MAGURO ... seared tuna... sooo yum.

So Harris Teeter had an amazing deal on sashimi grade tuna medallions for $5 a pound. YUM YUM YUM. This so so fast and delicious I could barely believe it. Heat a few teaspoons of canola oil in a nonstick pan and at the same time roll the medallions in a shallow bowl with some soy sauce (if you want add some garlic powder but you don't even have to do that) and then another shallow bowl with sesame seeds till they're nice and coated. Set the tuna aside till the skillet get hot enough then carefully drop them in. I barely like mine seared with the inside still red and raw so I'll only leave mine for about 15-20 seconds on each side, but if you want yours more pink and cooked through leave it for about 45 seconds on each side (just dont leat the sesame seeds burn). Its so fast and the sweet/salty soy sauce and toasted sesame seeds make such a perfect compliment to the fresh tuna. I served this with buttered lima beans and a spicy guacamole but you can just have this with some plain rice or a salad. DELICIOUS!

picnic or tailgating?

If you're looking for a great picnic idea that travels well and will score an A+ every time, just think TORTILLAS. We went off to Kings Dominion last week and instead of taking out a mortgage to buy hotdogs and funnel cake at the amusement park we just made fajitas. The night before I spent 7 dollars on a couple thin fillets of beef, I cut them in strips and cooked them with red peppers and onions. Throw that in tupperware in a cooler then grab a pack of tortillas, an avocado, shredded cheese, a small container of sour cream, hot sauce or a jar of jalapeños, some shredded lettuce if you want (we skipped that), a fork, a spoon, a knife, a couple paper towels, two beers and THATS IT. If you don't want to cook the beef, buy a rotisserie chicken and pull the meat on your trip, use a can of baked beans if your a vegetarian, or sautée some garlic shrimp if you wanna go up a notch. They all work great- just dump them in a tortilla and you're good to go!

eggs

i love them. ideally they should come from a farmers market or a straight-up farm where you can be sure the animals are treated with care, are grass fed, free range and the whole 9. otherwise i aim for organic or whatever convincing words the package might say. but usually i try to avoid generic "large white egg." those chicken farms ten to be nasty with corn fed cage birds that produce eggs with little to no nutritional value and basically just gross me out. a real egg has around 75 calories and a number of vitamins and minerals including your omega 3s. add them to a stir fry or keep a bag full of boiled ones in the office for snacks- eggs can be healthy, quick and delicious any time of day.

tomato sauce with spicy italian sausage and asparagus

One of my favorite new sauces. Cut 5 or 6 links of spicy Itaian sausage in one inch pieces (its easier if you cut it while frozen), drop them in a pan with diced onion, and a can of crushed tomatoes (or fresh ones). Let that all cook on low heat till the sausage is defrosted a almost cooked, then add a bunch of washed cleaned asparagus cut into one inch pieces. Cook until the asparagus is tender, throw over some pasta with some grated cheese and YUUUUUUM !!!

cavatelli with fresh tomatoes and mozarella

It's summer so take advantage. Buy a pile of tomatoes now that they're on sale, chop them up with some onion or garlic, a touch of salt and olive oil and thats it. Your sauce will be done before the pasta boils. Fresh mozarella and basil is just begging to go on top.