barking up the sea.

I recently got the news that I have borderline high cholesterol.

Like, if I don't change, I might have to take medication for it. Hearing the news form my doctor really upset me. I've always prided myself with being healthy. Sure, I might slack off here and there, but for the most part, I live a pretty healthy lifestyle to supplement the foods that I eat. But alas, still some bad news.

I think the thing that really bothers me the most about this whole cholesterol thing is the fact that it limits my world of cooking. I'm such a big foodie!! Now, not only am I worried about what I'm eating... I'm starting to worry about what I'm feeding my husband. I blame it all on Guam. I know, I know, that sounds ridiculous, but the fact that healthy food alternatives are so expensive and hard to come by, it probably fucked me all up. Lol, paranoid much?

So what to do? I think that the fact that I started juicing lately really helped with the results. That, and the fact that I'm in my "oh no, must get rid of poundage!!" mode and going to the gym. Who knows what my results might've been a couple of months ago?! Must make some drastic food changes so I can get to an ideal level. So while I may have to bid farewell to my beloved coconut, pineapple may be beginning to grow on me.

Pineapple is one of the major fruits I use whenever I make my juices. Every time that I cut away the bark, I always lament on the wasted flesh that's still attached to it. By happy accident, I ran into this recipe while looking for pineapple juice combinations. Awesome!

I decided to try it with some Jamaican jerk as a seasoning then topped it with a modified salsa that I make. The results were delicious. And paired with a simple spinach salad, definitely healthy in the direction that I want to go towards. Yay for damn tasty food!!

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Pineapple Bark Baked Fish
(adapted from Make the Best of Everything and Instructables)

fresh pineapple bark
2 fresh or frozen flounder or salmon filets
1 tsp Jamaican jerk seasoning
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cut a piece of parchment paper, about 2 ft long, and fold in half. Place on baking tray so that only half of the parchment is sitting on top of the tray. Set aside.

Cut the bark off of a pineapple into the appropriate size for your fish. Lay a piece of bark or two, flesh side up, on top of the prepared baking tray. Place a filet on top of bark. Drizzle fish lightly with olive oil then sprinkle on 1/2 tsp seasoning. Top with pineapple bark and repeat steps for next filet. Fold paper, sealing edges with narrow folds.

Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes. Discard top bark and generously garnish with fresh pineapple corn salsa to serve.

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Fresh Pineapple Corn Salsa
(adapted from Delicious Shots)

1/2 ear fresh corn, husked with silks removed (or 1/2 can vacuum-packed super sweet corn)
1/4 cup fresh pineapple, finely chopped
1/4 small red onion, finely chopped
1/4 red or green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 medium tomato, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped cilantro (or more, to taste)
1 to 2 sprigs italian parsley, chopped
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Heat grill to high and grill the corn until charred on all sides. When ready, remove the kernels with a sharp knife. (If using canned corn, skip the grilling part.) In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and season accordingly to taste. Cover and refrigerate for thirty or so minutes before serving.

cooling off.

Today was hot. Like, "Oh my God, I'm gonna kill myself!" kind of hot. And not only that, it was also errand day. Talk about double torture...not only did I want to kill myself, I wanted to do it with little effort and as cold as possible... I'm thinkin' frostbite in Antarctica. Mmmm....snow.

Which leads me to the most awesomely fantastic find I found today in my grocery store: Shaved ice! I was in the produce section of the store when I noticed that they had some samples out for fruit. Being curious, I headed over to see what goodies to try and to my surprise, they had shaved ice! Not just one kind, but two!

What really stood out for these were the fact that they were majorly made from fresh, in-season fruit. They were also a take on Japanese and Hawaiian shaved ice except without the beans. For their version, they used crushed ice, rather than shaved, so it gave them a delightfully crunchy texture. The interesting part? They added tarragon to the tropical version! Wow!

So, of course I had to ask for the recipes. They were so flattered that I asked but since they didn't measure anything out, they just gave me what they put in. I eyeballed the contents so I'll have to tweak the recipe when I actually make it. Without further ado...

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Tropical Island Shaved Ice
(from my friendly produce grocer!)

1 pineapple, cored and chopped small
1/2 cantaloupe, chopped small
1 (12oz) bottle macapuno/coconut sport
1 (14oz or so) can coconut milk
2-3 sprigs tarragon, chopped fine
condensed milk for topping
crushed or shaved ice

Combine pineapple and cantaloupe in a large refrigerable container. In a separate bowl, mix together the macapuno/coconut sport, coconut milk, and tarragon. Add to the fruit and stir gently to combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before use. To serve, spoon a generous portion over ice and drizzle condensed milk as desired.

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Berry Breeze Shaved Ice
(from my friendly produce grocer!)

1 (1-lbs shell) strawberries, chopped small
1 (6oz shell) blueberries
juice from one orange (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
1 sprig basil, julienned (optional)
condensed milk for topping
crushed or shaved ice

Combine strawberries and blueberries in a refrigerable container. Add orange juice and basil (if using) to the fruit and stir gently to combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before use. To serve, spoon a generous portion over ice and drizzle condensed milk as desired.

pizza, big island style.

speaking of creative leftovers...my ham, although freakin' delicious, seems to be the one item that i struggle to be creative with. Maybe it's because i don't really eat a lot of pork...but so far, it's been multiple sandwiches, scrambles, benedicts, breakfast burritos, and other morning-type dishes. it seems like whenever dinner comes around, my poor ham takes a back seat to the turkey. for shame! so what's a cook to do? well...epiphany hit and the pizza light bulb went on! a hawaiian pizza to be exact. with barbecue sauce, of course.

and what a great opportunity to clean out the little leftover crap that was sitting in the fridge! mixed some leftover pizza sauce with some barbecue sauce...got some bell peppers, bits and pieces of onions from sandwich stuff, and olives from the enchiladas. the dough i made from scratch from my favorite recipe, but modified it to make a half batch.

so in went a handful of ham, a small can of pineapple rings i chopped, and a couple of cups of random leftover grated cheese (an italian and a mexican blend). seasoned it with some pepper, onion powder, and paprika and in it went to the oven for thirty minutes or so.

my reward? well...even though it was in the oven for a tad too long, it was a definite win with pizza for dinner! with ham!! granted it didn't make much of a dent with the ham sitting in the fridge, but at least that's one thing that i can add for possible choices in the future. actually, i feel slightly dumb for not thinking about it sooner, lol. well...then again, i guess i'll know not to get so much ham next year, right? :)