These appealing little ‘blossoms’ are perfect as appetizers or as a sophisticated dessert. They’re very easy to make and they delight the senses with their transporting flavors and variety of textures.

Here’s a photo of the Pina Colada Blossoms below.

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp sugar
Cooking oil spray
24 wonton wrappers (or 6 egg roll wrappers cut into quarters)
Ground cinnamon (for dusting)
1 can pineapple chunks
1 can mandarin orange sections
3/4 Cup shredded sweetened coconut
Fresh mint leaves, minced (optional)

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix the cream cheese, lime juice, and sugar. Spray mini muffin pans with cooking spray. Press a wonton wrapper into each cup, folding the corners out like petals, and dust lightly with cinnamon. Put about a teaspoon of cheese mixture into each, press a pineapple chunk and a mandarin orange section into the cheese, and top with about a teaspoon of shredded coconut.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Sprinkle with minced fresh mint leaves, if desired.

Makes 24 appetizers.

Enjoy!

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Delicious Pina Colada Blossoms

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

Looking for a way to enjoy the delightful flavor of steamed mussels at home? Here’s a recipe for Steamed Mussels with Almonds from the folks at Beyond Salmon (plus Helen’s informative take on the ins and outs of successfully preparing mussels at home).

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped almonds (untoasted)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup water
2 Lb mussels
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

How to Make Steamed Mussels with Almonds
See More of Hugging the Coast’s Fish For Friday Recipes

We’ve recently added two new features to Hugging the Coast that we hope will make the site more useful and interesting: blog widgets and eHow articles.

Blog widgets are an easy way for you to instantly be able to share and enjoy the latest original recipes and blog features from HuggingtheCoast.Com on your Myspace, Facebook, Netvibes, and iGoogle, sites as well as your favorite Wordpress, Blogger, Live Journal, or Typepad blog.

We’ve just created 2 easy to configure widgets which are very easy easy to customize to whatever size and color you’d like; the better to accent your personal startup page, social networking sites, or blog.

You can find out more about the 2 blog widgets (as well as how to add them to your page) here.

The second feature we’ve recently added to the site are links to our growing library of food related articles on eHow, most based on the original recipes and techniques we share here. All of our eHow articles are easily printable, and can also be saved to your eHow favorites with ease.

You can see a list of the Hugging the Coast eHow articles as they are added here.

Charles Zeran, Executive Chef of Four Moons Restaurant in Orangeburg, SC, is the winner of 9 DiRoNA (Distinguished Restaurants of North America) Awards and 9 Wine Spectator Awards in his previous kitchens (Stone Manor, Middletown, Maryland; Stars Waterfront Cafe, Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina; and The Lodge at Glendorn, a AAA Four Diamond and Relais & Chateaux property in Bradford, Pennsylvania.)

Not bad for a former attorney and self-taught chef who started his professional cooking career at the age of 32. His delicious and visually arresting dishes are the result of his interest in molecular gastronomy coupled with his own broad experience and unique vision.

He talked with us about the winding road that brought him to where he is today, his favorite restaurants, his Western Tennessee childhood food memories of peach ice cream on Independence Day and traditional New Year’s meals, as well as his guilty food pleasures…

When did first you start getting interested in food and cooking? Please share some early cooking memories…

I have cooked all my life for fun. Even as a child. Some early food memories: making caramel fudge and taffy with my grandmother in western Tennessee where I grew up. My father making Steak Diane in the seventies when I was about 10 and waiting for it to catch fire when the brandy was added. Traveling with my dad as a child to New Orleans and having beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe Du Monde, and to Grand Bahama Island and having cracked conch right off the boat and Johnny cakes prepared by the native Bahamians.

It must have been difficult for you to make the leap from your original career to food and beverage. What happened that gave you the impetus to make that leap?

I became a lawyer I think more because it was expected and for the money more than because it was something I really wanted to do. Not because there had ever been a lawyer in my family, but because I had excelled in school and was expected to do something like a doctor, lawyer, or Indian chief.

