Spicy Roasted Salmon

May 8, 2015February 21, 201611 Comments

SPICY ROASTED SALMON is a tasty way to prepare salmon. Poached or pan fried salmon is so tedious, tiresome and boring. Coat your salmon with a spicy rub before roasting it. You can make extra rub and store it to use later on a roasted acorn squash. (This is a healthy alternative to the usual brown sugar and butter coating for squash.)

SPICY ROASTED SALMON
RECIPE
Ingredients
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp sugar substitute (optional)
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp dried chipotle or cayenne pepper
1Tablespoon grated lime rind

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place fish skin side down on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Mix spices and place on top of salmon.
Roast in center of oven 8 to 10 minutes until done.

The rub is enough for 4 salmon fillets.
I use half of the rub and I roast 2 salmon fillets.
I have one for dinner and then have the other one cold for lunch a few days later.
You are busy.
You don’t have time to cook each and every meal.
I store the rest of the rub to use for a roasted acorn squash that I will make at a later date.
These ingredients store very well in your pantry.

YOUR FOOD TIP
So how do you tell if your fish is done?
Do you flake it to see?
No.
Have you ever had a restaurant serve a piece of fish where the sides have been cut to see if it is done?
Drop a paring knife into the middle of the fish from a height of about 6 to 8 inches.
If it goes through the fish, it is done.
If it meets resistance, return it to the oven and roast a few more minutes.
Please do not overcook this wonderful salmon.
You may just as well have used canned salmon because that is what it will taste like.

You will have succulent juicy healthy salmon by following these directions!

Healthy Quinoa Burger

April 3, 2015December 18, 20161 Comment

The world has changed from our North American meat and potatoes society.
It is now meat and couscous (North Africa) or quinoa [KEEN-wah] (Peru) in South America. You may also try bulgur (durum wheat) from Turkey, a cousin to couscous. Wild quinoa has its roots from the Spanish (Peruvian) area. Merging cultures helps us to add healthy variety to our meals.
I prefer quinoa as a side to my meal or on its own.

Tasty Quinoa Burgers

QUINOA (pseudocereal grain)
It is not a member of the true grass family like wheat. Quinoa has powerful health benefits. It is high in protein – more protein than rice or wheat and tastes great. Since it is not related to wheat or grain quinoa is gluten-free.. Quinoa recipes can be sweet or savory. Marathon runners load up on cinnamon scented quinoa with walnuts, honey and coconut milk. Is quinoa the new breakfast of champions?

Quinoa Burgers Recipe with Beet Greens

Ingredients
1 bunch of BEET GREENS, stemmed and washed (1/2 to 3/4 pound)
2 cups cooked quinoa, preferably rainbow quinoa
2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, as needed
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
⅔ cup finely chopped carrot
⅔ cup finely chopped onion
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly toasted and crushed in a mortar and pestle or spice mill
2 garlic cloves
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
1 egg (optional)
Freshly ground pepper

Direction
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Either steam the beet greens for 2 minutes above 1 inch boiling water, or blanch in salted boiling water for 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, drain, squeeze out excess water, and chop medium-fine. Place in a large bowl with the cooked quinoa.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a heavy skillet and add the onion and carrot. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are just about tender, about 3 minutes, and add the ginger and a pinch of salt. Cook for another 3 minutes or so, until the vegetables are tender and fragrant, and add the cumin and the garlic. Cook, stirring, for another minute, and remove from the heat. Stir into the quinoa mixture.
3. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, or in a bowl using a fork or a potato masher, purée the chickpeas with the lemon juice and, if using, the egg. Add to the quinoa mixture and stir everything together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Begin heating a heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Seasoned cast iron is good, and so is a heavy nonstick pan that can go into the oven. Moisten your hands lightly and shape 4 large or 6 smaller patties. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and, working in batches if necessary, cook the patties for 1 to 2 minutes on one side, until nicely browned. Carefully turn the patties over and place the pan in the oven.

Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the patties are lightly browned; if they fall apart you can patch them together with some pressure from the spatula. Remove from the heat and serve, with or without buns, ketchup and the works.

Beet Salad with Pecans and Feta

March 27, 2015February 21, 20161 Comment

It All Starts From A Seed
I already have my beet seeds ready for spring planting in early April (in Toronto, Ontario, CANADA). It’s been a chilly March which may force me to plant my seeds in late April this year. I really enjoy beet salad, especially when paired with goat cheese. Soft goat cheese or feta cheese both work well in this salad. I was inspired after I made Wolfgang Puck’s Goat Cheese Napoleons for the first time. Amazing! I love beets so much that I now grow them in the garden at the lake house. Last year, as most years, they were left unattended ..and Mother Nature watered my beets. I liked to pick my baby beets when they are about 1″ in size. When I served my beet appetizer to Chef Jamie, a weekend guest, his eyes immediately opened wide. He couldn’t believe the flavour. I bought the same type of seeds this year; golden and ruby beets. My favorite golden beets are sweeter than their deep red sibling. Even the greens from the golden beets are sweeter.
This year, I decided to grow beets in my balcony pots in Toronto. I will still faithfully plant them in the north country by the lake. I fear the Toronto smog may take its toll on my city beets. It will be interesting to see how they both turn out; the country beets and city beets.

