AvoTuna Apple Basil Cheesie

A healthy, delicious alternative when making tuna: Instead of mixing canned tuna with mayo, mix it with ripe avocado! It's smooth and surprisingly satisfying! Add any vinaigrette or herbs to give it a little flavour - I usually use a light dash of Italian dressing .

Today I made this wonderful edible creation with my AvoTuna:

AvoTuna on multigrain + fresh basil strips + thinly sliced apple + sharp cheese =

AvoTuna apple basil cheesie!!

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Thai Shrimp Curry

Vegetarian cooking dominates in this household, but as soon as I have the opportunity to cook alone I immediately fantasize about the many meats I love to moderately indulge in... tonight, like many nights, I was frothing at the mouth with thoughts of plump, perfectly cooked shrimp.

My favorite shrimp recipes are usually Thai so I dug this up online and made a quick trip to the grocery store for fresh shrimp. I was able to whip this together within about 25 minutes and I can't tell you how ridiculously creamy smooth and satisfying it was. HIGHLY recommended.

Ingredients:

1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk, divided

1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste

1/3 cup water

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon fish sauce

Peel of 1 lime, finely chopped

1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Rice

Preparation:

1. Pour half of coconut milk into large skillet. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook 5 to 6 minutes; oil may start to rise to surface. Stir in curry paste. Cook and stir 2 minutes.

2. Stir together remaining coconut milk and water. Add to skillet with brown sugar, fish sauce and lime peel. Cook over medium-low heat 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly.

3. Add shrimp and basil; reduce heat to low. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and opaque. Serve over rice.

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Menu for the week of June 20th

Swiss Chard Dahl

2 lbs Swiss chard
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander
1 large Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 fresh red chilli
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup red lentils, soaked for half an hour beforehand
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Vecon or similar low fat stock
1 can peeled tomatoes
sufficient salt to taste
sufficient tomato puree to thicken

Instructions

Chop the stems off the swish chard. Cut them up into 1/4 inch pieces. In a large frying pan boil them with a little water. Add the chopped chilli. After five minutes add the garlic and the onion. When the onion is tender add the black pepper, cumin, turmeric, and coriander. Simmer with a lid on for ten minutes. Add the rest of the swiss chard, chopped coarsley, and the stock and water. Now add the red lentils. Simmer for a couple of minutes more. Add the canned tomatoes, leave to simmer for about 10 minutes. The lentils should be soft but still intact. Add the tomato puree and salt to taste. Simmer for another couple of minutes till the the dahl has thickened.

Serving

Serve with brown rice.

Morrocan Chickpea Stew

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• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 cup onion, diced
• ¾ cup celery, chopped
• ½ cup carrot, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced (more if you like)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/8 ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 ½ cup water
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 (15 ½ ounce cans) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14 ½ ounce can) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

How to make it

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• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat
• Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to pan; sauté for 5 minutes
• Stir in cumin and next 7 ingredients (through red pepper); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly
• Add water, tomato paste, chickpeas, and diced tomatoes; bring to a boil
• Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes
• Stir in cilantro and juice

Pad Thai

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• 1 pkg of rice noodles
• 2 Tbs peanut oil
• 2 Tbs minced garlic
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1 tbs red curry paste
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 5 Tbs chopped fresh sweet basil
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 3 Tbs fish sauce
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp shrimp paste
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
• 3 jalapeno peppers seeded and veined and chopped
• 3 medium sized squid cut into rings
• 6 large shrimp shell removed and veined cut in half
• 1 cup small scallops (can use large cut into fourths)
• 14 oz coconut milk

How to make it

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• In a wok put the peanut oil in and heat until it smokes then add the onions and saute until translucent
• Add garlic
• Add shrimp cook for 3 min
• Add squid cook 3min
• Add scallops
• Add eggs and stir
• Add all the rest of ingredients and cook for 10 min
• The rice noodles I used needed to be in boiling water for 5-10 sec
• Put cooked noodles in a bowl and top with seafood sauce and enjoy!

Cauliflower and Broccoli Curry

° 125g broccoli florets, blanched
° 125g cauliflower florets, blanched
° 100g potato, peeled and diced
° 25g carrot, peeled and diced
° 1 lemongrass stick
° 200ml water
° 1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil
° 10-15 curry leaves
° 1 tablespoon curry powder, or to taste
° 1 tablespoon chilli powder, or to taste
° 125ml coconut milk
° salt to taste
° 1 teaspoon sugar (optional), or to taste

Method
1. Mix the curry powder and chilli powder with a tad of water to form curry paste.
2. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan, fry the curry leaves for half a minute. Stir in the curry paste and fry until fragrant.
3. Add in the potatoes, carrot, lemongrass, water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Season with salt and sugar.
4. Off the fire and throw in the broccoli and cauliflower. Mix well and serve hot.

VEGETABLE LASAGNA

1/3 c. olive oil 1 lg. onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 lb. eggplant, diced or broccoli 1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced 1 med. carrot shredded 1/4 c. chopped parsley 2 tsp. oregano leaves 1 tsp. each basil and salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 8 oz. tomato sauce 16 oz. tomatoes 1/3 c. dry red wine 16 oz. lasagna noodles 2 c. ricotta cheese 1 c. Mozzarella cheese 1 1/2 c. Parmesan Saute onion, garlic, eggplant, and mushrooms in olive oil Add tomatoes and liquid, sauce, wine, carrot, parsley, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to boil Simmer covered 30 minutes. Uncover and cook until thick, about 5 cups. Cook noodles, drain, rinse. Butter 9 by 13 inch baking dish, 1/4 sauce, 1/3 noodles, 1/3 ricotta, 1/3 Mozzarella, 1/4 Parmesan layers, top with sauce and bake at 350 degrees F 40 to 50 minutes. 10 servings.

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