After 7 years of divorce law in Northern Florida and Western North Carolina, I decided that life was too short to do something that I really didn’t love and began to think what would be better. I always loved to cook. The first food I ever sold was homemade lasagna to Italian restaurants while I was still an attorney in North Carolina. Made the pasta and dried it on a clothes rack.

One day I decided that I had had enough and spent the next six months winding up my practice, took a 3 month adventure around the Western United States looking for somewhere I wanted to be more than the Appalachian region of North Carolina. I ended up in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state and took a job in a roadside diner cooking breakfast. After about 4 months of this, I met the owner of a bistro in one of the tourist towns in the Cascades who offered me a line cook job, which I declined. But we hit it off being the same age and both growing up outside Memphis, so we had a lot of common history.

A few days later the manager of her kitchen was fired and she called me and asked me if I wanted to run their kitchen my first chef position with 4 months of restaurant experience and not a clue. Trial by fire.

What kind of cooking do you most admire?

Avant garde. When I want to feed I like it simple, but when I want to dine, I want to be entertained and I want something to think about, not just chew on.

What ingredients do you especially like to work with?

Seafood is probably my favorite medium. Especially tuna, scallops, and any really fresh fish that I can either use raw or cook. I also really like raw or practically raw meats lamb, venison, and good beef made into wonderful tatakis, carpaccios, and tartares. I love Asian ingredients and flavors, especially Japanese the flavors are so complex, but seem so pure.

Who are your food inspirations and why…Also, who are your favorite chefs and cookbook/food authors?

Ferran Adria, Grant Achatz, Homaro Cantu, etc for their creativity in molecular gastronomy. Thomas Keller for the purity and intensity of taste of his food, and the subtle layers of flavor. Michel Richard of Citronelle for his playfulness, and the mixing of pastry techniques into savory dishes. Rick Tramonto for the same reasons as both Keller and Richard. Masaharu Morimoto for his use of western techniques with Asian ingredients and vice versa without ending up with fusion for fusion sake, which I hate.

What part does travel play in your food inspirations?

Only incidentally. Haven’t done much traveling for food’s sake.

Where do you like to go and what cuisines inspire you?

The Keys for the fresh seafood. DC for some of the restaurants I used to go to when I lived in that area Citronelle, Jose Andres’ Cafe Atlantico, The Inn at Little Washington, Persimmon, Kinkaid’s.

Any favorite meals you’d like to share?

The Inn at Little Washington for the best service I have ever experienced. Michelle Richard’s Citronelle for the whimsical food, like the silver penguin statuette carrying an egg filled with scrambled eggs topped with caviar.

What do you like to do to blow off the stresses of the kitchen?

When the day is done I am relaxed. I found that the difference between being a lawyer and being a chef is the type of stress being an attorney involves chronic stress the same client with the same issues continues for months. Being a chef involves acute stress when the day is done, the day is done. Chronic stress is draining. Acute stress is a rush.

What tips would you offer to someone considering a career as a chef?

Don’t — unless you really have the passion. If it’s not something you have to do because there is something inside you that makes you, it will be a miserable career and you won’t do it well. But if that thing is inside you, it’s like Confucius said “If you find a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

What advantages do you bring to the table as a self educated chef?

Not knowing what the rules are, I don’t know better than to break them.

Would you like to publish a cookbook someday? If so, what would its focus be?

Maybe the crossover between sweet and savory.

Favorite comfort foods?

Biscuits and gravy. Steak. Mashed potatoes with white truffle oil. Bacon. Bacon. Bacon.

Favorite barbecue memory?

We always barbecued a baby goat on the Fourth of July when I was growing up. It cooked most of the day. While it was cooking, we made a stew in a big cauldron in the back yard using all the game we had in the freezer from the previous hunting season we stirred it with a boat paddle. And we finished the meal with peach ice cream we churned with a hand cranked ice cream freezer.

Favorite Southern meal?

