Tuna Salad

I just invented this one today.  The flavors complement each other so nicely I wanted to share.   This salad goes great with a glass of nice cold carrot juice.

Ingredients
serves 1

1 egg
several handfuls of spring mix salad greens
feta cheese crumbles
1/2 small tin tuna; oil or water packed; dolphin safe of course
dried dill weed
fresh ground pepper
Newman's Own Family Italian Dressing

1. Bring water to full boil then gently place egg in water so it won't crack.  I use a spoon to carefully lower it into the pot.
2. Boil egg for ten minutes exactly.  Use a timer.
3. Rinse egg under cold water for a bit then place it in a bowl of cool water while you make the rest of the salad.  You can make the egg ahead of time but I love having a slightly warm egg with my salad.
4. Cover plate with a generous portion of spring mix
5. sprinkle with feta cheese crumbles
6. Flake tuna and place in a pile on the middle of the greens.
7. Sprinkle generously with dill and fresh cracked pepper.
8. Sprinkle with dressing.
9. Remove egg from water bath and peel. 
10. Cut into four piece and arrange around the edge of the salad.

Tuna Poached in Olive Oil

I was dubious about this one.  I found several recipes on the internet for this with most of them requiring an hour of poaching time.  From poaching salmon I thought this a bit odd so I came up with my own recipe and 20 minutes results in nicely cooked fish from a frozen slab with next to no prep time.  You don't even have to defrost the fish!

When I tasted it I was blown away.  This is really good!!  I'm not a huge tuna fan but this tastes wonderful.

If you like your tuna on the rare side, use sushi grade tuna and cook for 5 minutes per side.  If you cook it from frozen put it into the oil while the oil is still cold otherwise the oil will spray all over the place as the ice boils off.  Very dangerous!!  So put the frozen fish in the oil, put on the pan cover then heat.   Using a clear pan lid lets you keep an eye on what is going on inside the pan without having to lift the lid.

Ingredients
serves 1-4

1/2 - 1c good quality olive oil  (I used Spectrum Organic Mediterranean Olive Oil)
sprig of fresh rosemary or 1/2t dried
several sprigs of thyme or 1/4t dried
crushed clove of garlic
generous pinch salt & pepper
1-4 tuna steaks (I used albacore cut about 3/4" thick)

1. You'll need a heavy skillet with a lid for this.  Fill with about 1/2" of olive oil.
2. Add seasoning and fish.
3. Cover and heat on low so the oil just bubbles.  I used a clear lid so this was easy to monitor.  I started at a higher temp and as the oil heated up I kept turning it down so it stayed at a nice low simmer.
4. Cook for ten minutes on each side.
5. Use pan lid as a shield in case you drop the fish into the oil and splatter.  There is nothing worse than hot oil burns.   And yes, I did drop the cooked steak.  It fell apart as I was trying to get it out of the pan.

Serving suggestions:

• Serve hot with rice and garlic green beans or asparagus.
• Serve hot with a large spring mix salad with a light dressing.
• Tuna can be stored in the cooking oil and then served up flaked on top of salad.

Scallop and Leak Soup

I can't believe I haven't posted for a month.  I had a real bad reaction to The Diet From Hell.  I'm just starting to feel a little better.  This illness just rips time away so fast.  Too make up for my absence I have two new recipes, Scallop and Leak Soup and Orange Cranberry Pork Roast.

The soup is a variation on Icky Tummy Soup.   It is a basic broth with contents that can be tinkered with endlessly.  The broth has to be light so as not to take away from the flavor of the contents.  My favorite broth is Pacific Foods which I cut with water.  Swanson makes a decent broth that is a cheaper but non organic alternative.  I don't think the Swanson would need to be cut with water however.  Another alternative is saving up home made broth and freezing it for later use.  Again this is light enough that it doesn't need to be cut.  Or at least mine is anyway.

