Grilled Salmon with Tomato-Avocado Relish

Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Special Edition had a photo of their Grilled Salmon with Tomato-Red Onion Relish on the cover that caught my eye. I couldn't find a picture of that edition to link to, but that photo inspired me to make this Grilled Salmon with Tomato-Avocado Relish when we went camping.

To make the Tomato-Avocado Relish, simply slice cherry tomatoes--both red and yellow--in half, dice an avocado, thinly slice some green onions & half a bunch of cilantro, toss with some lime and/or lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. The citrus juices go well with the fish and the avocado adds a nice creaminess.

Scroll down to the end of this post for a recipe if you'd like to skip the details of our camping trip. I don't mind.

For years, we have been camping in the Eastern Sierra, but this year, with my new granddaughter only several weeks old, my son-in-law Mitchell found us a campground on the Western Sierra side, closer to them.

Mitchell spent a lot of time researching campgrounds to find us one that met our requirements at Dinkey Creek--we appreciate your hard work, Mitchell! As it turned out, they had to suddenly fly to Florida and were unable to join us. 

Dinky Creek was really nice and shady, a nice change from the hot sun of our campsites at Convict Lake.

We arrived in the late afternoon and started to make dinner after setting up camp.

Rick grilled the salmon.

Jessica made the tomato-avocado relish. You may remember her from her Thai Chicken Salad.

After dinner we sat around the campfire and made S'mores. 

This is our first time trying the JUMBO marshmallows.

See that look of love on Jessica's face?

Jessica LOVES marshmallows.

Jessica roasts the marshmallow and Rick melts the chocolate for her.

That is a JUMBO marshmallow!

It makes the graham cracker look tiny!

Gary had to add another graham cracker, and it oozed out the sides--the sign of a good S'more. He likes them best with mint chocolate.

Jessica loves S'mores! We made them every night and she never got tired of them.

The next day we made a hash with the leftovers from dinner. Simple and delicious!

Shaver Lake is not too far from the campground, about 13 miles or so. It seemed like there was mostly swimming and boating there, we didn't see anyone fishing.

There was nice hiking at Dinkey Creek.

We went on an early morning hike.

Dixie's cooling off in the water.

Back at the campsite, we played Ticket to Ride. It's a fun game--I didn't think so at first, but now I'm hooked.

Our last dinner camping, we had surf and turf.

Sliced tomatoes from my dad's garden, yellow squash & green beans and brown long grain rice made the meal complete.

After every meal, Rick & Jessica did the clean-up. Thanks for working so hard!

I liked Dinkey Creek! A BIG thank you to Mitchell for finding us another nice place for camping. We missed them this year, but I'm sure we'll go again.

***

This is Mitchell's grandmother, Nana.

My daughter describes her as a lovely Southern lady with impeccable manners, a graceful dignity, sparkle in her eyes and a quick wit.

 Our condolences go out to our family in Florida over the sudden loss of their precious Nana.

***

Grilled Salmon with Tomato Avocado Relish

adapted from Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Special Edition


Ingredients:

salmon fillets, seasoned

2 cups red cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large avocado, diced
juice of 1 small lime and/or lemon
3 thinly sliced green onions
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

optional: serve on a bed of arugula

Season salmon fillets with salt, pepper, paprika and/or lemon pepper. Grill.

While the salmon is grilling, chop the vegetables and toss lightly in a medium-sized bowl. Season with lime and/or lemon juice, salt & pepper.

Serve over a bed of arugula.

Spinach Cups

I saw a photo of Joelen's Spanakopita Bites from her blog What's Cookin' Chicago and had to make them.

They are delicious!

I can't remember using phyllo dough before, this is my first time. Hard to believe, I know!

Spanakopita Cups

adapted from Spanakopita Bites from Joelen's What's Cookin' Chicago blog

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 can sliced water chestnuts, cut into sticks

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 cups grated mozzarell cheese

1 cup crumbled queso fresco

2 eggs, lightly beaten

salt and pepper to taste

1 pound frozen phyllo, thawed

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add white and green onion and sliced mushrooms; cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

Mix thawed and squeezed spinach, cheeses, water chestnuts and eggs in a medium-sized bowl. Add onions and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine 1 stick melted butter and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a separate bowl to be used to brush on phyllo dough.

I cut the phyllo dough into squares first and brushed them as I put them into the cupcake tins, but the next time I make these, I'm going to work with full sheets, brushing them with the butter mixture first, then cutting them afterwards.

Or I just might try using an olive oil or buttery spray, that would make it go really fast.

Cover the phyllo dough with a clean, damp kitchen towel to keep them from drying out while you're working.

