SHRIMP.

SHRIMP.
In every way. Baked, grilled, fried, asian, mexican, italian, whatever. It's probably my favourite seafood.

BASIL PESTO SHRIMP [above] mix together a handful fresh chopped basil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 cloves garloc, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and spread over shrimp while baking, frying, or barbeque-ing.

SHRIMP TACOS: fry shrimp in taco seasoning, serve in tortillas with fresh cilantro, refried beans, and sour cream

HONEY, GARLIC, AND BALSAMIC SHRIMP: marinade in 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon honey, and 2 clove minced garlic. grill or fry with olive oil. 

CREAMY SHRIMP "ALFREDO" fry, grill, or bake. with alfredo sauce: 1/4 cup milk. 1 tablespoon sour cream or cream cheese,  1 teaspoon corn starch, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons  parmesan cheese, mixed together. lots of black pepper and salt, to taste. top with dill weed. 

ITALIAN SHRIMP: cook shrimp in olive oil, add tomato sauce, garlic, basil, and top with parmesan cheese. 

LEMON SHRIMP: bake as a casserole. doused in lemon juice, a bit of cream, parsley, garlic.

MORE SHIMP IDEAS?

MEXICAN SHRIMP: fajita seasoning [lime juice, garlic, chili powder, chopped jalapenos, beans, chopped bell peppers, cumin], fried

THAI SHRIMP: shrimp with lime juice, unsalted peanuts, cilantro, bell peppers, lermongrass, thai basil. and coconut milk

LEMON & PARSLEY: Lemon juice, lots, sliced lemon, fresh parsley, garlic, olive oil salt and pepper, baked

DOWN SOUTH: Barbeque sauce, lemon juice, cumin and chili powder with salt, pepper, garlic as needed. serve with corn and grits. 

Spicy Mexican Rice Paper Rolls

If you don't have any, buy rice paper rolls. You can make spring rolls in a flash.

1. dampen rice paper with a wet paper towel.
2. make or buy guacamole.
3. fry up shrimp with cumin, chili paste, salt, pepper, and garlic.
4. wash lettuce and green onion.
5. in rolls, wrap up cooled shrimp,lettuce, and guacamole.
6. serve! with salsa [more mexican] or peanut dip [more thai]

Hot & Sour Soup

THIS IS MY FAVOURITE SOUP EVER.

Szechuan Hot & Sour soup, found at any asian restaurant, and now, made at home!

YOU NEED:
1/2 can chicken broth [like 250 mls]
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar or white sugar
1 tablespoon chili paste or sauce [find at your groceries in the asian section]
1 inch piece grated ginger
2 cloves minced garlic
vegetables [like beans, peas, broccoli, onions, lots of mushrooms bamboo shoots, baby corn, peppers], tofu, meat is optional, so is an egg.
1 tablespoon sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
a spicy pepper is optional
1 tablespoon corn starch to thicken
cilantro and green onion to top.

1. in a pot, heat sesame oil. fry vegetables, tofu, and meat. add ginger, garlic, and chili paste.
2. add chicken broth and vinegar. simmer, then turn heat to low. add sugar.
3. taste, season, and add corn starch to thicken.
4. serve, optionally with noodles or rice, top with cilantro and green onion.

Tonkatsu

What is Tonkatsu? It's like Japanese schnitzel. Sometimes they dump it in soups, or just serve it with Katsu sauce. It's delectable in any case.

YOU NEED:
thin, pounded pork cutlet. [you can use chicken too]
3 bowls, 1 with flour, salt, and pepper, another with whipped egg, a dash of soy sauce, and another with Panko breadcrumbs, and only panko!

FOR KATSU SAUCE:
2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce, 1 clove minced garlic.

1. pound and bread cutlets in 1, 2 and 3 bowls.
2. fry in oil [canola, vegetables, or sunflower, anything tasteless] until crispy on both sides. drain on paper towel.
3. make Katsu sauce.

serve with katsu on the side

or on top.

with rice, vegetables, and other Bento Box necessities.

