Baked Pear, Fresh Fig, Roasted Almond and Arugula Salad

Baked Pear, Fresh Fig, Roasted Almond and Arugula Salad
serves 4 to 6

-1/2 cup blanched, sliced almonds
-2-3 pears, cut in half and cored
-cinnamon
-ground ginger
-arugula
-fresh figs, washed and sliced in half

Salad Dressing

-2 tablespoons grainy Dijon Mustard
-2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
-1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
-1-2 tablespoon maple syrup
-juice of half a lime
-pinch of salt
-fresh pepper

Cut and core pears, in a baking dish place the pears and sprinkle with ginger and cinnamon.  Bake in oven at 350 unit soft.  You can add a small amount of butter on the pears if you wish.  (about 20 minutes).  In a frying pan gently roast the almonds on medium low heat, Stir frequently.  I do this with no oil, there is enough oil in almonds.  Place arugula in a bowl, add almonds, figs and place the baked pear on top.  Make the salad dressing by mixing the ingredients and taste, if to tart add a little more olive oil, or maple syrup.

Maple Mustard Chicken

Maple Mustard chicken

-1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
-1 tablespoon smoked maple mustard
-2 tablespoons maple syrup
-the juice of half  lemon
-chicken breasts

Mix together the mustard, maple syrup and lemon juice.  Pour over the chicken coating it with the mixture.  I used regular chicken breasts, so I baked at 350 for 50 minutes.  Until the juices ran clear.

The flavour was incredible.

Orange Beet Salad

Orange Beet Salad

-2 oranges
-spinach
-1/2 small red onion
-2 small golden beets
-2 small red beets
-fresh sprigs of dill

-Boil the beets.  When done cooking under cold water cut the ends of and the skin will just peel off.  Cut each end of the orange and cut the rind of cut out the section of orange (you will need about 2 tablespoons of the juice for the salad dressing).  Place the spinach in a bowl, with the cut up beets, the onions and orange slices.  Top with dressing below

Dressing

-1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
-2/3 cup olive oil
-1 tablespoon grainy Dijon mustard
-1 teaspoon smoked mustard
-2 tablespoons orange juice
-salt and pepper
-fresh sprigs of dill
-1 tablespoon maple syrup

Mix and serve.

Orange Pineapple Mustard Rum Glazed Ham

This had amazing flavour!

2 tablespoons Grain Dijon Mustard
2 tablespoons maple smoked mustard
1 oz dark rum
4 tablespoons brown sugar
Zest and Juice of 2 oranges
1 fresh pineapple chopped
the ham

-mix the mustards, rum, brown sugar, zest and juice of orange juice together.  You want it to be thick, so you may need to add more brown sugar.  Slice the pineapple and place over the ham.  Bake in the oven at 350 for about an hour (depending on size).  If I had a roasting pan I would have used, but my dutch oven helps me to accomplish everything.

Brown Sugar, Mustard and Rum Salmon

Brown Sugar, Mustard and Rum Salmon

-1 oz dark rum
-2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
-1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
-1 tablespoon smoked mustard
-pinch of salt
-pepper to taste
-juice of half a lemon
-juice of half a lime
-salmon with skin on

Preheat oven to 400.  Mix ingredients together and pour over salmon.  Cook for 10-15 minutes.