Friday, July 26, 2013

Roasted eggplant and artichoke salad


Someone once told me "No one makes friends with salads". Well, summer is the time for salads and last night I made the friendliest salad in existence. I dare you to find any qualms with this guy! Just look at him (^^). Roasted eggplant, toasted slivered almonds, crumbled goat cheese, and fresh artichokes, how can you possibly exclude him from your friend circle?? Impossible.

What you need:
  • 2 cups lettuce, spinach, or other favourite leafy green
  • 1 eggplant (or 2, depending on how big they are)
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1/4 cup chopped red onion
  • goat cheese (as much as you'd like...I'm usually generous)
  • 2 tbsp toasted slivered almonds
  • 4 artichoke hearts
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 squirt of honey (or agave)
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 fresh lemon
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce

What to do:
  1. Preheat the oven to 400C. Slice the eggplant into dice-sized pieces, season with a bit of salt and pepper, and set aside in a large serving bowl.
  2. Mix together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, agave, garlic, cumin, and paprika in a bowl. Coat the eggplant with the mixture, and then place in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet.
  3. Bake for about 40 minutes, mixing every 15 minutes, until the eggplant is a nice golden brown. Let cool.
  4. While baking, mix the juice from one fresh lemon with the of soy sauce.
  5. Mix the roasted eggplant with lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and sliced artichokes. Add the lemon juice mixture and top with slivered almonds and crumbled goat cheese. Add fresh parsley to make this salad look extra pretty.

More friends for this little salad coming your way soon. 

Happy Friday!

A.C

Monday, July 15, 2013

Tilapia with mustard chive sauce


Tilapia is probably my favourite of the white fishes but a lot of (crazy) people find it bland once it's cooked. SO, on a quest to appease these strangely-pallated folk, I looked into sprucing up the ol' tilapia recipe. Giada came to the rescue with this light and fresh mustard chive sauce. The sharp mustard, sour yogurt, and sweet agave, all blend together perfectly in an obscenely simple topping. 


What  you need:
  • 4 (5 to 6 oz) tilapia fillets
  • extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
  • 1/4 cup plain, Greek yogurt
  • 2 tsp honey (I used agave)
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp freshly chopped chives
  • salt and pepper to taste

What to do:
  1. Preheat a broiler. Spray a small baking sheet with vegetable oil and set aside.
  2. Drizzle the tilapia fillets on both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the fillets in a single layer on the baking sheet and broil until cooked through and the flesh flakes easily, about 5-7 minutes. Don't overcook! Dry tilapia tastes somewhat like chalk dust.
  3. For the sauce: mix yogurt, agave, and mustard together in a small bowl until smooth. Whisk in the lemon juice and chives, and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Drizzle tilapia with sauce.  


I'm keeping this sauce in my back pocket as a secret weapon for other white fish.

On an unrelated note, it's Summerlicious in T.O - anyone check out some sweet eats?

Happy Monday!

A.C
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