Healthy Recipes for September

by deZengo

“It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or two things still safe to eat.” ~Robert Fuoss

Plum Salsa ~~~~~~~~~~~ Ingredients ~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 cup diced plums 1/2 cup diced peaches 1/2 cup diced honeydew 1/2 cup diced onions 1/2 cup mango diced 1-2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced 2 tablespoons lime juice 1 tablespoon honey ~~~~~~~~~~~ Instructions ~~~~~~~~~~~ Combine the plums, peaches, honeydew, pepper, lime juice and honey in a mixing bowl.

Toss gently to evenly blend.

Cover and refrigerate at least eight hours or overnight.

To Serve: Bring to room temperature around 15 minutes prior to serving.

Note: Leftovers will keep up to five days in the refrigerator.  Spoon over grilled chicken or fish.

Green Beans w/ Tarragon Dipping Sauce

Ingredients ~~~~~~~~~~~ Green Beans – 1 pound stem ends trimmed Crème’ Fraiche – 1 cup (see below) Heavy Crème – 2 tablespoons Lemon – 1 Fresh Tarragon – 1 teaspoon minced Dijon Mustard – 1 teaspoon Sea Salt & freshly ground Pepper – to taste ~~~~~~~~~~~ Instructions ~~~~~~~~~~~ Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil.  Fill a large bowl two-thirds full with ice water.  Add the beans to the boiling water and cook until just tender, 4-5 minutes.  Drain the beans and then immediately plunge them into the ice water.  Let stand for a minute or two, then drain and pat dry, and arrange them on a serving platter.

In a bowl, combine the crème fraiche and heavy crème and whisk until the mixture is the texture of lightly whipped cream.  Finely grate the lemon zest into the bowl, then halve the lemon and squeeze the juice from one half into the bowl.  (Keep the remaining half for another use.  Add the tarragon to the crème fraiche mixture.  Stir in the mustard and pinch each of salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Transfer the creme mixture to a small bowl and set on the platter with the beans for dipping.  Serve right away. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Creme Fraiche ~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 cup heavy crème 1 tablespoon buttermilk

in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the cream and buttermilk.  Heat just until the mixture is lukewarm (do not allow the mixture to simmer).  Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover, and let stand at room temperature until thickened, at least 8 hours and up to 48 hours.  Refrigerate until well chilled before using.  Makes about 1 cup