Garlic Butter Shrimp and Quinoa

The other night I planned a beautiful dinner, but things didn't go as planned, and then they did! Let me rewind a little bit....

Blessed with this San Diego weather,my husband and I decided a long day of beautiful 80 degree crystal blue skies and calm seas was in order. That would mean a day on the sailboat. My husband and I enjoyed a wonderful day with friends, and then stayed the night on the yacht. The day was perfect, but I didn't sleep too well that night. I was cold after having a day in sunshine. The night reminded it me it indeed was not yet summer. 

I still got up and ready to hit yoga the next morning. I did too. I went to yoga that morning. I killed it. Then I walked to get fresh shrimp for the wonderful meal I planned to make. I walked home happy and pleased with myself for being productive. I even made a huge breakfast after yoga which is something I don't do during the week, I reserve big breakfasts for Saturdays, and this was a Monday. Usually it is steel cut oats and anything fresh fruit I have during the week. Nope, this day was full of eggs, bacon, and potatoes. Yep, I dove in and devoured that meal. Then it happened. Call it 24 hours of sea air. I completely fell asleep. I crashed. This was not a 20 minute nap people. The next time I looked at the clock it was 3:30 in the afternoon. Panic set in. Just for a second, then I realized how sore and tired I still was. I was beginning to doubt dinner was going to make it on the table.
My sweet daughter was staying with us for the evening and said she could make dinner. Rarely giving up my kitchen duties, I was hesitant. Then I tried to get up and realized I was down for the count. So I handed over the reigns to my 20 year old daughter. 

I recently received a lovely package from Bob's Red Mill that contained some wonderful Organic Tri-Color Quinoa. 

Knowing how simple Quinoa was to make. I knew she could do it. The dish came out flawless with NO HELP FROM ME!

If she can do it, you can do it. It was such a great dish that my husband text me the next day and said: "My lunch in yummy, tell Taylor thank you!". He took the leftovers. It is easy and so delicious! Enjoy!

Garlic Butter Shrimp and Quinoa

adapted from: Pinch of Yum

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 cup finely chopped sweet onion 

8 teaspoons minced garlic, divided 

2 cups uncooked quinoa 

1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, divided 

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth 

8 tablespoons salted butter, divided 

1 pound raw tail-on shrimp 

salt and pepper to taste 

fresh parsley for serving 

Heat the oil in a large nonstick pot over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons of the garlic and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add the uncooked quinoa and ½ teaspoon chili powder. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute for another 1 minute to add flavor to the quinoa. Add the broth, bring to a boil, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes. When the quinoa is done, it will be soft throughout. Fluff with a fork and toss with fresh minced parsley. 

While the quinoa is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. When the pan is hot and the butter is melted, add the shrimp and sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon chili powder directly in the pan. Season with salt and pepper and saute until no longer translucent and golden brown on the outside. Just at the end of the saute, add 2 teaspoons garlic and swirl around in the pan until the garlic is very fragrant. 

Melt the remaining butter with the 4 teaspoons garlic to make a sauce for drizzling (for this, crushed garlic or garlic paste would work really well but minced is also fine). 

Serve the quinoa and shrimp together in one dish, topping with fresh chopped parsley . When the butter is melted and cooled slightly, drizzle over the shrimp and quinoa. Serve immediately, while still hot.

Stuffed Sole

I am extremely sore. I have just finished 12 days straight of yoga, with some days doubling up and doing 2 classes. I took my first yoga class back in November. I was recommended it by my doctor that treated me for my cancer. I was desperate to get back in shape after being forced to be dormant for almost 6 months due to severe pain and treatment. The tumor I had in my uterus made me look 6 months pregnant. Something had to happen, but I had surgery to recover from and a lot of muscle mass to recover. So, that is why he suggested yoga as a great exercise for my body, and great healing for my soul. His advice was the best advice I could have ever received. Since November I have been going to yoga a minimum of 4 times a week. It is hard, but fulfilling. It is strenuous, but peaceful. You find yourself on the mat. 

I have been participating in February's Inversions Make You Hot challenge. Here I am working on my headstands. 2 months ago I couldn't even do a push-up. I never successfully did a headstand as a child. So it is a huge victory for me to be able to do a headstand. I do them all day long now. 

So today is my first day "off" of yoga in almost 2 weeks. The thing is, I really want to go to class. They teach you to listen to your body though, and my body is asking for a break from class. That does not mean that I won't be doing numerous headstands through the day. I will most likely spend more time on the mat at home than I do in class. I love leaving my mat out through the day and whenever I feel like it, dropping into an inversion. Even though I am sore, I have never been happier. Having 75 minutes of meditation and hard work each day, really sets the pace for a great day! I hope all of you find your exercise niche. If you haven't tried yoga, I highly recommend it!