Asparagus with Goat Cheese & Garlic

Asparagus is awesome. Simply Put. Simply topping it makes for a full meal to be honest, or a great side for a BBQ.

YOU NEED:
Blanched asparagus. Hard ends snipped off, boiled for 5 minutes until just a little tender [because you're going to grill/fry this]
3 cloves garlic with 2 tablespoons olive oil for each large asparagus bunch.
CHEESE! emphasis on GOAT CHEESE.
whatever else.

1. blanche asparagus, or boil for 5 minutes after snipping off about an inch from the end. always buy the thinnest asparagus you can find.
2. preheat oven or grill.
3. mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter with 3 cloves minced or crushed garlic, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. herbs are optional, but if you want, try parsley, oregano, or basil.
4. top with goat cheese, or feta, or any cheese, bake or grill until tender [about 15 mins in the oven, much quicker on the grill.

BUT WAIT. There's more.

Wrap in Prosciutto or bacon.

Add a fruit jam or vinaigrette, because there is NOTHING better than sour cherries and goat cheese. [also try raspberry, black berry, or some kind of balsamic compote] and even some sun-dried or roasted tomatoes. 

don't like goat cheese? SHAME ON YOU. try feta instead.

Thai Coconut Curry!

I looooooove making this. It's super easy and can use up so many leftovers.

The basics?

1.Thai curry paste, available at all grocery stores. red, green, or yellow.

GREEN is usually HOTTEST,
while YELLOW is usually MILD,
and RED is usually MILDER. But it depends what chili you like, and how much you add, and what your favourite colour is, to be honest.
2. a can of LIGHT coconut milk.
3. fresh ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper for seasoning
4. vegetables [such as broccoli, cauliflower, green or different coloured onions, peppers, assorted mushrooms, snow peas, green beans, edamame, baby corn, bamboo stocks, carrots, zuchini, whatever the hell you want or have stuffed in your fridge.
5. protein, such as tofu, chicken, seafood, beef, and whatnot. you can just stick with veggie curry too.

NOTE: stick with the colours. for red curry, use red peppers and beef. For green curry, use broccoli, seafood, and green peppers. For yellow curry, use potatoes, cauliflower, and chicken... you get the idea. But you can mix and match as you'd like.

MY PICKS?

RED CURRY AND BEEF:
1. precook some steak or beef, slice thinly.
2. in a pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil. add red onion, red bell pepper, beef, ginger, garlic,  a bit of soy sauce, red onion, and simmer with red curry paste, to taste.
3. add 1 can coconut milk. taste and adjust. simmer for 10 more minutes on low heat.
4. top with cilantro, on top of noodles or rice.

SEAFOOD GREEN CURRY:
1. in a saucepan, heat some oil. add in shrimp, calamari, fish, octopus, or clams, whatever. add vegetables like beans, broccoli, bok choy, green peppers. green curry paste, garlic, and ginger, simmer until flavours are incorporated.
2. add coconut milk, taste, adjust.
3. top with cilantro, thai basil, and green onions.

CHICKEN YELLOW CURRY.
1. in a saucepan, heat oil. add garlic, ginger, sliced chicken breast, cauliflower, and any other veggie, like peppers or mushrooms.  add yellow curry paste,  simmer until flavours are rich.
2. add coconut milk, taste, adjust.
3. make sure chicken and everything is cooked through. serve with cilantro and green onion.


YUM. seriously, i didn't like curry until i tried thai coconut curry. plus, it's easy to make!

Quiche

The delicious savoury egg-pie, from France!

YOU NEED: a pie crust, bought or made, blind-baked for 10 minutes until semi-done.

6 eggs 

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons sour cream

Cheese

Various vegetables, herbs, meats

seasoning.

Let's start with my favourite: feta, tomato, bacon, and spinach Quiche

1. bake pie crust for 10 minutes, take out and cool.

