Salmon Cakes

Man, is blogging a thing of the past?? I’m not sure how much longer it can last.

But in the meantime, if there is anyone out there, kudos for still reading this blog, and for making me feel like I can still continue with it! With limits, I think blogging is still fun and a fresh way to share ideas and perspectives. So let’s not quit quite yet. K?

I think we can blame the beautiful weather outside on my serious lack of consistency lately. Spring fever has hit us pretty hard this year and if we’re doing anything, it involves being outdoors OR rushing to complete whatever is still left to be done inside. You know.

But let's talk fish.

Leftover salmon leaves an infinite amount of solutions for subsequent meals. It can be easily transferred into fish tacos, thrown over a salad, made it into a ritzy little sandwich, formed into burgers, or whipped into fish cakes.

Oh, and might I suggest you do??

Cakes, that is. Salmon cakes. It’s like taking a mental culinary escape to Seattle or back east where fish cakes are more prevalent. They are healthy, flavorful, and excellent with any other sides you choose to serve along with it. They make an auspiciously impressive dinner for little elbow grease involved. It was some weeks ago, but I believe we had quinoa, and sweet potato fries with this dish. Oh, sweet potato fries are another story for another day. I am infatuated with the things. Yum.

Salmon Cakes

{Always in Season: Jr. League Recipes of Utah}

1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley

4 green onions

3 shallots

1 ½ cups bread crumbs ( I recommend using Panko-Japanese bread crumbs)

2 eggs

2 TBSP melted butter

2 TBSP mayo

1 TBSP prepared mustard (I used a ½ tsp of dried mustard in exchange)

2 tsp lemon juice

2 ½ cups (15 ounces), flaked, cooked salmon

Salt and pepper to taste

1 ½ cups bread crumbs

½ cup veggie oil

Combine the parsley, green onion, and shallot in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add 1 ½ cups bread crumbs, butter, mayo, mustard, and lemon juice. Pulse to mix well. Add the salmon and pulse until just mixed. Do not over mix. Season with salt and pepper.

Shape into 12 cakes. Put the other 1 ½ cup bread crumbs into a bowl. Cover each cake with bread crumbs and sauté in the oil in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown on both sides.

Garnish with herbs, capers, or lemon.

Tilapia with Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes

I'm going to make this short and sweet for all of us.

It's summer. It's finally warm, and pesto, grilled fish, and tomato-anything are really taking over my mind. The combination makes me feel like I'm on some kick-trash charming, and might I add, private beach residence on Cape Cod sipping snooty sparkling water. Never been there before yet this dish transports me there. This dish is the essence of simplicity-simple minds simple meals.

And ohh.... Cape Cod. Now that's somewhere to go.

Tilapia with Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes

2 fish fillets

2 Tbsp olive oil, separated

Salt and pepper

4 roma tomatoes, halved

Prepared pesto (homemade or store bought)

On a large jelly roll sheet, rub 1 Tbsp olive oil all over each side of each fish fillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss roma tomatoes with the other Tbsp of olive oil and season those as well. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake until tomatoes are slightly blackened on edges and the fish is flakey. Serve with pesto.

Baby!

Baby Finn is here!!

6/10/10

2:49 PM
Philadelphia, PA
8 lbs 8 oz

20 3/4 inches long

James Finn Miller made his big and grand debut into the world last Thursday afternoon after a short but crazy labor. I'd been having some icky contractions all last week prior to his birth that lasted anywhere between 3-4 hours per day for 4 days straight to no avail! Because they weren't falling into any regular or predictable patterns but my body was progressing, our midwife decided to put me on petocin Thursday morning to jump start things. Well, it certainly worked and within a few hours, he was here!

Both he and mommy are doing really well. I feel so much stronger and better than I did post-delivery with our first baby, and seeing that we have a wild toddler to chase around and care for too, I am very grateful!

Although a little sleepy, it's been so wonderful to have him out of belly and in our home. Though my brain continues to have daunting thoughts of how I'll ever make it outside again with a toddler and newborn, we wouldn't trade this little guy for the world. He's been a delight and joy and his big brother has started showing lots of (gulp) "gentle" (he tries to be soft and gentle, at least) affection towards Finn: the last day or two he's been obsessed with holding baby and wrapping his arms around baby's body. Cute.

