Omega 3 super dinner (Salmon and Avocado)

Salmon, Avocado salad & Rainbow quinoa

Start with a beautiful piece of salmon, preferably sustainably fished with no added colors

1tsp organic olive oil

1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth

smoked salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Rinse the fish, pat dry

drizzle a little olive oil in an 8x8 glass pan 

(suit the pan size to your fish if you have a bigger piece of fish)

 Add the fish and the broth

and drizzle the tsp of olive oil over the top

Sprinkle smoked salt over the fish (the most important part!)

Put in the oven and cook for 15 o 20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork

While the fish is cooking prepare the Avocado salad

1 Avocado, 2 tbsp fresh salsa, 2 squeezes of lemon juice and a pinch of salt

Cut the avocado into chunks, add the lemon and the salt

Add the salsa and stir

Pull the samlmon out

Add some rainbow quinoa if you have it on hand

and plate!

yum, yum, yum, yum!

Whipped Cauliflower Gratin

I really don't like cauliflower. I mean really really don't like cauliflower. But since I've cut potatoes out of my diet I have been trying to make cauliflower dishes and out of the ones I have tried I think this one is palatable... Which means it's pretty darn good - Even my husband ate it and he refuses cauliflower.

Original recipe

1 head cauliflower
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 egg
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp kosher salt + a pinch
freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions
    1.    Preheat your oven to 400°F
    2.    Cut the cauliflower into large florets, discarding the tough stem, and steam over boiling water until very tender.

    3.    While the cauliflower is steaming, place the Greek yogurt, egg, sharp cheddar cheese, onion, salt, paprika, and pepper into a blender or food processor, and process until thoroughly combined.

    4.    Once the cauliflower is tender, add it to the contents of the blender or food processor, and puree until smooth.
    5.    Mix melted butter, bread crumbs and the pinch of salt together.
    6.    Pour into an 8x8 baking dish, spread bread crumbs over the top.

    7.    Baked for 25 to 30 minutes, or until heated through and browned on top.
    8.    Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top, cook for an additional 5 minutes

I paired this with rainbow quinoa and Italian chicken sausages with red sauce, which went very well together!

MMMM Saag

Ingredients
16oz fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped 
1/8 cup dried fenugreek (Kasoori methi)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1 onion, minced
2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1 tomato, diced
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

salt to taste

Roughly chop 1lb of pre-washed baby spinach leaves

Place in pot of boiling water and cook until wilted (about 5 minutes)

Drain well and set aside

Heat coconut oil in large skillet - add onion and a dash of salt - cook on medium heat until they begin to soften. Add ginger garlic paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add chopped tomato and cook until tomatoes break down.

Stir in cumin, garam masala, turmeric, fenugreek, and cayenne and cook for 5 minutes

Add the drained spinach and heavy whipping cream and cook on low for about 10 minutes

Transfer mixture to blender and pulse 5 or 6 times until the mixture blends nicely together but you still see some onion chunks

Return to pan and cook on low for 20 minutes, adding salt to taste. Can turn off heat and let this coast for up to an hour. I found that leaving it to coast for about a half hour,  then turning on low heat and bringing it back to temperature really helped bring out the spices flavor and cut back the harshness of the fresh spinach. You can also add more cream at this point (to taste)

Serve and enjoy!

NOTE: if you want to add paneer, gently sauté cubes in 1tbsp canola oil and add to saag before serving, I didn't in this recipe because the Indian grocery was closed and I couldn't get any.... next time!!! 

Chicken Tikka Masala

I warn you that this is not an easy recipe to prepare and is rather time consuming BUT it is SO worth it!!!!
I recommend making at least a double recipe so that you can freeze some gravy for future meals. This will take a good half a day to prepare but it is worth it and cheaper than going out and getting it at a restaurant. I usually make this recipe once a month and eat it every week.

This is a step by step way to make this recipe Pressure Cooker style. You can also do this in a cast iron pan and cook it in the oven at 350, in your slow cooker/crockpot; or you can do it in a large pot and cook it at low temperature on the stove top (not recommended due to the constant stirring needed to keep it from burning.)

