Tiger Salad

When we were in Vancouver, we hit up a lot of coffee places. but we didn't always have time to eat at all those raved-about restaurants. We did make a list, but sometimes, stuff got in the way. Lunch was more often than not, peanut butter and banana sandwiches eaten during a long out-of-city hike or biking trip, and breakfast was usually cereal with a healthy helping of local berries purchased at a farmer's market. Dinner, well, that was where we got to experiment a little. But sometimes, we were just too exhausted. We sometimes ate take-out or walked a couple blocks and ate at a little Asian-style cafe, and once, we were so tired that we *gasp* ordered pizza.

Buuuuuuuuut, we did get to go out a bit and when we did, it was usually quite awesome. One of my favourite places that we ate at in Vancouver, was from a food truck called Le Tigre. We sampled almost all of the menu, including a pulled pork bao, popcorn chicken, crispy, lemony-parmesany brussels sprouts and cauliflower, amazingly addictive roasted beet fries and the most refreshing, filling, flavourful quinoa salad ever.

This quinoa salad was amazing. First, not only did it have quinoa, but there was brown and wild rice thrown into the mix, along with sweet roasted carrots and parsnips, crunchy cabbage, lots of fresh mint and a rich, tangy miso dressing. Since discovering the joys of miso not so long ago, I had to try making this salad at home.

My version is summered up a bit. I used roasted yellow zucchini and eggplant, some thinly sliced celery for a big crunch, and some left over blanched green beans, just because. I threw in lots of fresh mint and also a big hit of purple basil. And the dressing .. oh the dressing. Just a few teaspoons of white miso and big juicy lemon, but oh, the flavour was so big and bold. Because the miso is so intense there's no salt added to the rest of the salad, just a few big grinds of black pepper. And don't worry if the dressing tastes a little too zippy and salty when you try it -- all that lovely rice and quinoa soaks it all up. And while this salad isn't an exact replica of the one we ate from the truck, sitting by the Lonsdale quay and enjoying a perfect evening after hiking all day, it's pretty darn satisfying in it's own right.

Quinoa Rice Salad with Roasted Summer Veggies
inspired by Le Tigre
makes 3-4 servings

For the roasted veggies:
1 large, yellow zucchini, diced
1 small eggplant, diced
1 tablespoon or so of olive oil

a few grinds of black pepper

1. In a large bowl, toss the veggies with the olive oil and black pepper. Spread them out on a making sheet.
2. Roast (oven on broil), tossing occasionally for about 15-20 minutes, until the veggies get nicely golden brown and tender.

While the veggies are roasting, make the rest of the salad:

1/4 cup of brown rice + 1/4 cup of wild rice + 1 cup of water
1/3 cup of quinoa + 2/3 cup of water
1 large stalk of celery, sliced thinly
a small handful of green beans, trimmed
2 teaspoons of white miso
juice of a lemon
lots of freshly ground black pepper
a big handful each of fresh mint and basil, chopped roughly

1. First, cook your grains. Mix together the brown and wild rice with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn down the heat. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Same for the quinoa -- 1/3 cup of quinoa and 2/3 cup of water.

2. Blanch the green beans in water for about 2 minutes, or until they're tender. Cut them in half and put them in large bowl.

3. To the bowl, add in your cooked grains, roasted veggies, sliced celery and black pepper. Toss well.

4. Make your dressing! Carefully whisk together the miso and lemon juice until you get a creamy yummy sauce. Pour it over your salad and add the fresh herbs. Toss well and serve!

Heart Healthy Fish and Chips

Fish and chips. Sigh. No matter how I try to justify it to myself, I'm never able to order fish and chips at a restaurant. I just can't do it anymore. Chocolate, yes. Coffee, yes. Ice cream, definitely. Greasy Chinese food with the family, of course. But fish and chips? Something about all that deep-fried goodness gives me a feeling that even an extra 30 minutes at the gym won't take away. When I was younger, it was probably a favourite of mine. In fact, my dear aunt used to walk us to the corner of our block during summer holidays and get us fish and chips to share. It was her favourite too -- especially those fries. Those were wonderful memories; but those fish and chip eating days are sadly long gone.

So what am I to do? Settle for steamed fish, Chinese style, every time I go home for dinner with my parents. Yes, that's a solution. But recently, I had not one but two awesome fish experiences that made me miss fish and chips a little less -- and that's always a good sign. The first one was at this little place called The Fish Store, where there's only limited seating outside, and you get to choose from a long list of different fish and seafood options. Once that's done, your filet is grilled to perfection, topped with a lovely, lime-y sesame-y dressing and served as either a salad, a sandwich, a burrito or over rice. There was nothing heart-attack inducing about this fish, and it tasted just perfect. My best friend opted for calamari, my partner went for haddock, and I chose the fish of the day: grouper. I asked for mine on top of rice -- a sticky combination of wild, red and black rice. After that meal, I almost forgot that the term "fish and chips" ever existed in my vocabulary.

My second fish-epiphany happened in the comfort of my own home, and was created by none other than my skilled partner. You see, we had a dilemma. He was craving fish, but the last time we got it at the supermarket, we ended up returning it 5 minutes after we bought it because it smelled so bad. Nope, we didn't have a fish guy. Solution? Ask your meat guy who he gets fish from. Bingo! A little advice from our friendly butcher and we walked away from the market with 3 beautiful talapia fillets. When we got home, I started working on my marking, and promptly forgot all about them, until I started smelling something delicious. Oh my, yes. He had made healthy fish and chips: the talapia was seared briefly on each side and went into an oven with shallots and broth, the chips were actually pan-roasted potato wedges and to add a little green and some extra nutrition, some asparagus, Ontario's finest. Needless to say, that after this awesome fish experience, I won't need to feel like I'm missing out every time I skip over the fish and chips.



Talapia and pan-roasted veggies

a bunch of asparagus, trimmed
a few new potatoes cut into quarters
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper
1 small clove of garlic cut into thin slices

a large talapia fillet
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of broth or water
1 small shallot diced

1. Boil your potatoes and blanch your asparagus until desired tenderness. Set aside. Pre-heat your oven to 350.

2. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a stainless steel pan and heat it up until is just starts to smoke.

3. Season the talapia on both sides with salt and pepper and place in the not pan. Sear for about 30 seconds to a minute on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside.

4. With the heat turned down to medium, add the shallots and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the broth and bring up to a simmer. Put the fish back in pop it into the oven for 10ish minutes or until the broth has reduced a bit and the fish is nice and flaky. Remove the fish onto your serving plate (there will be extra sauce! :)

5. Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the same pan. Add your potatoes, asparagus, garlic, salt and pepper. Saute for a few minutes or until the veggies get a bit of golden-ness on the outside. Serve with the fish and forget about deep-fried batter!