Salmon Moqueca (Brazilian Fish Stew)

I love salmon. I loved it baked. Pan fried. Wrapped in the fluffiness of pastry dough. I love it flaked and breaded and fried. There are numerous ways that I love Salmon. But, I've never had it in a soup or stew. For some reason fish soups scare me. I'm not a lover of soups to begin with. You can thank my stepmom for that one. And no she's not evil. Soup rarely floats my boat. However I was watching an episode about weight loss on BBC Horizon (Gotta love youtube) and soup is supposed to be really filling.

What I love about this soup is how there are so many different layers of flavors. Even though the salmon is the star, the actual broth is it's best supporting actor. You have slight sweetness of the sweet potato, the slighy crispness of the bell peppers, the tartness of the tomatoes and the smooth flavor of the coconut milk that brings the whole dish together.

Like any soup or stew, it's always better the next day as the flavors meld together into a bowl of sheer awesomness.

When cooking with coconut milk, you have to cook it until the oil separates from the coconut solids.

Now for the good stuff.

Ingredients
Fish and Marinade
1 1/2 lbs salmon fillets
28 oz or two 14 oz cans of whole tomatoes, not drained
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup cilantro
2 garlic cloves, cut in half
1 Serrano chile pepper, stemmed and cut in half
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon EVOO
1 teaspoon

For the Stew
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 zucchini, chopped into half moons
1 green pepper, large chop
1 red pepper, large chop
1 large onion, large chop
1/2 cup water (or good fish stock)
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup minced green onions, for garnish
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped for garnish

For the Marinade:
Place fish in a shallow bowl (not metal).
Combine the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, garlic, chile pepper, lime juice, EVOO, and salt in a food processor (or a blender). Process until smooth and pour over fish.
Marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.

For the Stew:
Heat the EVOO in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
Add diced sweet potato and cook for 10-15 minutes until soft (add a little water, if the sweet potatoes start to stick. Don't let them burn!)
Add the zucchini, peppers, and onions. Cook until the onions become translucent. About 5-7 minutes.
Add the water and stir
Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 2-3 minutes.
Add the fish, plus the marinade and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Serve in a bowl, top with the green onions and cilantro. 

I'm back after a long hiatus with a new recipe!!!! Shrimp and Asparagus over Angel Hair Pasta with Lemon Garlic Sauce

Yes, it has been a while. Honestly, I was really in the mood for cooking fresh food. I had been eating out a lot. But like always, when you run out of money, you have to cook what you have on hand. Since I lost a little weight, I also wanted to go back to cooking, because I know that's the only way that I will eat healthier. Now if I can learn to control my portions and not have second or third helpings.

I love using fresh vegetables. When I have no fresh vegetables and plenty of meat, I go bananas and I can't figure out what to make for dinner. This week, I hit up Aldi's (no Whole Foods money this week). I grabbed a bag of frozen EZ peel shrimp and a bunch of asparagus.

I love this dish. It's super simple and it packs a lot of flavor. Also, I didn't steal this recipe from the web, I made it up. It doesn't mean that there isn't a recipe like this out there. There probably is. It's really about taste profiles. What vegetables go well with shrimp? Off the top of my head, I'd say broccoli, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, and asparagus.

Always start with your mise-en-place. It's nothing fancy, I swear. It's just prepping all of the items that you will be using before cooking. It makes cooking a lot easier.

Here's a great tip: Always save your shrimp heads and shells. Save fish bones and heads too. You can make a great seafood stock from the shells as long as you have a fine sieve. It also saves you money in the long run. I have plans on making an easy Brazilian fish soup.

This recipe is really simple. Don't walk away while the shrimp are cooking. You can over cook them in a flash and then you're left with rubbery shrimp. Properly cooked shrimp shouldn't be chewy, it should be firm, but also kind of melt into your mouth. Also you can use any type of pasta you have on hand. Angel Hair is my favorite but any type is fine.

I know a lot of people like to put oil in their pasta water. DON'T!!!! Even if you put oil in the water, if you don't stir the pasta, it will still stick. Also, the starch left on the pasta is really sticky and that's a good thing because that means your sauce will stick to the pasta. With oily pasta, that wonderful and flavorful sauce slides off. Also in this recipe you will be adding more oil to the dish than necessary.

Just and FYI, I don't mention how much salt and pepper to use. Always remember to taste as you go along. You can adjust the dish with as much or as little salt and pepper that you like.

Ingredients

1 box of angel hair pasta
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, finely minced (if you don't have shallots, you can substitute with a small onion)
1 bunch of asparagus, bias cut, 1 inch long
1 lb or 16 oz medium shrimp, shelled and deveined (approximately 30-40 count)
3 large gloves of garlic, finely minced
Zest of 1 large lemon
Juice of 1 large lemon
1/4 stick of unsalted butter
2 TBSP parsley
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Steps

• Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Remember do not add oil to the water.
• While the water is boiling, heat a large pan and add the EVOO. When the EVOO is heated enough, you probably see a little smoke, add the shallots and asparagus.
• Cook until the veggies until they begin to soften, which is about 4-5 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally. 
• Add the shrimp, garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice and stir. The shrimp should take about 3-4 minutes to cook. When they turn pink, they are done. Turn off the stove. Add the butter.
• Once the pasta is done, drain (do not rinse the pasta!). Add the parsley to the shrimp and asparagus. Then add the pasta to the pan and stir. 
• When plating top with a small heap of Parmesan cheese and enjoy!!!!