2. in a bowl, whip together 6 eggs. VICKY TIP: whip whites seperately for a super fluffy quiche]

3. in egg mixture, add in milk, sour cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. 

4. in pie crust, put in chopped tomatoes, bacon, and pour in egg mixture. [leftover egg mix can be made into another quiche, or an omelette]

5. finally top off pie with lots of crumbled feta cheese, and spinach.

6. bake for 30-45 minutes. use the toothpick-method to check for done-ness [if it comes out clean, it's done]

7. serve with a nice fresh salad.

MORE QUICHES.

Asparagus, Goat Cheese, Mushrooms

Broccoli, cheddar, and bacon

American: ham, cheddar, spinach

MINI! great party foods. bake in muffin tins, you can use Crescent rolls from the store, or phyllo pastry. 

Classic Quiche Lorraine: sauteed mushrooms, onions, peppers, ham, gruyere/swiss cheese

Classic Quiche Florentine: sauteed onions, ham, wilted spinach, swiss or jarlsberg cheese

Italian Quiche: add tomato sauce to the egg mix, basil, parmesan or mozzarella or both, chopped tomatoes, garlic

Cheeseburger Quiche: the french will hate you for this. ground beef, onions, peppers, tomato, lots of cheddar cheese. 

MORE? 

Tex-Mex- Quiche: fajita or taco seasoned chicken or beef, jalapenos, tomato, monterey jack

Caprese Quiche: basil, mozzarella, tomato, balsamic vinegar in the egg mix

Pizza Quiche: Spicy Genoa Salami or pepperoni, mushroom, pepper, cheddar or mozzarella with tomato sauce in the egg mix

Swiss Mushroom Melt Quiche: swiss cheese, mushrooms, ham

Breakfast Quiche: crumbled breakfast sausage, cheddar, tomatoes

Pesto quiche: add pesto and chicken.

Roasted Red Pepper Quiche: Chopped roasted red peppers, basil, mozzarella and parmesan

Alfredo Quiche: some cream, parsley, lots of parmesan, a bit of garlic and lemon juice

Pita Pizzas

Making pizza dough is time consuming. Even if you buy it, you still have to bake it. With pita bread, you can bake it in like 10 minutes, put it in a toaster oven, or even microwave it!

1. Get pita.
2. Put on pizza toppings.
3. Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubby [but watch out, pita can dry out fast] or microwave for 3-5 minutes to keep pita soft.

Arguably the best part? You can stuff pita, too! Much healthier than those damn pizza pockets, and you can fill with whatever you like.

IDEAS?

Meditteranean Pita Pizza: Whole tomatoes, olives, mushroom, and feta cheese with some oregano. Roasted Red Peppers and Zuchini also a good topping, or some greek-style chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and you can even use HUMMUS, TAPENADE, or TZATZIKI as a base instead of tomato sauce. AMAZING.

Mushroom Melt Pizza: Use a cream sauce instead of a tomato base. with nice big juicy portabellos, and swiss cheese. basil goes great.

THE CLASSIC! Tomato sauce, ham or pepperoni, mushrooms, green onions, and lots of mozzarella, cheddar, or a mix of cheese.

MEAT LOVERS. Need I say more? Zesty tomato sauce, red peppers, mozzarella, and sausage, salami, hamburger meat, ham, whatever. lots of tasty meats.

Margharita: simply tomato sauce, tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil.

Flammkuchen, or Alsacian Pizza, or Tarte Flambee. As you can see, you can use Naan bread or any flatbread as well. Alfredo or any cream sauce instead of a tomato base, thinly sliced sweet onion, and crispy bacon bits. lots of black pepper, and a bit of gruyere or emmental.

