Niçoise Salad

It's officially Fall, and I am basking in the sunny, warm days of Utah. Since we had a late growing season here. I am  taking full advantage and stocking up on the great end-of-summer produce that's overflowing from my local farmers market. This week I got ripe tomatoes, green and yellow wax beans, and the sweetest corn on the cob. To utilize my great produce and use some recently gifted items, I decided that a niçoise salad would be an appropriate dish for an early dinner.

The niçoise salad is from Provence, traditionally consisting of fresh vegetables, hard boiled egg, canned tuna, anchovies, and olives (specifically niçoise olives). In my version I decided to use the principle of local seasonal ingredients to build my salad. It's not a traditional niçoise but everything was chosen based on what's in peak season, in my pantry, available to me in the market, and - most importantly - what I love!

My parents visited recently and brought me some high quality canned tuna from their last visit with Sasha in Victoria. The tuna was the perfect protein for this healthy salad. I bought lettuce and potatoes from the grocery store to go with my seasonal produce from the farmers market. I also have fresh eggs from a neighbor with a chicken coop. Fresh eggs from free-grazing chickens are something special! Just look at the color of the yolk - orange, vibrant, and so incredibly flavorful! I love oil-cured olives and decided that I would forgo the traditional niçoise olive in this recipe to get in a few of these delicious ones instead. Here's my version - delicious, healthy, and satisfying!

Wasabi Soy Salmon with Pineapple Fried Rice & Pickled Daikon

I recently bought some amazingly fresh wild Copper River salmon and have been brainstorming ways to do this fish justice. Here's what popped into my head - pineapple fried rice with salmon and pickled daikon. The pineapple fried rice is sweet, savory, spicy and tart, and it pairs nicely with the rich buttery salmon. To tie it all together I pickled radish and cucumber to cut the fattiness of the fish and to highlight the freshness of the herbs in the rice. This meal was outstanding! The fried rice was my favorite - the flavor combination of sweet, salty, spicy, and tart transported me back to the streets of Bangkok.