simple cooking Archives

Simple Fish Tacos with Fresh Salsa

May 8, 2018May 8, 2018 Rachel Sherwood

These are a recent quick meal addition as I was testing out Red Palm Oil. I found I love to use it when making these simple Fish Tacos. The Red Palm oil gives the fish a vibrant color, additional health benefits and a subtle unique flavor. Top with fresh salsa and enjoy this simple healthy dish.

Simple Fish Tacos with Fresh Salsa

Fish:

2 Tablespoons Red Palm Oil or coconut oil

1 lb mahi mahi, cod, tilapia, halibut, or other white fish

Fish Marinade:

¼ teaspoon turmeric

2 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 Tablespoon)

1 Tablespoon lemon or lime juice (fresh)

2 teaspoon soy sauce or tamari

2 teaspoon honey

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Salsa:

2 medium tomatoes, diced

½ cup cilantro

2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

1-2 Tablespoon lemon or lime juice

1 small red onion, chopped (about ½ cup)

1½ teaspoon jalapeno pepper, minced, optional

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper to taste

Other:

4, 6in corn/flour tortillas

1/2 cup white Mexican or cheddar cheese, grated, optional

2 cups shaved romaine, or cabbage

½ avocado, sliced or diced, optional

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a small bowl combine all the fish marinating ingredients. Chop fish into ½ in cubes. Lightly stir to coat in sauce and allow to marinate at least 15 minutes but as long as overnight.

Chop and mix all ingredients for salsa in a bowl. Set aside. Prep remaining ingredients like grating cheese, chopping lettuce and slicing avocado.

Red Palm Oil has distinct health bennefits and a vibrate color

When ready to eat, heat sauté pan over medium heat add red palm oil. Remove fish from marinade discard any excess liquid. Sauté the fish in red palm oil until cooked through about 3 minutes. You may need to do this in 2 batches if your pan is smaller. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Warm tortillas if desired top with shredded lettuce/cabbage, fish, fresh salsa cheese and avocado if desired. Adjust salt, pepper and lime juice to taste. Serve hot.

Learn more about the health benefits of Red Palm Oil Here

Gluten Free Cauliflower Crust

August 4, 2016November 30, 2016 Rachel Sherwood

Recently, I had some private clients request options for low carb, gluten free alternatives to some of our common starchy sides like mashed potatoes, bread, muffins and pizza. This had me thinking of foods that can fulfill these requirements.

As a working mom, I still strive to eat well. I don’t mind taking time to cook but I certainly don’t have time for unnecessary steps. My goal is always to find the most efficient way to get the best results and best flavor. With all that in mind, I present to you my cauliflower crust.

No fuss, no pre-cooking, no squeezing extra liquid out nonsense. Just simple, delicious, gluten free, low carb cauliflower crust without the time intensive hassle. I have tested several recipes and methods and this is the winner. Try it out – let me know what you think and if you love it too.

The best part is that it can go far beyond just pizza. You can top this versatile crust with a variety of toppings or cut it into squares to use as bread for sandwiches like grilled cheese. Cut up smaller pieces to use like flat bread or crackers for dips and spreads. I can’t wait to hear what your favorite uses are. I truly hope you love this recipe as much as I do. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Crust

1 small head cauliflower, half of a large head (3 cups cauliflower rice)

2 eggs

½ cup cheese (Parmesan, mozzarella, Romano, or Italian blend)

1/2 teaspoon salt

¼-1/2 teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs optional

Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash and remove the core from the cauliflower. Cut cauliflower into roughly 1-inch pieces. Place pieces in a food processor and pulse or blend on low until cauliflower is resembles small pebbles or rice granules. It should not be pulverized or have large chunks in it.

