Liver-Palooza

May 27, 2015May 27, 2015 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Liver-Palooza…..not for the faint of heart or lily-livered.

The urban dictionary defines palooza as “an all out crazy party.” One of the tweets referred to palooza as “a big Norwegian festival.” Not sure either of those are entirely appropriate but this week was a Liver-Palooza for me after a long liver hiatus. I do have a lifetime of liver memories. When I was a child one of my mother’s requirements was that we cleaned our plates. That was not a bad thing if you liked what was on your plate. But that wasn’t always the case. Like when she decided to serve liver and onions for supper. My dad will not eat liver and I know for a fact my mother never required him to clean his plate on liver nights. I remember her putting strawberry jam on our liver to help it go down. I’m probably correct in assuming that I am the only remaining person in my family that actually voluntarily eats liver.

Anyone who was on Weight Watchers in the early 70s like I was will remember Jean Nidetch decided that, to lose weight successfully and to get the body’s requirement of vitamins and iron, one meal a week had to include a serving of liver the size of a deck of cards. By then I was able to eat it without the strawberry jam.

My husband frequently tells people about one of our first dinner dates in Chicago when he took me to the Italian Village, a favorite place of his, and I order liver and onions. As I recall, the Italian Village did a great job on the liver!

This most recent liver palooza came about as a thank you to a good friend for a huge favor he did for me. I typically don’t cook liver because it is one of the very few foods my husband won’t eat. Liver and Lima beans. (I don’t cook Lima beans either.) I invited our friends to dinner Saturday night and cooked liver and onions and bacon for him and for me and I made some pretty awesome chef salads for his wife and my husband. The liver tasted great. The trick is to not cook it for so long that it looks and cuts like a piece of shoe leather. It should be a little pink in the center and tender. I soak it in milk for about a hour, dry it off, dredge it in seasoned flour and fry it in my cast iron pan in some of the bacon drippings.

Lots of onion and good quality liver.

Tuesdays are grocery shopping days and we stopped at a little Amish market for organic milk. My friend and I both spied Koegel’s Braunschweiger in the cooler and we both purchased a piece. It’s been a couple decades I think since I had Braunschweiger. Which brings me to today’s lunch.

Braunschweiger is a German word that, in America, refers to liver wurst. I started to read how liver wurst is made and then I stopped. You might not want to read about it either.

Today for lunch I made myself a sandwich.

Sour dough bread, Hellmans mayo, red onion, tomato, lettuce, and, of course, my liver wurst. Some assembly required.

I ate my sandwich along with a nice hot cup of coffee on the back porch. A solo picnic. In honor of Jean Nidetch I substituted lettuce for the top of my sandwich.

After this week I will probably have another long liver hiatus. Except perhaps for the occasional crackers and pate.

Shepherd’s Pie

May 7, 2015 / featherheadlady / 2 Comments

Shepherd’s Pie is a dish that works well with countless variations. I, in fact, just sent a recipe for a Pizza Shepherd’s Pie to my brother who is a pizza aficionado.

I’m leaving to spend a week with our daughter soon and I’ve been making dishes that result in leftovers so my husband will have good eats while I’m away. Last night it was Mac and Cheese. Tonight Shepherd’s Pie.

Ingredients for base:

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion rough chopped

4-5 cloves of garlic

1 T beef Better than Bouillon

2 T flour

1 pint stewed tomatoes

2 cups vegetables (I used corn and asparagus)

1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for Potato topping:

2 lbs of potatoes peeled and cut up

5-6 carriers peeled and cut up

3-4 cloves of garlic

cream or half-n-half

3 T butter

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes and carrots, rinse well, add the whole garlic cloves and cook until the potatoes and carrots are tender. While the potatoes cook begin preparing the base.

In a heavy Dutch oven cook the ground beef until it’s no longer pink.

Remove the cooked beef to a bowl and leave approximately 2 T of the drippings in the Dutch oven. (My meat was very lean and I had to add a little olive oil to the pan.) Add the onions and garlic to the drippings and cook over medium heat until the onions are tender.

