2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2021
HOME & LIVING
Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
Asian baked salmon is a light and healthful meal.
Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
HEALTHY
Continued from Page 1B
How I achieved this is no
secret; I simply cooked them
with powerful aromatics and
other ingredients that trans-
ferred their taste to the other
items.
A case in point is my fi sh
dish, Asian Baked Salmon.
All I did for this meal was to
marinate a salmon fi llet in ge-
neric Asian ingredients. When
I baked the fi sh at a high
temperature, the top, which
had been in the marinade,
developed a rich mahogany
color and a lovely crunch.
For my marinade, I threw
together soy sauce, garlic,
minced ginger and fresh
lemon juice. I allowed the fi sh
to soak in this mixture for just
a half-hour; any longer and
the fi sh’s texture would begin
to break down and become
mushy.
It didn’t take long to cook,
and when it was done I only
needed to top it with sesame
seeds and sliced green onions
to complete an elegant,
healthful meal.
My chicken dish gained
fl avor from the liquid I used to
poach it in. After I thickened
it with a cornstarch slurry,
that same liquid became a
surprisingly excellent sauce.
I mean, I thought it would be
good, but I wasn’t prepared
for just how sprightly it would
be.
I used chicken broth for
the liquid, which is a vast
improvement over the more
common water. I fl avored
it with fennel — I love the
lively, fresh licorice taste of
fennel with chicken — a slug
of white wine, thin slices
of lemon and not too many
onions.
Chicken has a tendency
to dry out when it poaches,
but I used a method that was
new to me to keep it nice and
moist. I only simmered the
meat for fi ve minutes before
taking it off the heat, cover-
HISTORY
ing the pan and allowing the
liquid’s residual heat to fi nish
cooking the chicken.
By itself, the chicken is
fi ne. But when you add the
thickened sauce, it transforms
into something superb. What
I’m saying is: Don’t neglect to
make the sauce.
Like the chicken, the secret
to adding fl avor to lentils is to
simmer them in a liquid that
is bursting with fl avor.
I wanted my dish to be
vegetarian, so I began with
vegetable stock (I usually
use chicken stock, which has
more depth). This I enhanced
with all the usual suspects —
onion, carrots, garlic, fresh gin-
ger, curry powder and cumin.
I added a sliced serrano
pepper, because I like it hot,
and I used hot curry powder
because I like it very hot.
Serve this dish on plain
white rice. Not only is white
rice the perfect accompani-
ment for lentils, it also helps
to temper the spice in case you
make it too hot.
For my last dish, I turned to
Scandinavia, apparently, for
Scandinavian Shrimp Salad.
The recipe comes to us cour-
tesy of Martha Stewart, and
no one does elegant sophistica-
tion better than she.
It is a simple dish to make,
but beautiful on the plate.
You begin with a foundation
of buttery, dark-green lettuce;
I used Boston lettuce, which
tastes like lettuce and not like
water. On top of that is a mé-
lange of complementary items:
curled pink shrimp, strips of
vibrant fennel, soft baby po-
tatoes, tangy cornichons and
halved hard-cooked eggs.
All that remains is the
dressing. I used a simplifi ed
version of my favorite vinai-
grette, which is easy to make
and low in calories, for a salad
dressing.
The vinaigrette that Martha
Stewart recommends has
more oil in it. I’m sure it tastes
great, but if I used it, my scale
would never talk to me again.
ASIAN BAKED
SALMON
Yield: 2 to 4 servings
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ginger,
fi nely minced
1 large garlic clove,
fi nely minced
Juice from ½ lemon
1 pound salmon fi llet or fi llets
Sesame seeds, for garnish
1 green onion, sliced
thin, for garnish
and let stand until fully cooked,
about 15 minutes.
2. Remove chicken to a
platter using tongs or a slotted
spoon, and tent with foil to
keep warm. Bring the poaching
liquid to a boil. Mix cornstarch
with 3 tablespoons of water
and stir into poaching liquid.
Cook, stirring frequently, until
liquid thickens into a sauce.
3. Thinly slice chicken cross-
wise, and serve with the sauce.
Per serving: 175 calories; 4g
fat; 1g saturated fat; 52mg
1. Place soy sauce, ginger,
cholesterol; 19g protein; 14g
garlic and lemon juice in a shal- carbohydrate; 4g sugar; 1g
low dish, and stir to mix. Add
fi ber; 300mg sodium; 17mg
salmon, fl esh-side down, and
calcium
let sit unrefrigerated for 30 min-
utes. While it marinates, heat
oven to 450 degrees. Grease a
baking dish large enough to fi t Yield: 4 servings
the salmon.
2. Place salmon, fl esh-side
1½ teaspoons oil
up, in baking dish and bake
½ cup onions, chopped
until fi sh comes off in fl akes, 12 ½ cup carrots, diced small
to 15 minutes.
1 large garlic clove, minced
3. Garnish with sesame
¼ teaspoon fresh ginger,
seeds and green onions, and
fi nely minced
serve.