When I was a child in West Tennessee on New Year’s Day, it was a tradition to have pork roast, turnip greens, black eyed peas cooked with fat back, and corn bread. You always poured the “pot liquor” from the peas over the corn bread. And you always had to leave one pea on the plate for good luck in the coming year.

Favorite guilty food pleasures (sweet or salty)?

Foie Gras pan seared with sauted blackberries on brioche. White truffles shaved onto almost anything.

Favorite wines to relax with?

Syrahs from the Northern Rhone. New Zealand Pinots and Chards. Steely dry Rieslings from Alsace. Douros from Portugal. Good reds from Chile. Chateau Margaux Pavilon Blanc. Oh, and Krug if you’re buying.

As a working chef, your time is at a premium. What restaurants would you like to find time to visit someday? (ie. El Bulli, The French Laundry, etc.)

El Bulli. Alinea, Tru, Morimoto, Per Se.

What’s your favorite dish to make at home?

Plumbers don’t find the time to fix their own pipes, mechanics don’t find the time to fix their own cars. Me too. If I have to, something on the grill.

Can you share a recipe for the readers of HuggingtheCoast.Com?

Here one from the Raw Bites menu at Four Moons: Day Boat Scallops with Sweet
Spicy Chili Vinaigrette, Hot and Sour Pickled Mango, and Tobikko Ice.

Ingredients:

1 lb (approx) fresh scallops (You will want extremely fresh dry [not processed] scallops,
the larger the better, preferably day boat harvested. If you have U-10 size (under 10
per lb) scallops, allow two scallops per person for an appetizer portion. If using 10-20
size allow three or four.)

For the Hot and Sour Pickled Mango:

1 c. water
1/2 c. rice wine vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
2 T salt
1/2 t. whole cloves
1 t. mustard seeds
1 t. peppercorns
1 T. chopped fresh ginger
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1 large mango, peeled and cut into thin slices

Bring first 9 ingredients (thru red pepper flakes) to a boil in a medium, non-reactive
saucepan and allow to cool to lukewarm. Strain well, pour over thinly sliced mango, and
marinate for several hours.

For the Tobikko Ice:

2 1/2 c. cucumber juice (using a vegetable juicer), strained
1/2 c. simple syrup (see Cook’s Note)
3 oz wasabi tobikko caviar (available at some Asian markets or try your local sushi
restaurant)
Salt to taste
Sriracha pepper sauce to taste

Mix well and freeze according to your ice cream maker’s directions.

For the Vinaigrette:

Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce (available at Asian markets and many supermarkets)
Rice Wine Vinegar
Soy sauce
Lime Juice
(Proportions of the above are to taste, but you are looking for a sweet and sour spicy citrus flavor.)
Olive Oil

Slowly drizzle in oil while whisking to reach vinaigrette consistency.

To Serve:

Slice each scallop very thinly into 6 - 8 coin shaped slices and arrange on serving plates.
Drizzle the chili vinaigrette over the scallops and let marinate for a couple of minutes.
Arrange drained mango slices on scallops. Garnish the plates with a scoop of the
tobikko ice and whole cilantro leaves.

Serves 4 as an appetizer.

COOK’S NOTE: To make Simple Syrup, use equal measures (by volume) of water and
sugar. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Click here to read yesterday’s Four Moon’s Restaurant Review.

Though most people never give it a second thought until Thanksgiving pie-making time rolls around, canned pumpkin is one of the hidden treasures of the vegetable aisle. It’s nutritious (high in fiber and low in fat and carbs), delicious, economical, and incredibly versatile. You can use it to make sweet desserts (cakes, pies, puddings, turnovers, souffles, tarts, etc) as well as savory side-dishes, casseroles, empanadas, soups (hot and chilled), croquettes, and more. You can also use it to make wonderfully moist breads and muffins, too.

Sweet or savory - breakfast, lunch, or dinner - that shamefully neglected can of pumpkin in your cupboard can do it all! How many canned vegetables can claim that kind of versatility?