Ingredients:
serves 1

1/2c Pacific Foods Organic Free Range Chicken Broth + 3/4c water
                                        or
2c chicken broth

1t GF Tamari sauce
generous pinch of salt
2" length of leak
1" cube of fresh ginger or 1/2t of minced ginger out of a jar
1/4t of minced garlic out of a jar
6 large scallops
handful of rice stick noodles

1. Put broth, water, tamari, garlic, salt in pan and bring to boil.
2. Cut leak into matchsticks or rounds or half moons and add to broth.
3. Cut fresh ginger into skinny matchsticks and add to broth.
4. Add scallops.
5. Cook for 3-5 minutes.  I used frozen scallops so they took about five minutes to cook through.  Scallops are easy to overcook and become tough and chewy.  To check fish one out and cut in half.  It should no longer be translucent in the center.
6. Taste broth and adjust seasoning to taste.  I like ginger and garlic and soy so I'm heavy handed with these.
7. Toss in the rice stick noodles.  The soup is done when the noodles go soft which happens in seconds.

Variations on a Theme

• Add some lemongrass matchsticks.
• No leaks?  Use scallions instead.
• Sprinkle fresh parsley leaves on top.
• Use other fish such as Salmon, Halibut and/or shrimp.  They can be combined for extra awesomeness. If using a larger piece of frozen fish adjust cooking time.  Fish will flake easily with a fork when done.
• Use tofu instead of fish.  Not completely vegetarian but tastes good none the less.
• Use leftover or frozen rice instead of noodles.  Just add prior to adding fish.  Not overcooking the fish is very important to the quality of this dish.
• You can also use Udon or Soba noodles instead of the rick stick but these contain wheat.  Add them at the appropriate time to let them cook through without over cooking the fish.

Broiled Shrimp

I had this for breakfast the other day.  My body needs high quality protein and without tofu as a substitute for the dairy I'd normally use I'm down to pure animal protein.  Anyway, this is a recipe for one person and can be used for any meal or served over salad.

Ingredients
serves 1

6 lg or colossal deveined defrosted uncooked shrimp
1T olive oil
salt
pepper
tarragon

1. Rinse and thoroughly dry shrimp with a paper towel.
2. Put shrimp, olive oil, pinch salt, pinch pepper and pinch tarragon in a sealable sandwich bag. 
3. Shake to evenly coat.
4. Lay out on rack over a tin foil lined pan (less mess) or on an oiled foil lined baking sheet.
5. Place near broiler (not too close or it will burn)
6. Cook 3 mins, flip over and cook another 3mins.

Variations:  garlic, lemon, marjoram, dill are also fine options.  Garlic burns easily so make sure you aren't too close to the heating element if you are using the real deal instead of garlic powder or garlic salt.

Note: I like using my toaster oven for this cuz I can watch them cook and make sure they aren't getting burned.  However, I found the cooking time to be a bit longer since I start it off cold.  It took between 5-10 and I didn't flip the shrimp because I used a rack instead of a sheet.  They were wonderful!!

Icky Tummy Soup

I invented this one when I first became ill and couldn't tolerate food.  I did however crave ginger.  Apparently it aids in digestion.  Garlic is also quite good for you.

Because this is for someone who is ill try to find organic ingedients and use filtered water to keep the chemicals to a minimum.  For vegetables I used the presliced vegetable packs from Whole Foods that included napa cabbage, bean sprouts, snowpeas and peppers.  I carefully picked out all of the peppers since they are in the nightshade family and can cause digestion problems in sensitive people or even allergic reactions.  If you are making the vegetables from scratch use a mandoline to cut them paper thin.

Ingredients
serves 2

1c chicken or mushroom stock
1c filtered water
1-2c thinly sliced vegetables such as bok choy, napa cabbage or carrots
a handfull of bean sprouts
a handfull of snowpeas
1c cubed tofu or shredded cooked chicken or shredded cooked salmon
Rice stick noodles
dash of Tamari
1t minced ginger
1/4t minced garlic

Place everything except the noodles in the pot and heat to boiling.  Turn down to a simmer and cook for five minutes to cook the vegetables through.  Add the rice stick noodles and continue to simmer until noodles are soft.  This will only take a minute or so.  Serve hot.  Left overs can be stored in fridge for a day or two. 
Variations:

1. If using raw chicken or salmon cut them into bite sized pieces and cook in stock first with the tamari, ginger and garlic.  Then add vegetables and finally rice sticks.
2. If the person is haveing a very bad time with food omit the tofu or meat.
3. You can also sub in rice for the rice stick noodles.