Our friend’s daughter is largely vegetarian, but she’ll eat an occasional piece of fish (which makes her a flexitarian—here’s the difference of these terms plus pescatarian, vegan and others).

So for July 4th weekend, we picked up a box of SeaPak Alaskan Salmon Burgers, which are available frozen at stores nationwide.

It takes time to make salmon burgers from scratch, but these frozen patties are just the thing for a busy occasion like grilling with guests.

Cook them for 2 minutes on each side on a pre-heated and oiled pan or grill. The goal is a crispy outside and juicy interior.

We like salmon bugers “rare.” Remember that the burger will continue to cook for a minute or two once removed from the heat source—and there’s nothing worse than overcooked fish.
 
 
MORE USES FOR SEAPAK ALASKA SALMON BURGERS

In addition to salmon burgers, decked out with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, cole slaw, and condiments of choice (that’s yogurt-dill sauce in photo #1), you can use the burgers:

[1] Dress a salmon burger like a beef burger. Ketchup works, but a yogurt-dill sauce is better. Here’s a recipe (photo © McCormick).

[2] Keep a package of salmon burgers burgers in the freezer, for family and guests (photo © SeaPak).

In addition to great salmon flavor, salmon burgers bring the numerous health benefits of salmon.

[1] (photo © Better Homes & Gardens).

[2] You can make curled vegetables look like a bouquet (photo © Canard Inc.).

[3] Here, a beet and goat cheese salad is graced with curled beets (photo © Triomphe | NYC [now closed]).

[4] If fiddlehead ferns are in season, definitely add some (photo Katharine Pollak | © The Nibble).

An easy way to turn a raw vegetable salad into edible art is to thinly shave/cut the vegetables with a vegetable peeler or mandoline, and soak them in ice water for about 20 minutes.

This will not only make the ribbons curl, but they’ll be crunchier, too.

And, some might say, they have more eye appeal—much more than a spiralized raw vegetable salad.

Are you game to try?
 
 
CHOOSE VEGETABLES THAT ARE EASY TO SHAVE

Choose vegetables that shave well.

We’ve used asparagus, beets, broccoli stalks (a great use for them!), burdock root, carrots, celery, celery root (celeriac), daikon and other large radishes, Jerusalem artichoke, jicama, kohlrabi, parsnip, scallions* and sweet potato†.

Shave them lengthwise, then place the pieces into a bowl of ice water. Keep the shaved vegetables in ice water until ready to serve.

You can serve the curled vegetables on a bed of greens, or by themselves.
 
 
RECIPE: CURLED VEGETABLE SALAD

We adapted this salad from one in Better Homes and Gardens.

Their recipe used cucumbers and radishes (photo #1). However, pick as many veggies to curl as you like, balancing beige-white vegetables with colored ones.

You can also add the jalapeno or not; and optionally, add

 
We’ve created a salad of greens and herbs. Use your favorite. We chose a baby lettuces mix and added baby arugula, basil, chives and mint. You can use crunchy romaine or any salad blend.

Ingredients

 
For The Dressing

 
Preparation

1. PEEL the vegetables as appropriate (e.g., carrots and cucumbers yes, asparagus and radishes no). Using a mandoline or a sturdy vegetable peeler, and cut them lengthwise into thin, ribbon-like strips. Aim for 3-inch lengths. You can elect to make them longer: The longer the strip, the less tight the curl. Try some test batches, e.g. two or three strips of each vegetable, to see what you prefer.

2. PLACE the strips in ice-water bath, and let stand until curly, about 20 minutes. You can keep them in the ice water until ready to serve. Then, drain and transfer to a paper towel and blot dry.

3. PREPARE the greens and herbs salad. Toss with the dressing (use as little dressing as needed to moisten) and add the cheese. Place in a bowl or on a plate.

4. TOP with the curled vegetables. Serve with a pitcher of extra dressing to pass.

*Rather than shave the scallions, we trimmed the ends, removed the bulb for other use, and pulled off layer by layer.

*Sweet potatoes can safely be eaten raw, although certain types of yams—and all white potatoes—are only safe to eat when cooked. That’s because raw potatoes contain a toxic compound called solanine.
 
  

Quick: What’s the first thing you think of when someone mentions Key limes? Key lime pie, most likely.

Smaller, rounder, less acidic more fragrant than their more traditional relative and with a thin, leathery skin, the Persian/Tahitian lime, the Key Lime is used in many tropical cuisines throughout the world.

It’s also known as the Mexican or West Indian lime—although it originated in the Indo-Malayan region of southern Asia.

Key lime juice can be used in place of regular lime juice in anything, from cocktails to salad dressings (including fruit salad, where just a squeeze will suffice), on chicken and fish/seafood, in marinades, sauces and soups.

It’s Key lime season: June through August (although National Key Lime Pie Day is September 26th and International Lime Day is March 10th). So check out the recipes below, along with these articles on Key limes.

Key limes didn’t originate in the Florida Keys, but they were brought there by Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the early part of the 16th century;.

> The history of Key limes.

> The history of Key Lime Pie.

> What are Key limes?

> The different types of limes.

> How to store lemons, limes and other citrus fruits.
 
 
KEY LIME RECIPES
 
Savory Recipes
A squeeze of juice will enhance the flavor of many dishes including:

 
Check out:

 
Sweet Recipes

From fruit salads to fudge and lemon curd, we love Key lime juice in:

 
Plus many more dessert recipes: cookies, cupcakes, frozen yogurt, ice cream and truffles.

Drinks

Use Key limes in any lime-accented cocktail: Caipirinha, Daiquiri, Dark and Stormy, Gimlet, Lime Rickey, Margarita, Mojito, Moscow Mule, Pisco Sour.

Squeeze it into sparkling water or a soft drink.

Don’t forget iced tea (especially herbal iced tea).

And certainly, don’t forget limeade:

[1] Just-picked key limes and their leaves (photo © Lena Kulybaba | Unsplash).

[2] Persian/Tahitian limes and the smaller, rounder Key limes. These Key limes have a yellowish peel because they ripened on the tree longer (photo Evan Dempsey | © The Nibble).

[3] Key Lime Pie (photo © Morton’s The Steakhouse).

[4] Key Lime Bars—better than lemon bars! (photo © My Baking Addiction).