Thai Salmon with Lemon Couscous

Sesame Ginger Salmon

1 T garlic minced
2 T ginger minced
1 T sake
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil

Marinate salmon in fridge for 3 hours. Bake on baking sheet for 8 minutes at 450.

Lemon Couscous

5.4 oz couscous
2 cups chicken broth
1 T lemon rind
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 t butter
2 T parsley
1/3 cup peas

Combine the broth, lemon rind and juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add the couscous, remove from heat and cover. Let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in parsley, butter and peas. Serve with salmon.

Grilled Salmon with Honey Mustard Glaze

Although I blog about salmon a lot, I have not had it in ages. Last week I decided it was time to stop eating red meat and have some nice atlantic salmon with fresh green beans.

2 x 6oz salmon fillets
1 T brown sugar
1 T olive oil
1 T honey
1 T soy sauce
1 T Grainy Dijon Mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Pour marinade over salmon fillets and let marinade in fridge for 30 minutes.

Grease grill. Preheat grill to med-high heat. Place salmon on skin side down and grill on med for 6 minutes, then flip (only if salmon easily comes off grill, if not it needs another min or two) and grill for another 6 minutes, until flaky.

Brush with marinade while grilling.

Serve with grilled green beans.

Indian Spiced Artic Char

Last Friday night my sister called me to see what I was doing for dinner. She was calling to offer me some fillets of Artic Char. My sister use to live in northern Canada, so when a friend from up north came to visit her, she requested that she bring with her a large Artic Char, one that she possible could not eat all herself. So I am the lucky one that got to have a couple fillets. I quickly put my chicken in the freezer and went to pick up the fish. Of course anytime I have fish I prefer it grilled and as some of you may know I love to use Cajun or blackening spices. I changed it up somewhat and used an Indian Spiced Rub and served it with a ginger dipping sauce.

Indian Spiced Artic Char

1/2 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp coriander seeds

pinch cinnamon

pinch cloves

pinch red chilli flakes (optional)

2 fillets of Artic Char (6oz each)

olive oil

Heat a dry skillet over high heat, add peppercorns, cumin and coriander and toast until fragrant - about 1 minutes.

Remove from skillet and place in a coffee grinder and grind until powdery. Mix with cinnamon, cloves and chilli flakes.

Preheat oven to 450 or grill to med high heat.Drizzle salmon with oil and rub part of the mixture onto the fillets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. If grilling grill one side for 6 minutes and then flip to grill the other side for 4-6 minutes.

Fish should be opaque in side and flaky. You do not want to dry out fish.Serve with mango chutney or this ginger dip.

Ginger Dip

1/4 cup pickled ginger chopped
1/2 cup mayo
1 green onion chopped
pepper to taste
2 T soy sauce
2 T lemon or lime juice

Mix together and serve with fish.

Cajun Salmon with Spinach Salad

Two Sundays ago I started to feel sick, by Monday afternoon I could not keep my eyes open or head up and a wicked sore throat came on. Having been prone to sore throats, I knew the drill and by Wednesday evening was getting a strep test and penicillin. The strep test was apparently unable to be processed. The sore throat was getting better so I did not go back for a second test.

However by the next Sunday I was doing worse and worse, so ridiculously tired, I could barely move, headache, sore neck and heavy head. Seriously would fall asleep eating, talking, in the bath/shower – felt like I had narcolepsy. I started to wonder if perhaps I had something more than just strep throat and if it could not be mono. I went to my doctor, who sent me for blood work. I have not heard back from the clinic yet. Everytime I think I am getting better I get hit hard with it. The minute I exert myself even slightly (like doing the dishes or cleaning up) I am once again overwhelmed with exhaustion, shortness of breath and this overall malaise feeling.

Needless to say I have not been cooking, unless you count opening a can of soup (which by the way are no match for homemade soups). Last night was my first real meal in about a week. I was feeling like I needed real food and healthy food to beat this bacteria or virus. My husband grilled a nice salmon fillet with Cajun rub and served it with a nice spinach salad with tomatoes, avocados, onions and mushrooms drizzled with ginger soy dressing.

Ingredients

2 6oz salmon fillets

Cajun rub

1/4 cup paprika
1 T garlic flakes
1 T onion flakes
1 T thyme, dried
1 T oregano, dried
1 T black pepper
1 T white pepper
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground Bay leaf

Drizzle oil on salmon and rub some of the Cajun rub into the salmon fillet.

Preheat the grill to med heat. Place the salmon skin side down on the oiled grill. Grill for 6-8 minutes (turning after 5 min).

Serve immediately


Spinach Salad

Bunch of baby spinach
1/4 red onion sliced
1/2 avocado sliced
1/2 tomato diced
6 large button mushrooms, sliced
almonds (optional

Soy Ginger Dressing

1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 lemon, juiced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
ground black pepper to taste

Whisk together soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, mustard, honey and pepper. Once these are thoroughly combined, add the oil in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Chill before drizzling over salad.


