A Lil Sushi, So You Say

I'm frequently driven by fierce avocado cravings.  I bet ya couldn't tell it was one of those days...   And I'm not sure what I intended to happen with crab and avocado and little to no other crab complimenting ingredients on hand.  I had no other choice but to turn to my good friend, Google.
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The search resulted in loads of ooey, gooey dips that would have been appropriate if this dish and I were planning to arrive someplace other than my newly purchased placemat (Anthropologie, much respect).  Page two, page three, page ah ha!  Do you know how many sushi rolls have crab and avocado?  Why I didn't think of this sooner, I don't know.  But it turns out sliced avocado, a little lump crab, and ponzu sauce equals a perfect little sushi substitute.  

Comforty Goodness

My mom's infamously easy tuna noodle casserole was, hands down, a top five most frequently requested meal of my childhood - lucky her!  I carried the recipe in my 'first time living alone' box of tricks when I left for college.  And I continued to whip it up until gluten-free ruled my life.  The recipe was nixed from memory upon reading the ingredients of every cream of mushroom soup can I could find.  

Although I rarely eat gluten-free at restaurants since finding out I'm not officially intolerant, I steer clear of bringing glutenous groceries home.  In my opinion, gluten in the average American diet is beyond excessive and not as necessary as your handy dandy food pyramid makes it seem.

Off my soap box, back to the meal...  

Every few trips to the market, I head to the gluten-free aisle to grab a bag of brown rice pasta.  Most of the items on that aisle, though gluten-free, tend to be super processed and hokey, so I grab what I need and go.  This time...  I noticed a gluten-free cream of mushroom soup and my most memorable cozy, comfort meal came to mind.

Mom's Recipe - Altered (2 servings)

4 oz. of Gluten-Free Elbows

1/2 Can of Gluten-Free Cream of Mushroom Soup

2-1/2 oz. of Albacore Tuna in Water, Drained if Canned

1/2 Cup of Parmesan Cheese, Freshly Grated

Boil noodles per package instructions.  Mix noodles, soup, and tuna together and pour into an oven safe bowl (I used a pie plate).  Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.

Hunky Halibut

I bought this fish for no other purpose than I like halibut (I know stuff like this now).  I figured I could dust it with seasoning, broil it, and call it dinner; however, there's a theoretical limit to how many times I can post about broiled fish.  And likewise, there's a not so theoretical limit to how many times I can eat the "same" fish.

Due to my broiling assumption, I did not recipe hunt for alternatives nor did I purchase any ingredients out of the norm at the market.  Dilemma?  A bit of a dilemma...

Light bulbs and sirens went off simultaneously as I remembered the ridiculous amounts of wine I had recently purchased to stock my wine fridge.  Going only off of ingredients I thought might taste OK, I started mixing.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the smallest saucepan you own.  Add 2 cloves of chopped garlic and 2 stalks of chopped green onions to the melted butter and stir over medium heat for a few minutes.  Add 1 cup of white wine (I used Souv Blanc), salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil.  Add fish fillet and poach, turning mid-way, for 6-8 minutes or until fish is cooked all the way through.  Spoon a small amount of the broth over the fish and disregard the rest.

For the record, poaching is the new broiling in this kitchen!

Choptastic!

Salads are a sole exception to my food scarfing tendencies.  It's not because I don't love them, I do.  But when you combine a dressing fork dipper with the need for a little of each ingredient in every bite, you get an uber slow foliage feaster.

This little salad chopping gadget is shear genius (no pun intended).  It turned my ordinary salad into dense decadence.  I threw baby spinach, romaine, avocado, green onion, cucumber, and blue cheese in a bowl and chop, chop, chopped.  I drizzled with the tiniest bit of balsamic vinaigrette and satisfyingly ate every last bit.  I can promise you that drawer time will be scarce to non-existent with this thing!

Get Her To The Greek

Since the popularity explosion of Greek yogurt, I've made an effort to regularly stock my fridge.  Lower cal, higher protein, and superior texture...  Yeah, it was a given.  What I had yet to realize was how easily other dairies could be replaced with this Grecian gem.

I stumbled upon Jillian Michaels' chicken salad recipe over the weekend and I was pumped!  I love any kind of salad in the summer: egg, tuna, even my food nemesis, chicken.  And when I saw that mayo was subbed out, I was this salad's biggest fan.  I fixed it up on Sunday evening and ate it for yesterday's lunch and dinner and today's lunch - it's that good.  And if you toss the bread and plop it on a bed of baby spinach?  You're looking at three gigantor servings at mere 320 calories a pop.

