So what are your plans for Cinco…big party? Laying low?
I’m thinking about having a cook-out with this salsa on the menu, if the weather is nice (it has been sooo rainy here in Miami!), or at least making these super fresh skinny margs and relaxing with friends.
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Light, fresh, and airy meals always make me feel great and they are perfect for the upcoming summer heat. I’ve used whole wheat orzo to keep it healthy, feel free to substitute with regular.
This is a quick dish where you can choose to simply cook the scallops with EVOO salt and pepper or to use the flour coating I’ve used below. The flour coating adds flavor and creates a nice texture.
1 ½ pound Large Scallops, if frozen thaw and dry on paper towels
6 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup orzo, I used whole wheat in the photo above
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup low sodium, fat free chicken broth
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided in half
½ large sweet onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
Place flour, garlic powder, paprika, pepper and salt in a large plastic bag or bowl. Stir to mix. Add scallops and toss to coat. Set aside.
Heat olive oil on medium heat. Once hot sauté onion and garlic for 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
Add Orzo and toss to coat and toast up a bit, 2 minutes.
Add white wine and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a low simmer for 15 minutes.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Once hot add the scallops to the pan, being sure not to overcrowd (they should not touch each other). Cook in batches if needed. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.
All scallops are different sizes, so a good way to test to your preferred level of done-ness is to take one and cut it in half to be very sure. I also look for the amount of liquid coming from the scallops, when this starts to disappear they are usually done, you do not want to overcook.
As you all may have noticed I have been a little MIA in the MIA. I traveled for work and vacation most of March and have had a few side projects taking up my normal blogging time. Starting this blog 2 years ago opened my eyes to the world of WordPress, Illustrator, Thesis, and all that comes with blogging. I fell in love with it all and have been spending most of my week nights reading and trying and playing with everything.
So when my very best girlfriend started a jewelry line end of last year, I dove in to create the website and online shop for her. It’s been a really fun (and challenging!) project and I can’t wait to show you the finished product and her elegant jewelry. {We are getting close!}
And I promise to be in this space more often now, I miss it!
As for this Mediterranean Cobb, it was enjoyed with great girlfriends from my college sorority days (Deeeeee Gee!) and it was just as unique as I thought it would be after reading the recipe in The Food Matters Cookbook. Thanks for a great pick Sara!
I served this salad with Seared Scallops with Lemon and White Orzo. Delish! I’ll post that recipe next week.
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, I used a Champagne Vinegar
1 ½ Tablespoons capers, with some of their brine
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Fresh cracked black pepper
8 cups lettuce, I used half Romaine half and baby spinach
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
½ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 small jar (about ¼ cup chopped) artichoke hearts
1 small or half large red onion, sliced thinly
1 cup hard boiled eggs, chopped (with or without yolks, your preference)
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions
In a blender, combine the oil, capers, vinegar, parsley, and black pepper. No salt is needed because of the saltiness and flavor of the capers.
Turn the blender on low for 30 seconds to create a creamy emulsion. Taste and add more pepper or vinegar if needed.
In a large bowl mix together the two types of greens. Top with the chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, onion, egg, and feta. For a traditional cobb serve with each ingredient in a large bunch on top of the lettuce. I chose to sprinkle it all over in layers.
Once you are ready to serve pour the dressing over the salad and toss, then serve. If you have any leftover ingredients you could serve those as add-on toppings on the side.
Notes
Adapted from the food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman, pg 149
It’s my week to host The Food Matters Project and I am sticking true to my tradition and choosing a dish I’ve never cooked. Last time around (almost a year ago! can you believe we’ve been at it this long?) I chose a Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables. Killer cozy meal if you need to feed a large group!
I’ve chosen another dish that cooks in a tomato sauce, but it is so completely different. “Stuffed Cabbage Rolls” is the name and the version I cooked up is made with lean ground beef, scallions, peppers, and jalapeño stuffed in cabbage and simmered in a tomato sauce with cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves.
I love the idea of a slow cooked “worked all day in the kitchen” meal, but I usually have NO excuse to make them… hence my picks for the FMP. As per usual Food Matters style, this dish is the healthier version of the stuffed cabbage rolls recipes you will find out there in the recipe world. I even OK’d it for the cleanse I am doing this week given the brown rice, it is a little bit of a cheat with the beef I know, but that’s why I didn’t go with the sausage the recipe calls for (which would be divine).
Head on over here to see the creative versions my fellow FMPers whipped up.
