Side Dish Recipes

Spring and Easter always make me think of baked ham. That makes sense within the context of ham being a traditional Easter dish, but then I start wondering why ham is a traditional Easter dish. Hogs are traditionally slaughtered in the fall, not the spring. It would make more sense if ham were traditional for Thanksgiving or Christmas, not Easter. But then, how long does it take to cure a ham? Weeks? Months? I honestly don't know. Maybe ham is traditional for Easter because that's when it is finally cured/smoked to perfection.

I'm always trying out new salmon recipes for Rod, and came up with Broiled Salmon With Zesty Lime Mustard a while ago. While the recipe calls for broiling the salmon fillets, you could cook these on an outdoor grill, too. I have a nifty little device that was made especially for grilling fish on an outdoor barbecue. It is a metal "cage" with a long wooden handle, and eliminates the problem of the fish fillets sticking to and/or falling apart when you cook them. Mine is a big one that holds 6 to 8 salmon fillets, but I have seen smaller ones for 1 or 2 fillets. In fact, I saw one at one of the dollar stores earlier this spring, and bought several to give away as presents - and kept a couple for myself, too, of course. They were only about $3.00 each, and worth every penny.

Franklin Roosevelt promised "a chicken in every pot" when he was first campaigning for the presidency. The Depression was in full swing, and having chicken for dinner - or any kind of meat! - was a luxury many people couldn't afford.

I'm ready for spring. No, I'm actually ready for summer. I want to grill out and have delightful meals on the patio, punctuated by the cries of the birds and cooled by soft breezes. Unfortunately, when I got up this morning, the outside temperature was 22 degrees, and it wasn't much warmer inside since I'd forgotten to turn the furnace back on. (Boy, did I catch what for from my family for that!)

Tonight's meal takes advantage of two different spring vegetables, radishes and spinach. If you garden, you're going to want to plant both. Radishes are particularly easy. We had a neighbor when we lived in Hicksville, Ohio (yes, there really is a town named Hicksville!) who used to bring us over bunches and bunches of radishes each spring. I finally asked him why he planted so many more than his family could use, and he replied, "Oh, we hate radishes, but they're the only thing we've been able to grow." Evidently, even someone with a brown thumb can grow radishes.

Tonight's meal, featuring Italian Marinated Flank Steak, is a simple meal. It goes together quickly with a minimum amount of fuss, and leftover steak is wonderful to munch on for breakfast or lunch, and it is also a terrific addition to a simple salad to turn it into a main dish meal.

Certain foods "go together" in my mind; for example, pork and apples are one of my favorite combinations. The Johnny Appleseed Pork Chops in tonight's menu are a luscious change of pace from savory pork chops.

Tonight's meal is both versatile and satisfying on a cool, damp autumn evening. Low carbers can serve their Swedish Burgers on lettuce leaves or just place them on the plate and eat them with a knife and fork, omitting the lettuce leaves. Non-low carbers can have their burgers on buns if they want to.

CarbSmart Complete Low Carb Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes includes Zesty Roast Turkey, Molded Gazpacho Salad, Cranberry Treat, Company Cauliflower Casserole, Decadent Spinach Casserole, Holiday Spaghetti Squash Casserole, Di's Chocolate Mocha No-Bake Cheesecake.

Next week the infamous "Mideast Feast" is scheduled for the 6th graders of Rapid Run Middle School. They're studying the Mideast, you see, and the teachers and parents provide the feast as an extension of their lessons. I remember my son participating in this when he was in the 6th grade; now it's my daughter's turn.

I was looking back through previous Low Carb Cooking 101 lessons, and I was amazed that I had only shared one pork recipe with you. Autumn and winter aren't the only times I serve pork, for crying out loud. We have pork for dinner at least once every ten days or so, usually pork roast, pork chops, or pork steaks. But I really do like pork most in the fall and winter.

There's something to be said for seasonal eating. We can take advantage of the various foods that are in season, perhaps saving a little money in the process. In addition, we can "rest our palates," rotating different dishes in and our of your daily menus on a seasonal basis so that we don't get tired of any particular dish.