A bunch of new recipes!

I had a nice relaxing weekend.  I hope you all did too!

On Saturday I went to The Parkwood Farmers Market again.  I got there are 10:30 and it was pretty busy.  Glad to see this market be successful!  They have great selections.  I picked up some summer squash, kale, strawberries and sugar snap peas from Taproot Farms.  I also picked up some asparagus from The McCann farm.  Cannot wait to see what other fruits and veggies the summer harvest brings!

Summer Squash with Chevre & Thyme

4 young summer squash (about 5” long), sliced 1/2” thick (I used a mixture of miniature squashes)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme
2 oz chevre
EVOO
Kosher Salt
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a bowl, toss the squash slices with 1 teaspoon of the thyme, enough olive oil to lightly coat, and a generous pinch of kosher salt. Place the squash slices on a baking sheet in a single layer and season with a bit more salt. Roast the squash for 15-16 minutes, turning once halfway through.
Remove the squash from the oven and place on a serving platter. If you’d like, drizzle on a little more fresh olive oil and add another sprinkling of salt. Crumble the chevre over the squash and top with the remaining half teaspoon of thyme. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Left over from last week I had picked up hakurei turnips and had not had the chance to cook them up yet.  They were amazing!  Buttery and Earthy.  Divine.

Roasted hakurei turnips

Cut of the greens and scrub.
Dry with towel.
Cut in half and drizzle with EVOO and sprinke with salt and pepper.

Roast for 20-25 minutes at 400.

Almondy Coconutty Tilapia

 

3/4 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

4 Tilapia fillets

2 egg whites

salt & pepper to taste

 

Preheat oven to 375.

Chop or Food process your almonds until coarsely ground.

Combine almonds and coconut in a shallow dish for coating.

Beat egg whites lightly.

Dip a tilapia fillet in egg whites and roll in the almond coconut mix until thoroughly coated.

Bake in the oven until fish is cooked through.

The asparagus I prepared by sprinkling on some Mrs. Dash and EVOO roasted for 10 - 15 minutes at whatever temperature my oven was on, haha.  Probably 375.

I made my first trip ever to Whole Foods.  I am not able to buy clean fish in supermarkets so I decided to go check it out.  It was pretty impressive.  What was not so impressive?  The prices.  That place is so expensive!  I got sucked into buying some lovely goodies they have at the back of the store.  I also spent $25 on 1lb shrimp and 1lb tilapia.  Not ideal but what can I do?

Later this week I will be making shrimp taco's, chorizo brussel sprouts, warm corn salad and other new recipes.

Every few weeks I check out the page views by countries (screen shot is for the month).  Its great to see that people from all over the world are checking out my blog.  Readers from all over the world, I'd love for you to comment and let me know how you came across it!

Have a great day everyone!

Sautéed Pistachio Shrimp & Sugar Snap Peas Plus Raw Honey Health Benifits

Hello blog readers!  Its been a month since my last post.  I've been very busy with work and then spent 10 days traveling to London and Ireland.  I didn't make the best food decisions while traveling but today I get back on track starting the day off with a mean green juice :)

I spent most of my day on Saturday stocking up on food to ensure I stay on track!  I hit up Giant, then Trader Joes and then the farmers market.  There is a new farmers market that is open in Parkwood and I could not be happier!  Its a small market, but my first visit was a huge success!  It is located at Byberry at the Third Reformed Presbyterian Church parking lot.  This is between the 7-11 on Academy and Thorton Road.  I got there at exactly 2pm (they usually run from 10-2 but had special hours on Saturday).  I was so excited to see that one of the farms (Taproot Farms) they have there has organic produce and the important kind of organic produce.  I got a cilantro, kale, strawberries, sugar snap peas, sunflower shoots and hakurei turnips.  I have never cooked with sugar snap peas, sunflower shoots or turnips so I will be posting recipes this week including the recipe below that I made last night that was out of this world!  I also picked up some raw honey from McCann Farm. 

Today I started juicing for breakfast again.  It feels good to be drinking the green stuff, it really is an energy booster!


Sautéed Pistachio Shrimp & Sugar Snap Peas
Serves 3-4

4 cups snap peas, trimmed
1 and 1/2 pounds shrimp, tails removed
3 tablespoons honey (I used raw honey)
2 tablespoons soy sauce (Low Sodium)
1/3 cup shelled pistachios, chopped
1 green onion, sliced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I omitted this as my mom does  not like heat)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
6 leaves basil, sliced
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Brown rice (or any kind)

Drizzle skillet with olive oil and heat on medium-High. Add snap peas and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Whisk together honey and soy sauce. Season shrimp with red pepper flake, salt & pepper and add to skillet with honey sauce, cooking an additional 2-5 minutes, until shrimp is cooked through.
Remove from heat and stir in green onion, pistachios, lemon zest, and basil.
Serve over rice.

This was incredible!  The basil, lemon zest, green onion and pistachio's are key ingredients that really brought the dish together.  The sugar snap peas were out of this world.  I feel like I have been missing out in life never having cooked them!

Benifits of Raw Honey

When you look at the word "raw", you associated it with the preservation of important vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Just as raw vegetables are preferable because of their nutritional content, the same is true of honey. Raw honey is honey that has not been heated, pasteurized or processed in any way. The differences between raw and pasteurized honey are substantial. Raw honey is an alkaline-forming food that contains natural vitamins, enzymes, powerful antioxidants and other important natural nutrients. These are the very nutrients that are destroyed during the heating and pasteurization process. In fact, pasteurized honey is equivalent to and just as unhealthy as eating refined sugar.

Raw honey has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. It promotes body and digestive health, is a powerful antioxidant, strengthens the immune system, eliminates allergies, and is an excellent remedy for skin wounds and all types of infections. Raw honey's benefits don't stop there. Raw honey can also stabilize blood pressure, balance sugar levels, relieve pain, calm nerves, and it has been used to treat ulcers. Raw honey is also an expectorant and anti-inflammatory and has been known to effectively treat respiratory conditions such as bronchitis and asthma.
They even say that a teaspoon of raw honey a day can help with your allergies, even eliminating the need for prescription allergy medicine for some.

For more information on the benfits of raw honey, please go here: Raw Honey Health Benifits

Hopefully you will be seeing more blogging from me.  I have 2 new recipes I would like to try out this week so keep your eyes out :)