Mini Breakfast Sandwiches

Skip the fast food joint in the morning by making a large batch of mini breakfast sandwiches. When you go to McDonald's in the morning, your choices are limited. By making your own sandwiches, the sky's the limit when it comes to choice!

Ingredients

• 10 strips of cooked bacon (I prefer thick cut bacon)
• 8 large eggs
• 10 mini bagels
• Large oven proof skillet
• Butter
• 2 gallon size storage bags
• Saran Wrap

Directions

1. Preheat your broiler
2. Beat eggs, add in salt, pepper, and whatever optional ingredients, while you are heating your skillet. 
3. Add butter to the skillet and when melted add the beaten eggs
4. Let cook until almost cooked through about 10 minutes (lift up the edge of the egg, it should be set)
5. Place the skillet into the broiler and broil until the top is cooked. 
6. Let cool and then slide the frittata onto a cutting board
7. With a 1-inch cookie cutter or clean drinking glass, cut out 10 circles into the frittata.
8. Toast the bagels in the broiler.
9. Place 1 egg, 1 slice of bacon (broken in half) on the toasted bagel. 
10. Let everything cool and then wrap tightly in Saran Wrap and place in a freezer bag.
11. Freeze.
12. These will last about a month in the freezer. 

Optional Ingredients
Onions
Peppers
Cheese
Broccoli
Ham
Sausage
Spring onions (scallions)
Asparagus
Spinach
Kale

The cost without any of the optional ingredients is only $1.25. Add a glass of orange juice, homemade hashbrowns for meal that costs less than $4 for each serving.

Nutrition info:
Calories: 251
Calories from fat: 97
Total fat: 10 g
Saturated fat: 3 g
Cholesterol 219 mg
Sodium 502 mg
Total Carbohydrate 24 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 4 g
Protein 13 g
Vitamin A 7%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 9%
Iron 12%

Salads... How I learned to love them!

I hate salads. I hate them. I hate them. I hate them. But everyone seems to be ordering salads when I go out, so I feel like that the fat schlub who orders the fried appetizer all because I hate salads.

Well, it turns out that I actually love salads but not for the reasons that you think. I could care less for the lettuce, tomato or cucumber. For me, it's all about the dressing and the cheese. I found a great low fat tomato, balsamic vinegar and oil dressing only like 35 calories. I add either feta cheese crumble or blue cheese crumbles. That's the trick to loving salads when you actually hate them.

A salad can be made of only the things that you like. Don't like lettuce, skip it. Eat a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers. Add some feta, scallions, mint and splash of lemon juice and olive oil. You have a Greek Salad. Through in some olives if you like them (Me? Not a fan of olives). Only like carrots? Buy a bag of baby carrots and grab your favorite dressing. I love blue cheese dressing with baby carrots. You can try ranch dressing with baby carrots too.

Make a salad out of a grain like barley. Cook the barley, add some tomatoes, black beans, charred corn (put a cleaned ear or corn or two beneath your broiler until charred), shredded cheese, onions, poblano peppers and a good cheese based salad dressing.

Think outside of the box a bit and add some fruit to your salad. Strawberries are perfect for most salads. My favorite is a chicken, spinach and strawberry salad. Add some almonds, blue cheese and a simple dressing for a really nice and fancy, but cheap salad.

Then there's pasta salad. So simple! Boil your pasta, like bow tie or the spiral pasta according to the package directions. During the last three minutes, add your favorite veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, green beans, peppers, onions and so forth. Drain everything and put into a container. Place that container inside another container filled with ice. Stir until the dish cools down. Throw on your favorite Italian salad dressing.

Tonight, I was going to make Pineapple, cilantro rice, but I'm going to make a simple salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Of course I'm going to add my blue cheese crumbles and my favorite salad dressing.

Turkey and Black Bean Burgers

I found this burger on the Web and tweaked it a little bit. Ground turkey is very, very bland if it's not seasoned properly. Seasoning is always the key! I know I'm not supposed to say this, but salt is always king. You need it for everything. It's essential in baking.

Why turkey burgers? A long time ago, I would have looked at it and said I'd prefer the real thing. But over the years it's grown on me, thanks to my Dad, who forced it on me. This turkey burger is really good. Invest in a bottle of chipotle mayo.

