Category Archives: Lunch and Dinner

Lunch and Dinner

I’m Obsessed With A Sardine Salad. No, Really.

Sardine salad with feta and avocado

The word “sardine” by itself is enough to put most people off. Pair “sardine” with “salad” and I know half of you are about to X out of this post. Wait! Give me a chance to tell you why you might want to start eating this surprisingly delicious salad. Hear me out.

I love sardines but I never quite know what to prepare them with. I actually got the inspiration for this salad from a fitness book. I’m a big fan on the Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast, and one day decided to buy his book Get-Fit Guy’s Guide to Achieving Your Ideal Body (my Amazon affiliate link). While his podcasts and blog are AMAZING and he’s just a fountain of knowledge, I didn’t get too much out of this particular book. For one thing, I could never quite decide which body type I have, which is kind of a pre-requisite to achieving your ideal body. But the bigger problem is I looked at the workout plans and decided I would completely disregard them and keep doing what I’m doing. So, yeah. I did get one important thing out of this book: my new favorite salad. He talks about making a salad with greens, veggies, sardines, avocado, and feta. And that’s what I did.

Sardines are like the win-win-win fish for me. They’re low in mercury, high in omega-3 fatty acids (as well as iron, calcium, and potassium), inexpensive, and sustainably-fished. Though fresh sardines taste better, canned sardines are good too. They’re really easy to find and not too high in sodium for a canned food. I suggest opting for sardines with bones rather than the skinless boneless type. The bones are soft enough to eat and you get more calcium that way. Aside from the sardines, this salad has so many nutrients and healthy fats, it’s almost obnoxious. But believe it or not, it tastes kinda awesome! All the ingredients come together really well creating a refreshing Mediterranean-flavored salad. OK, not sure if avocado is Mediterranean but, hey. You can never get enough avocado. The best part of this salad is that it’s stupid easy to make and takes like five minutes. It’s my new fast food.

Mediterranean sardine salad

Mediterranean Sardine Salad With Avocado
Makes 1 serving

1 can of sardines packed in olive oil (preferably including bones)
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 large handful spinach
1 tomato, sliced into 8 wedges
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 ripe avocado, cut into cubed and scooped out of its skin
Squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

Open the can of sardines and pour one tablespoon of the olive oil in the can into a bowl. Slowly add the balsamic vinegar as you whisk furiously with a fork until you have an emulsified vinaigrette. Add the spinach, tomato, and red onion to the bowl and toss until the vinaigrette is evenly distributed. Roughly cut the sardines into big chunks in the can. Top your salad with the half the sardines (or all of them if you’re hungry), feta, avocado cubes, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Prepare to feel awesome.

Sardine Salad

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Lunch and Dinner

Three Clean and Tasty Meals Delivered To My Doorstep: A Blue Apron Review

Wow, these recipe + ingredients delivery services are really taking off! I wrote a review of Grubkit last year–a service that lets you choose a recipe you want to make and they send you a kit that consists of pre-measured non-perishable ingredients and a simple recipe. All you need to do is buy the fresh ingredients and make your meal. Blue Apron takes it a step further. It’s a weekly service that sends you the ingredients and recipes for three meals, for however many servings you choose. You can pick vegetarian or non-vegetarian meals. Unlike Grubkit, Blue Apron sends you everything. Aside from oil and salt, you are delivered every single ingredient you need for your meal.

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I was very fortunate that my friend Lynda hooked me up with a free trial for Blue Apron. I selected the non-vegetarian option. The recipes for that week included crispy chicken chopped salad, roast beef with horseradish sour cream and carrots, and shrimp and asparagus fried rice.

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I received a big, insulated box with all my neatly organized and labelled ingredients, as well as the three recipes printed on big cards with step-by-step photos and instructions.

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I was pleased with the quality of meat, seafood, and produce. I love that they use seasonally inspired recipes, and I found all three to be fairly clean and nutritious. I mean I wouldn’t usually make breaded fried chicken, but when you control the amount and the quality of oil used, and it’s served on a massive plate of vegetables, I’m happy to call that a clean meal. All three recipes were pretty solid for the most part, but they were more everyday-eating as opposed to gourmet. When you’re churning out 6 recipes every week, I guess it’s understandable that Blue Apron doesn’t have time to develop well-tested, mind-blowing recipes. But hey, we don’t need gourmet everyday. My onlycomplaint was they suggested stir-frying with olive oil. No, no, no. At the high temperatures you’re supposed to be stir-frying with, you should be using an oil with a higher smoke point.

