Grilled Fish Tacos

So delicious, so simple...
Grilled Fish Tacos

Fresh Strawberry Margarita

Fresh fruit 'ritas - need I say more?!
Fresh Strawberry Margaritas (4 servings)
1 c sliced fresh strawberries
1 c tequila
1/4 c triple sec
1/4 c simple syrup
juice of 1 lime
Put all ingredients in a blender, serve over lots of ice.

Creamy Asparagus Pasta

A light and simple spring dinner, or a great side dish for Plank-Grilled Salmon with Creamy Tarragon Sauce:
Creamy Asparagus Pasta

Plank-Grilled Salmon with Creamy Tarragon Sauce

I had some salmon and tarragon that I needed to put to use, and this was the perfect recipe for both:
Plank-Grilled Salmon with Creamy Tarragon Sauce

Coconut Green Curry Mussels

A trip to Whidbey Island's Penn Cove Mussel Festival this month has left me wanting to experiment with mussels in so many ways! A return trip to Coupeville this weekend meant that I absolutely had to replicate this amazingness:

Coconut Green Curry Mussels
1-1/2 lbs mussels, rinsed

3 T unsalted butter
3 stalks lemongrass, dry parts removed, or the equivalent of 3 stalks from a tube
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T grated ginger
1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk 

3 T green curry paste
juice of 2 limes
1/4 C fresh cilantro, chopped

-Prep all of the ingredients before you start anything cooking. This dish comes together so quickly that you need to be prepared. So, juice the limes, grate the ginger, chop the garlic and cilantro, braise and cut up the lemongrass (or have your squeeze tube close), and rinse and weed out cracked or open mussels.

-Melt the butter in a large pot, over medium-high heat. Add lemongrass, garlic, and ginger. Stir and let cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. While whisking, add coconut milk and green curry sauce. Bring to a simmer over high heat.

-Add mussels. Stir and let cook, covered. In less than 5 minutes, the mussels will open. At this point, remove from heat and add the lime juice and cilantro. 

Recipe - la denver dish

Hollandaise Sauce

A simple hollandaise sauce recipe is a necessary part of my kitchen arsenal. From the obvious eggs benedict to salmon, asparagus, potatoes... you name it, hollandaise gives it that certain "je ne sais quoi".
Hollandaise Sauce

Southwestern Cheese Panini

A slightly spicy take on grilled cheese, made even better by being stuffed with more veggies than cheese:
Southwestern Cheese Panini

Asparagus Pesto with Tiny Potatoes and Pasta

I was in the mood for pesto, but I was looking for a new version - something light and fresh and ready for spring. With asparagus season quickly approaching, this is the perfect spring pesto:
Asparagus Pesto with Tiny Potatoes and Pasta

Seared Scallops with Crispy Leeks

In keeping with the idea of expanding my recipe repertoire (but still keeping everything simple!), this dish is fool-proof delicious:
Seared Scallops with Crispy Leeks

Tofu with Peanut-Ginger Sauce

I'm always trying to expand my recipe repertoire. The fact that I categorize dinners according to "Pasta" or "Not Pasta"... let's just say that I think it's pretty obvious the areas in which I need improvement! This recipe is my answer to Thai food cravings - I love to drench my rice in peanut-y goodness, so I make extra peanut sauce and serve it with rice.
Tofu with Peanut-Ginger Sauce

Sauteed Kale

Eat more kale!! It's always a good idea to know the basics, and this dish is as simple as it is delicious. An easy way to enjoy winter greens:
Sauteed Kale

Basic Risotto

In all of my raving about risotto, I have yet to include the basic recipe. I love to make this when I have a main dish with an especially flavorful sauce - like Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce. This risotto makes a perfect vessel for fully enjoying all of the creamy sauce:
Basic Risotto

Blueberry-Coconut-Macadamia Muffins

Sometimes, you just need a little "snackie cake"...
 Blueberry-Coconut-Macadamia Muffins

Fennel-Crusted Salmon on White Beans

Fennel is one of those things that I've been meaning to experiment with and just haven't had a chance. This dish gave me an easy way to try it out:
Fennel-Crusted Salmon on White Beans

Roasted Apple Butter

I'm not a huge berry jam fan. I enjoy a good pb&j every now and then, and I love fresh strawberries and blueberries more than most fruits, but I just don't like the intense, sugary sweetness of jams and jellies. Apples, however, seem to lend themselves towards a naturally spicy sort of sweet - cinnamon and ginger and an all-around feeling of warmth that berries just don't bring to the table. In keeping with the less-sweet, more-spice ideal, this is the way to go when topping whole wheat toast... or vanilla ice cream!
Roasted Apple Butter

Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms

I'm always in love with pasta and cheese, but don't have a lot of love for brussels sprouts or mushrooms. To be fair, I haven't really explored either... but that's all changed since having this dish. The earthiness of the mushrooms is a perfect match for asiago cheese, and the brussels sprouts add just the right balance. Mac and cheese made better:
Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms

Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Frittata

Breakfast for everyone in one easy dish:
Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Frittata

Roasted Vegetable & Feta Sandwiches

A sandwich is the number one way to make a quick and easy (and healthy!) meal, but doesn't always fit the bill in the middle of winter. A warm and toasty sandwich, however, is just the ticket for an easy winter meal. I grilled mine on a panini grill, but the sandwich is great cold too.
Roasted Vegetable & Feta Sandwiches

Cheddar Cauliflower Soup

This soup is like creamy, buttery mashed potatoes... yum! Yet it isn't potatoes at all!! Healthy yum:
Cheddar Cauliflower Soup

Garlic-Dijon Vinaigrette

Eat your leafy greens! A light and tangy dressing is just the thing to dress those greens, and this one can be made in a flash with ingredients that you probably already have.
Garlic-Dijon Vinaigrette

Grilled Salmon with Mustard & Herbs

Salmon is an amazingly healthy fish - both for your body as well as the environment. Living in the Pacific Northwest means being totally spoiled when it comes to salmon, so it's good to have an easy recipe on hand so that you can always take advantage of this fresh, local deliciousness. I didn't feel like grilling tonight (it is winter, after all) so I  put the wrapped fish in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes. Simply perfect, perfectly simple salmon:
Grilled Salmon with Mustard & Herbs

Kale Chips

There is almost no need for potato chips (well, maybe to go with some tasty onion dip) once you've tried these. Seriously, this is the perfect salty snack:
Kale Chips

Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce

I just received an awesome iron skillet as a gift, and was really stoked to try it out; this recipe was equally calling my name. It has everything that I look for in a meal:
1- Delicious 2- Healthy 3- Easy-to-Make 4- Inexpensive. There's also a lot of room for improvising and personalizing - I think that switching out the thyme for cilantro and the shallot and garlic with an onion, as well as using diced tomatoes with jalapenos, would give this dish a great Mexican flavor. Either way, this dish is a keeper:
Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce