A Big Salad

I was hungry as a bear, which means a kitchen sink salad for lunch.  Hmmm, what's in the fridge?  Arugula, great, sunflower micro greens, perfect.  Red cabbage, leftover feta and sundried tomato salad, celery....oooh, there's some baba ganousch - yes.  Do you know what I really enjoy sometimes - something a little warm on a salad - enter sautéed shittake mushrooms and a little spicy green chili oil for the other kind of warmth.  Done. 

Scallops and ... Bacon

Now, I'm not getting all hipster, as in 'you MUST put bacon on everything, including your ice cream,' or anything (though it is really good in this chocolate...  http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/mos_dark_chocolate_bacon_bar/bacon_candy_bars and, I do make a mean candied bacon on special occasions!)

BUT, bacon does blend particularly well with scallops.  Really, though, who has time to ~wrap~ scallops in bacon? And, quite frankly, I find that technique a little 80's-chic, don't you?  So, here, chop the bacon up, fry it, drain almost all of the grease and put it aside.  Heat the pan again, sauté the chopped bay scallops (diver, because we are THAT environmentally friendly), then add the bacon back in at the end.  A little S&P, and you have a fancy, delicious, ridiculously simple dish.  You're welcome.

Iron, Man!

This can be a side, or double it and forget your starch for just today, or triple it and make a meal out of it!  Be good to your body and build some red blood cells!  No need for a recipe, I've just sliced the brussel sprouts so they cook quickly, and julienned the asparagus.  Grate some garlic and olive oil over them and season with salt and pepper.

The key to getting a nice colour on them is to get your pan screaming hot first.  If you have already tossed them in olive oil, then no need to add any to the pan.  This will take minutes to cook - remove when they're still all nice and dark green.  Sometimes I will add a little splash of water or white wine to help with the caramelization.  Done.

Use whatever's fresh, now that Spring has finally sprung...

Curried Chicken and Quinoa Bowl

"Curry" is a generic term, and can be used to describe a number of different dishes with a combination of different spices.  Curries appear in a number of different cultures and have a wide spectrum of sweet to tangy, mild to spicy.  This curry has more of an East Indian flavour.  To simplify things, I actually used a prepared curry powder from the spice aisle, in addition to some other spices.  

You could make this vegetarian by leaving out the chicken and substituting vegetable stock.

Recipe:  Curried Chicken and Quinoa Bowl

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 red pepper

3 serrano peppers

3 large carrots

1 handful cherry tomatoes

1 dozen small golden nugget potatoes

2 large garlic cloves

3 Tablespoons curry powder (the yellow one)

1 Tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili flakes

salt to taste

cayenne pepper for spice, to taste

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 container chicken stock

2 Tablespoons flour

1 cup quinoa

1 cup raw spinach

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Chop all vegetables into uniform, bite sized pieces.  WAIT.  If you don't want it super spicy, just score the serrano peppers and throw them in whole.  If you DO want it spicy, chop those suckers up, seeds and all!  Grate or finely chop garlic.  Heat skillet or oven safe cast iron pot on high heat.  Once hot, add oil and sauté vegetables and garlic until tender.

Remove vegetables from pan, add a little more oil if needed, and brown chicken.  Add flour and stir until chicken is well coated.  Add vegetables back to pan, add spices, and add stock.  Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.  Cover and pop into the oven for 20 − 30 minutes.

Follow instructions on box for quinoa.  It's normally 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water.  Boil, then reduce to simmer and cover for approximately 15 minutes.  Construct bowl with quinoa, spinach and curry.  Done.

Cilantro Lime Margarita

Yes.  It is Sunday morning, and I am posting a Margarita recipe.  Don't judge.

I just made this up, based on a cocktail I had recently in NYC.  It's not too sweet, and because of that, it is not too high in calories.

Start with about ¼ cup of sugar and either 4 or 5 packets of True Lime, or the juice of one lime.  Combine with a cup of water and whip it up in a blender or food pro.  This is your simple syrup.