I think Blue Apron is a fantastic option for a busy person who still wants to prepare their own meals using fresh ingredients, and is willing to pay a premium for the convenience of having their meals picked out for them and delivered to their door. It comes up to about $10 per meal which is very comparable to take-out, and totally worth the extra effort of cooking it yourself because your meal will be far more nutritious and will probably taste better too. However, if you’re like me and like to do your own food shopping and meal planning, it might be a little restrictive and you would end up spending more than if you went to the grocery store. The good news, if you fall somewhere between these two personality types, is that you have the option of skipping future shipments at no cost if you don’t like what they’re sending you, or if you know you won’t be able to cook all three meals that week.

Final verdict: I’m a fan! It might not be the right option for me right now but I will totally consider signing up again if life gets busier and I need a little extra help in continuing to cook and eat clean, seasonal meals every week. Go check out Blue Apron and give it a try!

Quick Notes

  • $9.99 per person, per meal with free shipping (minimum order of 2 servings of each of the 3 recipes)
  • Fresh, seasonal ingredients delivered to your door (no need to sign for package)
  • Each serving is approximately 500-700 calories. Calories are estimated and printed on each recipe card.
  • You can either pick three vegetarian meals or three meat/fish/poultry meals. As of right now, no mix and match.

Blue Apron
http://www.blueapron.com
Twitter: @blueapronmeals

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Lunch and Dinner

Bacon Fried Rice

Turkey Bacon Fried Rice

I saw this recipe for Bacon Fried Rice on Shutterbean. I’m usually a little dismissive when it comes to Western takes on Chinese food, because you know, that’s my cuisine and my peoples. But how can one not be enticed by Bacon Fried Rice? I mean, bacon. Fried. Rice. All three words sound delicious.

Unfortunately, my go-to store ran out of organic bacon and non-organic supermarket meat scares me, so I had to settle for turkey bacon. It still came out tasty, but it was definitely lacking that little kick the bacon grease would have given it. Go check out the recipe on Shutterbean, it’s good stuff. My only suggestion would be to julienne the carrots and stir-fry them with the veggies, but that’s just ’cause I hate raw carrots. Can’t wait to try this again with real bacon!

bacon fried rice

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Lunch and Dinner

I Need A Hug From My Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is a crazy time in my life. There’s so much going on that it’s a little too much to take in at times. I put in my notice at work last week. While I still have two months to go, I am starting to pack up everything I’ve acquired in my ten years in New York City to return to a faraway city I haven’t lived in since I was a teenager. I’m talking opposite-side-of-the-earth far. I’m ready to start a new chapter but I’m not ready to leave all the people I love, even if it ends up being temporary. It’s bittersweet.

I’m not doing the best job of processing all my different emotions, the change, and my never-ending to-do list. Or how to balance productivity with spending time with the ones I will miss the most. All I can do is try. Sometimes I just need a hug. May it be in the form of a physical cuddle, encouraging words, or a box of cookies warm bowl of soup.

I’ve actually only had chicken tortilla soup once but it was the most delicious, comforting thing I could have eaten on a cold winter’s night. I’ve been craving it ever since. And while I don’t make as good a version as La Esquina, this is exactly what I’ve needed the past few days.

chicken tortilla soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Makes about 6 servings

Adapted from Eat, Live, Run

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced (remove seeds if you don’t deal well with heat)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoon salt
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
1 14oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes

For serving:
corn tortillas, cut into strips
a squeeze of lime juice
a few chunks of avocado
chopped cilantro

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the chicken breasts and simmer for about 20 minutes, until cooked through. Drain and set aside to cool. Then chop into cube-sized pieces.

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large pot. Once hot, add the diced onion and jalapeno and cook for five minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the chili powder and cumin and mix until well combined.

