Pan-seared quail with kale, tomatoes, and "faux-tatoes"

I'm back on my low, or "selective" carb regimen.  That sure doesn't mean boring.  For me, it means no bread or pasta, no sugar.  I realize that I am still consuming carbohydrates in my vegetables, but I don't worry about that.  

Tonight's menu is a wonderful and easy-to-prepare dish.

First item:  slice tomato with drizzled lemon olive oil, small dollops of goat cheese, and fresh Italian parsley 

 Next:  Sauteed Kale and onions

To prepare:

wash a large bunch of curly kale

remove thick, woody stems and coarsely chop

Slice one medium onion into coarse segments

Heat nonstick pan or wok medium-high

Place 1-2 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil and allow to heat until oil is shimmering

Add onions and cook until transparent.

Season with 1 teaspoon tumeric, a pinch of herbs de provence (optional)

Add Kale and continue sauteing until the kale wilts and becomes deep green in color.

Remove from heat and keep warm until ready to serve.

 Pan-seared quail
Ingredients:
4 partially de-boned quail
1 tsp molasses
2-3 tablespoons red wine
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

dry rub of choice (I used the ever-present curry rub)

In a shallow bowl mix the molasses, wine, and balsamic vinegar together.
One and a time, immerse quail in liquid, then dust with dry rub and place on a flat surface until ready to cook.
Heat a pan to medium high and add 2-3 tablespoons grapeseed oil.  Be sure that pan and oil are quite warm before adding the quail.
Quickly add the quail to the pan, cooking 2 or 3 minutes per side.  Don't touch the birds until ready to turn.  Turn and cook 2-3 minutes on the opposite side.
You may want to add a bit more red wine to add moisture.
Remove from pan and serve.

Delicious and really easy!

Enjoy!

The Fastest Dish in the West (or wherever!): seared ahi tuna

serve it rare!

Oh!  How I love seared Ahi tuna!  It is so good and there is simply nothing faster to prepare.

I forgot to take photos of my prep work (sorry).

Here are the basic ingredients

1-2 fresh, wild-caught ahi tuna steaks

olive or grapeseed oil

dry rub of choice (I used a lemon rub, then topped with coarsely ground black pepper)

To prepare:  bring the tuna close to room temperature prior to cooking.  Rub the tuna with a small amount of olive or grapeseed oil, then coat with dry rub and pepper.

Heat pan to medium high.  Add grapeseed oil once pan is very warm.  Heat oil until shimmering in pan.

Place ahi tuna in pan and cook for approximately 1-2 minutes per side.  Don't over cook (remember the tuna will continue to cook a bit after it has been removed from the pan).

Remove from pan onto a cutting surface.  Cut against the grain of the fish into 1/4 inch strips and move to serving platter.

Serve with ponzu, soy, and wasabi to taste.

tuna steaks just before turning.

Note that there is just barely any cooked layer?  

That is how you want it!

Steaks prior to slicing

sliced tuna served with ponzu sauce and roasted vegetables.

Yum!

Look at these critters!

Don't they look like some sort of sea life?

They are the roots of baby onions.

I sauteed them until they were golden brown. 

Rumor has it that they are really good as a topping for salad or other things.

Stay tuned to see what I do with them, and whether they are actually good to eat!  They smelled great

while they were cooking!

Lemon Spice-crusted salmon with savory Dino Kale

Ingredients:

Salmon filets, preferably wild-caught, separated into 4-6 oz servings

dry curry rub

thin slices of Meyer (or other) lemon

thin pat butter, one per salmon serving

For Kale:

2 bunches Kale, washed and cut into large pieces, 

one Poblano chili, chopped into segments

one bunch of baby shallots or one or 2 shallot bulbs, sliced

2 pieces of pre-cooked bacon (optional)

juice of one-half lemon

pumpkin seeds (approximately 1/4 cup) or to preference

salt and pepper to taste

1-2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Dust curry rub over salmon filets and place in pan.  Place butter pat in center of each filet, then cover butter with one slice of lemon.

Place salmon in oven for approximately 15 minutes.  Do not overcook!

Once salmon is in the oven, heat a non-stick wok or large skillet over stove.  

Add 2 Tblsp oil and heat until oil "shimmers" in the pan.  

Add poblano segments and sautee until lightly browned on edges.

then, add shallots and continue to saute

next, add the kale

begin to turn kale and other ingredients over in the pan.

