We bought mussels from Whole Foods and I ignorantly put them in the refrigerator overnight, intending to cook them the next day. Mistake! Buy and cook the same day while they’re fresh and still alive. The next day, we saw all these opened mussels in the bag. Opened = goners. I was tempted to toss the whole batch but then decided to just pick through the casualties for any survivors. We lost about 30%. Still enough for a good pot of mussels.

• Mussels
• 1 can of coconut milk
• Basil (thai is preferable)
• 1 spicy chili pepper
• Paprika
• 1 Red onion

Stir fry the chili and red onion for a bit, pour in the paprika and coconut milk and then the washed mussels and finally add the basil and cover it until the shells open.  About 7 minutes.

This recipe was really for cole slaw with wasabi dressing.  I took the dressing recipe and used it as a pickling for these beautiful fresh red radishes.  All it needs is a day.  It makes a delicious salad dressing and topping.

• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp wasabi
• 1.5 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 0.5 tsp red chile powder
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 1.5 tsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/3 cup oil

You can use more of the ingredients if you want to have enough to use as salad dressing.

Wash then slice the red radishes to about a 1/4 inch thickness.

 
Mix the sliced radishes into the dressing.

 

Serve it alone or spoon the radishes and dressing onto your salad.

Mm-mmm! Our first attempt at making a rack of lamb and here’s how we did it.

The night before, we put an herb crust on it and some salt.  Leave the layer of fat on the lamb and score it diagonally both ways with a sharp knife.

• Garlic
• Salt/Pepper
• Herbs de Provence meat rub (Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Sage, Rosemary, Savory, Marjoram, Fennel seeds)
• Fresh: Mint, Sage

Technically you’re supposed to bring the meat to room temperature before cooking it but we were hungry and impatient.

Sear the outside on a hot skillet

Put it in the oven.  400 deg for 7 minutes, 300 for 15 to 20 minutes or until you get the internal temperature you desire.

The internal temperature should read 135 deg Fahrenheit for medium rare.  Ours read 145 degrees and it was plenty pink enough for us.

Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it.

I got this recipe from my friend who cooks it quickly in the microwave as a fast easy dinner. It was actually originally a conventional bake in the oven dish that she shortcutted to the microwave.  I decided to go old fashioned back to the oven.  Still easy, still pretty quick.  Very tasty.

• Cooked rice
• Ground beef
• Garlic
• Chopped onions
• Chopped mushrooms
• “Oregano and those other Italian like seasonings from the spaghetti sauce aisle” -friend
• Spaghetti sauce
• Salt and pepper
• Cheese

Saute the onions and other vegetables while adding in the herbs and salt and pepper.  Don’t worry if you don’t have every ingredient.  I didn’t have mushrooms and totally forgot the oregano even though I’m growing it!

Once the onions have softened, add the ground meat.  Once the meat has mostly cooked and is all broken up, add the cooked rice and break that up a bit.  Pour in a lot of spaghetti sauce to coat everything and stir it around. Preheat the oven to about 350 degrees.

Spoon in the rice, beef, veggie filling into the bell peppers.  Set them in a glass bakeware.  Any of the extra filling just put it all around.

Pour in extra spaghetti sauce over the top.  Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes.  For the last 5 to 10 minutes sprinkle grated cheese on top to melt it.

Yum yum!

What a mouthful.  Ok this was supposed to be a Pioneer Woman recipe called Beer-Braised Beef with Onions only I didn’t have the proper equipment (dutch oven) and had extra tomatoes so I ended up with this instead. Plus, the oven tends to heat up the house a lot and it’s still August.

Here’s the ingredients:

Garlic, tomatoes, onion, thyme, rosemary

Also you obviously need a chuck roast, salt and pepper, and beer. The major ingredients are in the name of the dish.

Last night, I started by generously peppering and salting the steak. I’d read somewhere that salt needs time to work its magic on the meat. Similar to turkey brining, what it does is initially pulls water out of the meat, but then as the salt is absorbed into the meat, it then pulls water back into the meat keeping it nice and juicy. Osmosis is a beautiful thing. I haven’t had dry turkey since I started brining and I’m now a believer of salt all over meat!

Since chuck roasts are considered tougher meats it’s usually better to cook it low and slow. Acids help break down the protein too, like tomatoes or beer.
In goes the tomatoes, thyme, and rosemary.

Sear the meat about 2 minutes on each side. I like to do the edges too but I’m not sure it matters too much.

Put chuck in the cooker atop the herbs and tomatoes.

Saute the onions and garlic.

Throw them into the cooker and then pour a can of beer in there. If you don’t add the tomatoes, you could probably do 2 cans of beer but I figured the tomatoes are juicy.

And 7 hours later… it smells sooo delicious!

You know it’s done when it falls apart easily. Pull it apart in the broth and it’ll stay nice and moist!

Are you seeing a theme here with my recipes lately? So tomatoes are in season and I got a big ol’ bag of them from my parents and I’ve been slowly whittling away at them. I have 4 left so expect to see one more tomato themed recipe. This feels like Iron Chef but I’m only making entrees.

• Flank steak cut into short strips
• Tomatoes, diced

Marinade for the steak:

• Soy sauce
• Rice cooking wine
• Ginger, grated
• Cumin
• Coriander
• Paprika
• Chili powder
• Black vinegar
• Sesame seed oil
• Corn starch
• Mirin

Marinade the beef in the mixture for a half hour.

 

Stir fry the tomatoes until they soften.

 

Add the beef and marinade.

 

Boil noodles and serve it with the beef and tomatoes sauce.  It’s even better the next day.

 

Found this on the back of a package of frozen flounder filets. Came out nicely I think.

Here’s what you need:

• Flounder filets
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Garlic
• Parsley
• Capers
• oil
• salt n’ peppa

1. Salt and pepper the filets then pan fry them in oil and set them aside.



2. In the same pan, add a little more oil and then add the tomatoes.  Cook them until soft and the juices flow out, about 4 minutes.  Then add the onions and garlic.  Cook for another 3-5 minutes.



3. Add the flounder and capers. Shake some parsley in there.



4. Boil some pasta. Toss some olive oil over the cooked pasta to keep it from clumping.



5. Serve over pasta. Garnish with a small shake of parsley.

• 5-6 small eggplants or 1 large one (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds), halved lengthwise then cut into 1/2 inch slices.
• Salt to taste
• 3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, as needed
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, grated or peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, or a combination of mint and parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, and oil it with olive oil. Lay the eggplant halves on top. Salt lightly and brush with olive oil. Place in the oven for 40 minutes until the eggplant is lightly browned and soft to the touch (the surface will be dry). Remove from the heat, and fold over the foil to make a packet around the eggplant slices. Allow them to soften and steam inside the foil for 15 minutes while you proceed with Step 2.  Alternatively, I just left them in the oven while it was off and proceeded with the rest of the dish.

Chop the tomatoes and garlic.

This is what the eggplant looked like for me after roasting. At first, I was peeling the eggplant, then I just decided to cut it up into large chunks because the skin is tasty too and I didn’t want to throw it out.
 

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy lidded casserole or skillet. Add the garlic. Cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes, salt to taste, sugar and pepper. Bring to a simmer, and simmer uncovered over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell very fragrant.

3. Add the eggplant, molasses and chickpeas, along with the other spices. Cover and simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes, stirring from time to time. The mixture should be thick and the eggplant should be very tender, melting into the mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle on the parsley and/or mint, and serve. Alternately, allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.