Perfect Pan Fried Salmon

I hate fish.  I hate fishing.  I hate cleaning fish.  I hate cooking fish.  I hate eating fish*.

There, I said it.  Pretty sure it is the only time my cooking ever disappointed Meme was on the topic of fish.  Also pretty much got to the point that Meme and the rest of the family was happy when I was out of town because they could then have fish.

Yet I still prepared fish, occasionally  because it is what my family wants, and that is food made of love - food made for others because of the love you have for them.  But I did it grudgingly - is that really food made of love?

Yet I still tried, at least occasionally.

So at Festival Food they had a big Atlantic Salmon sale.  Lots of fresh salmon (it actually did not smell like fish, so it might actually be reasonable fresh, or recently thawed at least).  So even though I hate salmon particularly, I bought it and made it.  I hate salmon so much I made myself something else to eat.

But I discovered something.  I liked this salmon.  I mean I really liked it.  It was great.  So what was the difference?

First off, I learned to what degree or temp to cook it to.  Basically, salmon should be cooked rare - yes, that's right, cook it rare - about 110 degrees in the center, 150 degrees at the edge.  Start with a medium high pan, turn it down to medium after you put the fish in.  Which leads to ...

Second, how to cook it - skin side down till it is about 110 in the center, then flip over and cook just to brown it slightly.  In fact you can turn the heat off when you flip the fish.  Basically you are cooking it through on one side, then just setting the fish on the other side. Use an instant temp thermometer.

Third, seasoning.  Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Sure you can do it a whole bunch of ways, but if you have good fish, that is all you need.  You don't even need lemon

Oh - and this way the skin gets crisp.  And tastes good

For all the gory details, go to The Food Lab.  However, this is the short version.

So the basic details are most salmon you get is horribly overcooked - and thus disgusting.  So a lot of places will highly season it - butter or soy sauce or other glop to cover the fact you screwed up the fish by cooking it well done.

Don't screw it up.

*I did not like eating fish outside of deep fried battered covered.  With tarter sauce on top and coleslaw and fries on the side.   Of course one could argue that is barely fish, but whatever.

Carrot Cake Muffins

Well, carrots are healthy right?  So Carrot Cake Muffins are healthy right?

Rrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhtttttttt

Well, perhaps not so much.

Picture is not the best - they really are more like the center one in color.  Of course after Marjorie got done putting the cream cheese frosting on, they were all white on top.

Creme cheese is dairy, right?  And dairy is healthy, right?

Rrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhtttttttt

Well, at least it was reduced fat creme cheese.  And of course sugar comes from corn.  And corn is healthy, right?

Rrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhtttttttt

Well, here they are with the creme cheese frosting - a little melty.

Anyway - Food made of Love from daughter #3, Marjorie

Pretty tasty - and she even went out to get me cofffee to go with them.

Recipe is from Smitten Kitchen.  No changes - but Mags made them.  Click on the link if you would like to make them also.

Red Lentils with Garlic and Onion

This is from Whole Foods (mostly) - what I like about this recipe is that instead of adding the onion to the lentils while cooking, your cook the lentils and garlic separately, then add at then end - it keeps the flavors distinct and stronger contrast to the mildness of the lentils.

Red Lentils cook faster than other lentils, and get soft and pulpy fast.  There is definitely no need to pre-soak them before using.


Ingredients

2 cups uncooked red lentils, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (or garam masala, or curry seasoning)
1 tomato, diced (peeled if you like)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced (or chopped fine)
12 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (or minced)
6 cups cooked brown rice

Recipe

Put lentils, turmeric, tomato and 4 cups water into a medium pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are very soft and pulpy, about 25 minutes. Add salt to lentils after cooking.  I leave them as is, but whole foods suggest you then purée in blender and set aside (or I suppose it could be boat motor time again).
While cooking lentils, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add onions and garlic and cook until golden brown, taking care not to burn them. You can also add some of the season to this mixture to cook into the onions and garlic - cumin would be fine here also.  Don't use more than 1 tps of seasoning.
Add onion mixture to lentils and stir well. Or serve lentils in bowls, then serve onion mix on top of lentils, allowing the individual to mix.

