Swordfish with a Spicy Garlic Butter Sauce

This recipe was inspired by my Tuna. Swordfish has both a delicate white flakiness about it but is meaty like tuna. I love it.  While eating this great dish, I decided next time I would cook it with lemon slices on top and let it infuse the fish and leave out the chilli flakes.  I teamed my fish up with steamed carrots , brown wild rice and creamy spinach and topped it with Parmesan.

Ingredients:

• 2 Swordfish steaks
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tbsp garlic
• 1/2 cup clear, salt-free vegetable broth
• Chilli flakes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Sear steaks 1min each side. Add butter and garlic cook  for 1 minute, add broth. Put dish in oven and cook for 10 mins or till cooked through. While fish sits add liquid to pan and reduce for  about 2 mins on high add chilli flakes drizzle over steaks.

Balsamic Glazed Albacore Tuna Steaks

 

 

 

I made another pintrest recipe the original blog is below. I turned out great.  I teamed it up with steamed broccoli and wild rice.

 

 Link to original pinned blog

 

Balsamic Glazed Albacore Tuna Steaks

Ingredients:

• 2 raw albacore tuna steaks - 4 oz. each
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 2 sprigs rosemary, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup clear, salt-free vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp Italian parsley, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Season each side of the tuna steaks with the salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Add the tuna steaks and sear for 1 minute on each side. Drizzle 3 tbsp of the balsamic vinegar over the tuna steaks (1 tbsp per steak). Add the red wine, increase the heat to medium high and bring to a boil then let the wine reduce down by about half.

Add the rosemary, garlic and vegetable broth to the pan. Turn off the stove and move the skillet to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes or until the tuna is cooked through - be careful not to overcook.

Remove from the oven and transfer the tuna steaks to a platter, reserving the liquid in the pan. Heat the pan on medium heat on your stovetop, adding the remaining 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil and reduce down by about half, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Serve the tuna steak drizzled with the balsamic reduction from the pan and a sprinkling of the Italian parsley. 

Serving Size: Makes 2 servings, 1 steak per person

Nutritional Information: Calories 245.3, Total Fat 11.7g, Cholesterol 0.0mg, Sodium 384.4mg, Total Carbs 4.5g, Dietary Fiber 0.2g, Protein 25.2g

My Kindle Fire

I just got my kindle fire in the post a wonderful gift from my hubby.

Looking forward to using it. Any tips or recommendations on apps or books send them my way.

Do Life T Shirts

Our T shirts arrived for the 5k now to get some tennis shoes/trainers

Do Life Tour

I am hoping to be doing my first 5k with Aaron. Wednesday 11th July in San Francisco at 6.30pm with the Do Life Tour.

Do Life Movement Website

I have some T shirts coming that say DO LIFE and I have to buy some new running/walking shoes as I left mine in the UK.

Anyone that would like to make a evening of it we would love you to come with us. Do it at your own pace. I will be mostly walking it. But I'm doing this to build confidence, to get out there and move and as marker in my new way of life. 

Below is a video of Bens Journey to health and he is still blogging and fighting to stay healthy. He now runs, blogs and writes for a living. There is more to the story. He travels with his dad who has had his own amazing journey.  They have run several marathons and now travels through the country inspiring others to get healthy.

Bens Blog

Bens Dads Blog

Bens brothers blog

Green Goddess Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Sunday lunch

Another pintrest success.  But who can mess up a grilled sandwich!!

Original blogs Here
and Here 

Ingredients

2 slices bread (we used a white bread, but one filled with lots of different whole grains and seeds would be *awesome*)
2-3 tablespoons Pesto or fresh Basil if no pesto still is super yummy
 2 slices mild white melty cheese like mozzarella or I used swiss
handful fresh baby spinach
¼ avocado, sliced
2 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled (I left this out as hubby does not like it and it was super yummy without)
olive oil (and butter if you’re so inclined)

Directions

Spread about 1 tablespoon of Pesto onto each slice of bread (2 tablespoons total, but if you’re sensitive, go light, the pesto is STRONG). I used fresh basil as I had no pesto and it was so good
On one slice of bread, add 1 slice of cheese, sliced avocado, crumbled goat cheese, spinach, second slice of cheese, then top it with second slice of bread. Press together gently.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan over medium low heat. (If you want to use butter, add it to the oil and let it melt). Add the sandwich to the oil and cook until bread is golden brown. Press down on the sandwich lightly, then flip the sandwich over and cook until second side is golden brown.

Six Flags Theme park with friends and kiddies

I was invited to Six Flags theme park by Carol and Darcey.  They both have little ones and they wanted to see all the animal shows. We saw the penguins, the dolphins, they elephants, the seal lions, the tigers. It was amazing we had a super fun day and I got to meet Marvin the Martian. Does life get any better?

Thanks girls I had a blast.

Brie and Apple tarts

Another pintrest success.  Brie and Apple Tart. The only thing I would suggest is dont skimp on apple. If you want it sweeter drizzle honey or sprinkle powdered sugar. Recipe below.

