Hi there Zesty readers!  I’m Angie (from www.angiealltheway.com)  and I’m so pleased to be guest posting for Zesty today and sharing with you a dish that I haven’t stopped thinking about since a meal  I had at the Bier Market while in Toronto in June.   I thought I would try my hand at making my own version of it.

Being Canadian (and especially being a Maritimer), there are some things that we love to shout from the rooftops:

You haven’t tried maple anything until you’ve tried Maple Butter. *drool*
I give you:

Maple Walnut Salmon Over Beet & Goat Cheese Greens

INGREDIENTS (PER PERSON)

The Salmon:

• 1 salmon fillet (or however many people you would like to serve)
• Sea salt
• Fresh ground black pepper



• 1 tbsp Maple butter (you can use maple syrup, but maple butter is where it’s at)

The Greens:

• 2-3 Cups of mixed salad greens or baby spinach
• 1 beet, peeled, cut into bite size pieces
• 3-4 tbsp crumbled goat cheese
• 1/4c walnuts



• 2 tbsp maple butter (to candy the walnuts)

The Vinaigrette (Maple Balsamic) – optional:

*this makes about 1c of vinaigrette but is fantastic for salads or roasted root veggies)

• 5-6 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 3 – 4 tbsp Pure maple syrup
• 1/2c Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Steam the beets until fork tender.
2. Melt a few tbsp of maple butter in a small pan (or in the microwave) and coat evenly over walnuts.  Set aside on a piece of tin foil to set (only takes about a minute).
3. Meanwhile, season the salmon with salt & pepper and baste with the maple butter.
4. Grill the salmon on a grill pan (or bake it in the oven) over medium – high heat being careful not to let the maple butter burn.
5. Plate a few handfuls of greens on your plate, top with steamed beats, candied walnuts and crumbled goat cheese.
6. Serve salmon over the salad and drizzle with the Maple Balsamic vinaigrette (optional).

I know you will enjoy this as much as I did and even more, how easy it is to make even though it looks gourmet!
Enjoy!

Happy Friday!  Well the end of the week is here and I was debating on what to talk about today.  I tossed around a couple of dessert ideas with some strawberries and realized that I haven’t written a fun post in a long time.  Now my idea of fun may not be the same as yours but lets give it a try.

Name one food you hated as a child but LOVE now!  Leave a comment and tell me the food.  If I get 100 comments on this post – I win a bet with a friend and I hate losing so make sure you tell your answer!

For me it has to be “BEETS”.  I was totally against them as a child and never wanted to touch them.  I would see my mom making beet preserves and eating them all summer with everything from meat and potatoes to summer hams and roasted beet salad.  I wanted to stay as far away from them as humanly possible.  Then maybe 5 years ago, I tried mom’s beets and guess what… I loved them!  The texture and flavor was sensational and now I cannot get enough of them.  I pretty much clean her preserves out when I go over there for dinner.  Oh dear – sometimes I wonder about myself.

Enough about the beets for now.  I have to tell you some more news!  I was poking around today and noticed that I made a list of the top 25 recipe blogs of 2009.  I thought that was pretty neat.

Around the Blogsphere

• Gena delivers – A Very cool salad by Choosing Raw
• Heather reveals a very cool recipe for SourOat Bread
• Nate still keeps his readers laughing, check out his latest work.
• Jaden at the Steamy Kitchen shares a very cool drink

I am on the road next week but I have rounded up some guest posts for the week.  I will be in (what better be) “Sunny” Florida for the week on business but I shall return.  I will be fully active with the blog next week so feel free to  keep your comments coming.

Now do not forget – I want to know the answer to the question: Name one food you hated as a child but LOVE now!

Take care

zesty