On a another note, we just wrapped up a fabulous weekend with Food Matters Project Founder, and my bestie, Sarah in Miami. She and Gregg were in town staying with us for a quick break from their NYC Pop Up Restaurant ABODE for the Miami Food and Wine Festival. It was a weekend full of sun, laughing, and great food of course!
Lunching at the SLS Miami with Sarah and Gregg
{Two things} 1. if you have not been watching them on The Taste where have you been!? and 2. if you are anywhere in the NY area grab tickets here to their pop-up because they are selling out quick. We are heading there this weekend and I absolutely cannot wait.
recipe adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman
Ingredients
Salt
1 large head cabbage (about 2 lbs), cored
1 cup brown rice
8 oz lean ground beef (a mix of sausage and ground beef would be great)
1/2 cup chopped scallions
3 mini bell peppers, diced (I used 1 each yellow red orange)
1/2 jalapeño, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
black pepper
2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes, with their juices
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
4 or 5 whole cloves
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Place the cabbage in the boiling water and cook, turning it in the pot once or twice, until it begins to get tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cabbage (do not pour out the water) and rinse the leaves with cool water to stop the cooking. Pull off the 10 largest, most intact leaves, then chop the remaining leaves and put them in a large bowl. Return the pot to a boil and stir in the rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes then drain.
Add the cooked rice, raw ground beef, scallions, peppers, jalapeño, garlic, and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper to the bowl of chopped cabbage and mix just enough to combine. Put a large spoonful of the rice mixture into a cabbage leaf, taking care not to overfill, and roll loosely. Shoot for 8 cabbage rolls, but if you have extra filling use more of the leaves. Put the rolls seam side down in the bottom of a large pot or dutch oven; it's okay to stack them on top of each other in the pot.
Add the tomatoes and their juice to the pot along with 1 cup of water, the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, and some salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so that the mixture barely bubbles and cook, undisturbed, for 30 minutes. Check to see if there's still liquid in the pot. The cabbage should be just submerged; if not, add a little water. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes before checking again.
When the rolls have plumped up and absorbed most of the liquid, and are firm, turn off the heat and let rest, for at least 10 minutes. Put the rolled cabbage in shallow bowls, removing the whole spices as your find them. Taste the pot juices and adjust seasoning as needed. Pour a big ladleful over the cabbage rolls and serve.
Notes
Slow Cooker Version:
I chose to do mine in a slow cooker. Same idea but you will want to heat the tomato sauce in a saucepan first unless you have a lot of time to spare.
It took 1 hour on high heat, sauce heated in a saucepan before pouring over the cabbage rolls.
You guys KNOW I jump on any Asian influenced recipe, so you can imagine my excitement when I saw that our Food Matters Project recipe this week is Asian influenced. Love it!
The original Mark Bittman recipe calls for salmon, but we just haven’t jumped on that bandwagon yet. I used this as an opportunity to make one of my favorite fish, Chilean Sea Bass. I mostly followed the noodle recipe, adding yellow bell peppers. I also made sweet and spicy edamame as a side dish, recipe to come.
This dish is delicious and it felt super light even though you area eating ‘healthier’ noodles. Perfect week day dinner.
8 ounces fish fillet, this recipe uses Chilean Sea Bass (skin removed)
Black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 1?2 pounds spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 large yellow bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1?2 teaspoon sesame oil
8 ounces buckwheat (soba) noodles or whole wheat spaghetti
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put the vegetable oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s very hot, sprinkle the sea bass on both sides with salt and pepper and sear it in the pan until nicely browned on both sides, about 6 minutes total. Remove from the pan and cut or flake it into bite-size pieces. (you need to flip and remove it gently so it doesn't break apart)
Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium. Add bell peppers and cook 5 minutes to soften. Then add the garlic and sesame seeds and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic begins to soften and the sesame seeds turn golden, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, for another minute or 2. Add the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and a splash of water and cook until the spinach is wilted, another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Cook the noodles in the boiling water until they’re tender but not mushy (start tasting after 5 minutes), then drain and rinse, reserving some of the cooking water. Turn the heat under the spinach mixture to medium and add the noodles. Toss, adding enough reserved liquid to keep things moist. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve pasta on the side of the fish.
Notes
adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman, recipe page 239 "Sesame Noodles with Spinach and Salmon"
We just moved from Brickell to South Beachthen went straight to Islamorada for the weekend for my birthday and meanwhile I’m changing some things on the back end of my blog and have a broken camera… so I apologize for the lack of frequent posts! It’s totally been wild around here (even some great side projects on top of work!). I’m praying things get a little more sane this week, but I’m not expecting it yet. Stick with me please! I’m not going anywhere. 🙂
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