Sesame Salmon Salad

Salmon is such a summer food for me. It reminds me of family dinner outings after trips to the beach, and dining at Moosewood on a Summer Ithaca night. It's not often I get the time to make salmon at home, so I wanted to come up with a simple salmon salad recipe to pack for lunches on-the-go. I combined an asian pan-seared salmon with the nutty taste of roasted broccoli for an interesting combination of flavors. This salad is light, tasty, and refreshing- the perfect summer meal!


Ingredients:
8 oz salmon filet
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
4 cups mixed greens
1 mini cucumber
8 grape tomatoes
1/2 avocado
1 broccoli crown, cut into florets
2 tablespoons Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Salad dressing of your choice (I like Maple Grove Wasabi Dijon )

Directions: Makes 2 servings

1. In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, sugar, and sesame seeds.
2. Cut the 8 oz filet of salmon in half, lengthwise, yielding 2 4-oz strips. Remove all skin.
3. Coat a nonstick skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add both salmon pieces and soy sauce dressing to the pan, and heat on low. 
4. Cook for 1 minute on each of the 4 sides of the salmon pieces, until the center is no longer pink. Once cooked, remove from heat and set aside.
5. Preheat the oven to 425F degrees.
6. Line a baking pan with tin foil. Add the broccoli florets to the pan and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
5. Assemble two salads, including 2 cups of mixed greens, 1/2 mini cucumber, 1/4 avocado, 4 grape tomatoes, and half the roasted broccoli in each. 
6. Top with your favorite teriyaki or dijon dressing, and enjoy!

Spicy Scramble Quesadilla

Spicy may be my favorite umbrella of flavors. I love things with a kick! This recipe even made me sweat (I know, extreme). But you can adjust the levels of hotness according to your own taste-buds. 

I also love taking a twist on a classic...like the quesadilla! Why settle for just tortilla, chicken, and cheese when the flavor options are endless? Feel free to swap these filler ingredients for your favorites, and make your gourmet quesadilla a staple lunch or snack. 

Note: I used tofu for this spicy scramble, but you can replace the tofu with scrambled eggs or egg whites. 

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
3 oz extra firm tofu (or 2 eggs/3 egg whites)
2-4 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper (ground)
2-4 teaspoons Chipotle Pepper (ground)
1 round tortilla of your choice (I like Gluten Free Sandwich Petals)
3/4 cup of chopped kale leaves
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1/3 cup sliced mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup Shredded cheese of your choice
Salsa of your choice

Directions: Makes 1 serving

1. Coat a small skillet with cooking spray. Place tofu in the pan and break up into small pieces with a spatula (The tofu should look like scrambled eggs). Heat the tofu on medium heat.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of cayenne and chipotle spices to coat the tofu scramble and continue to heat for two minutes, maximum. Remove from heat and set aside in a heatproof bowl.
3. In the same skillet, heat the olive oil to coat the pan. Add the chopped onion and sauté for two minutes. Then add the mushrooms, kale, tofu, and rest of the cayenne and chipotles spices (to your spice liking), and sauté together until the kale leaves wilt. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Place the tortilla in a separate skillet, without any oil coating. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the tortilla, and heat on low heat.
5. As the cheese begins to melt, add the tofu vegetable scramble on top of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla over itself with a spatula. Continue to heat for one minute on each side, or until the cheese melts evenly as glue on both sides.
6. Now enjoy your extra spicy dish! I like to dip my quesadillas in salsa, but guacamole and sour cream are also classic options. Yum!

Toffee Crumble Cupcakes

Have a free Saturday with lots of time to bake? Try these cupcakes! They are definitely a high maintenance recipe, but stick with it! The work is so worth it. I have taste testers to prove it:

These cupcakes were really something special. They are inspired by a recipe from Annie's Eats, and they were like little cakes of toffee heaven. The frosting was my taste-testers' favorite part. It does taste strongly of butter, but complimented with the caramel and vanilla, this frosting takes on a super sweet flavor your taste buds will love. Soon I want to try this recipe again, and put the chocolate ganache inside the cupcake, as well as on top! 

***Note: I made these cupcakes with gluten free-flour. For those with a wheat/gluten sensitivity, they turned out really well. If you don't have a sensitivity, you can just substitute the regular flour back in.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
2 cups gluten-free all purpose baking flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature, not soft)
4 eggs
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1 cup made coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup toffee bits

Chocolate Ganache:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1-2 cups of toffee bits (use your judgment)

Frosting:
5 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature, not soft, separated into tablespoons)
1/3 cup Hershey's caramel topping

Directions: Makes 28 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line 3 cupcake pans with paper liners. 
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. 
3. In a larger bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Beat together (with either a hand mixer or a standing mixer) on high speed until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. It may take between 3-4 minutes. 
4. Next, beat in the eggs to the sugar and butter, one at a time. Also blend in the vanilla.
5. If you're using a hand mixer like I did, you may need another set of hands for this next step. While blending the large bowl ingredients on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in three installations. Alternate with adding the brewed coffee. Begin and end with the dry ingredients.
6. Fold in the toffee bits. 
7. Scoop the batter evenly into the cupcake pans. Bake between 16-20 minutes, until they pass the toothpick test. Let the pans cool before removing the cupcakes.