Stir the flour into the onion garlic mix and cook for a couple minutes stirring constantly. Stir in the tomatoes, thyme, and the Better than Bouillon. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until mixture begins to thicken.

Stir in the ground beef and the chopped parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste. Thoroughly combine and pour into a casserole dish. Preheat oven to 400.

Distribute the vegetables over the meat.

Once the potatoes and carrots are tender drain the water and whip or mash adding butter, cream and cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. I usually mash the potatoes, always mash them for my daughter who likes a lump here or there, but for this casserole I like to whip them.

Evenly distribute the potato mixture over the casserole.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the meat mixture starts to bubble around the edges. Scoop onto your plate and enjoy. Serve with a salad and some good crusty bread. We both had second helpings and there is still plenty left for two good meals while I’m away.

NOTE: Lamb or a combo beef/pork mix would be good substitutes for the beef. Fresh mushrooms are a good add to the onion/garlic mixture. Peas, green beans, spinach are some of the vegetables that can be substituted for the corn and asparagus. A little horseradish or another type of cheese change up the potato icing. Anyway you mix it up, it’s an easy, hearty meal. A little bit classy, a little bit trashy.

Citrus Chicken with Vegetables

April 27, 2015April 27, 2015 / featherheadlady / 3 Comments

This recipe is an amalgam of different recipes that I, at one time or another, tore out of magazines and filed away. I get several food magazines and I used to see recipes that I thought looked especially good so I saved the entire magazine. When I decided I wanted to try that special dessert or salad or soup that I’d seen I could never remember which issue or even which magazine I’d seen it in. So, instead of saving all the magazines I get, I now try to tear out the recipes I want to try and file them in spiral binders by category. If I try them and they are fails I throw the recipe out. Keepers stay in the binder with a 😊 on them. It’s my attempt to utilize my somewhat rusty organizational skills. Occasionally I sit down with one of the spiral binders and look for a recipe that strikes my fancy and that I have all the ingredients for. The latter is what sometimes inspires me to combine recipes or just ad lib on a concept. This chicken dish is one of those amalgams.

Ingredients:

Whole chicken cut into pieces (or whatever parts you prefer)

3 T olive oil

1/4 cup chicken broth

4 T fresh squeezed orange juice

4 T fresh squeezed lemon juice + 1 lemon cut into thin wedges

4 T whole grain mustard

4 T honey

1 tsp red pepper flakes

5-6 cloves of garlic chopped

1 large onion sliced

2-3 sweet potatoes peeled and cubed

4-5 carrots peeled and cut into chunks

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the whole lemon in half, then in quarters, and finally cut each quarter into 4 wedges. Put the lemon wedges in a cup or so of boiling water and simmer for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425. In a large roasting pan or jelly roll pan lined with tin foil spread out the potatoes, carrots, and onion.

Generously salt and pepper the chicken and scatter the chicken pieces, skin side up, in with the vegetables.

In a medium sauce pan combine the citrus juices, olive oil, mustard, honey, broth, red pepper flakes and garlic.

Whisk all of the ingredients together and bring to a simmer. Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken and vegetables and add in the lemon wedges.

Bake uncovered. Take care not to overcook and dry out the chicken. Use a meat thermometer and remove the chicken pieces once they reach 155-160 degrees. Keep them warm on a platter covered with foil. Return the vegetables to the oven until they are tender. Once the vegetables are done spoon the vegetables and sauce over the chicken pieces and serve.

I have a thing about cranberry sauce with chicken dishes; see my cranberry sauce on the plate at 3:00. I also had some leftover Amish egg noodles and served the chicken, vegetables and sauce over the noodles. You can change up the vegetables in this dish based on personal preference or whatever you have on hand… Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, sweet peppers, green beans, turnips or parsnips. Any of those would be good. Your kitchen will smell wonderful while this is cooking!

Chili Rellenos with Tomato-Pepper Sauce and Refried Beans

March 31, 2015March 31, 2015 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

One of our favorite vacation destinations is Santa Fe New Mexico. We love all of the arts, the people, the beautiful scenery and the food. Chili Rellenos are one of our favorites. We first had really good rellenos at the La Fonda, a hotel restaurant on the square in Santa Fe, and we loved them. I have tried a few different ingredient combinations and this one has become my make at home favorite. I’d rather go to Santa Fe and order them but mine are the next best thing. It’s a fairly time consuming process so I don’t make them very often.

