Grilled Tilapia and Summer Vegetables

I'm bad at taking pictures.

As a life rule, but also for this blog. Not 'I take out of focus pictures so instagram is my best friend' bad, but bad as in 'I'm halfway done with my dinner this would be a good recipe for the blog OH CRAP I forgot to snap a photo again'. Bad.

BUT.

If you're looking for a great, fresh summer tasting fish recipe, here it is. This is kind of an amalgam of a bunch of recipes that I looked up when I was looking for something to make. And of course, my veggies and fish didn't have the gorgeous grill marks that all the recipes featured, because I'm no stepford wife. Nevertheless, it was delicious. I roasted a bunch of veggies in a grill pan, and when those were done, grilled some tilapia with spices. While all that was cooking, I made some brown rice (rice seems to be my fatal flaw. No matter what I do, I can't seem to cook it right. This batch was ok, if a little...chewier than I intended. If anyone has any rice tips for me, pleeassssse tell me what I am doing wrong) and when it was done, I layered (dumped) the brown rice into a bowl and put the fish and veggies on top. Stir it all together, and you have a really nice dinner. Perfect for sitting in front of the tv and doing absolutely nothing.

What you'll need:
1 cup of brown rice, uncooked
2 tbps olive oil
1 onion
1 each yellow and red bell pepper
1 can of corn
1 clove of garlic
2 lbs of tilapia
black pepper
chili powder
cumin
pinch of salt
dash of hot sauce, if desired

How to do it:

Cook the rice according to package directions in a medium saucepan. Add whatever spices you would like to the water. I used chili powder, black pepper, a bit of salt, and garlic powder.

While that's cooking, in a grill pan (or large skillet) heat the olive oil over medium heat. Chop the onion and add to the pan. Let it cook until soft and translucent. Add the bell peppers and corn, and let cook. Don't mix it too much, you want the outside to get a little bit of that charred look. One everything is tender, add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Set aside in a bowl.

Lay your tilapia out and sprinkle with black pepper and cumin. To the same grill pan, add the tilapia, and cook for about 7 minutes on each side, or until your fish is cooked through. When you flip the fish, sprinkle the other side with spices as well. Flake the fish apart, and add the vegetables back to the pan. Add hot sauce, to your liking (I like mine spiiccyyyy). Layer the rice in a bowl, and top with the fish veggie mixture. Go find a porch somewhere and eat your dinner in the sunset.

Sunshine and showers,

Dalia

Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa

I'm on a quinoa kick lately. I've been dying to add it to everything, and I've been using it as a substitute for rice in everything I can think of. It can be slightly messy (definitely not Stepford Wife friendly, at least not the way I make it) but really, let's be honest--that just adds to the appeal for me. Last night, going through the fridge, I saw some peppers that needed to be used pretty quickly, and the idea dawned on me: Why not stuffed peppers with quinoa? I added in Morningstar Crumbles instead of ground beef or turkey for a pareve meal, but you can totally make it a meat affair. (I love Morningstar products and eat something by them almost every day. I would LOVE to be sponsored by them one day *ahemareyoulisteningMorningstar?* What can I say? I love free food. It's worth a shot. Anywhoo...)After whipping it all together, it was a great meal. So great in fact, that I almost didn't have enough to take leftovers with me to work today. That's what I call a recipe worth keeping. (Also, no pictures. Alas.)

What you'll need:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 package of Morningstar Crumbles*
2 cans or tomato sauce (more or less to your liking)
dash each of oregano, basil, black pepper
1 red pepper, orange pepper and yellow pepper

How to do it:
In a medium saucepan, prepare the quinoa according to package directions

In a large skillet, heat up the olive oil on medium heat and sautee the onions until soft and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add in the Crumble and spices, and let brown. Once the Crumble is cooked through, add in 1 can of tomato sauce and the quinoa. Stir until simmering, slightly thickened, and heated through.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Grease a baking pan. Slice the peppers lengthwise and remove seeds and membranes. Line them up in the pan, skin side down. Fill the peppers with the quinoa filling, and pour the other can of sauce over the peppers. Cook at 350 for an hour or until the peppers are very tender (if the peppers are undercooked they have a slightly rubbery quality and make your teeth squeak when you eat them and yecchhhhh).

As always, enjoy.

*You can substitute 1lb of ground beef or turkey if you prefer that. I don't know why you would, but I'm not judging.

Peace and granola,

Dalia

Tale of the Many Skillets

I love fish. Seriously. I will eat it prepared basically any way--baked, broiled, raw (mmmmsushisushisushi). We had some tilapia in the freezer, and I saw this recipe, and decided, what the heck? For those of you too lazy to click on the link, the recipe is billed as a 'healthy sweet and sour fish'. Now, I'm a tad nitpicky when people use the term healthy. Sure, the fish isn't deep fat fried before being doused in the sauce, but the sauce itself has lots of sugar--pick your poisons I guess, but if you're watching your sugar/calorie intake, I would suggest subbing splenda or just leaving out the additional sugar in the sauce.

