I just adore salmon! I think I could eat it every day and then some. There is nothing like a perfectly cooked flaky, fatty fish, crusted with delicious goodness atop a bed of fresh greens, black beans, and oranges. It sure is refreshing for summer! The one and only thing that I don’t adore so much about salmon is the price, boo. Oh yes and the other thing about contaminants, colorings added, and PCBs, major boo. I try my best to get wild when I can, but man, $18/lb + is sure a steep hill that I don’t like to climb that often unless I’m eating out for a special occasion. I’ll admit that I did buy farmed at Whole Foods this time because it was cheaper at $13/lb. They say that it is sustainable with no added hormones. It sure tasted good, you’ll see! (more…)
August 10, 2010
August 1, 2010
birthday dinner at nora’s + a winner!
I completely spaced that I was going to announce the winner of my reGen giveaway! oopsie. I also had to work on Saturday, so it’s been a little busy. The weekend is coming to an end once again, so I’ll do a quick re-cap of randomness and share a nice dinner we had a Nora’s Wine Bar for a friend’s birthday. (more…)
July 7, 2010
BBQ Salmon Burgers
I’ve been wanting to include more fresh fish in my diet, but it can be a challenge when it can be pretty darn expensive and many varieties are farmed, have color added, or aren’t eco-friendly. I would love to live near water where there is easier and cheaper access for fresh fish. Most of my staples include wild canned salmon and canned sardines, but there is just nothing like fresh. Since I don’t generally eat too much fresh fish, I will on occasion get farmed and probably PCB-ridden fish, but as with all things, moderation is key. I believe the benefits of moderate fish intake far outweighs the risks from contamination. Keep reading for a tasty BBQ Salmon Burger recipe! (more…)
June 27, 2010
can’t stand the heat
It has been a scorcher here lately as I will probably repeat and repeat this entire summer! I’m already looking forward to fall. The heat just zaps the energy right out of me. I’m fine in the shade, but direct sunlight is no bueno. It really stinks for any kind of activity outdoors. We did make it on a bike ride Saturday morning, which was the 4th early wake-up call ride in a row for me! I could tell my legs were not quite as fresh and the heat just threw in another lovely variable towards my demise. (more…)
February 18, 2010
easy dinner ideas
This week I didn’t do too well in the planning dinner department. Well, I did plan it out, but I didn’t account for somehow not having enough leftovers for us to have the next night, oops! So I had to figure out some quick, easy and cheap dinner ideas which included (more…)
September 9, 2009
yep, I biffed it
I know it’s a little delayed, but I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! I sure enjoyed the extra day. I don’t know what it is but that one extra day makes such a difference in getting things done and feeling ready to start the week again. We didn’t really have any specific plans or go to any BBQ parties, but just made time to get things done, go on a bike ride and also to relax a little bit which was really really nice.
I made some progress on my sports nutrition project and have decided to do it on a supplement/ergogenic aid called FRS. It is endorsed by Lance Armstrong, along with other athletes. It’s main component is an antioxidant called quercetin, along with other antioxidants and a little caffeine. I’m not sure that this product will cause someone to have amazing athletic abilities, but some of the research is somewhat favorable for it. The only question I have is that FRS does contain the same amount of caffeine as 1/2 cup of coffee, as well as green tea extract, so how much of the energizing effect is from quercetin and the other antioxidants and how much of it is from caffeine alone? We’ll see. I’m also meeting with my advisor tomorrow . . . eek!
Today was a pretty normal kind of day except for one major thing, I didn’t use my car! Chris and I decided to bike to work this morning now that we work pretty close from each other and live not too far from work. It is about 16 miles each way for me and not too bad. Well, the morning stretch wasn’t bad at all. I wasn’t too tired, even though we had to leave the house by 5:30am, and the temperature was just perfect and actually slightly cool. On the way back, well, it was 98 degrees, very windy and I felt like my legs were going to give out. I also managed to experience my first mishap with clipless pedals. Let me explain . . .
Shimano 105 – the tip of the shoe goes about where my finger is and you push your foot it until you hear a ‘click’ Seems easy right?!