Anyways, I won't bore you any longer, but we're happy.

And..speaking of fish, here is a new recipe for ya.

The night before we went into the hospital we decided to take advantage of the nice weather, so we "threw some shrimp on the barbay" and had ourselves a little outdoor picnic in the courtyard area of our apartment complex.

My palate was craving shrimp, really, really good, plump and large fresh shrimp with a light marinade.

I thumbed threw some of our "Everyday Food" magazines and nailed the one that tickled my tongue, so here's the recipe:

Orange and Thyme Grilled Shrimp

{Everyday Food, July 2008}

1 pound large shrimp (about 24), peeled and deveined, tails on

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest, plus 1 cup fresh orange juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grates

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

Coarse salt and ground pepper

In a shallow dish, combine shrimp, orange zest, orange juice, garlic, oil, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and teaspoon pepper; toss to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or up to 8 hours). Soak eight 8-inch wooden skewers in water 30 minutes before cooking.

Heat grill to medium; lightly oil grates. Thread shrimp onto skewers, and grill, turning once, until shrimp are opaque throughout, 3 to 4 minutes, brushing and basting shrimp with leftover marinade as they cook.

Serve warm. Yum Yum Yum.

We served the skewers with the following side dishes:

Cooked red potato cubes with a pesto/Greek yogurt mixture

Strawberries and avocados with a sweet Balsamic reduction

Peppers and cherry tomatoes

Tuna Pasta

I just love this picture of Hej' and my hubs, walking down paradise lane and if you notice, it doesn't have much to
do with food:)

Tuna fish has saved my sandwich life since I have given up on deli meats for the last couple of years after a few bad experiences. Stacks of tuna fish cans are some popular cupboard entries in this home, and besides sandwiches, I love to pair the stuff up with pasta and rice!

I mean, I'll eat tuna straight out of the can if that's what it takes. I like cheap tuna, I love the thick albacore tuna steaks, and I adore sushi made with fresh tuna. Give to me in any form!

With my husband in finals this week, I've had a few solo dinners just like he has at school and so with his absence, I discovered last night, a favorite, 5 minute, tuna-fish dinner concoction, which he, quite honestly, is probably thankful to have missed! It's kinda tuna-gravy inspired with the peas but then has shots of fresh cheese and some zingy lemon- my favorite all-natural flavor booster!

... and I know it sounds kinda ick, but if you are a fan of the stinky canned fish, throw your skepticism out the door and give this a shot. I don't do measurements well when I'm improvising, so please use your senses to judge how much of this and that you'd like to add.... Cheer o!

Tuna Penne Pasta with Black Pepper and Lemon

Handful of whole-wheat penne pasta
1 can white albacore tuna fish, drained
Freshly grated Parm. cheese
Cooked baby peas
Juice of 1 lemon
Breadcrumbs
1 small garlic clove, minced
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
Salt


Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 2 Tbsp or so of the pasta water. Add pasta water back into pan, as well as the drained pasta. Add the tuna fish, parm, garlic, cheese, peas, lemon juice, a sprinkling of bread crumbs, as much black pepper as you can handle, salt, and I think that's it. Give it all a good stir and eat for din-din.

Marvelous Maui and Two New Recipes

Trust me, I realize that the next few sentences will sound a lot like bragging instead of blogging...you'll have to forgive your author but I can't help this one.

I am a traditionalist who likes to stick to old rules and conventional wisdom and our Thanksgiving last week was everything out of the ordinary for me. Incredibly warm weather, sand stuck in our hair, turquoise ocean, nursing sunburns, pineapple galore, and virgin pina coladas... and I couldn't have loved it more!!! I will ditch everything that is traditional Thanksgiving fare to me from now on for a Maui holiday!

You see, my Thanksgivings are typically made up of cold weather, snow in my hair, white capped mountains, glowing white skin, sweet potato everywhere, and spiced holiday cider.

I have to applaud my mom though who did an outstanding Thanksgiving dinner despite the fact our condos weren't laced with all the wonderful appliances we're used to. Or the fact that we were on an island with ingredients that were hard to come by. Our turkeys were beautifully roasted, potatoes were exquisitely mashed, rolls were baked with love, stuffing was made from scratch, and all the other side dishes matched right up. Anyways, I'm still stuffed from it all. Home in Philadelphia again and stuffed still!

