Smoked Salmon Pea Quinoa Pilaf

If there's ever been a theme to this blog beyond cooking, it's likely that of the one-pot dish. I grew up on meat and vegetables and enjoyed it. I like going from one side of my plate to another sampling different items. Maybe an interest in minimizing the clean up lead me in this direction. Or the ease of lunch packing, for that matter. Either way, I'm consistently drawn to a single dish as a meal.

Did I mention I'm all over seafood this month? I wish I was writing this post from Vancouver or Halifax, where the fish is as fresh as fresh can be. Ultimately this may be why I go for smoked salmon, as it's well preserved! This recipe has a preliminary step: the paleo mayonnaise. I hummed and hawed at the thought of making it. I had bought an aioli at a recent market trip and figured it would make an easy substitute. Instead, I made it. Having sweet potatoes on hand made me think it was worth the effort. It takes another 5 minutes and gives the salad a nice, garlicky infusion. Pack some gum if you're taking this to work!


From:http://thelittlegreenspoon.com
Serves 6

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 2 t stock seasoning (Knorr/Oxo)
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 100g smoked salmon, chopped
• 2 T dill, minced

Paleo Mayonnaise

• 1 egg
• 4 t lemon juice
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• pinch of salt

Dressing

• 4 T paleo mayonnaise
• 1 t dijon mustard
• juice of a lemon

Method

Boil two cups of water to a boil. Add the quinoa, stock seasoning, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove lid and fluff with a fork. Prepared peas either by boiling or microwaving them for about 3 minutes. Combine the salad ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

To prepare the mayonnaise, crack an egg in a blender and add the lemon juice. Blend on low for a few seconds to allow the two to mix. Combine the coconut and olive oil and while the blender is on low, slowly add the oils. This should take a few minutes and will allow the mixture to thicken. Once all the oil has been added, throw in the garlic and salt and blend another 20 seconds. The mayonnaise can be stored in the refrigerator, but will need to be brought back to room temperature before using as the coconut oil hardens with the cold temperature.

For the dressing, combine all ingredients and stir well. Pour in with the pilaf and toss well, allowing the dressing to coat all ingredients. Serve with sprigs of dill.

Prawn Saganaki

Yes, Alberta is indeed landlocked, but other parts of the world are in full seafood swing and I can't help but want a piece of the action. I have been stocking up on fish and prawns, eating what I can fresh and freezing the rest. Chances are there will be a few other seafood posts to follow.

Might have been the bread that sold me on this dish, or perhaps the fact that I already had shrimp and tomato paste and this recipe calls for both. There's something very satisfying about being able to use an entire can of tomato paste vs. the tablespoon you need for one recipe. Either way, this turned out to be a good decision. The acidic tomato and wine base simmered together with sweet prawns made for a lovely light dinner. I opted to buy naan bread and heat it on a grill before serving it to sop up the tomato sauce. French bread or another loaf of your choosing would work just as well. If you're fearful of bread try serving it over potatoes or rice. Remember to drink the leftover white with it!















From:https://closeencountersofthecookingkind.com

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1, 400ml can of diced tomatoes
• 1 t granulated sugar
• 1/2 red pepper flakes
• 350g raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 125g feta, crumbled
• handful of flat leaf parsley or cilantro to garnish

Method

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a cast iron pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion stir, cooking for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and let simmer for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and combine thoroughly with the garlic and onion. Pour in the wine and allow to simmer until the liquid has been reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, sugar and red pepper flakes and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and sprinkle the feta over the pan. Place in the oven and let bake for 10 minutes. Remove and sprinkle the parsley/cilantro over top.

Serve with plenty of bread to sop up the tomato sauce.

Seafood & Sweet Potato Pie

This would be one of the few adventures I've had that involves taking a recipe and turning it into my own creation. Chicken pot pie and shepherd's pie are at the top of my comfort food list so it was safe to assume a seafood pie would give me the warm and fuzzies too. What I didn't want was a lot of fat and little food value, so I upped the vegetable count and replaced some of the butter with yoghurt. In some cases I simply reduced the amount of butter overall. I'm pleased with the results, although I found my first attempt at it was a bit labour intensive.

