Sunday, 22 January 2012

Wild Pacific Salmon

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This post contains three experimental recipes:
  1. Steamed Lemon Dill Salmon
  2. Brown Sugar Soy Baked Salmon Sandwich
  3. Baked Pesto Salmon

A few days ago I purchased a fillet of Wild Pacific Sockeye Salmon from Whole Foods as it was on sale.

Sockeye Salmon in it's true form :)

First, I want to make a point that the salmon was MSC certified. MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) is a third party eco-labeling program that can confirm the fish or any other kind of seafood was caught in a sustainable manner. For more info check out: http://www.msc.org/

My fillet with dill I put on top to infuse some flavour.
The state of the world's fisheries is dim as the world's fisheries are collapsing due to overfishing. As a huge seafood lover, I don't want the world to run out of it. This is just my little individual effort in being a good citizen of Earth by buying fish that was caught in a sustainable manner. * And yes, I am aware individual efforts alone are not enough and doesn't truly solve the problem, but it is a step on doing something right in my opinion.

Anyway, with my piece of fillet, I got a decent slice for only $5 and it fed me for 3 different meals. Don't forget to ask your fish monger to descale your fish! Because I forgot and I had to descale it myself :( #firstworldpains. If that happens to you, don't worry, it is actually quite simple. All you have to do is take a knife and rub it against the scales (so from the back of the fish to where it's head would normally be).

*It has come to my attention that some people leave the scale on so it would be easier to peel off the skin. I didn't know some people preferred the salmon without the skin, so with my advice above, disregard it if you don't like the skin :)

 My first approach was Steamed Lemon Dill Salmon. I used:
  • fresh dill and parsley (4:1 ratio)
  • lemon
  • pepper
  • dash of salt
  • dash of garlic powder (fresh garlic probably would have been better, but I was lazy and starving)
  • vegetable of your choice - I chose zucchini since it was in the fridge. 
Before steaming
I simply put my salmon in a metal dish skin side down and squeezed lemon juice on top. I think took the herbs, rolled and squished it into a ballish-roll shape and started chopping. This method helps you chop more of the herbs at one time. I put the herbs and seasoning on top and some herbs that are not chopped on top as well.  I also added some sliced zucchini. I steamed it for about 10 minutes. *The length of time depends on the size of your fish. You usually can't go wrong with 10 mins. 15 minutes for larger size. I'm no expert at timing, as I usually guesstimate. If you want a more accurate time, try the internet or asking your fish monger :P


Steamed, flaky goodness~
The salmon retained a bright orange colour (though the camera could not capture it). And the taste? AMAZING! It had such an amazing salmon flavour, probably the best tasting cooked salmon I've ever had! The texture was also incredible! I highly recommend people trying a wild sockeye salmon (MSC certified would be great too!). I was quite happy with the turnout of this experimental recipe.

When cooking seafoods, dill is one of the best herb to season it with, it's something you can't go wrong with. If you are super interested other herb choices, check out: http://www.simplyseafood.com/newsletters/0708/freshherbsandfish.html


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Friday, 20 January 2012

Mung Bean Oatmeal

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I am currently attending classes at Whole Foods Market about their Health Starts Here program. For more information check out:


Someone asked what would be the healthiest breakfast and she responded with Oatmeal. So here is my recipe for a simple, extremely healthy (and tasty!) oatmeal:


Here I have:
  • Oatmeal  - I got mine at Bulk Barn. I highly recommend Whole/Rolled Oats since they contain more nutritional value. Don't be fooled by quick oats or one minute oats, it really does not take that long for regular oats to cook (maybe extra 2 minutes?) I think it is worth the little extra time for more nutritional value!
  • Cooked Mung Beans - I made them ahead of time. Beans can take a while to cook. Make sure you presoak it first (overnight is perfect) before cooking. It will get rid of any preservatives used and activate the bean to (of course) have more nutritional value.
  • Liquid of your choice - You can use milk, a milk alternative (such as soy) or water. In this case I am using rice milk (because rice milk is so tasty!) 
  • Banana - .....banana
  • Honey - They say unpasteurized is better (again, more nutrients), but I only have the regular pasteurized billy bee honey, so this will do for now


1. Heat up the liquid on medium heat until you start to see steam. 
2. Add your desired  amount of oatmeal.

You can adjust whether you want your oatmeal more chunky or creamy by adding/reducing your liquid/oatmeal. You don't want to add more oatmeal too late though, or else you will end up with some undercooked oatmeal.


