Apres-Gym Meal: Seared Chicken Breast with Pineapple Barley

Lately I’ve been working pretty hard at the gym: I’m trying the fewer reps/ heavier weights routine, and find it actually very satisfying.  After a workout I try to eat something healthy, filling and high in protein: much like this barley and chicken combo.

I already had cooked barley that I made in a rice cooker the day before. I mixed it up with some onion, garlic, chili pepper and pineapple slices – stir-frying until warm. Then I added a teaspoon of fish sauce to add a bit of depth and 2 teaspoons of soy sauce to add a bit of salt.

I seared the chicken on a very hot pan for about 4- 5 minutes on each side.

Serve with cilantro.

You can easily make this with any other whole grain you like!

Steak and Sautéed Baby Bok Choy

This was dinner last night – after looking at all the food at WSL I was STARVING by the time I got home!

Rib-eye steak + garlic-y baby bok choy with some lemon juice (CSA via Red Fire Farm)

I sear my steaks on cast iron and finish them in the oven.

Red Pepper Olive Oil

Hot peppers from Red Fire Farm + EVOO + sunshine = tasty and lasts forever.  Not to mention very pretty and makes an awesome gift.

Smoked Salmon Sandwiches

Ridiculously quick and easy to make.

This is how:

1. Toasted bread (I had Jewish Rye)

2. A dab of mayo

3. Some lettuce leaves (Red Fire Farm)

4. Tomato slice (Red Fire Farm – we got FOUR POUNDS on Friday!)

5. Pile on the salmon

6. Squeeze some lemon juice

7. Sprinkle on the capers

ENJOY!

Adding a glass of OJ and a book made it only better:

So simple

“Simple” is just about the last thing I have to say about finishing my MBA program, but I DID IT!!! Whoo-hoo!

But, when it comes to tomatoes from Red Fire Farm, simple is best:

Delish dinner to top off a crazy night of paper-writing

Well, grilled chicken, really.
I marinate the chicken breasts in my awesome cilantro sauce (cilantro+garlic+ EVoo into the blender), then pound them thin and grill them on high.
French fries tonight are Red Fire Farm potatoes, skin and all, sliced into 1/4″ little logs and fried in canola oil until golden. The secret to crispy fries to drying them off both before AND after frying and never, ever, ever salting them before you cook and dry them.
In other news, a week from today I’ll have my MBA.

Sorry about the crap phone picture!

Birthday Bubbly

Barefoot wines Rose Cuvee + a splash of pomegranate + basil garnish (obviously, from Red Fire Farm)

PS. Ha! I’m THIRTY!

Be jealous, be very jealous

If you love seafood as much as I love seafood, that is.

Scallops and Freshwater Shrimp with Salad

Super-quick (and not expensive!) dinner. Freshwater shrimp ran me just under $5, and the scallops were about $5 as well. The veggies are from the Red Fire Farm CSA!

Freshwater shrimp has a more delicate taste than regular shrimp, so you have to be careful not to overcook it. I steamed mine for 45 seconds, then turned it over for another 45 seconds. Then I put it in the warm sauce, so it cooked for another maybe 10-15 seconds, then I chilled it with ice.

For the sauce:

Olive Oil + hot pepper + garlic + my cilantro-garlic sauce –>  Warm it all up and let sit while the shrimp cooks.

To cook scallops:

Dry them very well and sear quickly on each side. When the scallops are no longer glossy, they’re ready to go.

My salad was simple leaves of Romaine tossed with baby zucchini slices and an olive oil and lemon dressing.

The whole thing took me longer to eat than it took me to cook.  Just sayin’.

Spicy Corn Relish

What I did last night while procrastinating from writing a paper

Earthy roasted bell peppers and crazy-hot Scotch bonnets give this relish a recognizable kick, while cumin and paprika lend some Indian flavors resembling of classic chutneys.

This recipe was inspired by Food and Wine magazine.

You will need:

Corn (I used 6 ears of delish CSA goodness)

1 Sweet (Spanish) onion, thinly sliced

Scotch bonnet pepper – as many as you can handle. I had one.

Other hot peppers – I used red ones for color

2 Bell peppers

Apple cider vinegar

Salt

Sugar

Grainy mustard

Cumin

Paprika

Method:

1. If you have a grill, roast the corn and the peppers together. This will give the relish a beautiful smoky taste.   I don’t have one, so I boiled the corn quickly and roasted the peppers in a non-stick frying pan. Chill the corn and the peppers to room temperature.

2. Chop up the peppers and cut the kernels off the corn.

3. Mix everything in a bowl, add the spices to taste.

4. The relish will keep in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Use on hot dogs, tacos, steak and rice!

Quick, healthy, delicious

Amazing little salad to counter the redunculous (and very tasty) breakfast burger I had today at the West Side Lounge.

Super-easy:

Farm-fresh tomatos

Basil

A clove of garlic

Onion, very thinly sliced

Corn kernels

Stale crusty bread

Dressing is simple lemon juice + olive oil

All veggies are from Red Fire Farm CSA!