Dear Blender, I Love You

My mid-year resolution should include blending daily for no other reason than I love it (my blender that is).  It's the one tool in my kitchen that never fails at producing miracles.  And it's the only tool in my kitchen that guarantees vitamin packed-ness with the touch of a button.

I've been randomly craving cream of asparagus soup for too long to have not already posted something.  Perhaps it has something to do with creamy soups and 100 degree weather not jiving.  But more likely, it has to do with forgetting my sporadic craving each and every time I pass through the market's automated entrance.

You'll need:

1 lb Fresh Asparagus, Chopped

3 Leeks, Sliced

2 Garlic Cloves

1 - 16 oz Can of Vegetable Broth

1/2 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt

1 Tbsp Parmesan, Shaved

Boil asparagus, leeks, and garlic until tender (about 15 minutes).   Blend vegetables until 100% smooth.  Add vegetable broth and yogurt and blend again.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Healthy Pants Pizza

Some days you crave fatty pants pizza, some days you settle for lazy pants pizza, and the other days?  Well the other days you just need healthy pants pizza.

A few weeks ago during one of my all too frequent grocery store trips, I stumbled upon a sample stand.  And if you've been with me to the market, you know that by stumble upon, I mean ran to.  Rarely do I 'stumble upon' a sample stand and think "I'm happy I just ate that".  In fact, before that day, it had never happened - a scrunched face and search for the nearest paper towel is more like it.

To create your own healthy pants pizza, you'll need:
- 1 Eggplant
- Pizza Sauce
- Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- Typical Toppings (I chose spinach, mushrooms, and onions)

Thinly slice eggplant.  Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place eggplant disks.  Broil eggplant on each side for about 4 minutes or until browned.  Watch closely as they burn easily, especially the ones in the back!  Cover with sauce, cheese, and toppings, and broil another minute or two until the cheese is bubbly.

Flopping Flounder

You're not imagining it; I'm partial to seafood these days.  Since the acquisition of my fish cooking skills during 'Technique de la Hanz', I just can't stop.  The thought of cooking chicken has always caused an urge to snooze, there's a limit to how many times you can pretend turkey tastes differently than chicken, and beef?  Beef lost its attraction after living steps from the Bern's Bar.  So fish it is.

And if you thought spending a lifetime within eye shot of water would create a connoisseur of some sort, you'd be wrong.  Beyond salmon, tuna, and grouper...  I'm clueless.  If you can imagine someone spinning me in circles, blindfolded, and telling me to point - that would be a fairly accurate description of tonight's seafood department experience.  And, that would be the only possible explanation for how I ended up with flounder.

Due to my lack of grill, I brushed the filet with olive oil, sprinkled it with Northwoods Seasoning, and broiled it for 5-7 minutes on each side.  I served it atop seasoned and sauteed baby bellas, asparagus, green beans, squash, and zucchini.  The veggie medley equaled "woah!" and distracted me from my new found dislike - flounder.   

Beautifood

Tonight's meal inspiration stemmed from an article that was sent to me a while back entitled '10 Ways to Eat Yourself Gorgeous'.  The article was shelved and I'm not certain why.  But from this point forward, food brain-block or not, I will be referencing it quite often.

My plate consisted of broiled salmon brushed with olive oil and fresh dill and boiled artichoke with dill garlic butter for dipping.  The salmon/artichoke combo created a dish rich in Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Protein, Vitamins B/C/D, Magnesium, Folic Acid, and Biotin.  And chances are, if the last sentence bored you, you're in dire need of a meal like this!

I am beyond pleased.  So pleased, in fact, that I am immodestly giving myself the highest rank on every scale - A+, 5 stars, all 10's.  

Spaghetti? Sort Of...

A few weeks ago, a friend suggested a spaghetti squash recipe she made post kicking butt at the Boston Marathon.  I raided her leftovers and knew I'd give it a shot.

After a weekend of birthday/mother's day glutton, I was craving something veggieful.  And subbing a meal's primary starch with a veggie?  Well, that sounded right about where I wanted to be.  I scribbled down the ingredients and B-lined it to the market on my way home from the office.  

My excitement for the recipe grew as I realized my basket was only lacking two ingredients and I hadn't yet left the produce department.  And feta and kalamatas?  I barely had to brush the processed aisles to scoop those up!

This dish was a delightful main course, but could also be served along side a lean meat for a more "complete" meal.


