Tuna Fish Sandwich

You might be thinking – who can’t make a basic tuna fish sandwich?!  Well, that’s just it, mine is anything but basic.  I jazz mine up.  My dad says it seems like alot of work for just a tuna fish sandwich.  He just slops mayo on the tuna and throws in some red onion.  Probably the reason I never really loved a tuna sandwich while growing up.  My version has three ingredients that might seem a bit odd.  The first is cilantro.  If you are one of those people that does not like cilantro, I feel bad for you.  I like it and it really works well in this.  The second is wasabi horseradish.  It provides the perfect little kick to this sandwich.  If you don’t want to mix it in with the tuna because you are frightened of it, you can just spread some on the bread like you would mayo.  The third is the avocado.  I love avocado!  If you don’t like avocado, well, I feel even worse for you than I do those that don’t like cilantro.  The avocado REALLY does something spectacular to this sandwich. Once you put it on the warm, toasted bread it starts to melt slightly and provides a terrific creamyness to the sandwich.  I really love this version and I promise, it’s not alot of work.  It’s simple.  Here’s what you do…

1 can albacore tuna (in water) drained

2 tbsp finely chopped carrots

2 tbsp finely chopped celery

1 1/2 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 tbsp mayo (or nayonaise)

1/2 tbsp wasabi horseradish (optional)

1/2 avocado

Toasted bread

Alrighty…pop the bread into the toaster.  Please pick up some really good bread.  I use sliced whole wheat, good rustic bread.  Chop the carrots and celery and put into a bowl with the tuna.  Add the chopped cilantro.  Next, add in the mayo and the wasabi horseradish.  I am not one of those people that like alot of mayo, I like just a little, to moisten things.  But if you like to drown your tuna fish, then go right ahead, who am I to judge?  Toss together to combine.  Set aside. 

Slice half of the avocado into strips, lengthwise.  At this point, the bread should be just about ready.  Arrange all the slices of avocado on one of the bread slices. 

I usually have one or two pieces left over, which I happily just eat with my fingers.   Spoon the tuna mixture on top of the avocado slices and top with the other piece of toast.  Voila!

Baked Fish with Roasted Potatoes and Fennel

Boy, do I love a one pot meal.  Technically, this is a 2 pot meal, but if you make the sauce ahead of time (which I like to do) then this is, in the end, a one pot meal.  No reason this sauce can’t be made up to a few days ahead and then just added to the dish at the right time.  This recipe was adapted from Cooking Light, I really only made a few changes.  The first is, I did not add the fennel seeds, not because I don’t like them, but because I just didn’t have any on hand.  (Mental note to self to buy some).  Also, I shorted the original amount of orange rind because…well….I was scared.  Yes, a little scared to be adding orange rind to a tomato sauce.  Just seemed odd to me.  But it worked!!  So have no fear my friends.  A quick note about this Salmoriglio Sauce.  You don’t really need it.  This dish is wonderful without it.  But, if you want to go the extra mile, I’ve included the recipe.  I did go the extra mile and made it (very simple) and it is a nice touch sprinkled over the fish just before eating. 

This meal is light.  It’s healthy.  And it’s delicious.  And it’s also rather pretty to look at, isn’t it?  My version of this recipe serves 4.  You might have some extra sauce leftover which would be rather tasty over a little pasta the following night when you really just don’t feel like cooking.  So, here’s what you do…

3 cups (1 pound) red potatoes, cut into 1/8 inch slices

1 large fennel bulb, sliced thin

1 tablespoon olive oil (roughly)

1/2 teaspoon each of salt & pepper

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 garlic cloves

3/4 cup white wine

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/2 tablespoon orange rind

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, chopped

4 6-ounce halibut fillets (or any other firm white fish)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Combine potatoes, fennel, 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, some salt & pepper in a baking dish and toss gently to coat.  Bake for 30 minutes.

In a skillet on the stove top, heat 1/2 teaspoon olive oil.  Add fennel seeds (or not) and garlic, saute for one minute.  Add some salt & pepper, wine, 1/2 of the parsley, orange rind (don’t be scared!), oregano and tomatoes; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes.

