, wait for it ... are you ready .... we had to sell crates of oranges and grapefruits. Good Lord, whose idea was that? Out of all the fundraisers on the planet, why oh why did they choose that? Yep, while other schools were out selling wrapping paper or popcorn or whatever, my school insisted on selling cases of oranges and grapefruits. (Okay, stop laughing.) The crates would be delivered in the throes of winter, supposedly bringing a bit of sunshine to all the folks trudging around in 3 feet of snow. Uh, yeah. Right. (Okay, you can join me in a major eye roll here.) I DREADED this every year. First off, I was such a shy little sprite, the thought of going around selling stuff was just wwwaaayyy outside the box for my little introverted persona. Then there was also the fact that those crates were unbelievably heavy and there was no way my little elf self would be able to lug those things around especially with 3 feet of snow. Thankfully for me, my parents never pushed me into childhood sales, and so I was spared having to hit the street and sell, sell, sell. Also, thankfully, my love of citrus was not deterred by the annual trama selling fest.

Despite all of that, now that I live in an area where I don’t feel sunshine on my face for extended periods, I find myself wanting some citrus sunshine during the winter. Popping a juicy orange segment into my mouth does bring a smile to my face, and perks me up. Today’s salad is a perfect example. Moroccan Orange Salad is very lovely and delightfully refreshing. The photos just don’t do it justice. It’s warm sunny orange color really perks up the plate, and it pairs perfectly with the heavier foods typically consumed during winter. Light and refreshing, bursting with dates, pistachios, and toasted almonds, it is loaded with those friends we hear so much about these days ... anti-oxidants. Give it a try the next time you serve steak, or kebobs, or even roast chicken. Plan your pyramid or plate to have meat, veggies, carbo’s, and Moroccan Fruit Salad. It’s sure to please the grown ups and kids alike.

Here’s all you need:

4-6 seedless oranges
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup dates – chopped
2 T toasted almond slivers
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon powdered sugar, divided

Peel the oranges taking care to remove all of the white pith. I used a knife.Check out the thickness of the pith! What a rip off! I thought I was buying giant oranges; turns out I was just buying pith. Slice the oranges into rounds, and place into a large bowl. Be on the lookout for little fingers and big ones, too, sneaking orange segments as you prepare this. Save all the juice that may have squeezed out during the peeling process. Add in the chopped dates, cinnamon, juice, and ½ of the powdered sugar. Gently toss to combine.You can serve immediately or put in the fridge to serve later. At serving time, sprinkle with the remaining powdered sugar if desired.Try a bite ... Mmmm ... start humming the song “Walking on Sunshine”. Do you like pistachios? I do.Oh yeah, look at all those little sunshine juice cells just waiting to burst out! The combo of cinnamon and orange flavor is amazingly good and very refreshing. The dates and the almonds add great texture as well as lend their yummilicious flavors. And the colors ... wow! This salad would be great all year long. And, like many of the recipes at It’s All Gouda, this is gluten free, all the way, baby!

Company Worthy Salad Nicoise

When you have guests visiting, do you stick to your regular cooking routine and recipes, or do you perk it up a bit? I was pondering that question last night. My wonderful dad and his sweet wife are visiting us this week, and I find that I am most definitely perking it up a bit. I don't know why that is really. My dad and are are close, he knows me and my cooking quite well, and, besides, my dad is so easy to please and his wife is always so complimentary that I know I don't need to do anything different from usual. I think that I must be channeling both my late grandma and late mom in that when company comes, you take good care of them, prepare your meal with love and care, and you never let anyone leave your house hungry. No problem there ... I like to feed people.

Yesterday was a drizzly day here in the Pacific Northwest, and in the culinary department, I just wanted to hold onto summer a little bit longer. What to do, what to do. Soup and salad sounded just right ... soup for the warmth and comfort, and salad for the crunchy, summery feel. But with company here, a regular tossed salad would not do. I remembered seeing a wonderful recipe called Salad Nicoise in one of my well loved older cookbooks (Cookery for 1 or 2 by Barbara Swain). This cookbook was one of the very first that I purchased right before I got married, and fell in love with it. Although my cooking requirements have evolved beyond feeding 1 or 2 people, this cookbook retains its place of honor on my shelf.

People, this salad is GOOD and so company-worthy!!! It can easily stand on its own with a thick slice of bread. I pared it with homemade chicken and rice soup, and had to refrain from making multiple yummy noises ... I had company after all!

