Ruth Rhymaun is a good cook.
The busy Bel Air wife and mother of two knows the terms, she has the knife skills, and she routinely turns out pasta, soup, burgers and Shepherd's Pie for dinner.
Problem is, it's become too routine.
She uses the same 10 ingredients over and over as the base for many meals, and knows her husband Martin, 4-year-old Willow and 3-year-old Lucas would like to try some new foods.
So Rhymaun volunteered for The Sun's Make Over My Meal series. She wanted some new ingredients that would be easy to keep in the house and spin into new meals. She wanted the meals to be healthful, devoid of trans fats and full of vegetables. She wanted to cook more fish. And, of course, the recipes had to be tasty enough to compete with the family's old favorites.
"I know I can always feed my family if I have those 10 things in the refrigerator," Rhymaun said. "I know if I've been painting and my husband is going to be home in 15 minutes, I can make something. But they're bored with that something."
We went to her home with an expert who tries new foods and mixes and matches them for a living.
Lisa Hardiman co-owns and does all of the menu development for the nine Let's Dish! shops in the Baltimore-Washington-Virginia suburbs. Customers come to the stores and assemble their own freezer- or oven-ready meals from ingredients on hand or order ahead and have workers do it for them.
Hardiman is also a working mother who knows how to get her 6-, 8- and 11-year-old kids to try some adult foods without completely hiding all the healthful stuff.
We gave her Rhymaun's regular list of ingredients: ground turkey, onion, carrot, celery, olive oil, sea salt, pepper, tomato paste, soy sauce and apple juice.
And told her what Rhymaun makes: pasta sauce, meatball soup and Shepherd's Pie, among other dishes. Regular side dishes are broccoli and mashed potatoes with pureed cauliflower mixed in.
Hardiman liked the Shepherd's Pie that Rhymaun made first. She replaced the ground turkey with a different protein - salmon - and told Rhymaun that from the same kind of fish, she could produce Salmon Cakes With Lemon Dressing, Garlic-and-Herb Salmon and Grilled Salmon Pesto Pasta Toss.
Salmon is a little higher in fat than some fish, but is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, protein and other nutrients. It also lacks the mercury content of tuna. And a lot of kids like the pink color, she said.
Still working with Rhymaun's desire for recipes that have common ingredients, Hardiman came up with a second set of foods that revolved around fruit. The recipes included citrus tilapia with almonds, pork tenderloin with chile-apricot glaze and pork tenderloin with chimichurri sauce that contained orange juice. The sweet elements are appealing to younger taste buds, too.
She brought the ingredients for all of the dishes to Rhymaun's house and launched into the salmon cakes.
Hardiman told Rhymaun that recipes didn't have to be complicated to be good and good for you.
Many of the ingredients Hardiman used were common to most kitchens. She used fresh fish, but said canned works well for most recipes also. She also picked ingredients that were more healthful choices than the alternatives, such as olive oil, fruit or juice and low-fat sour cream.
She told Rhymaun to experiment with new herbs, cheeses or other ingredients to refresh a tried-and-true, but tired, recipe.
Hardiman also suggested making meals with a variety of colorful foods - such as red, yellow and green peppers - to add aesthetic appeal.
To shop for her fish recipes, Hardiman recommended going to a quality market and asking about when the fish was delivered. She usually passes when it's older than a day or two and never shops on Mondays because few markets get deliveries on Sundays.
Most tuna and shrimp have been frozen, but salmon and tilapia can be purchased fresh and then frozen at home for later. It's a bad idea to freeze fish that has been frozen before if it hasn't been cooked because bacteria can form, she said.
Hardiman likes the salmon cakes because they're simple and tasty. Her kids prefer them without sauce; she likes them with the topping. They also can be made smaller for little fingers or for appetizers. They can be made larger, served on a whole-grain roll and eaten like a burger, too.
Add corn or other chopped veggies for variety.
"Kids like fun finger foods, and they like colors," she said.
Rhymaun always serves a vegetable on the side, and Hardiman gave her a couple of suggestions to replace her regular broccoli.
She said roasting vegetables such as carrots and tomatoes is a favorite preparation in her house. She also buys bags of edamame, soybeans still in their pods, that are ready-made for three or four minutes in the microwave. She said to sprinkle them with salt and teach the kids not to eat the pods, but to "pop" them in their mouths.
This day, Hardiman made roasted tomatoes by halving plum tomatoes and baking them cut side up with a little olive oil drizzled on top, as well as a little salt and pepper sprinkled on. She put them in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes at 375 degrees.
Rhymaun was sure that the salmon cakes and tomatoes would go over well, and they did. A string-bean recipe that called for bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and olive oil was not as big a hit: "They required a certain amount of parental pressure to finish them," Rhymaun said.
All and all, however, Rhymaun said that she was pleased to have a new set of meals to get into the rotation.
As for the unsuccessful recipe, Rhymaun said, "It was worth the try."
meredith.cohn@baltsun.com
Salmon Cakes With Lemon Dressing
Makes 5 servings
LEMON DRESSING:
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 scallions, minced
dash kosher salt
dash pepper
SALMON CAKES:
1/4 cup packed Italian parsley, chopped
4 scallions, chopped in 4-inch lengths
1 1/4 pounds skinless salmon fillet
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
To make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk dressing ingredients together and set aside.
To make the salmon cakes: Place Italian parsley and scallions in a food processor. Combine until finely chopped.
Add the salmon, mustard and mayonnaise. Using on/off button, blend until salmon is coarsely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add the panko, salt and pepper. With gloved or moistened hands, shape salmon mixture into 5 large patties or 10 smaller ones. The patties can be covered and refrigerated at this point to cook later.
Pour olive oil into a nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add salmon patties and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve as a "burger" or on a plate with no roll. The salmon cakes also can be prepared on a grill. Serve dressing with the salmon cakes.
Courtesy of Lisa Hardiman, co-owner of Let's Dish!
Per serving: 299 calories, 29 grams protein, 13 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 16 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 75 milligrams cholesterol, 571 milligrams sodium
ADDING SOME VARIETY
Here are some tips from our expert, Lisa Hardiman:
Add canned salmon to pasta and pasta salad for some quick and easy protein. (Rinse both canned tuna and salmon to eliminate some of the salt and other additives.)
Slice and toast whole-wheat pita to serve on the side instead of white rolls.
Use reduced or nonfat sour cream and plain yogurt in place of mayonnaise for a healthful alternative in sauces and toppings.
For a change, add a little zest of lemon or lime for flavoring or substitute apple juice for white wine in recipes.
For a quick and easy side dish, look for vegetables that come in a microwaveable, steamable bag.
Sweet potatoes balance spicy foods and make a quick side dish. They're also more nutritious than white potatoes. Cut them like fries, toss in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and cook 45 minutes at 400 degrees.