Gazpacho

Fall means harvest time and we were passed a ton of heirloom tomatoes from my Uncle. One giant yellow one was too old and ripe to eat by itself so I thought a gazpacho would be nice to cap off the last of the summer harvest. I looked up recipes for inspiration and then made my own. Sorry, the picture should really feature the gazpacho in the top right corner and not the rest. =) But what a colorful meal no?

Tomatoes

Cucumber

Purple Onion

Garlic

Balsamic Vinegar

Lemon Juice

Cayenne Pepper

Cumin

Tomato Juice

Olive Oil

Basil for garnish

Just puree everything raw, add S&P to taste and enjoy! 

Salmon was seared with rosemary, garlic, S&P. Salad is bagged kale salad mix from Costco. And basmati rice...leftover from Indian take out. 

Cumin wings on sweet potato spinach salad

 

I love chicken wings...and so I bought some. I was too lazy to mince garlic for some honey garlic wings (plus I can't really eat the honey right now) so I went with my next favorite flavor which is curry/cumin wings. There was a random sweet potato in my fridge so this got worked in as well.

Chicken Wings

Cumin

Soy sauce

Coconut sugar (or any sugar you want....I just used a slight pinch though normally I'd probably use a tbsp or two)

Salad:

Gouda cheese

Sweet potato - cubed and pan seared in butter

Spinach

Dressing:

Grainy mustard

Olive oil

Cider vinegar

a couple drops of Stevia (plant based, zero glycemic index, sweetener)

It was a nice hearty salad. The sweet potato was filling when paired with some meat. Yum.

Pomegranate Kale Salad

I whipped this up one day when trying to figure something out for vegetables. I had the kale, which I shredded. There was pomegranate in the fridge which I though would add some nice color and sweet tartness to the mix. A loose carrot "peeled" into the salad gave additional color and flavor. Considering kale was on the nuttier bitter side, I thought a sweeter salad with the pomegranate and carrot would be nice. Then I added the seeds and nuts for protein.

Pomegranate seeds
Baby kale leaves
Carrot shreds
Chia seeds
Hemp hearts
Pine nuts

Dressing :
Tahini
Garlic
Cider vinegar
Maple syrup
Grainy mustard

It was the second time I tried using tahini to make a dressing. The first time failed because I tried to thin it with oil...but it caused the mixture to break up and get really goopy. This time, it's thinned with vinegar or water, which worked out really well. Overall, I really enjoyed this combo for a tahini dressing...will be definitely repeated!

And Ta-da....a nice bright'n colorful'n tasty side.

And with that, here's to a happy and healthy New Year in 2014!! Keep cooking, experimenting and creating. God bless!

Pot Braised Ribs

I love eating ribs...the meat is especially tasty and tender. Probably because of all the fat...but whatevs. If you're going to eat ribs, it better be fatty and good. Just don't eat it often. I cut up the ribs into two's and then boiled it in water for ten minutes to get rid of some of the fat and scuz. Then I drained the ribs and in another pot, started the marinade in which I'll eventually braise the ribs in:

Onion - sauteed until almost carmelized
Tomatoes
Paprika
Bbq sauce
Ketchup
Sirracha
Honey
Chicken stock
Apple cider vinegar

The ribs simmered in that sauce for...I dunno....40 minutes? Until the meat was soft and everything smelled heavenly. Then it was served and paired with the Beet and Brussel Sprouts salad.

I liked the sauce with onions and tomatoes more than I liked the ribs...but I think that's account my pregnancy tastebuds still throwing off the taste of meat. One day...in five months or so...this will taste as good as it smelled.

Beet & Brussels Sprouts Salad

There are SO MANY ways to do a good meal-worthy salad. I personally believe that raw nutrients are better than cooked stuff...even if the calories and vitamin/minerals are reportedly the same whether cooked or raw. Being Asian, I still eat a lot of COOKED vegetables....but I'm exploring the raw side now. I'm used to eating raw spinach salad....but beets and brussel sprouts were always consumed cooked. After seeing a few recipes for eating these items raw, I came up with this salad to see how it goes:

Beets - peeled and cut into matchsticks
Brussels sprouts - sliced very thinly, like slaw
Apple - thin slices
Spinach
Pine nuts
 
Dressing:
Mustard
Garlic
Tahini
Apple cider vinegar
Maple syrup

The dressing was completely eye-balled and adjusted to taste....but I really really liked the dressing. And when tossed with the salad...I thought it was a very tasty, earthy, hearty salad. My husband mostly agrees...until he realized I used raw brussel sprouts. "No wonder!! Something tasted off. I don't like that earthy bitter taste." Well, to each their own. Maybe next time I'll blanche the sprouts first?

