No Rules Allowed

In my opinion, cooking should be a relaxing, creative outlet, free from rigidity and rules. You should look at your ingredients and get excited because they are a palate for your creativity. Have fun, experiment, and be flexible enough to improvise and change your recipe based on what ingredients are available.

When I go grocery shopping, I just pick out what looks good in the produce section and what is a good price in the meat and seafood departments. I think it is fun to take my items home without a specific plan for them, and create new recipes throughout the week based on what was seasonally available.

A couple nights ago, my friend Courtney and I decided to make “Spaghetti Squash Gemelli” (twins) where each of us would provide a different sauce for the duo. Courtney made her famous “Creamy Deliciousness” and I was excited about steamed clams with basil and tomato.

I stopped by the store where the clams were on sale to find only five clams at the counter! Apparently many others had my same plan. No worries, the peeled and deveined shrimp looked divine so I grabbed a pound of that instead and headed over to cook with Court.

I used the same basic recipe and cooking method the clams called for and only had to change the amount of liquid so I could sauté the shrimp whereas I was planning to steam the clams.

As it turned out, the shrimp made a better half of the Gemelli than the clams would have because the sauce was a little thicker so it could stick to the spaghetti squash and could stand up to Court’s hearty selection. Plus, we got more bang for the buck with the meatiness of the shrimp versus the clam.

Italian Steamed Clams

Ingredients:
2 lbs. fresh clams
2 T minced garlic
2 T olive oil
2 tomatoes, 1” chop
2 cups dry white wine
2 T butter
1 bunch basil, julienned
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
Put oil, garlic, and clams in pan medium-high heat and cook for about one minute. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper and cook another minute or so. Add wine and stir around to deglaze pan. Cover and simmer on medium heat for about 5 minutes (until clams open). Remove clams and set aside. Simmer broth until it reduces by half. Remove from heat and stir in butter until it is melted. Add basil and stir. Put clams back in sauce and stir to cover.

Italian Shrimp

Ingredients:
2 lbs. fresh clams
2 T minced garlic
2 T olive oil
2 tomatoes, 1” chop
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 T butter
1 bunch basil, julienned
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
Put oil, garlic, and shrimp in pan medium-high heat and cook for about one minute and then stir the shrimp to flip them and cook another minute on the other side. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper and cook another minute or so. Add wine and stir around to deglaze pan and simmer another minute or so. Remove from heat and stir in butter until it is melted. Add basil and stir.

Courtney’s Creamy Deliciousness

Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
1 pkg. mushrooms, sliced
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 t. olive oil
1 pkg. Trader Joe’s hot Italian chicken sausage
1 jar Trader Joe’s Rustico Marinara
Splash heavy cream (to taste)

Directions:
Heat oil in pan on medium-high heat and cook sausage until brown then add onion, mushrooms and garlic and cook until onions are translucent. Add marinara sauce and simmer for 3-5 minutes on medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream.

Win, Win, Win Situation

Part of living a healthy life is helping others to do the same. This can be done in many ways and I personally do it every day at my job as a fitness coach at Invictus Fitness. I love my job! It is an amazing way to touch people from all walks of life and help them reach their health and fitness goals. Most of you don’t have the pleasure of going to work at a giant playground like I do but I’m sure you could figure out ways to help friends, family, and even strangers live longer, happier, and healthier lives!

I have volunteered for a number of organizations over the years and find it very rewarding to work directly with the people who are served by them. A few months ago, I organized a group of fellow Invicti to join me in serving lunch to low-income seniors at Senior Community Centers (SCC) once a month. Volunteers like us mean that the center doesn’t have to pay staff to serve meals so more money can go toward the nutrition program and other services that they offer. It is also a wonderful community and team building activity for our gym. I put a sign-up on the whiteboard each month and it is full within a day. The staff at SCC is always pleasantly surprised at the size of our group and the seniors clap upon our arrival. It is a win, win, win situation.

Last week, a friend of mine who attends my 9:30 group class at Invictus had some pretty major surgery. I was stoked when the other ladies in the class decided to take turns checking in on her and bringing her food and of course, I jumped on the opportunity to help out. My day is Wednesday and I will go each week until she has recovered enough to get along on her own.
Last Wednesday I took her BBQ Rubbed Pork Tenderloin, a Garden Salad with my Roasted Grape Tomato-Balsamic Dressing (see August 27th entry), and a Frittata so she would have a week’s worth of breakfasts on hand within one minute in the microwave.

BBQ Rubbed Pork Tenderloin:
Open one package of pork tenderloin and remove both pieces (there are always two tenderloins in the package). LIGHTLY cover with liquid smoke but be careful because a little of this stuff goes a long way! Sprinkle on your favorite sugar-free BBQ rub. Cook at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until meat is medium-well. Remove from oven and let rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing. It will finish cooking through during the rest period but don’t worry, it is okay to eat pork when it is a little pink and is actually better if not overcooked.

Sausage, Mushroom & Roasted Red Pepper Frittata:
2T coconut oil
1 pkg. white button mushrooms, sliced
2 roasted red peppers, diced (I always have a jar of these on hand)
1T minced garlic (another thing I always have a jar of on hand)
1 pkg. turkey breakfast sausage links, quartered
18 eggs, beaten

In an oven proof pan, sautee mushrooms and garlic in the coconut oil on medium-high heat until mushrooms cook down (about 5 minutes). Add roasted red peppers and sausage and cook until sausage is no longer pink. Pour in eggs and scrape bottom of pan until mixture is almost set. Smooth out top and let sit over heat until steam rises through tiny holes in mixture (about 2 minutes). Place under broiler until top browns (about 2-3 minutes). Slip spatula under frittata and slide out of pan onto plate then cut into 8-12 pieces. This will keep for a week and slices can be reheated in the microwave in about a minute for easy breakfast!