Seared Swordfish Steaks, Blue Cheese Smashed Taters & Kale...with a Lemon Butter Sauce

Tonight's dinner was pretty freaking delicious (according to me...and Matt...and the cats). I found some Sashimi Grade, Wild-Caught Swordfish steaks at Trader Joe's last week...only $7.29 a pound, which is a GREAT deal...so here goes:



PAN SEARED SWORDFISH STEAKS

Ingredients:

1 lb swordfish
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil (NOT olive)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450. Heat a frying pan to medium-high heat. Pat the fish down and salt & pepper it liberally and rub in a bit. Put some oil in the pan and get it pretty hot. Sear the swordfish steaks 5 min per side. Place in a shallow baking dish and finish for 5-8 minutes in the oven.

LEMON-BUTTER SAUCE

Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter
Juice of 2 lemons
Zest of 1/2 - 1 lemon (I used one, it was pretty zingy!)
Sea salt & pepper
Pinch of garlic powder (or use fresh minced)

Directions:

In the saucepan, add the lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Add a pinch of salt, pinch of garlic powder and butter. This will combine, heat and increase in deliciousness while you're cooking.

BLUE CHEESE SMASHED POTATOES
(Overheard a lady at yoga class saying her husband was making blue cheese potatoes for her birthday dinner. HAD to try!)

Ingredients:

3/4 lb Yukon Gold (or Idaho) potatoes
2 oz blue cheese
1 tbsp butter
Splash of milk
Cracked peppercorns

Directions:

Boil potatoes in salted water until soft. Drain. In a large bowl, toss potatoes with the blue cheese, butter, milk and freshly ground black pepper. Smash with a potato smasher or fork. Taste and add salt if needed, but the blue cheese is pretty salty!


KALE

Heat salted water to medium-high and add kale. Cook until soft and bright green. Drain.


Plate and top the whole thing with the lemon butter sauce...let me know how ya like ;)

Cheesy Gallo Pinto Stuffed Peppers {Vegetarian}

Gallo Pinto is a Costa Rican staple translating directly as "Spotted Rooster". It's basically a spiced up version of black beans & rice. I make a big batch of this every week or two and it can be easily reheated as a side dish or mixed with greens as a salad option for the rest of the week!

For a hearty vegetarian entree, I've stuffed it into organic red bell peppers along with some grated cheddar cheese.

Gallo Pinto

Ingredients:

2c cooked white or brown rice (1 cup dry)
1.5 c cooked black beans (or use a 15oz can)
1 medium yellow onion (diced)
1/2 red, orange or yellow bell pepper (diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 handful cilantro optional
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric (optional)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
Sea Salt
Olive Oil

Directions:
In a large sautee pan, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil and sautee onion, bell pepper and garlic. Add cooked beans and rice. Add spices and sea salt to taste and lastly, chopped cilantro. Sautee for a minute or two, until combined and hot.

Sometimes I add carrots (here) and/or jalapenos for added flavor & nutrition

Cheesy Pinto Gallo Stuffed Peppers (makes 2)

Ingredients:

2 large bell peppers of your choice
2 cups gallo pinto
1 large handful (about 1 oz) grated cheddar cheese and a little more for topping
Olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare peppers by cutting the tops off and gutting them. In a mixing bowl, mix cheese with gallo pinto. Stuff each pepper and add a bit more cheese on top. Replace tops of peppers. Pour a tiny bit of olive oil onto your hands and rub on the outsides of the peppers (and the stems...this helps prevent burning). Bake for 30-35 minutes, until peppers are soft. When I'm only making 2 or 3, they fit really nicely into a loaf pan and aren't able to tip over and spill!

Super yummy and about 250 calories per stuffed pepper!

Travel and FOOD in Guatemala: Stay Tuned!

My homemade guacamole & handmade tortilla chips in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica (2010)
~Flower compliments of the rainforest!~

Rainforest, Pyramids, Ruins, Caves, Beaches, Coffee....and TROPICAL FOOD here I come! Continuing our Central and South American tour, this time we're headed to Guatemala! I'm planning to explore (hands-on) local Guatemalan cuisine via this blog, but it only makes sense to preface the food aspect with how we're fully able to experience it. I have been asked how in the WORLD we're able to get away for so long. There are many components of traveling to exotic places for SUPER cheap:

1) Choose your destination wisely! We like to evaluate potential destinations first and foremost by cost of plane ticket in and prices while we're there. For example, flying to and staying in South and Central America costs a FRACTION of what a European trip would.

2) Staying in hostels or bartering on a weekly house rental is at the very least HALF and as little as 10% of the cost of a hotel or resort.



We were able to stay in this house in Costa Rica for $65 a night. PARADISE!


3) Eat with the locals and skip the "Americanized" joints (you didn't travel all this way to eat a burger and fries, did you??!) We like to check out eateries that are rich in local culture and food, and easier on the wallet. Explore the kinds of restaurants where the owner IS the chef!

$1.50 USD in the mountains of Peru
(a STEAL if you're OK with chickens and cats hanging out inside the joint!)

