Pip's Plate

The color of these yams with the specks of green are a delicious side dish. For 2 people.

Roasted Garnet Yams with Tarragon

2 large garnet yams, peeled

1 T fresh chopped tarragon

2 t extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper

1 t chili powder

Preheat the oven to 375.

Combine all of the ingredients other than the yams. Chop the yams into 1 inch chunks and combine with the sauce.

Roast the yams for 40-45 minutes, stirring often.

You can try this dish with fish, chicken or pork. You can also vary the citrus you use to get a different flavor everytime. I like the silkiness of the avocado that really comes through when you bake it. The fennel adds a nice earthiness to match with the citrus.

Citrus Chicken Tacos with Avocado & Fennel Slaw

tortillas (I like Rudy’s Organic Spelt)

3/4# chicken breasts

2 large oranges, juice 1 and segment the other

1 lime, juiced

1 lemon, juiced

2 avocados

1 t chili powder

1 t cumin

2 t chopped fresh tarragon

1 bulb fennel, sliced

salt and pepper

olive oil flavored with garlic

2 serrano peppers, minced

sour cream (I like using Tofutti soy sour cream)

ricotta

salsa (I like the hot variety)

romaine lettuce, chopped

Heat the broiler in your oven.

To make the marinade, combine the citrus juices, chili powder, cumin, tarragon, serrano peppers, salt, pepper, and 1/2 c of oil. Put the chicken breasts between plastic wrap and using a mallet or heavy skillet, flatten the chicken breasts. Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise into pieces 1/2# wide.

Marinate the chicken until the avocado and fennel is prepared.

Meanwhile, slice the fennel bulb into thin slices. Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit then slice lengthwise and across to create chunks of avocado. Segment the other orange by slicing the 2 ends off until you can see the orange. (This creates a flat surface to work with.) Then set the orange on its bottom and start slicing off the rest of the peel. Then slice each segment out without getting the skin section. Combine the avocado, orange, and fennel together. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on 1 half of a baking sheet. Mix the marinade with the avocado mixture and pour that on the other half of the baking sheet.

Broil until the chicken is done- about 8 minutes.

You can either warm the tortillas in aluminum foil in the oven along with the chicken or you can heat each one over an open gas flame on your stove top.

To make the sauce, combine equal parts sour cream, ricotta and salsa. This will help to cool down the spice from the peppers.

To serve, make your tacos using what you just made: tortilla, chicken, avocado, salsa topping, and romaine lettuce.

I’m really excited to make this one again. It has more ingredients than other recipes on my blog, but it’s well worth it. You can vary the level of spiciness to your liking. Serves 4.

Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles

2 T oil (I usually cook with extra virgin olive oil, but peanut or sesame would work well for this recipe)

1 egg

8 oz soba noodles (you could also use udon or rice noodles if you have a preference)

8 scallions, sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 T minced fresh ginger root

12 oz meat (you can use whatever you like: chicken, tofu, beef, pork)

2 cups veggies, julienned (I used cucumbers and carrots since that’s what I had on hand)

1 cup broth (homemade if you have it)

2 T smooth or creamy peanut butter

1 t Sriracha (or other hot sauce)

2 T fish sauce

2 T tamari

juice of 1 lemon or 2 limes

chopped fresh herbs: mint, basil and cilantro

Follow the directions on the noodles package to cook the noodles.

Heat some oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Scramble the egg and set aside.

In the same skillet, add the scallions, garlic and ginger root. Saute for 1-2 minutes, till fragrant.  Add the meat and saute till almost cooked through.

Meanwhile, combine the broth, peanut butter, Sriracha, fish sauce, tamari, and lemon juice. Add this to the skillet and continue cooking till the sauce is heated. Next, add the veggies. Cook until the veggies are tender and crisp, but not soggy.

Drain the noodles and add them to the skillet. Heat the entire dish then serve with egg and fresh herbs on top.

I’m back with more recipes. I’m finally feeling like cooking again and I was dead set on having salmon for dinner last night. (Even though the tilapia looked mighty good.)

I’m starting to explore a way of cooking that is somewhat new to me. Although I feel like I’ve done this in the past, I’m now doing it more intentionally- working with one ingredient and building a meal out of it. That’s how this recipe came to be.

I was in the grocery store last night at the fish counter picking out some salmon when I looked over at a small refridgerated section and realized we definitely needed some hummus. I asked D to go over and pick out some Holy Land hummus (my favorite) and pita bread.

Then I thought, “Hmm…what if we cooked the salmon with hummus on top of it?!” And we did. And it was excellent. This recipe is for 2 people, but to increase it, just buy 6 oz of salmon per person and then increase the spread to accommodate the amount of fish.

Hummus Feta Salmon

12 oz fresh salmon fillets

2 oz Holy Land garlicky hummus (or some other variety of garlicky hummus, or plain hummus with 1 minced garlic clove)

2 oz crumbled Greek feta cheese

2 t chopped fresh herbs (use whatever you have on hand- mint, tarragon, basil, thyme, any of those will work well)

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400. Prepare a baking sheet and place the salmon on the sheet. I like to put aluminum foil on my baking sheet when I buy fish with skin on it. This way when I take it out of the oven the skin stays on the aluminum foil and I get fish with no skin. (However, if you like salmon skin, which is VERY tasty, then don’t do this.)

Combine the hummus, feta, herbs, salt and pepper.  Spread over the salmon. Bake the salmon for about 15 minutes for medium and about 20 minutes for cooked through.

Server with steamed broccoli for a complete and healthy meal.