Serve hot, with brown rice on the side. Great as a meal itself, or great with grilled chicken also.


This is a fine dish with yellow lentils also

Rice and Beans - Southwest Style (a.k.a. Spanish or Mexican rice) - Vegetarian also!

Rice and Beans are a classic combination across the world.  Cuban, Puerto Rican, Cajun, and many others.

But as far as I can tell, you can't get "spanish" rice in Spain, nor do you get (typically) rice and refried beans in Mexico (unless you are a restaurant catering to gringos)

Yet I love Rice and Refried Beans.  The only problem is most places the beans are boring (and seemingly straight out of a can) and the rice is a frighting dish too often prepared with tomato soup.  Blech.

However, I am also cognizant of time - how can I get dinner made while fitting it in with everything else that has to get done.  And finally you have the whole rice issue - it's basically like eating sugar pills - simple carbs that add nothing of value (although yes, I understand they make a complete protein when served with beans)

So here is my Rice and Beans recipe - Mexican style - fast, nutritious and delicious.  Just don't pretend this is how it is done in Mexico.  Or Spain.

Ingredients

Cooked Brown Rice (You do make extra when you make other dishes, right?  Otherwise this dish takes way to long to make), 8 ounces cooked.  Basically 2 ounces per serving - no more.
1/2 onion, white, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs Chicken Taco Seasoning (from Penzeys), in 1/4 cup water
Peas - 16 ounces.  Frozen works great.
1 fresh tomato, diced (or 2 Roma)
1 Can, Vegetarian Refried Beans
1 tbs Rojo Taco Seasoning (Penzeys again).  Or cumin and cilantro if you don't like heat
Water
Cooking Spray or oil

Obviously you will have to adjust based on how many you are serving - the above is for 4 people.  You want at least 2 ounces of peas to 1 ounce of rice.

Recipe

Rice -

If using frozen peas, microwave about 1/2 the time on the package (your thawing them, not cooking at this time)
Heat non stick frying pan, spray with cooking spray or 1 tbs oil
Add onions - cook till just starting to brown
Add garlic, cook 2 minutes
Add rice and peas
Add Chicken Taco Seasoning that has been rehydrated as above
Cook 5 minutes.
Mix in diced tomato (your heating, not cooking the tomato)
If you turn off the heat but leave it in the pan it will hold for at least 5 minutes till your ready to serve.  Just cover with a clean dish towel

Beans -

Place beans in pan on stove, add 1/4 cup water and seasoning (either the Rojo or the cumin/cilantro).  Mix well
Heat for 5 minutes at medium heat.  Add 1/4 water (or broth) as needed to thin - the beans should be thin (think thick pancake batter), not watery or soupy

Serve next to each other, not mixed.  These are often served as a side dish, but there is no reason you could not serve this with a fresh salad dressed with guacamole and sour cream and it would be a great meal.  Or feel free to serve with carnitas or tinga or grilled chicken

Vegetable Bourguignon -

With an assist from Smitten Kitchen, my version of Vegetable Bourguignon

Boeuf Bouruignon (literally Beef Burgundy) is one of those dishes made of love by both of our parents.  It is a dish to fill the house with scents and to be treasured as one of those truly great meals.  I am sure Meme learned from her parents, and I know my mom and dad learned from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, as well as her show, The French Chef.

However, with half my family vegetarian and the other on a very restricted diet, it really is not a dish that we can have the way Julia made.  My version pumps up the vegetables, and cuts the pasta.  It is however still a great dish - one worth of family events made of love.