There are four steps to this casserole: the sauce, the shrimp and veggie mix, the fish and the potatoes. Many pots were dirtied in this experiment, but that's where your dishwasher makes an appearance. Use it, readers. Use it.

It took me about an hour to assemble the pie, plus the baking time, so an hour-and-a-half from start to finish. In the big scheme of things, this isn't a long time, but if you've got hungry families to feed, it might be too long for you. I also find myself multitasking while cooking, so that hour included a load of laundry among other things. Anyways, it was worth it. Creamy comfort food, without any heaviness or guilt and loads of leftovers, which I can handle better than in previous months.







Adapted from: http://www.shrinkingsingle.com/

Serves 8-10

Ingredients 

• 350g white fish
• prawns thawed and tails removed
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 Anaheim pepper, chopped
• 1 onion; 1/2 diced and half cut into quarters
• 1 cup spinach leaves
• 1 large yam/sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped
• 2 T chopped cilantro or parsley
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T unsalted butter
• 2 T low fat yoghurt
• 1 litre of low fat milk
• juice of half a lemon
• 3 T butter
• 3 T flour
• 10 peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup shredded white cheddar
• salt and pepper throughout

Method

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9"X13" baking pan and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the yams and potato. Boil for ten minutes or until soft when poked with a fork. Drain the potatoes and add the unsalted butter and yoghurt. Blend with a hand held blender or potato ricer. Combine two tablespoons of the chopped parsley/cilantro and salt to taste into the mash and set aside.

In a frying pan heat the oil and add the pepper and diced onion, sautéing for one minute. Add the shrimp and stir until they lose their translucency; about 3 minutes. Add the peas and spinach and toss until the spinach begins to wilt. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

In a saucepan combine the milk, peppercorns, quartered onion, lemon juice and bay leaves and bring
to a boil. Reduce to simmer and add the fish, allowing to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the fish from the milk and set aside to cool. Once cooled, remove all the bones, pat dry and flake the fish.

In another saucepan, heat the 2 tablespoons of butter on medium heat and add the flour, stirring until combined. Pour the milk through a sieve into the saucepan to drain it of any remaining fish, bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce to simmer until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat.

Using the baking pan, begin by layering the bottom of the pan with the shrimp and vegetable mix. Add half of the sauce, follow with the fish and then with the remaining sauce. Top with the blended potato and cheddar cheese and bake the casserole in the oven, uncovered for about 20-30 minutes or until the top is browned.

Deliciously Easy Pad Thai

I'm really excited about this recipe and the results it produced after only one attempt. Over the years I've tried making a number of my favorite restaurant dishes and have had mixed success. This particular recipe however, produced restaurant-quality results. It's exciting to think that the next time I crave Pad Thai, I will have to debate whether to eat it at a nearby Thai restaurant or make it myself.

Asian noodle dishes, particularly Vietnamese and Thai, have been this mythical creature I can sort of mimic, but can't quite figure out. While the recipes are straight forward, it's the rice noodles that trip me up the most. I've had really poor luck getting noodles to the consistency I've had in restaurants. I think I treat them much like I would egg noodles, which just doesn't work for the rice variety. This recipe I used gives some basic tips for getting your noodles right and I managed to nail it the first time. From start to finish, it took me 40 minutes to prepare. It's a pretty straight forward one pot dish and all things considered, inexpensive to make. While you can swap out tamarind paste for vinegar, if you have access to an Asian market, I'd make the effort to get the paste. The original recipe calls for a banana flower and preserved turnip. I actually did go looking for these items but not surprisingly, couldn't find them in Edmonton, Alberta. I omitted them from my own version of this recipe as a result.









