Orange and Pistachio in Orange Blossom Water

Ahhh...what a wonderful morning... is what I am hoping *crashes back down to the land of the living and my reality*... hehehe... had to wake up early today because I have so much to do and too many errands to take care of. I really need to get moving again so I thought I would start my day by walking a little bit...whew easier said than done especially when it is humid. After all that sweating and walking, I need something to refresh me and get me ready to face this day. I like this dish because it does not involve any cooking. Its my take on grapefruit breakfast except that I am using oranges instead of grapefruit. To me, they are the same. Both are rich in Vitamin C although some studies have suggested that grapefruit can help you lose weight. Hmmm, does it? I have no idea. Personally, I prefer oranges better in terms of taste. Grapefruit tends to to have a bitter taste, or is it just me? Even pink grapefruit does taste slightly bitter to me. Not for lack of trying, believe me I have tried plenty and they all taste bitter. Maybe I just have not found a sweet grapefruit yet. Anyways, I still think oranges taste better...hehehe...


I am using orange blossom water as a "dressing" which I purchased from monieur Marcel at the the farmer's market in Third and Fairfax yeaterday. Orange blossom water are made from Seville orange blossoms which are left to steep for 2-3 weeks. Who has the time to do this? I would probably do it if I have access to orange blossom but since I don't, I bought some ready made orange blosson instead. Orange blosson water is commonly used in Persian and Arabic cooking.

Ingredients:
2 oranges
2 Tbsp pistachio, shelled and chopped roughly
1 Tbsp orange blossom water

1.Peel oranges using a knife to remove skin and pith. NOTE: You can save the skin (without the pith or the white part) to be used in another dish if you wish.
2. Slice into 1/2 an inch thickness. Try to save some of the juice that have accumulated while slicing the oranges.
3. Combine juice and orange blossom water and pour it over the sliced oranges.
4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. Remove from the refrigerator and sprinkle chopped pistachio on top.



Adapted from The Three Ingredients Cookbook by Jenny White

Blackened Salmon Topped with Orange-Tomato Salsa and a side of Buttered Corn and Peas

I cannot believe that this dish is my very first real meal of the day and it isalready 1145 pm. I have been very busy doing my research on a project for my current class that I have only been snacking on raosted almond roll (leftover from two days ago) in between research. Whew and I am not even done yet. I still have one more topic to go but couldn't seem to find the right information and organize my thoughts. Oh well, that will have to wait until tomorrow. Anyway, it is not due until Monday at 1159 pm so I have plenty of time.

This is such a nice and easy dish. And the best part? it only took me less than 30 minutes to prepapre from start to finish. That is including the salsa and side of corn and peas. The blackened salmon looked and tasted really good as well as the rest of the food. The salmon though came out really well because it blackened to perfection. The only thing's that is missing is desser. I totally forgot to make any...Oh well... I think I ate too much anyway because now I am feeling lazy. Ughhh... I cannot even rest and enjoy my favorite Korean show because I have to do the dishes after this...hehehe...the good news is I think I only washed 2 loads of dishes because I have not had time to do my usual recipe experiments :)



Orange-Tomato Salsa:

Ingredients:

1 orange, peeled and pith removed; sliced and segmented
1 vine-riped tomato, cubed
1 shallot, thinly sliced
3 Thai chili pepper
1 - 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
sea salt and pepper, to taste
small bunch of parsley, de-stemmed then roughly chopped
small bunch of cilantro, de-stemmed and roughly chopped

Coombine all ingredients then set aside.



Blackened Salmon

Ingredients:
Salmon fillets
1 Tbsp (or more) jerk seasoning
extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Wash salmon fillet and then dry using a paper towel
3. Apply extra virgin olive oil all over the salmon.
4. Coat Salmon with jerk seasoning
5. Heat a heavy cast iron pan over medium heat.
6. Pour a little olive oil then fry salmon skin side down for about 4-5 minutes
7. Turn salmon over and cook for another 3 minutes.
8. Transfer pan with salmon to the oven and bake for about 5 minutes.
9. Remove from oven, transfer to a platter, top with orange-mango salsa then serve.



Buttered Corn and Peas

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
2 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Melt butter over low medium heat.
2. Add corn and peas and sautee until warm and water has evaporated.