James McNair's Salmon Cookbook

I love browsing people's bookshelves. This habit has led to good reads including the subject of this post, the Salmon Cookbook by James McNair. Since borrowing it from a local aunt-in-law, I've prepared two recipes: one with salmon and one with steelhead trout. Both recipes are based on sauces: (1) teriyaki sauce (the salmon) and (2) barbecue sauce (the steelhead). I won't share the original recipes here - please purchase the book or borrow a copy from a friend or the library.

Barbecue Salmon

Barbecue/ grill the fish skin side down basting with sauce composed of butter, garlic, soy sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup.

Teriyaki Salmon

Marinade fish in teriyaki sauce in the refrigerator for 2 hours; broil for 3-5 minutes per side. To make the sauce, combine of soy sauce, sake or mirin or sherry, granulated sugar (I used brown), garlic, and minced or grated ginger.

Tabouleh

I made this tabouleh salad for a picnic. I packed it along side some homemade hummus, falafel balls and pita bread. I made more than needed for the picnic and so stored some leftover in the fridge and had that for a couple of days after and it was still good. It is quick, easy and refreshing. Also a great way to use up leftover couscous, which was what I used here instead of bulgur wheat. Another satifying thing about making this salad was that I got to use my brand new mezza luna, my new weapon of choice (when dealing with herbs, that is).

I followed this recipe, more or less.

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/soupssalads/r/taboulehrecipe.htm

p/s: I am also showcasing in this post, my lovely, new, blue Bison mixing bowl (part of a set of two, the second, not in picture, is bigger and of deeper blue color). They are handcrafted pottery works that was sent to me all the way from Australia as a graduation gift. I absolutely love them and make good use of them all the time. Thanks, S and B!

Pantry-ready: Bell pepper and onion frittata

Made with ingredients already in the "pantry": yellow bell pepper, half an onion, grated Parmesan, three eggs, olive oil.

Whole Lemon Tart a la Smitten Kitchen

When modifying a recipe, i.e. halving a recipe, make sure to halve every ingredient! For Smitten Kitchen's Whole Lemon Tart, I used 1 egg instead of 1 egg + 1 egg yolk and 3/4 tablespoons cornstarch instead of 1.5 tablespoons of cornstarch. BUT, I used 1 stick of (unsalted, melted and cooled) butter instead of the half portion of 1/2 stick! The result: a very oily tart.

I did not realize my mistake until the tart had baked. I used paper towels to absorb as much butter-oil as possible. Given my mistake, the tart was tasty. Also, I added slices of mandarin - a sweet touch and the additional citrus helped to "cut" the butter-oil. I recommend this recipe but beware the butter.

The Bread Machine Is Back

The last bread I baked was a failure - too moist and very uneven. My six-year old bread machine is very finicky. I did not closely watch the previous loaf during the kneading and rising process. In fact, I was out of the house. However, the machine redeemed itself this afternoon with an aromatic and delicious rosemary, thyme, dill loaf. I was at home the entire time. The rosemary is from my garden; I dried fresh dill purchased from the grocery store; and the thyme was purchased dry. The loaf has an airy and chewy center with a lightly crunchy crust.

The recipe is from the manual that came with the machine oh so many years ago. The recipe is a 1-1/2 lb. basic white/french loaf. I substituted 1 cup each of organic whole wheat pastry flour, organic fine whole wheat flour, and organic unbleached flour for 3 cups all purpose flour. I did not have all purpose flour. I had approximately 1 cup each of the afore-mentioned flours. Vegetable oil at 1-1/2 Tbl. is optional; I used about 1/4 1/8 cup olive oil. I could have used apple sauce, a low-fat substitute for oil, but I did not have this either. For dinner, I plan to eat my bread (not all of it of course) with a bowl of cold mango soup or maybe a bowl of reheated coconut carrot onion soup.

