Tilapia Burger

I served this with Scalloped Tomatoes from Smitten Kitchen. The recipe comes from Canadian Family magazine, Summer 2011.

Makes 6 burgers.

1 tblsp chopped garlic
2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 1/4 lbs tilapia filets
3 tblsp soy sauce
1 egg white
4 green onions
1/2 cup red pepper, seeded and diced

Multigrain buns
Lettuce
Red onion slices
Mango chutney
Mayonnaise

In a food processor, chop garlic and ginger. Cube fish and add to food processor, pulsing until everything is the consistency of ground meat.

Stir in soy sauce, egg white, green onion and red pepper. The original recipe also had you add 3 tsp sesame oil, but I chose not to. Form into 6 patties and place in fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium high heat and add a bit of olive oil. Pan fry patties for 6-8 minutes each side (until cooked through). If the edges are burning, turn the heat down (duh).

Assemble burger. Mayo on one bun, mango chutney on the other, lettuce, red onion, whatever else you want to add...

The original recipe also suggest eating it with pea shoots and chopped pickled ginger. Also, they suggest it would taste awesome with honey wasabi mustard (which I'm going to have to try.

Honey Wasabi Mustard
1 tblsp honey
1 tsp wasabi
t tblsp Dijon mustard

Cornmeal Tilapia and Garlic Scented Broccoli

The dipping sauce is mayo, dijon mustard, honey and dill. Very good.



Tilapia is dipped in buttermilk and then dredged in cornmeal seasoned with a little garlic powder and chili powder. Frying up in a titch of oil in a frying pan makes the crust crispy and delicious.

Broccoli is made by putting about an inch of water in a saucepan, a tsp or so of olive oil, and cracking (but keeping mostly whole) 2 cloves of garlic and bringing to a boil. Add broccoli florets (and peeled stems if you like) to steam the broccoli tender crisp.

Fishcakes and Skullheads

When we were kids, we ate Brussels sprouts a lot. My Grandma Val (I believe) told us once that they were "skullheads", and that did the trick! We ate them right up.

My "skullheads" recipe is pretty simple, and may not sound appetizing, but I assure you, they are. I pick Brussels sprouts all about the same size (smaller is tastier, as is true for a lot of veggies) but as long as they aren't the size of my hand, they are fine. A little rinse, a cut in half, and a toss into a non-stick frying pan. If there are loose leaves that fall in, don't fuss, they are actually the best part of this dish. I admit that I often peel the leaves off on purpose just so I can have more of them.

Add about 1/4 cup water and a sprinkle of salt to the pan and let the veggies steam a bit. Turn down the heat to medium-high and add a tablespoon or so of butter. Allow to melt in, shake it up occasionally, and just let it sit and caramelize.

I usually add a couple of tablespoons of butter in 2 installments, but cook until the sprouts look brown and the loose leaves almost look burnt. Not quite black, and not stinking up the house with char, but dark brown.

Doesn't sound like it would be that great, but it is ridiculously tasty.

Alternatively, you can probably Google up some "oven roasted brussels sprouts" recipes. Similar end product.

The fishcakes recipe came from the same magazine as the Yummy Cake (Canadian Family, October 2010) and it's part of the article/group of recipes that are to help people make food that everyone will enjoy if you're also cooking for those with food sensitivities. This one was called "Shellfish-Free Crab Cakes".

I call them frickin delicious. You know I don't love the fish, but try to find recipes to make the fish palatable for me so I can reap the health benefits. THIS is sooo good!

Fishcakes

1/2 lb tilapia fillets (or another whitefish, if that's all you have available)
1/2 lb salmon fillets
2 medium sized white potatoes
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2/4 cup finely chopped parsley
Zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
2 tablespoons seafood seasoning (recipe calls for 1 tblsp Old Bay but we don't have that here)
Pepper (and salt if you're using Old Bay)
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Oil for pan frying

Peel and slice potatoes thinly, cover with cold water in a saucepot and boil until done. The thinner/smaller you slice potatoes (and other root veggies), the faster they will cook...obviously. And if you cut them evenly, they will cook evenly. Magic, that!

While potatoes cook, put a large frying pan of salted water onto the stove to boil. Once the water is boiling, turn it down to simmer and poach the fish for about 6 minutes.

Drain the potatoes well (don't want soggy fishcakes!) and scoop the fish onto a paper towel lined plate.

Now, let's get down to business: In a large bowl, rice potatoes (or mash), toss in onion, parsley, lemon zest, and seasonings. Peel skin off the fish (if necessary) and flake both into bowl (big chunks, small chunks, whatever you like). Mix gently and taste for seasoning. Adjust if necessary. NOW add the egg (see what I did there?) and mix gently to incorporate.

