Summer Eats: Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Cherry Salsa

I recently joined my neighborhood CSA, meaning I bought a "share" of a local farm and in return, get fresh fruits and veggies! It makes me feel very earthy and very grown up. 

When I returned from Indiana last week, Walter's cat-sitter Katie left me a gift in the refrigerator - a carton of fresh bing cherries. Then, when I picked up my CSA share on Tuesday, I was faced with yet another carton of fresh cherries. With all these cherries on my hands, I was forced to get creative (and by "get creative", I mean "google" cherry recipes).

The blog Iowa Girl Eats turned up a winner. But instead of chicken, I decided to adapt the recipe a bit and use fish, as I was craving some of those good-for-you omega-3's!

But enough about fish, let's talk bing cherries. 

Rumor has it that this cherry variety was named after the Chinese foreman Ah Bing who lived and worked on the Lewelling family fruit orchards in Oregon for 35 years in the late 1800's. Besides being sinfully sweet, bing cherries have amazing health benefits...

SUPER SNOOZIN' - Cherries are one of the few foods to contain melatonin, which helps regulate your sleep cycle.

BRAIN FEEDIN' - Eating cherries helps prevent memory loss and aids in overall brain health.

INFLAMMATION REDUCIN' - The antioxidants in cherries are famous for reducing inflammation, especially the inflammation linked to arthritis and gout.

CANCER FIGHTIN' - Cherries are packed with the flavonoid queritrin, which is considered one of the most potent anticancer agents. Queritrin helps your body fight off cancerous cells.

MIGRAINE ELIMINATIN' - The bioflavonoid compounds in cherries are known to eliminate migraine headaches by working in a way similar to aspirin or ibuprofen (which is ironic because I had a migraine the night I made this dish and woke up completely cured!).

Now let's get to the good part, the fresh cherry salsa...

Just look at those juicy little buggers!

Score a handful of cherries into fourths. I used enough to top 2 fish filets...

...then remove the pits.

They should look like this when you're done.

The original recipe calls for a red onion, but I say use what you have. For 2 servings, dice half of a small onion and add to the cherries in a mixing bowl.

Add the juice of half a lemon.

Now add a handful of chopped fresh basil...

... along with 1 tsp. of honey and a dash of sea salt.

Pour in 1 tsp. of balsamic vinegar.

Mix well and chill in the fridge so the flavors can combine while you cook the fish!!

Now for the fish...

Drizzle a light coat of coconut oil (or oil of your choice) on the top side of the filets. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Heat 2-3 Tbs. of coconut oil (or other oil) on a grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mahi-mahi, skin side down. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes until cooked through. When you flip, the skin should peel off fairly easily. Add the juice of half a lemon for extra flavor. Allow the fish to cool for 5 minutes before topping with the salsa.

Look at that colorful, nutrition-packed dinner!

I know we're done here, but what's one more picture? It was just so beautiful!!

This dish is perfect for a light summer dinner, and it's guaranteed to impress!

Recipe Time: Moroccan Chicken in the Kitchen!

 

Glory, hallelujah! My fiancé likes to cook. While I enjoy perusing the recipe boards on Pinterest, pinning delicious concoctions and pretending like I'm going to one day make them, Adam actually gets in the kitchen and makes the magic happen. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't enjoy cooking. I just recognize that he's more naturally inclined in the kitchen, and I don't mind letting him nurture his talent.

It's actually very gracious of me, don't you think?

 

So after receiving a lovely jar of Meyer lemon preserves from Long Meadow Ranch in St. Helena, California (aka. wine country), he decided to make me dinner last night, using a recipe for Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Meyer Lemons and Green Olives from Epicurious. I never say 'no' to Moroccan inspired food OR to a man who wants to cook me dinner.

And since recipes are sometimes hard to follow without pictures, he allowed me to photograph the affair so that your attempt at this would be a cinch. See? I'm good for something in the kitchen!

To prep, cut 2 medium white onions into slices 1/4 inch thick.

Thinly slice 2 garlic cloves.

Cut 16 pitted green olives in half (we went to the olive bar at our local market and bought the exact amount that we needed, but you can also find them canned).

Scrape the pulp from 8 pieces of preserved Meyer lemon (I enjoyed eating the pulp while taking pictures... so tasty).

Cut the remaining Meyer lemon rinds into very thin strips.

Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper (we only used 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves although the recipe calls for 4).

Heat 1-2 Tbs. of organic virgin coconut oil (thank you, Trader Joes!) in a large pot or skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. 

Now add the chicken and saute on both sides until golden brown - about 3 minutes on each side.

Like so. Now transfer the chicken to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep it warm.

Without cleaning the pot, reduce the heat to moderate and cook the onions and garlic, stirring frequently until softened but not browned - approximately 8-10 minutes.

Add 1/2 tsp. of turmeric and black pepper, stirring for 1 minute to coat.

