May 2014 – Buen provecho…2022

Scallops Stir Fry

Sorry dear followers, I fell asleep under a palm tree on the beach in a hammock…NOT…it has rained everyday now since last Thursday and my draft was waterlogged…LOL

Still in the process of cleaning out the freezer before we make the move to the new house next week. I found scallops and wanted to cook something quick.

Bay scallops may be sweet, but they’re not shy. Here, they stand up to the intense combo of soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and ginger. If you don’t find bay scallops, use the sea ones, but cut them in half. Actually I didn’t even make the rice. I just added a side of freshly steamed broccoli!

Bay Scallops Stir Fry [Inspired by Martha Stewart}

• Prep Time 15 minutes • Total Time 25 minutes • Serves 4
Ingredients

o Coarse salt and ground pepper
o 1 cup long-grain white rice
o 1/4 cup rice vinegar
o 1/4 cup soy sauce
o 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
o 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
o 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
o 1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced
o 2 bunches scallions, white and green parts separated, cut into 2-inch lengths
o 2 carrots, halved lengthwise, or quartered if large, and cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
o 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
o 1 pound bay scallops, patted dry (or 10 larger ones)
Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups salted water to a boil. Add rice, and return to a boil, stirring once. Reduce to a simmer; cover and cook until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and let steam for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Set sauce aside.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium-high. Add bell pepper, scallion whites, carrots, and ginger; cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add scallops and scallion greens; cook, stirring occasionally, until scallops are cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Whisk sauce briefly, and add to skillet; cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Serve scallop stir-fry over rice.

Berry Cobbler

Looking back over the recipes I have posted, I notice there are very few desserts….probably because we try not to eat many desserts unless we are at a party or going to one! This one would make a great Memorial Day dessert or save it for July 1st or the 4th of July. The colors work well with French vanilla ice cream! It so simple even the kids can make it…

Berry Cobbler * (see below)

Ingredients
Two 12-oz bags frozen mixed berries/peaches
1 box white or yellow cake mix
¼ cup melted butter
Approximately 1 can of diet 7-up or other clear soda (355 ml)- drizzle all over cake mix.
(might need more than 1 can of soda to avoid dry spots)

Instructions
Place frozen fruit in a greased 9×13 baking dish. Add dry cake mix over the top. Drizzle ¼ cup melted butter over the cake mix. Pour soda slowly over cake mix. DO NOT stir the cake mix and the soda – this will give you a ‘crust’. If you stir the two, you will have a cake like topping.

Bake 350 for 45-50 min or longer until berries are cooked.

* If berries are not your thing, experiment with other fruits such as rhubarb, mango cubes, melon, etc. I am thinking about strawberry and rhubarb? Uhm… wonder what would happen with strawberry and banana and drizzling the finished cake with chocolate syrup aka…banana split???

Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Basil and Whitefish

Unlike in Canada, we tend to eat a lot of fish here, probably because it is so plentiful. Our favourite is, of course, Pacific salmon when we can get it, but we also enjoy many other fish fresh from the Gulf! Mostly, we purchase white fish, which has a variety of types, more common are grouper, bass, pompano and red snapper in our area.

White fish is especially low in fat.
White fish is rich in B vitamins.
White fish is rich in selenium.
White fish is a great source of iodine.
White fish is high in protein.

Source: http://kathrynvercillo.hubpages.com/hub/5-Health-Benefits-of-White-Fish

Having said the above, one also has to be concerned about the source of the fish you are buying. Is it fresh caught or farm-bred? Much of the frozen tilapia is from China. Here is what one doctor had to say about that…

Farm-bred fish have been found to have high concentrations of antibiotics and pesticides – Where do farm-bred fish get their antibiotics? The crowded conditions of fish farms cause the fish to be more susceptible to disease. To keep them alive, farm owners give antibiotics to the fish to stave off disease. Farm-bred fish are also treated with pesticides to combat sea lice.2 The pesticides used to treat these fish are so deadly that they have been caused to kill wild salmon that are accidentally exposed to them. These pesticides are also eventually released in the ocean where they get into the bodies and systems of other marine life.

This is my source…

http://draxe.com/eating-tilapia-is-worse-than-eating-bacon/

This recipe is not only easy to prepare, it is very tasty and looks so great on a plate. Food Network to the rescue with this one! I hope the preamble does not put you off! Read labels!!! Ask questions.

Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Basil and Whitefish

Total Time: 30 min Prep: 5 min Cook: 25 min Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 pints cherry tomatoes
1/2 dozen baby peppers in a variety of colours tops only removed – (Costco sells these by the bag here).
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
12 to 15 garlic cloves, peeled
Coarse salt
Cracked black pepper
1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves, torn into halves and thirds 1 to 1 1/4 pounds white fleshed fish [see note above]

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a 9 by 13-inch baking pan, combine tomatoes, peppers, oil, garlic, salt, pepper and 1/2 the basil. Roast for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, gently stir. Nestle fish in pan with tomatoes and peppers, place back in oven and continue roasting 7 to 10 minutes more or until fish is no longer translucent and tomatoes are just beginning to burst. Remove from oven. Divide fish among serving plates. Add remaining basil to tomatoes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Spoon over fish in equal portions.

Grilled Portobellos with Goat Cheese and Fresh Figs

Most of you know that Larry loves to experiment in the kitchen, while I am strictly a cookbook cook! A friend shared her portobellos with us the other night.

“What’s for dinner?”, he asked.

“How about basil and prosciutto pizza with goat cheese?” I replied.

“Uhm” he replied. “What about using the mushrooms?”

“Go for it!” I replied. Et voila, here is the result complete with a pic so you can see how great it looked. BTW…it was fantastic!!!

The recipe…two per person!

Grilled Portobellos with Goat Cheese and Figs
Ingredients
4 large Portobello mushrooms
200 g package of (herbed) goat cheese
1 tsp chopped garlic
3 strips of precooked bacon or use slightly cooked prosciutto
3 Tbs of fresh basil , small pieces
Balsamic glaze
Olive oil
10 fresh figs, thinly sliced

Chinese 5 spice powder* available in most supermarkets…

Preparation
Soften the goat cheese so it is spreadable.
Prepare a ribbed grill pan, brush it with olive oil and place over medium heat. Remove stem from mushrooms, chop it finely and set aside.
Brush both sides of the mushrooms liberally with olive oil.
Cut bacon into one inch pieces onto a doubled sheet of paper towel and microwave one minute. Set aside.
Into a small fry pan, put a Tbsp. of olive oil and put over medium heat. Add the chopped mushroom stems and the garlic and fry for about 3 minutes. Turn off heat.
Place the sliced figs in a single layer in a pan large enough to accommodate them. Sprinkle water, one tablespoon at a time, enough so that the slices won’t stick to the pan and simmer them just long enough to soften the slices. Turn off heat and let sit until needed.
Place the mushrooms topside up on the grill and grill for about 5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a microwavable plate and microwave on high for one minute. Transfer back to the grill, topside down this time. Cover the surface of each mushroom with a generous coating of cheese, place the chopped mushroom mixture, then the slices of fig over the cheese.
Then add the bacon bits, and finally the basil pieces. Sprinkle sparingly with Chinese 5 Spice powder. Drizzle with balsamic glaze. By this time the mushrooms should be cooked through….soft but not mushy. Plate and serve.