1 serrano pepper,
sliced, optional
Per serving (based on 2): 390
½ teaspoon curry powder
calories; 17g fat; 3g saturated
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
fat; 125mg cholesterol; 49g
¹⁄8 teaspoon salt
protein; 10g carbohydrate; 3g
1 cup lentils
sugar; 1g fi ber; 940mg sodium; 2½ cups vegetable stock,
82mg calcium
plus more if necessary
CURRIED LENTILS
1. Heat oil in a medium pot
over medium-high heat. Add
Yield: 4 servings
onions and carrots and cook,
stirring frequently, until onions
3 cups chicken stock
are fully translucent, about 5
¼ cup white wine, optional
minutes. Add garlic, ginger and
¼ large onion, sliced
serrano pepper if using. Cook,
½ bulb fennel, sliced thin
stirring, 30 seconds.
1 lemon, sliced thin
2. Add curry powder, cumin
2 boneless, skinless
and salt, and stir while cooking
chicken breasts
for 30 seconds. Add lentils and
3 tablespoons cornstarch
stir until thoroughly coated with
spices. Stir in stock. Raise heat
1. In a large skillet, heat stock, to bring to a boil, then lower to
wine (if using), onion, fennel
a low simmer. Cook until lentils
and lemon over medium heat
are cooked and completely
until it simmers. Gently add
soft, about 20 minutes. Add
chicken breasts — the liquid
more broth if necessary to keep
may not completely cover
lentils moist while cooking.
them — and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Taste and add salt if needed.
Remove from the heat, cover
Serve over white rice.
POACHED CHICKEN
Hugh Montgomery, later a citizen of
La Grande, was there also. In 1865
Continued from Page 1B
some of the prisoners who had been
Looking into the life of Jonas Berry
wounded were traded and Jonas was
offers us a much more complete story
one of these and went back to his regi-
as to who he was. Just fi nding that he ment.
was referred to as “Uncle” J. M. Berry
In 1871 he married Sarah McKen-
tells us that he was a beloved citizen of non, the 14-year-old sister of J. D.
La Grande. Jonas was born in Hunts- McKennon who had the grocery store
ville, Arkansas, in March 1845 to Wil- at 1110 Adams. For the next three
liam, a farmer, and his wife Margaret. years Sarah and Jonas lived in Arkan-
When the Civil War broke out in
sas where he worked as a miller. Three
April 1861, Jonas was only 16, when
years later they crossed the plains
he “joined Co. A of the Second Arkan- heading west for Oregon.
sas Cavalry ... and went forth to war.”
Sarah and Jonas settled in Island
He fought under the Confederate fl ag City where he found work in the fl our
until the fall of 1864 when he and 485 mill. He later went to work for Bear
others were captured and sent to Rock and Church, a mercantile establish-
Island prison. While he was in prison ment where he stayed until 1887 when
he came to La Grande to work for a
short time with Sommer and Bloom
(the future location of Silverthorn’s
Drug store). Later he decided to go
into a mercantile business of his own.
After 20 years Jonas closed out his
business and moved to Portland.
Word came from Portland in De-
cember 1923 that “Jonas M. Berry,
age 78, who left his apartments here
yesterday to gather Christmas greens
near MaCleary Park, was found dead
in the woods today after an all night
search by friends and boy scouts aided
by police dogs ... Berry is reported to
have dropped dead from natural causes.”
Thus ends the story of “Uncle” J. M.
Berry.
Keep looking up! Enjoy!
Scandinavian shrimp salad.
Per serving: 209 calories; 2g fat;
1g saturated fat; no cholesterol;
12g protein; 36g carbohydrate;
4g sugar; 6g fi ber; 432mg
sodium; 31mg calcium
SCANDINAVIAN
SHRIMP SALAD
Yield: 4 servings
12 ounces baby potatoes,
halved (quartered, if large)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound large shrimp,
peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon
wine vinegar, red or white
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup neutral-fl avored oil,
such as grapeseed or canola
(do not use olive oil)
1 small fennel bulb, thinly
sliced, plus 1 tablespoon
chopped fronds
1 (8-ounce) head lettuce,
such as Boston or butter,
leaves separated
¼ cup cornichons (very small
pickles), sliced lengthwise
4 hard-cooked eggs, halved
1. Fill a large bowl with ice
and water. Set aside.
2. Place potatoes in a me-
dium saucepan; add enough
water to cover by 1 inch. Add 2
tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil,
then reduce heat to medium-
high and cook until potatoes are
easily pierced with the tip of a
knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove
potatoes with a slotted spoon,
reserving the hot water.
3. Return water to a boil; add
shrimp. Cook, stirring occasion-
ally, until shrimp are bright pink
and opaque, 2 to 3 minutes.
With a slotted spoon, transfer to
the ice-water bath until cool.
4. Meanwhile, make the
dressing: Mix together ¼
teaspoon salt, vinegar and
mustard. Slowly add oil while
vigorously stirring or whisking
to blend the ingredients without
separating. Stir in fennel fronds.
5. Drain the shrimp well.
Toss lettuce and sliced fennel
with 2 tablespoons of dressing;
arrange on a platter. Top with
potatoes, shrimp, cornichons
and eggs. Drizzle with remain-
ing dressing, and serve.
Per serving: 375 calories; 20g
fat; 4g saturated fat; 368mg
cholesterol; 32g protein; 19g
carbohydrate; 4g sugar; 4g
fi ber; 978mg sodium; 158mg
calcium
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