Hawaiian Poke

February 27, 2017February 27, 2017 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

We took the kids to the beach park in La Jolla last week. It was sunny but cold and the wind had a mind of it’s own, so did the damm seagulls. But it was beautiful out.

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There was a flock of thieves stealing snacks from our hands, so brazen they probably would have landed on our heads for just a nibble of whatever we were eating. They even took sunscreen and wipes out of our bags, but quickly dropped them when they realized it wasn’t the goods they wanted. Kaili wasn’t having any of it, she would run after them, screaming and arms flailing but they were unfazed. Tucking our stuff away and making sure all was zipped up, we headed down to the water.

fullsizerender-1 The younger one decided she was done and wanted to head back up to dry land. Probably one of the hardest parts of parenting multiple children, keeping track of children wanting to go separate ways. We dredged back up to the boardwalk where we stopped and attempted a few pictures, this was the best.

There is nothing like getting home from the beach, your skin is sun-kissed, your hair has that sea salt texture and your skin has a hint of saltiness. I love the coast and I love seafood and that night I wanted fish, raw fish, good raw fish….like a delicious Poké.

Saturday morning we headed to our local wholesale seafood market. We bought some A. Apples, B. Bananas….just kidding. Does anyone else remember that car game? No, great, moving on.

Tuna, sushi grade tuna, Big Eye tuna to be exact.I haven’t worked with fresh raw tuna before. It’s been only the past few years that I have had some really good Poké, trying it at random but appropriate restaurants if you catch my drift. As time went on I really wanted to try and make it myself but the Mr. isn’t a fan, so I needed the right timing to make it for someone other than myself. After our beach day this was the time.

I wanted it to sit for at least 3 hours before it was served. I based my recipe off what I love most in a Poké, soy, sesame and onion in the leading cast. After a little recipe hunting I had decided on a final ingredient list.

Now, if you don’t cook often a lot of these ingredients might seem daunting or maybe they are items you don’t normally have in your pantry. For me, they are staples, I just needed to pick up a sweet onion and macadamia nuts, this was an easy shopping list for me. Simple to throw together, no recipe, just my thoughts. The final product made me proud, really proud. This was probably the best I have had and I never say that lightly, especially when I’m the one in the kitchen.

Ingredients

1 lb. sushi grade tuna

1/4 cups small slices of sweet onion

1 green onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. black sesame seeds, toasted

1 Tbs. macadamia nuts, roasted and salted, chopped

1 Tbs dark soy sauce

2 Tbs light soy sauce

1/2 Tbs. Mirin

1 tsp. chili garlic sauce

2 Tbs sesame oil

Kosher salt to taste

* I made a Wasabi drizzle with a little mayo, wasabi powder and lemon juice. All to taste. I put the mixture into a sandwich bag, snipped the end off and piped it on top. If you like it spicy and the flavor of wasabi I recommend you give it a go!

Directions

Slice the tuna into 1 inch cubes and place into a non reactive bowl aka glass.

Add all the other ingredients and mix. Cover tightly and let hang out for a couple of hours. Serve over rice, wonton crisps or just dig in with your hands.

Shrimp in Thai Coconut Sauce

February 22, 2017 ~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

Thai and Coconut, probably two of my favorite things but when you mix them together with some spice, its pure harmony. Most of the time we have a bag of Kirkland raw, peeled, tail on shrimp in our freezer. No fuss and cooks up in minutes, perfect for a weeknight meal. If you can prep everything, cut all the veg and make the sauce…. or as the French say, “mise en place” then this dish comes together in no time.

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Ingredients

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails on or off, your preference)
4 tablespoons coconut oil, divided (you can use vegetable oil)
2 gloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
½ onion, peeled and sliced
½ red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
½ orange bell pepper, seeded and sliced
½ yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 cup coconut milk
3-5 tablespoons high quality fish sauce (start with 3 tablespoons and add more to taste)
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
Serrano pepper sliced for the heat lovers

Directions

Place the shrimp in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the oil, garlic, ginger, kosher salt and red chili flakes. Toss to coat and let marinade for 10 minutes to 30 minutes.

Heat a good sized skillet over medium high heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onion and peppers and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer the peppers and onion to a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and cook the shrimp for 2 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes or until opaque, transfer shrimp to a plate.

In a medium bowl whisk the coconut milk, fish sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, brown sugar and stir well. Transfer the cooked onion and peppers to the skillet and pour the coconut milk mixture of the peppers. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp to the skillet with the basil and cilantro and toss to coat. Garnish with more cilantro and basil, chopped green onion and sliced Serrano. Serve over rice, noodles or riced cauliflower.

*Recipe adapted from Foodie Crush

Israeli Style Hummus

January 22, 2017January 22, 2017 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

I love hummus, we all love hummus. I pay way too much on store bought brands so I started making my own. As much as I love to make meals from scratch, avoid the big chains, drink local coffee and support small businesses, I am also human. I have been using gasp canned garbanzo beans for my hummus. Okay, canned is still better than say, Sabra’ right? I even used a packaged hummus mix that had everything but the beans and it was pretty darn good. This time I wanted to really make hummus, legit Israeli hummus. I used Bon Appetit’s recipe found here.