This salad took some organizational effort, but was quite easy to make. It's so pretty to look at, don't you think? I almost didn't want to toss it before serving! Every single bit was eaten. When I cleared the dishes, the salad serving bowl was clean!

Here's what you do: Boil some baby red potatoes that have been cut in bite size halves or quarters, until tender. While potatoes are boiling, prepare a simple french vinaigrette by whisking 3 parts Olive oil, 1 part white wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice, little bit of whole grain mustard or dijon mustard, few shakes of garlic salt, freshly ground pepper, and your favorite herbs. Drain potatoes and immediately toss with vinaigrette. Set aside to marinate. Do the same with the green beans; marinate separately from the potatoes. Layer lettuce in the bottom of a large serving bowl. Arrange the following items in their own section on top of lettuce: marinated potatoes, marinated green beans, hard boiled eggs-quartered, slice tomatoes, olives - I used plain old black olives because that's what my guests like, but use whatever type you like including nicoise olives!, and good quality tuna or even grilled tuna would be terrific. Prepare another vinaigrette, same as before, but this time add some finely diced shallot or red onion. Drizzle over the salad. A traditional salad nicoise calls for layering anchovies on top. My guests and hubbyman opted not for the anchovies; however, as I love anchovies, I lovingly layered mine on as well as ate their portions of the little salty strips, too. Serve this immediately at room temperature or refrigerate it and serve cold. If you don't have guests, make yummy noises. Oh, and this salad is gluten free, all the way, baby!

What are your favorite dishes to serve guests? Since my company will be here for a couple more days, I'd love to hear any recipe suggestions you may have!

People Pleasin' Pork -- Chops that is!

I had originally purchased these choppers with grand plans of a BBQ feast. As I placed them in my grocery cart, I envisioned roasting them on the grill with a healthy slathering of yummy sauce. However, the next day when it came time to make them, my taste for BBQ had waned, and I wanted just a good ol' plain grilled chop. It was hot and I was tired and those piglets of mine wanted to do stuff, so I changed menus. They were so easy to make. Here's what you need:

6 bone in chops (these are just regular cut supermarket chops)
A couple shakes of Spike seasoning or your favorite season salt
A couple grinds of pepper
A couple minced garlic cloves
About a tablespoon of chopped chives
A couple fresh sage leaves
A couple splashes of canola oil.

1. Prep your chops by slicing the fat that rims the edge opposite the bone. I usually make just one perpendicular cut all the way through the fat right to the meat. This will keep your chop from curling when it hits the heat. See how flat my chops are? (Hmm, seems like there should be a boring joke inserted here.)

2. Combine the remaining ingredients in your favorite marinade container. I started off using a Ziploc bag, but the bone on one of the chops speared a hole in it, so I transferred everything to a foil covered baking dish. Put back in the fridge for at least an hour; a couple of hours would be better.

Note: I use canola oil for chops because it seems to take the heat of the grill better than olive oil. Also, I used very little of it ... just enough to produce a sheen on the chops and then there's no need to drain the marinade. Using this method, I've yet to have a chop stick to the grill, and it turns out perfect every time.

Also, my family doesn't like stuff on their food (see my eye roll here). So, I leave my chives and sage leaves whole so I can pick them off before grilling. Man, the things I do for love ...

3. About 20 minutes before grilling, take the meat out of the fridge to let it lose some of it's chill. Fire up the gas grill on high, and when it reaches about 500 degrees, place the chops on, close the lid, and immediately turn the grill down to med-low. Let them cook for 5 minutes, then turn them over and let them go for another 6 minutes. Then, remove them from the grill to a platter and cover with foil. Let them sit for another five minutes before serving. They are perfect. I wanted to take a photo of them sliced so you could see how juicy they are, but the wild boars at my table were hungry. I don't mess with hungry wild boars.



Accompanying these lovely chops was a simple fruit salad that my children and husband made. Insert applause here. Like I mentioned earlier, I was tired and enlisted their services. I set out a bunch of fruit, a huge bowl, and told them to have at it. They did outstanding work, don't you think? Gorgeous kiwi, ripe strawberries (that actually made it into the serving bowl), juicy nectarines, sweet green grapes, fresh pineapple, and these darling miniscule grapes called Zante Currant Munchkin Grapes. See how little they are (strawberry lover #2's modeling hand). Compare them to the green grapes shown in the bowl.



I've found that sometimes when it comes to serving kids, simple straightforward meals are best. Plain grilled chops, fruit salad, and rice made up our meal. Oh, and homemade real sweet iced tea. That's it. And absolutely nothing was left. They ate every bite. People pleasin' pork! Bust those chops, baby!