Ingredients


1 tablespoon olive oil
1 carrot, finely diced
2 stalks of celery, finely diced.
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon seasoning - thyme is traditional, but I often used Penzey's mixed Italian blend
2 tablespoons tomato paste (use the double strength in a tube stuff - don't open and waste a can of it)
1 cup full-bodied red wine  Burgundy is the traditional, but a pinot noir or a petite sirah should be ok or any other dry, full bodied red wine (that means no Apothic/Cupcake or other of these modern chocolate bombs)
1 can (or 2 cups) vegetable broth (or chicken or beef if you have no vegetarians for dinner)
1 tbs Bragg liquid aminos (help pump up the flavor)
1 lb bag of baby carrots
2 pounds of mushrooms, halved or quartered, depending on size.  Feel free to use white, brown, button, whatever you have - even use a combination.  Many recipes have you slice them, but I like them a little bigger so they have more bite, more like the Boeuf.
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (evil, I know.  But it is not much)
1 1/2 tablespoons butter (I know, evil. But as this is a meatless dish, I do not mind the limited amount of fat we are using)


Green Beans and little Red Potatoes to serve with.  No little sugar bombs (a.k.a. pasta)

Recipe

Get out the big Le Crueset pot.  Yes, the 7 quart or bigger version.  No messing around, you have a lot of food going in this.
Saute the finely diced onion, celery and carrots for 10-15 minutes, until they are soft.  Low-medium temp, not more than medium.
Add Garlic and thyme (or other spice) and saute for 2 minutes more
Add tomato paste and saute for another couple of minutes - you are turning the paste brown (it really does change the flavor).  Try not to burn it.
Add the wine, turn up the heat (medium high) and cook wine down 50% or so.
Add broth, aminos and baby carrots.  Cook at medium for 10 minutes
Add mushrooms.  Now the pot will look to full - and you will think, not enough liquid.  Yes, you have enough liquid.  Every couple of minutes stir the pot - the mushrooms will release moisture and "poof" all of a sudden you have enough liquid.
Cook for 20 minutes with the lid on on a medium to low medium heat - you want bubbles, but not a rolling boil
Start your potatoes
Cook for 20 minutes with the lid off (time to concentrate the liquid).
Start your green beans
Cut flour with butter (mix and mush together into a paste)
Add paste to bourguignon and cook for another five minutes.  The sauce will thicken and the flour taste will cook off

Serve

Scrambled Eggs - the Basics

Everyone knows how to scramble eggs, right?  Sure.  But it doesn't mean that you can't do it better.

America's Test Kitchen Blog has a decent start at instructions.

But they kind of cheat the info, trying to push you to their online cooking classes.  Which is fine.  However, here are my additions to their teaching

1)  Thou shalt use salt and pepper.  Or at least salt.  If you don't add a pinch of salt, they are not going to taste good.
2)  Thou shalt not use high heat.  Eggs will turn green after they hit 350 degrees - so never cook eggs on the stove or in the oven at that temp or higher.
3)  Thou shalt cook extra baked potatoes.   Left over baked potatoes are your friend.  You can fry them up with cooking spray in a teflon pan (no need for butter or oil), then you can cook them with the eggs in a frittata, on the side, or folded in at the end.
4)  Thou shalt eat eggs on your diet.  Eggs are great low fat protein, and their cholesterol risk is highly over rated.
5) Thou shalt not overcook eggs - you want them set, not hard.  Hard eggs are bad

Ingredients -Things to keep in the Kitchen - Always

You keep these things in the kitchen you can probably make just about 90% of anything you want to eat.  You may have to pick up a protein, but in general you will always have enough in the house to make a meal of love .

Fresh Things - Ginger, garlic, celery, carrots, onions, parmesan (NEVER pre-grated Kraft – whole only - it lasts a long time), green onions, curry paste (if you like curry), half n half, butter, ketchup, Dijon mustard

Frozen Things – bag of boneless chicken thighs, frozen shrimp, frozen peas, green beans

Chicken and or Vegie Stock

Knorr’s chicken base (for when you’re out of chicken stock)

Salt (table and Sea Salt)

Whole Black Pepper for your grinder

Flour (AP)

Sugar (white and brown)

Baking Soda

Cream of Tartar

Potatoes (Russets)

Rice (uncle bens, jasmine)

Beans (dry – pinto, red, black, navy)

Pasta (several types, straight and otherwise)

Taco Seasoning

Soy, Hoisen and Oyster Sauce

Vinegar – Rice, Red, Apple Cider, White.  Yes, you need all four.  And Balsamic can’t hurt either.  The stuff doesn’t go bad, so buy it all.  And don’t buy the cheapest stuff either, especially Balsamic.

