Last night I made a tasty, healthy meal in 20 minutes: Couscous, Herbed Roasted Asparagus and Mango Teriyaki Fish with Cucumber and Fresh Herb Salsa.  Okay, I’m not including marinading the fish or pre-heating the oven, but actually making and cooking the meal only took 20 minutes, I swear.

Take some fish, whatever kind you like, and marinade it for an hour or two.  You can use your favorite marinade; I used this Mango Teriyaki flavor that I got from the seafood aisle at Whole Foods.

Assuming that your oven is pre-heated to 350, put the fish in the oven.

Next, coat the asparagus with olive oil and put in on a cookie sheet.   A little goes a long way and actually I used olive oil spray.   Sprinkle some herbs on there–whatever you’ve got, fresh or dried.  I used thyme, basil and rosemary.   Add a little salt as well.  Put the asparagus in the oven with the fish.

Cook the couscous according to the package directions.  I always keep couscous in the house because it is so easy and fast to make; tonight I had curry flavor on hand.  If you feel like it, throw in some golden raisins and peas or carrots.

Once the couscous is off the fire, start making the Cucumber and Fresh Herb Salsa.  It’s this salsa that makes an ordinary meal something special.  Combine the following ingredients in a bowl:

1 seedless cucumber (or seed it yourself) diced into small cubes

2 teaspoons each chopped cilantro, parsley, dill and chives

1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)

the juice of 1 lime

By now it’s been about 20 minutes and the fish and asparagus should be done.  Upon servings, top each piece of fish with the salsa.

And there it is: a healthy, tasty quick meal.   No excuses, no regrets (except for stinky asparagus pee).  That was faster than a drive-thru burger joint!

In honor of National Pancake Day yesterday, I decided to forgo the free pancakes at IHOP and instead make pancakes for my family at home.   More specifically, I decided to make crepes.   The fact that I have never made crepes before didn’t stop me one bit; I knew that I could find a recipe online and that I probably already had the ingredients at home.   I used a basic recipe from WikiHow, but I added more milk, maybe as much as a cup more.   The batter has to be thin.   If it’s too thick, like pancake batter, add some more milk.   A YouTube video by Foodwishes.com was also very helpful in helping me learn how to work the crepe batter in the pan.   It was a little tricky at first, pouring just the right amount of batter and knowing when to flip the crepe, but by the third crepe I had it down (and I ate the first two “bad crepes”).

Now that I know that crepes are so easy, I’ll be making them all the time!

*Update April 24, 2010: I made crepes today and used organic stone ground whole wheat flour.  They were really good and more filling than they were before, and of course, healthier.

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

……churros.  Usually a treat that you only get at a fair, right?  Well, they are surprisingly easy to make at home.  A few years ago I discovered this recipe in Martha Stewart Living magazine and made it one Christmas for my family and they loved it.   No, churros aren’t a traditional holiday treat, but they are so yummy when paired with hot chocolate and a roaring fire on a cold winter night.

Most of the ingredients you probably have on hand already in your pantry, but you might not have the tools.  Be sure to get a pastry bag with a large star tip and a deep-fry thermometer before you begin.

CHURROS

(a recipe by Martha Stewart Living)

Ingredients

Makes 20

• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 5 to 6 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

1. Stir together cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl; set aside. Bring milk, butter, and salt to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, and cook, stirring, until mixture forms a ball and pulls away from sides of pan, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, and let cool 3 minutes. Add eggs, and stir until batter is smooth. Spoon mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large open-star tip (such as an Ateco #828).
2. Heat 4 to 5 inches oil in a large Dutch oven until it registers 330 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Holding pastry bag a few inches above the oil, squeeze out batter, snipping off 4-inch lengths with a knife or kitchen shears. Fry 6 to 8 churros at a time, turning once, until deep golden brown all over, about 5 minutes; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.

Photo credit: Martha Stewart Living

Martha, of course, eats her churros with homemade hot chocolate, but I have found that both Ghirardelli Premium Hot Cocoa and Williams-Sonoma Hot Chocolate are delicious and rich.  I have the Williams-Sonoma Hot Chocolate Pot and now making hot chocolate is a breeze; you just pour the milk in the pot (no water! sacrilege!), heat it in the microwave, add the chocolate, insert the wand and “froth to perfection” as they say in the directions.  Then I top it with marshmallows and whipped cream.  A dusting of cinnamon or a cinnamon stick adds a little spice and decorative flair.  Enjoy!

