Sweet Love and Ginger

Clean

Pistachio Crusted Cod & Roasted Veggies

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Pistachio Crusted Cod

I was a little apprehensive about this recipe, it was on my radar for a while before I actually made it, but we have a lot of pistachios right now. Somehow these have become a staple in our Easter baskets for my family. I really love them, but they were on sale a few weeks ago, so I have an overabundance of them and I’m looking for other ways to use them other than just eating them out of the bag. I came across this recipe in my trust ol’ Clean Eating Magazine and thought it might work out well for this task.

See I have this thing about fish. I absolutely love it, but I’m a traditionalist when it comes to its preparation, there are things that just don’t seem right to me. Fish tacos for one; I’m sure when I eventually break down and try one I will love it, but they just don’t sound appetizing to me for some reason. I don’t know I’m just a weirdo.

Pistachio Crusted Cod

So if you get my drift I was terrified to make this dish, but lately I have been all about pushing my own limits in the kitchen so I did it just the same. And it wasn’t all that bad; in fact it was kind of good. I
opted not to go with the salad, because broccoli was on sale and roasted some of that up with the sweet potato. I just popped it in when the sweet potato was half way done. Can I tell you how much I loved the broccoli this way? It was great!

Pistachio-Crusted Cod
Olive oil cooking spray
1 tsp salt & pepper each
1/2 cup brown rice flower
1 large egg
1 tbs water
1/2 cup shelled pistachios, finely chopped
4 – 6oz cod fillets

Preheat oven to 425. Line a large baking sheet with foil and mist with cooking spray. Whisk egg and water in a small shallow dish. Season cod with salt and pepper, then dust with flour. quickley dip in egg, and transfer to pistachios, coating top and sides. Lightly press to ensure coverage. Place on baking sheet with coated side facing up and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish is opaque and cooked through. (serves 4)

 

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Steak & Soba Stir Fry

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Part of my most resent quest to make vegetables the
spotlight means trying new things. I saw this recipe in my Bon Appétit magazine recently and knew I had to try it. I’ve eaten bok
choy plenty of times in the average Chinese food take out, but I’ve never
cooked with it. Besides the picture is so pretty isn’t it? It makes me want to
dive right in and gobble it all up.

This recipe is my own take on that one. I wanted to include
more vegetables, and avoid purchasing oyster sauce which I would rarely use,
and I wanted it a little more liquidy (yeah I made up my own word there). It
being my first foray with soba noodles I don’t know whether I over cooked them
or if they are naturally just sticky, but the extra liquid I tossed them in
really helped. I also wanted to clean it up a bit, not that there is a whole
lot in need on cleaning on this one. It’s pretty darn healthy already.

The result was amazing. I loved this recipe; the mixture of
textures and flavors is really awesome. Beware it’s much more filling that you
would think, so start with a small portion.

Steak & Soba Stir
Fry

6 oz soba noodles
16oz flank steak
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive oil cooking spray
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
2 heads baby bok choy, cut into 8th’s
2-3 carrots cut into match sticks
4 tbs soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1tbs toasted sesame oil
½ cup vegetable or beef broth
1 bunch scallions, greens cut into 2 inch strips
1 handful roasted almonds

Cook soba noodles according to package instructions and set
aside. Generously season steak with salt and pepper, and placed in a greased
skillet over medium high heat. Cook 4-6 minutes per side, or until medium rare,
remove from heat and let rest for at least 10 minutes, while the stir fry is
prepared. Wipe out the skillet and heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onion,
garlic, and ginger until softened, roughly 1-2 minutes. Add bok choy and carrot
and cook for 4-5 minutes, tossing occasionally. In a small bowl mix together
soy, sesame oil, vinegar, and broth. Add to pan, tossing lightly. Stir in
scallions and almonds cooking for an additional minute or two. Remove
vegetables from heat, leaving remaining liquid in pan, then add soba to pan and
toss to coat. Add to stir fry mixture. Slice Steak into ½ to ½ inch ling slices
and serve. (serves 4)

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D4One: Clean Bruschetta Chicken & Alfredo Sauce

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I am super excited about this recipe. It’s got a great
combination of fresh ingredients, with wonderful bold flavors, that meld
together wonderfully for a wonderfully well balanced meal.