Speaking of Philadelphia, coming home from a vacation has never been so depressing and heartbreaking. I mean, I like Philly, c',mon , I do! Can't you hear me through cyberspace chanting, "I love PhillY! I love PHILLY!".

It's just that, well, Philly isn't quite Hawaii-like.I was hoping our taxi driver on the way home from the airport would at least greet us with fresh leis. Didn't happen.

So, in an effort to boost my sunken spirits, I took the liberty yesterday of purchasing a couple pineapples and it did the trick. I managed to consume an entire one by my lonesome with some assistance from Hejo and now my tongue has itty bitty cankers growing like wildfire.

I also made two recipes yesterday that were island-ese for me: spaghetti squash with grilled shrimp and grapefruit avocado salad. Both were simple, refreshing, and took me back to island paradise. I am lacking in one photo, excuse moi, but enjoy the other one and I highly recommend both recipes for your collection.

Grapefruit-Avocado Salad

3ruby red grapefruits, peeled, sectioned, and chopped
4 semi-ripe avocados, cubed
1 1/2 cups oil
2 cup white vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
3 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground mustard

From the oil down, mix all ingredients together in a blender. Pour over the chunks of grapefruit and avocado. Toss gently and chill. Serve cold.
*This recipe serves 12. I know, it's huge- I had to fourth mine and it served 2-3.. You might want to at least halve it so it doesn't all go to waste.



Grilled Shrimp on Spaghetti Squash
{Everyday Food, December 2009}

1 medium spaghetti sqash, halved lengthwise
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp EVOO
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Season shrimp with salt and pepper and toss with 1 tsp olive oil. Roast until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.

You can either roast the squash or boil it- I did the latter and let it cook in boiling water until it was tender and soft enough to shred.

Once the squash flesh is scraped out into a large bowl, add shrimp and any cooking juices. Toss with lemon juice, remaining olive oil, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Lunchtime: Tuna Salad and Soups

Oh dear me... I have so many recipes to post...

..but unfortunately, I've been a very neglectful photographer as of late and haven't snapped photos of not one recipe.

I'm feeling the shame...

Can you get by, though, if I don't post photographs?

Use your imagination?

Super.. I'll post a few then!


Tuna Salad

This recipe was passed onto me from my friend Cassi.... She's an amazing photographer and I wish she had one of her pictures of this salad because if you like Tuna, albeit stinky, it's really good, healthy, and filling. I like eating it with either lettuce leaves or a baguette. These measurements are approximate, and of course, you may add or subtract everything depending on your preferences. The ground mustard gives it zing, but don't add TOO much because it is very strong and you can't take the flavor away once you've added it, so sprinkle it incrementally until you have the perfect "zing".

2-4 cans Albacore White Tuna, drained
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup purple onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2-1 cup Craisins
1/2 cup pine nuts

1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2-1 tsp ground mustard seed
S & P

Mix everything together, let sit in fridge for a couple of hours, and enjoy!




Tomato Bisque
{Williams Sonoma Healthy Eating Cookbook}

This is one of my favorite tomato soup recipes. It's only downfall is that it contains no whipping cream (bisque=cream, am I crazy??) but I guess that wouldn't qualify it to be in a "healthy"-titled cookbook. And surprisingly, for as few ingredients as it calls for, the soup is full of flavor- the real recipe calls for sweet paprik and since I don't keep the stuff on hand, I used Herbs de Provence, a mixture of thyme, rosemary, lemon, etc and it was fabulous... My other real downfall, while we're being straight up, is that it makes so little--- it serves 4 at the MOST, and 4 scrawny portions at that. I'll give you the original recipe, but I REALLY urge you to double it because you'll want leftovers. Okie, ciao!


2 1/2 lbs Roma tomatoes, halved
2 Tbsp olive oil, seperated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
S & P
2 cups water
4 tsp sour cream, for garnish
2 tsp freshly chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Place halved tomatoes on a large cookie sheet, and drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil over all of them, and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20-30 minutes, until tomatoes are "bursting" and tender. Remove from oven, and meanwhile.....

...heat up remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pan. Add onion, and garlic, and cook for three minutes on high, stirring all the while. Decrease the heat to low and cook until the onion has released its juices and is tender. Add paprika, and add the tomatoes, as well as any juices that have collected on the pan.

