Summer Rolls

These are the best summer rolls I've made. They were so fresh and flavorful and crunchy. I did use this and this for inspiration and sort of merged them. Yum!

Makes 8 summer rolls

Ingredients:

1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1/2 tsp grated ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil

2 carrots, peeled and shredded 

1/2 cucumber, cut into matchsticks

Snap peas

3 scallions, cut into matchsticks

1 handful cilantro, chopped

1 handful mint leaves

Red leaf lettuce, ripped into pieces

Handful of peanuts, roughly chopped

8 rice paper rounds

Spring Rolls from Thug Kitchen

My brother in law got me this hilarious cook book for Christmas. It's all healthy, vegetarian food but the descriptions are all riddled with cursing when talking about things like oatmeal. It's great. I made the spring rolls the other night. They're so fresh and the ginger and dipping give sauce have such a great kick. A perfect healthy treat/light dinner/appetizer. 

Thai Chicken Soup

This is a really light and flavorful soup. I recommend making your own stock, but store-bought is fine, too. 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 lemongrass stalks, 1-2 hard outer layers discarded

2 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced 

2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced 

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

2 quarts chicken stock

1 14oz can diced tomatoes, drained but reserving juice

2oz tamarind paste

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 Serrano chiles, thinly sliced

A little lime zest

Adobo Fish Tacos

I already teased the picture here in my tortilla post, but these tacos were fabulous. (And gave me a chance to use my lovely bass.) The adobo sauce is pretty simple - you just need the peppers - but it gives the fish a really nice flavor. It's healthy and tasty, especially served with some chopped jalapenos, pineapple salsa, radishes, and chipotle salsa. 

Ingredients:

2 dried ancho chilis

3/4 cup water, for blending

2 tbsp white vinegar

1 garlic clove, peeled

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp oregano

pinch cumin

1 tbsp oil

2 pieces of firm fish such as striped bass

juice of 1/2 a lime

Coconut Quinoa

This is a great South Asian inspired way to make quinoa. I served it with fish and it was really tasty. Takes about half an hour and is a great side. It also made good leftovers for lunch prompting a few "that smells great"s at the office. The coconut makes it creamy and steeping it with lemongrass and habanero gives it extra flavor and a little heat. 

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup coconut milk (I used light)

1 stalk lemon grass

1 habanero

A few strips of lime zest

2 crushed garlic cloves

1/2 tsp sugar

Big pinch salt

1 tsp fish sauce

1 cup quinoa

1 tbsp coconut oil

Handful of cilantro, chopped

2 small scallions, thinly sliced

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 tsp minced jalapeño or serano pepper

Striped Bass en Papillote

For my first bass recipe, I made Striped Bass en Papillote with Brown Rice. It's pretty simple, and the provencal/Mediterranean-style sauce is sweet from the tomatoes and briny from the capers. It's also great for not making a mess because the fish is cooked in tin foil which you can just throw it out.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 1-inch pieces of striped bass filet

1 medium sized ripe tomato, or a handful of grape tomatoes, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp drained capers

4 sprigs thyme

4 slices lemon (I used lime because I didn't have lemons, but I think lemon would work better)

salt and pepper

Brown rice cooked according to the directions (I used a Lundberg brown rice mix - it adds great nutty flavor and texture)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Pat the fillets dry and season with salt. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and drizzle a bit of olive oil on it, then place the fish on top of the oil. Slide the lemon slices under the fish and top each with two sprigs of thyme.

Minestrone

On a cold fall day, what beats a big bowl of minestrone? I'm not talking Progresso. Homemade minestrone is hard to mess up, and sooo tasty and warm, and healthy! This make A LOT so feel free to cut back. (Probably enough for 8 people.) Cooking it with an old Pecorino rind gives the broth an amazing flavor, and topping it with a fresh dab of pesto gives it a little zip. I also like to grate a little Pecorino on top. I'm having two friends over tonight to help me with the leftovers. Mm mm mmm.

Ingredients:
1 qt chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
3 pieces turkey bacon (you can use pancetta, too), diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large leek, rinsed and thinly sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 large celery stalks, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 small zucchini, diced
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes and their juice
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Healthy Bruschetta

I was planning on making this tomato tart for Jamie last night, but wanted to use even more of our tomatoes as a little hors d'oeuvres. We've been making a lot of pico de gayo, so I wanted something similar but maybe more Mediterranean. I love tomato bruschetta, but didn't want the bread since we were going to have the tart. Solution? Endive! It was so tasty and fresh, and much healthier - though I do love those crunchy crostini, too... Definitely worth a try for a lighter hors d'oeuvres or snack. (And you can always swap in the crostini if you miss it!)

Ingredients:

2-3 large, ripe tomatoes (or a mix of 2 bigger tomatoes and a few colorful cherry tomatoes), seeded and diced

1 garlic clove, passed through a garlic press

1 large handful of basil leaves, chopped

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

black pepper to taste

endive

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients (except endive) in a bowl and let it sit for at least an hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Tear the leaves of the endive individually and fill each with a scoop of the tomato mixture. Done! (If you're serving at a party, maybe put some lentils or something on the plate to hold them up - they can tip a little.)