Individual Brie and Apple Tarts
1 box (2 sheets) of puff pastry, thawed
1 green apple
1 Tbsp brown sugar, divided
1 Tbsp butter, divided
1/4 tsp cinnamon, divided
1 medium wedge of brie
1 egg
flour (for rolling)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Click the link above for the original post

Lunch and thank you pintrest for being so awesome

Pintrest is amazing. If your on pintrest you will know I love it because I have so many pins. But its more than just pining clothes and houses I will never have.  It is actually  translating into real life. Here is proof. 

Lunch. 

Garden burgers (store brought) made with sandwich thins, Spinach, onions, tomatoes and mustard and a slice of swiss.
with
Jalapenos cheese poppers.  I found this recipe on pintrest. I love fool proof recipes. I did it and it came out great.  Light and fluffy with a little kick. I personally would add chilli flakes to mine for extra kick but they were very flavorful. Here is the recipe in case you wanted to make it yourself.


 Ingrediants


3 eggs
1cup of milk
1cup of shredded chedder
1 small tin of Jalapenos
1cup flour 
1/2 tsp salt

makes 12
 
Mix it all together. I used a fork.  Then pour mixture into cupcake of muffin pan. I used a cupcake pan and they were the perfect size. I greased mine with butter you can use pam.    Bake for 25 -30 mins at 400.  

Happy Mail

 

We received happy mail yesterday.  A wonderful piece of priceless art work from our nephew Elliot.  It made Aaron and I very happy.  It takes pride of place on our fridge.

A big thank you to Elliot and of course mum and dad who I assume helped lick the envelope close.  Thus avoiding any paper cut trauma on ones tongue.

We miss you guys X

Home made pizza courtsey of Jamie Oliver

I have made home made pizza every week since I have been home. Thanks to Karen who made us amazing pizza from scratch while I was in London.  Karen used Jamie Olivers Pizza dough recipe and I have to tell you its fool proof I can do it. Plus its amazing!!! 

I made sure I was watched over by my baker friend Sarah the first time I made it and the only issue I had was making the well and adding the liquid then stirring so it wouldn't run all over the place i had a few squeals a few leaks appeared. I didn't use a bowl.  The second time I made it I did it all by self and did a good job no spillages. 

Here is the recipe. I will never buy pizza dough or bases again.  Plus this makes about 8 pizzas, so all you have to do is freeze the balls. Pull them out a few hours before you want to use them so they defrost and warm up and you have more pizza. Yum

 Jamie Olivers Pizza Dough

Directions

This is a fantastic, reliable, everyday pizza dough, which can also be used to make bread. It's best made with Italian Tipo "00" flour, which is finer ground than normal flour, and it will give your dough an incredible super-smooth texture. Look for it in Italian markets and good supermarkets. If using white bread flour instead, make sure it's a strong one that's high in gluten, as this will transform into a lovely, elastic dough, which is what you want. Mix in some semolina flour for a bit of color and flavor if you like.

Ingredients

• 7 cups strong white bread flour or Tipo "00" flour or 5 cups strong white bread flour or Tipo "00" flour, plus 2 cups finely ground semolina flour
• 1 level tablespoon fine sea salt
• 2 (1/4-ounce) packets active dried yeast
• 1 tablespoon raw sugar
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water

Sift the flours and salt onto a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a large measuring cup, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. Using a fork, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid. Keep mixing, drawing larger amounts of flour in, and when it all starts to come together, work the rest of the flour in with your clean, flour-dusted hands. Knead until you have a smooth, springy dough.

Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl and flour the top of it. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm room for about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Now remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface and knead it around a bit to push the air out with your hands - this is called punching down the dough. You can either use it immediately, or keep it, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge (or freezer) until required. If using straightaway, divide the dough up into as many little balls as you want to make pizzas - this amount of dough is enough to make about six to eight medium pizzas.

Timing-wise, it's a good idea to roll the pizzas out about 15 to 20 minutes before you want to cook them. Don't roll them out and leave them hanging around for a few hours, though - if you are working in advance like this it's better to leave your dough, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator. However, if you want to get them rolled out so there's 1 less thing to do when your guests are round, simply roll the dough out into rough circles, about 1/4-inch thick, and place them on slightly larger pieces of olive-oil-rubbed and flour-dusted aluminum foil. You can then stack the pizzas, cover them with plastic wrap, and pop them into the refrigerator.

Blue Wall

Aaron and I have decided to do some painting with the permission of our land lords.  I wanted light blue and Aaron said it was to girly so he got to choose the living room and I choose the bathroom. Here is the wall with our new picture frames up. I have yet to get the picture together.  I like it. Hope you do too. More home improvements to come.

Hanging  pictures is always a nightmare but thanks to pintrest it was super easy and its straight.  I found this blog on pintrest and here the lady shows you how to hang the pictures. I used wax paper, a pencil, some tape as you need as least two lengths of wax paper one on top of the other, nails and a hammer. Then you lay your frames on the floor face down so you can see where the nail will be hung on the back and mark it on the wax paper. The ladys blog has pictures of how to do it.  Its fool proof, I did it!! caution, dont step on a frame and brake the glass like I did. I had spare glass phew!!
roost-home.blogspot.