Adapted from: http://www.thaitable.com/

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 T vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup peanuts or cashews
• 2 shallots, minced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 red chilis, minced
• 1 package extra firm tofu, patted dry
• 1 package (454g) Thai rice noodles
• 12 t fish sauce
• 4 T sugar
• 6 T tamarind paste
• 3 cups bean sprouts
• 1 cup chives
• 1 package frozen shrimp, thawed (454g)
• 2 eggs
• 2 limes 

Method

To start, soak the noodles in a pot of lukewarm water while you prepare the other ingredients.  Make sure the noodles are completely submerged in water. Mince the garlic, chilis and shallots together and set aside. Cut the tofu and chives into matchstick-size pieces and set aside in separate bowls. Mix the sugar, fish sauce and tamarind past in a bowl and set aside. Rinse the bean sprouts and shell the shrimp for later use.

Heat the oil on medium in a wok or large saucepan (I don't have a wok, so I used a large pot). Add the nuts, tossing well to coat with the oil. Once slightly browned, add the shallots, chilis and garlic, sautéing for about 3 minutes. Brown the tofu pieces over the course of 5-10 minutes. Drain and add the noodles tossing well to blend well with all the other ingredients. Test the noodles to ensure they are a soft, but firm consistency. If you prefer them softer at this point, add a little water to the pot. Add the sauce and again, toss well to coat with all the ingredients. Push the noodles to one side of the pot and crack the eggs into the remaining space. Let the eggs fry for about 1 minute and then blend them in with the noodle mixture. Add the shrimp and continue to toss the noodles until the shrimp have lost their translucency. Add two thirds of the sprouts and chives, combining them well with the noodles and set aside for 2 minutes. Serve the dish with lime wedges and top each serving with the remaining fresh chives and sprouts.

Cioppini (Seafood Soup)

This is one of those delectable meals that must include soaking your crusty French bread in the seafood and wine-rich broth before eating it. I ended up buying smoked oysters too while looking for the right seafood to add to this soup. I chose instead to eat them as a starter with wedges of Cambezola and crackers. Soooo rich! 

If you are a seafood lover, this simple combination of flavours is a classic and adored by many. I chose the recipe because it filled my need for mussels, soup and a very brief set of instructions for its preparation. 

Adapted from: http://pixfiz.blogspot.ca

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 3 T salted butter
• 2 onions, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1, 28 oz tin chopped stewed tomatoes
• 4 cups water
• 3 T chicken bouillon powder
• 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 T dried basil
• 1/2 t thyme
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1 cup clam juice
• 1 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/2 lbs cod fillets, cubed
• 18 mussels cleaned and debearded
• 1 1/2 crab meat

*Clams, scallops and other seafood can be added or swapped for what I included above.



Method

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onions and garlic, coating them well and letting them cook on medium heat until transparent. Add all the remaining ingredients to the saucepan except the seafood. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Increase the heat and add the seafood, bringing the soup to a boil, before reducing it again and simmering for 5-7 minutes.

Serve with a crusty loaf of French bread and a green salad of your choosing.

Lighter Fare Part 2

I thought this idea for a salad was magic: a California roll in salad form. I love sushi, but I get enough carbohydrates in my day as it is without adding the substantial amount of white rice that it provides. The sushi salad is a good alternative and also another quickie meal as any salad should be. If your salad is taking longer to prepare than your entree, you have a high maintenance salad. 

Sushi Salad

Adapted from: http://www.abeautifulmess.com

Serves 4-6

Salad

• Head of romaine lettuce, 
• Package of 6 crab sticks (real or fairy tale)
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 2 T toasted sesame seeds
• 4 sheets dried seaweed, torn into bit size pieces.

Dressing

• 2 T mayonnaise
• 2 T low fat yoghurt
• 2 t wasabi
• 2 t sriracha sauce
• Juice of a lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

For the dressing, combine all ingredients, whisking well to ensure all elements blend together. Set the dressing aside.
Wash, dry and tear the lettuce into bite size pieces. Tear the seaweed into smaller pieces and add to the lettuce. Cut the crab sticks in half horizontally and shred the meat with your fingers. Add the crab, avocado and sesame seeds to the lettuce and seaweed.  Add about two thirds of the dressing to the salad and toss it well. Add more dressing if desired.

