Mixed Recipes to celebrate Ostara...

Spring is knocking our doors and to celebrate the nature's rebirth (and Ostara), what better way to welcome it with a plate of fresh leaves and sprouts? Although this recipe is delicious, it is not for everyone...Try it!

Ingredients:

1 cup Mung bean sprouts
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
2 cups baby spinach
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup dried cherries or raisins
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp honey
A dash of lemon juice


Preparation: 

1- To make the salad, place the baby spinach at the bottom of the plate or bowl, and then add the sprouts. Spread them out so they're not all clumped together.

2- Sprinkle the top with the chopped green onions, the almonds, and the raisins.

3- In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, honey and lemon juice and mix well.

4- Drizzle over the salad to serve.

*For a healthier and sweeter choice, you can substitute the mayonnaise with plain white yogurt.*

Baby Chick Deviled Egg

This recipe, for me, is funny to make just for the final result. If you have kids, I am pretty sure they will enjoy this little funky eggs.

The ingredients are for 6 servings, but you can use more if you want to. Just double the recipe.

Ingredients:

6 hard-cooked large eggs, shelled
3 tablespoons light canola mayonnaise
1 teaspoon honey mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 generous pinch black pepper

Decorations:

dried plum bits or sliced black olives
carrot pieces

Preparation:

1. Cut the top quarter of the eggs off. Carefully remove the yolks and place in a bowl. Mash the egg yolks with the back of a fork. Add the mayonnaise, honey mustard, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.

2. Place the egg yolk mixture in a zip-top plastic sandwich bag. Seal the bag and snip off one bottom corner. Squeeze an equal amount of the mixture into the larger of each egg white.

3. Add the eyes using dried plum bits and beak with a sliver of carrot and top with the remaining egg white “hat.”

*If you would like to add a more festive touch to your eggs, you can always color them. All you need to do is to dye the egg whites after you remove the yolks. Drop them in a glass of 1/2 cup of water with 4 drops of food coloring. Red dye makes a brilliant pink. Blue and purple take a little extra time. All of them need to soak for about 10 minutes.*

Honey Cake 

 Ingredients:

1 cup honey
1 cup applesauce
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup strong brewed decaffeinated coffee (can be made from instant or for those who don't mind having a bit of caffeine (like me), use the regular one).

Preparations:

1- Preheat the oven at 325F. In a large bowl, mix together the first 3 ingredients.

2- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, spices and baking soda.

3- Add the flour mixture to the wet stuff, alternating with the coffee; beat well.

4- Pour into a greased 9″x 13″ pan (or, alternatively, three 8″ square pans).

5- Bake for 60-90 minutes for the large pan or 60 minutes for the three smaller pans. Just watch for it to be spongy and golden brown.

Pan Roasted Salmon With Citrus Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe

Ingredients:

Citrus-Balsamic Vinaigrette:
3/4 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed is best)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
2 TBS fine-minced onions
2 tsp coarse-chopped parsley
2 tsp coarse-chopped basil
2 tsp coarse-chopped mint
2 TBS fine-minced orange zest
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh-ground black pepper

Pan-Roasted Salmon:

4 (6-ounce) skinless filets of salmon
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 TBS fresh-ground black pepper
2 TBS olive oil

Preparation:

1-  Preheat oven to 450°.

2- Combine all ingredients of the vinaigrette in a glass jar, cover tightly with a lid or with plastic wrap, and shake vigorously. Set aside.

3- Season all sides of the salmon with salt and pepper.

4- In a nonreactive ovenproof skillet large enough to hold all the salmon in one layer, heat the olive oil over high heat until a drop of water sizzles when it hits the oil. Place the salmon in the pan with its original skin side down. Leave on the heat 2 minutes.

5- Using an oven mitt, transfer the pan to the oven and roast 8 to 10 minutes, which should result in the salmon being medium rare. (If you want your fish a little more well-done, leave it in the oven a minute or two longer).

6- Again, using the oven mitt, remove the pan from the oven. Using a large heat-proof spatula, remove the cooked salmon to a serving platter or to dinner plates. Cover platter or plates with an aluminum foil tent while finishing .

7- Using a wad of paper towels, carefully wipe out any olive oil remaining in the skillet and put the pan back on the stove over high heat.

8- Shake the vinaigrette in its jar again, and pour it into the hot pan. Heat through 30 seconds or until it just begins to bubble. Spoon the sauce over the salmon and serve.