The first thing I made today were the refried beans.

Ingredients:

1 48-oz jar pre-cooked Randall’s pinto beans

1 large onion, rough chopped

2 T bacon fat or crisco shortening

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 jalapeño seeded and in a small dice

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped

Heat the grease or shortening in a large heavy skillet and add the onion.

Cook the onions over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are caramelized. About 20 minutes. Be careful not to burn them. You want them to be golden and sweet.

Drain and rinse the beans. Add the beans and broth to the caramelized onions and cook about 10 minutes over low heat.

My bean smashing implement of choice is an old fashioned potato masher. Smash the beans and onions together. Add a little extra broth if the beans seem too dry. Dice the jalapeño and chop the cilantro.

Stir the pepper and cilantro into the beans. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the beans to an oven safe dish and cover with Saran Wrap until you’re ready to heat them in the oven.

I sprinkle a little cheese on top of the beans before pitting them in the oven. (Queso fresco, queso Oaxaca, goat cheese or Monterey Jack.). When you’re ready heat in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the beans are heated through. If you want the beans to be vegetarian use crisco and vegetable broth.

Next I roast my peppers and prepare the Tomato-Pepper Sauce.

I line a large baking sheet with foil, preheat my oven to 425, spread the peppers out and roast them until they have a nice char on each side.

Turn the peppers at least once. It takes about 30 minutes total. Once the peppers are done put them in a covered bowl to steam and cool before peeling.

Sauce Ingredients:

2 or 3 large red or yellow bell peppers roasted or a jar of roasted peppers

1 large onion rough chopped

5-6 cloves of garlic rough chopped

2 T canola or olive oil

1 pint tomatoes in their juices

1/4 cup cilantro

2 T honey

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions, roasted and diced peppers, and garlic together. Cook until tender, 15 minutes or so.

Stir in the tomatoes and cook until thickened and reduced by half.

Once the sauce is thickened and reduced transfer it to your food processor. Add the cilantro and honey and pulse until smooth.

Pour the sauce into a serving bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside until you’re ready to serve the Rellenos. The sauce is served at room temperature.

Last, but not least, we prepare the peppers and the filling.

Poblano Peppers and Filling Ingredients:

4 poblano peppers roasted and peeled

3/4 to 1 cup goat cheese

1 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

Peel the roasted peppers and, using a sharp knife make a slit the length of the pepper and remove the seeds and membranes. Lay the peppers on paper towel until you’re ready to stuff them. Put the chickpeas, cheeses, and cilantro in the food processor and pulse until well blended.

Divide the filling into 4 equal parts and shape into ovals.

Put one of the ovals into each of the poblano peppers and, using your hands, gently close the pepper around the filling.

Heat peanut oil in a deep fryer or a heavy Dutch oven to 385 degrees.

Coating Ingredients:

2 large eggs whisked

1 cup beer

flour

cornmeal

Whisk the egg and beer together. Roll the pepper in flour, dip it into the egg mixture, and roll in the cornmeal.

Gently lower a couple peppers into the hot oil.

Fry until the peppers are golden brown turning once while they are frying. Remove peppers to paper towel to drain. Fry the remaining two peppers.

Serve hot with the refried beans and a generous serving of the tomato-pepper sauce.

Mexican rice and chips and guacamole are both excellent sides with this dish. Garnish with lime wedges if you’d like. Excellent with a nice cold beer or a tequila drink. You might feel transported to Santa Fe.

Vegetable and Shrimp Stir Fry

March 20, 2015March 20, 2015 / featherheadlady / 3 Comments

If you love vegetables, stir fry is the perfect meal. You can use almost any combination of vegetables you have on hand. I more often than not make stir fry without meat but tonight I added some pre-cooked shrimp. You can also use left over chicken, beef or pork. But the stars of this dish, for me, are the vegetables. There really is no right or wrong combination of ingredients but this is what I used tonight.

