Guest Post: Dusty's Crusty Must-Eat Tilapia Salad

Did you know that in terms of sustainability, Tilapia is one of the best fish you can eat? That's because it's an herbivore. Most of the overfishing that goes on these days revolves around tasty predator fish like Tuna. While Tilapia may not be the most flavorful fish in the world, it does absorb whatever you cook it in, making it a versatile and potentially yummy little fish. In this case we mix it up with some cornmeal for a little crunch then let it take its last swim in a big beautiful salad.

Cornmeal-Crusted Tilapia Salad
from Cooking Light

Ingredients 4 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch strips
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon chili powder, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon onion flakes, crushed
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
7 teaspoons canola oil, divided
6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper (about 1 large)
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425º.

Place tortilla strips on a baking sheet lined with foil; lightly coat tortilla strips with cooking spray. Sprinkle strips with 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bake at 425º for 10 minutes or until crisp, and set aside.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornmeal, onion flakes, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder in a shallow dish. Sprinkle fish with 1/4 teaspoon salt; dredge in cornmeal mixture.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned and fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

Combine romaine and next 4 ingredients (through cilantro) in a large bowl. Combine juice, mustard, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add remaining 4 teaspoons oil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Drizzle juice mixture over lettuce mixture; toss gently to coat. Place 1 1/2 cups salad mixture on each of 4 plates; sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese. Place 1 fish fillet on each salad; top with 5 tortilla strips. Eat while feeling good about yourself for saving the ocean food chain, even though you're still destroying the Earth with your continuous consumption of its finite resources. Bon Apetite, from the guilty eco chef!

A little Carribean in Astoria

My husband picked out this meal from some food mags I had clipped awhile back. They went together great and will definitely be making them again soon!

Jerk Chicken with Coconut Plantains and Carrot Slaw
From Cooking Light

Jerk Chicken:
1/3 cup diced yellow onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 habanero pepper, quartered
6 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

To prepare chicken, combine first 10 ingredients in a food processor; pulse 30 times or until finely chopped. Spoon onion mixture into a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator overnight, turning bag occasionally.

Prepare grill.

Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes on each side or until done.

Plantains:
2 soft black plantains (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt

To prepare plantains, peel plantains, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Cook plantains in boiling water 20 minutes or until tender; drain. Combine plantains, coconut milk, butter, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; mash to desired consistency. Place 1/3 cup plantain mixture on each of 6 plates, and top each serving with 1 chicken breast half.

Pie Did It!!!!

I have to admit something: I have never made a pie. I will say it again: I have never made a pie. I really have no excuse except pure fear. And once I went gluten free, I ruled out any future pie-making days. But I am happy to report that my pie baking days have just begun (to the glee of my husband's stomach)!

Today I conquered my first pie — and it was gluten free at that! "Gluten free pie," you say, "don't you mean fruit sandwiched between two cardboard layers?" Let me tell you, this pie was delicious. And the crust was so good you could eat the ends without the fruit to dress it up and it tasted like any great pie crust with gluten. Even my pie-expert father-in-law agreed. I had several farmer's market peaches and a pint of blueberries that was perfect for this project. I think peaches and blueberries are the perfect match for each other, especially in the summertime.

I will admit the dough was a little tricky to get into the pie tin. I am not sure if that is because I am a pie novice or it was the GF crust. It rolled out well, but I had some trouble transferring it and had to start rolling it out all over again. It then came together enough for me to be able to seal up some of the cracks with a little water on my fingers. This would also be delicious as a lattice top pie, perhaps I will try that one next.

Gluten Free Peach Blueberry Pie

Crust: (This makes a bottom and full top crust).

Make this mix in a separate bowl or large container — you will have a little left over (and enough to use on the bench/table/parchment)
1 cup white rice flour
1 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
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2 cup plus 4 Tbsp rice flour mix

2 tsp xanthan gum

a pinch of salt

2 tbsp sugar

1 stick butter, cut into small cubes and frozen for about 20 mins
1/2 cup shortening (I use vegetable shortening from Whole Foods or Crisco)

1/2 cup cold seltzer

4 tsp cider vinegar

In food processor, add flour mix, xanthum, salt, sugar. Pulse to combine. Add butter and shortening and pulse until butter turns into course meal. Combine seltzer and vinegar in container, slowly pulse this in until dough comes together.

Split dough in half (actually have one a little big larger than the other, that will be your bottom crust), place each on a lightly floured piece of waxed or parchment paper. Cover with another piece and stick in freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Filling:
4-5 ripe farmer's market peaches, peeled by blanching, and cut into slices
smidgen nutmeg
smidgen cinnamon
1 pint blueberries, any stems removed
1 tbsp lemon
1/4 cup Minute Tapioca
3/4 cup sugar

Combine above ingredients in large bowl, mixing gently to combine (try not to break apart peaches). Let stand at least 15 minutes.

