Shhh...it's Forbidden....

For a couple of weeks now, I have been making better choices when it comes to food, one of my personal goals is to eradicate (as much as possible) highly processed foods, soda and America's favorite, fast food. Essentially, I'm aiming for a "whole foods" approach to cooking and eating. I was introduced to J&P Seafood at the Hollywood Farmer's Market a couple of weeks ago, and bought some of their sea scallops.

Last week I found a recipe at Bon Appetit for Seared Scallops with Bok Choy and Miso and I gave it a college try. Scallops are delicate creatures and one must handle them with a lil' TLC when preparing them. If you overcook them, they become tough and dry, like mini hockey pucks. Admit it, you don't want to be caught dead eating a scallop hockey puck.

What brings this easy weeknight meal together is a simple and fresh sauce made of miso paste, mirin, rice vinegar and ginger. The scallops are seared for about 2 minutes on each side and the bok choy is sauteed. Upon completion, you throw the sauce in the pan for a minute or two til it sizzles and pour over the scallops and bok choy. The sauce is super tasty and I think it would go well with any piece of mild fish, like tilapia, halibut, swordfish or cod.

My nutritionist, Jessica Hilton, introduced me to a new rice, at least it's new to me - forbidden rice. In the package this rice is black but when you cook the rice it meta morphs into a deep aubergine color. It's quite beautiful and adds a nice "wow" factor when it comes to presentation. While this rice is "pretty", it's also really good for you. Forbidden rice is high in fiber and iron, and it contains the same antioxidants as berries do. Besides, it's just so darn pretty.

pasta-rific.

You know the old question, alive or dead, if you could have coffee and a conversation with one person, who would it be? And right now, I'd like to sit down with Ms. Waters! Well, this past weeked I busted out two, count them two, of Alice Waters' recipes. The first was from her most recent book entitled The Art of Simple Food.

Side note - Because I am on a budget, like so many of you out there, I carefully pick and choose the latest cookbooks to add to my overgrown library. Since living on my own, I have used and abused the privilege of my library card, I often raid the cookbook section to taste and try out new recipes. It's a great way of ensuring that you will want a certain book, before you buy it.

Back to the blog, I was definitely in the mood for pasta and had a hankering for some seafood, so I decided to make this simple dish of linguine with clams. Steamed in olive oil, lots of garlic, red chili pepper flakes, chopped italian parsley and white wine, this meal is elegant and hearty. Paul and I enjoyed mopping up the sauce with slices of thick country bread, it should be considered an abominable sin to do let such a delicious sauce go to waste. Waste not, want not, that's my adage.