Vegetables:

Baby bok choy

Celery

Carrots

Mushrooms

Onion

Red bell pepper

Snow peas

Canola oil and toasted sesame oil

Sauce Ingredients:

6 T water

3 T catsup

2 T soy sauce

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp grated garlic

2 tsp honey

1 T cider or rice vinegar

1 T cornstarch

Cut up all of the vegetables into bite size pieces.

Heat a tablespoon of canola oil in your wok until it’s very hot. Add the vegetables and drizzle with a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil.

Cook the vegetables until tender crisp stirring frequently. Be careful not to overcook them.

Mix the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. With a microplane grate the ginger and garlic.

Whisk in the water, catsup, soy sauce, honey, and corn starch.

Add the shrimp to the wok with the vegetables. They’re already cooked so they just need to be heated.

Add the sauce, stir and cook over high heat until it thickens a bit. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Stir fry. It’s what was for dinner tonight.

NOTE: Shredded green cabbage, summer squash, broccoli, green onions, green beans, baby corn, water chestnuts. Any of these vegetables are great for stir fry.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

March 16, 2015 / featherheadlady / 3 Comments

It’s that time of year. Saint Patty’s Day. The day many of us enjoy the ultimate boiled dinner. For years a very good friend hosted a Saint Patty’s Day party and she cooked a lot of corned beef for the occasion. I had made corned beef brisket myself for years before her party but hers was the best I had ever tasted. No mustard required!

Ingredients:

Corned beef (of course)

1 large onion quartered

6-7 whole garlic cloves

1 T red pepper flakes

1 T crushed bay leaves

1 T oregano

1 T basil

1 T coriander seeds

salt and black pepper

…and that little seasoning packet that comes with the corned beef

Put your corned beef in a large Dutch oven or heavy kettle. Pour boiling water to completely cover the meat and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

Once the pot starts to boil, skim the white foam off with a slotted spoon. I know, it looks a little gross. Once you’ve removed and discarded the foam turn the heat down and add the onion and the garlic to the pot.

In a mortar and pestle combine and crush all of the dried herbs and spices and add them to the pot.

I add these after skimming the foam so that I don’t lose a lot of my seasoning in the process.

Add a generous T of salt, cover and simmer over low heat for 5-6 hours. Near the end of the cooking time prepare the vegetables.

Cabbage

Carrots

Red potatoes

Onion

Green Beans

Cut the cabbage into wedges removing the core. Scrub the carrots and cut into thirds. Cut the onion into quarters.

Cut the potatoes, rinse well and trim the green beans.

Remove the meat to a foil lined pan, along with a generous amount of the jus. Seal the foil and keep warm in the oven while the veggies cook.

Add the vegetables to the pot with the broth. Potatoes, carrots, onion, beans and cabbage on top. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat. Cook until the vegetables are all fork tender. About 45 minutes to an hour. The vegetables pick up the great spicy flavors from the broth.

Remove the meat about 10 minutes before serving. Allow the meat to rest for a few minutes and slice against the grain. Put all the vegetables in a large serving bowl or on a platter and top with the slices of corned beef. Fill up your plate and enjoy!

Serve with a good rye bread and a nice cold Irish beer like Guinness or O’hara’s Irish Wheat. This boiled dinner is a meal in itself and doesn’t need any other side dishes.

Leftovers are great as, well, leftovers. This is one of the meals I think tastes as good or better the next day. Or you can make a corned beef or Ruben sandwich. Maybe some corned beef hash for breakfast. It’s all good! Enjoy. Happy Saint Patty’s Day.

Lasagna Soup

March 10, 2015 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Nearly eight years ago I traded my cigarettes in for knitting needles and became part of a phenomenal group of women. We refer to ourselves as the Knit Wits. We meet weekly for lunch and knitting and road trips and we share recipes for some of the best food ever. Our pot lucks are ridiculous. Seriously ridiculous!

This recipe, for lasagna soup, was contributed by a very special Knit Wit who passed away two years ago at age 85. We all miss her so much but every time I make one of her recipes I know she’s smiling. She loved to cook and feed people and she was an expert at it. She’d be proud that all of us continue to make and enjoy her food. I know that this soup will easily become one of your favorites as well.