FYI - in the pictures it is a double recipe because my pressure cooker can handle it, but the recipe provided is only for single batch


Ingredients for sauce

Onions 350g
Tomatoes 1500g
Cashew nuts ¼ cup
Kashmiri red chilly 150g
Salt to taste
Butter ½ cup
Whole garam masala (each) 8g (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaf, coriander, nutmeg, and cumin seeds)
Ginger garlic paste 1tbsp
Ground masala: 1tbs garam masala, 1/2tbs corrander, 2tbs paprika, 1/2tsp turmeric, 1/4tsp cumin
Kasoori methi 1/8 cup

Melt 1/2 cup ghee or butter in pressure cooker or heavy bottomed pan

Whole masala: cardamom, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaf, coriander, nutmeg and cumin seeds

As you can see I get all my whole masala at Vitamin Cottage but you can find these at an specialty Indian grocery or on the internet if you live in the middle of nowhere

 Gently crush your cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon sticks (nutmeg and cinnamon not shown)

 Toast whole Masalas on low heat until you see them turn slightly brown and smell kind of nutty

Take toasted masala and remove from oil. Place in muslin bag and secure tightly (can also use cheesecloth) Muslin bags I find also at vitamin cottage

 

Return butter and spice bag to the pan
Add the cashew nuts and gently toast them for 2-3 minutes

Add 2 to 6 Kashmiri chilies depending on how hot you want it to be

Add chopped onions and 2tsp kosher salt

Add 1tbs  ginger garlic paste - I made this by taking roasted garlic and ginger and pureeing them together with some olive oil in a food processor

Sweat the onion mixture for 10 to 15 min or until bulk has reduced by 1/4

While the onions are sweating, prepare the tomatoes

I like to use a potato masher and mash them to reduce the bulk, so that I can fit more into the pressure cooker

Add 1tbsp garam masala and 1tbsp paprika to onions - stir to combine

Add Diced Tomatoes - stir to combine

Put lid on pan, if pressure cooker cook 2 hrs at second red line; if cast iron dutch oven cook time is 3 hrs at 350 degrees, stirring every hour; if using slowcooker/crockpot cook for 3 hrs on medium stirring every hour; regular pan and stove top cook on medium heat for 3 hrs, stirring every 20 min to prevent burning.

Prepare the chicken (you can substitute tofu or vegetables)

2 chicken breasts cut in large pieces, 1/2 cup plain greek style yogurt, 1tbsp garam masala, 1tbsp paprika, 1/2tsp ground coriander, a dash of turmeric, a dash of dried ginger powder, and a couple pinches of kosher salt

 And let marinate in refrigerator while the gravy cooks

 (Time to pet the kitchen munchkins if you have them :)

Be sure to wash your hands when you're done!


When time is up let the gravy mixture cool slightly - remove masala bag

Put in blender - blend well until you achieve a fine paste

Strain to remove tomato seeds and skins

Return to stove
Add salt to taste - I like to use smoked salts because I miss the taste of the tandoori chicken and I find that this adds a deeper flavor to the gravy. You can find them in the bulk section of your specialty markets or on the Salt Works website.

Add ground masala to taste; start with 1tbs garam masala, 1/2tbs corrander, 2tbs paprika, 1/2tsp turmeric, 1/4tsp cumin

Add more masala and salt to taste - You will want it to be a bit spicier and a bit saltier than you want your final gravy to be because you will be adding either heavy whipping cream or coconut milk to the gravy at the end

Add 1/8 cup Kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Cook for 5 minutes

This is when you will want to seaparate out what you want to freeze for later

Add heavy whipping cream or coconut milk to taste

Gravy is ready for meat or vegetables

Put the rice on to cook

Time to cook the chicken

Set pan to med-high heat, add oil

Add the chicken

Cook until liquid is reduced and almost gone

Flip chicken over and cook for 3 - 4 min - make sure chicken is almost but not quite cooked all the way through

Remove from pan and let the chicken cook down until you no longer see steam rising from it

Add to gravy and bring to a boil

Let boil for a couple of minutes, remove from heat and add chopped cilantro to the top

Serve with hot rice (the green dish is saag, will post recipe later)

Enjoy!!