MORE PIZZAS?
Sundried tomatoes & Goat Cheese
BBQ sauce [instead of tomato sauce] chicken, and blue cheese
Mexican: fajita or taco seasoned meat, red and green peppers, some chili peppers, refried beans as the base, pimento or cheddar cheese
Veggie Lovers: Grilled peppers, zuchini, onion, and mushroom on an herbed tomato sauce base with cheese
BACON. Bacon, cheese. Try a BLT pizza by topping with fresh tomatoes and lettuce after baking.
Spinach, Artichoke & Asiago: on top of a white cream sauce base.
Teriyaki: teriyaki or hoisin sauce as base, peppers, shiitake mushrooms, green onion, chicken or beef. no cheese.
Hawaiian: i hate it. but you know, pineapple, ham, whatever. gross.
Breakfast pizza: scrambled eggs, cheese, and bacon!
Super Spicy: Hot Genoa salami, mozzarella, puttanesca sauce as base, some red chili flakes to top, or spicy garlic olive oil.
Parmesan: anything, doused in parmesan. try a chicken-parmesan pizza, or even veal.

The best part? MINI PIZZAS! buy those mini pitas and bring them to a party. soooo awesome. i'd be your best friend if you brought that to my party.

Steakhouse Style Wedge Salad

This classic salad is usually found at fancy steakhouses, which is weird, because it really doesn't strike me as that fancy... besides being aesthetically pleasing. 

ASSEMBLING THE SALAD: 

1. get a head of iceberg lettuce, peel off any unsightly leaves. chop into a half, or quarters, creating wedges. 

2. top with tomatoes, crispy bacon, and blue cheese plus dressing. optional: onion, grilled chicken, shrimp, sauteed mushrooms, substitute goat cheese for blue cheese if it really isn't your thing. 

Blue Cheese Dressing!

Mix together 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese. Add in 2 tablespoons low-fat mayo, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, salt, and pepper. Mixing in chives or green onions works well. 

Fruit Crumble!

This is so good, it can be a dessert too. But it can also be a healthy breakfast, served with some yogurt.

For Filling:

6 cups blueberries, cherries, apples, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb, or a mix of anything you like.
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch, or 2 if you want a thicker filling.
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1.2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

For Topping:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
a pinch of salt
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
optional: a bit of mollases for a gooeyer topping, and some crushed almonds or pecans.

1. grease a baking dish, preheat oven to 375 F.

2. mix and mash together filling, then blend together topping.

3. add filling, then top with oat topping. 

4. Bake for about an hour, transfer to a rack to cool for 30 minutes or so before serving. 

NOTES:

for peach crumble, add some cream into the bottom, and add coconut flakes to the topping.

for apple crumble. add brown sugar to the filling instead of white, with some cinnamon and nutmeg.

for raspberry or strawberry crumble, feel free to add some chocolate chips to the topping. it's going to be a gooey, delicious mess anyways. 

Chicken Salad!

Chicken Salad, Vicky Style!

MIX TOGETHER:

1 shredded cooked chicken breast, or chunks

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 tablespoon dijon or horseradish mustard

salt, pepper, paprika to taste

green onions, celery to taste

1 or more chopped boiled egg, to taste

mix, add herbs [fresh parsley, or basil] and put on a croissant with lettuce or cucumber!

Greek Salad with Olives & Chickpeas

A great salad, add-inclusive.
YOU NEED:
1 can chickpeas, drained
a handful pitted black olives, chopped
1/2 a peeled, chopped cucumber
2 chopped tomatoes
1 small red onion, chopped
a handful fresh parsley, chopped
a blockk of feta cheese, crumbled or chopped
dressingL 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, a pinch of oregano, salt, pepper, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 tablespoon greek yogurt for creaminess

Toss together and serve!

Bruschetta, for every occasion!

For bruschetta, you need:
an oven heated to 400 F.
nice, french or italian bread.
toppings.

MUSHROOM BRUSCHETTA: omit tomato, and sautee mushrooms with balsamic vinegar. add onion, parsley. and goat cheese.

Spinach, Artichoke And Asiago: like the dip. combine Asiago cheese, chopped spiach, and artichoke hearts with some garlic and sour cream for creaminess.