Add water and bring everything to a rolling boil. Simmer on medium high for about 25 minutes until everything is nice and tender.

Working in small batches, puree this mixture in food processor or blender until it reaches your preferred consistency (I still like mine kinda chunky!). Taste, adjust salt and pepper as needed, and serve warm with garnishes.


Pumpkin Soup

Now, this recipe is dynamite. I barbarically licked my bowl clean like a cat and was enticed to ask for thirds, but at a lunch party, had to put the self - control brakes on. Many , many thanks to my friend Kelley for showing us this gem of a recipe: perfect for a brisk but sunny November day! Eat, drink and be merry with pumpkin soup!



1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 fresh bay leaf (or dry works fine too)
2 ribs celery with greens, finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion
S & P
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 tsp poultry seasoning or 2 tsp ground thyme
2 tsp. hot sauce, or to taste
6 c chicken stock
1 (28 oz) can pumpkin puree
2 c heavy cream
½ tsp nutmeg


Heat medium soup pot over med to medium high heat. Add oil and melt butter. Add bay, celery and onion. Season veggies with salt and pepper. Cook for about 7 min, until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce, to taste, then cook flour a minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate into broth. Simmer soup about 10 min to thicken and then add in cream and nutmeg----reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

Whips out 6 servings or so.

Tuna Basil Sandwich

{images found right here}

My little family and I spent the entire 12 hours of our waking time yesterday down in the DC area and being the cheapo that I am, we packed sandwiches and snacks and valiantly fought our way through traffic and construction.

I love when "leftover" produce turns out to be a blessing.

A red pepper, few leaves of basil, some onion, and jalapeno sat in my fridge waiting to rot to death after using them in another dish earlier this week.

So, trying to be as resourceful as possible, I opened a can of Albacore White Tuna, and started mixing in this leftover stuff. A little squeeze of lemon juice might've just topped it right off.....and even without, it was pretty darn good if I do say so myself.

So, here's how it went. More or less.

Tuna Basil Sandwich

2 cans Albacore White Tuna
3 Tbsp low fat mayo
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil
1/4 cup finely diced red pepper
1/4 cup finely diced white onion
1 Tbsp diced jalapeno, seeds discarded
Salt and pepper
Arugula
English cucumber, sliced thin
Ripe vine tomatoes
Dijon mustard
Goat cheese
4 slices multi-grain bread

In a bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. Toast bread and then lay flat on cutting board. Spread one side of bread with mustard, and the other with a little goat cheese. In no particular order, begin stacking one side of bread with arugula, cucumber, and tomatoes. On the other side, pile up a good spoonful or two of tuna mixture. Eat! and.. please brush teeth afterwards or chew some strong gum.

I'm Just Saying

So, as far as fish goes, I do have more tilapia recipes than anything else. I purchased quite a large frozen bag of it a couple months ago, so we've come to really appreciate and understand the tilap (my new abbreviation for Tilapia).

This recipe is easy, quick, and well, very very simple but we all need recipes like these for crazy days, agreed?

I don't quite remember what the exact measurements were (shame shame!!), but you know. Improvise.

Breaded Tilap with Aioli

2 fillets of tilap, thawed
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
Butter

1/2 cup mayo
2 cloves garlic
Lemon juice


Take fishies and dry off with paper towel. In one bowl, beat the egg. In another bowl, combine the two different bread crumbs. In a skillet over medium high heat, melt a bit of butter and pour a tsp or so of olive oil. Dip each fillet into egg first, then bread crumb mixture, and then put into pan of sizzling oil and butter. Repeat with second tilap fillet. Turn heat down in skillet to medium and cover. Cook on each side for 2 minutes or so.

While fish is cooking (multi-tasking people!) take mayo, garlic, and the juice of one lemon in a food processor-- process until smooth. Adjust garlic and lemon juice to desired taste. Add salt and pepper.

Use the aioli as a dipping sauce for fish.

Please brush your teeth well after wards.
Thank you.

