ahi tuna with grilled pineapple salsa

This meal is a crowd pleaser! I have made this for friends who are picky about fish and for large groups -and everyone loves it. The best part is that it can almost completely be made in advance, from the orange juice glaze to the salsa. Just grill the fish right before serving. This is excellent with a simple salad and yellow rice with black beans. Super healthy and super filling.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, ahi is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, folic acid and more. Your heart, body and mouth will be happy!

Ahi Tuna with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rings
• 1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 4 (6-ounce) very fresh, sushi-grade ahi tuna steaks
• Canola oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
• Juice of one lime
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• Extra basil or mint for garnish

1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat. On the stovetop, boil orange juice in a small saucepan 15 minutes or until reduced to 1/4 cup. Transfer to a small bowl; stir in soy sauce.
2. Place pineapple and onion on a grill rack coated with cooking spray.* Grill five minutes on each side or until the onion is tender and just starting to char. Remove from grill; let stand five minutes. Coarsely chop, and transfer to a bowl.
3. Brush both sides of fish evenly with 1 tbsp. oil; sprinkle evenly with desired salt and pepper. Place fish on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; brush with half of juice mixture. Grill three minutes; turn fish over. Brush fish with remaining juice mixture; grill three minutes or until desired degree of doneness (rare is recommended).
4. Add basil, and next three ingredients (through jalapeno) to pineapple mixture; toss. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fish; garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

*The pineapple and onion can be charred in a frying pan indoors, as well. (I did this when it was raining outside!) Start with the pineapple and grill in batches on a dry pan over medium-high heat, turning every few minutes when the exteriors are dark and the insides are juicy. When the pineapple is grilled (as shown below), add a drizzle of canola to the pan along with the red onion, in batches if needed. When the onion is beginning to char on the edges, it's done.

garlic-ginger marinated chicken thighs

This super-fast recipe is a great tailgate food if you have a grill available. Start marinating the chicken in a zip-top bag the night before the game and throw the whole thing in a cooler on the way out the door. Practically instant lunch! Great with just about anything, this is a yummy and versatile marinade.

Also, for the record: the jury is still out on whether white meat is better for you than dark meat. The former has slightly less calories and fat (an ounce of boneless, skinless breast meat contains about 46 calories and one gram of fat, compared with roughly 50 calories and two grams of fat for an ounce of boneless, skinless thigh), but dark meat has more iron, zinc, riboflavin, thiamine, and B vitamins. No wonder I always reached for the drumsticks!

Garlic-Ginger Marinated Chicken Thighs

• 2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed (or any dark-meat cut of chicken)
• 1 cup red onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp, minced garlic
• 2 tbsp, fresh chopped ginger
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 1/4 orange juice
• Black pepper

Combine the above ingredients in a small bowl and then pour over chicken in a zip-top bag. Squish around to ensure even distribution and place in the fridge for one hour, or as long as overnight. Grill and serve!

tart cranberry-orange muffins

 

Yes, people. I am well aware that I have an obsession with muffins. I guess I could make more loaves or scones, but I just like the neatness of a muffin. It's like a snack-sized little treat that's ready when you are. Plus, they're kinda cute.

I've actually made these muffins before, but they were too sweet the first time around for me. A bag of fresh cranberries in my organic produce box led to another attempt, this time with less sugar. Bingo - we have a winner. These are tart and citrusy, rather than sugary and sticky. But the crunch of raw sugar on top makes it feel like a sweet treat, even though it's packed with whole-wheat flour, antioxidant-rich fruits and heart-healthy oil. Good stuff can come in pretty packages!

Tart Cranberry-Orange Muffins

• 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cup sugar (I used unprocessed cane sugar)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons grated orange rind
• 3/4 cup orange juice (about one large orange)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1 tbsp raw sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.Combine flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
3. Combine rind, juice, oil, vanilla, and egg in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in cranberries and walnuts.
4. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with raw sugar. Bake at 400° for ~18 minutes or until the muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Run a knife or spatula around outer edge of each muffin cup. Carefully remove each muffin; place on a wire rack.