The alfredo sauce is rich, creamy and wonderfully thick,
something that is not always found in clean recipes, but makes me so happy. I
especially love how wonderfully it picks up the flavors of any herbs and spices
that are added. This paired with the bruschetta chicken is a real winner,
especially when you add just a little bit more of the tomato mixture. The fresh
juicy tomatoes and basil add brightness and texture to the dish which really
makes a great visual impression. I really like the combination of the cold
tomato mixture on top of the warm chicken, alfredo and melty cheese.

This meal made me feel like I was eating at a restaurant,
except that I was really in sweatpants, watching White Collar, and it only took
about 20 minutes. Do you believe that? I mean really! I started boiling the water
for the pasta, and had the chicken done long just as it started to boil, and by
the time the pasta was done so was its sauce. That’s great right?

Clean Bruschetta Chicken

1 medium tomato, deseeded and diced

2-3 large basil leaves, staked rolled and sliced thin

1 small garlic clove, minced

2 tbs oil

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 chicken paillard

1 slice low fat mozzarella cheese

In a small bowl combine the tomato, basil and garlic,
tossing to mix, set aside. Preheat grill, grill pan, or skillet (be sure to
grease the pan with cooking spray). Combine oil and vinegar in a small bowl. Place
chicken on the grill and brush top and sides with balsamic mixture. Continue to
cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes a side, brushing with vinegar mixture continuously.
Once chicken is nearly cooked through add cheese to the top and cook for an
additional minute or 2 until the cheese melts. Remove from heat and serve with
tomato mixture on top.

 

Clean Alfredo Sauce

1 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

½ cup skim or other low fat milk

¼ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

½ cup low fat ricotta cheese

In a thick bottomed sauce pan heat oil over medium high heat
and sauté garlic for 1-2 minutes or until it begins to brown. Reduce heat to
low and add milk. Slowly add in parmesan cheese and whisk until well blended.
While whisking add in ricotta cheese. Continue to whisk until well blended and
smooth. Sreve warm over prepared pasta.

Random thought: Does anyone else feel an incredible urge to
drink wine while watching a show like White Collar? I swear it gets me every
time!

Hello Fresh Herbs & An Easy Recipe

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Look!

My chives are starting to poke their little heads out of the
dirt after a long winter! Is that not the most exciting thing ever?

I am currently working on a plan for a garden at the new
place. The back yard is small, we like to entertain and play outside so it’s a
little tricky but I think I have a plan that will work that however is a post
for another day. Today my focus is on herbs in food.

Herbs are perhaps my absolute most Favorite ingredient that
I simply could not do without. I think we all know the power that herbs have
over the taste of any dish, but I particularly like them on their own. Though
Chuck may not agree with me, I think anything that has massive chunks of
parsley, or basil is pretty much the best thing ever, I even like basil in my
lemonade, and we aren’t talking lemon basil either.

I keep telling myself that someday I will have a beautiful garden
full of fresh perennial herbs, I will someday learn to grow annuals from seeds
and they will actually live past a couple weeks. I will learn how to properly
dry, and store these herbs to enjoy them year round and know that I grew them.
When people try my food they will sing praises from the roof tops and exclaim
wonders of the pure and abundant flavor that comes from my cooking and my herbs.

I totally just started day dreaming there a little bit, did
you catch that?

