So, this last post is not exactly chronological, but I felt it should come last because these were just the most deliciously spectacular meals I’ve had, maybe ever, if not just since becoming pescatarian.

First up was actually Brad’s creation. I had nothing to do with the creation or implementation of this incredible dinner. But I was very involved in eating it.

Now, normally, Brad and I cook pretty much all of our meals together. It’s basically one of our favorite things to do together. And I never really knew how to cook until we started cooking together. I could follow a recipe just fine, but I was never someone that could throw things together to make something yummy. That was not the case here:

mahi mahi, polenta cakes and rosted fennel and tomato, all drizzled with a roasted tomato vinaigrette

So, let me tell you, this here? This is love. Brad’s not really a fan of fish, but he made this incredible dish for me [and he loved it as much as I did] This meal was totally out of his element, too. Although it’s a pretty fancy looking meal, it’s actually a very simple preparation.

mahi mahi

Just a little salt and pepper on each side, and he fried it up in a little bit of olive oil. This piece of fish is actually really funny to me. It was two frozen filets for like $7.99, so we weren’t really expecting too much. Boy, were we wrong. This fish doesn’t need a fancy preparation. We topped it with parmigiano reggiano shavings.

polenta cakes

Polenta is another food we don’t really eat a lot. So, out of experimentation, we just decided to fry them up. Not THE healthiest preparation, we learned, since polenta really soaks up the oil. But it was good either way. Crispy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside.

roasted vegetables

Now, we’ve NEVER even cooked with fennel before. So, come to think of it, I really have no idea where the inspiration for this meal came from. But Brad roasted the tomato an fennel bulb halves with thyme, rosemary and olive oil. Then he took one of the roasted tomatoes and blended it with some red wine vinegar, and s&p to make the vinaigrette.

the salad i had been thinking about for a week

I went to the store and bought a bunch of yummy ingredients for salads, but then I got home and realized I forgot one important thing: lettuce. So after daydreaming about my salad, I finally got to realize my dream:

spinach, avocado, goat cheese and sunflower seeds

no wait, the best part

Doniree was talking last week about how she makes her own salad dressings, and it made me all kinds of happy and I just HAD to tell you guys all about my current favorite kitchen toy:

the herb 'n serve!

I totally got this at our company Christmas party during the gift exchange and I luurve it. It’s just a tiny little battery-operated blender, for making dressings, marinades and sauces and it’s so much fun. It doesn’t really chop anything bigger than say, a small clove of garlic, but that’s enough for making delicious dressings. For this salad, used some store bought pesto sauce, red wine vinegar and a little bit of fat-free sour cream to make a deliciously tangy and creamy vinaigrette for my creative salad.

So, in conclusion? The herb ‘n serve: get it. Mahi Mahi: eat it.

I’ve never done much cooking with quinoa, but I think it’s a fascinating food. If you haven’t tried it, I suggest you go pick some up and start experimenting. It’s sorta like rice and sorta like cous cous, but much more talented because it has protein. Which is really good for pesca- and vegetarians alike, because it’s tricky to get protein from places that aren’t super fatty [read: cheese].

So, the base for the following salad actually came from Brad’s mom. We were visiting for his birthday, and she made a really yummy side dish out of:

• cooked quinoa
• blanched green beans
• blanched broccoli
• raw red bell pepper
• raw green onion
• olive oil and balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

There may have been more to it, but it’s one of those things you can put your own influence on. Don’t like green beans? Use something else, or leave them out altogether.

She had a massive pile leftover, so we got sent home with most of it, which I was thrilled about. I piled a bunch of it on top of some mixed greens the next day for lunch. It was good, but definitely left me feeling like something was missing. It just wasn’t filling enough as a main meal; I was still hungry.

