Scones

Valentine's Day morning. I mixed up a batch of delicious Ginger Scones. Very flavorful and amazingly light and tender.

Microwaved Fish?

This was curious. Another recipe from Everyday Food. A very fast marinade for fish, which you allow to sit for 20 minutes, then a few minutes in the microwave. Done. I think most fish will work for the recipe. It calls for cod, I used halibut. Tilapia would be lovely. Most white fish would work. For the halibut fillets below, I cooked them for 3 minutes, 30 seconds. 3 minutes would have been enough. So for a fast, light dinner or lunch, give this one a try.



Steamed Cod with Ginger
from Everyday Food
Serves 4

4 scallions, white and green parts separated and sliced
2 TB minced, peeled fresh ginger
2 TB rice vinegar
2 TB vegetable oil
1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes
1 tsp sugar
Coarse salt
4 skinless cod fillets
Cooked rice, for serving (optional)

1. In a shallow 2 quart microwave-safe dish, stir together scallion whites, ginger, vinegar, oil, red-pepper flakes and sugar. Season with salt. Marinate cod in dish for 20 minutes, turning once.

2. Cover dish with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Let stand, covered, until fish is opaque throughout, 5 minutes. Top with scallion greens. Serve fish with rice if desired.

Spicy Nuts

Butter-check
Pecans-check

A sprinkle of this, a dash of that...

Ginger and Cardamom Spiced Pecans

2 cups pecans
3 TB butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp salt

Over medium heat in a large pan, cook the pecans with the butter for 4-6 minutes. You'll smell the nutty goodness of both the pecans and the natural nuttiness of toasted butter.

Mix the sugar, spice and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the nuts. Toss to coat. Cook for about 2 minutes. Remove and spread the nuts out on a baking sheet to cool.

Enjoy. Store in an airtight container.

Ginger Plus Curry

I was shopping on a whim the other day at Safeway. I've been skeptically eyeing this tube o' ginger for some time. So I finally picked it up. Same way as I feel about the jarred garlic, it's a viable substitute for the real deal, when in a pinch, or when you're just looking for a little bit of ginger flava. Not a bad thing to have on hand.

I've been trying to be a little more frugal at the store...of course after I spend a few bucks on tubed ginger right? Well, in the sense of buying a few items that can be spread out over multiple dinners. So, tonight I used up some leftover bits in the fridge (chicken from lemon chicken, coconut milk from spicy coconut shrimp, etc.) and made Chicken Coconut Curry again. Always a favorite. But tonight something was different. Served with Rice, versus potatoes. YUM.