I digress, the spring time weather has quite obviously got
me daydreaming of fresh herbs, so I decided to make this easy fresh pasta salad
for lunch the other day. Its great both warm and cold, though if left in the
fridge overnight I have found that it allows more herbaceous flavor to sink in.
Sorry for the fuzzy picture idk whats up with blogger

Herb & Ricotta
Pasta

1 cup pasta, cooked aldente

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

4-5 basil leaves, chopped

1 bunch parsley, chopped

1 tbs chopped fresh chives

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

¼ cup low fat milk

¼ – ½ cup low fat ricotta cheese

Salt & pepper to taste

In a sauce pan heat oil over medium high heat and sauté
onions for 2-3 minutes or until they begin to soften. Add all other herbs and
cook for an addition 2-3 minutes, they will start to become fragrant. Reduce
heat to low, and stir in milk. Add pasta and toss. Add ricotta cheese in
increments, thoroughly mixing until reaching desired cheesiness. Add salt &
pepper to taste, and serve warm, or refrigerate over night and serve cold.

My Healthy Back Pocket Meal

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Tuesday’s run had an almost overwhelming affect on me. For starters I hadn’t run in almost 6 months, and definitely not since we moved. We live just off a very busy road that I’m not entirely comfortable running down, but on google I found an old snowmobile trail that I could get to a side street on. So I took it, not entirely thinking about how wet and gross it would be, since it had after all rained all day, I was able to keep a good pace through the much and more that destroyed my shiny, still newish running shoes, and was out on the open road.

Then I wanted to DIE. I was coughing, and sneezing, and my nose was dripping like crazy, and of course I didn’t bring tissues. I looked at my phone and realized that I had barely ran a mile. My goal was 2.62 in honor of Boston. And I was going to run it even if it did in fact kill me. So I switched the ipod to some skillet (your welcome) and pushed through it.

I made one stop at my turn around point to get my bearings and figure out how to get home then started off again, this time uphill (that was great). I did have to walk when I came back across the swamp, which I now noticed had a posted sign, whoops! I was mostly afraid for my sprain prone ankles and tired legs, but after getting out I jogged for the last .2 miles home, only of course to realize that I was short by .3 miles so I did a few laps on our little street in front of the house, I bet our neighbors think I’m crazy.

I’m honestly shocked by how well it all went. In the end I was fairly soaked, mud caked, and covered in snot (TMI? Sorry, it’s true my face was leaking like a faucet), but I could finally breath. After 3 days of congestion the run knocked it all out of me (Hell yeah), and this morning I only felt a slight twinge of discomfort going down the stairs, so my legs didnt even mind the shock. I know that a half hour for 2.62 miles is friggin awful, but hell I feel good about it, I actually
feel great about it.

I’m proud of my run, that I pushed myself when I really didn’t want to. I did it for something other than myself, for something bigger than me. For Boston.

Post run I was not in the mood for cooking so I pulled out one my super lazy day, back pocket meals.

Clean Sausage & Bean Stew

This one is one of my favorites because not only is it super quick and easy, but it’s clean and there is always leftovers, because lazy days sometimes last for more than one day. I also really like it because unless there is a vegetarian in the house nearly everyone likes it, so you can’t go wrong. This meal can be made in one pan, it can easily be multiplied for more people, or halved for fewer; and the flavor profile can easily be changed by simply changing the type of sausage. This is why I have voted it one of my favorite back pocket meals.

Tomato, Sausage & Bean Stew
Author: JC
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 lb precooked chicken sausage, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 ( 15 ounce) cans unsalted cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can diced tomatoes, with juices
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 8oz can tomato paste
  • 1 large bunch fresh spinach (5-6 oz)
  • Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a large skillet heat 1 tbs of oil and cook sausages on medium high heat, until they begin to brown, 2- 3 minutes.
  2. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.
  3. Stir in the beans, tomatoes water and tomato paste until well blended. Cook, stirring occasionally for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
  4. Gently fold in spinach and allow it to wilt.
  5. Adjust seasoning and serve warm.
Note: I have been known to on very lazy days to skip the onion and garlic altogether and just toss in a can of low sodium tomatoes with onion and garlic added already. It really just depends on my mood.

 

For another version of this that’s similarly easy, but with 1 or 2 extra steps to change it up I will skip the beans and put it over pasta, much like this recipe from Clean Eating Magazine.