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nuts and seeds August 24, 2010

Posted by molly in : fish , 2comments

while i continue my studies at bauman college (from afar) i keep finding so many tidbits about nutrition that i want to share on the blog. most of it is head-smackingly simple stuff: eat less sugar, drink less alcohol, etc. but sometimes, you know what you should be eating, but how to incorporate it?

the underlying philosophy behind bauman college is what’s called “eating for health“. it was originally designed as an alternative to the usda food pyramid (or in england, the eatwell plate). it adds in extra special nutrients called “booster foods” that will provide that extra dose of health in your daily meals. some might consider nuts and seeds to be an added extra in their diet – but bauman believes they should be a basic staple. booster foods include things like spices, algae, nutritional yeast, and seaweed. flaxseed, sesame seeds, almonds – these are perfect for snacking and sprinkling onto almost any meal of the day.

for example, the other night phil and i had fish with rice. of course, it was a bit more complex than that – the fish was beautiful organic salmon simply fried with olive oil, salt and pepper, and the rice was brown basmati with chopped apricots, chopped walnuts, toasted mixed seeds, and a mixture of spices. all of a sudden, our seemingly bland dinner turned into an omega-3 party!

seared salmon with brown rice pilaf

recipe adapted from waitrose magazine – serves 2

the particulars:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely diced
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 90g brown basmati rice
  • 30g dried apricots, chopped
  • 450ml vegetable stock, hot
  • 30g walnuts, chopped
  • 30g mixed seeds
  • 2 salmon fillets
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges
  1. over a medium-low heat, warm some of the oil in a pan and cook the onion for 8 minutes. add the garlic, cumin and coriander and cook for another minute.
  2. add the rice, apricots, and stock. bring to a simmer, then lower the heat, cover, and cook for 20-25 minutes (until the stock has been absorbed by the rice). stir occasionally.
  3. meanwhile, warm a frying pan over a medium heat and dry-fry the nuts and seeds for 2 minutes until they are just fragrant.
  4. a few minutes before the rice is done, warm 1 tsp oil in the same frying pan used for the nuts and seeds over a medium-high heat. season the fish and fry for 3 minutes skin-side down, then for 2 minutes on the other side.
  5. stir the nuts, seeds, and parsley into the rice. serve with the salmon on top and the lemon wedges.

summer salmon salad July 1, 2010

Posted by molly in : fish, salad , add a comment

the heat continues and so does my appreciation of light dinners. last night’s meal was easy breezy and was thrown together on the fly. i knew i wanted to use the fennel and asparagus i bought at the farmer’s market on saturday, it was just a case of finding what else i could put with it.

we had a couple of salmon fillets in the freezer, so i thawed them out during the day. the rest was just stuff i already had around the house. like i said, easy breezy.

i hope everyone enjoys their weekend – i’ll have a few recipes for you in a couple of days all to do with the 4th of july bbq we’re having on sunday. one of the recipes is from my mom – exciting! the other is a vegan dessert i am going to be making today. fingers crossed…

stay cool!

summer salad with spinach, fennel, and olive

enough for 2-3 people; we served with simple roasted salmon and asparagus

the particulars:

  • 2-3 handfuls baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
  • 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and grated (save the fronds)
  • 3/4 cup black olives, pitted and halved
  • juice of 1 orange
  1. first, prepare the dressing. combine the orange juice with 2 tbsp olive oil, the fennel fronds, and some salt and pepper. whisk with a fork in a small dish.
  2. combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and toss with the dressing. serve with a simply roasted piece of salmon (or other fish) – we cooked ours in a medium oven with a little bit of the dressing, then added some asparagus to the roasting dish halfway through.

one of my faves June 9, 2010

Posted by molly in : fish , 1 comment so far

after an indulgent and carb-heavy week in paris, i felt like i needed at least a day off! i relished my sunday, not eating bread – perhaps not because i was craving any, but because i knew that whatever i found in london wouldn’t be half as good as a parisian baguette.

it was extremely lucky, then, that phil had already planned our dinner of fresh salmon and asparagus from the farmer’s market – that was it, nothing else on the plate – and it was exactly what i wanted. a very simple and lovely welcome-home dinner.