Pour in the chicken stock and add the diced tomatoes, black beans, diced cooked chicken and salt. Bring to a boil for a couple of minutes. To serve, ladle out your desired portions and add tortilla strips into each serving. Lightly stir each so that the tortilla can start to soften in the hot soup. Top each serving with lime juice, avocado, and chopped cilantro.

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Lunch and Dinner

The Chinese Takeout Cookbook: Beef Chow Fun

beef chow fun the chinese takeout cookbook

Despite being born and raised in Hong Kong, I never really learned to make Chinese food, aside from simple fried rice and stir-fried eggs with tomatoes. And much as I love Chinese food, I don’t know all too much about it, not even my beloved Cantonese cuisine. I was even more confused when I moved to the US and didn’t recognize items on American Chinese takeout menus like General Tso’s Chicken and Crab Rangoon, though they soon became my favorite guilty pleasures. I’ve been really into cooking for over a year now and am proud of what I’ve accomplished in the kitchen, yet something has always been nagging me at the back of my mind. I need to learn how to make Chinese food. I need to get back in touch with my roots. Looks like I’ve found a little motivation!

chinese-takeout-cookbook

I’m excited. One of my favorite bloggers, Diana Kuan of Appetite for China, recently got her book The Chinese Takeout Cookbook published (my Amazon Associates link). She posts awesome recipes on her blog and I even had the opportunity to take one of her dumpling-making classes here in New York City (she’s just as lovely in person). So of course I had to get a copy when the book came out. It’s filled with all kinds of great stuff I can’t wait to try, both “authentic Chinese” and “American Chinese”. I used to be a bit of a snob about that distinction but she makes a really great point in her book–all food has evolved from somewhere or something else; food changes, travels, adapts.

I chose to make Beef Chow Fun first, as it’s one of my favorite dishes, and I had a huge bloody steak leftover from my Valentine’s Dinner, waiting to be stir-fried. I only have one small Chinese market in my neighborhood and unfortunately they didn’t know what fermented black beans were, so I had to forego those for my recipe. Otherwise, it came out pretty good! I still need much practice with the art of stir-frying and I don’t think I fried the noodles for long enough. Regardless, I enjoyed my homemade Beef Chow Fun and appreciated that it didn’t come out super greasy as it sometimes can when you order takeout.

I’m actually moving back to Hong Kong soon, where I won’t need to trek to a Chinatown to gather ingredients, so this cookbook is coming with me. I have a feeling that I will be turning to this book again and again. It will feed me comforting, nourishing food in the years to come.

beef chow fun

 

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Lunch and Dinner

Las Vegas and Canned Salmon

vegas

I went to Las Vegas this past weekend for a Bachelorette Party Trip. I had never been before, and what better way to go than with a really great group of girls and to celebrate one of my best friend’s last days of being a single lady? Although our time in Vegas was waaaaaay tamer than most people’s, I had a blast.

I bought this dress in Vegas to blend in with all the glitter and rhinestones. I clearly didn’t get the gaudy memo. I look deceivingly happy in this photo–in reality we were at Tao and were all cranky about how much we were paying for such shitty food.

We got back to NYC Monday night after midnight, and with mild jet lag and only 5 hours of sleep, I dragged myself to work the next day. It was not pretty. I do not function well without a good night’s sleep. I hid from all my coworkers to avoid conversation and ate anything with sugar in sight to keep me from falling asleep.

crispy salmon bites

Cooking is the last thing I feel like doing when I’m exhausted and disorganized after vacation, even if some real food would do my body so much good. This is where Gina’s Crispy Salmon Bites come in. I rarely eat canned fish, and if I do, they’re sardines because I can’t get fresh sardines nearby. But in my current frazzled state of mind, these little babies are perfect. They are tasty, they’re quick to make, the ingredients are super easy to gather, and they taste worse for you than they actually are, which is great because I am NOT craving a salad right now. Check out the recipe for Crispy Salmon Bites at Running to the Kitchen, and bookmark it for a lazy day.

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Lunch and Dinner

When You’re Too Lazy to Make Thanksgiving Dinner, Make Turkey Burgers

Maybe it’s not that you’re lazy. Maybe you’re only cooking for one or two. Maybe you can’t afford a whole turkey. Maybe you’re not into the gluttony of a huge Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe you’re not American and you have no idea what I’m talking about.