So the following day, I added goat cheese and a smidge more oil/vinegar.

and, voila!

so, i learned after this photo to take the pretty picture before mixing up salads

It’s not the prettiest salad, but it was definitely tasty. And filling. I will be experimenting with quinoa more in the future, particularly as a salad ingredient.

other ways i’ve had quinoa so far:

You can use quinoa anywhere you would normally use rice. I’ve used it in a teriyaki chicken bowl [before I gave up meat, obv.] and just on the side of a main dish, or mixed with cooked veggies. It has a unique nuttiness that plain white rice doesn’t have, similar to whole wheat pasta. And I prefer it to brown rice, because brown rice is so damn hard to cook properly.

so, what quinoa recipes do you have? share plz!

note: this is a vegan dish if you leave the cheese off, or substitute with your own soy cheese variety.

Because really? What’s better than making a whole week about food? [nothing is]

So, I’ve been trying to photograph my meals ever since I decided to go pescatarian. Well, the creative and delicious meals, that is. And be warned, when I say “photograph” I’m referring to the camera in my iPhone. I’m absolutely no photographer. ANYWAY. I’ve decided to present this series to you in chronological order to show my progress, as well as the creativity [I feel] I’ve developed over the last few weeks. And because this is my blog and I’ll do what I want.

my boyfriend is a carnivore

He just … has to have beef in his diet. Which is what has made this diet choice difficult in the past for me. But having a start and end point to my commitment has made it much easier. That way, if 40 days rolls around and I’m tired of not eating meat, I won’t feel bad about adding it back into my diet.

So, at the start of Lent, we went to Costco [which means my bank account totally and completely hated me that day because really? Who can go to Costco and leave without spending less than $150? Not me, that's who] and bought a big four-pack of rib eyes [for Brad] and a big four-pack of stuffed salmon [for me]. Brad hates salmon, so I figured I would be super glad to get to eat it more often. We froze everything into separate baggies for go-to meals. It was good, but there have been two problems so far.

it’s a big ass piece of fish

That, coupled with the fattening stuffing, didn’t really jive with my whole mission to eat healthier. I found myself wasting the leftovers [because lets face it, reheated salmon? blech]. But the bigger problem?

i got tired of salmon. real. quick.

And I’m pretty sure there’s still one more in my freezer. One of the things I’ve learned in my many years of trying to eat healthy is that I need variety. I’ll get bored too quickly and look for something less healthy. Plus, the salmon I bought was already “decorated” in a way, so it’s not like I had many options on how to dress it up. So, mental note: don’t buy specialty main dishes in bulk.

here are the ways i “dressed it up,” while brad ate steak:

stuffed salmon with bell pepper/tomato whole wheat pasta (and wine)

stuffed salmon with mixed grilled veggies (i luurve grilled veggies, and you can use whatever is in the fridge. featured here: bell pepper, onion, asparagus)

stuffed salmon with grilled asparagus (we had gotten asparagus at costco, too ...)

It’s thrilling, I know. But in all reality, something like this stuffed salmon is a nice standby to have for those evenings that I just don’t care, or have the time/energy to put into a nice and interesting dinner. Next time, I do this, I’ll probably opt to have a package of plain, undecorated fish that I can get creative with.

If I’m not careful, this blog could easily turn from a biking blog to a cooking blog.  So, I promise I’ll be careful.  But healthy cooking and eating is a big part of living an active lifestyle, so I’m making it fit into this blog.  So deal w/it

So, I know this amazing lady, Nancy.  She has this amazing restaurant/catering company called Dish.  She also writes this amazing blog where she shares recipes, and little bits of her life that go along with them.  I have been lucky to meet her through my former ( ) coworker, Katie.  They’re sisters, and you can totally tell.  These two women are some of the sweetest, most inspiring, genuine people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.  And if you know either of them, I know you’ll agree.  If you don’t, pop into Dish to say hi.  Or if you happen to be in South Bend, Ind., look up Katie.  The good thing is, seeing Nancy is like getting to spend time with a little piece of Katie, who is very missed here at this office.

Anyway!