Now add the lemon rinds...

the green olives...

1/2 cup organic chicken broth...

... and 1/4 cup dry white wine.

Return the chicken (and any juices that accumulated on the plate) to the pan.

Cover the pot or skillet and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through - about 12 minutes.

Serve sprinkled with fresh cilantro. This dish is excellent atop a bed of plain red quinoa and sauteed broccoli rabe. The juices from the skillet provide all the sauce you need for the quinoa and broccoli rabe, which by themselves take just minutes to make.

While a seriously awesome dinner on a Tuesday is all well and good, it's even more exciting when you understand that dinner's nutritional value. So here we go...

Coconut oil (which we've substituted for the suggested olive oil) - Coconut oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil, meaning it's much safer to cook with. Coconut oil is a great source of healthy, plant-based fats. It's been shown to regulate blood sugar, improve calcium and magnesium absorption in the body, boost the thyroid and help support the immune system.

Onion - Alliinase, the same enzyme in onions that makes you cry, actually assists in the formation of immune-building compounds! These compounds help protect you from the development of certain cancers by preventing tumors from obtaining a blood supply.

Garlic - Eating garlic seems to boost your body's natural supply of hydrogen sulfide, which acts as an antioxidant and appears to protect against various cancers, including breast, prostate and colon cancers.

Turmeric - Turmeric is a spice that you most often see in Indian curries. It has amazing anti-inflammatory properties. Curcumin, the active component of turmeric, can help reduce carcinogenic compounds that form when meats are barbecued, boiled or fried. It has also been shown to inhibit the growth of melanoma and slow the spread of breast cancer into the lungs.

Meyer Lemons - A Meyer lemon is a citrus hybrid - the combination of a lemon and a mandarin. Meyer lemons are packed with vitamin C (which boosts your immune system) and antioxidants (which help protect you from heart disease, cancer and even aging)! They're also great for detox!

Green olives - The monounsaturated fats in green olives help regulate bad cholesterol, while also protecting the outer membranes of your cells. Also, the vitamin E and flavonoids in green olives help your body fight cancer-causing free radicals.

Cilantro - Cilantro is packed with phytochemicals, plant-based nutrients that help the body fight disease and aging. 

So there you have it! A delicious dinner with lots of added nutritional perks!

Can I get an 'Amen'?

Saturday Splurge: Miriam (Brooklyn, NY)

I'm lucky enough to live one block from Miriam. I'm not exaggerating - one block - that's it! It takes me half a minute to get there, which means I get a jump on all the best tables. For girl's night this week, Arionna (of Harlem Food Local) and I decided to set up camp at the huge communal table at the front of the restaurant. This is the best spot in the house because you get to people watch while you dine. And let me tell you, Park Slope's got some very, very interesting characters. 

It was Ari's first time to the restaurant. Truth be told, I always get a little nervous introducing Ari to a new restaurant. For one thing, she's one of the best cooks north of the Mason-Dixon line. But that's not all... Ari is also very particular about where her food comes from, what the labor conditions were like, etc. I admire her dedication, but it's taken me years to get on the same page. She has incredible patience, clearly. 

I'm pretty sure Ari loved Miriam from the moment she sat down. Miriam is an Israeli restaurant, offering generous main courses, meze (small dishes for sharing) and a wonderful selection of wine. The atmosphere is a huge part of the appeal. It's dark, but warmly lit with small lanterns. It has large wooden tables, brick walls and a glass front so that you can enjoy the hustle and bustle of Fifth Avenue in Park Slope. Oh, and the servers are always very attentive. That counts for something in my book!

Ari and I decided to share a few meze (4 meze for $12) and a salad. If you can make it there before happy hour ends at 7 pm, they even have 2-for-1 meze. As it stood, our bill was still only $21 for dinner. Now that's a dinner my wallet can get behind!

The pictures never do the food justice (especially at night), but I can't NOT show you our spread! It was too good...

We started with the falafel with green tahini sauce...

Then onto the merges, a spicy Moroccan sausage with green tahini sauce...

Next up, the burekas, a flaky pastry stuffed with roasted peppers, eggplant, basil and feta cheese with a skordalia dipping sauce...

And finally, the kadayif wrapped shrimp with harissa aioli...

I meant to order my favorite, the goat cheese salad, but had a major brain fart and ordered the Mediterranean salad accidentally. Not to worry though, it was excellent too! Just look at that beautiful piece of art on a plate!

Miriam is one of my go-to spots in Park Slope. It offers something offbeat for the palate. The food is always fresh and the flavors are always colorful and satisfying. I highly recommend an intimate dinner at Miriam or an early weekend brunch. And by 'early', I mean early. They are one of the few places in Park Slope with a hungry mob congregating outside on Saturday and Sunday. That's how you know it's good!

MIRIAM
79 Fifth Avenue (at Prospect Place)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718.622.2250