thehonestglutton

Fish Saiyadieh

RECENTLY, I TRAVELED TO UNITED ARAB EMIRATES TO VISIT SOMEONE CLOSE TO MY HEART. UPON MY STAY THERE, I WAS INTRODUCED TO THIS DISH AND FELL IN LOVE WITH THE FLAVOR. I WAS CURIOUS AS TO HOW I SHOULD MAKE THIS SINCE MANY HOUSEHOLDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST HAVE THEIR OWN VARIATION. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND THIS IS THE DISH I CREATED. KEEP IN MIND THIS IS A HEAVY DISH. I WOULD RECOMMEND IT FOR COLDER MONTHS, BUT ONE COULD CERTAINLY EAT IT DURING THE HOT MONTHS AS WELL.

Servings: 2-4 (Depends on how much you can eat)
Ingredients:

• 9 Spice Mixture (Put spices below in a container and shake to combine)

1 tablespoon ground black pepper,

1 tablespoon ground allspice,

2 teaspoons smoked paprika,

1-1/2 teaspoons ground coriander,

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin,

1 teaspoon ground cloves,

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon,

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg,

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

(9 Spice Mixture recipe I found was made by MAROCMAMMA. Follow the link here if you wish to make her version of Fish Saiyadieh)

• 3 tilapia filets (Frozen or fresh is fine here. I used frozen since it was what I had on hand.)
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice
• 2 tsp. of minced garlic
• 2 tbls. of cumin
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1-2 large white, sweet or vidalia onions
• All-purpose flour for dusting
• 2-4 tbls. of olive oil (As needed)
• 1 cup of long grain rice (most Middle Eastern households use basmati rice)
• 1/4 cup of pine nuts (optional since these can be hard to find and can be expensive)
• 2.5 cups of water
• 2 tsp of 9 Spice Mixture

Directions:

1. Mix lemon juice, garlic and cumin together.
2. Place tilapia in a dish, container, ziploc bag and pour lemon juice mixture on top and let marinade for 2 hours. Flip filets in marinade as needed so they evenly coat the fish.
3. Salt and pepper filets to taste.
4. Cut tilapia filets in half.
5. Put a pan over heat. Make sure the pan is not too hot or olive oil will burn.
6. Add olive oil to pan to heat.
7. Dredge filets through the flour and place in pan to fry until fully cooked and set aside.
8. Slice onions.
9. Then, take a clean pan, add onions and some salt. Stir until onions are browned. For the technique I used please refer to this video I found on youtube on how to brown onions without oil.
10. Take water and add to a pot.
11. Salt water to taste.
12. Add 9 Spice Mixture to the water.
13. Add onions.
14. Flake 1 tilapia filet into the water.
15. Bring water to a boil.
16. Add rice and mix.
17. Then take the tilapia filets and put on top of the rice.
18. Cover and cook rice on low heat for 20 minutes.
19. Take pine nuts in a clean pan and gently toast them until fragrant.
20. Plate the desired amount that you want and top with pine nuts.

Simple Creamed Spinach with Hard Boiled Eggs

NAME SAYS IT ALL.  JUST SIMPLE.  PLAIN. AND. SIMPLE.

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. of frozen spinach
• 1 tsp. of olive oil
• 1 tbls. of butter
• 1/4 cup of whole milk
• 1 tsp. of minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tbls. of whipped cream cheese
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Fill a small pot of water so that the water completely covers the eggs.  Put the pot over a high flame until the water begins to boil and then reduce to low heat for the next 10 minutes.
2. After 10 minutes, turn heat off and set for another ten minutes.
3. While the eggs are sitting, put a pan over medium heat and add the oil.
4. Then add the garlic and let set in the oil for about 30 seconds so the flavors can mix into the oil.
5. Add spinach and salt to the pan.
6. Cook until spinach is no longer frozen.
7. Add butter and stir until dissolved into the spinach.
8. Add milk and cook until warmed and mixed thoroughly with the spinach.
9. Add the cream cheese and stir it through until evenly distributed.
10. Put in a bowl of your choice.
11. Next take the egg and drain out the hot water.
12. Gently crack the eggs all the way around their shells.
13. Place back into the pot and fill with water, allow the water to get between the cracks of the eggs.  This will ensure that the shells come off easily without destroying your egg so it will still look very pretty.
14. Place eggs on top of spinach and enjoy the flavors of hard boiled eggs mixed with spinach in each bite!

Simple Greens and Baked Chicken Thigh

WHEN I CREATED THIS DISH, IT WAS BY SHEER LUCK AND ACCIDENT. I BAKED THIS DISH FOR 45 MINUTES, THEN KILLED THE HEAT AND TOOK IT OUT OF THE OVEN. I RAN TO THE BUS STOP TO GRAB MY KIDS. I CAME HOME TO FIND THAT THE CHICKEN WAS NICE AND JUICY AND THE LIQUIDS RAN CLEAR. HALF THE KALE WAS COOKED WELL AND FILLED WITH JUICES OF THE CHICKEN WHILE THE OTHER HALF OF THE KALE RESEMBLED THAT OF LIGHTLY SALTED KALE CHIPS. I LOVED THE TEXTURE AND FLAVORS OF THIS DISH, SO IT WAS A NO BRAINER THAT I WOULD SHARE IT WITH EVERYONE. I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY IT!