Yam Latkes and Egg with Tomato Salad

Sorry the lighting wasn't very good on this one. I saw something about sweet potato latkes in a magazine somewhere so I thought I'd give it a try. SUPER DELICIOUS...especially with a fried egg on top and when the yolk oozes over the crispy yam latke!!

Latke:
Shredded yellow yam
Eggs
Flour
Cumin
Paprika
Curry powder

Tomato Salad:
Regular tomatoes on the vine
Some kind of darker heirloom tomatoes
Yellow bell pepper
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Dried herbs
S&P to taste

Green Steak and Ham

A MEAT post!!! Finally! ...but no ham in this...I was just thinking about Dr Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham book.

My husband told me about a cilantro mint chutney that his coworker shared with him once. It's simply:
A bunch of fresh mint
A bunch of fresh cilantro
Thai chilies (as many or as little as you like....I would recommend at LEAST one)
A spoon of sugar

And then blend it to a saucy consistency.
We only have the Magic Bullet...and had trouble with the leaves sticking to the walls and not coming down. So we added about 1/3 cup of olive oil. It ended up being a thick paste. Keeps for a couple weeks in the fridge.

What's great about it, is that it can be used to marinate ANY meat. In this case, I used it on steak. I thinned out several spoons of the paste with some grapeseed oil since it was going into the BBQ. In hindsight, I should've only used grapeseed oil since olive oil burns in high tempuratures....like in the BBQ. Here I've got some rib steak marinating in the green goodness:




And after grilling to a beautiful medium rare, I took more chutney, added some lemon juice and minced garlic to make a chimichuri sauce for the steak. SO GOOD.



The sides are a quick Asian pickles and grilled cauliflour.

Pickles:
Cucumbers
Couple spoons of white vinegar (you're supposed to use rice vinegar)
Spoon of sugar
Minced garlic
Spoon or two of soy sauce
few drops of sesame oil

Grilled cauliflour was tossed in grapeseed oil, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.

Caprese Salad

I wasn't sure whether to post this since the idea is not original or inspired at all. ha ha. But here it is...one of the easiest and yummy salads to make.

Sliced tomatoes
Sliced fresh mozzarella
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Basil (fresh basil would've been WAY better)

Fennel Broccoli and Orange Salad

It's not quite Spring...but we wanted something fresh and summery to brighten all the gloominess of Winter. So...threw together a yummy salad to enjoy:

Fennel
Broccoli
Orange
Cilantro
Pine nuts

Dressing:
Olive Oil
Honey
Wine vinegar
Grainy mustard

Lamb shoulder steak

I didn't know there was such things as shoulder steaks...but then I saw some in the lamb section of the local Asian grocery...and it was cheaper than normal steaks so I gave them a try. A lot of recipes I looked at called for braising shoulder cuts, but since this steak was pretty thing, I just put a rub/marinade on and pan seared it.

Lamb shoulder steak
Balsamic vinegar
Garlic
Rosemary

And this was the side dish:
Spaghetti squash
Spinach
Shallots
Cumin
Garlic salt

The steak was quite tasty and not as chew as I feared it might be. The spaghetti squash was also quite nice. It'll make it onto the repeat roster. =)

Rosemary Lamb Chops

I love lamb....rack of lamp, lamb shank, lamb chops. This is a super simple marinade I used for a pack of chops we had:

Rosemary
Balsamic vinegar
Garlic
Caraway seeds
Olive Oil



Crowding seven chops onto a pan isn't the greatest idea. It traps moisture and kind of prevents the meat from searing very well to keep the juices in. I probably should've also used the cast iron pan instead...but was too lazy to have to also work with an oven mitt since the handle would get too hot on a gas range stove. But you can see a nice char on the chops. Yums!

Salmon Onion Quiche & Spaghetti Squash Salad

Meatless Monday! Well, we do have salmon in it, but that still counts as vegetarian right? Kind of? I was trying to use up leftovers and quiches are great to put them in.

Quiche:
Salmon
Onion
Leftover yellow zucchini
Eggs
Almond Milk

Crust:
Flour
Water
Olive Oil

Salad:
Spaghetti Squash
Tomatoes
Leftover yellow zucchini
Basil
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Pork Rib Stew & Braised Purple Cabbage

It's getting cold out...and as such, my mind is starting to think of hearty soups and stews. And cooked veggies. This recent experiment turned out decently though I think the pork rib stew flavors could be stronger.