It’s no more work than using canned beans and it’s cheaper, win win!

I am not sure it tasted too much different than using canned beans but it was definitely creamier. No reason to look back, no reason to buy store bought. Next time I am going to throw in cilantro and a few serrano’s, actually I am going to do that now.

Roasted Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese

January 4, 2017 ~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

When I roast a chicken it tends to be in the oven anywhere from 75 minutes to 85 minutes, depending on size. Then factoring in rest time, it’s not the quickest meal…but it’s the best way to cook chicken.

When I came across this goat cheese roasted chicken recipe, at first I thought “how come I didn’t think of this?” and then quickly noted to make it this week.

Kaili gets out of school at 3:45 and once we walk home it’s after 4:00. Knowing I didn’t want to spend much time prepping the dish, I went ahead and bought herbed goat cheese. I put a head of garlic and some lemon in the cavity of the chicken and shoved as much goat cheese as I could under the skin. A drizzle of olive oil and a shower of salt, I had it in the oven before I left to pick her up. Normally this wouldn’t work if the husband wasn’t home, hello…not trying to burn the house down. But since he was, it worked out great.

Averi was eating it as I cut it up, I had to slap her little hands away. Kaili gobbled it up but demanded more salt and after dinner we didn’t have much left over.

Such an easy and delicious meal!

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Recipe adapted from: How Sweet It Is

The Best Key Lime Pie

December 2, 2016December 2, 2016 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Ok, so in all seriousness, I have never made a key lime pie before. I know, I know, so how can I call this “the best?” Well because for me it is, and three other people agreed, pretty sure that’s claim to fame…pie fame.

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Sometime during one of our long car rides Shane mentioned that he has never had Key lime pie before. Perfect excuse to make it…right?

Dinner with friends showed up on the calendar, I knew exactly what dessert I was going to bring. The key lime pie I have never made. So, after a few searches on Pinterest and then making sure my few favorite cooking sites agreed, I went for it.

It really is a simple dish to make, that is if you have the necessary tools: needed lime juicer (the last thing you want to do is hand squeeze a fricken pound of tiny limes)

Graham Cracker Crust

1 tablespoons Butter, melted
11 full Graham Crackers
¼ cup Sugar
¼ teaspoon salt

Pie Filling
2 tablespoon key lime zest ( 1 TBS reserve for garnish)
3 Egg Yolks
1 can (14 ounces) Sweetened and Condensed Milk
¾ cup Key Lime Juice (from approximately 1 pound of key limes)

Whipped Cream
1 cup Heavy Cream
1½ tablespoons Sugar

Preheat oven to 350ºF Graham Cracker Crust:
Make graham cracker crumbs in food processor.
Put butter in a med-large mixing bowl and mix in graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt until combined.
Put mixture into a 9-inch pie dish and pat it down with your fingers to make the crust. Bring the crust up the edges as well.
Bake for 10 minutes or until very lightly browned.
Allow to cool while preparing pie filling.

For Pie Filling
Whip 1 tablespoon lime zest (reserving 1/2 TBS for garnish) egg yolks in a large mixing bowl for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Add sweetened and condensed milk and mix for 3 minutes or until thickened.
Add lime juice and mix until combined.
Pour mixture into pie crust.
Place in oven for 15 minutes.

Pie will rise slightly but the filling won’t change color.
Allow to cool for ½ hour at room temperature before cooling completely in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Top with whipped cream and enjoy!

Farro, Watermelon, Tomato and Feta Salad

December 2, 2016December 2, 2016 ~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

A few weeks back we had a very nice lunch in Little Italy. Aside from a couple of delicious pies we also ordered a farro, watermelon, tomato and feta salad with mint and arugula. It was AHmazing. I have been thinking about that salad ever since. I almost made it for Thanksgiving but wasn’t sure that was the best audience to try it out on. Safely back in my own kitchen, I set to work.

In all actuality it’s a fairly easy recipe. If you make the farro ahead of time then you shave 20 minutes off of your prep work. The end result is the perfect combination of sweet, salty, chewy, and a tad spicy, but the punch of mint is the real winner.

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1 cup whole grain farro
2 cups medium dice heirloom tomatoes
2 cups medium dice watermelon
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
4 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 cups baby arugula
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat, stir in farro, reduce heat to medium and simmer until farro is al dente, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain then spread onto a rimmed baking sheet to cool.

While the grains are cooling, make the rest of the salad. Combine tomatoes, watermelon, 1 tablespoons of the olive oil, a pinch of salt, and some freshly ground black pepper, stir then set aside until flavor is intensified, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Combine remaining olive oil and vinegar in a small jar, close, and shake until well combined. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper then mix with the cooled farro.

