Archive for ‘All Recipes’

« Older Entries  |  
November 13, 2011

Tuna Salad: Refocusing on Me and on This

Ok, it’s November and inevitably, I let myself get so carried away with other things that I’ve neglected this, my blog.  Work has taken over my life and turned me into a blob.

I don’t feel like going out.

I don’t feel like shopping (omg, if you know me, you know I love shopping).

I don’t feel like cooking (om-double-g, if you know me, you know that this is my all-time passion).

I don’t feel like blogging.

I don’t feel like working out.

I don’t feel like… anything.

I feel tired. 

I feel like a vegetable, let alone wanting to be one.

 

Luckily, my brain seems to still function somewhat when I’m vegetating.  And, an idea came one day while I was being a lazy bum.  It was time to change this blog.  Time to refocus and turn it into the thing I wanted from the start.  I really want to tell you what kind of food I love to make (which I have been) and how it has really played an important part of my daily workouts (which I have not been).  Given that I’m getting my body ready for a vacation, this is perfect timing.  I rushed home today in the afternoon from a coffee social to make lunch for Chris and I… something lean, clean, but still tasty.

 

Tuna Salad

Serves 2

2 cans of light, water packed tuna

2 tbsp liquid from tuna

¼ red onion, finely diced

¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped

1 tsp caraway seeds, lightly pounded in with a mortar and pestle

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Spinach leaves to taste

2 whole wheat pitas

 

Toss the onion, dill, caraway seeds together in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Drain the tuna and reserve the required amount of liquid.

Add the tuna, liquid and oil to the bowl.  Flake up the tuna and then mix everything gently until coated.  Taste and season again if needed.

Set each pita on a plate and layer with spinach leaves.  Divide the tuna evenly between the two pitas and serve.

“Did you drain this?” My husband inquired.  I think sometimes he might still prefer the standard mayo-laced blend.

“Yup, but I left some in.”  I replied, because what I love most about my tuna salads (because this isn’t the only one I make) is that I don’t use mayonnaise.  I prefer not to. 

Ironically, I have a vat of the fat-free stuff in my fridge that I rarely use unless if we’re having burgers.   There it sits though whilst I pilfer my stock of good oils and drizzle them with gladness over my food. 

This thought makes me smile.

Warning though, oils are still fats so watch your measurements.  This recipe could probably use 1 less measurement of oil, but I love my tuna salads moist enough to go down easy; the third measurement is sort of a bonus for flavour.  There’s nothing worse than having it taste like sawdust, which canned tuna usually does.  With some help though, canned tuna can be transformed into something bright and glistening.

 

So, I’m back.  I’m even back into the full swing of working out.  Work is getting under control and I’m returning to normal.  The unfortunate part is that I hurt myself recently.  I felt good exercising the last couple of days, overdid it and strained my back.  It’s sore and not cooperating.  I brazenly started my morning with the 10 Minute Trainer yoga workout.  It was a grunt workout (meaning, lots of grunting from back spasms between vinyasas).   By noon though, I decided that I wasn’t going to leave today with just a yoga workout. 

Yeah, I was still feeling good.

I threw in the 10 Minute Trainer 2 upper body workout and ended the day off feeling accomplished, biceps popping, face grinning. 

Posted in Fish, Lunch, Sandwiches | 4 Comments »

Tags: , ,
April 29, 2011

Tortilla Chips & Hummus

I am the Chip Queen.  I love crunchy stuff. 

And so does my belly. 

But the last time I had some potato chips I felt sick.  I dare not pick up another chip again.

This leaves me to be a bit creative to please my inner snack junkie, and my snack junkie’s partner in crime, the Cookie Monster.   After all, junkies need companions.

Baked Tortilla Chips & Hummus
Yields 6 – 8 servings 

8 flour tortillas
4 cups chickpeas, cooked or canned
4 scallions, trimmed and roughly chopped
3 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
¼ cup of fresh oregano, roughly chopped
¼ cup of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp caraway seeds
1 tsp paprika
¼ cup of olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Water 

Preheat the oven to 430F.  Cut the tortillas into small wedges with a knife or kitchen scissors.  Lay them out on a baking sheet.  In batches, bake for 6 minutes until crispy.  Remove from oven and let cool.  They will harden more as they cool.

Heat a non-stick skillet over high heat and toast the cumin, caraway and paprika until fragrant.  Set aside.

Blend the chickpeas, scallions, garlic, oregano, parsley, cumin, caraway, paprika and olive oil in a food processor.   Add salt and pepper to taste.  Process well by adding ¼ cup of cold water to help thin the mixture without adding more oil.  Adjust with salt and pepper.  Serve in a large dipping bowl with the tortilla chips on the side.

Chip Queen, out.

Posted in Appetizers, Eat Cheap, Snacks | 2 Comments »

Tags: , , ,
April 24, 2011

Steak & Lentil Salad

My barbeque has been sitting downstairs for eons now, all brand new, stainless steel, a lovely beast it is, grazing on my basement floor, in pieces, waiting for some love. 

So I have to turn to my trusty stove and oven to make a good steak, which is good, but not as good a charbroiled steak from a barbeque grill.  Calgary is known for their beef.  I know my beef.  There are steakhouses here that I skip in favour of the old boy’s club downtown that still grills steak in a glass enclosed barbeque showcase.  You just can’t beat the flavour.

At home though, I’m not that snobby.