Oil – Canola, Extra Virgin Olive.

Double strength tomato paste in a tube (refrigerate after opening, lasts forever)

Dry Sherry, Dry White Vermouth, Port.  Good for many recipes, doesn’t go bad, ever.

Spices – Cumin, Chili Powder, thyme, basil, oregano, bay leaves, parsley, sage, cinnamon, cocoa, vanilla, celery seed.  After that, go for turmeric, cayenne, dill weed, sweet paprika, fennel, whatever you like.

Hot Sauce - you need Tabasco and Siracha.  Even if you don't like hot food, you will be surprised at how much just a little will improve the flavor of many dishes.

Canned Goods – diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney, black, pinto and northern beans, corn, coconut milk, evaporated milk, tuna

Coffee (preferably Hippie Coffee)

Chocolate (well, you don’t need this, but for some reason it always ends up in the house, so you might as well put it on the list)

Peanut Stew (a.k.a. African Peanut Stew)

One of those dishes that you think it is crazy to even think about making, but once you have partaken, it becomes a regular in your rotation.  And everyone loves it.  Although I suppose someone with a peanut allergy might take offense.

Basic idea is that this is a vegetable stew, with peanuts and/or peanut butter. If you keep that in mind, you are free to add or drop ingredients as you have them or are available – don’t worry about having the “right” ingredients.  This is also easy to make vegan if you like.

Ingredients for the Stew

• 1 medium onion, diced 
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 2-6 garlic cloves, minced (adjust based on level of vampirism in neighborhood)
• 1 lb chicken thighs, diced
• 2  medium sweet potato, peeled diced
• 2  medium potatoes, diced
• 14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes with or without green chilies (or use fresh)
• 1 lb total of butternut squash or acorn squash or carrots or other root vegetable, diced
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup creamy (or chunky) peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon curry powder/sate powder/cumin – whatever your taste is or you have on hand – or more if you like
•   Salt and pepper
•  red pepper flakes – use some, but adjust based on your taste buds
•   2 cans (small, not the big honking ones) vegetable broth (or chicken).  

For the garnish – prepare and serve on the side for people to spice as they like

·         cilantro, chopped
·         green onions, chopped
·         jalapenos, fresh, chopped
·         lime quarters
·         unsalted dry roasted peanuts

Serve with Brown Rice

Recipe

Brown onion and celery (and chicken, is using).  Use 1 tbs olive oil

Add ginger, garlic, cook for two minutes

Add vegetables and garbanzo beans (what ever you are using) (but not peanut butter), broth, spices

Cook for about 30 minutes, or until root vegetables are soft

Add Peanut Butter – can use up to ½ cup

Cook for five minutes

Adjust seasonings

Serve over Rice

Roasted Tomatoes

End of summer, early fall is a great time for roasted tomatoes.   They make an easy, healthy and delicious way to make a pasta sauce.  They can also be made year round, although the flavor tends to be less spectacular.   If you are doing it outside of garden grown time, I recommend using only Roma tomatoes – they will have the best flavor available at your grocer.  Second after that are grape tomatoes – the little tiny ones.

Ingredients

Tomatoes – cut into pieces.  Half if grape tomatoes, quarters if Roma, eighths if larger tomatoes.  For a dryer, more roasted flavor, you need to seed and juice the tomatoes.  If you want a juicier sauce, don’t, but you will likely never get good carmalization.

Olive Oil

Seasoning (basil, Italian, oregano).  Dried works well.  If I have fresh, I usually add that to the final dish, not the roasting

Salt and Pepper

Sugar

Recipe

Turn oven to 450

Line baking sheet (jelly roll pan) with foil.  Use several pans if you need to – you want each tomato to not touch the others.  If there are too many to a pan, they will steam, not roast or caramelize.