Ingredients:

1 lb Italian sausage (hot or sweet or 50/50)

2 cups onion rough chopped

1 cup carrots sliced

2 cups mushrooms sliced

1 red pepper rough chopped

2 T garlic minced

4 cups chicken broth

1 14-oz can stewed tomatoes

10 oz can tomato sauce

2 cups fresh spinach

1 cup uncooked pasta (penne, mufaloa or your favorite)

4 tsp fresh basil or 2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp oregano

2 cups fresh spinach

salt and pepper to taste

sliced provolone or fresh mozzarella

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

In a Dutch oven or heavy kettle brown the sausage over medium heat. If you have sausages vs bulk sausage remove the casings.

Add the onion and carrots.

Sauté for about 3 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, pepper, garlic, basil and oregano.

Sauté until garlic becomes fragrant. 1-2 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil.

Drop in the pasta and simmer over low heat until the pasta is cooked.

Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted.

Slice the provolone or fresh mozzarella (I prefer the mozzarella) and put some in the bottom of the soup bowl. Grate some fresh pram to top the soup.

Ladle the hot soup over the cheese and top with the parm.

This is a very hearty, filling soup. Enjoy with some crusty Italian bread or a slice of warm garlic bread. This dish will make you wish you were a Knit Wit!

Pork Steaks and Onion Gravy

February 13, 2015 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

One of my favorite memories of dinner at my Grandparents involved pork chops fried in a cast iron skillet with the darkest, richest onion gravy and mashed potatoes. I’m sure the pork chops were organic and locally raised before that even became a thing. My grandfather was a real meat and potatoes guy and this was one of his favorite meals as well. I don’t think the carrots would have made his plate. I remember my grandpa (and my uncle when he visited) eating the fat from all our chops. The fat was fried crispy and I’m sure it was very tasty but the rest of us trimmed it off and passed it down.

Tonight I used pork steaks rather than chops and I marinated them which my grandma would not have done. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to replicate her chops and gravy but to me our dinner had a little taste of nostalgia.

Ingredients:

4 bone-in pork chops or pork steaks

1 cup strong, black coffee

1/4 cup molasses

2 T cider vinegar

2 T Dijon mustard

2-3 garlic cloves sliced

salt and pepper to taste

2 T canola oil

2 T butter

1 large onion rough chopped

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 cups mushroom or vegetable broth (my grandmother would have used the water from boiling the potatoes)

Combine coffee, molasses, vinegar, and Dijon in a bowl and whisk together.

Slice the garlic cloves and add to the marinade.

Set aside 1/2 cup of the marinade. Season the chops or steaks with salt and pepper, put them in a gallon zip lock bag along with the rest of the marinade and seal. Allow the meat to marinate for 1-2 hours occasionally turning the bag.

Once the meat has marinaded, heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat and sear the meat on both sides.

Once the meat has been seared on both sides remove it to a platter and add the onion to the drippings in the skillet. Cook the onions over medium heat until they are tender and beginning to brown.

Add the butter and the flour to the onions and continue stirring. Slowly add the broth and the 1/2 cup of marinade continuing to stir until it thickens and you have a nice dark rich gravy.

Put the chops back in the gravy, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or so. Serve with smashed potatoes and a vegetable side and enjoy this simple, old fashioned dinner.

NOTE: I cooked my potatoes with the skins on and added a couple whole cloves of garlic to the cooking water. I smashed the potatoes and garlic along with a tablespoon of horseradish for a little extra zip.

Even though, to my knowledge, my grandmother did not marinade meat she would have approved of my use of strong black coffee. Coffee was almost always the beverage of choice at their house.

Jambalaya

February 11, 2015February 11, 2015 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

Mardi Gras a little early. We should have worn our beads at dinner.

The organic farm I get my meat from makes a great andouille and I had some in my freezer. While I’m not a huge fan of highly spiced foods my husband loves the heat. I decided to use my andouille and some shrimp I also had in the freezer and make a jambalaya. Cooking for me is almost always about improvising…putting my own spin on things. Improvising also becomes a necessity when you don’t have all the ingredients a recipe calls for and the grocery is a 30 minute drive.