Chocolate Ganache:
1. Place chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. 
2. Pour the heavy cream into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. 
3. Quickly remove the saucepan from the heat so it doesn't burn, and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let this stand 2 minutes.
4. Whisk together the milk and chocolate until a ganache forms. Then, whisk in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time until completely blended.
5. Place the bowl in the refrigerator or freezer. Whisk every 5 minutes until the consistency thickens.
6. Transfer a third of the ganache into a ziploc bag. Cut the tip of one of the bottom corners. (If you have a pastry bag and know how to use that, go ahead! I find the ziploc easier.) Repeat with two more ziploc bags and the rest of the ganache.
7. Squeeze two rings of ganache onto the top of each cupcake, leaving space for the frosting in the middle.
8. Place the toffee bits in a bowl and dip each ganache-topped cake to coat. 

Frosting:
1. Whisk together the egg whites and sugar in another heatproof bowl. Set it over a saucepan of boiling water. Whisk frequently until the sugar has completely dissolved.
2. Pour the egg and sugar mixture into a large mixing bowl and beat on high until stiff peaks form (like the batter of a meringue cookie). 
3. On medium speed, beat in the butter 2 tablespoons at a time. The mixture will start to look curdled, but keep beating and it will eventually thicken and smooth. 
4. Blend in the salt, caramel topping, and vanilla until completely combined.
5. Use your favorite frosting method! Whether it be a ziploc bag, pastry bag with tip, just a plain old spoon, or some other fun way that I don't know about yet, frost the rest of the cupcake with this delicious buttercream.

Now that your cupcakes are assembled...enjoy one! You deserve it! And share with your friends!

Chai Tea Granola

Chai tea stands strong as my favorite kind of tea! In India, chai is a combination of ginger, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and pepper. In America, it can refer to a number of kinds of black tea. Regardless, I can always count on a soothing mix of spices when I sip a cup of Chai tea.

So, I looked up the spices that go into a bag of Chai deliciousness, and tried to replicate it in a recipe for another one of my favorites: granola!

Ingredients:

Granola:
1/2 cup quick oats
3  cups rolled oats
1 cup flaked almonds
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup agave
2 egg whites
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp salt

Chai Spices:
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cloves
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground nutmeg* (I didn't have ground cardamom so I used nutmeg as a substitute)

Directions: Makes 5 cups

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 
2. In a small bowl, combine the chai spices and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, quick oats, flaked almonds, salt, and shredded coconut.
4. In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, agave, egg whites, and almond extract.
5. Add the Chai spices and the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the large bowl. Mix until combined.
6. Grease 2 cookie sheets. Spread the granola evenly on both cookie sheets.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so. After the full cooking time, let cool for 15 minutes without stirring so that the granola forms clumps. 
8. Enjoy! Serve with yogurt, oatmeal, ice cream, or milk. 

Cinnamon Summer Salad

I took a yoga class yesterday where the instructor focused on the balance between comfort and awareness in our practice. When poses become tough, we can lose sight of the comfort yoga can grant us. And when we completely relax, we can miss out on the opportunity to learn from being easily aware. Moments in life when we are too comfortable, we can become lazy and passive. And when awareness takes over, we can drive ourselves mad!

He inspired me to practice balance today, and I'm passing on the encouragement. 

In light of that class, and now that strawberries are officially in season, I came up with this salad- an equal mix of sweet summer flavors with the bitter tastes of kale and vinegar. Whether you're usually a Sweet-Tooth-Sally or a Salt-and-Vinegar-Suzy, opt for a balance with this yummy summer salad. 

Ingredients:

Salad:
1 Bunch of Kale
Olive oil cooking spray
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup blueberries
1 15oz can of chickpeas
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup agave
3 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp cinnamon
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: Serves 4
1. Rinse the bunch of kale and cut into 2-inch strips. Spray the bottom of a large sauce pot with olive oil cooking spray and place the kale in the pot. Cook on medium heat until greens begin to turn dark green and wilt. Do not over-cook! Let the kale cool.

2. Transfer the cooked kale into a large salad bowl. Add strawberries, blueberries, chickpeas, quinoa, and almonds and toss.

3. In a separate small bowl, mix together dressing ingredients. Pour over the salad bowl and toss again. 

4. Serve chilled and enjoy!

Berry Beet Smoothie

I fell in love with beets in London. Beets are really a cold season veggie (which explains WHY they were everywhere in cold, cold London-town). But, beets are also rich in antioxidants, Vitamin C, and betaine, plus they compliment fruits in the berry family.

                      *Just a little warning:*

This recipe still tastes like beets. It's not like mom's sneaky smoothie that gets in an extra nutrition kick without the kids knowing. But I really like the taste of beets, so if you're like me, you'll enjoy this one.


Ingredients: Serves 1

1 Medium Beet

1 cup Frozen Berries

1/3 cup fresh strawberries

1 tsp agave (or honey)

1/4 cup Vanilla yogurt (your choice!)

1/2 cup almond milk (also, your choice!)


Directions:                                                   

Place in a blender until smooth and serve! If you prefer a thicker smoothie, use less almond milk. If you prefer an even sweeter taste, add more agave/honey, use sweetened almond milk, and/or add granulated sugar/substitute.