Other Delicious Salmon Recipes

Grilled Salmon with Brown Sugar & Mustard Glaze
Sesame Ginger Salmon
Blackened Salmon
Lemon Pepper Salmon Cakes

Sesame-Ginger Salmon

This weekend I stumbled upon an old cookbook my sister bought me while in University. As I did not cook like I do now (perhaps the occassional stirfry) and hence I can't say it was used much. The cookbook is called Good Mood Food by Michael Van Straten the author of Superfoods and Superjuices. The book is separated into chapters of recipes for vitality foods, brain foods, sleeping foods, wake-up foods, aphrodisiac foods, peace foods, macho and sensitive foods. It also provides herb, spice and recipe recommendations for common ailments in the index. As there is no doubt that the foods we eat play an integral part in how we feel it is a good book to have on hand or one of similar context.

Noting it has been bone chiling out this winter I thought I would share some Good Mood Food foods to help those with circulation problems out - basil, chives, coriander and sorrel all contain vitamins and phytochemicals which help stimulate circulation. Ginger and chilli have similar actions. Oily fish contain omega 3 fatty acids and nuts and seeds provide vitamin E - both essential for a healthy heart and circulation.

I do not have circulation problems per se, but reading this got me thinking that since the cold weather came I have not been eating my usual once per week salmon fillet. Since the cold set in I have migrated more towards hearty dishes be it vegetarian or red meat. It was time I get more fish in my diet again, so I decided to make a nice baked salmon with veggies. I mixed together this tangy sesame-ginger soy marinade. The results were delicious, the salmon cooked until moist and flaky. The sesame seeds not only provided a nice presentation but added a nice light crunch. I managed to get some oily fish, seeds and ginger all into one simple and delicious dish. I even added some cayenne which is also said to get the blood flowing.

1 lbs of atlantic salmon fillet
4 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
splash soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
pepper
pinch of cayenne
sesame seeds to sprinkly on top

Mix all in a small bowl and spread over salmon. Let sit on salmon in fridge for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450F and bake on a greased cookie sheet for 15 minutes until fish is opaque.

Serve over green beans.

Great Recipes

Blackened Salmon
Grilled Salmon Skewers
Grilled Salmon with Brown Sugar Mustard Glaze
Thai Curry Salmon

Grilled Salmon with Brown Sugar & Mustard Glaze

Finally some pictures of the new house (backyard and kitchen)! Being injured has not been fun, but it has allowed me to enjoy being at home. Usually I am off hiking, biking, running etc... and things around the house do not get done. It has been nice getting things in order and brainstorming about how to decorate the place with photos and paint colors.

This weekend was also fun in the fact that Westboro Beach, the nearby beach, was having its annual "movies at the beach" night. The vote that won was for the movie "Cars." First I dined at my sisters place who made these awesome Korean barbecued ribs with an orange ginger marinade. We then walked down to the beach at dark sat on a blanket, poured some wine and watch the movie. It was a lot of un and really cool to see the river behind the screen and the city lights on the horizon.

The next night the weather was still perfect so we decided to yet again dine outside. I decided to grill a nice fillet of salmon. Rather than use the blackening spice I use perhaps too often, I decided to change it up with a nice tangy glaze. I must give credit to my husband for this glaze as he makes it by taste (thus hard to provide any concrete measurements). Depending on how you adjust your flavors the glaze can be sweet and tangy with a hint of heat. I am kind of getting tired of the same old side dishes of tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, rice, potatoes or salad. Therefore I jumped ahead a season and bought an acorn squash and roasted it with indirect heat on the bbq for about 50 minutes.

Glaze

3 T brown sugar
1 T honey
2 T butter
1/4 cup grainy dijon mustard
T olive oil
2 T soy sauce
1 T grated ginger root
pinch of cayenne (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1 large fillet of salmon or 6 (6oz) pieces

Melt the brown sugar, honey and butter in a small saute pan oven med high heat. Remove from heat and whisk in mustard, soy sauce, oil, ginger. Let cool.

Preheat the grill to med heat. Brush salmon with glaze. Place the salmon skin side down on the oiled grill. Grill for 6-8 minutes (turning after 5 min) and baste through grilling time.



For the squash this should be placed on the grill well before the salmon. Heat the grill to high and then turn off once side of the bbq to grill using indirect heat. Brush the squash halves with a mixture of melted butter and brown sugar. Grill meat side up for 50 mins.

Loving the backyard with a patio, herb garden and garage.

Kitchen exits nicely to the patio, making it nice and easy to entertain guests, as well as nice to have natural light for food photography.

Grilled Salmon Skewers

These are the grilled salmon skewers we had with that amazing Roasted Shrimp and Orzo Salad. The salmon itself is so flavorful that they did not need much seasoning. Just simple pepper, oil, and squirk of lemon juice would do the trick.
With the powerful flavor of the salad it was nice to go plain with the skewers.

Slice salmon into chucks and place in a shallow dish. Add the pepper, splash of olive oil, juice of 1 lemon and any other herbs you desire. Mix into salmon and let sit for 15 minutes in the fridge.

Skewer the salmon onto metal or pre-soaked bamboo skewers.

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat.

