Shrimp, berries, mango slivers—a few of my favorite things

An afternoon with breezes straight off the water, a campfire in our pit for the first time this summer, dinner on our deck at our lake place—these were some happenings that made my Mother’s Day special.

Content to hatch up my own Mother’s Day meal (we had been out to dinner the Friday night before), I chose a menu that included blackened shrimp on skewers alongside mango slices and our own fresh blackberries. A mint-lime drizzle that used mint from our herb garden was the crowning touch.

How happy I was to be able to use our abundant blackberry crop for this unique purpose. The berries and mango formed a wonderful go-together with the shrimp. This recipe couldn’t have been easier, so toil over food preparation didn’t mar the holiday.

Love those blackberries with shrimp.

Grilled Blackened Shrimp Skewers

36 unpeeled, large raw Gulf shrimp (about 1 pound, 26/30 count)

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 teaspoon Cajun blackened seasoning 18 (6-inch) wooden skewers

36 fresh blackberries

18 fresh mango slices

Mint-Lime Drizzle:

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/8 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

Preheat grill to 350 to 400 degrees (medium-high) heat. Peel shrimp; leave tails on; devein, if desired. Place shrimp in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasoning; toss to coat. Grill shrimp, covered with grill lid, 2 to 3 minutes on each side or just until shrimp turn pink. Thread each skewer with 2 grilled shrimp, 2 blackberries, and 1 mango slice. Brush with Mint-Lime Drizzle, if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings. (Source: Southern Living, May 2012)

Birthday cobbler even better gift since berries, peaches all from garden

"You fixed that last year,” Hubby instructed as I informed him that his birthday dessert for this year would be a Peach-Blackberry Cobbler.

He wasn't complaining; he just wanted to be sure I didn’t repeat a blog post in the process. He knew that would irk me.

I was happy to (cheerfully) prove him mistaken. He had been thinking of last year ’s Peach-BLUEberry Cobbler, which I didn’t even bake until well after his birthday. While a wonderful dish, it wouldn’t begin to compare with what I had planned for today—the anniversary of his birth. After all, every morsel of fresh peach and every plump fresh BLACKberry would spring from our trees and our vines in our own garden. What a gift!

Peaches are an annual thing for us (some years more than others), but this year's vines absolutely covered in blackberries are wonders of the world! The berries are almost two-inches long and so chubby, you can hardly get one in your mouth. I’ve never seen any growing thing so beautiful. Their juicy taste is beyond delicious. The green of the vines is almost obliterated by the purple of the berries, they are so profuse.

Stirring two cups of them up with chunks of peaches fresh from our trees (in our first peach dish of the season) was nothing short of heaven. An online recipe from foodnetwork.com helped me out with this mixture. A rolled topping that included brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg spread out on top of everything, and I was in business. The Birthday Boy would be lucky indeed!

Peach-Blackberry Cobbler

8 to 12 peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 tablespoons cornstarch or flour

5 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

pinch salt (or salt substitute)

2 cups blackberries

topping (recipe follows)

Topping:

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon dried ginger

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 pinches mace or nutmeg

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon sugar (or sugar substitute)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl combine the peaches, cornstarch or flour, brown sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Toss gently. Carefully fold in the blackberries; transfer the mixture to a greased 8-cup baking dish. Set aside. For topping, mix the flour, salt, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and mace or nutmeg. Add the butter; mix until coarse and crumbly. Add 3/4 cup milk; mix just until combined. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead a few times to smooth it out. Form into a ball; roll out into the shape and size of the baking dish—about 1/2-inch thick. Place the dough on top of the prepared fruit. Brush the top of the dough with the remaining tablespoon of milk; sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Place the cobbler on a sheet-pan to catch any juices that might boil over. Bake until the top is golden brown and juices are bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. Makes 8 to 10 servings. (Source: www.footnetwork.com) 

Lemon-Basll Chicken Salad gets an herb-garden raid for its flavor

With a thatch of basil now growing in a little dedicated herb area just outside my back door, how could I pass up a chance to work this herb into a salad?

I saw this recipe for Lemon-Basil Chicken Salad and thought how amazing this would taste with the called-for 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil waiting for me just a few steps off the back porch. True that! This salad was absolutely delicious. I served it with some whole-grain flatbread. 

The recipe was included in the Southern Living section of chicken-salad lighten-ups which inspired my earlier blog about Mixed Fruit Chicken Salad. I pledged to try all four recipes included there, since chicken salad of any description is my absolute love. 

Well, two of these four makeovers down and two to go: this one with is fresh basil, baby spinach, fresh lemon zest, and sun-dried tomatoes couldn’t have been nicer.

Lemon-Basil Chicken Salad

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, pressed

1/2 teaspoon sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

4 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts

2 cups fresh baby spinach

1/3 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes

Whisk together fresh basil, olive oil, mustard, garlic, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. In a large bowl combine chicken, spinach, and tomatoes. Drizzle with basil mixture; toss to coat. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings. (Source: Southern Living May 2012)

Way back in the Congressional Cookbook, a terrific Chicken Pie recipe

Recently as I thumbed through one of my mother’s cookbooks that she had used widely in my childhood, Hubby asked whether I remembered that we possessed his mother’s Congressional cookbook. How cool for us to prepare a recipe from it some time, Hubby commented.

I located it on another shelf and noted that one of his all-time favorite dishes (as I've mentioned many times in this blog), Chicken Pot Pie, was furnished to the cookbook by Mrs. Will Rogers, wife of the U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma and a friend of Louis' mom. Mrs. Rogers (whose husband was no relation to the legendary Oklahoma humorist Will Rogers) lived in Washington D.C. during the FDR era when Grandmother Moore lived there and was a stenographer for several government agencies. 