4) Cooking local food! See #2: we pick places to stay that have a kitchen available at our disposal. Not only does this save money, but I really enjoy cooking with fresh, local ingredients and replicating dishes I've found in local restaurants. Shopping at the local markets and getting a fish straight from the water is the best and most flavorful way to go!

Market in Cuzco, Peru (2009)

5) Utilizing local transportation: take local buses both for cost-saving and entertainment value instead of touristy "luxury vans" and coach services.

6) Pack light and skip the extra baggage fees and lugging around heavy stuff. Do NOT to go to a 3rd world country with your wardrobe of designer shoes and clothes and jewelry, unless you want to stand out like a sore thumb and potentially be the victim of theft. Worried about bringing enough clothes? There are always laundry facilities that you can access and of course, anything that you "forget" can easily be acquired. People do live, eat and wear clothing there every day... The goal is to blend in and assimilate as much as possible, so pack for comfort. Last year I went to Costa Rica for 3 weeks with one backpack and one messenger bag...it can be done.

7) (Oh yeah...FLY FOR FREE!) This year, we paid our taxes and purchased most all food/general items on our Spirit card and earned a ton of miles so that this flight was absolutely FREE! Just make sure to pay your balance off each month! ;)

8) Leave the fear at home! An all-inclusive resort vacation or cruise is definitely "easier" and "safer", but if you ask me, there is no REAL reward in travel without some risk and uncertainty. Taking note of all of the other travelers, business people and kids in your foreign destination helps to put "travel warnings" into perspective. I mean, I have to remind myself that I DO live in Detroit for most of the year. ;) Of course, always use common sense and general awareness to make sure you're not in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Stay tuned....next post will be about my travel "equipment". ;)

Sorry, one more: beef tacos and veggie salad in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica (2010)

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Happy New Year! In 2011 - as soon as I bought the immersion blender last February - I started experimenting with blended veggie soups. They're hearty, pretty easy to make (if you have a couple hours) and a delicious way to get your veggies in. I've made squash, asparagus, sweet potato, jerusalem artichoke, celery root etc. My friends Lindsey and Liz came over for dinner in December and raved about the butternut squash soup I'd made with dinner. Today, Lindsey came over to make some with me and learn how-to. So much fun! :)

Lindsey picked out some nice squash!

Here's my #1 soup tip: use the SAME base, every single time for fool-proof veggie soup broth: mirepoix (about equal amounts of carrots, onions and celery)+ garlic + salt. Cover it with 6-8 cups of water. After it cooks down for almost an hour, then add whatever vegetable(s) you choose and experiment with other herbs, spices and fats. Either blend or leave chunky.

Prep time: 20 min, Total time: approx 1.5 - 2 hours
Makes: 8+ servings

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash (3.5 - 4 lbs) halved and "guts" scooped out
1 medium yellow onion (diced)
3 medium stalks celery (diced)
3 medium sized carrots (diced)
2 cloves garlic (sliced or minced)
2 oz Organic Half-and-half or heavy cream (Optional)
Olive oil
Sea Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Nutmeg
Turmeric (Optional, but adds great color and is a wonderful anti-oxident)


Equipment:

Large cast-iron ceramic coated pot (or just a large spaghetti/soup pot)
Immersion blender or regular blender

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Prep all veggies. Heat your big pot to medium-high and add a tablespoon of olive oil.

Once the oil is hot, throw your mirepoix in and let it go, stirring occasionally, for several minutes. Once the veggies start steaming and smelling super fragrant and soft, add 1 tbsp sea salt, approx 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp cumin and 1 tsp (optional) turmeric. Sautee for another 30 seconds or so while stirring. (We'll add the nutmeg in at the end.)

Mirepoix: the fancy french term for equal parts of carrots, celery and onion

Cover the veggies with about 4 times their volume in water. Turn to high and once it comes up to a boil, turn the heat down and let simmer.

Roast your squash for about 35 minutes, until you can easily stick a fork through the skin. Let cool about 20 min.

Scoop the squash out of the skin and add to the simmering soup base. Let cook together 15 minutes or so.

In goes the squash! The pretty yellow color at this point comes from turmeric.

With your blender or immersion blender (aka best $50 I've spent) and blend until smooth.

Linds giving the immersion blender a whirl

Add 1-2 tsp nutmeg (according to your preference) and add the cream. If you DON'T add cream, I suggest adding a bit of fat (a healthy cold-pressed oil like olive, coconut, grape seed, avocado or some organic butter) to balance out the flavor. Stir and turn heat off.

A spill on my shirt. Typical.

Serve hot. I served with a plate of super foods! We had: wild caught pink salmon, sauteed garlicky kale with lemon and smashed "creamsicle" (white and sweet mixed) potatoes. Delicious and probably one of the most balanced, nutritious plates you could ask for:


Highly anti-inflammatory and off the charts in vitamin A, C, K and B6. IT's a great source of protein, omega-3, calcium, selenium, potassium, magnesium, maganese, copper, etc. This meal is pretty much SMACK dab in the middle of balanced (fat, protein, carb) and very rich in vitamins and minerals.

I generally make a big pot of soup like this once a week on Sunday...that way we can enjoy it for lunch during the week. Pick a favorite veggie and try it!