protein

You are currently browsing articles tagged protein.

Another Valentine’s Day post because I happen to love Valentine’s Day AND because it provides a good excuse to drink Champagne, eat chocolate, and linger over indulgent meals.

With Valentine’s Day falling on a Monday, it is the perfect time to celebrate twice, once with a leisurely Sunday brunch for your Valentine and again on Monday.

smoked salmon omelet ingredients

You know a meal is good when you think about it for years. The day after I ran the Bermuda International Marathon in January 2004, I had one of the most memorable omelets that I have ever had at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess. I loved everything about the hotel, especially its beautiful waterfront location and the fact that it is PINK, but the post-marathon omelet sealed the deal.

This omelet had flecks of salty smoked salmon peeking out behind ribbons of melted brie all whipped into fluffy, airy eggs. It was the memory of this omelet that inspired my breakfast the other morning, and it is a recipe that could easily wow your beloved this Sunday morning for brunch.

I started with a few pieces of smoked salmon, chopping it into tiny bits. To the salmon I added some grated Kerrygold cheese left over from the bread I made the other day.

smoked salmon and cheddar

For my own omelet, I used only two eggs, but the recipe is easily doubled or quadrupled for brunch for several people. You can, of course also just use the whites for a lower fat omelet. I like the nutrition that comes from the yolks, so I left them in Smile

omelet ingredients

To the eggs, which I had whipped with a ball whisk, I added the salmon and cheese, about 1/8 up of skim milk, and a small pat of butter, chopped up into pieces. I heated up a tiny bit more butter in my smallest frying pan; I find it easiest to make a pretty-looking and fully cooked omelet in a smaller pan. When the butter was melted and the pan very hot, I poured the egg mixture in, cranked the heat up as high as it would go, and waited until the top of the omelet started bubbling, then solidified.

smoked salmon omelet

To get the omelet out of the pan, I placed a plate over the top of the pan, then held on to the plate and the handle of the pan while flipping the pan over. A piece of the omelet stuck in the pan, but otherwise, it came out without breaking! And I was able to fold it over to showcase the golden brown side. Fancy, isn’t it?! Smile I was kind of excited about how nice my meal was. I added a few scoops of homemade salsa which consisted of Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes, a bit of red onion, two jalapenos, three cloves of garlic, and a little bit of olive oil.

omelet

The combination was excellent, filling, and healthy. Interested in making this for a special Sunday brunch? If I was making a Valentine’s brunch for my husband (which I won’t be doing because I am going away and he is working alllllll weekend), I would pair this with some oven roasted potatoes, maybe something sweet like mini cinnamon rolls, and of course a glass of bubbly, maybe a Billecart Salmon Brut Rose? Then, I would take my time eating, drinking, and relaxing for the rest of the day!

Do you have a really memorable meal that has been on your mind for years like the omelet I had in Bermuda?

Tags: breakfast, brunch, brunch at home, cheddar, eggs, healthy, omelet, omelets, protein, recipe, recipes, salsa, smoked salmon

Fear of Frying

*If you missed it yesterday, I have a new page all about Marketing! If you know a small Boston business with a small budget looking for Social Media/Marketing solutions, please send them to this page. *

Some foods are just fantastic when fried. Potatoes, mozzarella cheese, and even pickles can benefit from a roll in some batter and a dip in boiling oil.

Fish cakes, like the ones I made last night, are another food that, even when lightly pan fried, taste just a little bit better. Unfortunately, my fear of frying got the better of me, and I baked them.

It turns out that they didn’t need to be fried, even only slightly browned, they were fresh and healthy without all of that extra oil.

I started with a cup of teeny tiny potatoes, tossed into boiling water until they were nice and soft.

teeny tiny potatoes

small potatoes

I also got some water boiling to steam the last of the Alaskan cod from the Foodbuzz Alaska Seafood recipe contest. They sent me a serious amount of cod, and it lasted very well in the freezer over the months. I cooked all of the cod from frozen, as Alaska Seafood mentioned in the materials that they sent me, and I was always surprised how good frozen fish could taste. In this case, I used my steamer basket to cook the cod until it was flaky.

Alaskan cod

I whipped up the seasonings on the side, a cup of panko bread crumbs, some salt-free dill and lemon seasoning, and a few spoonfuls of Dijon mustard.

dijon mustard and dill seasoning

bread crumbs

When the fish and potatoes were tender, I added them to the bread crumb mixture, then mashed my heart out with a potato masher.

cod and potatoes

Once the mix was a bit cooler, I added two whole eggs and thoroughly stirred everything up. The cod cakes went into a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes and ended up nicely browned. They reminded me a lot of Morton’s crab cakes which are full of crab meat and not fried. It turns out some things are good fried, but they are even better baked Smile

dinner is served

Served with a simple side of roasted Brussels sprouts and mushrooms left over from my chicken dish the other night, this was a great meal for a night when I wanted something healthy and warm. Since we are going on vacation to Ireland soon, I am doing my best to get in lots of workouts, vegetables, and water. Once I get to Ireland. . . well, all bets are off. It’s called Supermac’s, it’s Ireland’s higher-quality answer to McDonald’s, and it is fabulous.

Random story and question: The other day, when I was running, I saw a Manwich can hanging out of someone’s busted open trash bag. It brought me back to childhood and the Manwich commercials. My mother would never buy Manwich despite my desperate requests for it. We also never ate Hamburger Helper or sugary cereals like Cookie Crisp.

What food/s did you really want to eat when you were younger but were prohibited by parents? Have you tried them as an adult, and if so, did they live up to expectations?

Tags: baked not fried, brussels sprouts, cod, cod cakes, cooking, easy recipes, fish, Food, healthy, healthy cooking, healthy recipe, mushrooms, protein, recipe, roasted vegetables

new restaurant
WordPress SEO fine-tune by Meta SEO Pack from Poradnik Webmastera