Sea Salted Salmon on a bed of Zucchini "Noodles"

Simple food, simply prepared with minimal processing means healthier eating.  Most of the time.  At least that's what I tell myself.  At least the lack of migraines when I eat this way tells me I'm on the right track to living in a healthier way.

I broke down and got a mandolin with my stash of birthday cash.  Its a super sharp tool that slices uniformly any veggie that you want and adjusts to any depth you would want.  Add in the nifty julienne option and you can do perfectly uniforms trips in narrow or wide sizes.  Think noodle sized or french fry size with minimal effort.

I have to confess the zucchini as a noodle isn't an original idea.  I copped it from some TV show on where it was done as a the base for an appetizer.  I thought to myself then....hmmmm great way to use the old zucker in a new way and have fun with it.  Enter the mandolin that can slip slice and julienne perfectly long spaghetti like strands.  Being neutral in flavor you can zip it up as much as you'd like.  Added boner is swapping out fiber for carbs.  Total. Win.

The salmon is simply prepared.  Pepper and smoked sea salt then roasted.  Tastes lightly smoked as if done on a grill with out the fuss of charcoal.

Sea Salted Salmon on a bed of Zucchini "Noodles"

• 2, 8 oz salmon fillets
• fresh cracked black pepper
• Smoked Sea Salt
• 2 long medium sized zucchini
• 1 tomato
• 1 t garlic powder
• fresh cracked black pepper
• sea salt or kosher salt
• olive oil

Pat salmon fillet dry.  Prepare  baking sheet with a light spritz of cooking spray. Season with pepper and smoked sea salt.  Place on prepared baking sheet and oven roast at 350F for 20 minutes.

While salmon is roasting wash your zucchini and dry them.  Prepare mandolin to slice thin julienne strips of the veggie.  Run zucchini across the cutting blades in long straight strokes stopping when you get to the seed core.  Rotate to each side cutting to seed core.  Discard seed cores.  Dice tomato, add zucchini and toss with garlic powder.

Heat a pan coated with a couple of tablespoons olive oil until starting to shimmer. Add zucchini mixture.  Toss to coat with oil.  Stir fry turning with tongs gently several times until they are soft and spaghetti like, about 8-10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To plate divide "noodles" between two plates.  Top with salmon fillet.  Enjoy with a nice bottle of sauvignon blanc.

"Noodles" of julienned zucchini with tomato and garlic powder resting

"Noodles" stir frying and softening

Bulgur Wheat Salad

This Salad is fine as a meal by itself or as a side with grilled meats and fish. With the fresh chopped herbs it really packs a lot of flavor.  Its one of my fave for the former for a quick lunch.

Bulgur wheat is simply cracked wheat berries. It used to be a staple at the hippy stores, but I've  been finding it in mainstream grocs these days.  Yeah...and its cheaper that way too.  Nice complete grain and its easy to cook.  If you can do rice, you can do this.

I always have chicken stock on hand so this isn't entirely vegan, to make it that way simply use a good veggie stock.  As you don't know how much salt is in the stock, hold off salting the bulgur wheat until you taste it.

Bulgur Wheat Salad

• 1 c bulgur wheat
• 2 c veggie or chicken stock
• 1/4 t black pepper
• Salt
• 1 c sliced mushrooms
• 1 small zucchini quartered and sliced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 3 T chopped cilantro
• 3 T chopped mint
• juice of one lemon
• 2 T olive oil

In small sauce pot bring stock to a boil.  Add bulgur wheat and reduce heat to low and simmer/steam 20 minutes. Remove from heat and lest stand 10 minutes covered.

Add mushrooms to a large non-stick fry pan with a tablespoon of oil.   Sautee over med/high heat until the mushrooms start to brown, about 3-5 minutes.  Add zucchini and cook 3-5 minutes until they start to brown.  Add onion and cook to translucent.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

Prepare dressing with lemon juice, olive oil, herbs, and black pepper.  In large salad bowl add bulgur wheat and fluff with a fork.  Pour over the veggie mixture and toss lightly to combine.  Pour over the salad dressing and toss to dress the salad.  Test of salt and add as needed.  Serve warm.