The toaster oven that could

Today, I had a lovely, satisfyingly exhausting day, exploring a beach park in Singapore. It was fun exploring a new place, and I had some wonderful company on this adventure. On the way back home, I dropped by my favorite grocery store (that also happens to be right next door to my flat) to pick up something easy to have for dinner. I wanted something quick to put together, in addition to being light and healthy (trying to be good since I had worked hard hiking/burning calories earlier today :) ).

I thought of getting some sashimi from the Japanese stall (satisfy protein crave), but I stumbled upon this fish which was on sale. It is called Japanese Sanma.

I know what you're thinking...buying discounted fish? Living dangerous, eh?

But you know what, it was $2.80 for two, and after poking and smelling them, I decided they were all right. Plus they cost a fraction of a small plate of sashimi. The grocery store also has a good reputation for fresh food, so I thought, hey why not!

I remember reading somewhere sanma is tasty grilled. That sounds perfect for me: a small salad and a simple grilled fish. This is where the toaster-oven-that-could comes in. It was my first time grilling fish in my toaster-oven and I am very glad to say it came out perfect.

I basically just cleaned the fish (yes, I had to gut it). I cut the heads off to reduce the 'food staring back at you' effect. Some salt for seasoning and then threw the fish in the toaster oven for about 10 minutes (flipping once halfway through). Sanma is an oily fish so I did not even need to drizzle oil on this. The fish grilled perfectly with a nice color.


While the fish was grilling way, I put together a simple salad of arugula (or rocket as they are known here) dressed with a dressing made of olive oil, Japanese rice vinegar, minced garlic and ginger, and a dash of sesame seed oil.



The sharp arugula and the oily fish (had one fish, the other in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch) made for a mighty tasty combination. I was very happy with my dinner which took less than 15 minutes to put together. It was delicious AND healthy! Hurray!

I am also now very excited of the expanded possibilities of my toaster oven. I don't have a real oven in my Singapore flat and have missed being able to to roast and bake. The capability of this small oven is still limited as it has only one temperature setting that makes for perfect toast, but too high a temperature for baking cakes or cookies. But now that I have discovered grilling, I feel inspired to try out other recipes in this micro-oven. Stay tuned for more toaster-oven food adventures in the future!

Quinoa for breakfast

Just a quick entry today; my new found breakfast food: quinoa and almond porridge. I love quinoa but usually I cook it as a savory dish. A favorite way is to mix cooked quinoa with sautéed portobello mushrooms, broccoli and pine nuts (yum, that will have to be another blog entry).

But back to breakfast, I have been looking to diversify my breakfast menu—I always have breakfast issues in the morning, many days start with my staring into my fridge trying to be inspired for something nutritious but quick and easy to kick start my day—I can only eat toast and granola so many days of the week.

I had seen recipes for quinoa porridge now and again (esp. since quinoa is the ‘in’ food these days) but the porridge bit did not quite appeal to me as I knew I did not like soggy quinoa (I know this because sometimes I add too much water when I cook my quinoa-- usually because I forget and I follow the box instruction (always too much water!)--I really don’t like it at all). I like the little crunch (or pop) that quinoa gives when you bite into a perfectly cooked morsel (well, perfectly cooked in Lin’s world).

Back to quinoa for breakfast; I had made a big batch of quinoa for dinner the night before in my rice cooker (1:1, quinoa: water ratio) and the leftovers was staring back at me when I opened the fridge the next morning, so I said hello and decided to give it try for breakfast. I mixed about a quarter of cup in a bowl with some milk, raw almond slivers, and a touch of brown sugar, and zapped this in the microwave for 1.5 minutes. Then I let it rest for another couple of minutes.

It turned out to be lovely, lovely. Nice and warm and comforting. The quinoa was not soggy, and the almond and milk made a nice medley of flavors to complement the earthy taste of the cereal (reminds me of badam khir—an Indian milk-almond drink). The hint of organic raw brown sugar (oh yes, baby!) lifted the dish to say Hello! Good morning! I love you too! I ate this for the next several days for breakfast (and sometimes late night snack) until I was out of leftover quinoa. I will have to make another batch soon for more quinoa breakfast love.