Tilapia with Spinach and Faux-Risotto

I really love the way a well made risotto compliments a meal, but it's a bit too much carbs for me.  I'm not a huge fan of carbs because they're my weakness!  I'd rather stay away because one small portion of white rice will turn into eating an entire pot!  I can't control it!  I was so happy to stubble across this recipe while at a friends house.  We wanted to make mashed "faux-tatoes" and didn't have a food processor so we used a potato masher instead.  The result was somewhat like risotto.  I quickly took note of what we used and decided I needed to share with all of you.  So here goes... Tilapia with Spinach and Faux-Risotto

 1 Head Cauliflower
2 or more Cloves Garlic
1 tsp Butter
1 Cup Finely shredded Parmesan Cheese
2 Tilapia Filets
About 1/2 Cup Flour
Juice from 1 Lemon
6 oz Spinach
Salt and Pepper to taste

Remove the greens from the cauliflower and cut into 1 inch slices

Arrange on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Let roast in a 400 degree oven until it starts to turn brown on the bottom.  Flip each piece and roast again until both sides are browned and can be easily pierced with a fork. 

Add a tsp of butter to a pan and cook the garlic slightly until it starts to turn brown. 

Add the cauliflower and garlic to a bowl and mash until you have your desired consistency.  Add about half of the cheese to the cauliflower and transfer to a pie pan.

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top and place back in the oven at 300 degrees until ready to serve.  

I'm not sure what happened to the pictures of me cooking the fish and the spinach.  Add the lemon juice to a plate or pie dish, add the flour to a separate dish and season with salt and pepper.  Dip the tilapia in the lemon juice and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Next, dip the fish into the flour and coat evenly.  Heat about two tsps of oil in a pan and add the tilapia.  Cook on one side until slightly browned and then flip.  Cook again until the fish easily flakes with a fork. 

Transfer to a plate and heat two more tsps of oil in the pan.  Add a chopped clove of garlic to the oil and brown lightly.  Add a few handfuls of spinach and toss in the oil to coat, once it has wilted add it to a plate and top with a piece of tilapia.  Remove the Faux-Risotto from the oven and spoon onto the plate. 

For extra lemony flavor add a touch of garlic lemon dressing. 

Crush a clove of garlic with a pinch of salt.  Add the juice of one lemon and drizzle over everything!

The Husband and I loved EVERYTHING about this dish!  I hope you do too!

Farmers Market Feast - Portabella Mushrooms

Every Sunday the Husband and I got to a local Farmers Market to get fresh produce for the week.  Our favorite is the Hunterdon Land Trust in Flemington. We love the fact that these products are grown locally and we can talk to the farmers to find out about their practices for growing their products.  I know many of you may stay away from Farmers Markets because of the price which is why I wanted to create this post.  I went to the market with $25 in hand, ready to feed 4 people.  The only thing I used from my own kitchen was Salt, Pepper and Olive Oil.  I will say, you could probably make the same meal for less from your neighborhood grocery store, but do you REALLY know what goes into everything you're eating?  How many hands and vehicles it's been through to get to you?  Give your local market a try this weekend.  You may be surprised what you find!

$25 got me:

1 bunch Garlic Scape (the farmer gave me some background before I bought it - it's like "garlic flavored scallions")

3 Tomatoes

1 bunch Basil

1/2 lb Mozzarella

4 Portabella Mushrooms

1 Loaf Cheese Ciabatta bread

I spread 1 Tbsp olive oil on the bottom of a casserole dish and added the mushrooms.  I drizzled another Tbsp of oil on top with some salt and pepper.  I then put everything into the oven at 350 while I prepared the sauce.

I removed the skins on the tomatoes by cutting a X into the bottoms...

Adding them to a pot of boiling water for a few minutes until the skin starts to crack...

And then adding them to ice water to finish the job.

I then peeled the skins off

And cut the cores out where the stem was. 

I added 2 tomatoes, 15 leaves of basil, 1 garlic scape, a slice of cheese (about 2 inches of the end) and salt and pepper to the blender.  I pureed until smooth

I then diced the remaining tomato and squeezed it into the sauce to make it slightly chunky. 

By this time the mushrooms were ready so I pulled them out of the oven.

Added a slice of cheese to each.

And coverd them in sauce. 

I popped everything back in the oven until the cheese melted... I also cut the bread in half and tossed it in the oven for a few minutes to warm up!

I still have a whole bunch of garlic scape and basil left along with half of the bread and about a quarter of the cheese. 

I also had about half of the sauce left over.  It made a great dip for the rest of the bread!

This was a great meal!  For a few extra bucks I would have liked to add some salad greens.  I could have used some of the garlic scape and basil to create a homemade dressing. 

There you have it, a meal for 4 for $25 plus leftovers to use during the week!  If you're worried about not using your produce before it goes bad, I'd share with a friend.  That way you'd both get what you need, for less with no waste!  Farmers Markets are a great place to spend a Saturday or Sunday morning!
There's fun music, great food finds like (local honey and aged cheeses) and great people to talk to.  Bring your dog too, they'll love it!  Ours does!

Lemon Basil Salmon Burgers

I'm in the mood for a burger!  The weather has been so gross out lately so on that days that it's actually dry outside I want to stay out there as long as possible.  I decided to make a light refreshing salmon burger with few ingredients and thought that lemon and basil would be the best combo.
Here's what I started out with:

Ingredients:
About 2lbs Salmon
Juice from 1/2 Lemon
1 Egg
2 Cloves Garlic
1/2 Cup chopped Basil

Cube the salmon and add everything to a blender or food processor.  Blend it until everything is uniform.  Don't forget to add salt and pepper!

Once it's finished blending, wrap it in plastic and put it in the fridge until you're ready to grill.

When you're ready to eat, form the salmon into patties and prepare the grill by spraying it with non-stick spray meant for the grill.  Make sure the grill is nice and hot!

Grill the burgers on each side for a few minutes.  Your burgers may be fatter or thinner so make sure to check one inside to make sure they're done.  I ate mine over a simple salad with avocado, but the husband had his on a kaiser roll with mustard.  These were great!  I need to make them again!!