Sprinkle fish fillets with some salt & pepper.  Arrange fillets over the potato mixture and then spread the tomato mixture over the fillets.  Don’t drown them to death, just coat a nice layer over them, enough so it starts spilling over into the potato/fennel mixture.  Bake at 450 for 20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily.  Sprinkle with the remainder of the parsley.  Sprinkle some salmoriglio sauce over fillets (or not).

Salmoriglio Sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt & pepper to taste

Wisk all ingredients together.  Easy enough!!

Grasshopper Pie

Ice cream!!!  We celebrated my mom’s and my birthday and I decided to try this Grasshopper Pie because the main ingredient is mint chocolate chip ice cream, my mom’s favorite.  It’s quite simple to make, it’s mostly just assembling things, obviously no ‘cooking’ or ‘baking’ involved in this one.  Perfect for the summer.  Certainly this can be substituted with just about any flavored ice cream, but then of course you won’t have the lovely green color (hence grasshopper!).  I will be making this again for my brother’s birthday next week, swapping out the mint chocolate chip ice cream for cookies & cream ice cream - it’s gonna be soooo good! 

Here’s what you do…

1 oreo cookie pie shell

1/2 gallon mint chocolate chip ice cream (softened)

1 container Cool Whip

Hot fudge sauce (slightly warmed in microwave so you can pour it)

Caramel Sauce (slightly warmed as above)

Oreo cookies (about 15) crushed

On the bottom of the pie shell, drizzle a thin layer of hot fudge sauce then put the pie shell in the freezer for about 10 minutes to harden a bit.  Then, drizzle a thin layer of caramel sauce over the hot fudge sauce, and  you guessed it, back in the freezer for 10 minutes. 

Remove pie crust from freezer and scoop the ice cream into the shell, about 3/4 of the way up.  It helps to have the ice cream VERY soft at this point.  Next, layer a nice amount of cool whip on top of the ice cream.  Scatter the crushed oreos on top of the cool whip.  Lastly, drizzle a touch more hot fudge sauce and caramel sauce over the entire pie.  Place the pie into the freezer until just before serving.  That’s it!

Quinoa Salad

This is a perfect summertime salad, it’s light and can be eaten at room temperature. 

Quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked.  Not only is quinoa high in protein, but the protein it supplies includes all nine essential amino acids.   And, it’s gluten free…It’s a wonder food, I’ll tell ya!  It’s quick and easy to cook (similar to couscous).  You can certainly eat quinoa plain, as a side dish, but I like to jazz it up a bit.  Here’s what I do….

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and 1/2-inch diced

1 hothouse cucumber, seeded and 1/2 inch diced

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 small jalapeno pepper, minced (seeded)

2 tablespoons chopped scallions, white & light green parts

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)

1/4 cup good olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 ripe Hass avocado, seeded, peeled and 1/2  inch diced

 

In a medium size saucepan, add quinoa and water, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes.  Cool.

Place the tomatoes, yellow pepper, cucumber, black beans, jalapeno pepper, scallion, parsley, cilantro and lime zest in a large bowl.  Here’s what it will look like after this step.  Tell me you don’t want to dig into this right now!  These colors are gorgeous.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper and set aside.

Now, add the cooled quinoa to the vegetables and mix.  Pour the lime juice and oil mixture over everything and toss well.  Just before serving, add avocado.  The avocado has a tendency to turn brownish (not very pretty) once it is exposed to air, so adding it too soon is not such a great idea.  If you must add it long before serving, squeeze some lime juice over the all the avocado (directly on it).

Here’s what I love to do with this salad.  I bake some chicken – split chicken breasts, bone in, skin on.  Once it’s cooled, I tear the chicken off the bone and cut into chunks.  I keep that chicken in the fridge in a seperate bowl.  In the morning before I leave for work I add a handful of the chicken to a bowl of this salad.  I also add in the avocado at this time.  Then, for lunch at work, I just wrap all the ingredients into a whole wheat wrap – it is so delicious!!  And somewhat more filling, with the chicken in it.  I’ve also tried it with leftover baked salmon that I broke up into pieces and, I have to say, that was spectacular also.  I love the texture, the crunch from the cucumbers and the creaminess from the avocado…

This salad is delicious, healthy and so colorful you won’t be able to resist eating it.