Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

I used a Chinese style sausage in this recipe. A friend bought it for me from an Asian store. She makes a delicious Vietnamese style fried rice with this particular sausage.

I first had it back in college- I will not share how long ago that was. She would make it in our small apartment kitchen that we shared with three other girls. It was so hard to keep that kitchen clean- maybe that is where I get my anal cleaning habits… Anyway, the rice was delicious.

I had the sausage in the fridge and it had been there for a while. I decided to use it and make my own version of a fried rice. I usually add a lot of chopped vegetables but for this dish I used protein only. I was using brown rice to make a healthy dish and tamari as the primary flavoring. It is a concentrated soy sauce and packs a punch in any dish.

To make a balanced meal, I stir fried vegetables on the side. Recipe to follow tomorrow…

In the meantime, try this Chinese sausage fried rice- it is delicious.
Click here for the recipe… »

This side dish was served with the ma po tofu I whipped up for my husband the other day. I am always looking to serve broccoli in different ways- especially because it is the most popular vegetable with kids. It is also quite versatile. I can chop it up small and use it for fried rice or I can just broil it simply with extra virgin olive oil and salt.

I find most parents boil the broccoli for their kids. I find roasting vegetables brings out the natural sweetness in them and makes them yummier. We invested in a small toaster/convection counter top oven a few years ago. It is super handy. I use it for breakfast to make toast; for lunch to bake a quick fish fillet and for dinner to roast vegetables. Since it has a convection button as well- things cook much faster. It is very convenient and I don’t have to heat my big oven for a small job. The broccoli tastes delicious roasted in the oven.

For this dinner, since I was making a tofu and turkey stir fry, I needed a side of vegetables. Blood oranges are in season and are in abundance at Whole Foods and Trader Joes. I had a whole bunch sitting on my kitchen counter and I decided to use that as a base for this quick side dish. I mixed fresh blood orange juice (which is the most delicious thing I have ever had-  a sip takes me back to last summer in Umbria), tamari and a bit of honey and of course some garlic. I reduced the sauce a bit to transform it into a glaze. I roasted the broccoli half way and then poured the glaze on top. You can substitute regular oranges in this dish. I would top the broccoli with some orange zest and it will be delicious.

The broccoli was delicious and a bit different. What I liked about it was that it was easy and quick yet flavorful and most importantly got a thumbs up from my daughter.

Next time you want to cook broccoli for dinner roast it the oven and pour a blood orange and tamari glaze.
Blood Orange Glaze

• Juice 3 to 4 blood oranges- should yield 1/3 to ½ cup juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced

Bring the blood orange juice, honey, tamari and garlic cloves to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 6 to 7 minutes till the juice thickens and reduces to a ¼ cup. Taste for seasonings and keep aside.

• 3 cups broccoli florets, frozen or fresh
• 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt

Roast the broccoli mixed with the olive oil and salt in a 350 degrees oven for 10 minutes or till it becomes soft. Take out of oven and pour the glaze over the broccoli, mix well and place back in the oven. Roast for another 10 minutes. Serve as a side dish with any entrée.

This is my easy, quick ‘go to’ meal. I use the pink lentils which cook up in a matter of minutes and it is ready to eat. I made this for a friend who requested Indian food. She said she was satisfying her craving by going to Trader Joes and buying the boxed Indian meals- what??? I couldn’t let that one go- I think she knew I would be very disturbed by that comment and she was right. Even though I had no plans on making Indian food for our dinner together- I couldn’t help myself. I decided to make a chicken dish and these lentils.

I needed to serve a vegetable and to make it easy I decided to use baby spinach- that I had in my fridge- yet another great thing to keep in there all the time. It is handy for a quick salad or even a stir fry.

The lentils were done in about 15 minutes, I added the spinach and then heated some mustard and cumin seeds in oil and was done! The result was a delicious, healthy side dish that can be served with rice or bread.

I gave it to my daughter the next day and she didn’t even notice the spinach in it- I am not sure how that happened. The bright colored greens were quite apparent to me but I think because the dal was so delicious, she didn’t even care about the spinach.

Make the spinach dal next time you are short on time…

Click here for the recipe… »

This is a very versatile side dish. I am always looking for new ways to cook vegetables. My daughter in not a big fan of zucchini. She doesn’t like the texture- well, it really depends how I cook it for her. It it is broiled or stir fried and cooked just a tad- essentially, she doesn’t like it when it goes all limp and I don’t blame her. I think she would love fried zucchini- but since I will not be doing that- I have to come up with other ways of feeding this green vegetable to her.

I usually cook it in a stir fry- with chicken, pork or beef. One of our favorite Chinese restaurant- Hunan Spring serves a chicken zucchini dish. It is one of my favorite dishes there- it is fairly healthy with lots of zucchini and white meat chicken. I ask them to make it extra spicy and it is fabulous. I try to replicate that at home and it comes out quite nice as well.

I already had some lentils made in the fridge and I was planning on making fresh rotis but I needed a veggie. I had a pack of zucchini from Trader Joes. I decided to cook it like a stir fry but with Indian spices. My daughter approved since the texture was not mushy. I finished the dish with a squirt of lemon juice which awoke all the flavors and made it yummy.

Sauteed zucchini will be ideal with roast chicken, pork tenderloin or even fish or shrimp.

• 3 medium zucchini, cut into ½ inch slices
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 10-12 curry leaves
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• Salt
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Juice of half a lemon

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Saute for 30 seconds on medium high heat or till the seeds begin to sizzle. Add the zucchini slices and sauté on high heat 5-6 minutes, till the slices begin to brown. Add the salt, coriander powder and cayenne pepper. Mix well and turn the heat off. Add the lemon juice and check for seasonings before serving.

I try to have this chicken in my fridge all the time. It is extremely versatile. My daughter loves taking it to school wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla or homemade roti. I also add it to a cheese quesadilla for her.

I use it for salads for myself at lunch time. With lots of lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers and carrots. I add some nuts and a few raisins, a dash of hot sauce- yes you read correctly- hot sauce. I know that sounds a bit weird but it adds a nice kick and great flavor to the salad. Plus, I don’t feel the need for a lot of salad dressing- just a drop and that keeps the calories down.

It is very easy to make this chicken. It can be marinated and even frozen until you need to use it. Obviously it is ideal to marinate the meat overnight but if you don’t have time- a few hours will do.

The chicken pieces make a great dinner as well. A vegetable and a starch on the side and your meal is balanced and done.

For those who are extremely busy through the week or work outside the home, it is great idea to marinate a big batch of chicken and have it on hand. If time is a commodity- you can skip the almond part- it will still taste delicious!

• 1 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
• ¼ cup almond paste- soak ¼ cup blanched almonds in ¼ cup hot water for an hour. Process the mixture till smooth.
• 2 tablespoon greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 teaspoons garam masala

Mix all the ingredients well and marinate the chicken over night or at least 2 to 3 hours.

Place the marinated chicken on a lined cookie sheet. Broil the pieces till golden brown on both sides.