I’m only slightly more experienced at cooking and recipe-inventing than I am at cycling (both couldn’t or wouldn’t have been done without Brad).  But it has been a longtime quest of mine to find yummy, easy, healthy meals, and lately I have been inspired.  Okay WE have been inspired.  (Although I think summertime lends itself to easy, yummy recipes, given the abundance of produce and lack of  willingness to spend time in a kitchen with hot appliances.)  So, although this has very little to do with any adventures on my bike (except for the fact that I rode my bike to the farmer’s market to get many of the ingredients), per Nancy’s request, here are some recipes from some recently devoured meals.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I’m dabbling in pescetarianism (actually, lacto-ovo-pescetarianism, but that’s besides the point), so coming up with really yummy meals that satisfy both my steak-loving boyfriend and me has been an extra challenge.

Garlic Lime Shrimp Salad
This dinner was a salad-conversion of something we normally make as tacos.

some homemade margaritas, too.

Ingredients:

• Frozen raw shrimp (I just eyeballed it), but you can use fresh
• Lettuce (whatever type tickles your fancy, but I think we used a spring mix)
• Avocado
• Sour cream (I used fat-free cause I can’t tell the difference)
• Queso fresco (usually with mozzarella in the grocery store), crumbled
• 4-5 limes
• Cilantro (and whatever other herbs you fancy – we used basil since it’s growing in our garden)
• Olive oil (or whatever type of oil you prefer)
• Garlic
• S&P to taste

Defrost the shrimp (if frozen) with some cool-ish water (not warm or hot, cause it’ll cook em!) and then soak them in a bit of lime juice, garlic and olive oil and S&P for just a few minutes before cooking.  We grilled them in our grill basket like this one, but you could saute them just as easily if you prefer.  We tend to grill just about everything though because it doesn’t make the kitchen hot, won’t make the house smell and makes cleanup A LOT easier.  Anyway, however you cook them, cook them until they’re pink and completely opaque.

For the dressing, combine your chopped up herbs, some more oil, lime juice and zest and S&P to taste.

That’s about it!  Assemble your salad and enjoy!

Variation:
For the tacos, we’ll usually cook the shrimp the same way (or talapia works nicely with the same marinade), replace lettuce with cabbage, use the same fixins and nix the dressing.  Best served with FRESH corn tortillas from King’s Ranch.

Asian-ish Salad with Fish and Peanut Dressing
Okay, so the name sucks, but it was still really good.  And all of these ingredients either came from the local farmer’s market or from our own garden.

i'm no photog, but this lighting is not showing the dish to its full potential

Ingredients:

• Fish (we used opah, found at the farmer’s market, but any fatty fish, like ahi or swordfish, would probably be good)
• Lettuce (again, we used a spring mix)
• Cucumber (we used lemon cucumbers – a little tangy, but mild)
• Cherry tomatoes, halved
• Creamy peanut butter (we used natural)
• Sesame oil
• Salad or canola oil
• Whatever combo of herbs you enjoy (here we used chive, basil and a touch of parsley because it’s what we had)
• S&P to taste

We seared the fish in a pan (make sure you’re using sushi-grade fish if you opt to leave it a little raw) but I don’t think we’d do that again for two reasons: 1) the opah had a funky texture raw (however forms a really nice crust on the outside) and 2) two days later, our kitchen/living room  still smells like fish.  It’s dense, so it’s a good fish for grilling, I think, but of course we’d say that.  Either way coat it with some olive oil and salt and pepper before you cook it and you’ll get that nice, crispy crust.

For the dressing, combine peanut butter, a TEENSY bit of sesame oil, salad oil, herbs and S&P to taste.  It wasn’t an exact science, we just put stuff in til it tasted good.

Then, assemble your salad and drizzle with dressing.  Super easy, and it only took about 10 minutes to prepare.

So that’s it!  Try them out and let me know what you think.  And, Nancy, if you come up with an improvements, please let me know!

Now … does anyone have a good, easy recipe for eggplant?