Wanna see my other muffin obsessions? Check them out here:

• Banana-crumb nut muffins
• Carrot cake muffins
• Banana-coconut muffins
• Apple-cinnamon muffins

summertime cinnamon-orange iced tea

Though I'm from the deep south where syrupy sweet tea is offered in every restaurant and premade in every grocery store, I don't care for it. I usually opt for unsweetened with lemon when I'm out to eat (something that took a little getting used to, but now I crave) and almost daily drink a mug of hot cinnamony decaf tea in the afternoons at work. Chocked full of antioxidants and flavor, I find that the spices in my "Christmas tea" (as our intern dubbed it) replace the need for sugar. It's a nice alternative to the calorie-packed sweet teas and artificial sweeteners that I avoid.

So, as a cinnamon lover and a tea advocate, I knew I would like this recipe the minute I saw it. It makes eight cups and can be made on the weekends for weeklong enjoyment. It does come with a simple syrup, but I used a quarter of the recipe for the whole carafe. Perfect. Enjoy it on a warm, sunny day when you need some cool refreshment.

Cinnamon-orange Iced Tea

• 2 large pieces of orange peel, plus orange
• 1-2 cinnamon sticks
• 8 black tea bags
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 quarter-sized coins of peeled ginger, chopped
• 6 sprigs fresh mint

1. Make the tea: Combine 8 cups water, tea, orange and cinnamon sticks in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and remove the tea bags after they have steeped for five minutes (any longer and the tea will become bitter). Set aside to cool.
2. Make the simple syrup (again, I only made 1/4 of this recipe and found it to be perfect): In a small sauce pan combine 1 cup of water with the sugar and ginger. Slowly bring to a boil and remove from heat. Tear the mint leaves and sprigs into smaller pieces and add to the mixture. Give it a good stir and allow it to sit for 20 minutes.
3. Add the tea with the orange peel and cinnamon stick to a pretty pitcher and stir in a little of the syrup. Taste and add more as needed. Serve over ice with a pretty orange slice and a fresh cinnamon stick, if desired.

thai ginger-honey beef salad

For dinner I wanted something fresh and colorful, and also something I could pair with steak. I've been craving a Thai-style beef, but also something healthy and light. So I found a recipe from Epicurious for a ginger-honey marinade for beef – one that has a little kick and uses lots of herbs and spices – that would be perfect for a salad.

Color: that's how the salad was built. Red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow pepper, green cucumber, earthy mushrooms, purple onion. The colors alone, not to mention all the fresh flavors, got me excited. Then we pulled the beef out of the marinade. Intoxicating and spicy, citrusy and sweet, it went on the grill until it was tender and made our mouths water.

Simple. Tasty. Colorful. Fresh. Healthy. Make this steak and serve it over salad or with other Thai-style side dishes (Ina's peanut noodles would be amazing). You won't be disappointed.

Thai Ginger-Honey Beef
Marinade & Steak

• 3/4 to 1 lb. of skirt or flank steak
• 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 6 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon cilantro
• 1 tablespoon mint leaves (home grown!)
• Juice from one lime, about 1 tbsp
• 1 small Thai (or serrano) chile or jalepeno
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced

1. Place all ingredients (soy sauce through ginger) in a food processor and puree. Place steak in a bag or shallow dish and pour the marinade over it. Tightly cover or seal and allow the steak to marinate in the refrigerate for at least two hours.
2. Preheat the grill to 350*. Grill, turning once, until the meat is the desired doneness. Remove the meat from the grill and wrap it tightly in foil; allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Slice it thinly against the grain. Serve immediately.

Note: I whipped up a homemade salad dressing of orange and lime juice, sesame oil and a little soy sauce. Refreshing and delicious with the citrus and sesame.

Before I go, let me just say that the advantages of marinating meats before grilling go beyond flavor boosting. Grilling meat at high heat produces carcinogenic compounds (heterocyclic amines [HCAs] and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs], just in case you were wondering). Marinating meat helps to prevent these compounds from being formed. In fact, rosemary, oregano and sage are credited in being some of the best to add to a marinade for just that purpose. All the more reason to pour on the flavor before you grill!