All ingredients in pan(s).  I use 1tbs of oil and seasoning per 1lb of tomato, ½  tsp of salt, pepper and sugar for each 1lb of tomato.

Roast for 20-30 minutes, or desired doneness.  The more juice and seeds you remove from the tomatoes, the faster and better they will caramelize.  If you do not do this, it will take a long time for the liquid to evaporate and you may never get good carmalization.

These make a great pasta sauce – just toss into cooked pasta.  Or, eat them as a side dish, or as a dressing for fish or chicken.

Dad's Kitchen - Meals made of Love - The Appliance Edition

For your shopping convenience, a link to Amazon

My other list - Dad's Kitchen - Meals Made of Love Edition, has everything you truly need to cook. However, there are some appliances that, while not mandatory, do make cooking nicer in many ways.

I have never been disappointed with Kitchen Aid. If you have to choose between a KA and something else, go with the Kitchen Aid.

You don't need most appliances. You just don't. But I admit I love some.  Those that I do are on the list.

Easy Cassoulet - And Healthy!

Cassoulet is a classic french dish.  It is also, made traditionally, very high in fat.  It also takes a long time to cook.  Well, I need less fat and more time, so I came up with this recipe - Easy Cassoulet - Start to finish in 45 minutes.  No, it's not traditional.  Yes, it is good.  If Meme liked it, it's close enough.

It is also easy to make vegetarian - drop the meat.  You can add a couple of tsp of soy sauce or Braggs aminos.  Some whole mushrooms can add "meatiness" to it also.  You can also always cook the meat on the side and serve it that way, although the meat juices add a lot of flavor to the dish.

Ingredients

2 (or 3) cans northern beans, drained and rinsed.  If available, I like Randall's Beans - they come in a glass jar. 

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 celery rib, diced

1lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs – diced

Chicken sausage (left overs if you have them)

Low fat ham if no sausage, diced.  Can use Canadian bacon

1 tsp oregano and thyme (each)

1 Bay leaf

4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

1 can chicken broth/stock

½ cup white wine, if you have it.  White vermouth works also

2-3 cups fresh spinach, if you like.  Kale is also an option

Whole wheat garlic croutons (home made) – Toast bread, peal garlic clove, cut garlic clove in half.  Rub garlic over toast.  Cut into small pieces.

Either frozen veggie or salad on the side. 

Cooking instructions

Sauté onion, carrot, celery, chicken with 1 teaspoon oil.  When beginning to brown, add garlic and spices – cook an additional 2 minutes.  Add white wine, if using.  After wine cooks off some, add beans, sausage and chicken stock.  Add fresh spinach if you are using.  Cook for ½ hour.  Add ham/Canadian bacon about 15 minutes in.  

Make low fat garlic croutons (see above)

When done, toss garlic toast croutons over cassoulet, then serve.

Serve with veggies or salad.  A green salad with a vinaigrette is very nice - the acidity pairs well with the cassoulet.

Serve

Dad's "Rule of Thumb(s)" for Healthy Eating

1)  Limit processed carbohydrates - bread, pasta, rice.  To zero.  Use higher fiber alternatives - whole wheat/grain bread and pasta, brown rice, higher fiber alternatives like barley.

2) Protein is great - just limit the fat.  I don't worry about white or dark meat - it just has to have no skin and as much apparent fat trimmed as possible.  Eggs are great, Beans are awesome.  Tofu is ok, but hard to cook and really not that low in fat. Cheese - well, really hard to trim fat from cheese - plus most low/no fat cheese really tastes terrible and doesn't melt.

3) Fresh vegies and fruit are your friends - no limits.  This includes potatoes.  However, juice is terrible for you - it is not the same as fresh fruit/vegies.  Basically it's sugar water.

I try to construct meals with this formula - 1- 2 - 3.  For every one processed carb serving, the meal should have two proteins and four vegies/fruit.  Ok, so that is really more like 1 - 2 - 4.  And no meal should have more than 2 oz of processed carbs.

