Pistachio-Crusted Cod Fillets

I picked some cod up from the grocery store on a whim tonight and this recipe was great. It's taken from Fine Cooking 49, p 82 (1 March, 2002). Kind of similar to the mayo/potato chip combo, but I actually prefer this a lot more (not as rich). I must say, the photo doesn't really do this justice.

1/2 cup unsalted shelled pistachios
1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs >>we had seasoned breadcrumbs on hand (so no need to add parmesan), but I can't wait to try this with panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp. coarse salt; more to taste >>I recommend cutting this way down since the Dijon mustard (below) is plenty salty, and you're also already adding a salted cheese
1/8 tsp. finely ground black pepper; more to taste
2 Tbs. olive oil
4 cod fillets, preferably loin pieces (4 to 6 oz. each)
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard


Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a small baking sheet with foil and lightly grease the foil (spray is fine).

Chop the pistachios into medium-fine pieces. Combine the nuts, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss with a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened.

If using fillets with tapered ends, loosely fold the ends under to create a fillet of even thickness. Spread the top of each fillet evenly with the mustard. Press the mustard-coated side of each fillet into the crumb mixture to generously coat the fish. Set the fillets, coating side up, on the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the fillets to form a thick coating.

Bake the fillets until the topping is crisp and browned and the fish is cooked through, 10 to 12 min., depending on thickness (see below for doneness test). Serve immediately.

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 280; Fat (g): 16; Fat Calories (kcal): 140; Saturated Fat (g): 3; Protein (g): 26; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 9; Carbohydrates (g): 9; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 3; Sodium (mg): 580; Cholesterol (mg): 50; Fiber (g): 2;


Original recipe/photo

Gluten-Free Quinoa Chocolate Cake

My friend Koleta brought this to a potluck I had recently and it was awesome. I made it with a cream cheese icing (which I will post soon) and it was super moist.

2/3 cup white or golden quinoa
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup goat milk >> I didn't have any of this on hand. My mother suggested I use Half and Half cream, which I kind of regret doing (for caloric reasons). Next time I'll do skim milk for sure.
1 tsp vanilla extract >> I always use more vanilla. I easily used 1 tbs.
3/4 cup melted and cooled butter >> what I usually do is cut the butter into cubes (maybe 2cm x 2 cm), lay them out untouching on a plate, and microwave for two short 10 second blitzes. I find this helps you get evenly softened butter, as opposed to a huge brick that is liquefied on the outside yet still cold and hard in the middle.
1 1/2 cups white or cane sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs

1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Cover and reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow to cool. >>I was in a crunch for time so I spread the quinoa out over a large dinner plate and put it in the fridge for a bit. It would have taken forever to cool down in a hot saucepan.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease two 8 inch cake pans.
3. Combine milk, eggs, and vanilla in a food processor or blender. Add 2 cups cooked quinoa (>> I found that using 2/3 cup dry quinoa and 1 1/3 cups water produced exactly 2 cups cooked quinoa. How perfect.) and butter and continue to blend until smooth. >> It will still have a few chunks, obviously.
4. Whisk together the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium/large bowl. Add the contents of the food processor and fold until blended.
5. Divide the batter evently between the pans and bake on centre rack for 40 - 45 minutes (>> I was fine after 40. The toothpick came out clean-ish and the edges had pulled back from the side of the pan). Cool before icing.
   

Burrito Stacks

Courtesy of Crazy Plates, by Janet and Greta Podleski (1999). I made this as a vegetarian entree for a potluck I was hosting and it went over really well. These can be done in the oven as the original recipe suggests, but we've also done them on the barbecue on top of tin foil (curled up at the sides) and they were also great.

1 1/2 cups seeded, diced tomatoes >> I did this once with regular tomatoes and once with roma tomatoes (the oblong ones) and preferred the regular ones. The regular tomatoes gave off a lot more fluid in the cooking process, which I think helped soften the tortillas when they were stacked.
1/2 cup of the following:

• whole-kernel corn>> fresh off the cob is ideal
• diced onions
• diced red bell pepper
• unpeeled, diced zucchini>> any type works. We used the weird yellow flying saucer variety and they were perfect
  

1/2 cup grated carrots
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2/4 tsp chili powder