Lightly oil grill grate. Cook skewers on the preheated grill for 4 minutes per side, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Other Recipes

Thai Curry Salmon

Blackened Salmon with Mango Salsa

Thai Curry Salmon

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of this dish, so I used the one from the LCBO website, where the recipe is from. I served this with coconut infused jasmine rice and green beans.
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2 tbsp Thai red curry paste

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 tsp grated lime rind

¼ cup vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 salmon fillets with skin on (3 lb total)

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Mix the ingredients together. Place fish skin side down on a greased baking sheet. Spread marinade over salmon fillets and let marinade in the fridge for 30 mins. Heat the oven to 400F and bake the fish for 12-18 min (dependin on the thinckness) - fish should be opaque and flaky to the touch.

Tuna Wrap

As a runner and weight trainer it is important for me to get the proper pre and post nutrition requirements for optimal growth and recovery of muscles and to remain injury free (ha like that will ever happen).

For my post workout I try to ensure that I get the appropriate balance of carbs, protein, fats and essential vitamins and nutrition.

One of my favourite post workout lunches (mix of protein, fats/oils, and carbs) is the following tuna wrap, which I typically eat with 1% cottage cheese topped with ground flax seed and/or a handful of almonds.

1/3 can chunk white tuna

1 T light mayonnaise (Helman's)

1 T mustard

1/2 large dill pickle, diced

hot peppers

ground pepper to taste

1 whole wheat or grain 8-10" tortilla

bunch of mesculine lettuce or baby spinach

shredded light old cheddar (optional)

slices of avocado

Basically mix the tuna with the mayo, mustard, pepper and dill pickle and place in the center of the tortillas. Add on the hot peppers, lettuce, avocado and cheese. Roll tortilla and serve.

Nutritional Facts:

The tuna offers lean source of protein helping to repair torn damaged muscles, omega-3 fatty acids (helpful in the inflammation process, as well as well known protector against heart disease and arthritis), niacin and B12;

Avocado offers a source of monounsaturated fats, vitamins K, B6, C, folate, copper and contain more potassium then a banana (877g vs 470g), copper and fiber.

The whole wheat wrap replenishes lost glycogen stores as it is a source of carbs, those with grains and flax seed offer a good source of fiber, selenium..

The spinach contains phytonutrients such as beta carotene and is a good source of calcium.

Mini Lemon Pepper Salmon Cakes

These can be made with real or canned salmon. They work as an appetizer or an entree (make larger or keep them mini and serve with salad). They freeze well and can be reheated in 12-15mins at 425F.

2 large potatoes (1 lb)
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
2 cans (7.5 oz) red sockeye salmon, drained
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

Alternative dip: mayonnaise, dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt and pepper

Peel and cut potatoes in half crosswise. In saucepan of boiling salted water, cover and cook potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes; drain and return to pot. Using potato masher, mash until smooth.

In large bowl, combine potatoes, bread crumbs, onions, parsley, lemon rind and juice, garlic, salt and pepper; blend in egg. Fold in salmon. Let cool for 5 minutes. Form by rounded tablespoonfuls (15 mL) into 1/4-inch (5 mm) thick patties.

Make-ahead: Place on plates; cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

Dipping Sauce:
In small bowl, combine mayonnaise, parsley, garlic and lemon rind. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

Cooking Cakes:
In large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Fry fish cakes, in batches, until golden, about 4 minutes per side.

Make-ahead: Place on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet; let cool in refrigerator. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Reheat in 375°F oven, about 6 minutes.

Serve with dip.
Yields: 32 mini cakes

Blacked Salmon with Mango Salsa

Salmon Fillets
4 x 7 ounce portions of salmon with skin (or use other fish such as halibut)
1 1/2 tbsp blackening spice
1 tbsp olive oil

Mango Salsa
2 x mangos cubed into ½ inch pieces
2 x green onions sliced thinly
2 tbsp red onion, chopped fine
1 x Thai chili, finely chopped (if use jalapenos without seeds salsa is good but hot!)
3-4 tbsp cilantro, chopped roughly
2 tbsp red pepper, chopped into ¼ inch cubes
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and pepper to taste

Combined all ingredients in a bowl and add season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill mixture in refrigerator for 20 minutes before serving. (see Mango Salsa)

Blackening Spice
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp white pepper
1/2 tbsp thyme
1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
1/2 tbsp oregano

Combine all ingredients and store in airtight container for up to 2 mths. Makes 1/2 cup.

Preparing Fish: pat dry with towel and rub on desired about of blackening spice to one side - the flesh side.

Grilling: preheat well oiled grill to med-high heat. Place the fish skin side down and grill for 4-5 min then flip and grill other side for 4-5 min, until fish is opaque. Do not over cook. Serve immediately with mango salsa and side dish.

Side dish suggestions: baked or grilled acorn squash or grilled balsamic vinegar vegetables with goat cheese or grilled vegetable coucous salad.

This is one of my favourite dishes to make as it is again full of fresh flavor. The fruity mango compliments the heat of the blackening spice. I have found the salmon at Lapointe's fish market to be excellent - very fresh compared to your Loblaws fish, and usually cheaper or the same price. You can also get wild or organic farmed salmon, which are about two times the price per pound. This recipe was modified from Foodtv.ca.