Side Note:  Tastes even better chilled the next day.

Quickie Lunch

Meal satisfaction, for me, tends to come hand in hand with simplicity.  And uncoincidentally, my simple means faster and fresher.  Five ingredients or less is a good theory in my book.

This 'five or less'-er lunch was protein packed and full of feel goodness.

- Turkey Breast, Thinly Sliced & Cooked

- Baby Spinach Leaves

- Shallots, Chopped

- Sunflower Seeds

- Raspberry Vinaigrette

Disaster Turned Delish

Sometimes BIG mistakes turn into something good, or in this case, something tasty.  I fully intended on following a recipe for some sort of Thai-ish dish tonight, but between the lack of fresh herbs available and my recipe carrying phone dying at the store, I was forced to go impromptu.  Eek!!!

My brain is certainly equipped for a great deal of impromptu dishes, but Thai?  It most certainly is not.  And although I'm still not entirely sure how this disaster turned delish came to be, it did.     

Prepare the noodles per the instructions on the package.  Throw the pepper, green onions, stir fry vegetables, shrimp, and peanuts in a non-stick pan over medium heat until everything is warm.  Whisk the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.  Add the noodles to the vegetables and stir until the noodles soften and are able to mix well with the vegetables.  Pour the sauce over the noodles and vegetables and stir over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

1/2 Pack of Rice or Bean Vermicelli Noodles (3 oz.)

1 Pack of Fresh Stir Fry Vegetables - Steamed (12 oz)

1/2 Lb. Cooked Shrimp - Tails Removed

1 Serrano Pepper - Minced

1 Bunch of Green Onions - Sliced

1/4 Peanuts - Crushed

Sauce:

2 Tbsp Fish Sauce

2 Tbsp Roasted Red Chili Sauce

1 Tbsp Agave Nectar

1 Lime - Juiced

Mussel Mama

I like mussels, and not just because they're awesome, but because they force you to enjoy them.  Imagine the scarf action that would accompany a bowl of mussels sans shells.   You'd probably eat twice as many and enjoy them half as much.  Thankfully, shelled mussels give you the time to chew patiently between each perfectly rationed bite.

The simplicity of staple restaurant apps continues to surprise me.  Less than ten minutes of prep and even less time to cook - really??  The mussels were just about ready to be removed from heat when I realized I hadn't even unpacked the asparagus from my grocery sack.  Luckily asparagus cooks quickly as well.

Eatingwell.com has once again provided the foundation for a simple, rock solid dinner.

Yum Yum - Can I Get a Scoop?

Mangoes and avocados frequent being the center of health hype attention.  And deservingly so, both can be considered vitamin powerhouses, cancer preventers, skin improvers, digestion enhancers, and the list goes on.  And just when you think the list is coming to a close, it probably goes on some more.

Many suggest consuming these tropical treats daily.  If you're looking for a realistic way to do just that, check out the recipe below.  Mix the following ingredients and refrigerate in a sealed dish.  Eat a scoopful as a snack or jazz up salads and sandwiches that may be lacking anything "super".

2 Avocados, cubed
1 Mango, cubed
1-2 Tbsps cilantro, chopped
1 Lime, juiced
Salt to taste

Wokin Wontons

The first blog entry after a brief hiatus better be a good one.  And because of this, the pressure for a blog worthy dish has been rearing its ugly head for entirely too long.  Solution?  A gift from my favorite (and only) uncle.

At first glance, bamboo steamers seem like they could be deceivingly difficult.  Not the case.  Just set atop a wok with shallow boiling water and you've got yourself a deal.

And homemade dumplings?  The closest I've ever come is plopping a few frozen nuggets in a traditional pot of boiling water.  And even though I've always purchased a "natural" brand, their contents have always been a slight mystery.

The following shrimp wonton recipe is heavenly.  They're fresh, and there's nothing mystery about them.

- 1/4 to 1/2 lb of cooked shrimp
- 1/2 cup mushrooms (I used baby portobellas)
- 3/4 cup green cabbage
- 1/3 cup green onions
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon Bragg's Liquid Aminos
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 packet of Nasoya Wonton Wraps
- Ponzu Sauce

Finely chop all of the ingredients up until the ginger.  Use a cheese grater to grate the ginger.  Mix the shrimp, veggies, and soy sauce in a bowl.  Plop a spoonful of the filling in the center of each wonton wrapper.  Wet the edges of the wonton wrappers, fold them, and firmly press the edges together.  Fill a wok with as much water as you can that won't seep into the bamboo steamer and bring to a boil.  Place the wontons on cabbage leaves on each rack of the bamboo steamer (this will prevent them from sticking to the steamer).  Set the bamboo steamer in the wok and steam wontons for 6 minutes.  Serve with ponzu sauce for dipping.