the salmon was cooked on a griddle pan with olive oil and a bit of seasoning. when it was almost finished, we brushed it with a little pit of mustard-dill sauce, very similar to the one used in this recipe back in feb. the rest was poured on top of the cooked salmon on our plates. and the asparagus was quite simple roasted in a hot oven with olive oil and seasoning, then spritzed with fresh lemon juice once on the plate.

if you’re feeling a bit softer in the belly than normal, i’d really recommend a dinner like this. something light, fresh, and easy to prepare – but still satisfying. have some brown rice on the side if this doesn’t fill you up enough.

i’m spending the day out and about southwest london with my dad, but i’ll be baking a couple of new desserts tomorrow in time for a hen do i’m attending this weekend, so i’ll post those recipes in a day or two (barring any failures).

hope your summer is going well so far!

loving wasabi May 20, 2010

Posted by molly in : fish , add a comment

i used to be petrified of wasabi. one sniff of the green stuff and i’d recoil in horror! no way would i voluntarily eat it. but, as i’ve mentioned before, taste buds change, and here’s another example of something i’ve learned to love.

while i might not coat a piece of sushi in wasabi, i’ll gladly munch a handful of wasabi peas (or 8… thanks nat!), and i’ll certainly be making the following recipe again. it is tweaked slightly from a recipe i saw in olive magazine, the main differences being that i used brown rice instead of white and sesame seeds instead of poppy (didn’t have any).

and now that i’ve got a little tin of wasabi powder in my kitchen cupboard, i’ll have clear sinuses forever!

wasabi salmon with cucumber salad

serves two; based on the recipe from olive

the particulars:

  • 2 salmon fillets, boneless and skinless
  • oil
  • 1 tbsp wasabi paste
  • ½ small cucumber
  • 1 small red chili, cut into rings
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1 cup brown rice, cooked
  1. brush some oil onto each salmon fillet, followed by a layer of wasabi paste.
  2. cut the cucumber in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. cut in half lengthways again, and slice into large diagonal pieces. place in a small bowl with the chili, vinegar, sugar, salt, sesame seeds, and a little bit of black pepper. stir well.
  3. place the fish either on top of a bbq or under the grill for 5-6 minutes, or until cooked. serve with the cucumber salad and brown rice.

all in one pan May 17, 2010

Posted by molly in : fish , add a comment

the worst part about cooking is the washing up. am i right??

so it is lovely to find a recipe such as the one i’m about to share with you where it only requires one pan. one pan! that’s it! it couldn’t be easier – you just continue adding things to this pan and keep popping it in and out of the oven. depending on how big your roasting pan is, you could feed lots of hungry mouths, and still only use ONE PAN. is the point made yet?

this meal benefits from any fresh, seasonal vegetables that roast well and of course the freshest fish you can find. for ours, i bought some fresh cod, along with a few asparagus spears (they are SO GOOD right now), a fennel bulb, and a red onion – all from the farmer’s market on saturday. what a delight!

feel free to add to the number of veggies used in this dish. the more the merrier.

one-pan roasted cod with vegetables

serves two

the particulars:

  • 2 cod fillets, skinned and de-boned
  • 7-8 asparagus spears, trimmed
  • 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (save the fronds)
  • 1 large red onion, sliced
  • 1 large red chili, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 10-15 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 heaped tsp capers, drained and rinsed
  1. preheat the oven to gas mark 6 / 400F. scatter the fennel, asparagus, onion, and chili in a roasting pan and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and the lemon juice. roast for 10 minutes.
  2. scatter over the cherry tomatoes and roast for a further 5 minutes, then drizzle with balsamic vinegar. place the cod fillets on top, drizzle with the remaining oil, season, and roast for 10-12 minutes or until the cod is cooked through.
  3. garnish with the reserved fennel fronds and capers, and serve.

lesson learned: lots of STRONG and BOLD flavors here – with the red chili and the capers. if you aren’t a fan of heat, omit the chili. if you aren’t a fan of salty, omit the capers. both together is slightly too much for my tastebuds.