In the beginning of our ride home I felt pretty good, a little tired from getting up so early and working all day, but good. I fueled up with a banana, 1/2 a luna 
bar and 1/2 package of luna moons with lots of water throughout the day of course, but I could tell my hunger wasn’t satisfied. I had been ravenous all day. It seemed like I couldn’t tame the flames of my metabolism no matter what!
By the last stretch of the ride home I was feeling a bit shaky tired and knew I better finish the last of the luna moons I had with me. At this point we were on a nice straight path, so we decided to stop there rather than at the street to grab a quick refuel. Well, as I went to stop I completely spaced that I was locked into the bike. Since we didn’t stop at a stop sign or light I didn’t register and think of clipping out! Yep, there I went teetering and cursing before I fell hard into the dirt on the side of the path right on the side of my a*# gosh dangit! How could I let that happen?! I thought I had 
escaped the curse when I successfully finished my first ride with them, in a group no less, without falling over. Ah well, I guess everyone has to fall over sometime. Only the better reason to pick right up and keep at it. I have a nice goose egg bruise on the side of my bum, ouch! I still really like the pedals because the are very efficient with transferring the energy from your legs to the momentum of the wheels or something like that. It’s like instant gratification 🙂
Anyhow, when we finally made it home, I was, and can you believe it . . . RAVENOUS!! I made grilled fish tacos the night before and boy did they hit the spot for leftovers. I had to have 3 of them before I even started to feel satiated, and then proceeded to have a 1/2 cup of cantaloupe and a mochi. Mochis are the best invention ever and I usually get them at TJ’s for a special treat (another reason TJ’s rocks my socks off). They are little pockets of chewy, gelatinous coating filled with creamy ice cream! We like the mango flavor, but they also have chocolate and green tea I believe, yum! And there is about 100 kcals in one.
oooh! And another little snack that I just love and seems to disappear all too quickly is True North. I hadn’t tried this flavor before, and it’s sure yummy! Just have to be careful like most trail mix because in 5 clusters there is 170 kcals. Great, concentrated energy!
I found this recipe from CookingLight (what’s new?) and I thought I HAD to try it! I love fish tacos in the restaurants, not the battered kind, but the nice grilled ones, topped with creamy lime cilantro sauce and crispy cabbage. This is one of those recipes that really tastes like it does in the restaurant, well pretty darn close! I adapted it a little bit, mostly increasing everything because it wasn’t really enough spices to flavor the fish.
Grilled Fish Tacos with
Creamy Lime Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 3/4 cup low-fat greek yogurt
- 2 tsp grated lime rind
- 3-4 tsp fresh lime juice, more for sprinkling
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Tacos:
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 3 tsp ground coriander
- 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 – 1 tsp ground red pepper
- 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2 lbs red snapper fillets (I had halibut in the freezer)
- olive oil spray
- 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
- 2 cups shredded green cabbage
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°.
To prepare sauce, combine ingredients in a small bowl; refrigerate.
To prepare tacos, combine spices in a small bowl; sprinkle and press spice mixture evenly over both sides of fish. Place fish on a baking sheet lightly coated with oil. Bake at 425° for 9 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness (alternatively you can use a grill pan for about 2 1/2 min per side). Place fish in a bowl; break into pieces with a fork. Heat tortillas to your liking (we like to get them crispy). Divide fish evenly among tortillas; top each with cabbage and sauce; sprinkle with more lime. So good!!!
Whew, that was a long one, hope you are having a good week so far!
Any good biff moments for you?
July 28, 2009
fun ride, great dinner
As you know, last time I went on a group cycling ride with my mountain bike I about died and was far behind the group, so I’ve been searching and wanting to get road bike for awhile now. Well, I got one this weekend!! Just the baseline model, something to get me started (and I’ll be paying off forever!). It’s crazy there are some bikes out there upwards of $8,000!!!