3. Keep stirring to prevent burning!
4. Put mung beans in the bowl you will be eating in (reheat them if so desired).


4. Add oatmeal on top of the beans.
5. Add banana (sliced the way you like it)
6. Drizzle honey, mix together and voila! Tasty and nutritious! 

I actually made too much here, but I saved what I have left for the next day. Saving time and money :)

* I did not specify how much of what of what because I just free handed this. You can add more or less of whatever depending on what you like! Don't worry too much about measurement. The only time you should worry is when you bake things (such as cakes and breads!).

Flexitarianism

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I would like to call myself a flexitarian. So what is a "Flexitarian" you might ask.
To simply put it, it is someone to mostly eats a vegetarian diet, but will occasionally eat meat. So yes, I will still be eating meat, but only occasionally.

I have my reasons to be flexitarian. First off, anything that isn't animal or some animal product is better for my health. I want to adopt a diet that consists mostly of plants. The environment is also another factor. It takes a lot much energy and space to produce meat. And third, I've always been a huge animal lover.

As life went on, I started meeting more and more vegetarians, and I like to ask how it feels to be one. I've challenged myself to be a vegetarian for month twice. To be honest, it wasn't too difficult for me. I did not crave meat, but I wasn't truly vegetarian because I allowed seafood in my challenge (which is hardly a challenge since I can live off seafood as my only source of meat). I find that the hard part was having meals that were accessible to vegetarians outside of home. There are not a lot of options for them out there. I really have to give it to vegetarians and vegans on how restaurants and other eateries hardly have any options for them.

In my gr.12 year, a friend of mine told me to check out this movie/documentary called Earthlings. I really had no idea what it was about, but boy was I in for a surprise. I couldn't finish it because it was too much for me. I couldn't stop crying. If anyone wants to check it out feel free, just be prepared for another inconvenient truth. This documentary ain't pretty I can tell you that for sure. But it really was an eye opener.

Unfortunately, giving up meat completely is just too difficult though. For me, it isn't because I crave it, but because the way society is and what my family is accustomed to eating, I don't really have a lot of options. But honestly, the furthest I can go is becoming a pescetarian (someone who doesnt consume meats but still consumes seafood). I have a huge love for seafood and that is one thing I know I can't give up.

But recently, when I order food and I choose something with meat in it, I actually don't feel much satisfaction in it. As in, "wow, this wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Might as well get a vegetarian option." I went to Thai Express with my mom and I asked for a tofu pad thai. And HOLY MOLY! It tasted really good! It might be because I'm pretty accustomed to tofu since many chineses dishes has tofu, but it really was good. Another point, a lot of times when I get something with cheese (for example a burrito), I feel like I can do without it too. I can barely taste it, so I don't see why I need to add extra calories and "bad" things into my diet. So now I realized, I don't really need what many people presume they need in their foods. I see it more as a different way of seeing food, and I'm actually quite enjoying this experience.

*note that when I use the word "diet", I don't mean the diet as in "going on a diet". I just mean as in daily intake.

I'm not trying to be a perfect person who doesn't eat meat and zero-calorie food. No, far from it. I just want to be more conscious about my food and where it comes from. I want to have a better connection with my food. I feel like this sort of mentality can not only help different causes, but also myself. I want to appreciate the simple things in life, and what a better way to start than diving into something you really love? For me, it is food and cooking/baking.

Thursday, 19 January 2012

The Beginning.

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Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog :) Just so you know, I will be using this blog to publish mostly about my changes in my life-style. So I guess you may be asking, why the change?

As an Environmental Studies student and a concerned citizen of Earth, I become more and more aware with the problems in our world. This also includes our food industry. I'm not here to lecture you, so don't worry. I'm also not trying to tell everyone to do what I am doing. This is just more for the celebration of what life offers to me, and I just blog about it (with a focus on food, for now at least.)

I may also post other random things though, so bare with me!