Food Friday: Tori and Charles’ Summer Menu

Charles and I live for the Okanagan summer. In order to squeeze every minute out of the season we cook almost all of our meals outside on our old school charcoal barbeque where we can enjoy the perfect evenings in our yard. Charles is a natural in the kitchen; pair that with my love for wine, gardening and my background in nutrition (yes, I’m a wine-loving dietitian!) and we spend a lot of our time creating delicious, fresh-from-the-garden meals.One of our all-time favorite dishes is cedar plank wild salmon. Charles has seriously perfected this dish- we never have leftovers. The last time our favorite guest (Jillian of course!) joined us for dinner we paired it with rapini that was fresh from the garden and my classic green salad. Here’s how it’s done:

Cedar Plank Salmon

1. Start with a fresh approximately 3 lbs. (preferably wild) whole salmon filet. You can leave the skin on.2. Make a brine of 4 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar.

3. Soak the salmon in the brine in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

4. Pull the salmon out of the brine 1/2 hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature.

5. While the salmon is soaking in the brine, submerge your cedar plank (you can purchase these specifically for this purpose) in water for 2-6 hours.

6. Heat your barbeque to medium heat. Place the plank on the grill for 60 seconds or just until it starts to smoke.

7. Season the salmon with canola oil on both sides and salt and pepper to taste on the top.

8. Place the salmon skin-side-down directly on the cedar plank. Close the lid and cook until the salmon is slightly pink in the center and brown on the edges (15-20 minutes).9. Pull off the grill and serve right off of the plank with fresh lemon wedges.

*This Italian vegetable is a nice change from broccoli and it’s super easy to grow (but most larger supermarkets also carry it).1.Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan (we did this right on the grill after we pulled off the salmon, but you can do this on your stove if it’s easier).

2. Once heated, place washed spears of rapini (large bunch) in the pan and toss with salt and pepper and a dash of fresh lemon juice.

3. Remove from heat after about five minutes and mix in about 2-3 tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan cheese while warm.

Classic Green Salad

*I can never make enough of this salad – we eat it with nearly every meal and Charles never gets tired of it!Ingredients
4 cups washed baby spinach
1 diced tomato
1 diced red or yellow pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/2 long English cucumber, diced
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing
You can use your favorite dressing, but here’s my homemade version.

1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
1-2 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed (2 if they are small)
Juice of one lemon or lime
2/3 cup of canola oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
1. Mix all of the ingredients together except for the oil and salt and pepper (you can use a whisk, but my preferred tool is an aerolatte whipper because they are perfect for blending dressings).
2. Once mixed, pour in the oil in a constant slow stream while blending.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cheers!
Tori & CharlesP.S. What’s your go-to meal for summer entertaining? Share below!