Ruby Red Trout hot off the grill, roasted and ready to enjoy!

Ruby Red Trout with fresh dill.....and a simple salad with white wine vinaigrette!!

Summer has come to Boulder, and fresh dill is growing in my container garden. Our favorite fish, ruby red trout, is available in abundance. So what's a girl to do? Cook. Here are my recipes for the fish and a salad that made our hearts sing. Hope you enjoy.
Be well,
Caroline


RUBY RED TROUT with FRESH DILL
Preheat gas grill to 450 degrees. Serves 2.
2   6-7 oz. ruby red trout filets
vegetable oil spray
Juice of 1 lemon
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Several dollops of butter
Approximately 1/2 cup fresh dill
On grill pan, place a foil liner, coated with vegetable oil spray. Wash and dry trout, lay on foil. Drizzle with lemon juice, season with salt and black pepper, followed by small dollops of butter down the center of the fish. Lay multiple sprigs of dill over the spine of the trout. Roast in pan at 450 degrees, with lid closed, for 10 minutes, or as desired. Serve with a salad of simple greens and fresh mint, and the salad dressing below.

WHITE WINE VINAIGRETTE
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 ½  teaspoons agave,  to taste
    (or substitute honey)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup olive oil
Whisk first 7 ingredients, then whisk in olive oil, until emulsified. Dress salad, serve immediately.
Enjoy!!!

 

Hello again, as we near Memorial Day, a time of remembrance, and a time to cook and share good food with family and friends. Any spring or summer holiday, makes me think of grilling, which makes me think of barbecue sauces and rubs. But, since traditional sauces and rubs may contain tomatoes, peppers, cayenne, and paprika, which I can no longer eat without pain and inflammation, I developed a dry rub for grilling that is nightshade free. The recipe is below. I hope you'll try it this weekend as you grill something savory for your family or friends. Wishing you a safe and fun weekend.  Would love to hear from you!

Be well,

Caroline

CAROLINE’S  DRY  SPICY  RUB
This rub is a spicy alternative to marinades and can be used with chicken, meats, and firm fish. Combine ingredients below, then place in a small food processor. Process until finely ground. Press rub into flesh of foods you are preparing to grill or roast in the oven. After applying rub, refrigerate meats/fish for several hours.To increase flavors and heat from the rub, refrigerate longer.To reduce heat, use less rub. Make extra rub and store in a tightly closed container.  NOTE:  TO ADD CRISPNESS TO FOODS, LIGHTLY DRIZZLE OLIVE OIL OVER ITEMS TO BE ROASTED OR GRILLED, AFTER RUB IS APPLIED AND JUST BEFORE COOKING.

1 tablespoon coarse black pepper
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic flakes
1 teaspoon onion powder or dried onion flakes
1 tablespoon Italian herb mix  (or dried oregano)
1 tablespoon black peppercorn
1-2 teaspoon white pepper (more for extra heat)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Nightshade free
Gluten free

Lactose free

Greetings from Colorado, on a gorgeous spring day, and something nightshade, gluten, and lactose free from my kitchen!

These warm temperatures call for fresh salads, dressed with something light and luscious.  For that dressing, I choose my favorite:  CHAMPAGNE VINAIGRETTE.  The recipe below is easy to prepare, and I make extra to have on hand.  With tender greens coming from the garden, this is the perfect combination.  Hope you enjoy!

Be well and happy,

Caroline

CHAMPAGNE VINAIGRETTE
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons Dijon
¼ cup champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 ½  teaspoons agave,  to taste
    (or substitute honey)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup good olive oil
Whisk first 7 ingredients, then whisk in olive oil, until emulsified. 

Nightshade free
Gluten free
Lactose free

I'm going to a party this weekend, and wanted to take a "no nightshade appetizer."   So, I pulled the following "Green Pea and Roasted Walnut Hummus" from my cookbook, and will serve it with gluten free crackers.  This is also lactose free.   This hummus is rich is flavor, and the color of spring!!
Be well,
Caroline

GREEN PEA AND ROASTED WALNUT HUMMUS
1/3 c. toasted walnuts
1/3 c. roasted garlic
(I toasted/roasted the walnuts and garlic together in the oven, at 350 degree for about 12 minutes. The walnuts may toast faster than the garlic.)
2 c. frozen green peas, cooked and drained
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
1 T. onion, minced
1 1/2 t. dry mustard
4 tablespoons preserved lemon, chopped
6 tablespoons good olive oil

Place ingredients in a food processor, then pulse to puree, but leave some texture.  Chill 1-2 hours before serving.
  

A passage from my book...."Caroline's No Nightshade Kitchen," and a piece of my personal history with arthritis

I thought it was time to tell you a little about my personal history with arthritis and nightshades.   It's been 14 years of discovery, along with recovery.  I'd like to share a passage from my book, Caroline's No Nightshade Kitchen.  My goal has been, and still is, to help others who suffer from arthritis and other related illnesses.  I've shared many of my recipes on this blog, but this is the serious side to my mission.

Be well,

Caroline

In 2001, I was visiting a friend who has a medical background and is knowledgeable about many types of alternative healthcare.  She noticed my bright red, swollen hands, and asked if I knew anything about nightshade plants and how they can affect arthritis.  She explained that the nightshade family of plants  (tomatoes, peppers, white potatoes, and eggplant) were proven to severely affect some people who have arthritis.   Of course, I thought she was crazy.  I couldn't believe giving up many of the foods I enjoyed could or would make a difference. 

But because the pain had been so severe for three years, and I was truly desperate for relief, she convinced me to change my diet for four weeks to see what might happen.   Giving up tomatoes, peppers, white potatoes, and eggplant was a serious endeavor for me, because these four categories of food were the mainstay in most of my cooking.   I loved to cook and I especially loved tomatoes, peppers, and hot spices. 

As I looked at my daily diet, I found that all three meals were especially prominent in tomatoes and peppers, the spicier the better.  I could eat jalapenos and Thai chili paste with the best of them.  Could I live without these amazing flavors?  Could I sustain a food plan that would limit these choices?   I wasn't sure, but I was desperate and didn't have anything to lose, except a little time without nightshades.   I began this experiment the next day, but with little hope it would lessen my pain.   But to my delight and surprise, the pain went completely away in 3 days.   And as long as I stayed away from nightshade plants, the pain stayed away.

If you even think you may have a sensitivity to nightshade foods, I hope you'll try the test for eliminating these foods, found on an earlier post on this blog.  Let me know what you think and what kind of reaction you have.  I've said all along, nightshades don't affect everyone with arthritis, but it does affect many of us.  You don't have to buy anything, you don't have to take a pill, you just have to try eliminating nightshades from your diet for a few days, or possibly a few weeks.  What if it did make a difference?

My very best wishes,

Caroline

  

STEAM FRIED EGGS
A simple way to prepare eggs that brings out the flavor.   Really good eggs, make such a difference, as well.  Serves 1.
 
Vegetable oil spray
1 teaspoon good olive oil
2 whole eggs  (range free, no hormones, organic!)
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
 
In a small skillet with lid, heavily coat bottom with vegetable oil spray, then add olive oil.  Place skillet on high heat for one minute, then add 2 whole eggs.  Lightly season with salt and black pepper.  When eggs begin to set, reduce heat to medium low, and cover skillet.  Cook eggs 2-4 minutes, as desired.   Do not turn.  Eggs can be cooked by this method sunny side up to hard. 
 
And of course........
Nightshade free
Gluten free
Lactose free