honey sriracha roasted salmon

This simple 20 minute recipe gets its flavor from delicious oven broiled salmon, fresh crisp marinated cucumbers and from a delightful sprinkling of furikake (a dried mixed seasoning made from sesame seeds, seaweed flakes, salt and sugar). 

I love this recipe and all the flavors – sweet honey, spicy sriracha, tart rice vinegar, and warm sesame oil – the hot salmon with the cold veggies – that is a successful theme for me.  

Gina Homolka – the author of all the Skinny Taste cookbooks and blog recommends making this as a bowl – customizing as you see fit.  I kept it very simple but you can add rice or other grains, edamame, tomato, avocado, shaved carrots chopped peppers etc.  

I love all of her recipes and have several of her cookbooks. I just wish it wasn’t called Skinny Taste – only because well the recipes are just good – not only good if you are on a diet.  Gina provides the nutritional value of every recipe which is amazing.  I tend to add more oil than she does – or more cheese and often I double the sauce when I’m cooking from her recipes but easy to stick to the recipe esp if trying to lose a little weight. 

You can find the recipe recipe here.  Just take note of my thoughts below:

I use 1/2 the sriracha the recipe calls for.  I’m a weakling when it comes to spicy food.  You can always add some sriracha at service – let your family or friends take control of their spice level.

Your salmon will cook faster if it is thinner.  Don’t rely on prescribed cooking times.  Peek at the fish – cut a cube in half and remember that it will continue to cook as it sits on the counter after cooking.  Rob likes his cooked through so I gave him all the thin slices and I like mine medium.  We were both happy. 

Double the sauce – if you are like me saucy and tasty are the key to making a yummy salmon bowl.  And baste twice!  Not an order of course – you get to do what YOU like!

Enjoy – 

Oh, this is delicious for lunch the next day. 

pan-seared cod in white wine tomato basil sauce

This is my favorite easy delicious healthy dinner recipe.  I LOVE it.  I wish I had better photos – gotta work on that but trust me this has such great flavor and it is incredibly simple.  It is lemony and is making my mouth water while I’m writing this up.  

I made it for Rob’s family in the fall and they asked for the recipe which is always a good sign.  It is also dairy and gluten free so I could even make it for Greg, if only he liked fish :(. 

My only issue is that my cod tends to fall apart.  I struggle with this but well, whatever – it is tasty as hell.  I suppose you could use a sturdier fish and you would have more success but I happen to love cod.  And maybe your technique will allow the fish to stay intact. 

 I urge you to try this.  You can make the sauce beforehand and quickly pan fry the cod – pour the sauce over sprinkle your basil and you are just set.  So set.  I usually double the sauce recipe – and you don’t have to add all the tomatoes even half the amount in the recipe will do the trick. For lunch the following day I sautéed spinach and bok choy and reheated gently.  Delicious.

My mom introduced me to cod when I was young – it was a Ritz Cracker extravaganza and wow did I love it.  It was buttery oh so good.  I liked it with a little ketchup which sounds pretty gross but mmm….   It was the first dish I made for Rob soon after we met – and I burned it badly.  Anyway – this is not relevant so I will stop now. 

The recipe for this is from Baker by Nature and you can click right here for the recipe.  

 Here are my thoughts and slight changes take a moment to read through:

As mentioned above I like to double the sauce as I find it so delicious.  Serve with rice, a baked potato or a sourdough to scoop up that sauce.  

I use only one clove of garlic since too much makes me feel unwell – and I actually don’t even grate it – I put a whole clove in the sauce and let the flavors mingle there – then pull out out for service.  

I find I do not need to cook the tomatoes for as long as Ashley does.  

The cod – if thick takes longer than 10 minutes to cook.

And lastly I add the basil at the end right to finish the dish.

Enjoy-

honey soy glazed salmon

I sent this recipe to Andy and at the end of that very day, he sent me the photo on the right!  He went to the store, bought everything and cooked it straight away.  He told me how good it was so I made it the next day.  We both loved it.  Rob loved it – I made it with shrimp for Sylvie and she loved that too.  I don’t have a ton more to say about this dish save for the obvious – it looks good, is easy to prep and tastes delicious.  Andy added a lot of veggies and scallions and really plated it up well for himself.   I can’t eat scallions so just kept it simple with some squash and string beans.  

The Tik Tok video of this salmon is what caught my eye.   I followed up by looking at the blog Jasmine and Tea for the ingredients and measurements.  

I’m taking the lazy lady way out and I’m going to provide the link to the recipe here.  Jasmine provides tons of tips and really good instruction.  Read through it first.  Then take note of of my clarifications below.

To be clear (as I’m not sure it is) remove the veggies from the pan before you add the sauce to the pan.  After the sauce has reduced (as instructed),  place the salmon back in to the sauce to finish cooking and then add the cooked veggies at the very end (so they don’t get mushy but heat up).

Lastly, I put in half of the recommended amount of chili paste – but if you love the heat, go for it!

Enjoy-

shrimp egg rolls (air fried)

Never thought I’d ever make egg rolls – but I did!  And wow – Andy and Sylvie thoroughly enjoyed and I did too.  Rob – not a huge fan of cabbage wasn’t exactly over the moon but you can’t please everyone.  Although you can add a different vegetable – even a different protein.  Maybe next time for him.  Yes, I will.

I saw these in Skinnytaste and put them on the top of my list.  The recipe hovered there for a bit because 1- was I really going to make egg rolls? 2 – I’d have to find the egg roll wrappers and 3 – they looked like a lot of work.  