Admittedly, I didn't look at the recipe super carefully when I started cooking, so let me say this: if you want to make this recipe, do all your mise en place (prep: chopping, cutting, etc) before you start cooking if you don't want to be running around your kitchen like you're in a ridiculous minute-to-win-it challenge. Let me also say, PinchofYum looooves her skillets. Every single step is a different large skillet and WHY DOES SHE THINK I HAVE SO MANY?! People don't hoard skillets like they hoard cats, do they? I used the same skillet for each step, and it was totally fine. One thing she does say is to drain excess liquid when you're browning the fish. I didn't do that, and the fish sort of steamed instead of fried, so...yeah. Drain, baby drain. Also, garlic chili sauce is my favorite new thing, and so I am grateful for this recipe for introducing me to it. Yay for impromptu purchases at Sprouts that turn out to be useful!

HEALTHY SWEET AND SOUR FISH

Author: Pinch of Yum

Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs. white fish filets such as tilapia
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper
• 2 yellow onions
• 2 red, yellow, and green peppers (each) (I used one of each and it was perfect)
• 2-3 cups fresh pineapple (I used a can of pineapple rings, chopped)
• ½ cup vinegar
• ⅓ cup ketchup
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup pineapple juice (used the juice from the canned pineapple)
• ½ cup orange juice
• ¼ cup sweet chili garlic sauce (more to taste) (I actually used spicy garlic chili sauce and it turned out wonderful)
• 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• cooked brown rice
• sesame seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

Fish: Cut the fish into bite-sized pieces and mince 1 onion. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute for 1 minute. Add the fish and sprinkle with cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, flipping occasionally and draining any excess liquid, for 5-10 minutes or until the pieces are golden brown on the outside and white all the way through. Set aside.

Notice the lovely not brownness of my fish. Next time I shall drain the liquid.

Vegetables: Chop the bell peppers and 1 onion into bite-sized pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet and saute the peppers and onions for 5-10 minutes, until golden brown on the outside and tender-crisp. Chop the pineapple into bite-sized pieces and add to the pan, cooking for another few minutes. Set aside.

Interestingly, Hubby said he could have done without the pineapple in the chopped veggies portion, although the juice adds a lot to the sauce. So, use at your own preference, discretion.

Sauce: Combine the vinegar, ketchup, sugar, salt, pineapple juice, orange juice, and sweet chili garlic sauce in a large skillet over medium low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk the cornstarch into a few tablespoons of water until smooth. Add to the sauce in the skillet and bring to a low boil. Cook for a few more minutes until the sauce is thickened.

Ok, I'll say it--at this point, the sauce kind of looks...pukey. Let it simmer and reduce, and I promise it looks better after you add the cornstarch.

Combine the fish, vegetables, and sauce in a large pan or bowl. Serve over brown rice or quinoa (I did quinoa--super good!) and enjoy!

Peace and jalapenos,

Dalia

Now You Can Have Pesach Sushi All Year Round!**

Jokes. I don't know why you would want the Pesach sushi all year round when the real stuff is totally delicious. But in general, I like to keep an eye on nutrition. We've had a delicious version of this salad here in the community at several people's houses, and when it was my turn*...I of course decided to tinker with it, since it was perfectly fine the way that it was. I subbed in quinoa for the more classic white rice, and it was not bad! I think next time I'll use half white rice and half quinoa just to mix up the texture a little bit. This recipe didn't come from a Stepford blog, but the recipe was good enough that I needed to share. Enjoy!

Sushi Quinoa Salad
1 cup of quinoa, uncooked
Half an avocado, chopped
Half an english cucumber, peeled and cut into matchsticks (fancy people call this julienned)
Half a package of mock crab, defrosted

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Prepare the cup of quinoa according to package directions. 

While this is cooking, prepare the dressing, and let chill in the refrigerator. 

Let the quinoa cool to room temperature. Add in the avocado, cucumber, and mock crab. 

Pour dressing over the salad, mix, chill, and enjoy.

*This salad was part of a gorgeous meal that was mostly made by my husband. The rest of the meal included Roasted Asparagus, RIBS (recipe to come), Salad, and brownies for dessert as we reclined on the couch, reading Harry Potter and moaning about how full we were. It was AWESOME.

**Traditionally, those Jews of Ashkenazi descent don't eat rice on Pesach. Recently, many upscale restaurants and Pesach Programs have started featuring sushi on Pesach with the rice portion made out of quinoa. NOT AS GOOD.