Thayer in the Kitchen

I found this recipe in the magazine Midwest Living and made it for dinner. Arthur loved it and said he wanted me to save it in my blog so that I could make it again.  Typically I make a recipe once and unless it is really good I throw it away.  With so many recipes available it is hard to keep track of the really good ones which is one of the purposes of my blog. This one is interesting because the vegetables are made into vegetable ribbons and serve as a bed for the salmon.  The salmon steams on top of the vegetables and remains very moist. 1 lemon 1 medium zucchini 1 medium yellow summer squash 2 medium carrots, peeled 1/4 teaspoon salt 1-1 1/4# s almon fillets (if the salmon has skin it can easily be removed after cooking) 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2...

This very simple recipe is a favorite of my 11 year old grandson.  Who would have thought it! 1/4 or less red onion or yellow onion, finely chopped or chopped green onions  1 1/2 cups frozen corn (no need to cook) 1 can drained & rinsed black beans 1/4 cup or more roughly chopped cilantro 1 can Ro*tel tomatoes with green chilies or any available brand Juice of 1 lime (or lemon) Salt to taste 1/4 t. black pepper 1/4 t. ground cumin 1/8 t. cayenne pepper (optional)   Mix it all together and allow to sit for 30 minutes for the corn to defrost and the flavors to blend.  Serve with corn or taco chips.    The quantities are all adjustable to suit your own tastes. Adapted from Ten Dollar Dinners on the Food Network

This recipe is a great way to use a substantial amount of rhubarb.  I made it for my book club when the meeting was at our place and everyone really liked it.  There is one caveat--the recipe uses a cake mix!  I never use store bought cake mixes but did make an exception with this recipe.  You could probably use homemade yellow cake batter, but I caved in and used a cake mix.  The three yellow cake mixes receiving the best reviews were: King Arthur Flour All-Natural Golden Vanilla Cake Mix - I think this is only available through the King Arthur catalogue Betty Crocker SuperMoist Golden Vanilla Cake Mix (reviewed well on Good Housekeeping.com; this is the one I used) Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic Yellow Cake Mix (reviewed the best on Epicurious) 1 yellow cake mix 5 cups chopped raw rhubarb 1 cup sugar (or a bit less) 1 pint heavy whipping cream (2 cups) Additional whipping cream for serving Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cake mix ...

I love sweet potato soup.  I wanted to try this recipe because I had spinach from the farmers market as well as a jar of harissa.  Harissa is also known as Tunisian chili paste. This spice mixture originated in Tunisia. It contains chilies, cumin, garlic, coriander, caraway seeds, cinnamon, olive oil and sometimes tomatoes.  The harissa that I have is quite hot.  The first time I used it, my husband said he couldn't eat the dish.  I didn't think it was quite that hot, but now I use less then the recipe calls for and add more after tasting.  This recipe originally called for 1 1/2 tablespoons of harissa.  I cut it in half and used 2 teaspoons.  Your harissa may not be as hot as mine or you may have a higher tolerance than Arthur. 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium leeks, white and light green parts thinly sliced (about 2 cups) 3 tbsp tomato paste 3 tbsp creamy peanut butter (chunky is OK too) 2 teaspoons harissa paste (read...