To be honest, guys, I'm struggling with creativity these days. I feel like my creative "juices" are being used up as I start to get back into playing piano for the first time since college, work out, and (once again, I'm not doing this again) lose weight. Oh and I work. So less time for me! But I still like talking about what Peter and I are eating these days, and we ARE doing some things that I haven't talked about.
One of the things that I've been trying to perfect the last year or so are fish cakes. Peter ate these a lot during his upbringing (good call Mary Jane!) and, after he told me this, I decided to endeavor on them myself. These aren't so dissimilar from the lentil cakes that I made, but I want to showcase this more as a method than a set RECIPE. As a result, I've talked about a couple variations on the version that I'm making here afterwards. One of them I've done, one just sounds good to me. :) If someone ends up making them, please let me know how they turn out! Frankly, I'd love to hear about anything you make that I've written or inspired you to try. Onward!
Sorry, guys, but I wasn't able to get a picture. There are a couple
pretty ones, but my laptop isn't compatible with the camera's card!
Basic fish cakes
Serves 3 (hungry) or 4 (normal)
1 lb frozen fish filets (in this case I used flounder; cod or tilapia also work well)
2 medium russet potatoes, chopped
Water to cover potatoes
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon green goddess spice mix, or spices of your choice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp salt
cracked fresh pepper
1 tsp canola or peanut oil
Lemon wedges, for serving
Combine the potatoes and water in a pot over high heat; bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are fork-tended. RESERVE THE WATER and remove the potatoes to a medium-large bowl; mash. Submerge fish in reserved water, and simmer over medium heat until fish flakes. Remove from water and roughly chop. Combine fish, potatoes, and everything else except for the oil in the potato bowl, and mix thoroughly (I find using my hands to be the most effective method). Heat oil over medium-high heat in a heavy bottomed frying pan. Form the mixture into patties, and cook, turning over once, 2-3 minutes on each side or until there's a nice color on them. Remove, and serve with lemon wedges. We enjoyed them with steamed broccoli, though a salad is also delish!
Spice variations:
1tsp each sesame seeds and ground ginger
Serve with soy sauce and chili sauce combination
We've eaten this! Very tasty!
1 tsp each cumin, chili powder and garlic powder
Serve with sour cream and lime
YUM. Someone please try this!
Friday, November 22, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Winter is coming
I'm really TRYING to get back into this blog thing, but life is so
fast-paced as opposed to when I started it! And, in related news, I've
lost around 12 pounds in the last couple months, and am starting to get
it through my skull that I can't keep doing this lose weight-gain weight
cycle. I just need to eat sensibly and get my body moving. Yay for
life lessons!
After a few weeks of our usual stir fry, pasta, normal meals, I made something tonight that I'm actually pumped about. It's a take on the ultimate comfort in chilly weather, potato soup. Here's hoping you're not all tired of my soup recipes. I promise I'll venture out one of these days and talk about how I roast meat and whatnot.
Potato Soup with Homemade Croutons
Serves 4
1 lb (around 3 large) potatoes, cubed
3 cups chicken stock (or water and your stock powder of choice)
2 cups 1% milk
1 package chorizo-seasoned chicken sausage (I used AmyLu; there were four links in the package)
1 jalapeno pepper, diced (or, if you don't like spice, use half a bell pepper)
1.5 cups frozen broccoli florets
1/3 cup diced green onion
Cheddar cheese for garnish
Homemade croutons (recipe follows)
Combine the potatoes and stock in a heavy-bottomed pot, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and keep pot covered, cooking potatoes until they're very tender. Drain most of the stock from the potatoes, reserving around 1/2-1 cup. Mash potatoes to desired consistency in the pot. Side note: creamier potatoes make a thinner, but creamier soup, which Peter and I enjoyed since there were plenty of "chunks" besides potato in this!
Return potatoes to medium-low heat, and add the milk. Stir to combine, and add the sausage and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then add broccoli and green onio
n. Simmer for around 5 minutes, and serve topped with a sprinkle of cheese and a few croutons.
Homemade Croutons
3 slices of sourdough or other crusty bread, in thick slices (3/4 to 1 inch)
Olive oil to coat
Salt & pepper
Paprika
Preheat oven to 400. Cut the bread into crouton-sized cubes, and toss with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil, s&p, and paprika. Bake in preheated oven for around 15 minutes, and serve. You'll probably have croutons left over after the soup is gone, so use them for what you will. :)
After a few weeks of our usual stir fry, pasta, normal meals, I made something tonight that I'm actually pumped about. It's a take on the ultimate comfort in chilly weather, potato soup. Here's hoping you're not all tired of my soup recipes. I promise I'll venture out one of these days and talk about how I roast meat and whatnot.