Couscous with Shrimp, Cilantro, Corn & Avocado

Perhaps it was my August hiatus that sparked a need in me to cook all freakin' week. While most of the week's recipes have already made it to the blog, this little gem has not. The original recipe was meatless, but I had some shrimp in the freezer that were calling so I threw them in. Remember to seed the serrano pepper if heat isn't your thing. Otherwise, enjoy!

Adapted From: https://missiondelectable.wordpress.com

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 3 cups of couscous uncooked
• 4 cups water
• 1 serrano pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 limes
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 avocado, diced
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 4 ears of corn

Method

To cook the couscous, bring the water to a boil. Add the couscous, cover and remove from heat. Meanwhile, in a large pan, toss the cashews on medium heat until golden. Set aside and when cool, chop into smaller pieces.

Toss the avocado into a bowl with the juice of one lime, mixing well and season with salt and pepper.

In a blender or food processor add the pepper, cilantro and juice from one lime. Blend until everything is well mixed and then add the olive oil and process until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Heat a couple splashes of olive oil in the same pan used for the cashews. Coat the pan with olive oil and add the garlic and saute for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the corn kernels and cook together for about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and toss with the cilantro-pepper sauce. Add the vegetables to the couscous, mixing well. Portion into bowls and top with avocado and a little cilantro if you have it.

Char Kuey Tiao

Malaysian goop....goooood goop.

That's what I said: Char Kuey Tiao. This dish is otherwise known as Penang fried noodles and while my version looks like a little turd-like, it tastes like a symphony of seafood and spices.

I've had Char Kuey Tiao while in Malaysia (and out of it) and was craving that noodley, seafood stirfry once more. I doubled up on the seafood, but I don't think it caused any harm to the dish. My challenge next time is to get the noodles fried in such a way that they don't combine into a noodle goop. This did...I overcooked the noodles, making them starchier than anticipated and very sticky. I also veered off the authentic path a little and added veg to the dish (carrots, to be precise). Peas would be lovely in this too. I know it becomes a little less authentic, but I'm looking at noodle goop here as I make my decision. Authentic disappeared ages ago.

Adapted from: http://mykitch3n.blogspot.ca

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 250 g flat rice noodles, cooked according to package instructions
• 16 shelled, raw prawns
• large handful of clams
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sprouts (your choice)
• 1 carrot, finely shredded
• 5-6 chive stalks
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 T cooking oil
• 2 T chili paste
• 2 t sugar

Seasoning

• 1 t fish sauce
• 1 t soy sauce
• 1 t oyster sauce

Method

In a pan on high heat, add garlic and oil and let cook for a few seconds. Mix in the chili paste and sugar and let cook for another few seconds. Add prawns and clams, stirring well and let cook for about thirty seconds. If either of your seafood choices are already cooked, add them to the pan a little later, when you add the eggs. Add the cooked noodles and seasoning, tossing well. Stir in the eggs and let sit for a few seconds. Add the sprouts, carrot and finally the chives, mixing with the rest of the components.  

Spoon onto individual plates and serve. Goop is good!

Bring on the Salads!

Warm Shrimp & Edamame Bean Salad

Chatelaine was always my mom's magazine. I remember seeing it in the kitchen on many occasions with the pages folded in several directions to bookmark articles and recipes. This year, I received a gift subscription and have been pleasantly surprised with it. Local fashion content means I can get to the clothes on display and the recipes are varied and delicious. I found a month's worth of salad recipes via Chatelaine online and immediately perked up. I love, love, love bringing salads for lunch, so this in essence became a lunch guide for Liv. Only tried two so far, but if you get a chance to sample others, let me know how they turn out!