What You Need

• 1 15-oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1lb lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (quick cooking oats are fine)
• 1 green pepper, diced small
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Salt and Pepper to taste (Dip a finger into the taco packet to see how salty it is, you may not need salt)

What To Do

1. In a large bowl, take a potato smasher and smash half of the beans. Add in the ground turkey, oats, green pepper, onion, carrot and taco seasoning. 
2. Mix well with your hands (FYI, I keep a box of vinyl gloves in my kitchen for times like these. If you have long nails, you definitely want to invest. 
3. Form as many patties are you can. I can get about eight small patties out of this. Spray a large plate first with cooking spray as the patties are sticky.
4. Cook a grill or frying pan with a little oil or non-stick cooking spray. Cook 5 minutes on each side until well done. You cannot eat poultry if it is not cooked all the way through. The internal temp should be 165 degrees. 
5. Serve on a whole-wheat but lettuce, tomato, chipotle mayo and ketchup.

Enjoy!

Southern Biscuits Recipes

One of my favorite standby recipes is Buttermilk Roast Chicken. I almost always have buttermilk left over. I got sick of making buttermilk pancakes. It seems I eat a lot of pancakes. I needed a break. I have tried and tried so many different biscuit recipes but they always come out a little hard but I think that's because I'm really lazy and I like to use my food processor instead of my hands. But this recipe, the biscuits turned out really well and they browned really well too.

The trick to making biscuits is two things... Use fresh baking powder! Use baking powder as well.

This recipe originally called for using a mix between butter and shortening. I don't buy shortening. So it's okay to use double the butter. I know that there are a lot of health conscious people out there. When it comes to baking use butter instead of margarine... Just for baking!

What You Need

• 2 cups of flour (See Note)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold butter cut into cubes
• 1 cup chilled buttermilk

What To Do

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
3. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks kind of like crumbs. Do this as fast as possible so that the butter doesn't melt. This is what helps make your baked good fluffy.
4. Make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in the buttermilk and stir until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky. 
5. Turn dough onto a floured surface and dust the top of the dough with flour. 
6. Knead the dough five or six times. And press into 1-inch thick round. 
7. Cut out biscuits with a 2 inch biscuit cutter. If you don't have one, use a glass cup that has an approximately 2-inch diameter. 
8. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet so that they are touching each other.
9. Reform the dough, press into another 1-inch round, and cut out the next batch of biscuits. This batch won't rise as much as the first batch.
10. Bake until brown on top. 15-20 minutes.

Special Note: Don't scoop out the flour from your container with the measuring cup. Instead take a spoon and spoon the flour into the measuring cup. This allows more air into the flour and will help make your biscuits and baked good rise.

Special Note: Don't use self-rising flouring! Self-rising flour already is mixed with baking powder and salt. It's always best to stick with all-purpose flour. You can do a lot more with it! Also there are specific baking ratios that go into baking. 

I am a Binge Eater

I feel as though binge eating doesn't get a lot of attention. Maybe it's because we don't purge after a binge. But I feel that there is a lot of shame associated with binge eating and many people, men and women, don't admit to it.

For me, binge eating is tied to my emotions. If I'm sad, I eat. If I'm stressed, I eat. If I'm angry, I eat. But we're not talking about eating a couple of pieces of cake. No, we are talking about eating the whole cake, a pint of ice cream, a handful of nuts, and three cookies. We are talking about eating a whole pizza pie, french fries, salad, and what else.

It's not because we suffer from hungry. Although starving ourselves can lead to a binge. It's because we get some sort of enjoyment or satisfaction from eating. When I'm in the middle of a binge, it feels good. It feels comforting.

But then, afterwards, it feels like hell. After a binge, I feel horrible. Not only physically, because I'm so full, but emotionally. I feel like a loser. I feel helpless. I feel so bad about myself that I end up binging again to make those feelings go away. Maybe not immediately, maybe not even the next day.

On top of the binging, I also suffer from chronic depression. So depression can lead to a binge and a binge can lead to depression. For me a never ending cycle of hell that most times, I feel like I can't escape.

To add to all of this, I have all of these people bugging me to lose weight. I know how to lose weight. I know what I should be doing, but it's difficult for me. When you're depressed you are only able to the absolute minimum to get by. Trying to lose weight requires a lot of dedication and hard work. That is hard to do when you have no gas left in your tank. You can only go so far before you putter out.

My health is in serious jeopardy. I'm not in denial. I know I have to work very hard at this. But it takes time. It seems that the people always telling me to lose weight expect me lose it rapidly. I feel like if I wasn't a binge eater and suffered from depression than maybe losing the would be easier. But I am a binge eater and I'm chronically depressed, so losing weight will take time.

I did think about having gastric bypass or the lap band surgery. However, there are many people who regain the weight, and end up stretching out their smaller stomachs. Also, most people end up with vitamin deficiencies and there can be complications to the surgery. I'm not willing to go through that... yet. If within the next five years, I haven't lost any then I will consider getting the surgery.

Hence, I'm going to start a new blog, following my weight loss journey and struggle. It will be a public diary of what I eat, my workout, my thoughts, and feelings. I will be following steps in this binge eating book that I have.