Prepare the cupcake tins by brushing butter in each well. Take 2 squares of phyllo dough, brush the top layer with butter, repeat twice so you have 6 layers, and push them into a cupcake well. Repeat until all are filled.

Spoon filling into cups.

Bake in 375ºF oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

One package of phyllo dough used two batches of the filling mixture.

My family enjoyed the Spanakopita Cups--I shared them with my parents, my mother-in-law, my son took some home, as well as my daughter's friend who came for lunch. 

I made a lot.

I will be making these again, soon!

Itadakimasu!

***

Remember my daughter's friend Katt?

She brought the In-'N-Out double-double to Karen in the hospital the day she delivered Rachel.

She now lives by me!

Katt and Will came over the other day for a visit.

Katt is so much fun! 

She's chatty. I love chatty.

She's witty, too, we laughed all afternoon!

Will is adorable.

Of course she had to take a photo with Vaughn's Emmy.

After lunch we took Will through the back gate to the park.

He was so excited, he ran to the playground!

See? He's adorable.

Will loved the shovel digger.

I'm telling you, he's adorable.

We got so hot at the park--Will worked up a sweat with the shovel digger--we came home and Will jumped in the pool.

Then we came in and all had some watermelon granita.

This one is my favorite.

Or maybe the one above on the upper left when Will's holding the spoon with his pinky out.

Or maybe the surprised look.

He's adorable.

Too soon it was time for Will and Katt to go home.

Not only is Will adorable, his momma is too!

Thank you, Katt and Will for coming to visit us, and brightening our day with joy and laughter. 

I'm sure we'll see you again soon!

***

Spanakopita Cups

adapted from Spanakopita Bites from Joelen's What's Cookin' Chicago blog

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 can sliced water chestnuts, cut into sticks

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 cups grated mozzarell cheese

1 cup crumbled queso fresco

2 eggs, lightly beaten

salt and pepper to taste

1 pound frozen phyllo, thawed

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add white and green onion and sliced mushrooms; cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

Mix thawed and squeezed spinach, cheeses, water chestnuts and eggs in a medium-sized bowl. Add onions and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine 1 stick melted butter and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a separate bowl to be used to brush on phyllo dough.

Prepare the cupcake tins by brushing butter in each well. Take 2 squares of phyllo dough, brush the top layer with butter, repeat twice so you have 6 layers, and push them into a cupcake well. Repeat until all are filled.

Spoon filling into cups.

Bake in 375ºF oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Summer's Bounty

I stopped by my parents' home this morning and look what they had for me!

Tomatoes, corn and a few pasilla chiles.

My dad grows them at the Hurst Ranch in West Covina. You may have seen him in my Curly Endive post.

Look who came over to check everything out?!

Dixie!

If you have tomatoes and corn in abundance like we do, here are a few recipes you might like to try:

Tomato Corn Chowder

Marinated Tomato Salad

Corn Potage--Creamy Corn Soup

Grilled Corn Salsa

Do you have a favorite family recipe using corn or tomatoes?

If you'd like, leave me a link in the comments section so I can try a favorite recipe of yours.

Itadakimasu!

***

Over the weekend we visited our friend Rick selling his vintage bike stuff at a small swap meet in Whittier.

Rick loves vintage bikes, especially Schwinns.

You may remember him from his wife Sue's guest post Grandma Kimbro's 2 Layer Cheesecake. 

He loves talking about his bikes. There aren't any prices on anything because he wants you to ask--so he can talk to you about the parts and bikes.

Rick also loves vintage Tonka trucks--especially anything from the 1950s and 1960s.

 I like the ones that look like they were played with a lot. Rick restores the really junky ones.

 It's so much fun to listen to him talk about his latest find or project, and when you go visit him in his garage, he can spend hours showing you his paint box with heat lamp, the Tonka reproduction decals he found on eBay, or, if you get him talking about chrome--his eyes light up.

This is the same kind of truck as in the photo above, yes. I've learned that you can never have too many Tonkas--even the same ones. You see, each is in a different state--some need repairs or have various missing parts, some need a new paint job, some simply need a good cleaning with a caring, loving hand. When they have missing parts, Rick begins a quest to find them--and he does, all over the country!

This is Rick's brother, Alex. He loves bikes and Tonkas too. If you've seen the History channel show, American Pickers, Alex is like them, only he's the Mexican-American Picker. Alex is also deft at woodworking.

Gary was happy to go see his friend this morning at the swap meet--he didn't buy anything, but had a good time. When we were leaving, Rick said, "I want to see those pictures up soon on your blog!"

Here you go, Rick.

***

Follow the links under each photo above for a printable recipe.