The final key item with this is sauces - it really does you no good if you eat a lot of vegetables but then serve it in a sauce that is high in fat or in sugar - or both!  But that is for another post....

Chicken Taco's with Black Beans

Taco's.  Wonderful taco's.  And again, they can be a super diet killer.  I love me some hard shell corn tortillas - wonderful little fat and sugar bombs.  Sorry - you don't get to eat them.  At least not very often.  Fortunately, there are plenty of high fiber tortilla options these days.  I don't worry two much about the fat content - I just look for what I like the taste of that has lots of fiber.  And then I don't eat more than 2.  One if they are really big.

Ingredient List

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced small

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced thin (not a huge fan of ground chicken)

1 green or red pepper, sliced thin

1 onion sliced thin

8 oz fresh mushrooms quartered or smaller

Chicken/Veg stock

Whole wheat taco’s

1 tomato, diced

Cumin, taco seasoning, adobe seasoning

Low or no fat sour cream (8 oz container)

Lettuce, sliced thin

No fat cheese slices

Salsa

Cooking instructions

Three basic things are happening  - cooking beans, cooking chicken/veg, cook tortillas.  Start the beans first, then move on to chicken/veg once the beans are underway, then do the tortillas when everything is done and keeping warm.

1)  Beans - Mix beans, sweet potato and a little water or chicken/veg stock.  If you like, you can put in ½ teaspoon of cumin or adobe seasoning (available from Penzeys).  Cook at medium heat until sweet potatoes are soft (about 20 minutes).  Lower temp and keep warm.  If watery, you can take some out and mash, then stir back in to thicken, or serve with a slotted spoon to drain excess liquid.  Or feel free to mash all of them into more of a re-fried bean.  But please don't fry them.  And not in lard, no matter how good they taste that way.

2) Meat – brown chicken, onions, peppers and mushrooms.  Do them separately.  Use cooking spray.  When all browned, toss in pan together, along with Taco Seasoning (one packet or 4 tsp of Penzey’s seasoning)  After about a minute, mix in water according to the taco seasoning instructions.  Keep at low temp to keep warm.  Of course you can keep chicken separate if you have some vegetarians at dinner.

3) Tortillas – heat over medium heat one at a time.  Takes about 20 seconds a side.  After heated, put in foil or clean towel to keep warm

When all three are done, serve with lettuce, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, cheese.

Veg options are varied.  You can use zucchini, eggplants, potatoes, sweet corn.  You can mix sweet corn in with the beans also.

Sausage and Spaghetti - Healthy Style

There are a number of dishes that are difficult to make in a healthy manner.  Sausage and Spaghetti is one of them.  Combine high fat sausages with high carb spaghetti - the perfect one-two punch to ruin your diet.

Yet, I grew up with it, and I don't want to live without it.   So with that in mind...my version.  

Caveat - adjust amounts for  numbers your feeding.  Below is for 4 people.  Or 2 with leftovers.

Ingredients

1 Onion, diced medium

1 med zucchini, diced medium

8 oz fresh mushroom, quartered if large, halved if small

Archer Farms (Target brand) Chicken and Spinach cooked sausage - leave whole or slice

1 jar spaghetti sauce (Bertolli) - try for something with limited fat and sugar.  If using no sugar sauce, be prepared to add some sugar or other sweetener - it is often to acid without

1 box Rozoni Smart Taste Pasta - 2 oz per person - or less!

1 bag frozen green beans

Cooking instructions

At the same time….do the following three things

1) Saute with 1 tsp oil - onion, zucchini, mushroom, sausage.  You can cook separately if you pan is not large enough - that has the added benefit of cooking them to their preferred doneness.  If you have vegetarians in the house do the sausage separately and serve on the side.  

2) Nuke green beans

3) Cook pasta (don’t over cook), drain

When all are cooked, mix all together in the pasta pot (after you drained out the pasta) with the jar of pasta sauce.   Heat and serve.  Serve with salad if you like.