Kale & Roasted Corn Salad

Serves 4

Kale - the cardboard of the salad world. But marinating it in this dressing and using avocado help make it so delicious - not to mention healthy. It's our new favorite.

Ingredients

SALAD:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 - 15 ounce can whole kernel corn, drained well
• 2 ripe avocados, diced small
• 1 bag (12 ounces) chopped kale, chopped to make it even smaller
• 12 ounces cooked chicken, diced small
• 1/2 pound cooked bacon, diced

DRESSING:

• 4 ounces olive oil
• juice from 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Good pinch salt & pepper

Directions

1. Heat wok or non-stick pan until almost smoking, add oil & corn and cook until browned in spots - remove to a dish and let cool
2. Make dressing by combining oil, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon and salt & pepper - mix
3. Put Kale, corn, avocado, chicken and dressing in a large bowl and toss well - put in fridge about 30 minutes to let all the flavors come together (and to allow the 'cardboardiness' of the kale to subside). 
4. Mix in bacon and serve

View fullsize

Honey Walnut Shrimp

1 cup water

2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup walnut halves, and pretty ones at that

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon canned sweetened condensed milk

1 pound peeled & deveined shrimp

Kosher salt & coarsely ground black pepper

2 large eggs, beaten

1 cup cornstarch

Neutral oil for frying

Diced green onions for garnish

• Bring water & sugar to a boil in a small pot, add walnuts and boil 2 minutes, then drain and put on parchment

• Combine mayo, honey & condensed milk - set aside

• Heat about an inch of oil in a medium pot to 350 degrees

• Dry shrimp dry well with paper towels, season with salt and pepper.

• Put eggs in one large bowl, and cornstarch in another

• In batches of 6-8, dip shrimp first into the eggs, then into the cornstarch, being sure to coat well

• Shake off excess, put into the oil and cook until just golden, 3 to 4 minutes and remove to a paper towel covered plate to drain

• When done, toss with mayo mixture and plate, topped with green onion

Tuna & White Bean Salad

Serves 4 -6 (I think)

I like to make this and keep it in the fridge. Then when I need a snack, it's not only filling & delicious, but it's super healthy for you. Low in fat and calories but high in protein.

Ingredients

• 1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Juice of one lemon - about 3 tablespoons
• Good pinch Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
• One 12 ounce can solid white tuna
• One 15 ounce can white cannellini beans, drained & rinsed (you can easily substitute with garbanzo beans)
• 1/2 cup leeks, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup of chopped parsley

Directions

1. Make the dressing: combine olive oil, sesame oil, soy, lemon juice and salt & pepper - mix really well & set aside
2. Put tuna in a large bowl and break up
3. Add beans, leeks and parsley - mix carefully not to break the beans
4. Toss with some of the dressing and serve

View fullsize

---

Tuna Cakes with Lemon Salsa

Makes about twelve 2" cakes

Think crab cake - but with canned tuna. And before you dismiss them as crappy cuz it's canned tuna, maybe you should try them. Just a thought.

Ingredients

CAKES:

• 12 ounces canned tuna, drained
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
• Juice of half a lemon

LEMON SALSA:

• 3 lemons peeled, seeded and diced small
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup cucumber, peeled and diced small
• 1 red jalapeno, diced tiny
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
• Non-fat plain yogurt for serving

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine all ingredients for the tuna cakes
2. Shape into 12 cakes and cook in a medium hot pan wit olive oil until brown and crispy on both sides
3. While they cook, mix ingredients for salsa
4. Serve topped with a little yogurt and the salsa

Baked Fish Sticks

Serves 3-4

Ah yes...fish sticks. Always crispy and oh so delicious. And deep fried - but not this time. We lighten everything up by baking them and using non-fat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

Ingredients

• One pound cod (or your favorite white fish)
• 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup flour
• Kosher salt & pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 fat dill pickles, diced small
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Slice fish into finger-size pieces
3. Put flour, eggs and Panko crumbs into 3 separate wide, flat bowls
4. Season Panko with salt, pepper and dill
5. Put fish into flour bowl being sure it covers well and shake off any excess
6. Then into egg and finally into Panko (again covering well)
7. Place on lightly greased baking sheet and bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown
8. While they bake, combine yogurt, pickles, Worcestershire and lemon juice - mix well and set aside
9. Serve fish with tartar sauce

Tofu & Edamame Fried Rice

Serves 4

I could eat this all day long...and if you’re not a tofu fan, this is the time to become one.