Pork stew:
Pork riblets
Onion
Lime juice
Oregano
Sugar
Chili powder
Soy sauce
Ketchup

Braised Purple Cabbage:
Purple cabbage
Apple
Raisins
Honey
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt to taste

And the cooked cabbage turned out pretty decently too. My husband had gotten tired of the slaw over the summer so to change the texture I tried this. The apples add a nice sweet/tartness to the mix.

All the above was served with brown basmati rice mixed with red quinoa.

Veggie Quiche & Broccoli Salad

The Salmon & Swiss Chard quiche turned out so well I wanted to try again. This time with tomatoes replacing the salmon. A true Meatless Monday meal. Oh wait....I have eggs...

Quiche filling:
Onion
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes
Marble Cheese
Eggs
Almond Milk
S&P

I think I failed to mention last time that the eggs:milk ratio is 3 eggs: 1 cup of milk. I think the almond milk gives it an extra layer of depth in flavor....the magic for aromatic, fluffy goodness!

Broccoli salad:
Broccoli
Raisins
Pumpkin Seeds
Flax Seeds
Cilantro

Dressing:
Mayo
Mustard
Vinegar
Sugar

Blueberry Corn Salad

I think this is my new favorite summer salad...I'll take a picture the next time I make it.

BBQ'd corn niblets (after cutting the niblets off the cob, save it for sweetening soup stock!)
Blueberries
Arugula
Spinach
BBQ'd meat (steak, ribs, chicken, whatever)

(I would've loved some shredded mint or basil tossed in as well...but my basil plant is still tiny in its pot.)

Drizzle with this citrus-y lime vinaigrette goodness:
Lime juice
Olive Oil
Mustard
Sugar
Vinegar
Salt

The citrus dressing cuts through the rich smokey fats of the BBQ'd meat. The blueberries add a tangy sweetness. It's all very yummy.

Soy Lime Mackerel

Part of trying to eat healthier is also trying to eat more organic and sustainable products. Wild mackerel is one of those products. These smaller fishes grow fast and reach sexual maturity quickly, making them sustainable compared to, say, tuna....which also stores high levels of mercury in its flesh. Another bonus is how the mackerel is scale-less. I hate de-scaling fishes...but I love eating the skin! The darker layer of flesh right under the skin is supposed to be rich in omega oils too.
I trimmed off the head and tail, and filleted it so that it can be opened flat. I left the backbone in so that it wouldn't curl when I panfried it. Then I marinated the fish, skin-side up.

Marinade:
Soy Sauce
Sugar
Vinegar
(can also add chili flakes)

The mackerel was served over a bed of spinach and arugula leaves and the dressing for both the fish and salad was drizzled on top. I had leftover corn so the niblets were tossed into the salad as well.

Dressing:
Lime juice
Olive Oil
Sugar
Ginger root (finely chopped)
Soy Sauce

And it was good! Not fishy in taste at all. =)
Again, sorry no picture...ate it before I remembered.

Date Chicken and Napa Salad

My Hubby requested date honey glazed chicken for dinner last night. While thinking about what greens to pair that with, I saw a head of napa cabbage sitting in the fridge. It was too hot to eat steamed napa...which is usually how Asians eat it. (That or boiled in a broth for noodles.) Could it be a salad too I wondered...cabbage is cabbage isn't it? A quick search on Google confirmed napa salads do exist, though they were all eaten with raw, wax covered instant noodles and msg seasoning. No thanks. When I think of raw cabbage, I think of kimchi...so this napa salad will be kimchi inspired!

	Napa Salad: Napa cabbage Carrots Fish Sauce Sugar Garlic Olive Oil Vinegar Crushed Chili Powder
	Marinade for the pan seared chicken thighs: Cumin Black pepper Soy sauce Paprika Date honey (drizzled after pan searing)

(Hubby even had third helpings of the napa salad!)

Red Cabbage Slaw

I discovered my love for red cabbage slaw while on a trip to Israel recently. It's cool, crunchy, light and tastes like summer. There's so many different ways to do this slaw so you'll probably see several variations come through this blog. So yum! I unfortunately ate the whole thing before remembering to take a photo of it....so next time. Here's what went into it:

Half a red cabbage, slivered
Some fennel
One shallot
Handful of raisins
Cilantro

For the dressing:

Mayo
Honey Dijon mustard
Sugar
Salt & pepper
Lime juice
Some vinegar