Warm Shrimp & Edamame Bean Salad

Adapted from: http://food.chatelaine.com

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g frozen, shelled edamame beans (Superstore and T&T Supermarket had these in stock)
• 340g or 1lb or frozen, peeled, uncooked shrimp
• 2 large lemons
• 2 t honey
• 3 T olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh, chopped dill
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Mix honey, dill, onion, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and several generous pinches of salt and ground pepper in a large bowl. Mix well and set aside. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the edamame beans and a little salt and let boil for 4-5 minutes. The beans should be tender, but not disintegrating when done.

Lightly coat a frying pan with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the shrimp, chopped pepper and garlic and let simmer for approximately 3 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink. Add the shrimp mix and beans to the vinaigrette bowl and toss well. Serve warm.

Super-Fast Antipasto Salad

Super-Fast Antipasto Salad

Serves 4

From: http://food.chatelaine.com

Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 1/2 t dried oregano
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 8 slices of salami, chopped (about 56 g)
• 1, 540 ml tin of chick peas
• 1/3 cup kalamata olives sliced in halves
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped or two roasted red peppers chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped chives or mint
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

To make the vinaigrette, combine the juice of a lemon with the olive oil and oregano. Add generous pinches of salt and pepper and mix well. Toss chick peas into dressing and mix well. Combine remaining ingredients into bowl and serve. If making ahead, combine all ingredients except the spinach and add spinach when ready to serve.

Shrimp & Tofu Pad Thai

I just keep going back to Asian food. The appeal of the one-pot dish is universal, but the Asian dish just draws me in. Perhaps that, and an aversion to making the same dish twice. I have been to Thailand and sampled a few variations of Pad Thai, but I can't say that I was sold on it at the time. Must have been over time that I began to appreciate the combination of flavours. This particular one is a goodie and an easy dish to prepare all elements of in advance. I did just that and then passed the torch on to Ruedi who cleverly assembled the ingredients in a frying pan. The bean sprouts should have been added with the other vegetables, but got forgotten and were eventually added fresh to our serving bowls. Honestly, I'm not sure whether that was a mistake or pure genius. They added a crunchiness to the dish that was lovely.

While most of the ingredients in this dish can be bought at your local grocer, tamarind paste is a little tricky to source. If you can't find any, some sources claim that Worchestershire or HP sauce may work in a pinch. I would suggest buying a pad thai sauce and supplementing any absent flavours. So for example, the sauce we found included tamarind, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar. Adding half the lime juice and the fish sauce would round out this sauce quite nicely.

Adapted from: http://www.sweetsugarbean.com

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 8 oz package of wide, flat rice noodles
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from about 3-4 limes, plus one whole lime for garnish)
• 1 T tamarind paste 
• 4 T soy sauce
• 4 T fish sauce 
• 1-2 T Sriracha or other hot spicy chili garlic sauce you like. Adjust heat accordingly!
• 2 T brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 package (14 ounces) firm or extra firm tofu, drained, thinly sliced and patted dry
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 green onions, thinly sliced (save some for garnishing plates in the end)
• coarse salt
• 12 -14 large shrimp, raw, deveined and peeled 
• 4 T roasted, salted peanuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Method

In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, soy and fish sauce, Sriracha and brown sugar.  Set aside.  In a large non-stick skillet or wok, heat 1 tsp canola oil over med-high heat, tilting to coat the pan.  Add egg and swirl to coat bottom, and cook just until set, about 1 minute.  Transfer egg to cutting board and slice into thin strips.  Set aside.  Add 4 tsp of canola oil to wok and add tofu in a single layer.  Brown on both sides, about 7 minutes.  Transfer to bowl and set aside.  At this point, pour boiling water over your rice noodles, and let stand about 8 minutes until soft.  Drain.
Add 2 tbsp oil to wok and cook the carrots, sprouts, garlic, green onion until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the lime juice mixture and bring to a simmer.  Add the shrimp, cook until shrimp pink, about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add egg and tofu and cooked noodles.  Toss gently until all is warmed through.  Season to taste with more salt, Sriracha, if needed.  Divide among  plates and garnish with lime wedges, peanuts, cilantro and more green onions.  