Ingredients

• 1 pack Extra Firm Tofu
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 green onions, white & light green parts, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 cup frozen edamame beans
• 2 cups pre-cooked cold rice - fresh rice will make it mushy and gross, and you don't want that do you?
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame chili oil

Directions

1. Slice tofu horizontally into 2 pieces (so you now have 2 square blocks)
2. Place tofu blocks side by side on a triple layer of paper towels, with a triple layer on top
3. Place something heavy like a pot or pan on top and leave about 10 minutes to drain, then cut tofu into 1 inch cubes
4. Heat wok on high until almost smoking and add 1 tablespoon oil then tofu
5. Cook until browned evenly all around - about 5 minutes and remove
6. Add a little more oil and the garlic, ginger, green onions, red pepper and edamame
7. Cook, stirring often about 5 minutes until everything has softened
8. Add the rice, breaking it up with your fingers as it goes in
9. Add soy and sesame chili oil - mix well
10. Add tofu back in and mix gently so you don't bust up the tofu
11. Serve

Posole with Kale

Serves 4ish

Think vegetable soup - but better I think. Hominy is just giant softened kernels of corn. And don't forget the lime juice at the end - it makes it.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon, sliced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• One 29 ounce can hominy, drained
• 15 ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 7 ounce can diced green chilies
• 1/2 teaspoon each Mexican oregano & cumin
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups chopped kale
• Limes for garnish

Directions

1. Cook bacon until about 1/2 way done, remove most of the grease (leaving about 1 tablespoon) and add onion
2. Cook until softened, add garlic and cook another minute
3. Add everything else except salt, pepper & the lime and simmer over medium heat about 20 minutes
4. Season to taste with salt & pepper, ladle into a bowl and serve with lime squeezed on top

Sea Bass with Red Pepper Sauce

Serves 4

No time to cook? You could easily go from nothing to eating in about 10 with this recipe - and it's way delicious.

Ingredients

• 10 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, drained
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup chicken stock
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 4 Sea Bass fillets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Cilantro to garnish

Directions

1. Add peppers and garlic to blender, blend until smooth
2. Season with salt & pepper and add chicken stock until desired thickness
3. Put sauce in a small pot and warm over low heat
4. Lightly oil fish and season well with salt & pepper
5. Cook in a non-stick pan over medium/high heat until beautifully seared outside and cooked through inside
6. Serve by spooning warm sauce on a plate, adding fish and topping with a little cilantro

Seattle Salmon Skewers

Serves 4 people

Huge flavor but so damn simple. Skewers of seared salmon with an oh-so-delicious sauce of sweet chili, soy & lime juice.

Ingredients

• 2 lb fillet fatty Salmon, skin removed, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 cup sweet chili Sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 fresh lime, juiced
• 3 green onions, finely chopped fine
• Sesame seeds

Directions

1. Skewer 2 salmon cubes on each skewer, drizzle with oil and season with salt & pepper
2. Mix chili sauce, soy & lime juice - set aside
3. Heat grill pan to medium high and sear salmon about 2 minutes or until good grill marks – flip
4. Brush top with mixed well sauce and cook another minute or so
5. Serve on platter and drizzle over sauce and garnish with sprinkle of sesame seeds and green onions, and pour rest of sauce on side dish for dipping
6. Eat.

