Salmon Burger with Kale Chips

Sometimes you just want a burger when you know you shouldn't have one. The craving is something that happens to many people, and in most cases, you'll justify succumbing to the urge to indulge.
"I deserve it!"
"I've eaten healthy all day!"
"If I put lettuce on it, it's like a salad, right?"

...

WRONG!

But, my friends, I have a solution that's delicious and much healthier than a beef burger: salmon burgers! These are pretty simple to make, and while they don't have the same juiciness as beef, they pack a lot of flavor, and go really well with a wide variety of sauces and toppings. For this meal, I made salmon burgers in pita pockets with avocado, lettuce, and tomato with sundried tomato pesto and kale chips.

Grilled Green Shark: Pesto Mako

Grilling fish in the summer is the best way to bring out the rich natural flavors of any fish and celebrate warm weather. In Cape May for Memorial Day weekend, we saw Mako Shark at the Lobster House Fish Market and picked some up. We bought 3 steaks to share and brought them home for a quick and easy meal. Mako is actually an overfished seafood, so buy with care, but we figured it was a vacation and a rare purchase. Mako tastes a lot like swordfish, but is a little more moist and has a milder flavor. 

I'm Back! Soft Shell Crabs

Why hello there! It's been almost 5 months since my last post... I promised to come back in January, and then I let the blog fall out of my routine. To my readers, I am very sorry for disappearing for so long. Life has seemed to pick up pace in 2013, and what was meant to be days between recipes quickly turned into months. If you'll find it in your food blog reading hearts to forgive me, I'll try to get back into the groove and post more regularly.

Smooth Cauliflower Soup

I love cauliflower. It's a vegetable that looks like the bland cousin of broccoli and is often a second thought when thinking of what vegetable to make. What people miss when overlooking this species of brassica oleracea (same family as broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts, and collard greens) is a rich and smooth vegetable that is great roasted, fried, steamed, or in this case, included as the main part of a soup. In this recipe, I found a way to turn this white, floral looking veggie into a smooth and creamy soup that is simple, basic, and delicious. The dish only has 3 main components and takes less than an hour to prepare. I recommend this for those looking for a healthy soup that is big on flavor and simple to prepare.

Healthy Gameday: Cabbage Wedge Salad

The wedge salad is generally more of a steakhouse standard than a football snack, but I made one for a football game and it was delicious, so perhaps bars should rethink their menu strategy from a salad perspective. In addition to being a steakhouse standard, the wedge salad is also notoriously low on any nutritional value. The classic wedge is made up of a thick wedge of iceberg lettuce (which isn't unhealthy, but as far as lettuces go, it's not the most nutrient rich), blue cheese dressing, and bacon. For a healthier take, I made a roasted wedge of cabbage, with Greek yogurt and blue cheese dressing, with a bit of bacon for flavor. 

Healthy Gameday: Baked Wings

Wings are the classic "you know they're terrible for you but you love eating them" food. I personally can't turn down wings, especially when watching a football game. Last winter, when my beloved Pats were in the AFC Championship against the Ravens, I made a recipe very similar to this one. This version is much simpler to make and was inspired when I saw this recipe on the "Just a Taste" blog. I didn't mess with the recipe too much, but added a dipping sauce and adjusted the timing of the wings as well.

Healthy Gameday: Sweet Potato Nachos

Football. Healthy? Not usually. The usual game day fare is made up of nachos, wings, fries, and all sorts of artery clogging deliciousness. To try and capture the flavors of gameday without incurring the post eating guilt, I decided come up with a series of healthy versions of football classics. The first in the series of healthy bar food alternatives replaces pulled pork nachos in the form of sweet potato nachos.

My Return to Ty's Kitchen! Shrimp, Scallop, and Leek Chowder

I'm back! After a far too long hiatus and a less than inspired year at Ty's Kitchen, I've returned to make the blog better than ever. New recipes, ideas and hopefully a lot more interaction with YOU, my readers! To kick off the year, I wanted to share a delicious and easy recipe for a seafood chowder that would be good any time of the year. I had frozen some scallops and shrimp from Cape May that I picked up a couple months back and was looking for a fun way to use them. I decided on making a scallop, shrimp and leek chowder that would remind me of summer in the cold months and also provide a rich and warming dish for a cold winter's night.