Next, combine a handful of cilantro, minus the stems with about a cup or so of water and blend.

Coat the rim of a low ball glass with the simple syrup with your finger, then dip in True Lime.  Add a bunch of ice, a shot of Don Julio tequila, a splash of Triple Sec a wee bit of the simple syrup and fill the rest with the cilantro mixture.  Sweeten with more syrup to taste, but NOT TOO MUCH.  Cheers!

Thai Red Curry Coconut Soup

Using Light Coconut Milk will cut down on the fat and calories in the soup, and I swear you will not taste the difference.  That is really the only slightly unhealthy ingredient.  The rest is low fat, low carb and high in nutrition. Even better if you use low sodium, organic chicken broth.  Use whatever veggies you have in the fridge, or use what I have listed here:

Recipe:  Thai Red Curry Coconut Soup

1 ½ lb. boneless skinless chicken chopped in bite sized chunks
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 − 3 Tablespoons red curry paste (found in the asian cooking aisle in a jar)
2 cartons chicken stock
⅔ - 1 cup light coconut milk
~ 1 cup of sliced baby portabello, shitake, or gourmet mix mushrooms
~ 1 teaspoon minced ginger
~ 1 teaspoon minced lemongrass
2 cups chopped kale
1 cup chopped green beans
a few basil leaves
(If you like the spice, add one or two hot thai chilies, whole, scored down the side)
3 −4 serving sizes of rice noodles (as per the box)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce

Brown the chicken in the oil first, then add the curry paste.  Throw everything else in except the noodles.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least an hour.  About 20 minutes before serving, add the noodles.  Serve when noodles are cooked through and soft.  Serve with beans sprouts and basil or cilantro.

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

Crock Pot, Slow Cooker, you know, the winter cooking pot, creator of all comfort foods during the hibernation season…  (It's really cold as I write this).

This is great, because even though it takes a bit of forethought, you can basically throw everything in the pot and forget about it.  In fact, DO forget about it.  Go about your day in an ordinary fashion and then SURPRISE yourself when you walk in the the door and it smells like someone dropped by and cooked you dinner :)

Recipe:  Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

2 cans black beans
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken cut in smallish pieces
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1 − 2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
1 package True Lime or juice from ½ lime
2 cloves minced or grated garlic
Salt
⅔ cup fresh salsa

Turn on low for a minimum of 3 hours…  you'll know when it's ready.

To assemble:  on warmed corn tortillas, layer with guacamole, fresh salsa, cheese, cabbage, cilantro

Favourite Things

This is my top fav from 2013:  True Lime/Lemon/Grapefruit/Orange

A slice of fruit, in a little package.  No added sugar/chemicals, etc.  Use it in water (you'll drink a lot more!); use it in cooking; put the Lemon on popcorn with truffle salt and parmesan; the list is endlesssssssssss

I ordered in bulk from Amazon, but I've seen the lemon and lime in the baking aisle.

Haven't we all tried to imagine Whirled Peas?

Now that summer has ended and snipping some basil in the garden is not an option, try this pesto which uses about ¼ of the basil you normally would, and substitutes half of the pine nuts with walnuts.  Most everything else stays the same, but add about ¾ of a cup of frozen sweet green peas.  It's delightful.

¼ cup Pine Nuts
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil plus more as needed to provide correct consistency
½ cup Walnuts
½ cup Parmesan
⅓ cup Basil
¾ cup Frozen Peas
4 cloves Garlic
S & P

Brown Pine Nuts and Walnuts in Olive Oil

Throw everything in the food pro

Add Olive Oil as needed.  Salt & Pepper to taste.

Happy Hallow's Eve!

Loaded with Manganese, Magnesium, Zinc, Fibre and a TON of protein - roast your seeds at ~425 degrees, tossing every few minutes for a total of about 10 minutes or until light golden brown.