Fluff It To Me

I want to shout off of rooftops how excited I am about today's breakfast.  Not only because I've been dancing around the idea of making it for quite some time now, but it changed my world a little AND I'm still full.

Adding egg whites to Irish oatmeal does not sound the least bit appetizing.  But after reading about others' successes, I decided to give it a shot.  It's hard to believe that a 16 calorie addition can give an extra 4 grams of protein and an unimaginable fluff to an oh so ordinary breakfast.  After briskly mixing the white into the hot oatmeal, try adding 1/2 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 tablespoon of agave nectar to satisfy your salty/sweet side.  At less than 250 cals a pop, why the heck not!  Did I mention it's delicious?

Flavor a la Low Sodium

Rice and chicken, chicken and rice.  I'll eat them, I like them, but if you told me I couldn't have either again, I wouldn't be heartbroken.  And since I don't eat either on the regular, I didn't mind one bit when tasked with providing a flavorful, low sodium, rice recipe.

I can unbiasedly say that boiled bone-in chicken is highly underrated.  It's tasty, healthy, and most importantly, hard to mess up.

1 Carrot

2 Celery Stalks

3 Cloves of Garlic

1 lb of Drumsticks

2 Serrano or Jalapeno Peppers (guts removed)

2 Spanish Onions

Boil in Bag Brown Rice

1-2 Handfulls of Long Leaf Spinach

1 Tbsp Earth Balance "butter" or real butter

Badia Complete Seasoning

Chop veggies into big pieces.  Boil water in a large pot and add veggies and drumsticks.  Reduce heat to medium, cover, and boil for 30 minutes.  Remove drumsticks and add rice bag to chicken broth.  Remove skin, cut chicken off the bone, and set aside.  When the rice is finished, remove the rice and veggies with a slatted spoon.  Add spinach leaves to chicken broth until they are wilted and remove.  Strain excess water from spinach leaves.  Mix "butter", chicken, and rice.  Add seasoning to taste.  

Lazy Pants Pizza

Tonight had potential for serious derailment.  I think most Thursdays do.  You spend all week working, dieting, deadlining, exercising, erranding - by Thursday you're pooped!

I was so close to ordering take-out, but somewhere during the crazy amounts of rationalizing going on in my head, I thought of a quick compromise.  Hooray for pizza!

Lazy Pants Pizza:
- Sprouted Wheat Toast
- Baby Spinach
- Tomato Sauce
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Garlic Powder

While sprouted wheat bread is toasting, heat tomato sauce in the microwave for a minute.  Stir spinach leaves in the tomato sauce and microwave for an additional minute.  Spread tomato sauce on sprouted wheat toast, sprinkle with garlic powder, and cover with cheese.  Toast until golden.

Mid-Day Escape

I am fortunate to be able to come home daily for lunch.  Most of the time, I re-heat my leftovers from the previous night.  But with spring creeping in, I was in the mood for something fresh.

I've had this sandwich in the back on my mind since hitting up the airport Starbucks a couple weeks back.  Don't get me wrong, theirs was good, but I knew I could bedazzle it and make it mine.  I subbed sprouted wheat toast, nitrate-free turkey, baby spinach, honey mustard vinaigrette, and goat cheese.  So...  I modified pretty much everything but the cuke.  It's a safe bet that I'll be eating this exact sandwich for lunch this week until I'm forced to make the vegetarian version because I've run out of turkey.

To satisfy my dessert tummy, which on a rare occasion is full, I ate the leftover "Avocado Chocolate Mousse" from last night's feast.

Is that Gak?

Your face will cringe before your first sip.  You'll mentally prepare yourself for the grossest green gulp of your life.  You're nervous, it's weird, you feel like a contestant on Fear Factor.  After you muster up the courage to drink?  Apples.  All you taste is apple.  And I describe this to everyone I "con" into drinking this concoction, but they don't believe me until after their first sip.  It's a guaranteed "I told you so".   

Green Smoothie:

1 Apple

2 Kale Stalks

1 Handful of Grapes

1/2 Cucumber

1/2 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Ice

I deviated from my usual formula and added avocado to the first batch.  Mistake!  You couldn't taste the avocado, but it turned the texture into something that resembled Gak.