Or, I try not to be. Or, more like, I can’t be.  At home, I have to make do with what I have and do well with it, hence my trusty stove and oven.  There’s a simple method to making a good steak at home without a grill or barbeque and that is a pan-fried steak.  You can choose to finish it off in the oven but I, like Chris tells me, like my cow still moving, somewhat.  The oven isn’t always needed.  Today’s entry is about a New York strip, seared over a hot pan accompanied with some nice bark, which is cause for you take a few bites of the strip of fat that usually gets discarded.

NOTE:  Murphy’s Law took over in the photography and for some reason, all but one photo turned out crisp and clear.  I solidly promise though that the one picture that survived is going to at least make you imagine. J

Steak & Lentil Salad
Yields 2 servings (extra for the lentil salad)

Steak
2 New York Strip steaks, 5 – 6 oz
2 cups of rapini, washed, trimmed and cut in half cross wise
Salt
Pepper
Sunflower oil

Lentil Salad (Adapted from this original recipe)
2 cups of cooked lentils (or canned)
4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp of mint, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, chopped
½ cup of sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
4 green onions, finely sliced
1 cup of light feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
Salt
Pepper

Pat steaks dry with paper towel.  Rub salt and pepper on both sides of the steak.  Set aside on a plate at room temperature.

In the meantime, make the lentil salad by whisking the oil and vinegar in a large bowl.  Season the dressing with salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust.  Add all ingredients except for the cheese.  Toss to coat.  Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper as needed (careful not to over salt the salad since the feta will be salty).  Set the salad aside to marinate at room temperature.

Heat a skillet over high heat.  Brush the steaks with sunflower oil on one side.  Once the skillet is hot sear the oiled side for 2 minutes.  While searing, brush the top side with oil as well.   After 2 minutes pass, flip the steaks to sear the other side for 2 minutes.  When finished, use a pair of tongs to sear the side fat until crispy (use the tongs to hold up the steaks one at a time).  Set the steaks on a cooling rack to rest.

NOTE:  If you want a medium to well done steak cook both sides for additional 2 – 3 minutes. 

Using the same pan, add a tablespoon of sunflower oil and sauté the rapini over high heat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken broth and simmer until the broth is completely absorbed by the rapini.  Saute the rapini until they are bright green and tender.  Remove the pan from the heat.

Plate half a cup of lentil salad sprinkled with 1 – 2 tablespoons of feta.  Place the warm steak on top of the salad and top with half of the rapini.

Posted in Beef, Dinner, Entrees, Salads, Side Dishes | 2 Comments »

Tags: , , ,
April 18, 2011

Sunny Lemon Pea & Parmesan Risotto

Monday is such an insolent day.  If each day of the week was a child Monday would be the runty rebellious one bent on proving a point in control.  I suppose that I let it get to me too easily sometimes, but my defense is that when a series of events occur out of my favour it will undoubtedly lead to some upturned lip.

To stop stewing about Monday I went for my second run of the year and knocked out some yoga afterwards.  I felt good.  It’s “Spring” in Calgary after all.  The crisp air is fresh with copious amounts of snow everywhere.  You can tell everyone, including me, has cabin fever because people have been trickling out of their homes more frequently to walk the dogs they rarely walked during the winter, cart the babies they rarely carted in the snow, stroll with their spouses that they rarely strolled with in the freezing weather.  Two weeks ago when I went for my first run of the year, I came home and not even 1 hour later, I spotted four other people jogging along the street next to my house.  Like minds.  I was pretty sure they were sick of being inside too.  Even the winter can give people cause for better health because of being cooped up for 4 months.   I know in the back of my mind, and yours, that good habits like that die hard and quick, but at least it gets people out.  I dedicate this one to the ever faithful sun, joyous to me in colour and beam, for motivating me ever more every day.

Sunny Lemon Pea & Parmesan Risotto
Yields 1 serving

1 large egg
½ cup of Arborio rice, uncooked
½ cup of frozen green peas
1 cup of rapini, washed and trimmed
1 tbsp of lemon zest
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 – 3 cups of chicken broth or water
Salt
Pepper
Parmigiano reggiano

NOTE:  Normally, hot broth or any kind of liquid is the key to making a fast risotto but don’t worry, we’re only cooking ½ cup of risotto for one.  It’s pretty quick, you just need to babysit it.

Heat the butter and 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Sprinkle salt into the butter and oil.  Stir in the rice and cook until the butter and oil is absorbed and the rice appears to be lightly browned.  Add ½ cup of broth and stir until the liquid is absorbed.  Keep adding more broth by ½ a cup each time it gets absorbed.  Continue to do this until the rice is cooked through and tender.  Turn the heat to medium low. Taste and add salt as needed. 

Add the peas and lemon zest to the risotto. Stir until the peas are cooked through.  Remove from heat and drizzle a bit more liquid into the risotto to keep it from settling and congealing.

Heat the last tablespoon of sunflower oil in a skillet over high heat.  Add the rapini.  Sprinkle salt over them to taste.  Sauté them until they are bright green and tender (about 2 – 3 minutes). Remove from heat.

Poach the egg.  Transfer the risotto to a deep soup bowl. Arrange the rapini over top and grate fresh parmigiano reggiano over the rapini and top with the poached egg.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the egg.  Break open the egg and enjoy the sun.

Posted in Dinner, Egg, Lunch | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , ,
« Older Entries  |  
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.