A Partial Disclosure on Taco Love

These were an easy but deliberate and coordinated meal that I'd been looking forward to whipping up. Citrus flavors just go well with my taste buds and always hit the right spot, as I've reiterated a thousand times on this blog. I also have a thing for shrimp, but who doesn't? And finally, I'm big on anything Mexican, especially what falls under the taco umbrella: fish tacos, shrimp tacos, pulled pork tacos, roasted veggie tacos, you name it, I'm a total pushover for it.
So, there you go- the origin of this quick and easy recipe. Please excuse my approx. measurings below, as this is one of those recipes you can kinda just play with, adding a bit of this, adding a bit of that... you get it, right?



Citrus Shrimp Tacos with Cabbage

2 cups frozen shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails off, thawed and cooled
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayo
Lime zest (eyeball this)
Juice of one lime
Orange zest (eyeball this)
Juice of 1/2 an orange
2 Tbsp or so cilantro, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
Salt and pepper
2 cups shredded green cabbage
White corn, or white flour tortillas

Set thawed shrimp aside. In a large bowl, mix sour cream, mayo (again, these measurements are approx, so if you feel compelled to add more sour cream or more mayo, please do), orange and lime juices, orange and lime zests, minced jalapeno, cilantro, and salt and pepper. Add more juice from orange or lime if needed (it shouldn't be overwhelmingly limey or orangy, but should have that refreshing tint to it). Add shrimp and cabbage, stir until all combined. Refrigerate for an hour to let the flavors blend.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, spray Pam and "fry" your tortilla's until golden brown. Spoon in the shrimp and cabbage mixture. Serve with extra lime juice, cilantro, etc.

*I think we even stuffed some black beans into the bottom of the taco, with the shrimp mixture on top. Who knows? It was a few weeks ago. Anyhow, go nuts and enjoy.

Life is Just...

Grilled Tilapia with Cherry Salsa
{Everyday Food May/June 2008}

Unfortunately, I didn't have cilantro or jalapeno on hand when this was made, as you can well see the serious dearth of green in the salsa. So, if this was tasty without those two flavor powerhouses, imagine how much more spectacular this would be with some of it! Delicious!!!


1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound (2 cups) Bing cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Coarse salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon coriander
4 tilapia fillets – 4 to 6 ounces each

Heat grill to high; lightly oil grates. In a medium bowl, combine cherries, onion, cilantro, jalapeno and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Set salsa aside.

In a small bowl, stir together coriander, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Rub tilapia all over with oil; sprinkle with spice mixture.

Grill tilapia until opaque around the edges and underside loosens easily from grill, 2-3 minutes. Using a metal spatula with a thin blade, flip fish; continue to cook until opaque throughout about 2-3 minutes. Serve topped with salsa.

Dinner Yester Night

Spinach Custard w/ Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Gruyere Cheese & Garlic Bread Baguette with Shrimp and Herbs


{Custard}

16 oz package frozen spinach
Italian style bread crumbs
4-5 sun dried tomatoes (either in oil or vacuum packed), snipped into dices with scissors
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt, Pepper
Crushed red pepper
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1-2 tsp Dijon mustard

Preheat your oven to 350 D's. Defrost spinach and squeeze out all the excess moisture (why does defrosted spinach always smell like cows to me??). Take an 8 inch pie dish and spray with Pam or grease with butter. Dust bread crumbs all over the pie dish until it's covered. Set aside.

Heat oil in skillet over medium. Add onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic. Saute until garlic is fragrant, and all sun-dried tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Add spinach to this mixture. Let is sit over medium heat for just another minute or so, stirring all the while. Remove from heat. Make sure it's well seasoned. Add crushed red pepper if you fancy a little heat.

Measure out 1 cup of milk. Beat 3 eggs, and add to milk mixture. Add mustard, and stir this until it's all incorporated.

Pour spinach mixture into pie dish. Sprinkle Gruyere cheese all over the top and then pour the milk mixture all over the cheese top. Bake at 350 until cheese begins to bubble and brown up.

*I noticed, the custard tastes a bit better after it's sat at room temperature for an hour or so. Just a thought.

{Garlic bread}

1 French baguette or ciabatta loaf
1/2-2/3 cup minced flat-leaf parsley and/or basil/and/or mint (we used parsley and basil)
3 (or so) garlic cloves, finely finely minced
Olive oil
Freshly ground crack pepper
Dash of salt
Crushed Red Pepper
Shrimp

If using fresh shrimp, saute in skillet with olive oil, salt and pepper until pink. Remove from heat. If using frozen, thaw in microwave, then season, then set aside.