Whatever the reason is that you’re not having your typical American Thanksgiving dinner, here’s a way you can have a little taste of it without too much work. I love this burger with baked sweet potato fries. It’s a reasonable size, it’s clean (especially if you buy farmers market turkey), and you’ve got all the delicious flavors of Thanksgiving without the food coma.

But the very, very best part? I feel like I’m eating Ikea Swedish meatballs, for some reason. I love Ikea. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Thanksgiving Burgers
Makes 4 burgers

1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken or beef stock
4 dinner rolls or your bun of choice
1 handful baby salad greens
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Homemade cranberry sauce (recipe below)
Baked sweet potato “fries” (recipe below)

In a large bowl, add the diced onion, salt, and pepper to ground turkey. Mix thoroughly with your hands, then form four equally sized patties. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place the patties in the skillet and cook for about 7 minutes on each side, depending on thickness of your patties, until cooked through. Keep the heat on, but remove patties from skillet and cover (or place in the oven) to keep warm.

You can start toasting your rolls or buns before this next step. To make the gravy, mix the corn starch with 2 tablespoon of water to make a thin paste. Pour paste into the same skillet and start whisking to mix with skillet drippings. As it thickens, pour the milk and stock, while continuing to whisk. After a few minutes, it should reach your desired consistency.

Now you can assemble your burgers. Cut your freshly toasted rolls or buns. Spread a teaspoon of Dijon mustard on the bottom half. Place a few baby salad greens on top of mustard, followed by the turkey patty, a tablespoon of gravy, a tablespoon of homemade cranberry sauce. Top with the other half of your roll and serve with baked sweet potato “fries”.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Makes about 1 3/4 cups

3 cups cranberries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup of orange juice
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon of vanilla extract

Add cranberries, both sugars, orange juice, lemon juice, and cinnamon to a small saucepan over medium high heat. When mixture starts to bubble, reduce to low heat.

Let mixture simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When cranberries are very tender, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Baked sweet Potato “Fries”

A few sweet potatoes, peeled
Canola oil
Salt and pepper
Additional seasoning of choice, e.g. I like paprika

Heat the oven to 450°F.

Cut your sweet potatoes into “fry”-shaped 1/4 inch-thick strips. Try to keep them all around the same thickness so they bake evenly. In a large bowl, add canola oil a little splash at a time while tossing the strips, until you just coat them with enough oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and your seasoning of choice, and toss until strips are evenly coated.

Like a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread strips in single layer, leaving room between them. You may need more than one baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and use a spatula to flip all the strips. Return to oven for another 15 minutes, or until “fries” are crispy.

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Lunch and Dinner

A Cozy Kitchen’s Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Guys. I am eating pumpkin like there’s no tomorrow. Someone needs to stop me. But it’s soooo good.

I’ve been making my own purée by baking delicious sugar pumpkins from the farmers market, and using it in things like Pumpkin Pie Cream of Wheat. And now, A Cozy Kitchen’s Spicy Pumpkin Soup. I love that blog. It’s like that lady is in my head and knows what I’m hungry for. It’s an interesting recipe and easy to make. Go check out Adrianna’s blog and whip up a big, perfect bowl of this soup. Or in my case, a mug with a big capital “I”. ‘Cause that’s how I roll.

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Lunch and Dinner

Warm Up And Nourish Yourself With This Tomato and Sweet Potato Soup

I am back from Europe! I had such a wonderful time–the wedding in France was beautiful, we met some great people, and we had lots of fun exploring Amsterdam. But let me tell you, I did not take care of myself AT ALL. Between the drinking, eating insane amounts of cake, not sleeping, and walking around in the cold all day, I came home with the sniffles and a sore throat.

It’s getting chilly here in New York too, and all I want is soup. One that will flood my deprived body with the nutrients it needs. So I made a simple but hearty soup made up of a variety of super healthy, cancer-fighting ingredients. Make a Tea and Berries Green Smoothie in the same day and you’ve got one delicious detox right there!