When tomato-watermelon mixture is ready, drain off any juices and add the mint then stir the mixture into the farro, add the arugula and feta and stir through. Serve immediately.

*recipe adapted from Aida Mollenkamps Salt & Wind

Easy Homemade Gak recipe

October 24, 2016October 24, 2016 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Kaili likes to watch Creative Galaxy and after each episode her creativity is sparked. She comes out wanting to cook or create. I thought about how I used to make Gak with my students and how easy it was. How come I haven’t done this with her yet?

We walked to the drugstore to pick up some of the ingredients. Once the littler one was in bed, we set out to make some homemade Gak.

This comes together in five minutes, it’s too easy.

Ingredients

4 oz. school glue

1/2 cup water + 1/4 cup HOT water

1/2 teaspoon Borax

Food coloring

Mix glue and 1/2 cup water in small bowl or container and mix well.

Add in food coloring if using.

Dissolve the borax in 1/4 cup of hot water. Mix until it’s completely dissolved.

Pore the borax water into the glue mixture.

Stir the Gak and watch as it changes into a solid mass. Knead the Gak for a bit until it’s no longer sticky and wet.

Voila!

It’s a great sensory activity. Mesmerizing.

Cooking Cravings- Butter Lettuce + Blue Cheese + Cayenne Candied Walnuts

October 17, 2016 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

I wanted to love this salad, with that….I make a whole hell of a lot of salads like this, I pick a lettuce, add a fruit, a cheese and a candied nut. Sometimes I throw spices on the nuts but I never make them spicy spicy.

It lost me with the lettuce. Butter lettuce is just too delicate, especially paired with crispy apple and nuts. Maybe grapes would be a better choice? Or just stick with a spring mix blend of lettuce and herbs. The other thing that didn’t work for me was the vinaigrette. It was a tad bitter, it need a bit of sweetness so next time I will add some honey.

All said and done, this is a good salad but for me who makes them daily, not good enough. Although the walnuts can be eaten every damn day, so good!

Dressing Ingredients

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Salad

1 large head of butter or Boston lettuce, separated into leaves, larger leaves torn
Apple, halved and cut into thin slices- I used Fuji
1/2 small red onion, sliced into thin rings
1/2 cup cayenne-candied walnuts

In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, blue cheese, shallot, salt, and pepper.

In a salad bowl, combine the lettuce, apple, and onion. Drizzle in the dressing to taste, toss lightly, and top with the cayenne-candied walnuts.

Cooking Cravings-Sweet Chili and Mustard Glazed Salmon

October 13, 2016 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Sunday I took three recipes out of Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook Cravings to try this week. Usually during the week I don’t actually “make” dinner. I figure out something easy for me and the picky girls. But this week, with Shane working from home I decided to meal plan. I thought it would be the perfect time to knock out a few of Chrissy’s healthier recipes. She has some really good looking dishes in there but those need to be saved for “special occasions” or otherwise known as Saturday’s.

Monday night I made the sweet chili and mustard glazed salmon. This is a really simple dish and cooks in no time. It was good, good enough to make again but not good enough to “put on rotation”.

Ingredients

4 skin on salmon fillets

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

2/3 Thai sweet chili sauce

2 TBS Sambal oelek

2 TBS large grain mustard

Position oven rack 4-6 inches from heating element and preheat the broiler.

Season the salmon all over with s and p. In a small bowl, stir together the sweet chili sauce, sambal and mustard.

Pour the mixture into a large cast iron skillet or oven proof pan. Set the skillet over med-high heat and heat until the mixture begins to simmer. Lay the salmon, skin side up, in that sauce. Cook until the salmon starts to turn pale pink on the outside, about 2 minutes, then move the skillet to the oven and broil until the skin crisps and the salmon is med-rare, about 3-4 minutes.

Remove the salmon from the oven and transfer the salmon to a plate. Return the skillet to the stove, add 1/4 cup water and cook over high heat, stirring and scraping, until the sauce thickens. Pour the sauce over the fish and serve immediately.

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I served the fish with pesto zucchini noodles and tomatoes. I made the pesto and spiralized the zucchini earlier in the day. Then when time came, I blistered some cherry tomatoes over high heat, added the pesto just to heat it through and tossed in the noodles. Very easy and delicious.

Not Bad

September 12, 2016 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

We took full advantage of our Sunday, starting with checking out that shopping center I mentioned a few days ago. It’s got everything, restaurants, a grocery store, hardware store, a dentist and even a Subway.

We chose to eat an early lunch at the place where the locals were. Some grilled meat, fries and cold cerveja.

It was a pretty decent meal. After lunch we took full advantage of our pool, it was very cold but still very nice.

And then we did the worst thing possible. We FaceTimed the girls, it was rough as Kaili was upset and trying to hold back tears. It really put a damper on my day. I tried to shake it off and we got dressed to head out for some tennis. Wags got us all passes to hang out in the family lounge…

It was really nice to sit in the air conditioning with free beer, I mean who would complain about that? We got to really enjoy each others company for a few hours before the match started.