Place breadcrumbs on a shallow bowl (or plate). I added a little bit more of my seasoning because it was really good! Grab a golf ball sized chunk of fishcake, roll into a ball and flatten slightly to form a patty. Coat in panko and place on a plate or sheetpan. Continue until you've formed all the mix. You are probably looking at about 15 or 18 patties? Pop in fridge to cool down and set a little, about 30 minutes.

In the meantime, mix 1/4 cup mayo with just under 1/4 cup ketchup. Add 2 tablespoons chopped dill pickle (I actually took a shortcut and used dill relish)...or you could use sweet pickles, finely chopped red onion, nothing aside from the mayo and ketchup...up to you. Mix and stick in fridge.

Heat a thin layer of oil in the bottom of a frying pan and brown up the fishcakes. Drain on paper towel and enjoy!

I'm sure you could also bake them after spritzing them with a little oil if you don't like the idea of pan frying.

My thoughts about the recipe? It's an incredible main, and would be a great little appetizer. Don LOVED them, as did Quinn, and me, the fish disliker thought they were wicked good. Probably because of the crispy, crusty potato, and the seasoning. I could barely taste the fish inside, and I know it was there!

It did take longer than I like to spend on a weeknight dinner, so while I would definitely make this again, I would probably save it for a weekend.

Salmon with Mango Salsa

As I mentioned in this post, I'm not a huge fan of the salmon...but I know it's good for me and I do try to make fish at least once a week. Truth be told, though, I'm starting to acquire a taste for it. I certainly don't CRAVE it, don't know if I ever will, but I've found a few ways to make it that taste pretty good to me.

This is one of those recipes. It's based off of a recipe in Fast Healthy Food, a Reader's Digest cookbook.

Quinn really enjoyed it, and didn't balk at the pepper.

Salmon with Mango Salsa



4 salmon fillets
4 teaspoons mixed peppercorns (black, white, green and pink)
Baby new potatoes, scrubbed and halved

Mango Salsa
1 mango, peeled and diced
3 green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons pink peppercorns, soaked in warm, salty water to soften a bit
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of one lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
Dash of hot sauce

Check the salmon for pin bones and remove them, rinse the fillets and pat dry.

Crush the peppercorns in a mortar and pestle (or you can use a pepper grinder or spice grinder...but make sure you're getting a coarse grind). Press the peppercorns onto the surface of the salmon and set aside.

Put potatoes on to boil, and cook until done.

Heat a frying pan (cast iron, preferrably, because they just rock).

While pan is heating, grab a medium bowl and toss diced mango and finely chopped green onions into it. Rinse the pink peppercorns you were soaking and coarsely chop them. Throw them, chopped cilantro, lime juice and olive oil into the bowl and give it all a stir. Taste and add a dash or two of hot sauce (or you can eliminate it, if you aren't too keen on it). Set aside.

Salmon cooking time! Lubricate the hot frying pan as necessary so the fish doesn't stick. Fry fish over medium high heat, on one side, for about 4 minutes, flip, and do it up another 4 (or until fish is cooked to your liking).

Serve it up with mango salsa and potatoes.

This recipe serves 4, so adjust as necessary.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

I don't know anyone whose Mom or Grandma didn't make tuna noodle casserole. It's the ultimate in "dollar stretching meals"...I am pretty sure that this dish, creamed peas on toast, bucketloads of spaghetti, chili, stew, hamburger hash (which we're making tonight) and "garbage soup", completely made up my childhood dinner menu...

..and I swore I would never eat this stuff once I left home, nor would I ever use frozen peas in anything ever again. Aside from the creamed peas on toast, I've changed my mind.

This is a super versatile meal that can include most anything you have on hand, and is quite satisfying.



Tuna Noodle Casserole

1/3 bag eggless whole wheat egg noodles
1 can cream of whatever soup (I think this one is cream of chicken, but cream of mushroom is really good too)
1 can tuna (chunk light packed in water this time...sometimes I'll add 2 cans)
1 yellow pepper, diced
Handful frozen peas
Salt and pepper

Cook noodles according to package directions.

In large microwaveable bowl, mix soup (undiluted), peas and tuna. Pop in microwave until peas are defrosted and mixture is hot. Taste and season accordingly.

Once noodles are done to the desired texture, drain well and mix into soup mixture, adding yellow peppers.

I add the yellow peppers last because I like them crispy in this dish. Do what you want.

You can also (more traditionally), throw the whole mess into a casserole, top with breadcrumbs and cheese or whatever and put it in the oven...but it's summer, and the thought of putting the oven on for 30 minutes is not a welcome one. This is one of those times where I like using the microwave.

If you DO throw the lot in the oven, make sure the noodles are just underdone, so that they finish cooking in the casserole rather than overcooking.

What do you like in your tuna noodle casserole?