Tacos for everyone

A taco bar is the easiest way to feed a picky crowd.  Anybody on any diet can find a good way to eat.

More calamari

Since I've discovered it, I've been eating it all the time.  This picture shows a semi-homemade tomato soup with calamari.

Cooking calamari at home - more fun with mezcal

Though I love calamari, I've never made it myself.  It turned out to be easy and cheap (from Santa Monica Seafood).  It's already clean, so it was as simple as slicing and sticking it in the pan with olive oil, garlic and a "glug" or two of mezcal.  I had it with an arugula tomato salad dressed in balsamic.

Have you tried nettles?

Nettles are very good for humans, containing tons of nutrients like calcium, A, C, and iron.  They've also been used forever as a treatment for arthritis, since the stingers will cause an anti-inflammatory response.  I found them for $2 a bunch at the Saturday Santa Monica farmers market, and I tried them on my sore neck and wrists, in my eggs, and with my shrimp.  It was fun and strange to gently tap them against my sore spots and feel the minor stinging.  I did feel some relaxation later, and I thought they tasted good with my normal eggs and greens breakfast, as well as with the curry shrimp and cabbage shown.

Albacore with Fried Sage, Oregano and Garlic

Trader Joe's frozen fish - the trick to get a good texture is to use several paper towels to press out moisture after thawing and just before cooking.  I love fresh herbs, this time sage and oregano.  I cooked this in a mixture of coconut and olive oils, about 2/3 ratio.

Shrimp with shells on

The Romans cook and serve their shrimp with the shells on, so I decided to try it, especially because they're cheaper.  Turns out the shells also add flavor.  I like to cook my onions and kale for quite a while to get a soft, sweet result.  This dish also included bay scallops.

Dill Cabbage Slaw

Dill on sale at Von's (with card), cabbage, pepper, whole milk yogurt, raw apple cider vinegar, shown with canned salmon and pickling cucumbers, my favorite.

Chinese Five Spice Shrimp Salad

I discovered Chinese Five Spice while in Hawaii - sweet and peppery. Spice World has a version, so I added it to my shrimp with pepper, lime juice, oil and garlic and had it over greens.

Curry Shrimp Salad

I have to avoid spicy stuff for health reasons, so I have to dream up ways to make my food flavorful without heat.
I made shrimp with Spicely Indian curry, extra turmeric and pepper. I used some white onions and shallots, added the juice of one of those tiny tangerines in every store. I served it over a whole bag of salad.
Of course if you want another layer of health benefits and taste, don't forget to add your cayenne to this serving suggestion.

Christmas Shrimp

Just salted pasture butter and garlic, a sprinkle of pepper.

Guest Stars Dave and Colleen do Seafood

Dave cooked up some shrimp with coconut oil and some spices - we put them over an easy salad (lemon juice, spices, and unfiltered EVOO). The other dish was a pan fried piece of silver salmon w/ some spices - we used half and chopped it into tiny pieces, the other half we saved (for eggs this morning!). The salmon was mixed with some spelt penne pasta, capers, and a light cream sauce made with Organic Valley brand heavy cream - he heated the cream in the pan using the drippings from the shrimp (coconut oil, EVOO, and the spices). Topped w/ some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Heavenly!!
Shrimp and salmon purchased at SM FIsh Market - love that place.

Dave and Colleen have taken Nandor's Bootcamp for quite a while, taken cooking lessons from Nandor and nutritional counseling from Leah, so we're very proud of how clean they're eating nowadays even if Dave was already pretty good in the kitchen.

Cooking with Mom III - lime shrimp

We found some lovely wild Gulf shrimp in the Sweetbay market in Naples, FL. They came sliced open with the intestine removed, but still had the shell on for that really fresh taste. We prepared them very simply with olive oil, garlic, black pepper and lime and served them over salad with Brussels sprouts on the side. It was a satisfying light dinner.