chilled pea soup with mint, tarragon and basil :: by radish*rose

chilled green pea soup with mint, tarragon, basil, and goat cheese

This is one good-looking and delicious chilled soup. We could not stop eating it. A most excellent light and guilt-free appetizer for your summer nights. Serve it in martini glasses for guests – and it’s great for guests because there is a nice make-ahead trick. Also, you can pretend you’re in Spain because it’s from a super-awesome Spanish cookbook. What’s not to like? Continue reading

zingy lime-cumin fish tacos :: by radish*rose

zingy lime-cumin fish tacos

Fish tacos in a restaurant are often deep-fried, crunchy treats and I sometimes enjoy them when I eat out. However, I’m not about to replicate that situation at home, because there’s a healthy alternative, which I’m about to share with you, and did I mention I’m scared of deep frying?  It’s a fear I don’t try to very hard to overcome, since I certainly don’t need more deep fried foods in my life!
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So here’s my answer: Zesty lime-cumin fish, marinated and gently sauteed to perfection.  Fill up these guilt-free tacos along with some fresh veggies and guacamole, if you like that sort of thing. And no scary deep frying!

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white bean, artichoke, tuna, and egg salad :: by radish*rose

white bean, artichoke, tuna, and egg salad

If I might make an observation, IT’S FULL-ON SUMMER here!  So maybe you don’t feel like cranking up the oven. Instead, you might want a light but hearty, protein-filled salad for dinner. And wouldn’t it be great if you could make it from items you can keep handy in the pantry, with a few fresh ingredients to liven things up?  A tip: put all your canned ingredients in the fridge before you leave for work.  Then when you get home, throw this together, and it will already be chilled and you can nom-nom it right away!  This is a super-flexible recipe, so if you haven’t got hard-cooked eggs or artichoke hearts already at hand, just leave them out or sub in something else you do have that you think would be nice.  It will be OK. Promise. Continue reading

thai-style curry mussels :: by radish*rose

thai-style curry coconut mussels with lime and spinach

Love Thai food?  Me too!  The combination of curry, coconut, and lime used in many Southeast Asian dishes is so addictive.  Thanks to Thai curry paste, which is readily available (I got mine from Whole Foods), you can recreate the flavors at home without too much fuss.  And one of the wonderful things about steaming mussels is that a delicious broth is created once the mussels open up and add their juices to the broth base. I like to serve this dish with jasmine rice because once you have finished the mussels, you can stir rice into the broth (which also has greens in it), and eat it like a soup.  And you’ll want to.  It’s so good! Continue reading