Ingredients:

3 T olive or canola oil (divided)

4 links of andouille sausage

2 doz shrimp with tails

1 large onion rough chopped

1 orange sweet pepper rough chopped

3 stalks of celery rough chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic sliced

1 pint stewed tomatoes

8 oz bottle clam juice

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup flour

2 T franks hot sauce

1 14 oz can red beans

Spice Mix:

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

salt to taste

In a large heavy skillet heat 1 T of the oil over medium high heat. Slice the sausage and sear both sides.

Once the sausage has been seared on both sides put on a plate and set aside. Put broth, clam juice and tomatoes in a saucepan and heat. Add remaining oil to the skillet with the pan drippings and heat. Whisk in flour to make a roux. Continue whisking over medium heat until the roux turns a golden brown taking care not to burn. Whisk about 10 minutes.

Add the celery, onion and pepper to the roux and continue stirring over medium heat.

Slowly pour in the sauce pan of clam juice, tomatoes and broth continually stirring until gravy begins to thicken. Stir in the spice mixture and salt to taste. Add the andouille and red beans and simmer uncovered over low heat for about 15 minutes.

Add the shrimp and simmer for a couple of minutes until the shrimp is heated through. I used pre-cooked shrimp. Uncooked shrimp will require a couple more minutes to cook through.

Ladle your jambalaya into bowls and top with rice. Garnish with fresh parsley or sliced green onions and enjoy!

For those that want additional heat put the Franks or Tabasco on the table. But this had plenty of kick for me. Tasted really great with a nice cold beer.

NOTE: I used long grain rice and cooked it in chicken broth for a little extra flavor.

Seared Tuna with Mushrooms, Snow Peas and Sweet Red Peppers

February 6, 2015 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

My absolute favorite ocean fish is tuna. The only kind of tuna I was exposed to growing up came in a can and was packed in oil. We ate it with miracle whip, chopped onion and maybe a little pickle relish on Bunny bread…Bunny bread was the UP Wonder bread. We also ate it mixed with egg noodles, cream of mushroom soup and peas. The infamous tuna noodle casserole. In the early 1970s I was following a Weight Watcher’s diet which required 5 fish meals a week (shell fish for only one meal a week) and tuna in a can was my best friend. I wish I still had my Weight Watcher’s recipe cards because there were some truly bizarre concoctions using tuna!

This recipe is pure awesomeness and involves neither a can nor Weight Watchers.

Ingredients:

8-10 oz tuna steak

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

4 scallions sliced thin

2 cloves garlic grated

1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger grated

2 T peanut or canola oil for searing

With a microplane grate both the garlic and ginger.

Whisk together all of the ingredients.

Place the tuna in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over the tuna.

Allow the tuna to marinate for 30-60 minutes. While the tuna marinates prepare the vegetables.

Ingredients:

2 T canola oil

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 cups snow peas

1 sweet red pepper sliced thin

1 inch piece of fresh ginger grated

2 cloves of garlic sliced thin

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 T hoisin sauce

1 T pickled ginger

1/2 cup ginger ale or fresh squeezed orange juice

green onions thin sliced for garnish

Heat canola oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and peppers and cook until lightly browned, 4-5 minutes.

Add the garlic and snow peas and cook until the peas are lightly charred.

Add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and stir to combine. Deglaze the pan with the ginger ale or orange juice. Keep warm while searing the tuna.

Heat 2 T peanut oil or canola oil in a heavy skillet like cast iron. Remove tuna from the marinade and pat dry. Season both sides with fresh cracked pepper. When the oil is very hot sear the tuna, one minute per side.

Remove the tuna from the skillet and allow it to rest for 5 minutes. Slice the tuna.

Serve with rice. Spoon the vegetables over the rice along with some of the sauce. Put the tuna on the plate and garnish with the green onions.

One of my favorite meals!

NOTE: When I buy a piece of ginger I peel it, cut it into pieces and put it in zip lock bags in the freezer. Ginger is easy to grate when it’s frozen.