Bacon and Cheddar: exactly that. fry up bacon, add cheddar, and of course green onion or chives

Olive Tapenade & Avocado: mash up avocado with lime juice, salt, and cilantro, top with tomatoes and olive tapenade [black olive, lemon juice, garlic] with some parmesan.

Classic: 1 tablespoon olive oil. 1 tablespoon lemon juice, half a red onion, chopped, zome zuchini, 2 tomatoes, chopped, 3 cloves minced garlic, with a handful fresh chopped bsil, a small handful chopped toasted walnuts or pine nuts, fresh parmesan cheese

BE CREATIVE!

Thai Shrimp Cold Rolls with Hoisin-Peanut Sauce

Classic VIETNAMESE:  nevermind the shrimp if you don't like seafood. Vegan or vegetarian? Use tofu.

1. buy Rice Paper Rolls. available at all of my grocery stores, or an asian grocery store if you don't live in canada. 

2. quickly cook shrimp, chicken, beef, or tofu, whatever you're usiing.

3. top rice paper rolls with a damp paper towel to moisten, until pliable.

4. fill rice paper rolls with?

CLASSIC VIETNAMESE: boiled shrimp, shredded carrots, cucumber, red pepper. lettuce

VICKY'S SIGNATURE: mango, chili paste, cream cheese,  chicken, cucumber,

THAI: crushed peanuts, mango, cilantro, vermicelli noodles, cucumber

DUMPLING: chinese seasoned meat [such as sweet and sour, sesame, garlic and soy, general tao, lemon, or pineapple] wit green onion, bean sprouts, lettuce

JAPANESE: seaweed, raw or cooked fish, pickled ginger, wasabi

ITALIAN: sausage or meatballs, tomato paste, basil, parmesan

MONGOLIAN: Sriracha Mayo, Shredded Pork or Chicken, green onion, Cabbage or Kimchi

etc etc etc. you can stuff these with whatever you'd put in a spring roll or dumpling.

HOISIN PEANUT DIP SAUCE:

1 tablespoons hoisin sauce [chinese BBQ sauce, yum. if you can't find, mix 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce with 1 tablespoon soy sauce]

1 teaspoon lime juice

1 clove minced garlic

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

*OPTIONAL: fresh chopped ginger, wasabi, horserasdish, or fish sauce, or all. combine all your favourite asian condiments. 

top with red pepper flakes and green onions, dip!

CEVICHE!  A super healthy and citrusy salad and seafood dish, common in Peru and South America. This uses raw seafood [you can quickly boil to be safe] with citrus to "cook" it. 

1. In a bowl, put in 1/2 cup citrus juice of your choice.

2. add in vegetables and seafood and herbs, marinate for 2-3 hours, and serve.

DIFFERENT CEVICHES:

1. SIMPLE SHRIMP: boil shrimp first to be safe, marinate together 1/2 cup limr juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 japanero pepper, 1/4 peeled cucumber, 1 chopped tomato, a handful fresh chopped cilantro, a pinch of cumin, salt, and pepper, add shrimp. 

2. MIXED SEAFOOD: Red snapper, Octopus or Squid, Shrimp, Little-Neck Clams, whatever seafood you can think of, in 1/2 cup lime juice, 1 tablespoon grapefruit juice, with onions, jalapeno, red pepper, garlic,salt, pepper, cumin,  and cilantro

3. SALMON: smoked salmon or raw salmon, lemon juice, capers, chili peppers, cucumber, parsley, salt, pepper, green onions, cilantro

4. CALAMARI: fried or baked squid, lime and lemon juice, onions, mayonnaise, green or red bell pepper, chipotle pepper, tomato, cucumber, cilantro

5. SWEET: seafood of your choice, lime juice or lemon, cilantro,chopped mango, sweet spicy pepper, sweet onion, cucumber, pineapple.

THAI:: chopped peanuts, mango or papaya, shrimp or fish of your choice, lemongrass and thai basil, lime juice, chili paste or powder, a bit of coconut milk before serving