Try these easy and delicious pancakes for breakfast or Sunday brunch. They’re lightly sweet and are great with just butter, or you can mix in any number of goodies (raisins, chopped walnuts or pecans, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, etc) and/or top them with maple syrup (buy the real stuff; you deserve it!), or peaches, berries, pineapple, or mango - or how about a dollop of real whipped cream or even a scoop of ice cream? Too decadent, you say? Perhaps, but well worth it: a sybaritic breakfast will put a mysterious smile on your face that your co-workers will wonder about all morning . . .

Here’s a photo of the Homestyle Pumpkin Pancakes (made with raisins) below.

Ingredients:

1 cup self-rising flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar (or white)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
3/4 cup half & half or milk
1/2 cup solid-pack canned pumpkin (See Cook’s Note)
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
Butter or oil for cooking

PREPARATION:

Mix together the dry ingredients, then add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Lightly oil or butter a heated skillet or griddle and pour in about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until the edges are just dry. Turn pancakes and cook until lightly browned. Keep warm in very low oven while making remaining pancakes. Makes 8 -10 pancakes.

Cook’s Notes:

There are two types of canned pumpkin: the kind that’s premixed with sugar, etc., to use as pumpkin pie filling, and the kind that’s just pumpkin with no added ingredients (often called Solid Pack.) I recommend buying only the plain pumpkin type, as it allows you the widest range of possibilities.

Enjoy!

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Delicious and Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes
  

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

Quick, easy, simple, nutritious, and won’t heat up your kitchen…here’s a recipe for Shrimp Stuffed Avocados from the folks at About.Com: Home Cooking.

Ingredients:

3 avocados
1/2 green onion
2 tsp. mayonnaise
1 lemon
1/4 lb. cooked bay shrimp
salt and pepper

This recipe also has a helpful video to go with its text which you can see below (or here):

How to Make Shrimp Stuffed Avocados
See More of Hugging the Coast’s Fish For Friday Recipes

“Abuelita” means “little grandmother” in Spanish. These sweet little treats are based on the deep-fried and very delicious Cuban empanadas filled with guava & cheese that I used to buy in Union City, NJ (where there are more Cubans and Cuban restaurants per square mile than in Havana!).

When I first made these, a friend said that they seemed like the kind of after-school snack that a little old Cuban grandmother would bake for a favorite grandchild. Serve them warm from the oven with a cup of espresso for a very grown-up dessert.

Here’s a photo of the Guava and Cheese Abuelitas below.

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp sugar
4 oz guava paste (see Cook’s Note)
1 15 oz box rolled refrigerated pie dough, brought to room temperature (see Cook’s Note)
Cooking oil spray

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix the cream cheese, lime juice, and sugar. Cut the guava paste into four slices. Cut each slice in half lengthwise, and cut each of these halves into three pieces, giving you 24 small pieces. Unroll the pie crusts and use a cookie cutter or drinking glass to cut the dough into 2 1/2 inch rounds to make 24 pieces (12 from each roll of pie dough). Lightly coat mini muffin pans with cooking spray and gently press a dough circle into each cup. Add about a teaspoon of cheese to each cup and push a piece of guava paste into the cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Makes 24 mini cups.

Cook’s Notes:

• Refrigerated pie dough rolls come two to a box and can be found in the refrigerated biscuit dough section of the supermarket.

• Guava paste comes in a rectangular block and is available in the International foods section of the supermarket. If guava paste is not available, guava jelly can be substituted.

Enjoy!

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Delicious Guava and Cheese Abuelita “Little Grandmother” Tea Pastries
  

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

A few weeks ago, we entered and were lucky enough to be one of the winners of a free weekly contest to win a selection of gourmet tuna and salmon products from SAFCOL which has been in business since 1945. (They also have some nice seafood recipes here.)

