fresh

​With the arrival of warmer weather, soft shell crabs are coming to market. While shopping at Wegmans today, they had in their fish case cleaned soft shell crabs for $6 ea. However, I went down the aisle a bit and saw they had a package of two pre-cooked, tempura coated soft shell crabs for $10. I couldn't resist an easy meal, so I picked up a package pre-cooked crabs for myself. The soft shell crabs had to be heated in a 350° oven, 10 minutes per side. Since my husband doesn't care for soft shell crabs, I picked up a half pound of scallops for him ($14.99/lb.).  I prepared the scallops using Wegmans Pan Searing Flour ($2.99) and sautéed them in a bit of butter and extra virgin olive oil.

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The fish this evening was wonderful. I usually go out for soft shell crabs, and when I do, I order them sautéed, but these were light and not at all greasy. My husband enjoyed his simply prepared scallops which just let the scallops shine on their own.

To go along with the fish, I used the spinach that my daughter purchased in a CSA box from Dreyer Farms. Instead of merely steaming the spinach, I drizzled some Carter and Cavero bacon olive oil on it for a slight smoky taste. It was different and delicious. 

I recently purchased some fresh New Jersey beets at Delicious Orchards. I scrubbed the beets, coated them with a tablespoon of corn oil and roasted them in a 400° oven for approximately one hour. As they were cooking, I was hoping to find a recipe for a cold beet salad online. However, what I kept coming across was green salad topped with beets. 

My husband planted some Boston lettuce in containers on our deck that was ready for picking. I found a recipe by Ina Garten for Balsamic Roasted Beet Salad. Instead of the arugula, I substituted my Boston lettuce and for the Marcona almonds, I used walnuts. I was fortunate enough to have a bit of Vermont Creamery goat cheese left from a frittata last week which was also needed for the salad. The salad was delightful. The Balsamic dressing gave the beets a nice tang. The combination of the soft goat cheese and a bit of crunch from the walnuts gave the salad a nice texture. It was a nice change from my usual salad with grape tomatoes. 
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