Basil Salt

What do you do when you grow more basil than you can use? Well I dried some; I have a freezer full of pesto so I decided to try a recipe I saw in a magazine – basil salt. Hmm – makes sense to me. It couldn’t be easier. Combine equal portions of kosher salt (I used sea salt) and basil. Pulse together in food processor; spread on a pan and heat at 225 degrees for about 30 minutes or until dry…toss salt about 1/2 way through cooking. Let the mixture cool – then put back in the food processor and pulse until the mixture is fine.  Use to season tomatos and other summer veggies – I also figure I can use it in pretty much anything that calls for salt – I haven’t tried it on anything yet, but I am excited about it…it smells deliciously basily.

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Black Rice?? Yes – my new favorite thing!

I have recently discovered black rice. I saw it in a magazine and then found it in a local spice store. It is so tasty and made for a wonderful stir fry meal. I cooked the black rice like I would any rice – in my steamer. For the stir fry I made a new sauce:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

juice of 2 limes

3 tbsp of soy sauce

3 tbsp of honey

2 tsp of sesame seeds

3 tbsp of Sriracha sauce

2 tbsp of peanut butter (you can omit this, but I was cooking for some sensitive pallets and the peanut butter cooled off the sauce a bit)

In a pan – stir fry broccoli until almost done – add shrimp and sauce when shrimp is done, toss in cooked black rice and heat  - serve immediately – it is WAY yummy.

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Enchilada Sauce

I wanted to make dinners for the week – I already made a goulash which I have blogged about before as well as a Mexican lasagna that I have also blogged about before. The problem was even though I was well inspired to cook I was too lazy to leave the house to get the ingredients I needed. Then I thought – heck, I could make an enchilada sauce. So to google I went and I found one that sounded good. I made it and the lasagna. I haven’t eaten the lasagna yet, but I am sure it will yummy because this sauce is delicious! Give it a try.

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Mahi stir fry

Mahi stir fry

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

I had a bit of mahi left in my freezer and I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Once it was thawed I saw that the fillets were quite uneven so I decided it would cook more evenly if cubed than as a fillet. So in began this yummy stir fry. I marinated the fish in soy, honey, ginger and garlic. I then strung and chopped snow peas and tomatoes and then I set those aside – in the meantime I had my rice steaming away (2 cups cooked). I heated my stir fry pan, added a bit of olive oil and put in the vegetables. When they were about 2/3rds cooked, I added in the fish and the sauce. Cooked all until done. I went for presentation here so I packed the rice in a round bottom cup and put it in the center of the plate – normally I would just throw the rice into the stir fry, but I was feeling creative. All in all, this was delicious, though in my opinion the fish was a little salty – I think it could marinate for way less time as it absorbed the salt from the soy, but it still tasted delicious and I will definitely try it again. I seem to stir fry a lot more in the summer as it is a good way to use lots of vegetables together and it is super fast.

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Shrimp Curry stir fry

Shrimp Curry stir fry

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

Okay – this is delicious and a very light, summery dish.

You’ll need one can of coconut milk (I used the low fat) and some red curry paste. Heat the coconut milk until it simmers and then add a tablespoon of red curry paste, a teaspoon of brown sugar and a couple of dashes of soy sauce. Let the sauce thicken a bit and then add your veggies. I used snow peas, shredded carrots, and broccoli. When the veggies are almost done, add in 1 pound of pealed shrimp and 2 cups of cooked rice. Simmer and stir in all ingredients until the shrimp is done. Top with chopped fresh basil.

The beauty of this meal is not only in the flavors, but you only need one pan to prepare the meal. This made three servings – so we had dinner and one left over for lunch.

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Red Curry Chicken and Broccoli

Red Curry Chicken and Broccoli

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

This was a great dinner if I do say so myself – and easy too – I promise.

Dice 1 small to medium onion
saute in a tablespoon of vegetable oil
add 8 oz of chopped chicken and lightly brown
add three heaping tablespoons of curry paste – I use Patak’s
blend together – add about 1/4 cup of water
add 1 can of chopped tomatoes blend together and let it come to a boil
lower heat to simmer and add chopped fresh broccoli
Simmer for about 25 minutes uncovered – stirring occasionally.
Serve over cooked rice – I used white basmati rice – it would work well with brown or short grain rice as well.
This was a nicely spiced, but not spicy dish and a lovely way to end the week! I will definitely add this dish into the rotation. I think next time I might try chopped potatoes instead of the chicken…I’ll let you know how that turns out.

