The last few months have been hectic with work so I found it hard to take time out and do the things I enjoy. So this week, I made time for friends and for adventure and for bike rides. It also helped that Vancouver has been sunny for days so it’s been easy to meet up with friends and take some time out for myself without needing to bring along an umbrella. To say that this past week was fun is an understatement. It’s been awesome. And by way of an introduction, so is this meal.

I made this a few weeks ago, but I’m already thinking that it’s time for a repeat. It’s spicy and warming and perfect on nights when there’s a chill in the air. Fall is here and we’ve been tempted to turn on our heat (but so far, we’re resisting). This would make an ideal warm-up dinner. We’re lucky to still get some nice looking tomatoes from our csa (though I doubt we’ll see any more to come as we got our first bit of frost this week), so I chopped up some nice golden heirlooms and reduced them down with some onions and garlic. A spoonful of my favorite curry paste bumps up the spice. Yogurt, coconut milk and a dollop of mango chutney get involved as does some zucchini. If it’s hard to find zucchini now, try subbing in some colourful peppers or get all up in autumn’s grill and add in some roasted butternut or acorn squash or even some sweet potatoes. Really, I think that would be just grand.

If you think it’s easy to screw up shrimp, give this meal a try because I think it’s almost impossible to cook them badly here. Just make sure that adding the shrimp is the last thing you do. The lime & chili marinated shrimp only need 2 minutes to cook, so once the sauce is prepared, the rest is a breeze. I served this over coconut rice which is a heck of a lot easier to prepare than it sounds. I just took the leftover coconut milk from the sauce and dumped it into the pot of cooked rice. It’s not overly coconutty, but it made the rice creamy and worked really well with this dish. Ta da! Dinner is served.

spicy masala shrimp with zucchini and coconut rice
1 T canola oil
1/2 large onion, sliced thin
2 green onions, sliced thin
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t sea salt
2 T (heaping) masala curry paste (I use Patak’s)
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/4 c plain yogurt
1 T siraracha (optional)
1 T mango chutney
1 c zucchini, cut in half or quartered & sliced thin
1/2 can (400 ml) light coconut milk

1 lb large shrimp (21/25 shrimp), deveined & tails on
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t aleppo pepper (or crushed red pepper)
1/4 t sea salt
juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 can (400 ml) light coconut milk
4 c cooked, hot rice

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and add in onion. When the onion gets fragrant & translucent, add in the green onion and garlic and stir it around with a bit of salt. Add in curry paste and the tomatoes and cook down until the tomatoes get soft, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, In a medium bowl, add the shrimp, garlic, pepper, salt and lime juice and let marinate for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Back over at the stove, turn down heat to low and add in yogurt, sriracha, mango chutney, half the can of coconut milk and the zucchini into the tomato curry mixture. Stir well and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Turn back up the heat to medium-high so the mixture starts a slow bubble and pour in the shrimp mixture. Stir so that the shrimp is coated in the curry and let cook for 2 minutes until the shrimp is pink.

Meanwhile, add a half can of coconut milk to your hot rice and stir well.

Serve masala shrimp over coconut rice. Serves 4.

Possibly related posts:

• beautiful magic: spicy roasted broccoli & shrimp
• brown rice bowl with vegetables & roasted chickpeas

If there’s a meal that could make me shout my love from the rooftops, this recipe might just be the one. Forget that I had my camera settings all wrong when I took these photos – who could blame me to be careful about these things when shrimp and broccoli have come together to create beautiful magic together? No one. I admit to being prolific with my compliments. My husband accuses me of using superlatives too easily and declaring my current meal as “the best thing ever”, but you’ll have to trust me here because my compliments are very well-deserved.

Don’t be like me and wait over two years before trying this dish out. I first spotted Melissa Clark’s recipe in the New York Times and I was intrigued. And then Luisa over at The Wednesday Chef quickly wrote about it and I became smitten. I jumped on the shrimp + broccoli bandwagon without even tasting a bite. Somehow, I just couldn’t get it together to have broccoli and shrimp at the same time until now. I’ve smacked my head enough so that you won’t have to.

Write up your shopping list, make sure you’ve got everything you need – not that you’ll need a lot of things. Nope. This isn’t fancy pants territory, it just tastes like it is. And don’t forget to serve this with rice. Brown rice I’m sure is fine and healthy, but I did enjoy this with my plain old Jasmine white rice very, very much. And lemons, don’t forget the lemons! Get to it, I’m waiting. Go!

elsewhere: Hop on over to ReadyMade where I wax on about pancakes for one. Not only that, these pancakes are vegan and could kick your diner pancakes to the curb. Oh yeah. And if a bourbon hot toddy is more your style (I know it’s spring, but I’ve been sick!), whip up this easy goin’ number.

spicy roasted broccoli & shrimp
(adapted from The Wednesday Chef)
2 large heads of broccoli
4 T olive oil
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander
1/2 t chili flakes
1 t kosher salt
1 t black pepper
20 large raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
zest from 1 lemon + remaining lemon cut into quarters

Preheat oven to 425F.