MY FAVORITE BEET SALAD
Ingredients
6 medium beets
1/2 cup feta cheese, cubed
3 cups baby arugula or other tender greens(like watercress, baby spinach, etc.)
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon pomegranate syrup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
freshly ground pepper
salt to taste, if you wish
Optional: 1/2 cup toasted pecans
Serves 4 people.
Single Servings: refrigerate what you don’t plan on eating. It will be hard to resist not having this salad the next day for lunch or dinner.

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Rinse the beets and cut off the greens, saving them for another use. Hint: chop and freeze the greens if you are not using soon.
3. Bake beets in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes until tender. I am using my glass baking containers for this instead of the classic foil.
4. Let them cool and then slip the skin off using gloves or paper towels to protect your hands from colouring. Cut into edible sized pieces.
Optional: You can toast your pecans in the oven for about 10 minutes, leave them untoasted (healthier but not as tasty) or candy them (not as healthy but yummy!)
5. Combine ingredients for the salad dressing. I do not use any salt in this dressing. I find that I do not miss it. The feta is salty enough.
6. Toss the greens in the dressing reserving some to drizzle on top of the salad. Place the greens in the serving bowl. The beets and pomegranate seeds are scattered on top. Then I layer on the feta and pecans but do not toss them. The feta will just stain from the beets. Drizzle more dressing on top and serve.

VARATIONS: Finely chop some of your beets. Toss the beets and pomegranate seeds in the dressing and place this mixture on the ends of endive leaves.
When making my salad I substituted 1 tablespoon of brain octane oil for one of the tablespoons of olive oil.
Candied PECANS
For candied pecans, add a pinch of cayenne pepper to 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Toss the 1/2 cup of pecans in the syrup and roast in the oven on a parchment lined baking sheet at 325F for 10 minutes. Yummy! If you have guests, you need to make sure to make extra candied pecans. While the pecans are cooling, you will inevitably find those taste testers in the kitchen. Some pecans will magically disappear.
Sprinkle finely chopped feta cheese on top of the minced beets that are on the endives and serve as an hors d’ourve or appetizer for your guests.

WHAT’S NEXT. . .
You can freeze your beet greens or leave them in the refrigerator. NEXT…I will provide a new and unique recipe on how to use your beet greens. I am tired of just steaming, sauteing, or putting them in soups. Something new coming up on my next blog. A healthy, tasty recipe you may have never thought you would dream of making.

Roasted Acorn Squash

February 26, 2015August 5, 2015Leave a comment

A NEW TWIST TO ACORN SQUASH:
Are you used to having acorn squash served to you roasted in butter and brown sugar? It’s time to give that up for a newer healthy version. I was experimenting one day and here’s what I did. Just use the spice mix that you put on the spicy roasted salmon.
RECIPE
1 Acorn squash
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Use [ Salmon Rub recipe ] * Make extra of the spice mix when you make the Spicy Baked Salmon. Or, you can even bake on that same day.
2. Slice acorn squash into wedges (see picture below)
3. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the spice mix and toss the acorn squash slices in it.
4. Place squash on a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes at 425F, turning half way in between.

FOOD TIP: Since you have used olive oil, you can enjoy any leftovers cold in the next few days. Or you can reheat them to have with your next hot meal. Once something is cooked in butter, it is not at all appetizing cold. It is also fine to eat the skin of the squash – where the bluk of the nutrients are located This is a great snack too if you just want a little something to nibble on. I will often bake something else in the oven at the same time like the salmon, baked garlic heads, lamb burgers as well as the vegetable for my meal. This saves time, energy and you will have a delicious meal.
. .

HEALTHY GREEN
I know the picture of the acorn squash in the oven looks greenish. I forgot to take off the green lens from my camera. (kidding) I am working on my photography skills. Trust me, they are not “all” green. Maybe the asparagus is trying to hog the show; sending out green kryptonite rays! When you taste the roasted, spicy acorn squash, it will bring your taste buds beyond good to supper great! You will say to yourself, “This is going to be my future favorite side dish”. On a personal note, I can eat a plateful of these “VEGGIE WEGGIES“ as a snack while watching my favorite shows on TV. The extra bonus is that it is so healthy for you and you can even eat the outer rind….yes you can! You will ‘taste’ a slice of heaven.
Yummy +PLUS!
I hope you will try this recipe and let me know how you like it!
For the SPICY RUB recipe, click here.

Salmon Saltimbocca Recipe

February 23, 2015October 8, 20192 Comments

INGREDIENTS

4 slices of prosciutto or pancetta
2 salmon fillets
fresh sage leaves
olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Lay 2 slices of prosciutto or pancetta on a board, overlapping lengthwise.
Place a piece of salmon on one short end.
Place 3 or 4 sage leaves on the salmon.
Roll the prosciutto around the salmon until completely wrapped.
Place all wrapped salmon pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 425 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes until done.

FOOD TIP: Bake 2 pieces of salmon and keep the second one to have for lunch later on in the week.
It is better than most foods that you can buy for lunch.
It is nutritious and so tasty. You will enjoy it even cold.