Potato Soup with Homemade Croutons
Serves 4
1 lb (around 3 large) potatoes, cubed3 cups chicken stock (or water and your stock powder of choice)
2 cups 1% milk
1 package chorizo-seasoned chicken sausage (I used AmyLu; there were four links in the package)
1 jalapeno pepper, diced (or, if you don't like spice, use half a bell pepper)
1.5 cups frozen broccoli florets
1/3 cup diced green onion
Cheddar cheese for garnish
Homemade croutons (recipe follows)
Combine the potatoes and stock in a heavy-bottomed pot, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and keep pot covered, cooking potatoes until they're very tender. Drain most of the stock from the potatoes, reserving around 1/2-1 cup. Mash potatoes to desired consistency in the pot. Side note: creamier potatoes make a thinner, but creamier soup, which Peter and I enjoyed since there were plenty of "chunks" besides potato in this!
Return potatoes to medium-low heat, and add the milk. Stir to combine, and add the sausage and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then add broccoli and green onio
n. Simmer for around 5 minutes, and serve topped with a sprinkle of cheese and a few croutons.
Homemade Croutons
3 slices of sourdough or other crusty bread, in thick slices (3/4 to 1 inch)
Olive oil to coat
Salt & pepper
Paprika
Preheat oven to 400. Cut the bread into crouton-sized cubes, and toss with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil, s&p, and paprika. Bake in preheated oven for around 15 minutes, and serve. You'll probably have croutons left over after the soup is gone, so use them for what you will. :)
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
No judging!
Okay, people, I'm back. I know it's been, uh, a year, but I've honestly been pretty uninspired the last year or so. Between going back to work, the wedding (my name is Brune now! YAY!), and a crazy busy summer, I've done a lot of "interpreting recipes" but very little of making my own stuff up.
To be honest, I also dropped off the fitness wagon, especially after the wedding. But I'm back on the horse and signed back up at the gym today, and even swam a few laps! Part of it has to do with some issues I've had with my left ankle/leg and right knee, but that's no excuse to just not exercise at all and eat whatever I want whenever I want.
But I'm back! And I even got inspired and MADE UP supper tonight. The temperature was in the mid to upper nineties today, and with a broken a/c cooking wasn't happening and so I tossed together the best salad I've tasted in a long time.
Greek Shrimp Spinach Salad
1/2-2/3 lb. cooked peeled shrimp, thawed if frozen
1 lb. spinach leaves
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
3/4 cup white or red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Your favorite vinaigrette (For this, I used Newman's Own Greek Vinaigrette. No regrets there.)
This is pretty simple! Toss all the salad ingredients together; it should serve about 4 as a main course salad. Serve with the salad dressing; try not to dress it beforehand as that makes the salad soggy and not as tasty for lunch leftovers. Peter and I enjoyed this with a crisp, citrus-y white wine. Our regular go-to is Pomelo, but availability varies so much depending on where you live that I don't know what you drink!
Also, a hot-weather tip: Sparkling water. So good, especially the lime or lemon-flavored kind. Neither Peter nor I like pop very much, but are swigging this stuff like it's our job. Now carry on! How do YOU stay cool on hot days where you just don't want to cook?
To be honest, I also dropped off the fitness wagon, especially after the wedding. But I'm back on the horse and signed back up at the gym today, and even swam a few laps! Part of it has to do with some issues I've had with my left ankle/leg and right knee, but that's no excuse to just not exercise at all and eat whatever I want whenever I want.
But I'm back! And I even got inspired and MADE UP supper tonight. The temperature was in the mid to upper nineties today, and with a broken a/c cooking wasn't happening and so I tossed together the best salad I've tasted in a long time.
1/2-2/3 lb. cooked peeled shrimp, thawed if frozen
1 lb. spinach leaves
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
3/4 cup white or red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Your favorite vinaigrette (For this, I used Newman's Own Greek Vinaigrette. No regrets there.)
This is pretty simple! Toss all the salad ingredients together; it should serve about 4 as a main course salad. Serve with the salad dressing; try not to dress it beforehand as that makes the salad soggy and not as tasty for lunch leftovers. Peter and I enjoyed this with a crisp, citrus-y white wine. Our regular go-to is Pomelo, but availability varies so much depending on where you live that I don't know what you drink!
Also, a hot-weather tip: Sparkling water. So good, especially the lime or lemon-flavored kind. Neither Peter nor I like pop very much, but are swigging this stuff like it's our job. Now carry on! How do YOU stay cool on hot days where you just don't want to cook?
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