We decided to go on a ride on Sunday with the owner of JT’s bicycle shop, the place where I actually bought my bike from. They have a great shop and are such nice people. It was supposed to be a 20 mile ‘C’ ride, but there were only the 3 of us (Jim, chris and I), so we decided to go further on the River Mountain Trail towards Lake Mead. It turned out to be 33 miles total! For my first time on a road bike, it actually wasn’t too bad. My legs and butt weren’t sore, but by the second hour my shoulders and neck were screaming! I did have to buy a pair of cushy butt shorts for next time. I think I just have to get used to being in that position for so long and have Chris give me a good back rub haha. Road bikes are an entirely different animal! It feels like you can actually get speed and going up hills isn’t a complete battle. It was really amazing! If you hate bike riding because it seems like you can’t go anywhere without killing yourself, really consider a road bike because it really makes a big difference in speed and efficiency. Here’s me trying to be a serious rider . . . lol
Now speaking of speed, there were a few hills, well three actually, that they call the 3 sisters on the River Mountain Trail. Whoa, I was freaking out! I still have to get used to going so fast and turning fast because I get really scared I’m going to totally biff it. One of the hills felt like a rollercoaster where you slowly reach the top and shoot down really fast, yikes! I was riding my brakes down the whole way. I’ll probably have to get my brakes serviced sooner than most because I’m a little brake happy at the moment haha! But it was a lot of fun and I ate a lot too. Here are my eats for the day . . .
Breakfast
- piece of WW toast, two egg whites (in the micro)
- 1/2 banana with peanut butter slather
- 2 cups H20
During the Ride
- 1 packet Luna Moons – blueberry flavor (I actually really liked these because liquid carbohydrate drinks usually upset my stomach) I will be experimenting with others.
- 1 liter of H20 + about 12 ounces of water mixed with this sample I got at the bike shop (I think I liked this too because I am a very salty sweater)
After the Ride (at a nearby coffee shop)
- 1/2 liter water
- 1/4 bagel with grape jam (shared with Chris who was ravenous so I could barely grab a bite!)
Rest of the Day
Big smoothie with milk, frozen fruit, peanut butter, amazing grass (bought this myself), chocolate whey protein, chia seeds in a fun glass from Nawlins- about 3 oz of leftover roasted chicken, 1 rib, 1/2 corn muffin from Famous Dave’s
- flatbread sammie with mozzarella and leftover roasted veggies, 1/4 cup cottage cheese, handful of pretzels
- more water!
Dinner
- Cedar-planked maple salmon with cous cous, avocado and grilled veggies
- glass of chardonnay (not the best to have with exercise)
- bowl of cookies and cream yogurt blends I found at Walmart. These are really yummy, creamy and 120 kcals per 1/2 cup serving; I had one cup. I want to try more flavors! Do you ever go down the frozen dessert isle thinking you shouldn’t but just want to look, and you’re secretly hoping you’ll find something to try? haha
- more water!
Whew! That was a lot. I’m sure I forgot a few munchie stuff in there too haha But, my HR monitor said I burned about 1,000 kcals. I’m not sure how accurate this is since some of the time we were coasting, but my heart was sure racing from the adrenaline!
On to the the yummy dinner . . .
I’ve never tried using cedar planks on the grill, but oh man, it sure gave it a great smoky flavor! Make sure you have a fire extinguisher and a spritzer bottle of water nearby just in case. We had a few flare-ups, oops!
Cedar-Planked Maple Salmon
Yield: 4 for dinner
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- juice from 1/2 an orange (you will need 2 oranges total)
- splash of rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp each sesame oil and canola oil
- 1 pound wild Alaskan salmon (if possible, I found this on sale otherwise it’s a bit too pricey for me)
- 1 cedar plank soaked in H20 for at least 1 hour (I put it in a baking dish, covered with water and topped with another baking dish to weigh it down)
For the cous cous:
- 1 cup whole wheat cous cous
- 1 cup water with juice of other orange 1/2
- 1 orange, zest and segments
- various grilled veggies – bell peppers, green onions
- handful of walnuts
- splash of the maple sauce above
- salt and pepper
Soak cedar plank for at least 1 hour in H20. Prepare grill to about medium. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Boil gently until reduced down and syrupy. Reserve a little for the cous cous. Once cedar plank gets slightly smoky on the grill, place salmon on plank. Baste with maple mixture every 3 minutes for about 15-20 minutes until slightly pink in the center.
