Tag Archives: Simple Dishes

Sauteed Enoki Mushrooms w/Spinach

9 Dec

enoki spinach - serve

Seven years go, David and I lived for a couple years in the Upper Eastside.  A time long before our gluten-free days, our favorite neighborhood place for Chinese food delivery was Café Evergreen (which, it seems, has now closed).  One dish in particular remains in my mind, mostly because it was so simple yet surprisingly satisfying: sauteed enoki mushrooms with spinach.  I recently had 2 bunches of enoki mushrooms and spinach sitting in my fridge that I needed to use, so I decided to make my own interpretation of the Café Evergreen dish.  This veggie dish is very simple, quick, and delicious.  The enoki mushrooms almost feel like “noodles.”  I didn’t have any fresh ginger on hand, so I used ground ginger, which worked fine — but next time, I’ll probably use fresh grated ginger instead. Continue reading →

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Sauteed Black Tuscan Kale w/Red Onions+Garlic

8 Dec

kale - tuscan kale

‘Tis the season for winter greens!  I recently found on sale these these little bunches of black Tuscan kale, locally produced by Satur Farms.  They are smaller than your more typical kale, and have a bumpy, crinkly surface.  In the past, David hasn’t been the biggest fan of kale — he finds kale bitter and its stems too tough.  I thought I’d give the black Tuscan kale a try anyway, mostly because they looked pretty.  Surprisingly, David LOVED the black Tucan kale and couldn’t get enough of it!  The black Tuscan kale has an earthier, almost sweeter flavor than the large type of kale, and the texture is lovely — the leaves are soft but not mushy .  After blanching the kale, I cooked the leaves very simply with sauteed red onions and garlic — a perfect pairing with a pork chop.

Here’s how: Continue reading →

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Simple Dishes: 7-min Chicken Salad

23 Sep

We had half of a store-bought rotisserie chicken leftover in the fridge.  Although delicious while hot, store-bought rotisserie chickens are usually not so great cold.  Yesterday, I used the leftover chicken to make a simple chicken salad — the salad took about 7 minutes to make, and turned out to be a very tasty way to eat the leftover chicken!

Here’s how:

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Simple Dishes: Caramelized Balsamic Red Onion/Garlic Scramble

25 Aug

When we recently returned from vacation, there was hardly anything in our fridge to eat the next morning: a half-dozen eggs, 2 medium red onions, a couple of cloves of garlic.  For breakfast the next morning, I caramelized the red onions with garlic, then de-glazed the onions with balsamic vinegar before adding the eggs… the result was delicious!  I topped the eggs with some basil right from our garden, and we had a lovely breakfast indeed.

Here’s how:

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Portabella+Shiitake Beef Meatballs (topped w/garlic broccolini)

21 Jul

We love meatballs for dinner, not only because they are simple to make and delicious, but also because they make great leftovers.  My favorite type of beef meatballs are stuffed full of mushrooms, which give the meatballs a juicy, earthy flavor.  Here’s an easy recipe for beef meatballs I often make at home.  In this instance, I added some crispy, garlicky broccolini on top — so it’s a complete meal of meat and vegetables!

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Grilled Shishito Peppers

28 May

I love grilled shishito peppers, and am able to eat great quantities of them in one sitting.  Grilled shishito peppers appear to be trending at restaurants these days, which is understandable as they make for great bar snacks.  If you come across good looking shishito peppers (I found some at Fresh Direct recently), it’s super easy to make them at home.

Here’s how I grill them:

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Post-Workout Eats: Mediterranean-style Albacore Tuna Salad

20 May

For my post-workout lunch, I like to make a Mediterranean-style tuna salad.  I use a 5 oz. can of wild albacore tuna packed in water.  The salad is very much the same as the sockeye salmon salad I make for David, but instead of mayonnaise I use a drizzle of olive oil.

To make the salad: drain the can, and put the tuna in a glass bowl.  Add: about a half handful of capers, a stalk of scallion, finely chopped, juice of half lemon, and a drizzle of good quality, organic olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well, and serve over salad greens… or eat with some sliced avocados and cucumbers, as I did for lunch today.

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Post-Workout Eats: Lemon/Caper Sockeye Salmon Salad

20 May

Sunday is our big workout day.  And for our post-workout lunch we’ve recently taken to eating canned fish.  David likes red sockeye salmon with bone and skin included, while I opt for wild albacore tuna, which is lighter.

For David’s sockeye salmon salad, I use a 7.5 oz can of wild caught Alaskan red sockeye salmon (Whole Foods brand).

To make the salad: Drain the can, and put salmon in a glass bowl.  With a fork, mix the salmon well, making sure that the bones and skin are blended into the meat (basically, mush well).

Add: a half handful of capers, one scallion stalk, finely chopped, a tablespoon of mayonnaise, and the juice of 1/2 lemon.

Mix well, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with salad greens, or for extra protein — as in David’s case — some sliced avocado and cucumbers.

The salad is simple, delicious, and a great way to get a boost of protein as well as calcium and good fats!

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Seared Jalapeño/Garlic Swordfish Steak w/Fennel/Olive Salad

18 May

Last night for dinner,  I seared local swordfish filets and made a simple, fennel/olive salad as an accompaniment.  Easy, breezy, tasty!

The swordfish was on sale at Whole Foods, labeled “local” and also “green” (as in, environmentally-friendly).   Both good labels, and a bargain at $14.99/lb (as swordfish goes)!  I bought 1.5 lbs worth of swordfish (my husband requires a lot of protein), and marinated it in a mixture of:

  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 jalapeño, finely minced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
  • 1/4 cup organic olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

I let the swordfish marinate for about 20 minutes.

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Pasture-raised Pork=DELICIOUS Pork

11 Apr

We’re convinced happy pigs (pasture-raised) = DELICIOUS pork.  We recently came across local, pasture-raised boneless pork loin at Whole Foods, and boy, was it delicious!

I bought a big chunk of this gorgeous pork loin, and cut it up in about 1 inch pieces.  For dinner, I left 2 pieces out to bring them back to room temperature (about 30 minutes), and then seasoned both sides with salt and pepper.  In a non-stick pan, I drizzled some olive oil and cooked the chop on medium-high heat, 6 minutes on each side.  Rest for at least 5 minutes.  I served the chop with garlic spinach.  AH-MAZING!

David didn’t eat pork for a long time, in large part because he never found it particularly tasty.  Nowadays, he is a big believer in good, high-quality pork, cooked well.  Local, pasture-raised pork has been a good meat option for us, as, at about $8.99 a pound, it’s a good deal for high quality meat.  Chops are our favorite, since the flavor is fabulous — and when the pork is this excellent quality, you really taste the difference in the fat.  Pasture-raised pork fat just melts in your mouth in the most elegant way.  Frankly, we prefer these amazing pork chops to, say, veal chops. Continue reading →

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