Salmon Salad

Tuna is filled with Mercury and let's face it... tuna salad sandwiches are not the best way to wins friends at the lunch table. Salmon is high in Omega-3s and is considered one of the best foods you can eat. Wild Sockeye is of the highest quality and is very expensive. But the good news is that the majority of it is canned during the running season and retails at about $3.99/can versus $25/lb. This is a really simple salad recipe that keeps it light on the mayo, adds a bit of crunch, but ultimately lets the salmon shine through.

Classic Salmon Salad

2x 3.5 ounce cans Wild Caught Sockeye Salmon
2 stalks celery, chopped small
3 tbs Mayo
2 tbs Dijon mustard

Mix above ingredients, adjusting mayo and mustard to suit taste.

Holiday Scotch Shortbreads

Both my father's Scotch-South African mother and my mum's Irish-Canadian mother used to make shortbread cookies every Christmas. There is no hand-me-down recipe that we can find among the worn and grease-stained note cards my grannies assembled. Instead, here is the recipe my mother has been using since the 1960s which produces the loveliest, butteryest shortbread cookies this side of the Atlantic.

Holiday Scotch Shortbread Cookies

1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups sifted flour

chopped candied cherries

Cream butter and sugar together and work in flour. Chill. Roll out about 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured board. Cut into circles using a cutter or a sherry glass and place piece of cherry in center. Bake in slow oven, 325degrees F, until golden.

Makes approx 60 cookies.

Winter Salad with Beets and Goats Cheese

1 head romaine lettuce, dark outer leaves removed and hearts chopped
1 head radicchio lettuce, chopped
boiled beets, one per person
goats cheese
dried cranberries
toasted pine nuts

for vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tbs water
salt and pepper to taste
1 small shallot, minced

In a blender or food processor, combine the vinegar, oil, cranberries, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and water. Process until smooth.

In a large bowl, toss lettuces and with dressing. Thinly slice beets and arrange on the bottom of the plate. Pile lettuces on top of beets and sprinkle dried cranberries, toasted pine nuts and crumbled goats cheese.