The Friday Five

1. What I'm Reading: The Mockingjay

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I finished The Hunger Games and Girl on Fire.  I have yet to see the movie; Mom and  I may go today.  The first book was very enjoyable, but the further I get into the series, the less interested I become.  I feel no real attachment to any of the characters and am much more into the political aspects of the book than the relationships.

Although, I do think it is a great series for young adults because Katniss is a great role model (especially compared to the heroine of another wildly popular, made into movie, science fiction young adult series) and it raises the question of how much government control is too much.

2. What I'm Watching: Shahs of Sunset


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Bless you, Bravo, for this wonderful gift.  I am in awe of the cast; they are amazing, ridiculous, hilarious, and downright entertaining.  Reeza's one-liners kill me!

3. What I'm Eating: Asparagus.

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It's no secret I'm obsessed.  Since it's in-season and has been on sale, I've been eating absurd quantities.

4.  What I'm Listening To: NPR podcast: Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me

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It's very entertaining and the perfect length for weekday runs (between 45-50 minutes).  A humorous way to fit the news into my week.

5.  What I'm Pinning spending countless hours online scouring: cars

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It's official that my car is totaled, so I'm currently car shopping.  This is the only kind of shopping I don't enjoy.  *Sigh.  


Bonus: What I'm Contributing to Easter Dinner:

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strawberry ice box cake (I'm attempting to make it more Paleo friendly by using full-fat coconut milk in the place of heavy cream and agave instead of confectioners sugar)

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white wine sangria with apples, blackberries, and hopefully peaches, if I can find some

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hummus (My aunt fell in love with it when she tried it at Zeus, so I'm hoping she likes mine just as much.)

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guacamole deviled eggs (A healthier alternative to traditional deviled eggs, which are always made with the broken paquing losers.)


Your turn.  What are you reading, eating, watching, listening to, searching the Internet for, and making for Easter? GO.

Prescription Push Ups & Paleo Chicken Cakes

When life gives you freezer burnt fish, make chicken cakes. 

Yesterday, after I finished this WOD as prescribed!!! (I really didn't expect to make it through all those push ups! My game plan was to do as many rounds as possible with "real" push ups, then drop to my knees.), I had a dinner menu of fish cakes inspired by this recipe, but my fish was freezer burnt.  Instead of completely scrapping my plans, I decided to use chicken instead. 

Paleo Chicken Cakes

ingredients
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I pan fried them in olive oil, then food processed)
1/4 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 roasted red bell pepper (from a jar), chopped
6 artichoke hearts, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 eggs, whisked
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp basil
1 tbsp oregano
about 1/4 cup coconut flour
coconut oil or olive oil

directions
Combine everything but the coconut flour in a large bowl and mix together.  Add flour gradually, until your mixture will hold together. (I did not use enough and my cakes fell apart.) Form balls of the mixture about the size of baseballs with your hands, then flatten into cakes.  This recipe should make about 6. Heat oil of choice in a skillet and add cakes.  Cook about 3 minutes on each side until crispy brown.

I should totally win a photography award for this one! This was plate #1, my seconds had more crumbles than a cake.

Roasted asparagus and Paleo hollandaise (using this recipe exactly) were my side dishes.  I cut the hollandaise recipe in half because I know it doesn't keep well.

Ummm...I ate the entire bushel of roasted asparagus. Good thing it was $0.99 a bushel and I bought 3!  It was one of those nights I'm glad I live alone, because I didn't have to share my asparagus.

This meal didn't turn out as expected (ie. chicken instead of fish, crumbles instead of cakes), but was delicious none the less.  My leftover chicken cake crumbles will make a great salad topper for lunch today.  I can't wait!


Do you ever improvise in the kitchen, or are you a by the recipe exactly person?
Do you ever eat obscene amounts of vegetables? Often, I roast a bag of broccoli and eat the entire thing in one sitting.

Free Food

I'm sure by now you have noticed a recurring theme in my cooking...  I am a scavenger and revolve my meal planning around food that is given to me.

Whether its vegetables from my dad or grandma's gardens for my Roasted Veggie Frittata, Stuffed Peppers, or Vegetable Chili; ducks from Jeff for my Pot Roasted Duck; or fresh trout from Mike for my Mediterranean Fish Tacos or what I whipped up for dinner last night:


Pan Seared Trout with Asparagus Pesto
2 servings

trout:
2 trout filets
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp worcestshire sauce
salt, black pepper, red pepper to taste
non stick cooking spray
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 tsp flour (This is used to thicken the sauce.  You could use any type of flour, cornstarch, or xanthan gum. I would have used xanthan gum, but am too cheap to pay $10 for 1/2 lb of it!)

Pesto:
1/2 cup raw asparagus, cut into 1" pieces
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp parmasean cheese, grated
1 tbsp pecans (You could substitue with walnuts, pine nuts, or whatever you have on hand.)
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp chicken stock
salt & pepper to taste

- Pour 2 tbsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp of worcestshire sauce over filets of trout.  Salt and pepper both sides of filet.  Leave filets to marinate while you prepare the pesto.

- Add asparagus, 1 tbsp lemon juice, garlic, cheese, pecans, salt, and pepper into food processor. Turn on the food processor and slowly add olive oil.  Then slowly add chicken stock until you have the consistency you want.  (I use the chicken stock to cut down on the amount of oil I need, therefore reducing the fat.)

- Heat a non stick skillet sprayed with non stick cooking spray over high heat.  When pan is really hot, add trout filets.

- Sear for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side.  Reduce heat, add 1/4 cup of chicken broth, and cover with a lid. 

- Continue to cook for about 5 minutes.  Remove trout filets.  Add 1 tsp of flour to remaining juice in the pan and whisk to thicken the sauce. 

- Plate trout over asparagus pesto and finish with sauce from pan.

Chef worthy plating? I think not.

This was my first attempt at asparagus pesto and I loved it!  It was so bright and refreshing. No one ingredient overpowered the others; I could taste every single one and they all worked well together.  Perfect for a hot summer night.

You can't get much fresher than from in the lake on Sunday to in my belly on Monday night! Organic at its finest.


Look who sat at the window and watched me cook. :)