I was called for jury
duty earlier this week, and had time to kill at lunch, so I wandered into Chinatown.
All the product markets reminded me that I hadn’t had yard long green beans in
ages, so I picked up a bunch. They are so much better than regular green beans;
more on par with haricot verts, but different. If you have never tried them,
give the yard -longs a shot!
I cook the blackened tenderloin
in the oven, which saves my stove from becoming a mess and couldn’t be easier!
1 pound yard long beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
Butter
Slivered raw almonds
Salt and pepper
Cook beans in a bit of water until they are bright green,
2-3 minutes. Drain water. On a medium flame, melt butter and add beans and
almonds. Stir until almonds are lightly brown and beans are cooked, about 5 minutes.
I bought this swordfish frozen at Trader Joe’s. What I like
about buying fish frozen is that you can pretty much count on it for being the
freshest available—outside of catching it yourself or from the local fish
monger. Frozen fish is caught, then immediately frozen, which is what makes it
so fresh. Next time you are buying fish, note that if it says, “previously frozen”;
if it does, you don’t know how long it’s been hanging around defrosted. Not to
say it isn’t good, but that buying frozen or locally will give you the freshest
fish.
No time to defrost that frozen fish? There are two recipes
here, one for cooking frozen and one
Compound butter is super easy to make and transforms a plain
piece of fish. The secret is to allow the butter to get nice and soft before
mixing in the remaining ingredients.
Swordfish with Butter
Compound
Swordfish
Avocado oil
Salt and pepper
Lemon
Frozen
Dry fish. Preheat oven to 500. Heat oven proof pan on stove
on high and add a bit of avocado oil. Season with salt and pepper and brown on
both sides. Put into oven for 5-8 minutes, depending on thickness. Fish should
be opaque.
Defrosted
Dry fish. Preheat oven to 500. Put oil in oven proof pan and
turn stove to high. Salt and pepper fish. Sear one side 3-5 minutes, flip and
put into oven 10-12 minutes, depending on thickness. Fish should be opaque.
Butter compound
2 ounces butter, softened
Zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
Combine ingredients
Squeeze lemon juice on fish and add a dollop of butter
compound on fish.
I buy mostly fresh vegetables and fruits, but certain frozen ones can’t be beat—like Trader Joe’s frozen spinach. A full one pound, the spinach is loose, not in a block, so you can use whatever amount you want. I often take about a third for my frittatas, for example. Both their organic and pesticide free (not sure what the difference is, other than a certification) are around $2.00—a real bargain compared to the 7 ounces of organic baby spinach that goes for $5.00.
Trader Joe’s Spinach
As you can see, I just open the bag and let it defrost in a colander for a couple hours. If it is still frozen when I need it, I run some hot water on it and remove excess water. It doesn’t need to cook; just put it into what recipe you need it for.
For example, my spinach artichoke dip is super easy because I defrost the spinach, mix it with the rest of the ingredients and bake. Boom—done!
I make this recipe with either paneer or tofu. The last time I made it, I put it on a bed of spaghetti squash. Both are good.
Indian Spiced Spinach with Paneer on Zucchini
2 pounds frozen spinach, drained and squeezed dry
2 cans coconut cream or milk
2 medium onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 “ piece ginger, minced
2 tablespoons coriander
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 tablespoon Korean red pepper
2 tablespoons mild curry
Salt
Pepper
Coconut or avocado oil or ghee
Water or chicken stock as needed
2 pounds tofu, dried and crumbled
Or
1-2 8 ounce blocks of paneer, cut into small pieces and dusted with spices
1 spaghetti squash, roasted or 2 zucchini, spiralized
Saute onion until wilted on medium heat. Add ginger and garlic and stir until fragrant, about a minutes. Add spices and turn to low and stir for a couple minutes. Add coconut milk or cream. Heat and add spinach and cook until hot. Add some water or chicken stock as needed.
Tofu
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon Korean red pepper flakes or ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons avocado oil
Put on broiler and rack 6 inches away from broiler. Spread tofu on a tray on parchment. Add oil and spices. Broil 20-25 minutes or until brown, turning mid-way through.
Paneer
Ghee or avocado oil
Sauté on medium high until brown
Put squash on a plate, add spinach and top with paneer or tofu. If using zucchini, keep it raw and put a mound on each plates and top with spinach mixture and tofu or paneer.
Cajun Seasoned Turkey Tenderloin with Gazpacho and Avocado Chips
If you’ve been reading my posts, you saw my bounty of tomatoes from the farmer’s market. I made a salad with fish, gazpacho soup, a pasta dish (cheat day) and this is leftover drained gazpacho over Cajun seasoned turkey tenderloin with avocado chips.
I had turkey tenderloins, but chicken would work just as well.
Turkey Tenderloin
1-2 turkey tenderloins, cut into strips about ¼” thick and 2” long
Cajun or taco spice mix
Avocado or extra virgin olive oil
Heat a cast iron pan on medium high. Heat oil to cover bottom of pan. Shake mix onto turkey and mix it with your hands. Put turkey into pan and cook until done, about 5 minutes.
See my posts on how to make gazpatcho and avocado chips.
I had a beautiful head of kale from the farmer’s market, and decided to make salad.
I also had free-range bacon from where I get all my bacon—Hemlock Hill Farm in Cortlandt Manor, NY. I go there a few times a year and buy their thick-cut bacon; I package it in packs of four and freeze. I even use the fat for cooking eggs and such. Once you eat free-range, pasture fed meat, you’ll never go back. Humanely treated, better tasting and better for you!
I had some Paneer
Paneer Cheese
that needed to be used up, so I decided that would work fine. (If you can’t find this Indian cheese, gruyere or whatever else strikes your fancy is works.) Paneer is very plain tasting, unless you marinate it first in spices. But it has a fantastic chewy texture that is even better when eating low carb, because you brown it and it gets crusty on the outside, but stays soft inside and doesn’t melt. Very cool.
You will have plenty of dressing leftover for other salads and it will keep a couple weeks.
Kale Bacon and Paneer Salad
Serves 4
Medium head kale, spin removed and torn or cut into bite sized pieces
1 large carrot, spiralized
1 jicama, spiralized
1 8 ounce package of paneer, cut into small cubes
4 ounces bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces
Handful pecans, small pieces toasted
extra virgin olive or avocado oil
Massage a handful of oil into kale and let sit a bit. Heat a cast iron pan on medium low and add oil when hot add paneer, some salt and pepper and brown. Add remaining ingredients, dressing, and serve.
Dressing
(Will have leftover)
1 shallot
1 cup avocado oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon hot sauce, like Yuzu
Salt and pepper
Combine in a blender or food processor. Taste and adjust according to taste.