Recently, a large, heavy box from them arrived…here’s what was in the box:

SAFCOL Gourmet on the Go Chunk Light Tuna:

• 2 Cans Spicy Tuna (Chipotle) 6oz.
• 2 Cans Tuna With Sweet Chili Sauce 6oz.
• 2 Cans Tuna With Tomato Salsa 6oz.
• 2 Cans Tuna With Lemon and Pepper 6oz.
• 2 Cans Tuna Spread 3.4oz.
• 2 Foil Packets Tuna With Spicy Onion in Spring Water 3.5oz
• 2 Foil Packets Tuna With Oven Dried Tomato and Basil in Spring Water 3.5oz

SAFCOL Gourmet on the Go Skinless Boneless Chunk Salmon:

• 2 Cans Salmon With Oven Dried Tomato and Basil in Spring Water 6oz.
• 2 Cans Salmon With Cajun Spice 6oz.
• 2 Cans Salmon With Lemon and Cracked Pepper 6oz.
• 2 Foil Packets Salmon With Lemon and Dill in Spring Water 3.5oz
• 2 Foil Packets Salmon Mediterranean Style in Spring Water 3.5oz

Plus a SAFCOL T-shirt and a calculator.

How To Enter This Free Contest

To get your own free chance to win a selection of seafood products from SAFCOL, all you have to do is sign up for a free membership on Foodbuzz.Com (if you aren’t already a member). Then add SAFCOL as a friend and cast a vote for them using the easy “vote-up” feature to win products and prizes from now throughout July! Two winners are announced every week.

BTW, if you’re a food blogger with a high quality blog, you may also be interested in joining Foodbuzz’s free Featured Publisher Program. You can find out more about it here.

At last month’s Redwood Creek Campfire Classic event in National Harbor, MD, four semifinalists from the South (including myself) and four from the Northeast met in a combined event to compete in our respective regions.On contest day, we were each assigned to share a preparation table with a semifinalist from the other region who we weren’t competing against.

I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Melissa Mullins, a charming and talented woman who persevered in the face of unforeseen technical glitches to produce first-rate examples of her beautiful, scrumptious sounding Blackberry Hand Pies with Jar-Whipped Lavender Cream and win the finalist spot for the Northeast Region.

I say scrumptious sounding because, sadly, in all the excitement of the event I never did get a chance to taste them!

But they must have been pretty darn wonderful because, I’m thrilled to report, my tablemate went on to win the Redwood Creek Campfire Classic Grand Prize in NYC this weekend!

Hooray for Melissa! Now I really wish I had gotten to taste those pies!

As it says in an article about the 2008 Redwood Creek Campfire Classic Contest in Epicurious:

“Mullins’s empanada-like pies are baked over the campfire in mini-foil ‘ovens’ that allow the air to circulate, helping the crust get crispy. She says shortening works better than butter for the great outdoors since it doesn’t spoil and also aids in crisping the crust.”

Melissa’s love of local ingredients and culinary ingenuity gave her the inspiration for the winning dish. “The campground we were at was just surrounded by blackberries.” Then she found frozen pie crusts at the camping store, and turned her grill into an oven with tinfoil, according to New York’s Daily News.

Want to make her winning dish during your next cookout? You can see her full recipe here on the Metro Sports NY site.

Have you ever wanted to make authentic homemade pulled pork barbecue and didn’t know where to start?

In this excellent 8 minute YouTube video from the BBQ Pit Boys, you’ll learn how to make tender and succulent pulled pork in a smoker; what kind of meat to buy, how much marbling there should be, how to modulate the temperature just right so it comes out as juicy and delicious as every pulled pork meal deserves to be, and more.

You can watch the video below (or you can click here instead):

Leftover pulled pork is also the starting point for Charleston Chili, which features pulled pork, country ham, and boiled peanuts instead of the usual beef and beans. Pulled pork is also excellent in sandwiches.

Here’s a recipe for After the Barbecue Pulled Pork Po Boys.

The BBQ Pit Boys have over 40 videos about all aspects of barbecuing, smoking, and outdoor cooking which you can see here.

Have fun and happy grilling!

• Southern Hoe Cakes from Group Recipes

• Fried Corn Meal Mush From About.Com: Southern Food

• Lavender Flavored Lemonade from Southern Sandra

• Buttermilk Fried Chicken from Simply Recipes

• Carolina Fish Muddle from History.Org

• Colonial Corn Pudding from Foodreference.Com

• Georgia Peanut Salsa from Taste of Home

• Thomas Jefferson’s Ice Cream From Slashfood

• Colonial Innkeeper’s Pie from Cooks.Com

Enjoy the Holiday!

Join us tomorrow to enjoy an interesting series of historical 4th of July photos taken across the United States, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

July’s Free Cookbook Preview…

Been to Google Books lately? Google Books has been gradually placing the full text of thousands of books online, many of them free full previews of culinary books that are either out-of-print or have been added online with the permission of their publishers.

One of the latter gems we’ve recently stumbled upon is Creme Brulee: The Bonjour Way, a 72 page book of interesting recipes from Randolph W. Mann.

You can read the whole book for free on Google Books here…enjoy!

If you decide to purchase it, Amazon.Com has the book here.

This zesty relish gets its fiery nature from lots of freshly grated ginger, but the bite is tempered by sweet oranges, dried cherries, honey, and spice. It goes great with roast pork, turkey, or game (especially venison) and a dab on a hot, buttered biscuit is a fine way to kick-start the morning, too.

Here’s a photo of the Firecracker Chutney below.

Ingredients:

2 cups dried cherries (about 14 oz)
1 cup grated fresh ginger root
3 large oranges, peeled & chopped (white pith and seeds removed); juice reserved (see below)
2 Tbsp orange zest
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp brandy
Water plus reserved juice from oranges to equal 1 cup

PREPARATION:

Place all ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding
a bit more water if needed. Chill thoroughly before serving. Makes about 2 pints.

Cook’s Notes:

• 5 or 6 tangerines (depending on size) can be substituted for the oranges.

• Southern Comfort, Grand Mariner, bourbon, or dark rum can be substituted for the brandy, or it can be omitted.

• For another layer of zing, try adding a finely minced jalapeno pepper.

Enjoy!

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Delicious Firecracker Chutney With Oranges, Ginger, and Dried Cherries
  

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

This refreshing and cooling summer recipe won’t heat up your kitchen but will spice up any meal, picnic, or family gathering where you decide to serve it.

Here’s a photo of the Sun and Moon Orange and Sweet Onion Salad below.

Ingredients:

2 large navel orange (or 4 tangerines)
1 medium seedless cucumber
1 medium sweet onion
1/4 cup green olives (I used Spanish olives with pimento, but any pitted green olive would be fine)
1/4 cup parsley leaves, loosely packed (cilantro would be nice also), divided
1/4 tsp each of paprika, cumin, & cinnamon
1/8 tsp white pepper
Pinch or two of cayenne or red pepper flakes
Salt to taste
1 lemon, divided
Pita breads (non-pocket type) or thick (gordita-type) tortillas
Olive oil
1 container (8 oz) plain or flavored hummus

PREPARATION:

Peel the oranges, removing all the white pith, and cut into 1/2 inch chunks. Peel and cut the cucumber into 1/2 inch chunks. Peel and cut the onion into 1/2 inch chunks or quarter and cut onto very thin slices. Leave the olives whole or slice, as desired. Finely mince the parsley leaves and reserve a tablespoon.

Combine all the above in a mixing bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice (about a teaspoon) and mix. Sprinkle on the spices and mix gently. Taste, adding a little salt, if desired.

Toast or grill the breads with a little olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, and cut into 8 pieces.

TO SERVE:

To serve, mound 1/4 of the hummus in the center of a small plate (drizzle a little olive oil on top, if desired), spoon 1/4 of the salad around it, and arrange the bread pieces around the outer edge of the plate, points outward, in a sun pattern. Decorate the hummus with a thin, half-moon slice of lemon and a pinch of reserved parsley.

Serves 4.

Enjoy!

Join us tomorrow to find out more about how to make Firecracker Chutney, Doug DuCap’s original recipe which features dried cherries, fresh ginger, and oranges.

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Make Sun and Moon Orange and Sweet Onion Salad
  

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)