Crab Salad Rolls

There is something about chef Michael Smith's haircut that just doesn't jive. I was watching his show Chef at Home at the gym and this hairdo he had going on seemed to overshadow his fabulousness. Didn't help that Pearl Jam's Eddie Veder kept appearing on an adjacent screen with his yummy tousled curls falling all over his face. I still managed to drool over Smith's  parchment paper-baked fish and tuna salad rice paper wrap creations. Only, I wanted something a little different. 

I doubt imitation crab has ever been chic, but if I was serving real crab in a prairie city such as Edmonton, I would be serving it for a special occasion. It is pricey! This isn't that occasion. I needed lunch food and a Vietnamese-style wrap sounded like the perfect item. Instead of a typical wrap filling, I opted for the crab salad recipe below. Awesome! Light, delicious and I wasn't tired of it after three days. 

Adapted From: http://www.skinnytaste.com/

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 medium avocado chopped
• 2 cups chopped imitation crab 
• 2 T chopped red onion
• 2 T capers
• 1 lime, juice of
• 2 T chopped cilantro
• 1 t olive oil
• salt and pepper
• rice paper sheets

Method

In a medium bowl, combine onion, lime juice, olive oil, capers, cilantro salt and pepper. Add crab meat and toss well.

Dip the rice sheets in warm water to soften (follow package instructions and take advantage of this useful tutorial on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfI1wMeDXhg&feature=fvwrel). 

Drop a few tablespoons worth of the crab salad into the centre. Fold the edges into the centre of the wrap and roll the paper into a tube-like creation. Seriously, just watch the tutorial.

Tuscan White Beans with Spinach, Shrimp & Feta

Heavy meal, light meal, heavy meal, light meal. I don't post everything I cook, so the cycle may not be as obvious on this blog, but I have a tendency to make a heavy meal and follow it with a light meal. This isn't any astounding observation, just a little build-up to my dinner menu for this evening. Ta-da!!

From: http://www.skinnytaste.com

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (weight after peeled)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp chopped fresh sage
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup low sodium, fat-free chicken broth
• 15 oz can cannellini beans rinsed and drained 
• 5 cups baby spinach
• 1 1/2 oz crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

Method

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook shrimp until just opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Heat remaining oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat and add onion, garlic and sage; cook 4 minutes stirring occasionally until golden. Stir in vinegar and cook 30 seconds.

Remove from heat and stir in shrimp. Top with feta cheese and divide in 4 bowls.

Scallops with Celeriac Puree

This is definitely a party menu item. It wows in terms of presentation and tempts foodies to dream of the next course. My mother-in-law sent us a box of fresh produce from her neck of the woods over the holidays and one of the items was a celeriac bulb. Having had no experience with celeriac I immediately went to Tastespotting to peruse all celeriac-related pics. This was definitely my favorite and gave me another reason to whip out my new food processor. I made this as a starter, but the original recipe suggest serving three scallops on each dish if you are using this as an entree. Enjoy!

Adapted From: http://www.juliegoodwin.com.au

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized celeriac bulb, peeled and grated or processed into small pieces
• 1 cup milk
• 50g butter
• Salt
• 100g smoked bacon
• 12 scallops
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

Method

Into a medium saucepan over medium heat, place the celeriac and add enough milk to cover. Simmer for around 10 minutes or until tender enough to squash between your fingers. 

Add half the butter and a pinch of salt and puree to a smooth consistency. Taste and add more salt if required. Keep warm.

In a non-stick fry pan over medium-high heat, sauté the bacon until the fat is rendered and it is crispy and golden. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel. Wipe some of the fat out of the pan, but leave a couple of tablespoonfuls in.

To the bacon fat add a little butter. When the butter is foaming and starting to brown, add the scallops (they may need to be cooked in batches depending on how big your frying pan is). Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute on the first side, then flip and cook for only 20 or so more seconds.

To serve, put a circle of puree on a warmed dinner plate. Top with 1 scallop and scatter with bacon and chives.