In a mixing bowl, combine egg, cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and any additional seasonings if using. Add 3 cups of cauliflower rice mix well until evenly incorporated. Dump mixture onto the prepared baking sheet; press with your hand and shape into a pizza crust 1/8 inch thick to create a 14 in circle or square. The mixture will be slightly wet so don’t worry it will stick together. Get the crust as close to 1/8 in thick as possible too thick and it will be spongy, to thin and it will crack easy. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 18-20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let cool 10 minuets before peeling of parchment.

Top with your favorite pizza topping and bake for an additional 12-18 minutes. Be careful not to over top the pizza as the crust will hold together but it is still delicate. Or you can slice the crust into “bread pieces” and fill with cheese and toast in a pan for a delicious gluten free grilled cheese.

*Note: be sure to use parchment and do not allow any part of the cauliflower to touch the non lined pan or it will stick. There is also the option of toasting the other side of the crust after it is baked. Remove crust from oven, place another piece of parchment paper of top of the baked crust and carefully flip the crust over, removing the under parchment paper that was already baked on. Bake the crust for an additional 10 minutes for a slightly crispier crust.

All-Purpose Seasoning

July 1, 2016July 1, 2016 Rachel Sherwood

This all-purpose seasoning is wonderful just as is and simple to make it your own signature spice blend to fit any cuisine or taste. Perfect to season vegetables, chicken, pork, steak, even fish.

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon celery salt *
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon optional flavoring (turmeric, paprika, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, mace, thyme, sage, rosemary)

*If grinding your own celery seeds use ½ teaspoon fresh ground celery seeds and ½ teaspoons salt.

In a small bowl combine all ingredients, mix well and store in an airtight container.

Want more flavor? Try a combination and mix in another herb or spice:

(Rosemary and thyme)
(Rosemary and Sage)
(Cumin and Chili powder)
(Cumin and Coriander)
(Mace and Turmeric)

How to Love Vegetables

July 1, 2016August 25, 2016 Rachel Sherwood

Lately I have been testing new concepts to use with my Mommy Cooking Group. They had requested simple ways to make vegetables easy and delicious. So when I had my niece and nephew over I thought of them to be perfect test subjects.

It started with a simple taste test and ended with two kids begging me to let them take vegetables home. I wanted to keep it really simple. So what can be easier then cooking fresh or frozen vegetables with a simple all-purpose seasoning or covered with cheese sauce?

I had a variety of vegetable options to see if that made a difference. I covered some with shredded cheese because most people love things covered in cheese right? Well to my surprise both kids would not touch the cheesy ones and they were literally fighting over the ones cooked in butter with the all-purpose seasoning.

(The taste test, a variety of vegetables cooked in butter with all-purpose seasoning and creamy cheese sauce)

Here is how it worked. I created my all-purpose seasoning mix then to make it versatile to fit a variety on tastes and cuisines. I added optional flavors like Turmeric, Mace, Cumin, Smoked Paprika and Thyme and simply sautéed them in butter. I let the kids try the vegetables with just the all-purpose seasoning fist and then let them make their own custom spice blends.

(my niece and nephew loved the vegetables with the all-purpose seasoning)

(All-Purpose Seasoning mixed with Turmeric, Mace, Cumin, Smoked Paprika and Thyme)

I think part of the fun was that they had ownership in the process. They got to taste and choose what they liked mixing up their custom spice blends. Surprisingly my niece’s favorite was the all-purpose seasoning mixed with cumin and mace and my nephew created one with smoked paprika and thyme. They had more interesting pallets than I expected.

(my niece and nephew tasting the variety of all-purpose seasoning blends)

They had so much fun eating the variety of vegetables and tasting new seasonings that they ate all the vegetables I had quickly making requests for more. “Do you have any green beans, or peas”, – they asked? This afternoon experiment left them with bellies full of vegetables and they each took home a zucchini as if it was a prized trophy.

(My niece and nephew sprinkling their custom all-purpose seasoning blend on peas)

Whether you are trying to get your kids to eat more vegetables or just enjoying them yourself this all-purpose seasoning is simple, versatile and delicious.