After a few months delay, I was ready.  Yes, I was going to make them!   I found the wrappers right where Gina (skinny taste) said they would be (near the tofu and wonton wrappers) and 3 – I was ready to roll and air fry.

These were not much work!  The filling comes together in minutes and then you just have to roll the shrimp/cabbage up like a baby and pop em in the air fryer.  You can have you kids help to roll and then boom, you are done.  Yes, you have to make it batches but that’s ok – you can also make all of them and reheat when it is dinner (or appetizer) time.   I made a simple dipping sauce of sweet chili sauce and soy sauce and we were licking our fingers.

Enjoy these (should you choose to go for it).  Gina’s recipe is right here.  Oh, I doubled the recipe.

miso glazed spicy honey cod (20 minutes at most)

My mother must have exclaimed 23 times throughout the meal that “Lisi, this is DELICICIOUS, seriously Lisi, delicious.”  And then about 3 minutes later “this is my kind of taste, Lisi, this is so good!”  And then, “Lisi, I need the recipe – please don’t forget to send me the recipe!”  And so on…  It was hard to actually have a conversation!  But I was delighted that she loved it so as she is one tough critic and a terrific cook.  Oh and my dad liked it too!  I made it again for friends Geoff and Nora and they too said delicious – repeating it only (ha) about 3 times.  

I can’t say I did anything but follow the recipe so it is really the blogger of Foodie with Family who deserves the credit.   The hardest part is to make sure you cook the fish to just right.  Undercooked cod is a real turnoff and overcooked can feel dry (although I honestly don’t mind it).  Other than that it’s a breeze to make.  

The recipe calls for white miso and gochujang which you can now find at most supermarkets – and also online.  If you hit the link for Foodie with Family (above), Rebecca provides resources to find.  After you open, refrigerate and both keep for a long time.  

If you are someone who likes things saucy then double the sauce – I did one of the times and really coated it.  I prefer it that way…but if you like a normal coating then cook with the amount below.

I served this with a delicious napa cabbage/mango/mint/pomegranate slaw that I will write up next.  And also a variety of roasted veggies that I had on hand.  This would also be great with rice, steamed broccoli, and toasted sesame seeds.   

Ingredients

  • 4 cod filets – 5-7 ounces 
  • 2 tablespoons mild honey
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1/2 tablespoon gochujang (more to taste – I’m not the spiciest person so add more for more!)
  • 1 tablespoon white miso paste
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce (or coconut aminos if gluten free)
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
 

Directions

Mix together all of the ingredients and measure out about 2 tablespoons of the sauce.  Brush or use a spoon to coat the cod with the two tablespoons.

  • Set your oven to broil and broil the fish (about 8 inches from heat source) for about 4-5 minutes.  It should look bubbly and a little charred.
  • Change the oven setting to bake 375.  Brush, spoon, pour the rest of the sauce on each filet.  Place in the oven and cook until opaque and easily flaked with a fork.  This can take 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your fish.
  • Not in the recipe – but I finished it again for a minute under broil.  I just like that look and taste.
  • You do what you prefer!
  • Sprinkle with sesame seeds or scallions if you like.  
Enjoy – 

Vietnamese baked fish

Bursting with flavor this fish dish is my new favorite.   I love love love it.  It is bold and intense with garlic, ginger, fish sauce and mint.  All of these ingredients meld together in and on top of the fish in a little foil packet that you cook for only about 16 minutes.  Seriously easy once you have the ingredients in the house.  Do not add any salt to the dish as the fish sauce does the trick.  And again – please don’t be afraid of fish sauce.  But also, maybe don’t smell it from the bottle.  Here is some fish sauce brand info.  I just learned a lot from the article myself.

I made this recipe with flounder (it fell apart but tasted great!), halibut, cod and haddock.  All so so good.  Of course the thicker the fish the longer it takes to cook so use 16 minutes only as a guide.

This is delicious with rice although I happen to just like it as it is – I added more tomatoes and carrots because I’m a little veggie crazy.  The last time I made this dish I used fresh peas instead of carrots and it was a hit.

This recipe, like the Thai Fish Curry is from my Mediterranean Way cookbook.  One day I’ll venture out of the Asian and into one of the Mediterranean dishes.  Maybe.  

This recipe calls for 6 pieces of fish but feel free to double or cut in half (as I do).  

Trying to think if anything else…but I think that is it!  Enjoy –

Serves: 6

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 16-20 minutes

Medium

Ingredients

  • 4 ripe tomatoes, diced (and more if you like)
  • 4 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil (I use a tad less as I find the flavor very strong – but do as you wish
  • 4 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (I use a little less but if you are a garlic fan go for it all
  • 2 tablespoons chopped mint
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper or more to taste (I like more) 
  • 4 6-ounce firm white fish fillets (haddock, snapper, cod) 
  • 2 julienned carrots (I used grated carrots)
  • another time I used fresh peas 

Directions

Preheat oven to 440 degrees. 

In a medium bowl, mix together the tomatoes, fish sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, ginger, garlic mint, sugar and pepper.

Take a decent sized piece of tin foil and make a little boat for the fish.  Set the open foil packets on a baking pan.  You want plenty of extra foil as you need be able to seal the foil at the end.  This may take a few tries.  Next time I’ll take a photo of mine.

Put a fish fillet into each packet of foil.  Top with the julienned or shredded carrots.  Follow with the tomatoes and marinade portioning it equally among the fish. 

Cook for 16 minutes.  Take a peek inside but be carful as the steam inside the packets is hot.  Super hot.

If the fish is thick and looks too opaque, cook a few more minutes. If not, slide the fish and all it’s cooking liquid onto a plate and enjoy. 

I do hope you like it as much as I do!