Eating Well

Occasionally there is a recipe that really hits the spot. Tonight's dinner will live in my memory for a while: Tuna Scaloppine with Onion, Mint, and Almond Topping. It's from the April 2009 Cooking Light, and here's the online link: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1886426. If you're not used to mint in your main dishes it might sound odd but was so delicious I'm craving the leftovers already.

I made some alterations based on my current kitchen stock. I used Trader Joe's sashimi-grade swordfish steaks in place of tuna. Rather than chop almonds I dug into my supply of TJ's slivered almonds. Last but not least since I'm not a fennel fan I did not use those seeds.

Speaking of Trader Joe's, here are a few of the things I go crazy for:

• Arugula in a bag: The best green ever invented - nutty, peppery goodness
• Pomegranate arils (seeds): Imagine! No more sticking a whole pomegranate in a bowl of water and fishing out the seeds! No more bright red hands!
• Fish in the freezer: Salmon, tuna, whatever they happen to be buying this week
• Cartons of cubed frozen herbs: Basil, cilantro, and garlic - each cube equals one tablespoon, add to anything you're cooking that calls for the above and you will get a fresh flavor
• Unsulfured dried apricots and prunes
• Brown rice penne pasta: Has a better texture than whole wheat pasta and is gluten free for those of you out there who are trying to find healthier carbs or have been diagnosed with celiac disease
• Goat cheese brie: Good with bread or the Savory Multigrain Thins - it melts well too
• Steamed baby beets: They are in a box in the produce section, and are good warmed up as a side dish or on a salad
• Myntz: Tins of sugar-free mints at the checkout counters - they have no aspartame to keep me headache free
• Bacon & Feta Crustless Quiche or the Mexican quiche
• Almond Meal: It's just ground almonds, and makes a great alternative to bread crumbs for chicken parmesan
• Greek style yogurt: Apricot Mango or Honey
• Harvest Grains Blend: A concoction of couscous, orzo, baby garbanzos, & red quinoa that is really colorful and cooks in 10 minutes. Substitute it for rice or add some veggies and/or meat for a complete dinner.
• Teas: My particular favorites are the cranberry green tea (I think that was only around for the holidays), jasmine green tea, blackberry fusion tisane (herb tea), and pomegranate white tea.

I could keep going...something I think is new, anyway I just noticed it, and will probably buy after our freezer is not so overloaded: Mint chocolate ice cream between Oreo-like cookies in a just-the-right-size sandwich. Anybody try those yet?

The only problem with TJ's is that sometimes one of your favorites disappears from the shelves. That happened last month with the frozen basil cubes, but I discovered this week that they are back. Yay! I know, I'm lazy, but hey, I chopped mint tonight.