Last January my good friend and food blogging buddy, Margaret of Tea and Scones, told me about a new group that was starting up, one in which you could not only choose your own recipe, but could also select your own cookbook each month. I was intrigued and hoped to join in right away. Last year being what it was, that didn't happen, so now I am regrouping a year later and sallying forth with the intention/hope of being a fairly regular participant at Cookbook Countdown. Cookbook Countdown was started by Joyce of Kitchen Flavors and Emily of Emily’s Cooking {Makan2} Foray. The concept for the group is to encourage participants to truly use the cookbooks they own and might not be using as much as they like. This sounds like a great idea to me as I have many cookbooks that I wish I was cooking from a bit more and I figure that this might be a way to make that happen. Each month one can choose whichever cookbook seems inspiring and cook one or as many recipes from that book as desired, posting and linking to the main site.
This month for Cookbook Countdown I have chosen to use The New American Heart Association Cookbook (8th Edition). In August our son Alex died at the age of 23. Two weeks later my husband had a heart attack brought on by intense grief and stress. As part of his rehab, it was recommended that he follow a heart-friendly diet and we have been embracing that these past four months, hoping to follow a healthy cooking plan for the most part, and using the not-so-healthy items as a once-in-awhile-in-small-amounts kind of thing. Choosing this book for this month feels very good to me, a chance to explore healthier recipe options of foods we already enjoy, and a place to share my findings. The first recipe I have chosen to make from the book is Sesame-Orange Salmon, found on page 166.
Ingredient list: salmon, fresh orange juice, orange zest, sesame seeds, salt-free lemon pepper, soy sauce (lowest sodium possible), and toasted sesame oil.
We usually eat salmon once a week, so this seemed a fine place to start as the heart-healthy diet recommends fish 2-3 times a week. The added benefit of cooking fish is that it is quick and easy. Most of the time we just add a little seasoning and are good to go, and many times I do serve it with lemon. The idea of using orange juice and zest sounded good to me and it was, especially with the addition of the Asian flavors that I enjoy. The sauce was light and not overpowering. Definitely a repeat, this is one I could make over and over and not tire of it.
To see what the others have cooked this month, click here. It is the policy on this blog not to publish recipes that are not mine. It always seems to me that the people who do publish recipes go to a lot of time, trouble, and expense to do so and that I should honor that by encouraging you to purchase the book or check it out from a lending library. Thank you for understanding. I do post the general ingredients for each recipe so perhaps you can have a go at it from that alone.
We usually eat salmon once a week, so this seemed a fine place to start as the heart-healthy diet recommends fish 2-3 times a week. The added benefit of cooking fish is that it is quick and easy. Most of the time we just add a little seasoning and are good to go, and many times I do serve it with lemon. The idea of using orange juice and zest sounded good to me and it was, especially with the addition of the Asian flavors that I enjoy. The sauce was light and not overpowering. Definitely a repeat, this is one I could make over and over and not tire of it.
To see what the others have cooked this month, click here. It is the policy on this blog not to publish recipes that are not mine. It always seems to me that the people who do publish recipes go to a lot of time, trouble, and expense to do so and that I should honor that by encouraging you to purchase the book or check it out from a lending library. Thank you for understanding. I do post the general ingredients for each recipe so perhaps you can have a go at it from that alone.