Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

This dish is truly delicious! I made it the other day- concocted it in my head the day before I was supposed to cook and take it to my friend’s house.

She was having a get together and wanted to know where to get a few meat snacks for a cocktail party. I suggested we cook at home instead. It is so hard to find a place that makes and delivers yummy food. Also, by the time they bring the food over, it’s cooked and cold and doesn’t taste the same reheated. We decided I will cook the shrimp and take to her house. I decided to do a stir fry style dish which will taste good room temperature as shrimp is not so tasty reheated.

There used to be a South Indian restaurant in Edison, NJ that served delicious seafood. We would go once in a while and make it a point to order a shrimp stir fry for appetizer. It was yum! It had cumin and fennel seeds amongst other ingredients. I started to think of that dish and got inspired to make the coconut shrimp.

I roasted the cumin and fennel seeds and powdered them in a spice grinder. I also had fresh frozen shredded coconut which I roasted as well- just to give it more of a crunch in the dish. Store bought, packaged coconut can be substituted for the dish. 

The overall flavor was enhanced by the marinade- which was simply lemon juice, garlic, salt and olive oil. I sauteed the marinated shrimp with the spice mix and added the coconut. Very simple, yet very tasty.

It was a big hit at the party. This dish will definitely be part of my repertoire going forward. Give it a try- you won’t be disappointed!
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This recipe is a combination of two things I had in Italy. The second night there we went to a local wine bar. It had fabulous wines and light fare. We ordered a couple platters of bruschetta which were delicious. Each platter had a 4 pieces of bread with different toppings- none of them had diced tomatoes- which is what I think of when someone mentions bruschetta. Each of the toppings were yummy but one stood out clearly. It was a arugula and almond pesto- I know this because I asked the owner for the ingredients. I wrote them down and made a mental note to make this as soon as I got back to NJ.

The last day of our trip was spent in Rome. We ate dinner at a small trattoria and my husband ordered pasta primavera. Here, when he orders that dish, he is used to getting a plate of pasta with lots of veggies in a tomato sauce. In Rome he got a plate of fresh pasta in a chunky tomato sauce topped with a mound of fresh arugula and mozzarella cheese. It was delicious!

This creation is a combination of the arugula pesto and the pasta dish. I made a typical pasta primavera- which my husband loves; but I topped it with fresh arugula and mozzarella cheese mixed with the arugula pesto. It was really really good- if I do say so myself! The arugula pesto is absolutely out of this world. The slight bitterness comes through but is contrasted really well with the creaminess of the almonds and the olive oil.

Even if you don’t try the pasta, definitely try the pesto. Speaking of pasta- you can definitely use the pesto for a pasta dish- I bet it will be delicious! In fact I will try it and let you know!

• 2 small zucchinis cut into ½ inch dice
• 1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cups tomato sauce
• Salt
• 1 pound fresh pasta, cooked al dente
• Pinch of sugar

In a large frying pan, add the olive oil and heat on medium high heat. Add the zucchini and mushrooms. Saute on high heat for 5 to 6 minutes or till the vegetables are soft and golden brown. Add the tomato sauce, sugar and salt.
Cook on medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the fresh pasta and mix well and check for seasonings.

• 2 cups fresh baby arugula
• 1 cup fresh ciliegine mozzarella (small balls)

Arugula Pesto with Almonds

• 3 cups fresh baby arugula
• 1 cup sliced blanched almonds
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons slat

In a food processor, add the almonds and process till fine. Add the arugula and start the processing. While the arugula is processing, slowly drizzle the olive oil. Take out in a bowl and add the salt. Check for seasonings.

Take a cup of mozzarella and mix ½ cup of arugula pesto and the fresh arugula and keep aside.

Serve the pasta with ½ a cup of the arugula mozzarella mixture on top.

I love it when I can make two completely different meals with the same exact ingredients. 
In this case, I made the sausage and mushroom mixture for the quesadillas yesterday. I had about a cup of the mixture leftover after dinner. While I was cleaning up and putting away everything in the fridge, I told my husband he will be getting scrumptious scrambled eggs tomorrow morning.

I woke up the next day and quickly took the mixture out of the fridge. I beat the eggs with salt, half and half and the Gruyere cheese. The scrambled eggs were made in a matter of minutes. I heated a tortilla and served the eggs with leftover tomatillo salsa.

It was a delicious and quick breakfast. I on the other hand, had my usual spelt toast with a dollop of strawberry jam and a chunk of low fat jalapeno cheese. Of course I had a big, huge, delicious cup of coffee with it. I was happy and so was my husband. Sia was happy munching on whole grain pancakes with fresh raspberries and maple syrup. All in all it was a good Saturday morning.
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 Of late, quesadillas are my favorite things to make. I love using the whole-wheat tortillas from Trader Joes. In fact my daughter takes them for lunch at least once or twice a week. I feel good about the low-fat cheese I use and the whole-wheat tortillas. A bag of carrots completes the meal for her.

They make a good snack or even a meal. In this case I made a meal out of them. I wanted to use mushrooms and maybe sausage to add some protein. I bought some cremini mushrooms and Gruyere cheese for the meal. I use creminis because of the brown color, I love the way they look- in terms of taste, they are very similar to the white ones- so use any you want. I love Gruyere, it is typically used for fondues and so it melts really well. I prefer it’s mild, nutty flavor- it goes with any thing!

For this meal I sauteed the mushrooms with chicken sausages I had in my freezer, and some garlic. The mixture took a few minutes to make. In the meantime, I grated the cheese and was ready to make the quesadillas.

I had fresh tomatillos from the farmer’s market. I wanted to make a vibrant salsa to serve with the quesadillas. The processor did all the work for me and I had a yummy tasting condiment in no time.

Overall, it was a simple, fast and delicious weeknight meal. I served a green salad with it and called it a night!
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This summer has been quite indulgent. Generally people eat less in the heat but this year there wasn’t that much heat- and I certainly did not have a problem eating- and drinking.. Yes there were quite a lot of Malbec wines.

Now that I am back from vacation, I feel I need to get back into eating the right thing again. Its not that I don’t eat and cook healthy all year round but I feel I should pay a little more attention right now so I don’t fall off the wagon once winter comes along- I crave rich stews, sauces and dark red cabernets.. which can be quite dangerous in terms of high calories.

I had the cabbage and peas in the fridge and I wanted to cook a healthy protein. Kebabs came to mind- specifically seekh kebabs. In the past I have made them with pork and turkey. For this recipe I used ground chicken. I wanted to keep the recipe clean and easy so I used mint as the dominant flavor. It has some onion to soften the texture and garlic for its wonderful taste. 

It took just a few minutes to put together. I marinated them for a few hours and then cooked them on the stove top. My daughter loves to eat them- I also like having left overs in the fridge- I cut them up and add them to a quesadilla for her lunch the next day.

They were easy and delicious- perfect dish to make for a weekday!
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