In a large bowl combine the broccoli with 2 tablespoons of oil, cumin, coriander, 1/4 teaspoon of chili flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. In another bowl, mix together the shrimp with the remaining chili flakes, salt and pepper, olive oil and all the lemon zest.

Add the broccoli onto a prepared cookie sheet (lined with either parchment paper or silpat) in one layer and roast for 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for 10 minutes more – tossing once at the midway mark. When the broccoli is golden and crispy and the shrimp is opaque, remove from oven. Serve over rice and squeeze (this is a must!) with lemon juice. Serves 2 very happy people.

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• spicy masala shrimp with zucchini and coconut rice
• brown rice & broccoli cheddar pie

I LOVE springtime. It means skirts and light jackets and a lot more bike riding in my life. However, springtime in the kitchen is also a major highlight. Pea shoots, rhubarb, and asparagus are all things that I look forward to. And while salmon isn’t necessarily something that screams spring, it’s pink and tasty and goes so well with a bounty of spring veg. I love salmon almost as much as I love spring.

This salmon is perfect for  spring weekend dinner. It’s simple to prepare and it cooks in no time at all. In about 20 minutes you’ll have dinner on the table leaving you with plenty of time for other springtime activities like biking to the farmer’s market or being lazy with a good book. It will even free up your kitchen time so that you can find time to make up some Easter treats like these hot cross buns. Or venture over to Poppytalk and whip up a batch of butterscotch & chocolate blondies.

So enjoy this weekend and make friends with springtime in your kitchen. If you are lucky like most of us Canadians, you’ll be enjoying this long weekend to the fullest. For me, there’s plans for some bike riding, pizza & beers with good friends and even a quick road-trip get-away to Seattle. I’m excited. Springtime: it’s ripe with possibilities.

pan-roasted chipotle salmon
1 large fillet of salmon, rinsed & patted dry
2 green onions, sliced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced + 1 t of sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice & zest of 1 lime + optional wedges for serving

Preheat oven to 400F and place a cast iron skillet in the oven. With a fork, mash together the chipotle, garlic and lime zest/juice and spread the chipotle mixture around the entire fillet. With oven mitts on, remove skillet and add in the salmon fillet. Sprinkle with green onions and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until done. Serve with a squeeze of lime if you like.

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• eat more fish: salmon livornese
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I didn’t want a recipe that was too heavy with butter or cream, so I decided to make a twist on ceviche. Ceviches usually rely on lemon or lime juice to cook the raw fish, but a recipe found in Gourmet for a grilled scallop ceviche sounded ideal. And it was. It’s full of bright, citrus flavours and the cucumber here is very refreshing against the jalapeño heat. It’s the kind of meal you’d want to eat lots of in the summer, you know, in between your yacht sailings and Prada shopping sprees. And while this meal feels fancy, it’s actually not such a big spend. The recipe only uses 8 large sea scallops and when you think about the cost of eating out, a nice meal in with a bottle of wine is pretty affordable (but go on and strap on some heels for the occasion).

Tip: Are you starting from frozen scallops? Use the cold water method to defrost rather than slowly defrosting in the fridge. Put your scallops into a ziplock bag, place bag into a bowl and slowly run cold water from your tap over the scallops until they thaw. Depending on the size of your seafood, this could take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. This way results in very fresh tasting scallops and this way your seafood doesn’t get swamped with water. This quick thaw method works well for shrimp as well.

grilled scallop ceviche
(recipe adapted from Gourmet)
6-8 large sea scallops
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 small orange
2 T fresh lime juice
3/4 English cucumber, seeded and diced
1/4 of a red onion, finely diced
1-2 jalapeños, seeds removed, minced

1. Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper and brush lightly with a bit of olive oil before adding them to a hot grill pan. Grill until marks appear (about 1-2 minutes) and flip repeating the process. Scallops don’t need to be fully cooked as they will fully cook in the lime juice later. Remove from pan immediately and set aside to cool.

2. Cut away the peel from the orange using a sharp paring knife. Cut segments free from their membranes and then dice. Add oranges, cucumber, red onion, jalapeños and any remaining orange juice into a medium sized bowl.