Slice bread in half, lengthwise. Brush olive oil all over the face of each slice. Rub in the herbs and garlic with your fingers. Put on sheet pan and stick in oven EITHER under 350 D's or under the broiler.

Once it's out of oven, place shrimp on top and sprinkle it all with crushed red pepper. Eat immediately.

Speaking of Mustard

*Honey-Mustard Salmon
If there's one recipe that echos my mom, it's this one. Many a Sunday meals have been prepared around this easy but tasty fish dish. Again, if you don't like dijon mustard, this might not be quite your thing:), but I'd give it a try anyways! This is VERY very dangerously good when cooked on the barby!


Salmon Fillets
Dijon mustard
Honey
Salt and Pepper
Fresh Thyme



If you're using Costco salmon fillets, thaw out in cold water for 30 minutes or so until fish is no longer frozen. Preheat oven to 350. Place each salmon fillet in a glass casserole dish. In a bowl, take equal parts mustard and honey and whisk together (if you want the sauce sweeter, add more honey, if you want it stronger, add more mustard). Spread a spoonful of sauce over each fillet and bake until fish is all the way cooked through. Sprinkle fresh thyme over cooked salmon and serve.

*Sorry, no measurements today! Just eyeball everything!

What to Do W/Leftover Salmon

Pasta Salad with Basil, Beans, and Salmon
We had indulged in grilled salmon the night previous and a few fillets remained in our fridge. I'm not big on leftovers older than a few days, so I was anxious to get the fishies out of town. With pasta in the pantry and some random veggies, I threw this thing together and it turned out to be edible! Hurray for that.



1/2 lb chiocciole pasta (or fusilli, penne, etc) cooked al dente and cooled
1 cup cooked peas
1/2 can of Great Northern White beans
1/2 purple onion, thinly sliced
Bunch of arugula
Handful of basil- cut into thin strips (also known as chiffionade)
Salmon, broken up into pieces
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
Splash of red wine vinegar
Sprinkle of ground Parm. Cheese
Salt and Pepper


Mix all together. Eat warm or cold.

Something like that:)

Simple Mahi- Mahi
Serves 4

My wonderful cook of a mother made this while I was in Salt Lake visiting from Philly, and it's very very tasty. A perfect summer dish!

4 fillets of Mahi-Mahi*
1 bottle soy-ginger dressing**
Cooking spray
Salt and Pepper
Fresh rosemary, garnish

If using the Costco frozen brand of Mahi-mahi, take out of freezer few hours prior to eating and allow the fish to defrost in a bowl of cool water, or defrost the night before in refrgierator. Preheat oven to 350 degree's. Place fish fillets in a glass dish and pour bottle of dressing all over. Bake until all the way cooked through (30-45 minutes), and when done, garnish with chopped rosemary, or sprigs.

*We used the Costco frozen kind- they come individually vacuum-packed and are a perfect portion size.
** We couldn't recall what brand of soy-ginger dressing was used, but just ensure that whatever bottled dressing you purchase has both ingredients- SOY GINGER in it. It's delicious!

Fresh Italian

Herbed-Pasta with Shrimp and Pine Nuts
{Serves 6-8}


1 lb fusilli pasta, or gobietti pasta, cooked al-dente
1 lb frozen, already cooked extra large shrimp
1/2-1 lb bag of frozen petitie peas
1 bunch basil, chopped*
1 whole lemon- juice and some zest*
3/4-1 cup extra virgin olive oil*
1 bunch fresh Italian parsley, chopped*
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 cup parm. cheese
Salt and pepper
Pine nuts


In a large pot of salted, boiling water, add pasta. Check pasta within 8-10 minutes, stirring often, to make sure it doesn't get soggy (you want the pasta to still have a tiny "bite" to it). Once it's there, add the bag of shrimp and peas (don't worry- these will thaw in a jiffy! No micorwaving necessary). Drain the pasta, shrimp, and peas in a colander.

Working quickly (you want to serve this dish immediately once the pasta has been drained and everything else has been added), add the remaining ingredients to your taste bud's delight- I happen to adore LOTS of garlic and fresh herbs (just check out whats in between my teeth post-eating:)). Toss with parm cheese (you may use the expensive grated kind or any generic stuff..),garnish with a handful of pine nuts, and serve.

*Approx measurements...