Tehina

Thanks to my friend Sarena, (see right for her link) I have rediscovered the pleasure of using Tehina.

I re-invented my smoked salmon loin recipe (see previous post and pic) to make it with a Mediterranean spin. since sesame goes so well with salmon I figured the tehina would work.

So made a tehina, olive oil, garlic dressing and mixed that with the salmon and cucumber. No pic (yet) but I can tell you that it worked perfectly and the taste was amazing. Yesterdays breakfast; Some browned ground beef, steamed broccoli with garlic.

Tehina, garlic and olive oil drizzle.

Thank you Sarena.

Did not want to leave you all with out a picture, so here's one of Sundays sunset, taken with a cell phone.

I'm still in the city tennis tournament, semi finals in both singles and mixed doubles. I will post about that soon.

Dutch Treat?

Don't worry, I wasn't going to say, that's me. ;-)
But see below, in Dutch it's called "Schelvis lever"
I believe it's Haddock liver. I've never really seen it anywhere except for Holland.
It's a really nice little treat and has got fantastic flavor.
I know in Japan they eat "ankimo", it's monk-fish liver. But the taste is different.
I'm always happy when my dad brings me a few cans when he visits me.
Have you ever had it?

Had to share this picture. I have possibly one of the strangest cats in the world.
Because I'm really a dog person and never in a million years thought I'd ever own one (due to my daughter but that is a story for another time), I think she obliges me by acting like a dog most of the time. She chews on the tv clicker, is clumsy like a dog and eats her food like my old boxer used to with much sound and slobber. I couldn't find her but then located her in a garbage filled with clothes.


Breakfast;
Try this marinade. Lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, fresh pepper, dark rum.
Both grilled or in the pan. This marinade keep the chicken super juicy. Below was made in the pan.


Baby spinach with olive oil and balsamic



Green grapes and blueberries.
All combined makes for some "FEEL GOOD EATING" food.

Memorial Day Weekend

Having grown up in Europe, I think often about the bravery of the young US, Canadian and Russian soldiers that fought hard to help liberate my country and many others from the Nazi's.

Without them, I would not be here today. My heart goes out to all moms,wives, kids, dads that have or lost loved ones in the service. Memorial day, a day of gratitude and remembrance.

Phew, heavy :-) Sorry. Anywho, back to food.

I hope everyone gets to have some good barbecue this weekend. I might even make some ribs.

Will let you know.

Breakfast;

Smoked salmon loin, cucumber, scallion, avocado, olive oil, toasted sesame oil, tamari

Easy quick and DELICIOUS.

Smile and be happy ;-)

"The Law of Value"

"Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment"

Again from the same book I quoted yesterday.

Anywho, back to food.

Check this out;

In the small print it says; infused with chili and bell pepper.

I found this little treasure at a market in town.

You can use it as a marinade or just as a drizzle on grilled veggies or salad dressing etc etc.

I used it to marinate some chicken thighs. Simple marinade was; lemon juice,onion, garlic and the oil. Grilled, it came out very very good. Spinach salad with 2 teaspoons of the oil and 1 teaspoons of balsamic. This was my meal for "break-fast" around 1:00 pm. Half a square of chocolate for dessert. Do any of you ever infuse your own olive oil? It's easy to do. I use small glass bottles (I find good ones at good will or antique markets) with corks. Wash them well, put in your olive oil and put in your herbs. I really like a chive olive oil and of course garlic oil.

Here's a picture of a very handsome Mr. Jones I thought I'd share with you.

"The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself"

A quote from a little book I read. They describe this as the "Law of Authenticity".

Pretty neat right?

Breakfast;

Canned wild salmon, scallions, cucumber, spicy (homemade) pepper relish, shredded baby spinach, two eggs, vegenaise. Mix and enjoy. A few blueberries and 2 large strawberries.

Don't really remember what all this was, but it was left overs thrown together.

Some bokchoy, chicken, ground beef, shrimp. I made all this as a "out for the whole the day type of bag."

A recent sunset:

There is nothing like seeing these guys all around you.

They give of a great vibe and genuinely enjoy being around you and showing off their jumping

skills. This handsome/pretty, guy/girl was talking incessantly as if saying "so what are you doing today? but was not getting the answer he wanted ;-)

"I'm back to livin' Floridays, Blue skies and ultra-violet rays"

That's part of a Jimmy Buffett song, and part of the reason that you have not seen many posts recently. The summer has arrived here in Florida. The crowds thin, and the locals come out to play. After 5 hard working months of a very hectic season, it's time to slow down. Take beach walks, watch dolphins frolic and listen for manatee snorts. Not just the people, but the animals seem to know it too. When I go fishing on the beach, the moment my cast net comes out, I have an immediate visit from an egret. He keeps me company while I fish, and in turn, I share a bait fish or two with him. I'm positive it's never the same one, but I have one name for them all. I call him Mr. Jones. They are very well mannered birds. Always grateful for the treat they didn't have to wade and fish for, but never pushy. I've grown quit fond of them. The fishing has not been great as of yet, but it will come, and I look forward to going home with lots of fresh fish in the coming months. In addition to my meal pictures, I will try and share some pictures of the birds, beach, dolphins etc. If you all would like that. Thank you Naomi for your nice comment and to Dave C. for sending me an email that had me smiling all morning.

The local city tennis tournament is on it's way here, and it lasts the whole month of May. Close to 700 entries in all categories and levels. It's one of the largest amateur tournaments in the country. With all the play in the heat, I'm trying to get some more yams and sweet potatoes in my diet. Between tennis and heavier weight workouts, it seems to be helping recovery periods.
Breakfast this morning;
Grilled burger, grilled onion slices, boiled yam. Olive oil drizzle and a sprinkle of sea-salt.

"Life is change and it's beautiful"

Things are always changing, it's nature, don't fight it, enjoy it, flow with it appreciate the beauty of it all, the beauty of change. Anywho, sorry back to food ;-)

The warm weather is here for most and I hope you find the time to grill a lot!

One way to maximise use of the grill for us veggies and meat eating peeps, is to invest in a good quality grill basket. This way you can make all sorts of vegetable concoctions on the grill. Tasty, simple, easy to make and little clean up involved.

Last night I used mine to make a delicious mixture of fresh yellow squash, onion garlic and evoo.

I did season a little with sea salt, fresh ground pepper and chili powder.

I also grilled some skinless chicken thighs. When was the last time you made chicken thighs on a grill?

Try this; marinate skinless thighs (I take the skin off because it grills better without it) in evoo, fresh chopped garlic, lemon juice (I used on large lemon for 6 thighs), greek oregano, sea salt and pepper. Marinate for at least 24 hours. Sorry to repeat myself, but this again is a very very simple recipe and the flavor is unreal! You know I cook my chicken breasts with non-direct heat on the grill. So because of the higher fat content (darker meat) of the thighs, I like to cook these on direct heat. they need more time then you think, don't let them burn.

Breakfast;

Skillet; evoo, green cabbage and onion. Saute till soft, but not mushy.

When it was done i simply tossed it together with about 5 strips of bacon, 2 hard boiled eggs and a dijon mustard drizzle. Look at it as a take off from "spinach salad" with warm bacon dressing.

The dijon mustard drizzle is simple to make. Tbspoon of dijon, splash of water, half teaspoon evoo and some capers. mix well and drizzle over the warm green cabbage salad.

Does it sound good? Cool, now go and make it and tell me how it tastes ;-)

I'm very curious if you guys try and make some of the recipes or do you use it to come up with your own version of it? Please share your versions!

.

Simple?

If it was any simpler this morning it would be a glass of water. ;-)
Short on time does not have to mean you cut corners.
It's easy to eat whole foods.





2 boiled eggs and some grapes.
I have a feeling I might have a good appetite for lunch.
Have a great weekend everyone.

Cooking while in the shower????

But before I get to that, here's one more quote from our old cool friend Hippocrates

“If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.”

Very often I will actually cook while I'm taking a shower and shaving. It's a perfectly timed ten minutes. ;-)

Let me show you how.

I have chicken marinating in my fridge. Cut in chunks so that I can skewer them and grill, or cook them quickly in the pan. The marinade is simple; olive oil, Worcester sauce, paprika, pepper, onion powder. So in a small skillet with heat on low I put about 6 pieces in the pan.

When I came out of the shower it was pretty much cooked, flipped the pieces and put 2 hand fulls of spinach on top. Some fresh cilantro also. I let it cool down while getting dressed, and then put it in a to go container for a yummy breakfast at my desk. I also had some celery with it for crunch and cool. Easy right?