Chilean Sea Bass with Mango Salsa

I was in Albany for my sister's Pre-Wedding Celebration this weekend so I didn't cook, but I thought I'd share this fish recipe that I made and photographed a while ago and never posted.

It was such a fun weekend with lots of friends and family, and I learned that many of them read this blog!  Thanks readers! 

My mom made a salmon dish with peach chutney this weekend (Yum!), which reminded me how much a love fish served with sweet condiments.  This recipe makes 3 cups of mango salsa which is great to eat leftover with chips, or make a smaller amount if you want just enough to eat with the fish.

Pasta with Cauliflower and Spinach

Here's a quick and easy pasta dish that you probably could have thought of yourself, but you didn't.  That's my favorite kind of weeknight dinner recipe - something that you can practically perfect on the first try and that you know you'll like, but that you didn't have to think of on your own.  It's inexpensive and only takes 30 minutes or so to prepare.

This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman's The Minimalist Cooks Dinner.  It's a small book full of quick and simple recipes that you probably could have improvised on your own.  I'm a Bittman fan so I was excited when I found this book on the Give-Away Table in our lobby!  Apparently you can also buy it for five dollars on amazon.com.

Grilled Chicken Kabobs

I used a cast iron grill pan that we got for our wedding to make these delicious kabobs and served them over quick and easy cous cous.  They would probably be even better cooked outside over a real grill, but we do what we can.  It was still fun to feel like we were grilling on a summer night.

The whole meal is very quick and simple.  We had leftovers so I brought some for lunches and then we still had enough for another dinner served with corn on the cob.

For variations, try whatever veggies you like instead of peppers, swordfish instead of chicken, and rice or quinoa instead of couscous.

Simple Sides - Vegetables

I made the following list of instructions for simple vegetable sides for my husband because he's been cooking a little lately.  I absolutely love eating home-made food that I didn't cook myself so I wanted to make it easy for him to do it often!

The list is of my staple vegetable side dishes that I use if I'm making a simple chicken, fish, or all veggie meal.  Most of them just require great produce, some olive oil and salt, and and a little practice to know exactly when the vegetables are cooked just right.  They are all very quick and easy to make.  In my opinion, there's no reason to potchky with things that are already so good on their own.

Baked Halibut with Fennel and Cucumber Raita

Today I decided to ignore the heat, blast the air conditioning, and cook a nice dinner for two.

We've been eating out in air-conditioned restaurants or eating things that don't require cooking for a while now, which has been nice, but with the long weekend I really had an itch to cook.

Pear Ginger Muffins

I had a good amount of crystallized ginger left over from the apricot-ginger mini scones I made last month, so I decided to try this recipe.  I like the options it gives for varying a lot of the ingredients: fresh or canned pears, whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour, canola oil or butter (or both), and varying the amount of sugar.

I used fresh pears, whole wheat pastry flour, organic canola oil, and just 1/3 cup sugar so they are on the healthier side and not too sweet.  They are just right for breakfast or a snack with tea.

Lentil and Spinach Soup

I love lentil soup but when I stop to buy it for lunch at a grocery or sandwich place I am usually disappointed about half the time.  There is nothing worse than being starving for lunch all morning and then finally getting a few minutes eat and realizing that the lunch you bought is just gross.

So I finally had time today to make a big batch of my own - and this is an incredibly delicious and simple version of lentil soup so I'll be sure to have  satisfying and tasty lunches all week!

The soup is started by frying some chopped bacon in the bottom of a soup pot.  The fat that comes out of the bacon is used to saute some vegetables and then the lentils are added and simmer for about a half an hour.  Throw in a bunch of spinach and you're done!