3. If your scallops are large & you want to be thrifty like me, slice the scallops in half on their sides so that 1 scallop is now 2 coin-shaped scallops (rather than cutting them in half width wise). Add the scallops to the bowl and squeeze lime juice over everything. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top and gently toss. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

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So when I found myself with some red snapper in the fridge, along with pretty red skinned potatoes, I knew that I’d try my hand at chowder. I had a tub of flavourful seafood stock in the freezer (tip: next time you make mussels, freeze the leftover liquid!) and some corn niblets that I had frozen myself in September. I wanted to lighten things up, so I used skim milk instead of cream and I just used a tablespoon of butter, but if you want something richer, then go all out and gild that lily! The final result was delicious and came very close to our dreamy Maritime chowder.

maritime fish chowder
(adapted from Simply Recipes)
2 T butter
1 large onion, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
4 small-ish potatoes, diced
1 t thyme
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 1/2 t Old Bay seasoning
1 1/2 c fish stock + water
1 1/2 – 2 lbs Red Snapper (or cod), cut into 2 inch cubes
1/2 c corn
1 1/2 c skim milk

In a large pot, saute the onion and celery in the butter until soft and fragrant. Add in the potatoes and all of the seasonings. Add in the fish stock and add enough water to just cover everything. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes until the potatoes are done.

Stir in the fish and cover again for another 15 minutes. Turn down the heat to a low simmer and slowly add in the milk – I had the heat on the very lowest setting. Do not bring this mixture to a boil or the milk may curdle. Add in the corn and let it rest with the lid on for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve in deep bowls with oyster crackers or hunks of buttered sourdough bread.

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The tomatoes, capers and olives make this a tangy and flavourful sauce. I used to be a bit afraid of mixing tomatoes and fish (due to a bad fish dish my mom made when I was a kid), but that fear is definitely over. It doesn’t take much preparation and the ingredients are all readily available. It’s perfect for guests or just a cozy night in. Serve with steamed rice, broccoli and a nice red wine.

salmon livornese
1 T olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large can of tomatoes
2 T capers, chopped
1/2 c sliced black olives, drained
1/2 t red pepper flakes
2 T chopped fresh parsley
1 lb salmon or red snapper
zest of 1 lemon
1 T lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400F. In a large pan, sauted the onion in the olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in tomatoes, capers, black olives, red pepper flakes and parsley. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Spread 1/3 of the sauce into an 11×17 baking dish and place the fish fillets over top in a single layer. Squeeze lemon juice over the fish and then pour on the remaining sauce. Top with lemon zest.

3. Bake for 15 minutes for 1/2 inch thick fillets or 30 minutes for 1 inch thick fillets. Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork. Sprinkle with extra parsley and serve.

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This is pretty simple to whip up. Just chop up the vegetables thinly and you’ve got a nice treat. If my garden would start production, I would have thrown in some fresh dill but I made do without and this slaw still kicked butt.

creamy cabbage slaw
1/2 green cabbage, shredded
3 radishes, sliced paper thin
1/4 red onion, sliced paper thin
1 green onion, sliced thin
3 T cottage cheese
2 T sour cream
juice & zest of 1 lemon
salt & pepper

Mix everything in one large bowl. Toss well. Easy!

The photo above was Sunday’s outdoor dinner. See my beet salad makes an appearance, so does the creamy slaw…but I also made another salad of sorts, a tuna fish salad sandwich. 3 salads for dinner! I had some cottage cheese to use up so instead of sticking with my standard tuna recipe, I played with this version from Simply Recipes and came up with an extra creamy sandwich. I used a green tarragon mustard so that added another dimension of flavour. It was pretty delish. Recipe below.

Notice the beer? This was just a local bottled pale ale but it does make a nice little segway into my latest post for the Food Network blog on cask ales. What’s a cask ale? Why is it flat and warm? Is it delicious?

creamy tuna salad sandwich
1 can of tuna packed in water, drained
2 small green onions, chopped
1 T mayo
2 T cottage cheese
1 t tarragon dijon mustard
1 t lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1 t capers
salt & pepper to taste
your favorite toasted bread

Combine all ingredients and spread over your favorite toasted bread.

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I haven’t eaten canned salmon since those days, but when I spotted some “ecologically sound” wild canned salmon on sale, I decided to throw a can into my shopping basket. Originally, I was thinking croquettes but didn’t have any mashed potatoes, so I made due with what I had in the cupboard and the results turned into a pretty delicious dinner. The patties were flavourful and tangy due to the capers. These would have made pretty great salmon burgers too topped with mayo or tartar sauce and a bun, but we just ate them with some boiled red potatoes and dandelion greens.