The Congressional Cookbook (circa 1933), compiled with recipes from the wives of governmental luminaries in that day, had yellowing pages and a frayed cover, but it was filled with wonderful vintage recipes that still make up into beautiful dishes. 

My biggest delight was walking to my backyard garden and pulling up the 12 small onions called for in this recipe. They were just the right size--small, gorgeous bulbs that I quickly steamed in the microwave and then laid on the bottom of the prepared casserole. Seasoning for the broth included fresh-cut parsley from my herb row by my back steps. Couldn't get better than this!

Grandmother Moore's cookbook and her friend's recipe sprang alive for this incredible meal.

Chicken Pot Pie

3 cups cooked chicken

12 small onions, cooked and diced

1 cup diced carrots, cooked

4 tablespoons flour

2 cups chicken broth, seasoned to taste (I used pepper, salt substitute, and fresh parsley)

6 tablespoons water

biscuit dough (I used Bisquick low-fat baking mix to make dough)

Arrange the chicken, onions, and carrots in a greased 1 1/2-quart casserole; meanwhile, in a large skillet heat the chicken broth. Stir in flour that has been mixed to a smooth paste with the water; boil 5 minutes. Stir frequently until sauce is thickened. Pour this sauce over the chicken and vegeteables. Prepare the biscuit dough. Roll to 1/4-inch thickness; cut biscuits into rings; arrange on chicken. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 6-8 servings.

Fresh parsley from herb garden enlivens tomato sauce on fish

Nothing like fresh cut parsley straight from the little herb-growing area by my back porch to perk up a meal. A big, bushy head of parsley is thriving just by my back step. What a thrill to be able to step out and cut some of my own herbs instead of having to wag some home from the grocery! 

I was delighted to see that this recipe for Mediterranean Salmon included fresh parsley. Lately Hubby and I have managed to consume less fish than is optimum, so I’ve been back in a mode to pull out my fave salmon recipes as well as to scout out new ones. This suggestion was straight from a recent Kroger grocery flyer. I get the best ideas from these—one snail-mail circular I’m always happy to see.

The chunky tomato sauce to which I added the parsley was a wonderful topping for the flavorful sauteéd salmon. This meal assembled quickly and despite the recipe’s suggestion about refrigerating any left over, produced no leftovers. We consumed all rapidly.

Mediterranean Salmon

Salmon Sauté:

2 (4-ounce) fillets salmon

salt (or salt substitute) and fresh-ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Mediterranean Sauce:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 ripe plum tomatoes, minced

1/2 cup red Bell pepper, minced

2 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Season fish with salt and pepper. In a medium sauté pan heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add fish and sear until well-browned on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer fish to a plate; tent with foil. Heat large sauté pan over medium-high heat; add olive oil. Add remaining ingredients (tomatoes through pepper) to the hot oil. Stir constantly until heated through and sauce thickens a bit. Spoon onto sauteéd salmon; serve at once. Refrigerate any leftovers. Serves 2.

Way-cool fresh corn salad has cucumber addition

One main thing drew me to this “Chill-Out Corn Salad” recipe—the unusual combination of chopped cucumber with fresh corn. The fresh cuke would add to the “coolness” factor. It truly was a delightful flavor combination. 

If I’d had them on hand, I would have dumped in a small container of fresh pimientos or some chopped red Bell pepper, just because the bright red would have jazzed up the color. 

I can see this being a big covered-dish hit at a picnic—as a new take on the popular marinated vegetable salad covered-dish recipe. 

We thought it was plenty “cool”.

Chill-Out Corn Salad

1/4 cup oil

2 teaspoons sugar substitute

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 ears fresh corn, steamed and cut from cob (or 2 15.25-ounce cans low-sodiium corn, drained and rinsed)

1/2 cup chopped green Bell pepper

1 cup chopped celery

2 cups chopped cucumber

1 cup chopped onion

black pepper to taste

In a medium bowl whisk oil, sugar substitute, salt, and red wine vinegar. Add vegetables and toss. Chill in the refrigerator; then serve. Makes 9 1/2-cup servings. (Source: Chickasaw Nation Nutrition Services)

Makeover of chicken salad--fruit-filled version; love it!

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Whoever thought about putting all these ingredients in chicken salad? Yet it was delicious beyond words. Hubby wanted to know when I would make this winner of a meal again. He knows that to keep up with my blog posts, we don’t dine on a lot of repeats. He wanted to be sure this got filed in my “favorite-est” section.

This novel idea was featured in a recent Southern Living article that gave four makeovers to the staple of chicken salad. I intend to prepare as many of these four as I can. 

This fruity version called for grapes, celery, orange segments, and fresh pineapple. The dressing consisted (oh joy!) of ingredients I already had on hand—orange marmalade, raspberry blush vinegar, cilantro, jalapeno, and olive oil. Toasted pecans went on top. 

The magazine pictured serving it over a bed of spinach, but I just dished it up plain. It didn’t last very long; that attests to its popularity.

Mixed Fruit Chicken Salad

1/4 cup chopped pecans

4 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts

2 cups seedless red and green grapes, halved

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained (I used fresh orange segments)

1 cup chopped fresh pineapple (or 1 8-ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/2 cup orange marmalade (I used sugar-free)

1/3 cup white balsamic-raspberry blush vinegar

1 medium-sized jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a shallow pan bake pecans in a single layer for 6 to 7 minutes or until pecans are toasted and fragrant; stir halfway through. In a large bowl toss together chicken and next 5 ingredients. To make vinaigrette, combine the last five ingredients. Toss to coat salad. Sprinkle salad with pecans; serve immediately. Makes 7 1/2 cups salad. (Source: Southern Living May 2012)