Nourishing Tomato and Sweet Potato Soup
Makes about 4 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups diced sweet potato
1 can (28-ounce) whole peeled tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped broccoli or cauliflower
1/2 cup pinto or red kidney beans
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and sweet potato. Saute until the sweet potatoes start to brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the whole can of tomatoes, including liquid, cauliflower or broccoli, and chicken broth to the pot. Bring to a simmer, then cook until the potatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the turmeric and beans and simmer for a couple of minutes more. Stir in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and let the soup cool.

Working in batches if needed, transfer the soup to a blender and purée until smooth. If serving immediately, return to the pot to warm up, and then ladle the soup into serving bowls. Feel free to stir in a tablespoon of heavy cream or top with some shredded cheese, if you wish. Otherwise, you can keep the soup in the fridge or freezer. It will taste just as good tomorrow!

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Lunch and Dinner

Saying Goodbye to Summer with Fish Tacos

Oh, fish tacos. You taste like summer vacation. It’s way, way past the first official day of Fall, yet I’ve been clinging. Last week, I was still wearing sandals and not enough layers. I ignored the new fall produce at the market and scooped up a bagful of peaches and tomatoes. By the end of the week I accepted that summer is gone and pulled my tights and coats out from storage. Fall is here! But today, I eat fish tacos. Today I say goodbye to summer.

My favorite fish taco in New York City is at Réunion Surf Bar. It’s one of the few foods I fall in love with over and over again, every single time I have it. I’m too wimpy to ask them how they make it, but last time I was there, I poked around my taco to see what I could identify. These Surf Bar Fish Tacos are not a recreation, but rather my homage to Réunion.

Battered and fried fish is de rigueur for tacos, but you know me. I’m not a big fan of deep frying. Why ruin what would otherwise be a healthy dish? I lightened up the recipe with some crispy panko-crusted baked fish. I’ve also included a stupid easy guacamole recipe if you don’t want to use store-bought stuff but can’t be bothered to make real guac. You’ll appreciate the Last Minute Guacamole when you have an ingredient list this long!

Surf Bar Fish Tacos
Makes 6 tacos

1 12oz fillet of tilapia, or other whitefish
Olive oil or cooking spray
1 egg white
6 tablespoons panko
2 tablespoon flour
Salt and pepper
6 corn tortillas
Block of Monterey Jack cheese
6 tablespoons guacamole (see recipe below)
1 medium tomato, de-seeded and finely diced
1 jalapeño, de-seeded and finely diced
1 scallion, finely diced
Small handful of shredded red cabbage (optional)
1 small carrot, shredded
2 tablespoons of Thousand Island Dressing, or mayonnaise
Hot sauce
Fresh cilantro
2 limes, quartered

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Cut the fish fillet into 6 2oz strips. Grease a baking sheet with the olive oil or cooking spray. Mix the panko and flour in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Dip each fish strip into the egg white, then the panko mixture to coat all surfaces. Place the crusted fish strips on the baking sheet and bake the fish on the top rack of the oven for about 5 minutes until cooked through, turning the baking sheet once for even cooking.

While the fish is cooking, start heating up the tortillas one by one in a dry pan over a low flame, until soft and warm. Wrap warm tortillas in a clean cloth.

Mix the diced tomato, jalapeño, scallion, and shredded cabbage together in a small bowl to make salsa mixture. In another small bowl, stir in a couple dashes of hot sauce into the thousand island dressing or mayo. Add the shredded carrot to hot thousand island or mayo, and mix it up.

Now you’re ready to assemble the tacos. First, cut a very, very thin strip of cheese, about an inch wide and about the length of the tortilla. Place it in the middle of a tortilla. Top the strip of cheese with a tablespoon of guacamole. Layer 2 tablespoons of salsa and cabbage mixture, then a strip of baked fish on top. Garnish with a tablespoon of dressed shredded carrot and cilantro leaves. Repeat with the rest of the tacos. Serve each with a wedge of lime.

Last Minute Guacamole
Makes about 1/2 cup

2 ripe avocados
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper

Cut avocados in half and remove pits. Scoop the flesh out of 3 avocado halves and put in a blender. Pour lime juice in. Give it a few pulses until you have a smooth consistency. Cut the flesh of the last avocado half into small cubes and gently mix them into the guacamole. Done!

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