For Meatless Monday...Crispy Tofu Bibimbap with mustard greens and zucchini

OK, I've had the read deal Korean Bibimbap years ago at a spot in Glendale the specialized in Korean food. It was really yummy.  Food and Wine magazine ran this recipe in the August Issue for a vegan version. What makes it vegan?  Simple substitution of tofu for the beef and omitting the fried egg on top.  The F&W recipe HERE.

This version I saw and knew I would like.  I did have to substitute the kecap manis, a sweetened soy sauce with a mix of 2 parts soy and 1 part molasses.  Somethings are hard to find, even here in the San Gabriel Valley of L.A., the indisputed Asian capital of the city.  Bummer.  At least the good folks at Food and Wine offered up that substitution or I would have been lost.

The main thing is to do all of your mis en place of the veggies PRIOR to starting the rice.  It all takes about as long to cook in sequence as the rice does from scratch.

They recommended also using Sriracha if you can't find the Korean chili paste.  I used it as I had it on hand, I've got a cast iron tummy, but the recommended amount makes for way to much heat in the dish.  Cut it to a few drops here and there and it will be much more manageable.

Meatless Monday on a Tuesday

So I was too busy to cook Monday and did our Meatless day on Tuesday...shoot me.

Ratatouille is a French dish that is stewed veggies that I twisted up oven roasted instead.  Traditionally it is served over bread or some protein like fish.  I opted to serve it over cooked Bulgar wheat keeping with the whole healthy meatless theme.  The nice thing about ratatouille is that there is no recipe Per Se rather you  grab what ever veggies are looking good that day in the groc and go from there.  I am certain I have some French Grandmother wagging her finger at me for what I did but what the heck...it's tasty and it quite yummy

To ensure your veggies all cook evenly cut them about the same size, here I opted for about a 1 inch dice.

Bulgar wheat falls in the stupid easy category of prep.  1 cup of the Bulgar wheat in a bowl.  Add 1 3/4 c boiling water or stock.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let set 15 minutes.  Fluff with fork to serve.

Oven Roasted Ratatouille

• 1 medium eggplant diced
• 6 Roma tomatoes diced
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 medium zucchini diced
• 1 Crookneck squash diced
• 1 medium sweet onion diced
• salt 
• pepper
• 2 t thyme
• 2 4 olive oil

Add diced veggies to bowl.  Toss with thyme and olive oil and spread on baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bake in 425F oven 40-45 minutes until veggies are starting to turn golden brown.  (If your oven has convection cycle use 400F and bake 30-35 minutes until veggies turn golden brown).

Couscous and vegie saute'

After this last weekends Battle Bacon I am pretty much overloaded with animal proteins and their associated fats. Don't get me wrong, I'm still an omnivore with heavy carnivore overtones, BUT - I still like lighter vegie only meals to keep the pipes clean and functioning.

One of my favorite summer meals is a simple vegie saute tossed with warm couscous. Nice and filling, full of flavor but it doesn't weigh you down. Couscous also has the advantage of being the easiest pasta on the planet to cook. Had boiling water or stock and walk away. No boiling pot of water adding tons of steam to the kitchen making a hot day worse.

Couscous & Vegie Saute'

• 1 1/c water or stock
• 1 c couscous
• 2 medium zucchini -sliced
• 8 oz button mushrooms
• 1 med red onion
• 1 small green pepper
• 1/4 c basil coarse chopped
• olive oil
• salt
• fresh cracked pepper

Bring water or stock to a boil. Pour over couscous, cover and let sit for 5 minutes.

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Slice mushrooms in halve, quarter the really big ones. Add to hot oil. Cook approximately 5 minutes until they start to brown.

Add sliced zucchini. Cook about 5 minutes until they start to brown. Chop onion and green pepper and add to pan. Add half of the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook 5-10 minutes or until onion begins to caramelize.

Fluff couscous with a fork. Add the hot vegies and remaining chopped basil. Toss lightly and serve hot.

This is a pretty versatile dish. You can use it as a side dish or main course.

Best flavor in the couscous comes from using a good stock, beef or chicken. If you are using as a side dish chose a stock that compliments your main (beef for beef for example). If you are looking to go vegetarian use vegetable stock.

Also, if you want your vegies to brown better during the saute process reduce the olive oil by half and substitue in a pat of butter to replace the removed oil. It does add a bit of animal fat to the dish that is otherwise missing, but what the heck...what is a little butter between friends?