So today I am bringing you a healthy recipe that tastes sinful. I was so surprised by this dish. I had a friend coming for dinner and didn't want to spend too much time in the kitchen. Still I wanted to make her something yummy. I went to the fish market and they had just got in some fresh wild caught sole. I had them slice it thin and hurried home to get busy. 

The combination of fresh herbs with high quality full fat greek spreadable yogurt (kefir) make this fish dish shine. Don't be afraid of real fat. You can use cream cheese instead, but I prefer the health benefits of greek yogurt. 

Stuffed Sole

Recipe by: Christi Silbaugh

8 thinly sliced fresh wild caught sole fillets

8 ounces kefir greek cheese - or- cream cheese

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus more for dusting fish

1 Tbsp chopped dill

1 Tbsp chopped parsley

1 Tbsp chopped chives

1 Tbsp chopped oregano

1 Tbsp chopped basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix your Kefir or cream cheese, Parmesan, and all the herbs and spices in a bowl. 

Lay out your sole and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Spread the mixture generously on top of your fish.

Roll up your fish and place in a prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with a bit more Parmesan and salt and pepper. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

I served mine over a wild rice medley with green beans on the side. It was lovely. 

If you like my recipes, please support my work and get my cookbook! Featuring 150 recipes, 100 of which are not on the blog. That's right! 100 new recipes! Gluten-Free Made Easy is the perfect guide to your new lifestyle! Learn dozens of tips and tricks for avoiding gluten and over 150 tasty, simple recipes. Going against the grain has never been easier!

"Gluten-Free Made Easy" is available for sale at Barnes and Noble, Books and Things, Cedar Fort, Amazon and many other great bookstores.

Tamarind Salmon with Lemongrass

I hope everyone has recovered from Thanksgiving. If you are like me, you are ready for some healthier dishes before the Christmas feast begins.

This Tamarind Salmon hits the spot on both flavor and calories.
You might wonder what Tamarind is. It is a fruit that originated in Africa used in savory dishes, and it is completely naturally gluten-free. It is tangy and goes perfectly with lemongrass and ginger. 

This light healthy dish will take your taste buds by surprise. Perfect over greens, sauteed vegetables, or rice. 

Tamarind Salmon with Lemongrass

adapted from http://toprecipesmagazine.com

3.5 ounces of tamarínd paste

2 stalks lemongrass , slíced (woody layers removed)

1 small serrano pepper , seeds removed and fínely chopped (optional, if you don't like heat, simply omit)

1 inch gínger root, grated

3 tbsp agave nectar

3 tbsp mínt , chopped

4 8 ounce fillets of wild salmon , skín on

a small handful cilantro, chopped

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees

míx the tamarínd, lemongrass, serrano pepper, gínger, agave and mínt together ín a small bowl. 

Put the salmon on a píece of foíl.

Brush a thíck layer of the sauce over the salmon and cook for 10 mínutes.

Serve sprínkled wíth cilantro and a bowl of extra marínade on the síde for díppíng.

Capsaicin Sensation Cod

If you are looking for fast, easy, wholesome, and healthy, then I have a recipe for you.  I like to make everything from scratch. So sometimes it is nice to find a wholesome company that does just that for, times I am short on time. This recipe uses 3 ingredients. Using the yummy Capsaicin Sensation marinade from Terra Verde Farms, this fish comes together with no fuss, and very little time. If you like a little kick to your fish, you will love this easy recipe.

Capsaicin Sensation is a sweet and hot jalapeno based marinade. You can find yours here. 

Capsaicin Sensation Cod 

1 lb Cod Fillet

1 cup Capsaicin Sensation marinade

optional: salt and pepper and parsley for garnish

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Place your cod fillet in a prepared baking dish large enough to lay the fish flat. You can season it with salt and pepper if you like. Pour the marinade over the fish. 

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. 

Serve hot over rice or veggies and garnish with parsley. 

Walnut-Crusted Salmon

Salmon has become a staple in this house. I am always looking for inspiration when it comes to new ways to fix it. 

I feel special that I got to review Cooking Inspired which has so many great recipes and a lot of new ideas for me when it comes to cooking fish.

Food websites have become favorite destinations for home cooks to review and share recipes and cooking tips. Kosher recipes are especially popular whether Jewish or not and one of the fastest growing of the kosher websites is KosherScoop.com. Wanting to make cooking easier and more creative for home cooks, founder and cookbook author, Estee Kafra, has put together a collection of the best recipes from the site. "Cooking Inspired" is a sampling of the creative and reliable recipes that the site has become known for and will inspire home cooks to let loose their culinary creativity. Over 200 recipes are beautifully photographed and award-winning photographs are scattered throughout the book creating a visual feast for the eyes as well as the palate.

Gluten-Free Walnut-Crusted Salmon

Adapted from Cooking Inspired

Serves 4

3/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

3 TBSP  finely chopped tortilla chips

1 TBSP lemon zest, grated

1 TBSP fresh thyme, chopped

1 TBSP olive oil

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 TBSP Dijon mustard

4 6 oz Salmon fillets

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Stir together the walnuts, tortilla chips, lemon zest, thyme oil, salt and pepper. The mixture should loosely hold together when pressed.