Kale will begin to deepen in color and look "wilted".

Cook until kale appears tender

Add lemon juice and continue turning in pan

add sliced pieces of bacon

I added raw pumpkin seeds that were previously toasted lightly for additional flavor and texture

yum!

This is a very healthy, delicious meal!

As you can see, it is a people-pleaser, at least in the Jenison household!

Dessert:  mixed berries

Enjoy!  

This meal is very simple and quick to prepare. 

The Nelson Sisters demonstrate how to cook salsa!

Please take a moment to enjoy this delightful cooking demonstration by two young friends of mine, Sage and Natalie Nelson.  This cooking video was shot and edited by their brother, Noel.  I see a future gig on the Food Network in their future!
How to make Salsa

Colorful Mexican treats

Here are some images taken just before departing the Cancun airport.  I love the colorful array of items!

What could be more appetizing than the aroma of a huge, beautiful batch of seafood paella being prepared on a beautiful beach?  I had the experience of watching a hotel chef prepare this dish recently while on a trip to Mexico, near Tulum.
I have always been attracted to the beautiful paella pans in culinary stores.  After watching how fun it was to prepare this dish it seems like a perfect thing to prepare for a large group of people.  Everyone seems to love it!
I am sharing a recipe that is very close to how the hotel chef prepared this dish.  The recipe below is from Bon Appetite, February, 2000, and was found online at epicurious.com.  Please enjoy:

see all paella recipes on epicurious.com

Seafood Paella

Bon Appétit  | February 2000

Tio Pepe, Baltimore, MD

• recipe
• reviews (108)
• video
• my notes

user rating

89% would make it again

user rating:
Seafood Paella3½ forks

at a glance

main ingredientsMussel,  Vegetable, Chicken,  Shrimp, Squid,  Fish,  Rice, Poultry,  Clam, Shellfish

cuisineSpanish/Portuguese

more resources

food dictionarycooking videos

yield: 6 to 8 servings

"I go to Spain frequently, and I've tried many kinds of paella there," says Bruce Cummings of Baltimore, Maryland. "Recently, though, I... more ›

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ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 5 bacon slices, chopped

• 1 3 1/2-pound whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces

• 2 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups long-grain white rice
• 1 7-ounce jar roasted sliced pimientos with juice
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron threads
• 2 cups bottled clam juice
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth

• 1 pound large uncooked shrimp, peeled, deveined
• 1 pound cleaned squid, bodies cut into 1/2-inch rings
• 1 dozen clams, scrubbed
• 1 dozen mussels, scrubbed, debearded
• 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

• Lemon wedges

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preparation

Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until fat is rendered, about 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels and drain. Set aside.

Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add chicken to bacon drippings in pot and cook over medium heat until brown, about 7 minutes per side. Using tongs, remove chicken from pot.

Add chopped onions and garlic to pot and saut
 until beginning to brown, scraping up any browned bits, about 10 minutes. Stir in rice, roasted pimientos with juices and saffron. Add clam juice and chicken stock to pot and bring mixture to simmer. Remove from heat.

Pour rice mixture into 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange chicken, shrimp, squid, clams and mussels in rice mixture. Sprinkle with chopped bacon and peas. Cover with foil.

Bake paella until chicken is cooked through, clams and mussels open and rice is tender, about 45 minutes (discard any clams and mussels that do not open). Remove foil from baking dish. Let paella stand 10 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Seafood-Paella-102991#ixzz1FC99Cc9r

Kimmie's Coffee Cup in Orange, CA

Kimmie's Coffee Cup in Old Towne Orange, 190 S. Glassell, Street  714-288-2899; they also have a restaurants in Fullerton and Brea.  This was our first visit for breakfast and it was fabulous.  Charming atmosphere, really great service - everyone was friendly!  And the best omelet that I've ever had.

They serve great coffee in a large mug, offer flavored cream, as well as, half n'half.

Asparagus, spinach and feta cheese omelet was the BEST!  I love their selection of ingredients for their custom made omelets!  They offered a fruit bowl instead of potatoes!  I think they had about 6 choices for bread/toast and they have biscuits, but I'll have to have those the next time we go.

My sweetie had their country sausage, eggs and hash browns breakfast and he said it was delicious.  Definitely coming back here!