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.

Peel and marinate the shrimp in this for a half hour or so:

• 1-2 Tablespoons of oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 or 4 garlic cloves chopped
• salt n peppa
• thyme (fresh if you have it)
• parsley

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan, then dump in the shrimp, marinade and all.  Separately boil some buckwheat noodles.  Add them to the sauce when they’re halfway cooked.  Or in my case, I had leftover cooked noodles and I added it to the shrimp to warm them up.

If you have a lot of miscellaneous vegetables in your fridge and you want to make a simpleish omelet-like breakfast (or lunch or dinner really), have I got a recipe for you!

I’ve made this frittata with spinach, mushrooms, and other cheeses but this is the particular one I made today: Leeks and Zucchini Frittata

• 3 yellow zucchini shredded
• 1/2 cup or so grape tomatoes sliced in half
• 1 leek washed and chopped.  (Wash that leek well, it has a lot of sand.  You have to slice it in half lengthwise to get all the grit out.)
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• cooking oil
• 7 eggs
• 2 cups of shredded cheese (any kind.  I used asiago and leyden)
• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon of paprika
• Any other miscellaneous spices (I used coriander and basil)
• salt and pepper to taste

First things first, you really ought to do this in a cast iron skillet. Something you can cook over a stovetop and throw in the oven. A well seasoned (old and worn) cast iron skillet is ideal so the frittata won’t stick.

Stir fry the zucchini in salt and oil until you’ve cooked out a good amount of the water.  Then add the tomatoes and some garlic.

Separately stir fry the leek and more garlic in salt and oil.  Then mix it all together with the zucchini and tomatoes.

In a big mixing bowl, put in about 1.5 cups of the shredded cheese, all the spices and herbs.

 

Scramble the eggs together. 

After you’ve combined all the precooked vegetables, pour in the egg mixture and stir it around a little over a high heat pan. Sprinkle the remainder of the cheese on top. 

Bake it in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes.

 
We like to have it with hot sauce. Yum!

This recipe came from a package of Trader Joe’s Silver Brite salmon.  I tried it without thinking much of it.  Just didn’t have any other ideas to cook it.  It turned out so surprisingly delicious I grabbed my camera and decided it’s worth sharing.  It was super easy too.  I hate having to wait to eat so if I’m cooking after work, it must be fast and easy.

 

• 4 tablespoons or so of oil (olive, whatever you have)
• 2 tablespoons of whole grain Dijon mustard
• 1 lb salmon
• black pepper
• 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/8 cup water

Heat the oil in a pan.  Add the mustard and stir it around for a few minutes to toast.  Add the salmon and cook it about 5 minutes on each side.  Crack some black pepper on each side as you cook it.  Add honey just before taking the fish out of the pan.

For the sauce, deglaze the pan with the juice of 1 lemon and 1/8 cup of water.  Stir up the yummy bits at the bottom of the pan.  Let it simmer and reduce by about half.  Pour it over the salmon.

It is very tasty!

The thing about farmers markets is, everything looks so fresh and good that I end up buying a lot.  So I end up with a fridge full of veggies that I have to cook now, now, now before they all wilt or go bad.  The first thing I cooked this week were the beets.  I’ve eaten beets.  They’re great.  Love ’em.  But I’ve never cooked beets.  So I went online and got the idea to roast the beets in the oven and chop up the green tops and stir fry them.  They came out wonderfully delicious.  Great.  Now what to do with the 4 other veggies that I came home with?  Planning meals is always a bit of a challenge.  On the one hand, I have a fridge stocked full of veggies that need to be eaten but frankly, some days, after work, I just don’t feel like cooking a dang thing.  So I’m always on the lookout for quick and easy one pot dishes.  Like the one dish will have everything I need in a meal.  And it will use the ingredients I have.  It’s like Top Chef.  I have these ingredients, and I want to eat now!  Ok, maybe Rachel Ray’s 30 minute meals.  So anyway, I came across this recipe from Epicurious called Curried Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew with Garbanzo Beans.  It’s exactly what the name says it is.

• 2 Tablespoons of Olive oil
• Onions (I used spring onions)
• 1 Tablespoon of curry
• 1 Teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• Vegetable broth (3 – 14 ounce cans)
• 1 large bunch of chard chopped
• 1.5 cups of lentils
• 1 15 ounce can of garbanzo beans

Heat the oil in a pot and throw in the curry powder, cayenne pepper, onions, and chard.  Let the chard cook down.

 

Add the lentils, garbanzo beans, and broth.  Bring it to a boil and then turn the heat down to simmer for 10 – 15 minutes.

 

It is muy delicioso!

I’ve come to the conclusion that I like curry too much to stop cooking with it.  Smell or no smell.  Just crack a window or turn on the ventilator. And this is the second time I’ve cooked lentils and I like them a lot. They cook soft very quickly, 10 minutes or so, and take on the flavor of anything. Very versatile. It’s my new pantry staple.

Meal in a pot with protein and veggies and I used 2 veggies from the farmers market. Now I just have to do something with the radishes and bok choy.

Flank steak or fajita meat is so versatile for stir fries. I have made it with mushrooms, onions, and now, broccoli!

Just marinade the sliced beef in soy sauce, garlic, cooking wine, vinegar, hot sauce, and corn starch. Stir fry the broccoli in the oil and let it cook most of the way. This will be plenty enough time to marinade the meat. The beef cooks up very quickly and the broccoli will take longer. Once the broccoli is mostly done, add the beef and the marinade sauce. Stir it around and once the beef is cooked, it’s ready to serve. Eazy.

This does not take long to make at all! It’s easy delicious and better the next day!

Sauce:

Saute the mushrooms and onions a bit and then throw in everything to simmer. While it’s simmering, make the meatballs.

Meatballs:

Mix all the ingredients together except for the oil. It’s easiest to just use your hands. Form 1.5 inch sized meatballs.

Pan fry them until they’re formed solid on the outside, but not cooked all the way through. When they’re golden, take them out onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain the grease.

Throw them into the sauce.

Simmer for a few minutes longer to cook the meatballs all the way through.

I made curry chicken this weekend and it was very tasty if I do say so myself. Which I do say so, because it is so. So delicious! And even more delicious the next day and the day after that. Only problem is, it smells like curry all over! I come home and all I smell is wonderful curry. But I don’t want to smell it when I’m not eating it and I certainly don’t want to smell like it! Yesterday night I tried airing the place out but that didn’t work. This morning I tried boiling a bar of bath soap. I’m hoping the plates of baking soda everywhere will clear the air. I hear that is the best way to get rid of the odors. I love curry but I think I may have to wait a while before making it again unless this baking soda method works especially well.

In case you’re interested, I roasted a whole chicken in the oven with a dry rub I made randomly using practically all the spices I have. Salt, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, curry powder, mustard powder, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, sugar. Rub on and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so. It came out very tasty. You can use any mixture of whatever kitchen spices you have I’m sure. Just apply it liberally. My chicken was well coated in the rub. Also, use more spices than salt. The only thing I’d do differently is use more cayenne and curry. Yes I would add more curry despite the aftereffects. I was hoping for a bit of a kick but I mustn’t have added enough. I would say for 1 chicken, I used a teaspoon of each spice. Some less.