Brush the mustard all over three sides of the salmon.

Press the walnut mixture onto the fish. Place the salmon on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.

Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

The Salmon was delicious!

If you like my recipes, please support my work and get my cookbook! Featuring 150 recipes, 100 of which are not on the blog. That's right! 100 new recipes! Gluten-Free Made Easy is the perfect guide to your new lifestyle! Learn dozens of tips and tricks for avoiding gluten and over 150 tasty, simple recipes. Going against the grain has never been easier!

"Gluten-Free Made Easy" is available for sale at Barnes and Noble, Books and Things, Cedar Fort, Amazon and many other great bookstores.

Spicy Stuffed Shrimp

If you live in Southern California, you should be very familiar with all the fantastic Farmers Markets we have. It is so wonderful to live in an area that is full of fine fresh produce year round. My favorite is the Little Italy Farmers Market. We go every single Saturday. It is a tradition to wake up and head to the market to see what is new. 

When we get there the first stop is always Joe's on the Nose. It is my husbands favorite coffee in San Diego, and it just happens to be on a food truck. If you are in San Diego, I suggest following their twitter feed to see where they are. 

While standing in line one day I looked over and there was a stand with various marinades, rubs, peppers etc... So I told Randy what I wanted and I walked on over. It was then I fell in love with Terra Verde's Maple Pepper. I did a post on it a while back for Blackened Maple Salmon. Terra Verde saw the post and asked if I wanted to try out some of their other products. So while I was provided samples from them. All thoughts and opinions on the product are my own. 

I was excited to dive into their Spicy O’s™. We love spice, so I knew these would be a hit. You can get their Spicy O’s™ on their website, or at many many farmer's markets in California and Arizona, including Little Italy. 

This recipe is perfect for an appetizer, or you can have them be part of the main event, by serving them over rice or pasta. 

Spicy Stuffed Shrimp
adapted from Terra Verde Farms
12 Jumbo Shrimp
6 Strips Bacon
2 ½ Tbs. Terra Verde Farms Spicy O’s™
4 Oz. gorgonzola cheese at room temperature
1 ounce plain greek yogurt
1 Clove Garlic
1 Tbs. fresh minced parsley

Preheat your oven to broil.

Peel and devein shrimp, butterfly by slicing down back ¾ way through shrimp, rinse and set aside in bowl with ice.

Mince garlic, cilantro and Spicy O’s, mix with gorgonzola cheese and greek yogurt in small bowl until well combined. Fill each shrimp with ½ Tbs. of cheese mixture.

Wrap each shrimp with ½ slice of bacon.

Place on a grill pan or a cookie sheet topped with a cooling rack. This is so that the bacon juice will run into the pan below.

Broil on high for 6 minutes.

You can serve with toothpicks, or on a cute serving tray. You can also serve over pasta or rice. 

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Glazed Salmon with Sriracha Cream Sauce

It is no secret that we love Salmon in this house. That is why I was so shocked to learn that farmed Salmon is the number one cancer causing food. Why? Well, all you need to do is google "farmed salmon" and you will find hundreds of articles on it. Yet it is still on the shelves. Here are a few of the articles explaining this:

Farm-Raised Salmon Cancer Threat | Peak Health Advocate

Health Risks Associated with Consuming Farm-Raised Salmon

Caution: Farmed Salmon May Cause Cancer - Discover Magazine

Never fear. You can always find wild caught Salmon in most stores. Yes it costs a little more, but unless you want a cancer bill from the hospital (ours was $32,000), I suggest you pay the extra dollar or two a pound now. It is much less in the long run. 

Here is a beautiful recipe that is easy to put together, and tastes like it came out of a 5 star restaurant. Enjoy!

Glazed Salmon with Sriracha Cream Sauce

adapted from The Boogie Blog 

4 fresh wild caught salmon Filets

San-J Gluten-Free Tamari sauce

Siracha cream sauce (recipe below)

green onions sliced on the bias 

olive oil 

Siracha Cream Sauce Ingredients: 

1/4 cup Sriracha sauce 

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 TBSP vinegar

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

3 tablespoons condensed milk 

In a baking/marinading dish, place salmon filets and add some of the Tamari sauce.

 Let marinade reach up the sides of filets. marinade in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to overnight.

Next make the Sriracha Cream Sauce:

In a medium bowl, combine Sriracha , Greek yogurt, vinegar, salt and pepper and; whisk well

Add condensed milk and; whisk until fully incorporated; add more condensed milk for a milder taste and more Sriracha for a spicier taste. I made one mild and one extra hot.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In the prepared baking dish, place salmons. Cover the baking dish with a sheet of foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

After baking is done, place in a serving dish and drizzle with Siracha cream sauce and garnish with thinly sliced green onions. 

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