I had never cooked with dandelion greens before but when I saw some at the store I picked some up. They are definitely bitter greens and next time I think I’ll try them sauteed instead, but I also quite enjoyed this salad. The heat of the dressing didn’t wilt the leaves like I had expected them too, but the crunch of the walnuts, the sweetness of the raisins and the tang of the vinegar worked wonders with the bitter greens.

salmon patties
1 can of salmon, undrained
3 T panko crumbs
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T capers
1 t dried dill
1 t sweet paprika
salt & pepper
1 egg
1 T flour

Combine all ingredients, mashing everything together with a fork until well blended. Form into balls and flatten into patties. Fry in a bit of oil until golden brown on both sides. Serve with boiled potatoes and dandelion salad or eat like burgers on a bun served with tarter sauce.

dandelion greens with hot balsamic dressing
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 T toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 c raisins
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 t sugar
salt & pepper
1 pound dandelion greens

1. Remove tough stems from dandelion greens, wash, dry and tear greens. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

2. In a skillet, heat olive oil, walnuts and garlic until hot, but do not let the garlic get brown. Add in raisins and stir until they are plump. Remove from heat, adding in balsamic vinegar and sugar. Whisk in salt and pepper and pour over greens, tossing until everything is well coated.

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Last night I had some cod that needed cookin’ and some soba noodles that needed some spark. I whipped up my go-to stand by for fish but then changed my mind, added in some sugar and dumped the whole mess over the soba noodles instead. By George, this was delicious! Now that I had an instant salad (after adding in some carrots, peas and cilantro), I turned to the fish and figured that it was high time to pull out that ever-patient miso. Using very similar ingredients to a salad dressing I’ve made in the past, I just tightened things up and created a saucy paste to smear on the cod. I broiled it then baked it and placed it on top of the soba noodles for presentation points. The results were incredible. Not only did the fish and noodles look amazing and uber-gourmet, but it was super simple to make (no patience required) and healthy to boot.

Miso turning your crank? Check out some tasty miso recipes from my archives:
vegetable stir fry with lemon-miso sauce
curry & miso udon soup
miso gravy
udon soup with grilled salmon
miso soup with ramen noodles

soba salad
3 green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal
2 T minced ginger
1 t toasted sesame oil
juice of 1 large lime
1 T sugar
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 T soy sauce
4 T olive oil
1 pkg of soba noodles, cooked, drained and rinsed under cold water until cool
1 carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
1/2 c frozen peas, thawed
a large handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Add noodles, carrots, peas and cilantro and toss. Serve cool or at room temperature.

miso-glazed cod
3 heaping spoonfuls of white or shiro miso (or any light tasting miso)
2 T cider vinegar
2 T white wine vinegar
2 T honey
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 T minced fresh ginger
2 T soy sauce
3 cod fillets

In a shallow bowl, stir together the miso, vinegars, honey, ginger and soy sauce until you have a thick sauce. Schmear sauce over cod fillets with a back of a spoon and broil at high heat (500 degrees) until golden, about 5 minutes. Turn down the oven to 450 degree oven and put fish on a lower rack, baking until fish is flaky and cooked through, another 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove from oven and serve with soba salad.

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Last night was a cold crisp night. Biking to my Monday night bowling league game I was a bit wary because there was frost on the ground and I diligently searched and stayed clear of any patches of black ice. My way home however, the clear skies turned cloudy and let loose a barrage of hail. After realizing that the hail actually helped improve my traction by making the streets extra crunchy (and pretty), I took off for home. The only downside was going down hills only because of all the stinging icy bits hitting me hard in the face. When I got home, getting dinner ready didn’t seem like something I really wanted to pull off…especially since it was almost 10pm. But our rumbling tummies made it clear that something had to be done.

A quick peek at Epicurious, a small bit of prep and tweaking to the original recipe, and dinner was in the oven. It was that quick. I even got together a simple green salad going that turned out to be the most perfect accompaniment for this meal. Letting the dressing mingle not only with the greens but with the rest of the ingredients on the plate took the entire meal over the edge into ‘oh my god’ territory. At first, I wasn’t sure how cod and cumin-spiced chickpeas would work together, but the meal was delicious. Next time I’d sprinkle a bit of finely diced red onion over top before popping it in the oven just because I love onions so much and a bit of added crunch would be a nice touch.

braised cod with chickpeas & corn
1 can of chickpeas
1/4 c water
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 t red pepper flakes
1 T cumin
2 T olive oil
1/2 c frozen corn
3 cod fillets
salt
freshly ground black pepper
handful of parsley, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. Add chickpeas to a pot along with water, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin and the 2 T olive oil. Heat over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add chickpea mixture and corn into a square baking dish.

2. Rinse cod fillets and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Lay fish on top of the chickpea mixture, sprinkle with parsley and lemon juice. Drizzle really good olive oil over top of the fish and put the whole shebang into a hot oven. 20 minutes later check on things and if fish flakes easily, remove from oven and serve with a green salad.

simple green salad with lemon vinaigrette
juice of 1 lemon
really good extra virgin olive oil
spoonful of tarragon mustard
pinch of kosher salt
dollop of honey
small head of romaine leaves, washed, dried and torn

Shake all ingredients in a small jar and drizzle over salad greens. I didn’t give measurements here because going by taste is the only way I can get this dressing perfect. It’s tart and just a bit sweet and it works so well clinging to the leaves as it is mingling with the braised chickpeas and fish.

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