Comments (1)

By Good Eats, March 30, 2011 5:29 pm

Sometimes you just dont want to cook. But instead of going out or buying frozen food, you can bake up some acorn squash as a fast, tasty and comforting snack.

I love it as a treat, but it also works as a wonderful accompaniment to a larger meal. It freezes beautifully and believe it or not, I like to add it to yogurt-berry smoothies. Its a simple way to get more veggies in my diet without altering the sweet taste of my drink.

Acorn squash has a nutty, ever so slightly bitter flavor which I find deliciously enhanced by a bit of butter. I also like to add a dash of cinnamon which gives it a nice spice complement to the earthy flavour.

All you have to do is cut the acorn squash in quarters, scoop out the seeds, splash on a bit of olive oil and pop it in a 350° oven for 30-40 minutes until slightly wilted and soft enough that you can pierce it easily with a fork. Add a dab butter or cinnamon or even not made if you like the flavor.

So easy you can do it and go relax for a bit and then sit down to a lovely little snack. Simple pleasures, got to love them!

Comments (2)

By Good Eats, March 22, 2011 10:23 pm

Warm, soothing, well-balanced flavors and on the table in less than 1/2 an hour? That’s more than just one reason why this is one of my favorite go to dishes.

Combined with the coconut milk and potatoes, you will love the comfort food aspect of this meal. This is a great dish to introduce fish or curry to people who don’t normally try something different. Yellow curries are the most mild and least “spicy”, imparting just enough flavor to make a dish taste yummy.

The yellow color comes with turmeric. A spice most commonly known in Indian cooking which has great flavor and is incredibly good for your immune system. I really like this curry because it’s rich, beautifully balanced with flavors and takes less than half an hour to make.

I suggest using a firm, whitefish like tilapia which has a neutral flavor and is already de-boned for you. If you purchase the North American produced tilapia, it’s also an Ocean Wise eco-certified, sustainable fish.

Great on its own or with a nice piece of fresh bread.

Ingredients (serves 2)
1 large Yukon gold or a handful of mini new potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tbsp yellow curry paste
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp grated palm sugar (substitute ½ tbsp brown sugar if you can’t find it)
¼ cup fish stock (substitute chicken stock or water)
1 can coconut milk
1 large white fish fillet like tillapia , cut into slightly larger than bite size pieces
1 red bird’s eye chilli, seeded and julienned
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Placed the potatoes in cold water, bring to boil and allow to cook until easily pierced with a fork
2. While the potatoes are on, add half the coconut milk to a large pot and bring to the boil while stirring. Once it’s reduced by half you will see that the oil separates from the coconut milk. When this happens add the curry paste and stir well to incorporate for around a minute.
3. Have the rest of the coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and stock. Stir well until the sugar dissolves.
4. Strain the potatoes and add them with the fish to the pot. Stir occasionally,but gently so you don’t break up the fish. Remember, fish doesn’t need much cooking time – about 3-5 minutes.
5. Add the coriander, chilli and green onion- reserving a little bit of each to sprinkle on top before serving.

Estimated cost per serving:
$2.00-3.00 (depending on the type of fish you use)

Comments (1)

By Good Eats, March 16, 2011 12:47 pm

Fish is easy. Eat more fish. Eat Ocean Wise approved fish.

It’s cheap and it’s good for you and when fresh, it never smells fishy! This recipe is so simple and takes so little time you could make it for lunch and still have time left over to sit down and read the paper.

All you need is a nice piece of firm fish (choose an Ocean Wise approved one), some butter, seasoning and a frypan. I used rice flour because it was all I had and it created a lovely little crust. Use what you have on hand.

I made this with some Mango Salsa-a combo I highly recommend because it’s chock full of flavor and is a nice balance of nutrition with the protein from the fish.
Difficulty Level: Easy

Ingredients (serves 1)
1 nice sized fillet of snapper
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp flour

Directions

• Pat the fish dry with a piece of paper toweling and then season well with salt and pepper on both sides
• heat up your pan on high-speed and while you are waiting
• put the flour on a plate (I just used the wrapper the fish came in), cook the fish evenly on both sides and then tap any excess

  

• add 1/2 the oil and butter to the frypan and once the butter starts bubbling, swirl the two together to coat the bottom of the pan and drop the fish fillets on top
• add the rest of the butter and oil before flipping the fillets- cook until the fish begins to flake easily(click on the photo of the fillet with the fork to see what I mean)

  

• Removed to a piece of paper towel or a ripped up brown paper bag to drain
• serve with rice, salad or mango salsa

Estimated Cost per Serving:
$2-3.00, depending on the type of fish you get