1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed >> You can add a bit more if you like, since black beans don't last that long in the fridge.
1/2 cup chopped, fresh cilantro >> I've forgotten this before and it wasn't the end of the world
1 tbsp lime juice
4 7-inch flour tortillas >> I recently tried using more traditional corn tortillas (the small ones) and this didn't work nearly as well. Stick to the flour grocery store brand (Old El Paso?), as inauthentic as they are.
1 cup shredded, reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese (4 0z) >> I've started eating the PC Blue Menu reduced fat marble cheese and it's awesome. (This is coming from someone who previously had gagged eating No Name low fat cheddar and vowed to never touch it again.)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/3 low fat sour cream
1/2 cup copped lettuce >> I rarely actually use this because I find that the rest of this is usually enough. Also, I'd rather just do a side salad anyway instead.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a medium, non-stick saucepan with non-stick spray (>> very important, because these stick like fiends.). 1 cup tomatoes (>> I usually just add them all), plus next 9 ingredients (>> everything up to the beans). Cook and stir for 5 minutes, until vegetables are softened. Add beans and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and lime juice.
2. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Place one tortilla in middle of tray. Spoon 1/3 bean mixture over tortilla, followed by 1/4 cheese. Repeat layering 2 more times. Place final tortilla on top, and sprinkle with last bit of cheese and green onions.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and tortiallas turn golden brown around edges. Remove from oven and slice into 4 wedges. Top with sour cream, remaining tomatoes, and lettuce. >> As mentioned, I usually skip this last step and just serve with sour cream and homemade salsa on the side.
   

Kale Chips

Nothing revolutionary here. Just putting this up so I remember the oven temp/time.
NOTE- These are best if eaten the day you make them. I just found out the hard way that storing them for the next day results in soggy chips. I'm probably going to put them all on a pan and give them a blitz in the oven before I serve them today.

Ingredients:
Kale, washed and de-spined
olive oil (enough to lightly coat)
salt (minimal)
fresh cracked pepper (lots)
nutritional yeast (a few heaping teaspoons, however yeasty you like your kale chips)

Toss all ingredients in a bowl. Spread out over Silpat and bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. I found the crisped up better when they were pressed flat and weren't touching one another, which meant that one full bunch of kale had to be stretched over four batches in the oven. Lots of work but very worth it.

To Try: Gluten-Free Brownies

No time to post full recipe. Here is the link. Try soon
http://www.sophisticatedgourmet.com/2011/06/amazing-brownies-gluten-free/

To try: Greek Yogurt Popsicles

This was on 'Cup of Jo' this morning and I must try it soon. I think I'll buy some agave to substitute for the refined sugar. 1/2 a cup is a lot for only 1 and 1/2 cups yogurt! The accompanying recipe was for avocado popsicles, which I was slightly less excited to try...

Greek Yogurt Pops with Berries (Adapted from Paletas, by Fany Gerson)

Ingredients:
1 lemon (you just need the peel)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups plain unsweetened Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups fresh blackberries, or the berry of your choice

Rinse the lemon, then peel it. Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring until the mixture comes to a boil and the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon peel, lower the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve, then refrigerate until chilled.

Put the yogurt and honey in a bowl, add the chilled syrup and stir well. (You can also do this in a blender, but we just stirred by hand.) Pour a bit of the yogurt into each of the popsicle molds, to a height of about 3/4 inch. Freeze until the mixture begins to set, about 40 minutes.

Next divide the blackberries among the popsicle molds, thn pour the remaining yogurt mixture, dividing it evenly among the molds. Snap on the lid of the molds and freeze until solid, 3 to 4 hours.


Original recipe/photo

Chickpea Tacos

I started looking for a chickpea taco recipe when I realized that soy wasn't agreeing with my stomach very well. These are great in tortillas (hard tacos get pretty messy), but also good in salad and just for snacking. I usually just use $2 store-bought taco seasoning and it works just fine. See the original post (linked below) for a recipe for homemade taco seasoning (which I plan to do at some point to better control the salt).

1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained >> I've used 2 cups of dehydrated chickpeas (that have been soaked overnight and boiled for 90 mins) and it worked just fine.
1 Tbsp. tamari >> soy sauce works as a substitute
2 tsp. lime juice >> half a lime
2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
whole wheat tortillas
lettuce >> we did arugula and it was lovely
tomato, diced
2-step guacamole* (mashed avocado + minced garlic & Kosher salt)
(optional) fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

1.) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2.) Spray a cooking pan with olive oil & set aside>> lining the pan with tin foil or a Silpat is helpful.
3.) In a large bowl, whisk tamari, lime juice, and taco seasoning together.
4.) Add chickpeas to bowl, tossing until well-coated.
5.) Place chickpeas on pan in an even layer, spray lightly with oil, & bake for 20-25mins. >> I find I take them out halfway through and mix them around a bit. Take them out after less time if you want them to be a little softer on the outside.
6.) Remove from oven, assemble tacos (lettuce first!), & serve.

Original recipe/photo