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Honey, Soy, and Mustard glazed salmon

Honey Soy and Mustard glazed salmon

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

I got this great salmon on my last trip to Atlanta at Trader Joe’s. Honestly I have almost stopped eating salmon at all since what I can get in the stores with any regularity is farm raised with color added and to me it just doesn’t taste good – it tends to be oily and flavorless. This salmon was wild caught salmon – another animal altogether – pardon the pun. I decided to glaze the salmon with this really simple recipe. In a shallow dish put about 2 tablespoons of spicy mustard, about 2 tablespoons of honey and about 1/2 cup of soy sauce – stir until well blended – add salmon fillets and marinate for at least one hour. When you are ready to cook them simply grease a saute pan and add the salmon fillets – as the glaze cooks off add more from the marinade – just before the salmon is done add the remaining marinade and let it come to simmer – remove and plate salmon and drizzle with remaining glaze – YUM.

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Enchilada Casserole

Enchillada Casserole

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

This is so yummy. I have done this countless times, but this time I made it slightly differently.

Preheat oven to 350
Lightly grease a casserole pan
In a saute pan add 1/2 pan of ground turkey and season with taco flavoring
Rinse and drain one can of black beans – when the turkey is cooked add the black beans and remove from heat

You will want to layer this like you would lasagna:
Layer:
Tortillas (I used flour, though corn would work if you prefer that flavor)
heaping spoonful of beans/meat
sprinkle with cheese
spoon in some enchilada sauce
Repeat process until you are out of meat/bean mixture
Add a final layer of tortilla – top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.
Bake for about 25 minutes until it bubbling.
Cut and serve with salsa or tomatillo sauce (I chose tomatillo) and a dollop of plain yogurt (or sour cream if you are so inclined)

I have never made this with the ground turkey – so it works quite well without it – you really can’t go wrong with this – use your favorite ingredients and you will be more than satisfied with this dish.

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Shrimp Mango tacos

Shrimp Mango tacos

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

I put out a vote on facebook and this won out. Decided to ring out (almost) the end of February with a faithful but seldom used recipe of shrimp and mango tacos. Nothing hard here – saute cilantro, garlic and olive oil with shrimp and mango – wrap in a tortilla with your favorite taco condiments…I used tomatillo sauce, sour cream and cheese…and them along side black beans and orzo…and of course a round of adult beverages before heading out to the back yard to enjoy a bonfire and some time on the trampoline.  We followed the whole experience up with some dark chocolate creme brulee - good way to end the month for sure

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Vegetable Lasagna

Vegetable Lasagne

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

It has been a pretty gloomy and cool weekend so I decided to warm the house with a freshly prepared lasagna. You can’t go wrong with lasagna and in general you simply layer the noodles, sauce and cheese and bake and it will be good. I wanted to something a bit beyond that – it took a little more time, but the end result was well worth it.

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees

half and seed a red pepper – sprinkle with olive oil
cut the top off a head of garlic – place in olive oil and wrap in foil

Put both of these in the oven – remove peppers when the skin is blistered – place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and set aside until cool – when cool – remove skin and then slice peppers into bite size pieces – you can add to sauce or just add when you layer the cheese and sauce

Remove garlic when it is soft – let cool a bit and then extract the cloves and set aside.

In a cast iron skillet I put about 15 grape tomatoes and about a tablespoon of olive oil…I turned the burner on high – when the tomatoes soften and break – reduce heat. I then added marinara sauce, and random veggies I had left over – some broccoli, a few shredded carrots and I think a few pieces of cauliflower. Add about a cup of red wine and a dash of ground red pepper and let simmer for as long as you want – I think I let mine simmer about 45 minutes. Add roasted garlic cloves to the sauce then start the water to boil for the pasta. (don’t forget to salt and oil the water)

Prepare lasagna dish with some non stick spray. When the noodles are soft – drain and rinse with cold water – put a layer of noodles in the pan – top with some sauce, and fresh spinach, ricotta, feta and a layer of mozzarella cheese…repeat process for three layers – add fourth layer of noodles – top with sauce – cover with cheeses and bake in 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes until bubbling and cheese is slightly browned.

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