I used a 10" glass Pyrex pie pan (supposedly glass helps crusts to brown better than others). For the next several steps, I turned to Cooks Illustrated notes on pie making for some advice. I rolled out the bottom of the pie crust to a round circle about 3 inches larger than the circumferences of my pie dish. I rolled it right out on some floured parchment, but you could do it right on a floured counter as well. You may have to sprinkle on some flour to the dough if it starts to stick to the rolling pin. Using a bench scraper, loosen the bottom of the dough from the paper, carefully roll part of the dough onto the rolling pin to transfer it over to the pie tin. Gently mold the dough into the tin so it sits flush against the bottom and edges. Snip off the major excess of the dough. Spoon the filling--juices and all--right into the pie tin. Now roll out your top crust, add to the top and flute the edges. Cut 4 vents to let out the steam. I used a egg wash and dusted the top with sugar so it would brown up nicely.

I refrigerated the pie (uncovered) for 30 minutes, which was a tip I read on a gluten free blog. This helps to prevent shrinkage of the dough.

Preheat oven to 500. Place the pie on a cookie sheet on the bottom rack of the oven. Turn heat down to 425. Set timer for 20-25 minutes or until crust is a nice light golden brown (make sure to check on it). Rotate cookie sheet to other side so pie cooks evenly. Turn heat down to 375. Cook for another 20-25 minutes. My edges were browning a bit too fast so I covered the edges with foil to prevent burnage. Once pie is nicely browned and juices are bubbling, remove from oven and place on cooling rack for at least 2 hours.

Enjoy!

Ex-cilantro!

Cilantro Lime Dressing
from Eating Well Magazine

I wanted something a little different to put on my black bean quinoa recipe for a light dinner this hot summer night. I pulled a few ingredients out of the fridge to see what I had to work with and this recipe fit the bill. It punched up the taste of the salad perfectly and would also be great as a marinade or sauce on chicken or steak.

1 cup packed cilantro
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Pinch of minced garlic

Puree cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, orange juice, salt, pepper and garlic in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Egg Mcmuffin sans bun

These have been on my list of recipes-to-try for awhile, especially since I went gluten free. Father's Day was the perfect occasion to try them out and they were a hit! The recipe can be altered with various ingredients--use whatever you have leftover from the week's groceries. The little babies can also be put in the fridge and heated for a quick breakfast throughout the week. They are delish!

Egg Mcmuffins
served 4 people

8-10 eggs
1/3 cup of cheese, shredded (feta, cheddar, gouda, anything would be good here! Switch it up!)
3 chopped scallions
few tablespoons of chopped panchetta
1/2 red pepper
1 small zuchini, chopped into small pieces
salt and pepper
pam cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2.In small skillet, brown panchetta for a few minutes. Add zuchini and pepper to get some water out as well. Let cool off in the fridge until room temp.
3. Using a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add in the shredded cheese, salt and pepper. Add in the cooked veggies and mix until mostly combined.
4. Spray 2 muffin tins (6 muffins each) with Pam. Using a measure cup or ladle, fill the muffin cups with egg mixture until about 3/4 full (they will rise). You could also use muffin liners here.
5. Carefully put tins into oven. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. They should be lightly brown on top when ready.
6. Run a knife around the edges before trying to release from the tin. Serve warm.

Salmon Rush-deez patties into your mouth (title by Dustin)

These take about 15 minutes and can easily be adapted to whatever is in the fridge or pantry. It would be excellent served hot on a bed of fresh spinach, drizzled with a dill-lemon vinaigrette (which I will be doing next time for sure!) or more simply with a slice of lemon wedge and roasted asparagus.

Greek Inspired Salmon Patties
by me

2 cans (7.5 oz) red salmon (I used Trader Joe's brand which was really good)
1 scallion, white and green parts chopped
1 egg
2-3 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
1/ 4 cup breadcrumbs (gluten free in my case)
1-2 tsp Old Bay
salt and pepper
butter and olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In large bowl, use fork to flake salmon and remove any large bones and skin. Add in scallion, egg, bread crumbs, feta and seasoning. Mix until combine and will hold together easily.
3. Heat a non stick oven-safe skillet with oil and butter (use both to bring up the smoking point) on medium heat. Make 4 or 5 patties with your hands and put into the hot skillet.
4. Cook until nicely browned on one side for about 3-4 minutes. Gently flip over to other side. (Be careful--they break apart easily!!). Put into oven for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Bring on the Beans!

Trying to think of something different for lunch, my husband decided that I should make a black bean salad. I had Mexican on the mind, so it has a bit of Latino flair. I made a huge batch and we have been happily bringing it in our tupers all week long. This would be a great dish for bbqs or pot lucks as well. Make sure you take it out of the fridge to let it come to room temp before enjoying! This would also be great with some addition of avocado, jicama, and/or mango!

Black Bean Fiesta Salad

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 red or green pepper, diced
1/2-3/4 cup frozen corn
1 diced tomato (or handful of cherry/grape tomatoes)
1/2 of jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, diced very fine
2 scallions, green and white parts sliced thin
1 handful cilantro, chopped

Dressing:
juice of 1 lime
zest of that lime (just from 1 half or so)
2 tsp cumin
dash cumin whole seeds
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

1. Add beans, all veggies and herbs to large bowl. Mix gently to combine.

2. In small dish, make dressing. Add lime juice, zest and then spices. Whisk in olive oil until thick and combined. Season to taste.

3. Pour desired amount on bean salad. I actually had some of this dressing to save in the fridge because I didn't want it too wet.