Seafood Continued...

With this dish I am keeping up with two of my resolutions: cooking for myself and eating seafood!

I decided to make Salmon Cakes after flipping through a Gourmet magazine that is lying in my kitchen cabinet.

One word: delicious!

They didn't take me the 25 mins. that the recipe claims, but they were definitely worth the work.

Here is the recipe for the Summer Salmon Cakes with Zucchini Fennel Slaw

The Zucchini Fennel Slaw is also delicious, but I did add more fennel and lemon juice, since I am not the mayo fan. Either way its a delicious accompaniment for the salmon cakes!

Arabic for the Night

My roommate decided she wanted to have an Arabic dinner. She went all out. No real need for words to describe the delicious platters she prepared, except for CONGRATULATIONS to her.

Enjoy the scrumptious pictures...

ohh and one more thing: home made hummus!

Cheesecake Piece-a-Cake

Tonight is girls night at a friends house, and it's dessert potluck. Since I currently own no cake pans, and I absolutely love cheesecake, I decided to make Lime Cheesecake Bars.
Originally, this recipe is supposed to be White Chocolate and Lime Cheesecake Bars, but I couldn't find white chocolate in Trader Joe's (which is where I chose to do my groceries yesterday). So I played it by ear and added a little bit more lime here and more whipped cream there.

Kudos to my roommate who helped me whip cream (not an easy process when you don't have an electric mixer).

I haven't yet tasted the finished product, but I will post my grade later on. I can't wait to try them

Enjoy the pics.

Soup & Salad

So a bit of a fail tonight. I was very excited about a Crispy Caesar Salad with Tofu Croutons, but it didn't really happen. I was sure I had bought silken tofu, but I couldn't find it in our crowded fridge. So, I had to make regular balsamic dressing for my "caesar salad." Croutons weren't so bad at first, but as I had more of them I could only taste the oil.

Overall the salad was good, but frying tofu is too much of a hassle to make again.

I also made Veggie Soup. Hearty and healthy to say the least; yummy and filling also!

Who would have thought...

Those of you who know me will be surprised to see me eating shrimp. A year ago I wouldn't even have considered trying any shrimp dish, but I am exploring new turfs this year, and seafood is one of them.

So tonight I decided to make Shrimp Chop Suey. Turned out pretty good (despite my thoughts that since it looked "weird" it would probably taste disgusting)

Here's the recipe:

*I subbed carrots for celery since we had no celery left from my soup yesterday...

• 1.5 lb medium shrimp (no tail unless you feel like struggling when its time to eat!)
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 lb. bean sprouts
• 10 mushrooms, sliced
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup cashews (I also didn't have these... )
• 1 can water chestnuts
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (plus extra for serving)
• 1 lt or 33 oz. chicken stock
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• S & P
• Oil

1. In saucepan fry onion and shrimp. When shrimp turns pink add sprouts, mushrooms, celery, water chestnuts, and nuts. Stir to mix.
2. When mixture looks shiny (this is a pretty vague description but try to play it by ear when veggies are beginning to cook) add soy sauce and stock. Season with S & P to taste.
3. Dissolve cornstarch in 4 tbsp. water and add to the rest of ingredients. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until slightly thick.

There are still some habits I will never break, and eating a green veggie in as many meals as I can (lunch and dinner) is one of them. Sauteed green beans are a quick and yummy side dish!

I did shrimp cocktail last week, and it was delicious. Cocktail sauce is really very easy to make: combine ketchup and horseradish to taste. Bam you're done! Tastes great.

Since I still had chicken tenderloins left over (and they were the only thing that defrosts quickly), I decided to modify the "Sweet-and-sour Chicken Thighs with Carrots" and serve them for dinner.

It turned out ok, not as good as I was expecting it, but I do have to mention I halved the recipe and subbed Chili Powder for Paprika (since I had none).

Anyways, the chicken was pretty good, and the carrots taste yummy. I also decided to make celery soup as a starter.

Simplest Cookie Ever

There's one cookie recipe I know by heart, and it is by far the easiest cookie you will ever come across; not to mention it tastes great. So here is the recipe for my peanut butter cookies.

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar (1/2 brown; 1/2 white if you want)
• 1 egg

1. Mix ingredients together.
2. Make balls of about 1.5 inches and place on cookie sheet. Press a fork into each cookie perpendicularly so as to form a checker-like pattern.
3. Bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Frittata for Lunch

Mushroom Broccoli Frittata

• 1/2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped broccoli
• 2 mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup egg whites or 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. skim milk
• pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.
2. Heat oil an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and broccoli and saute until softened. Transfer vegetables to plate and set aside.
3. Beat eggs, milk, and salt and pour mixture into same skillet. Cook over medium heat until bottom begins to solidify. Add vegetables and cilantro to egg and disperse evenly.
4. Remove skillet from stovetop and place into oven for about 5 minutes or until frittata's top is firm.

I took this recipe from The Healthy College Cookbook, but I modified it to use the broccoli and mushrooms that were in my fridge. I like egg whites better than eggs, but I'm sure this tastes yummy with whole eggs too. I served it on a bed of field greens for a healthy lunch!

Pork's a first

Orange Pork Chops

• 4 pork chops
• S & P
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 2 oranges peeled
• 1/2 C white wine

1. Season pork chops with S & P. Cook medallions on a cooking tray at 350F until fully cooked.
2. In a saucepan, heat butter and add onion. Add oranges in pieces and white wine.
3. Saute pork chops in saucepan for several minutes, until onions begin to brown. Serve.

Here is a link that helps with pork cooking times (in case you don't have a meat thermometer).

http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--907/pork-cooking-times.asp

I served the pork chops with Giada de Laurentiis' Parmesan Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad on the Food Network