Healthy - Part 3

Grilling

I hear so often that summer is the easiest time, other than the holiday/Christmas season, to gain weight, and I’m not sure why - probably because we get together with family and friends and keep on having fun, and with that comes eating.  I find summer to be the easiest time to lose/maintain weight (which I proved handily to myself once again this year).  I’m more active in the summer, I drink a lot more water, but I find summer foods to be far healthier than what I eat/cook in the cooler months.

In the cooler months, I crave bigger flavors and heartier dishes.  And let’s face it, maybe we’re not quite as conscious of what we look like when we have sweaters, jackets, and scarves to cover some of it up.

Grilled shrimp sandwich

But in the summer, sure, we barbecue and drink margaritas and eat pie, but I like to keep some of those things to a minimum, and grilling doesn’t have to mean burgers, hot dogs, ribs, and wings every night.  How about chicken and fish?  How about vegetables?  For that matter, how about fruit?  Grilled corn and grilled peaches and especially grilled tomatoes and eggplants are among my favorites.

This week, grilled shrimp and grilled chicken were on the menu, but there was nothing boring or plain about them.

Sancerre rose

Grilled shrimp sandwiches was dinner a few nights ago.  The fresh jumbo shrimp were peeled and deveined, and brushed with barbecue sauce (a concoction of Jack Daniel’s sauce, worcestershire sauce, hickory seasoning, local wildflower honey, and soy sauce), and after the shrimp were grilled, onto fresh rolls they went, with very thinly sliced red onions, sliced avocado, and sliced (massive) local tomatoes.  I also added a dressing of pureed cilantro, fresh lime juice, olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic.  With a side of sweet local Long Island corn, that’s a perfectly healthy and delicious summer dinner.  And of course I chose a rose for it - an organic rose from a very small producer in Sancerre.  That means it was a rose of Pinot Noir - dry, clean, bright, with notes of barely ripened strawberries, raspberries, lemon, watermelon rind, and fresh herbs, and white stony mineral.

And last night I made something that not only tasted delicious, it looked beautiful on the plate.

Anjou rouge

Salad for dinner

I bought a small bottle of mission fig balsamic vinegar the other day and wanted to put it to use this week.  So I decided on a salad for dinner.  I opted for organic baby greens and tossed them with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic, and then placed it on plates.  I finely chopped shallot and added it to the plates.  Then I added candied walnuts and fresh crumbled goat cheese.  I then grilled somewhat thinly sliced (but not too thin!) chicken breasts which I had seasoned with kosher salt and black pepper, and after they were thoroughly cooked on both sides but careful not to overcook, I removed from the heat, set aside for a few moments, and then sliced the chicken, placed it on top of the salads, garnished with fresh thyme leaves from my plant at home, and drizzled with the mission fig balsamic vinegar.  I can’t remember the last time I was so proud of something so simple, just because it looked lovely and I knew it would taste great.  With it, I sliced a ciabatta loaf, and the wine I selected was a Cabernet Franc.  The Cabernet Franc was an Anjou rouge, from the Loire Valley in France, by a very small producer.  Notes of plum, dark fruits, pine/herbs, pink blossoms, mushroom, forest floor, and a distinct “dirty” earthiness that I expected from a Loire Cabernet Franc, were all present - as well as a fascinating dark inky purple color in the glass but a very clean feel, and medium body, and a lengthy finish - perfect for pairing with the salad.

Healthy dishes don’t have to be boring, and fun, delicious dishes don’t have to be fattening.  Pick fresh, good quality, delicious ingredients for maximum flavor, choose just one or two relatively uncomplicated side dishes, and a good wine, and you’re good to go.

Healthy - Part 2

When I’m trying to eat healthier, aside from the obvious like drink more water and tea, and incorporate more vegetables and fruits into my diet, I also tend to focus on fish and chicken.  And in the warmer months, mostly fish.

A few nights ago, I created a nice summer dish that was simple and healthy and clean, and paired a good wine with it, for dinner on the porch.

Fresh salmon was rubbed in olive oil and seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, and cumin.  Cook it at 350F until that pale line starts to show on the side of the filet, and it’s done (you could also check it with a fork or butter knife to see if it’s flaking a bit but that would alter the presentation - I just look for that line).

The salsa was chopped mango and peach, and finely chopped red bell pepper and shallot, and seasoned with lime juice, mirin, and black pepper, and then spoon some of the salsa over the salmon, and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

On the side was fresh local Long Island sweet corn from the farm stand, and a “salad” of black beans, fresh campari tomatoes, chunks of avocado, and scallion, with a dressing of olive oil, lime juice, kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic.

I paired dinner with the 2007 Stag’s Leap “Karia” Chardonnay from Napa - Stag’s Leap is a very good and reputable producer in California and a sort of American icon in terms of California wineries, in that they’ve been around quite some time and have proven their quality over and over again.  I’m not a big fan of heavily oaked California Chardonnays, so this one was excellent because I had stored it in the cellar for quite some time and lots of the oakiness had been tamed by now, leaving a relatively clean feel with some soft, round texture, and notes of baked apple, pear, a hint of butterscotch and just a touch of lemon.  I do love Chardonnay with salmon, and the pairing was excellent.

So there’s a healthy summer dinner - not cheap to make as fresh fish at a good quality and fresh produce cost some money these days, but it’s worth it to eat something healthy and delicious - at least I think it is.