Tuna is a treat!

Wow, it's a new record - posts two days in a row!

We love fish and would eat it more often, but around here it's very, very expensive - usually $12 per pound or more. When it was just the two of us eating it, no big deal, but with 2 growing boys eating adult or near adult-sized portions, it's really hard to spend that kind of money. Most of the time we're stuck with salmon and tilapia, but I can also find pretty decent tuna for about $9-$10 per pound. Still pretty pricey, but I get so tired of not eating fish, so I splurge once in a while. It's a shame, really - we like fish and it's so healthful...........sigh.

Tuna with Wasabi Cream

When I started looking for a recipe for the tuna, I knew I wanted Asian flavors. I came upon this recipe from Cooking Light and it jumped out at me. This recipe is very easy to put together and very flavorful. The seasonings on the tuna give it a nice kick and while the sauce has its own kick, it also has a nice contrasting coolness from the sour cream and mayonnaise.

I served it with mushrooms and onions that I roasted in a mixture of sherry, soy sauce, salt and pepper - these turned out very nicely and I liked that it freed up my stove for making the spinach. I used the basics of this spinach recipe, substituting sesame oil for the olive oil. Add a side of plain white rice and you have a simple but elegant and delicious meal with relatively little fuss.

The only thing I didn't like about this recipe? The name. The official name is Tuna "London Broil" with Wasabi Cream. I don't get it......................

On this day in....
2005: Weekend Dog Blogging

A New Cookie Recipe!

Slowly but surely, I feel like we're getting a routine down. It helps that my youngest is now done with football - our Sundays are blessedly free once again. Not only did we not have to go anywhere today, but it was windy and chilly - perfect for baking. Okay, so it was nice enough that I probably should have been outside doing more gardening before it gets too cold, but I just plain didn't feel like it.

I pretty much took the summer off from baking and am looking forward to getting back to it - especially since apparently NOT baking made absolutely no difference in my weight. I seriously thought that once I stopped, I'd drop a few pounds. No such luck. Lesson learned? Might as well bake!

Maple Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

Today's cookie recipe comes to us from my favorite source for cookies - Martha Stewart. I love thumbing through the two special issue cookie supplements she published - they are full of tempting recipes. I tried a recipe from her 2000 cookie magazine - a recipe that I have been wanting to try for quite some time.

This recipe is unusual in that it does not contain eggs. It's a delicious combination of oats, maple, walnuts, butter, syrup and brown sugar. The cookies bake up a bit flat, but they are soft and chewy. I did not make giant cookies as the recipe calls for, but I decided to keep the baking temperature the same - 300º. Oddly enough, the cookies still seemed to brown too fast along the edges while not quite setting in the middle. I might have to lower my baking temperature next time a bit more next time. Still, after cooling completely, they had a pleasing texture - just a tad softer than I'd like. The maple flavor shines through and is nicely complemented by the savory crunch from the walnuts.

Hopefully I'll be around later this week to start catching up on sharing what's been going on in our kitchen.............

On this day in....
2006: Comparison Shopping

An Old Favorite: Chewy Ginger Snaps

I may not be getting much blogging done lately, but we have been getting a lot of work done in the yard. Although soups and baking are definitely on my mind, I have been trying to take advantage of every moment of warmth and sunshine before it's gone until spring. It did cool down a bit this past week, so after I snuck in a little more yard work, I baked up a batch of cookies.

Chewy Ginger Snaps

This is not a new recipe, but I'm reviving it because it's one of our favorites and because I have a new photo to go along with it. This time I rolled the cookies in sugar for some added sparkle and crunch. I had never been much of a ginger cookie fan until I tried these - they are pleasingly chewy with a nice bite from the crystallized ginger.

Hopefully more treats will be coming out of the kitchen as the weather cools down........

On this day in....
2006: Time for Tempeh Too
2005: What's That I Smell?

What's this?? A new post??

I'm afraid to go so far as to say that I'm back, because it's hard to say, so let's just take it one post at a time, shall we?

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I've posted regularly! There are many times when I miss blogging, but also times when I'm just very content to go about my business in the kitchen with no regard to trying to get the perfect shot or for that matter, any shot at all.

We are beginning to settle pretty well into a routine. However, most of my free time lately has been spent outdoors on quite a few lawn and garden projects. We've been creating vegetable garden beds for next year, doing a bit of landscaping and just general lawn maintenance. I'll try to post a few pictures soon. The weather here has been quite nice, though a bit on the hot side recently, and it's been wonderful to be able to get some work done.

Anyway, on to the first recipe I've shared in quite a long time.............

Now that the lazy days of summer are past (Or are they? It was 89º here today!), I have been keeping my eye out for quick and easy recipes to help us build a nice long list to choose from for those busy weeknights. This spinach quiche recipe from Epicurious caught my eye - not only for the apparent ease of preparation, but also for the puff pastry - puff pastry makes everything taste better.

It's certainly not a light recipe, but maybe the healthy amount of spinach in it helps make up for the added fat? The crust is actually just a sheet of puff pastry that is rolled out, placed in a pie plate and trimmed. The filling is a combination of spinach, cheese and half and half. Very simple, but very delicious. I thought it was a bit like having spinach dip in quiche form. Yum! I was a bit afraid that the puff pastry might make for a soggy-bottomed crust, but I'm happy to report that this was not the case.

Spinach Puff Pastry Quiche

The amount of spinach was overwhelming for 2 out of 4 of us DH and my youngest thought it was too much, my other son and I had no problem devouring our pieces and wanted more. In order to avoid complaints the next time around, I would consider making two quiches at once, dividing one package of frozen spinach between two quiches and perhaps adding sauteed mushrooms to each quiche to compensate for having less spinach. Puff pastry comes in packages of two sheets anyway, so this would work quite well and I even think the extra quiche would freeze - unbaked - quite nicely for a later meal.

On this day in....
2006: Pumpkin Cheesecake
2005: Apples, Brownies and a Salad