Shrimp with Curried Lime Carrots

This is one of the healthier dishes I've prepared lately, but it's lacking a little flavour. If you feel like playing with it, try adding spice. Yellow peppers or eggplant added to the dish would enhance its appeal. Perhaps some curry paste might deepen the flavour too. 

From: Better Homes and Gardens - Garden Fresh


Serves 4

• 1 lb fresh or frozen large shrimp in shells, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/2 t ground tumeric
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/8 t ground cardamom
• 1/8 t ground pepper
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and thinly bias-sliced
• 2T chopped green onion
• 2 T lime juice
• 1 T honey
• 1/2 t finely shredded lime peel

In a medium bowl combine cumin, turmeric, salt, cardamom and cayenne pepper. Remove 3/4 teaspoon of the mixture to another medium bowl. Add shrimp to one bowl and carrots to the second bowl with seasoning. Toss each to coat.

Place a steamer basket in a saucepan. Add water to just below bottom of the basket. Bring water to boiling. Add carrots to steamer basket. Cover and reduce heat. Steam for three minutes. Add shrimp. Cover and steam for three to five minutes or until shrimp are opaque and carrots are tender.


Transfer shrimp and carrots to a serving platter. Sprinkle with green onion. In a small bowl combine lime juice and honey. Drizzle over shrimp and carrots. Sprinkle with lime peel.

Chinese Lobster Salad

Hell ya! This salad is definitely worth the investment! We stopped by Billingsgate Seafood Market on Saturday to pick up some quality seafood and that's exactly what we got. Along with about a half pound of lobster meat, we purchased two servings of halibut. The difference between what I typically buy at a grocery store and this seafood was noticeable. I would recommend the trip.


This lobster salad was found in the June, 2011 edition of Canadian House & Home magazine. The recipe calls for chow mein noodles (the crunchy-cracker style version). I picked up the wrong type, so the noodles might not appear as you would expect in this picture. 


Serves 6

• 2 T brown sugar
• 2 t soy sauce
• 1 T sesame oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 T rice vinegar
• 1 small head of napa cabbage, shredded
• 3 green onions sliced
• 1/2 lb lobster meat chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup of chow mein noodles
• 1 T toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup of toasted slivered almonds
• 1, 284ml can of sliced mandarins

Combine the first five ingredients in a jar, shake well and set aside. Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl and the jarred dressing. Toss well and serve immediately.

Pasta with Prawns & Capers & Fattoush

Meals are like outfits: coordinating courses so that they compliment one another makes for a fabulous ensemble. Tonight was a combination based on what I found on the web that I liked: a fattoush-type salad and some pasta with prawns in it. The result was good, but a great meal would have been better paired. Anywho, the meal's biggest advantage was that it took all of 20 minutes to make. 


http://angielivestoeat.blogspot.com

• 4 servings of dried spaghetti or other type of pasta
• Shelled prawns approximately 300grams
• Handful of capers in brine
• 2 cups mushrooms, chopped
• 1 chili, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine
• Olive oil
• Grated parmesan to taste
• Salt and Pepper to taste

 Cook the pasta as per package instructions and drain. Heat oil in a frying pan and saute the prawns until the flesh is white, remove from the pan. Return pan to the heat and add the mushrooms, garlic and chili and brown. Pour in the white wine and let it boil to evaporate the alcohol. Add the pasta, prawns and capers to the pan and toss well. Season with salt and pepper and some freshly grated parmesan.

Fattoush

Inspired by a fattoush had in town at a Lebanese restaurant with an ambiguous name I can't remember.  Way to inform the reader!

• 1 English cucumber cut into large chunks
• 3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cups of dried pita chips (I get these at a Greek specialty store, but you can find them boxed as crackers at your local grocer)
• 1/2 cup of chopped parsley 
• 1/2 cup of kalamata olives
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T lemon juice
• salt & pepper to taste

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and toss. Mix the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl and add to the salad. Toss and serve immediately.