Dinner: Roasted mahi mahi and quinoa salad

* Should have paired it with white wine, but I have to finish an open bottle of malbec*

Very yummy quinoa

I was watching the food network (as I religiously do), and one of the cooking shows had this great quinoa salad recipe that I paired with grilled mahi mahi. The salad was absolutely delicious! It contains quinoa, cucumbers, scallions, raisings and orange zest in an orange-based dressing. The orange zest is what made this recipe really special.

Quinoa is a grain that was domesticated by the ancient communities of the Andes and was considered a sacred grain by the Incan empire. Its still part of the basic diet of the people in the Andes, especially in the regions that used to be part of the Incan empire (Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador). I grew up eating Quinoa and I love it, although I do remember they used to make the worst quinoa soup at my house.

Quinoa is nowadays considered a "super food". It has a very high protein content and contains all essential aminoacids, making it a complete protein. While I appreciate all the amazing qualities of quinoa, in reality I eat it just because its yummy.

Breakfast: Apples & Oatmeal

Great way to start the day

I accidentally ordered more apples from FreshDirect that I usually do, so I have been trying to incorporate apples in my meals to make sure I finish them all. I found this recipe on the Foodnetwork website while browsing recipes that involved apples (by the way, the Foodnetwork is one of my favorite channels).

I absolutely love this recipe! It's delicious, very healthy, gives me lots of energy and keeps me full for a good three hours! I also estimate that its about 320 calories per serving, which is great!

Recipe: Apples Cinnamon Oatmeal
Adapted from: Food Network Kitchens - Microwave Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Ingredients
1 apple, cored and coarsely chopped (I use Fuji, but they suggest McIntosh)
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 small cinnamon stick (can also be a pinch of ground cinnamon)
Pinch kosher salt
2 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup (this is key, none of that fake "syrup" in here. Honey is a great substitute if you do not have maple syrup)
1 cup of milk (optional)

Method
In a small pot combine apples, oatmeal, cinnamon, salt and water and turn on low/medium heat. Cook accoding to the oatmeal instructions (usually about 4-5 minutes) but add an additional 3 more minutes of cooking so the apples can soften and caramelize. Stir the oatmeal regularly to prevent it from sticking to the pot.

Once cooked, split the oatmeal into two bowls, add1/2 cup of milk and pour 1 tablespoon of maple syrup into each bowl. Serve hot and enjoy!

Breakfast: The perfectly cooked egg

Rainy day, sunny breakfast

Sometimes the simplest foods are the most delicious and rewarding. A perfectly cooked egg, with completely cooked egg white and perfectly runny yolk, is one of them. Here is the recipe I used to make my breakfast today:

1. Put eggs in a pot with enough water to cover them
2. Bring the water to a boil
3. Once the water starts boiling, set the timer to 3 minutes and 30 seconds*
4. After the three and a half minutes, scoop the eggs out of the boiling water and run them through cold faucet water (this will stop the cooking process and cool the eggs enough so you can peel them)
   
5. Peel open, and enjoy

*If you live at a higher altitude (New York is close to sea level: at 768 feet/234 meters) you might need to adjust the timing, as water takes longer to reach boiling point in higher altitude. Test by increasing/decreasing the cooking time once water has reached boiling point)

Sweet Cucumber Pickles

It's pickle time!

In the list of favorite foods that resides in my head, pickles certainly take one of the top five spots (there are probably about 10 different foods fighting for the top 5 spots, which I guess could be a little troublesome). This weekend I realized that I am running low on pickles, so its time re-stock the pickle jar.

I like this recipe for sweet cucumber pickles, they are refreshing, lightly sweet and have a small kick of heat at the end.

Sweet Cucumber Pickles

Ingredients

5 Japanese cucumbers
1 2/3 Tbsp of salt
1 1/2 cups of rice vinegar
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup of sugar
2 pods of dried chilli pepper
1 bay leaf
1 small cinnamon stick
6-7 peppercorns
1 pickling press
1 glass jar

Method

First, wash the cucumbers and trim off the edges (otherwise they will taste bitter). Once they are clean, cut them lengthwise in half. Mine will look a little smaller because my pickling jar is small, so I cut them into smaller pieces.


Lay the cucumbers in the pickling press and add salt, rub the cucumbers to make sure that the salt is evenly distributed. Then, pour over 1/3 of salted water to make sure the salt is soaked into the cucumbers evenly

Put on the lid of the pickle press and screw down to place weight on the cucumbers. this will allow the water to drain out of the cucumbers and the pickling process to begin. Store them away from the sun from 12-24 hours.


Take the pickles out of the press and rinse them to remove excess water. Put the pickles in the shade and let their surface dry.


In the meantime, heat up the marinade for the pickles using the remaining ingredients. Make sure the marinade never touches any metallic objects (that includes measuring cups, spoons or the pot). Rice vinegar reacts to metallic objects and develops an unpleasant, metallic taste. Some people have enamel covered pots that work quite well. I don't have one, so I use a Latin technique called "Bano de Maria", I heat up a ceramic bowl within a pot of boiling water and place the marinade inside the bowl. Bring the marinade to a boil , then turn off the heat and let it cool.


Finally, pack cucumbers in a pickling jar, and pour over the marinade. Let them soak in the flavors of the marinade for one day. These pickles will be good for a couple of months!

Dinner: Miso Black Cod

The best part of this dinner is that I have leftovers

Tonight I had a little extra time, so dinner included miso black cod, rice with veggies, soy eggs and pickles.

Miso-marinated black cod is famous in NY thanks to Nobu Matsushita. It is an expensive dish at restaurants, so for years I considered it to be an indulgence. That is, until I got a hold of the modified recipe from Rasa Malaysia and realized that it is very easy to do. Enjoy!

Recipe: Black Cod with Miso (Miso-marinated Black Cod)
Adapted from Nobu: The Cookbook

Ingredients:

2-3 black cod fillets (about 1 lb)

For the marinade:

1/4 cup sake
1/4 cup mirin
4 tablespoons of white miso paste
3 tablespoons of sugar

Method:

1. Mix the marinate ingredients thoroughly in a plastic container (with lid) and set aside. Save some for plating purposes.
2. Pat the fish fillets dry with paper towels and put them into the plastic container with the marinate. Cover the lid and leave to steep in the refrigerator overnight or for 24 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
4. Preheat an indoor grill at the same time.
5. Lightly wipe off (with fingers) any excess miso marinate clinging to the fish fillets but don’t rinse it off. Place the fish on the grill and lightly grill on both sides until the surface turns brown.
6. Transfer the fish fillets to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes.
7. Add a few extra drops of the marinate on the plate and serve hot.