Opening Up About Family for Adoptees and Adopters
I got tired of looking at Mr. Butternut. Like a house guest who had outstayed his welcome, the homely squash, purchased more than a week ago, no longer felt welcome in my kitchen.
It’s time for this vegetable to go bye-bye, I thought. So I turned the squash into soup.
When I’m looking for an idea for an easy meal, I often turn to spice rubs.
They are great for home cooks who don’t feel like chopping, dicing, slicing or any other serious knife activity. The only requirement is having a well-stocked supply of bottled herbs and spices, which I have.
The other day, I didn’t feel like shopping but I was short on protein. I had two salmon filets in the freezer and three mouths to feed. But there was a bag of frozen shrimp. If I made the filets with a couple handfuls of shrimp, I would have enough protein to feed the three of us.
I wanted to season the fish and shrimp the same way so I decided to try the spice rub used in Mark Bittman’s Four-Spice Salmon on my shrimp. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
This easy recipe, which mixes coriander and cloves with cumin and nutmeg, is a delicious way to season salmon. I had some leftover spice rub in a baggy in the fridge so I didn’t have to mix up a new batch. I sprinkled all the seasoning on the filets and shrimp and my husband, Tom, cooked it all in the same cast-iron skillet. In well under 10 minutes, the salmon and shrimp were ready to eat. Quite tasty.
It’s hard to get excited about three-bean salad. Just mentioning it makes you think of a side dish served at a diner or classic American picnic food. Boring, right?
Before you stop reading, consider the health benefits of beans. On top of being nutritious, they are also cheap.
There are ways to make three-bean salad interesting. Don’t worry. Even when you take this salad up a notch, it’s still quick and easy to make. In my version, there’s no cooking required. I used canned beans from my pantry. By the way, I try at all times to keep a variety of beans in the pantry to minimize last-minute trips to the store.
I made this dish recently for lunch at a friend’s house. All five adults and my 13-year-old son, Jake, enjoyed it.
Lynne’s Three-Bean Salad
1 clove garlic
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and ribs removed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (optional)
About 4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1 15.5-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
Chop the garlic and jalapeno finely. Be careful not to handle the jalapeno too much with bare hands. (You may want to protect your hands by wearing gloves as you chop the chile.)
Add the jalapeno, garlic, dill, olive oil and vinegar to a large bowl. Add the beans and mix everything up so the bean mixture is well seasoned. Add salt and pepper to taste and, if you like, more vinegar. This salad is best when it’s chilled. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.
Makes 6-8 servings