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken thigh
• kale (For this recipe I used 3 hearty stalks, but you could certainly use more.)
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400° F.
2. Wash kale thoroughly. Then pull the leaves off the stem and place in a baking dish. Chop up the stems and throw them in too. Do not worry about drying the leaves off, the water on them is preferred.
3. Wash chicken in cold running water. Dry the chicken.
4. Salt the greens to taste then salt the chicken to taste.
5. Place chicken on top of the greens.
6. Place a lid over the dish.
7. Place in the oven for about 30-45 minutes. (I decided to do 45 minutes because my chicken thigh was rather large.
8. Remove from the oven and keep the lid on the dish for roughly 10-15 minutes to cool.

Toast with Mashed Avocado Spread and English Style Scrambled Eggs

I CREATED THIS DISH BECAUSE…WELL…QUITE FRANKLY I WANTED SOMETHING HIGH IN CARBS FOR BREAKFAST…THE CARB MONSTER WAS GNAWING AT MY SOUL…SO I GAVE IN.  AT LEAST IT WAS THE GOOD STUFF AND NOT JUNK FOOD…AND KINDA CHEAP TO MAKE TOO!

Please note:  Watch this tutorial on youtube on how to make a creamy scrambled egg before attempting to make this dish.  Jamie Oliver does a wonderful job at teaching a great foolproof method of making scrambled eggs 3 ways.  I prefer the English or American way for this recipe, the French method is too runny.

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 avocado
• 2 slices of toast
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder
• 1 tbls. of olive oil
• 1 tsp. of butter at room temperature

Directions:

1. Toast the bread of  your choice until golden brown, slather with 1/2 tsp. of butter on each piece of toast.
2. Place avocados in a bowl.  Mush avocado with a fork until it resembles the texture of guacamole.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper, mix well.
3. Put olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat until it can move easily around the pan.
4. Reduce the heat to about medium or medium low.
5. You can either whisk the eggs per Jamie Oliver’s method before putting the eggs in the pan or just add the eggs directly to the pan with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
6. Break the yolks and gently begin to scramble until the eggs are mostly firm but a little juicy, not runny, again see the tutorial linked for the English method.
7. Slather the avocado on the bread and then top with the egg.

Enjoy!

Breakfast Salad

SOOOOOO…DID I MENTION I LIKE SALADS?  THIS MORNING I WAS CRAVING SALAD BUT ALSO EGGS…THUS…THIS CREATION WAS BORN!!!!!!!!!  MY BREAKFAST SALAD!  CAN BE MADE FOR DINNER TOO…. TEEHEE.

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 30 grams of arugula (I suggest not using spinach because it will wilt under the heat of the sausage in this dish.  Kale would be a good substitute here too since it can handle the heat well)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 lb. of pork sausage (You could use another sausage of your choice as well, just make sure it’s a bulk sausage, not the kind in the casing)
• 1/2 avocado (You can use a whole avocado if you wish)
• 1 sliced green onion
• 1 tbsp. of Cholula

Directions:

1. Take your greens of choice and make sure it is cleaned and dried thoroughly. Place in the bowl.
2. Place sausage in a pan over medium to medium-high heat.  DO NOT USE OIL HERE UNLESS YOU ARE USING A LEAN SAUSAGE.  I chose a fatty pork sausage for flavor.
3. Cook the sausage until it is browned or golden brown.  I sometimes like to cook until golden brown because it provides a bit of crunch.
4. Once cooked, place on top of the salad.  It’s okay if a little bit of oil gets in from the sausage, this will provide a bit of flavor to the greens.
5. Next, cook an egg sunny side up in the left over fat in the pan.  If you used a lean sausage, there may not be much oil in the pan.  If this is the case, use a tsp of oil so the egg will not stick to the pan.  If you are new to cooking an egg sunny side up, here is a quick 1 minute tutorial I found on youtube.
6. Place the egg  on top of the sausage.
7. Next, slice up the avocado and place on the arugula.
8. Slice a green onion and sprinkle on top.
9. Next, drizzle the Cholula on top.  If you cannot find this, any hot sauce of your choice is fine, just this one has a mild, red pepper flavor and not too much of a vinegar flavor like many other hot sauces.

NOM NOM NOM NOM!

Asian Inspired Veggie and Egg Soup

SO THIS DISH WAS CREATED BECAUSE I REALLY ENJOY ASIAN CUISINE, HOWEVER I REALLY DO WANT SOMETHING THAT IS HEALTHY, NOT SO HEAVY ON CARBS OR CALORIES.  IT ALSO IS A GOOD WAY FOR ME TO USE UP MY BONE BROTH.  WASTE NOT WANT NOT!

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of broth (I used beef bone broth for this recipes)
• 1/2 cup of kimchi
• 1/2 cup of cabbage (I used just a regular green cabbage from the store)
• 1 stalk of green onion
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. of toasted sesame seeds
• 1 cup frozen cabbage and carrots mixed
• 1 tbls. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Steam vegetables until they are tender, not mushy, but tender.  They should still have a bite to them.  Either steam using your microwave frozen vegetable setting or do so in a pot that has a bit of water in it.  I recommend steaming in a pot.
2. Mix broth, soy sauce and lemon juice in a pot and cook until hot.
3. Once broth is hot, crack open the egg and gently poach it in the broth until the egg white has cooked over the yolk.  Cook the egg until the white of the egg is cooked, but make sure the yolk has not been cooked all the way through, the yolk should still be runny.
4. Once the egg has been poached, transfer steamed veggies to a bowl and pour the broth gently over the veggies and place the egg on top of the veggies.
5. Slice up some raw cabbage and place it on top.  You could use already shredded cabbage for this too, but the texture will not be the same.  I really like a chunky slice for the texture.
6. Take the kimichi, slice it and place on top of the soup.
7. Slice up the green onion and sprinkle on top.
8. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds on top.