Boil water and juice for the cous cous, add cous cous, stir, turn off heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Place in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients to combine.
Plate and enjoy! This is really really good! Sorry for the terrible lighting. It was getting late and that good sunlight was dwindling!
I also grilled some bok choy and served it with 1/4 of an avocado. Bok choy has a wonderful popcorn-like flavor when it’s grilled and green onions taste like sweet candy. I can just eat them whole!
I paired it with this chardonnay that was recommended to me at Lee’s when I couldn’t find my favorite buttery chard from Ravenswood. While this chardonnay wasn’t really that buttery at all, it was very bright with grapefruit and citrus flavors. Honestly, it didn’t go to well with the buttery-ness of the salmon and avocado and kind of cut into the flavor characteristics of this dish for me. Oh well, it was still pretty refreshing and mellowed out a little as it warmed up. It’s still fun to try a new wine, but sometimes you just wish you could have got your tried and true favorite, no?
Tonight for dinner I made a salmon cous cous salad, just love leftovers! And what’s a good salad without some dried fruit, crumbled goat cheese and a dollop of greek yogurt?!
Close-up! Glorious salmon . . . I wish I could eat this every day.
Any new activities, products, recipes you’ve stumbled upon that turned out pretty darn good?
March 21, 2009
one fish, two fish, red fish, green fish . . .
I still have quite a bit of fish left in my freezer at the moment and it is literally packed to the gills! (no pun intended haha) I have to open the freezer door slowly for fear of sheer collapse of our perfectly orchestrated freezer stack. Do any of you guys have this problem too? . . . Oh the day when I can have a sub zero with a plethora of fridge and freezer space . . . uh-em back to reality!
Fridays are the days when Chris and I try make dinner and enjoy a little vino since we usually don’t get a chance to eat together much during the week. It seems like whenever he’s coming home, I’m leaving or when I’m leaving he’s coming home! We also found out recently that our offer on a foreclosure here has been accepted and we have opened escrow! Boy has it been a long process looking and dealing with short-sales. We started looking the end of January and we are just getting the ball rolling on one of our offers. I will have to post pictures of it because we are going to look again this weekend, just for fun! I am both excited and nervous for this new investment in our lives and hope everything works out.
On to the recipe . . .
Pesto Crusted Halibut
with Roasted Veggie Cous Cous
For the Pesto Paste:
-
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
-
Large bunches of fresh basil leaves (about 4 oz by weight)
-
1/4 cup roasty toasty pine nuts
-
1/4-1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
-
zest and juice of 1 1/2 medium lemons
-
2 tbsp of olive oil
-
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
-
salt and pepper
-
4 large halibut fillets (or you could use your favorite white fish)
For the cous cous:
-
couple glugs of olive oil (2 tbsp)
-
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
-
1 tbsp honey
-
garlic powder and herbes de provence (italian seasoning)
-
salt and pepper
-
1 lb. finely chopped carrots (about 2 1/4 cups)
-
1 lb. finely chopped zucchini (about 4 medium)
-
1 cup grapes, halved
-
1 1/2 cups whole wheat cous cous (you could certainly make quinoa too)
-
1 1/2 cups low-sodium veggie broth
-
1 roasted bell pepper, drained and chopped
-
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Place the olive oil, balsamic, honey, garlic and spices into a zippy bag. Place the carrots, zucchini and grapes inside and let sit for about 5 minutes. Strain the veggies, reserving the marinade, and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Bake for about 30-45 minutes, turning and tossing halfway through and basting with reserved marinade if they look dry. Just make sure the sugars don’t get too burned.
To make the pesto pulse everything, except the fish, in a food processor until a paste consistency forms. Slather this mixture on each fish fillet and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Turn the oven down to 350 and bake fish for 8-10 minutes, or until it flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook! Then you can broil for a few minutes to get it crusty. Alternatively, I’m sure you could grill it really quickly while slathering on the pesto.
