Spidie’s Summer Salad

This salad just tastes like summer to me. I use it as a side dish or spoon it on top of additional greens to make it a main dish. If I really want to make a meal of it, I just throw a few grilled shrimp on top.

Toss this all in a bowl:

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 ripe avocado, cubed

1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved

4 thin slices white onion, separated

Top with:

1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

the juice of one lime

salt & freshly ground pepper

Meow. Summer.

Spider's Trick Bag: Sautéed greens

One of the challenges of cooking for one is managing fresh produce. You want fresh food, but the single person uses them in such smaller quantities it's easy for them to go bad before you use it all. Discouraging. So I look for ways around this.

Arugula is one of my favorites. It's versatile, and I like its strong peppery flavor. But I rarely get through a bag before it starts to wilt. As soon as it does, I do this:

Get out a sauté pan and put it over medium heat. Sauté some minced garlic until golden. Add the greens. They'll cook down pretty quickly to a small amount. Add salt and pepper as they cook. You'll know when they're done.

Eat it right away as a side dish (as I did here with the sole) or put it in the fridge to heat up and eat later.

Take a peek in Spider's Pantry (just leave the medicine cabinet alone, thank you)

It really doesn't take much to make something more elegant, more flavorful and feel a little more special. It's worth the effort to keep a few things on hand to plus any meal. From time to time I'll give you a peek inside my pantry. This is the stuff I almost always have on hand. Bonus: when the rest of the cupboards are bare, I can always whip something up from the pantry.

Effortless Filet of Sole

Effort. That's what a lot of people associate with cooking in general and just don't think it's worth it for "lil' ole me..." But often something really nourishing, delicious and even kind of special takes little more effort than slapping some Spam on a piece of bread. I give you Effortless Filet of Sole:

Take a filet of Sole. Sprinkle it with salt & pepper.
Take a small baking pan. Spray it with vegetable oil.
Take a tablespoon of butter. Break it into a few pieces and put it on top of the fish.
Stick it all in a 350º oven for 15 minutes.
Serve with some lemon, a few olives, a little parsley, and something green on the side.

Now that wasn't so hard.

Spider’s Trick Bag: Blanched Asparagus

Dining well on your own takes a little strategizing. To make it happen, I have many tricks in my bag. Here’s a good one:

For a light snack or a side dish, keep some blanched asparagus on hand. It can be served slightly warm, at room temperature or straight out of the fridge.

I get a bunch of fresh asparagus. Rinse them. Trim the bottoms (just hold them end to end and bend--the tough part will snap off at just the right spot). Take a wide sauté pan, place all the spears in the bottom and add about an inch of water. Cover, bring to boil, then turn the water down to a simmer. When the asparagus turns a bright green color and the bottoms are just barely tender, strain immediately and rinse in very cold water to stop them from cooking.

As soon as they are cooled and drained, toss with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Eat some immediately, put the rest away for later!
A few ideas for “later”:

* chop and throw into an omelet with a little fresh goat cheese and some herbs. Tarragon, parsley or chives would be good.

* wrap spears in prosciutto or any thin-cut ham for an elegant appetizer

* snack on as is with your favorite dip or sauce (I like mayonnaise mixed w/an extra squeeze of lemon and a little dijon)

If you’ve got any other ideas, I’d love to hear them--leave a comment!