Mango

Who doesn't love mango? The fresh fruit can be difficult to slice up, though. Here are some tips to help you out.

Star Fruit

Star fruit has an almost melon-like texture with a sweet, almost citrus flavor. It's also easy to prepare, as the skin is edible.

Dragon Fruit

Dragon fruit has a lightly sweet flavor and is full of fiber and vitamins. Here's how to serve it fresh.

Sukiyaki

Traditionally, sukiyaki is served in a "hot pot" style, where you dip your meat and veggies into a pot full of sauce on the table and cook it as you go (kind of like fondue). However, it's just as delicious when done in a stir-fry version at home.

Making sukiyaki sauce requires dashi stock, which even though I love making Japanese food at home, I don't typically keep the ingredients for on hand, so it makes more sense to me to buy a pre-made sauce than to make it myself. You can find sukiyaki sauce at most stores in the Asian foods aisle. There are many brands out there, but probably the most recognizable is Kikkoman.

(Makes two servings)
Ingredients
1 large carrot
1/2 medium onion
1 bunch green onions
2 ounces shiitake
4 ounces thinly sliced beef
1/4 cup sukiyaki sauce

Broiled Swordfish

Swordfish is rather expensive fresh, but can be fairly inexpensive when purchased frozen. It has a bold flavor that pairs well with lemon, and can be quickly prepared, making it one of my favorite weeknight meals.

Ingredients:
2 swordfish steaks
1 teaspoon butter
salt
lemon pepper

Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad

I used to hate beets with a passion, but when roasted they loose the 'dirt' flavor and take on a sweet flavor. When combined with dark greens, sharp cheese, toasted nuts, and citrus flavor, they really shine.

For each salad:
1 cup arugula leaves
1/2 medium roasted beet (see recipe below)
1/2 naval orange
1 to 2 slices red onion
1/2 tablespoon orange flavored oil
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Mini Guinness Pies

(Makes 6 mini pies)

I really enjoy chicken pot pies and beef pot pies in the colder months, but with a full double pie crust you end up with a lot of crust that I find don't add a whole lot to the dish. I also really enjoy Guinness stew, so I combined the two concepts together.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 cloves garlic
1 stalk celery
1 medium carrot
1/2 medium red onion
2 ounces mushrooms
1 small potato
1 lb stew meat
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup Guinness (or other stout beer)
1 cup beef stock
1 pie crust

Roasted Chick Pea Hummus

There are a lot of different ways to make hummus, but I prefer it without the extra calories found in tahini (sesame seed paste). It's also rather expensive and can be difficult to find, and the only time I ever use it is for making hummus.

Roasting the chick peas helps to bring out a sweet flavor and adds an extra depth to the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 16 ounce can of garbanzo beans (chick peas), liquid reserved
2 to 4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Paprika

Pita Bread

Today I'm going to make this blog's first foray into yeast breads. I know they are intimidating if you've never tried one before, but I'll try to explain everything in a way that makes sense. Once you start to get the hang of working with yeast, it's really not that difficult.

I started with a recipe I found on the real Greek recipes blogspot, but made a few alterations. First, I decreased the amount of olive oil quite a bit, and then I adjusted the cooking method so that I could bake it in the oven instead pan frying. I also used honey instead of sugar, as a personal preference (either will work fine).