While the veggies and fish are baking, boil the veggie broth; remove from heat, add cous cous, cover and let sit for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and place in a large serving bowl.
When the veggies are done add them, along with the roasted bell pepper and goat cheese, to the cous cous and toss all together.
Serve the pesto-crusted halibut atop a nice scoop of the roasted veggie cous cous!
I had a bit of pesto paste leftover which I will use in a pasta dish, or as a slather for a roasted veggie sandwich, yum!
I also like to make a balsamic reduction to drizzle on pretty much anything: Just boil down about 2 cups of balsamic and a little honey gently, stirring frequently, until it gets thick and syrupy. It makes such a great accompaniment and presentation. Sorry, I’m in dire need of a better camera!
And for the vino spotlight . . .
Elderton’s 2007 Unoaked Chardonnay
First I have to tell you my beginnings with wine . . . When I first tasted wine (it was a red, bad idea), I couldn’t believe that people would actually drink this stuff! It was dry, pungent and burned my throat. I could hardly stand it. But, it’s funny, our palettes are very adaptable (as in the case with lower sodium) and can adjust to many different flavors, and like many things, wine can be an acquired taste for some. 
Chris and I have a lot of fun trying new wines and even went to Napa a few spring breaks ago to visit my aunt who works at some of the wineries there. Here is a picture of us touring Pride Winery – breathtaking views! Good memories!
When you first start out drinking wine, you have to start easy, and that means white. Rieslings were my absolute favorite starting out. Light, refreshing, sweet and easy to drink. Chardonnays are a more advanced white, usually heavier, and most have a bit of oak. I’m not a fan of oaky chards, I would much rather have butter (a fuller mouthfeel sensation created from using Malolactic fermentation). Now I really prefer red wines like red Zinfandel, and am currently trying to get more educated about different Italian varietals.
A great buttery chard for a great price would have to be Ravenswood (the winery in the first picture), although the one we tried at the winery is the best, but I can’t find it anywhere! This one doesn’t age too well, so I would get the youngest year you can find.
Unoaked chards are in a class by themselves. They are aged in steel rather than oak, so all you get is fresh, bright fruit essence that is not overpowered by heavy oak. The Elderton chard is a wonderful example of this. Bright, fruity and a little bit of mineral. It has a fresh pear taste; crisp with hints of peach and melon.
But, really the most important part about drinking any wine is that YOU like the flavor! And most great wines you can get for $15 and under.
What’s your favorite type of wine? I’d love to hear all about them!
March 6, 2009
where have you been all my life?
It seems like forever since I’ve had salmon, but it’s probably been a good 3 weeks I would say. I absolutely love fish, but it is so darn expensive and can go bad so quickly that it’s hard for me to buy. I usually buy the canned salmon and try to incorporate more fish that way.
It is recommended to have at least 2-3 servings of fish per week for optimum heart health, but I know I fall short most weeks. That’s why I was so excited to get a bunch of flash-frozen fish from a family friend the other day. Yippee!
So for my first fish recipe in the string of many soon to come, I tried Sweet Orange Salmon from CookingLight. The simple rub is a coating of different spices that gives it a nice sweet and spicy crust. I was running low on side ingredients, so I settled on a brown rice pilaf with a frozen veggie mix of black beans, corn, broccoli and bell peppers along with all the spices mixed in from the rub. Boy do I love salmon!
Sweet and Spicy Salmon
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp graded orange rind plus about 1 tbsp juice (I only had clementines on hand)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 4 (6 ounce) salmon fillets
Mix all ingredients in a bowl (I doubled the recipe since I had more salmon) then coat the salmon fillets. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 450 for about 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillets and your desired degree of doneness. Serve with your favorite side!
Chris took a picture of his plate presentation, which is a modern approach!
He also made a vinaigrette out of the crock-pot apple butter I made with rice vinegar, a dash of olive oil and apple cider, salt and pepper. Yum!
Now I have to think of leftover salmon ideas because we have so much leftover! Any ideas? A nice Asian salmon slaw comes to mind . . .
