Seared Tuna with Asian Red Cabbage Coleslaw

The coleslaw recipe is adapted from a recipe I found on Epicurious.

• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 4 cups thinly slices red cabbage (about 1/2 a head)
• 1/2 cup thinly slices onions
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Gari (sushi ginger) - optional
  

Stir sesame seeds in small dry skillet over medium heat until light golden, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Combine cabbage and green onions in a large bowl. Add vinegar, canola oil, sesame oil, and sugar and toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Toss before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Seared Tuna

Coat both sides of a 1/2 pound think tuna steak with Montreal Streak seasoning. slice the streak into two portions lengthwise. Get a pan as hot at possible. Put a small amount of peanut oil in the pan and sear the streak about 1 minute on a side. The center should still be rare.

Slice thin and arrange on a plate. Serve with Asian Red Cabbage Coleslaw. Serve with Gari for a special touch.

Grilled Salmon with Yellow Curry

• 2 portions of salmon fillet skinned
• 2 zucchini
  
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon yellow curry paste
• 1/2 can coconut cream or milk

With a mandolin julienne the zucchini lengthwise on the smallest setting. The result will be a lot like linguine. Cut the bell pepper into as thin strips as possible.

Salt and pepper the salmon and grill

Saute the zucchini and pepper until tender.

in a small sauce pan heat the coconut cream and curry paste and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and simmer for a few minutes until the paste is fully combined.

Toss the zucchini and peppers with the curry.

Place a bed of the vegetables on a plate and top with a fillet. Top with a little curry.

Serves two.

Easy Spicy Black Bean Soup

I took this recipe from the Food Network website. Its pretty spicy, you might consider reducing the cayenne by half or more, and spicing it up to taste with hot sauce at the table.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 6 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• salt and pepper
• Cheddar cheese
• Sour cream
• Chopped red onion

In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and peppers and cook until tender about 5-8 minutes. Stir in spices and toss to coat vegetables. Pout in stock an beans and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes. In a blender, puree half the soup until smooth and stir back into the soup pot. Serve hot with garnishes

When I completed this recipe it was really HOT. I simmered it until reduced by about one third. It was much richer and reduced the heat quite a bit.

I like to serve my soup with a chopped boiled egg in it for a really complete meal.

Strawberry Pie

Strawberry Pie was always a tradition on the 4th of July when I was growing up. When I was shopping today on the 4th of July strawberries were only $0.99 a pound! It was fate, damn the heat I'm making a strawberry pie!

This is my mother's recipe, I'm not sure where she got it from, as I recall it was on an old yellowing index card so you know its good.

• 9 inch baked pie shell
• 3 pints fresh strawberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup sweetened whipped cream

1. Wash and hull the berries. Reserve half (the best looking ones) and mash the rest.
   
2. Add sugar and cornstarch.
3. Mix well and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickends and clear.
4. Stir in the lemon juice and cool.
5. Add the remaining berries saving 6 for garnish.
6. pour into the pie shell and chill.
7. Before serving, top with whipped cream and garnish with the remaining berries.