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The 12 Days of Christmas by Funkidivagirl

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me….the words to the song.

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….Christmas cards.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….Chili Dawg.

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…..a Christmas vacation.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…..Santa Claus.

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

…..Red Velvet Cake.

(Side note: I hope that you realize that I am using “my true love gave to me” because of the song; through these posts I am showing you what I love about Christmas.  My true love can’t cook at all and certainly can’t make a Red Velvet Cake to save his life.   I just wanted to make that clear.  Carry on.)

Photo credit: foodnetwork.com

Yum!  I love Red Velvet Cake!  I grew up eating Red Velvet Cake during the holidays because my family is from The South, but I was surprised to learn that not everyone in The North where I grew up has had that delicious pleasure.  Now I think it is more popular everywhere, due in part I’m sure to celebrity chefs like Paula Deen.  Here in Atlanta where I currently live Red Velvet Cake is so popular that you can buy it anytime of the year in the local supermarket.   To be sure my family does eat our share of Red Velvet Cake and cupcakes throughout the year (our review was posted in the summer), but to me it is still a holiday cake.   We are blessed to have great southern bakeries near us that make fantastic cakes, but still none is as good as my Aunt Vernelda’s recipe.   I don’t know why, but the baking gene in my family skipped my mother, although she’s a good cook.  My grandmother and all my aunts are good bakers, but the family knows that any cake at my mother’s house is going to come from a box or the grocery store.    Maybe it is because of my Betty Crocker childhood that I took an interest in baking as an adult and enjoy making cakes from scratch.  Each Christmas I either make a Lemon Pound Cake (B. Smith’s recipe), my friend Cheryl’s Secret Almond Pound Cake or my Aunt’s Red Velvet Cake.

If you try to make this recipe, don’t let the cake get too dry; Red Velvet Cake has to be moist to be good.  The crunchy pseudo-hippy in me cringes at the red food coloring in this recipe.  If you have an alternative way to use a natural ingredient to make the cake red without altering the flavor, please let me know

RED VELVET CAKE

Cake Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 bottle red food coloring

Icing Ingredients:

1 box powered sugar

1 stick of butter at room temperature

1 stick of cream cheese at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for cake batter: Beat eggs and add sugar.  Beat again.  Alternate milk, flour and oil, beating in between.  Add baking soda, cocoa, vinegar and food coloring.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Insert a toothpick to see if it’s done (it should come out clean).  Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

Directions for icing: Beat butter, add sugar, add vanilla and cream cheese.  Spread on a cool cake.

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The 12 Days of Christmas by Funkidivagirl

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me….the words to the song.

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….Christmas cards.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….Chili Dawg.

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…..a Christmas vacation.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…..Santa Claus.

Happy Thanksgiving!  While writing this blog post I am on the road with my family for a few hours; we are going to have Thanksgiving dinner with my father’s side of the family.  I’m looking forward to it because I haven’t seen most of them in a long time.  And also I don’t have to cook…I’m all for that!  Christmas is my holiday, so usually we spend Thanksgiving at someone else’s house where I might be responsible for cooking macaroni and cheese (my specialty), but that’s about it.  I think that I’ve made a turkey once or twice in my life so far.

So, I’m sort of out of my element when it comes to Thanksgiving food and none is more apparent than making a Thanksgiving pie.  I’m a very good cake baker, but Key Lime Pie is about the extent of my pie making.  That is, until last year when I got invited to Danica Kombol’s house, my husband’s business partner, for her annual Thanksgiving Pie Making Party.   Danica is a master pie maker and right before Thanksgiving she opens up her kitchen to friends.  Among laughter, stories and tons of flour, many pies are made by the skillful and novice alike.  Some friends just come for the friendship, mimosas and delicious lunch spread, but most make pies.  This year I didn’t make one because my family was traveling, but last year Danica taught me how to make an apple pie; my family was really impressed.

Me in 2008 holding the apple pie that I made.

Still, I had a good time this year taking photos, chatting with everyone and watching the pies being made.  This year apple, pumpkin and chocolate cream pie were made.

The table is ready.

Danica making pie dough.

Christine Eisner making an apple pie.

Paula Schwed; another master pie maker.

Somehow Danica manages to prepare for guests, cook lunch, make her own pies and also teach those less skilled.  Here’s a video I shot of her showing us how to roll out pie dough.

I hope that you have a very Happy Thanksgiving and lots of pie!