Grilled Halloumi Cheese Salad

Serves 2-4

Halloumi is a hearty Greek cheese you can pan fry, grill or broil. And it’s great in a salad, just watch.

Ingredients

• 2 hearts of Romaine lettuce, ends removed and roughly chopped

• 1 medium English cucumber, peeled and diced

• 2 tomatoes, diced

• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved

• 1/2 cup red onion, diced

• Salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

• 1/2 cup olive oil, plus a little extra for the halloumi

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 2 teaspoons oregano

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1 block Halloumi Cheese, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

Directions

1. Combine romaine, cucmber, tomatoes, olives and red onion in a bowl - toss to mix

2. Mix dressing ingredients and add to salad

3. Heat a skillet or cast iron pan on medium/high heat, lightly drizzle halloumi with a little olive oil and grill halloumi slices for 30-45 seconds on each side or just until brown

4. Lay the cheese on top of the salad and serve.

Scallops with Shiitake & Snow Peas

Serves 4

The title says it all so any more of a description would just make me sound like a pompous restaurant chef trying to showboat. Oh what the hell, let’s try it:

‘Hand caught local alabaster sea scallops served on a bed of forest shiitake mushrooms and Okinawan snow peas that have been delicately sautéed with fresh ginger, garlic and just a soupçon of aged tamari’

Damn I’m good.

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 big handfuls snow peas
• 10 shiitake mushroom, sliced (stems removed)
• fresh scallops
• 1 inch piece ginger, very finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons Soy sauce or aged tamari
• 1 teaspoon chili sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon Sesame seeds
• 1 green onion, chopped
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. You need 2 large skillets or woks, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in each
2. Sauté the snow peas in one and mushrooms in the other, stir regularly
3. After they have cooked for 6-8 minutes, add the snow peas to the mushroom pan, add the ginger and the garlic and stir for 1 minute
4. Throw in the soy sauce, cook for 2 minutes
5. Sit the scallops on paper towel to remove moisture, then coat them in 1 tablespoon of oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides
6. Heat the empty pan, until smoking hot, add the scallops cook for 2 minutes to sear on one side, then flip, brush on the chili sesame oil, cook for 2 minutes
7. Then serve the peas and mushroom and top with one scallop, and garnish with a sprinkle of green onion and sesame seeds

Kale Chips

Serves 2

Super healthy for you, not to mention super easy and quick to make.

Ingredients

• 15 kale leaves, stalks removed
• 1/4 teaspoon Chipotle Chili powder
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• big pinch Kosher Salt

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350
2. Wash the kale and remove any moisture with paper towels
3. Tear into roughly 4'' inch pieces (it doesn't matter up to you)
4. Throw everything in a bowl and toss leaves thoroughly coat everything
5. Spread them out over two greased baking sheets, arrange so no leaves are overlapping (otherwise they will not get crunchy)
6. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until edges are slightly brown
7. Serve and enjoy

Ginger Beef Stir Fry

Serves 2

A stir fry is one of my favorite things – because with only a few ingredients they’re easy & they’re quick. And when you add a ton of fresh ginger – they’re also fricking delicious. But heed my warning – making this with powdered ginger is not an acceptable alternative.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1lb lean steak, finely sliced, across the grain
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon chili sauce
• kosher salt and pepper
• 1 green onion, finely sliced
• 4 cups of cooked steam wgite rice

Directions

1. Heat a wok with the oil on medium heat add the celery and onions and cook for 5 minutes
2. Then add the ginger and garlic and cook for 5 more minutes, remove from the wok and put to one side
3. Don't wash the wok, put it back on high heat, throw in the beef - keep it moving and make sure they are not all stuck together, cook for 2 minutes or until the pink is just leaving the meat, then throw the veg back in the wok, right at the end of cooking
4. Stir in the soy and chili sauce, stir
5. Serve on top of steamed white rice and garnish with kosher salt, pepper and green onions.